surrounded by the light, vaguely floral scent of her perfume. It overlaid the unique scent that was Jayne, a scent he couldn’t have described if there was a gun to his head. A scent he knew he would recognize anywhere. His heartbeat pounded in his ears as it pumped the heady rush of his excitement through his body.
And then she was gone.
He opened his eyes and watched her walk out the door, aching to follow her.
Chapter Six
Fat snowflakes swirled and drifted down onto the wide lawn and coated the pine trees like icing sugar. Jayne sat in the cozy warmth of the kitchen conservatory and watched them fall from a sky heavy with clouds. As they had been falling more or less nonstop since the first morning she woke here. If it didn’t stop soon, she was going to have to brave the elements and go outside anyway. She was starting to get a bit stir-crazy. The house felt empty though she knew it wasn’t. Mary was in her private quarters at the far end of the building and she knew that the housekeeper would join her if she asked. She wasn’t going to ask though, because the woman deserved a little time to herself. She had been entertaining Jayne for the last two days.
They had spent part of the first day exploring Murray House. Cam had inherited it when his parents had died. Mary had reluctantly told her that his mother had died when he was fifteen and his father when he was sixteen. There had been both sadness and anger in her face and she wouldn’t say any more. Jayne didn’t press, she knew from personal experience that it was a sensitive subject. After that, Mary had avoided most questions about Cam, focusing instead on the history of the house.
It was enormous. Jayne had counted sixteen bedrooms on the first and second floors with rooms on the opposite side of the hallways set up as separate sitting rooms. She could see now that the kitchen was an addition to the back of the house. The original had been tucked away in the basement where there was now a bright fully equipped gym. Very fully equipped. The housekeeper had showed her a secure room behind the mirrors, complete with a computer connected to the house security system, a phone, weapons, a cot and enough food and water for a week. The fact that Cameron felt the need to have one spoke volumes about his life.
Mary had a suite on the ground floor in the left wing. The rest of the rooms down there were entertainment and living areas, including a large library that made her green with envy. The house was decorated in a strangely appealing mixture of modern, Victorian and Georgian styles. Even Jayne’s untrained eye picked out a multitude of antiques throughout. Here and there, the mermaid clan crest was repeated on fireplaces, furniture, china and other, smaller things. The motto “ Tout Prest ” she had discovered meant “Always Ready” and from what she had seen so far, it was one the current laird lived up to.
It was clear that Cameron Murray was a very wealthy man, indeed. And a private one if the absence of staff was any indication. Didn’t he ever get bored? Jayne wasn’t exactly a social butterfly anymore but this much solitude would give her the screaming meemies in a very short time. She hoped, fervently, that they didn’t get snowed in.
The man of the house was in his office where he had spent most of his time since their conversation in the kitchen. He had better be working on finding out who the fake policemen were ‘cause she couldn’t stay here indefinitely. She suspected he was avoiding her. Lunchtime had come and gone and he hadn’t come down to eat. He had missed breakfast too. In fact, she hadn’t seen him at any of the mealtimes. She suppressed a twinge of worry, but he was a big boy, perfectly capable of looking after himself. He probably had a minibar complete with refrigerator and snacks up there. If he wanted to creep around and eat alone, who was she to argue?
He was lonely.
She knew it with a deep down certainty. She
And then she was gone.
He opened his eyes and watched her walk out the door, aching to follow her.
Chapter Six
Fat snowflakes swirled and drifted down onto the wide lawn and coated the pine trees like icing sugar. Jayne sat in the cozy warmth of the kitchen conservatory and watched them fall from a sky heavy with clouds. As they had been falling more or less nonstop since the first morning she woke here. If it didn’t stop soon, she was going to have to brave the elements and go outside anyway. She was starting to get a bit stir-crazy. The house felt empty though she knew it wasn’t. Mary was in her private quarters at the far end of the building and she knew that the housekeeper would join her if she asked. She wasn’t going to ask though, because the woman deserved a little time to herself. She had been entertaining Jayne for the last two days.
They had spent part of the first day exploring Murray House. Cam had inherited it when his parents had died. Mary had reluctantly told her that his mother had died when he was fifteen and his father when he was sixteen. There had been both sadness and anger in her face and she wouldn’t say any more. Jayne didn’t press, she knew from personal experience that it was a sensitive subject. After that, Mary had avoided most questions about Cam, focusing instead on the history of the house.
It was enormous. Jayne had counted sixteen bedrooms on the first and second floors with rooms on the opposite side of the hallways set up as separate sitting rooms. She could see now that the kitchen was an addition to the back of the house. The original had been tucked away in the basement where there was now a bright fully equipped gym. Very fully equipped. The housekeeper had showed her a secure room behind the mirrors, complete with a computer connected to the house security system, a phone, weapons, a cot and enough food and water for a week. The fact that Cameron felt the need to have one spoke volumes about his life.
Mary had a suite on the ground floor in the left wing. The rest of the rooms down there were entertainment and living areas, including a large library that made her green with envy. The house was decorated in a strangely appealing mixture of modern, Victorian and Georgian styles. Even Jayne’s untrained eye picked out a multitude of antiques throughout. Here and there, the mermaid clan crest was repeated on fireplaces, furniture, china and other, smaller things. The motto “ Tout Prest ” she had discovered meant “Always Ready” and from what she had seen so far, it was one the current laird lived up to.
It was clear that Cameron Murray was a very wealthy man, indeed. And a private one if the absence of staff was any indication. Didn’t he ever get bored? Jayne wasn’t exactly a social butterfly anymore but this much solitude would give her the screaming meemies in a very short time. She hoped, fervently, that they didn’t get snowed in.
The man of the house was in his office where he had spent most of his time since their conversation in the kitchen. He had better be working on finding out who the fake policemen were ‘cause she couldn’t stay here indefinitely. She suspected he was avoiding her. Lunchtime had come and gone and he hadn’t come down to eat. He had missed breakfast too. In fact, she hadn’t seen him at any of the mealtimes. She suppressed a twinge of worry, but he was a big boy, perfectly capable of looking after himself. He probably had a minibar complete with refrigerator and snacks up there. If he wanted to creep around and eat alone, who was she to argue?
He was lonely.
She knew it with a deep down certainty. She
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