All That Glitters Page 7

  “Some women are so desperate to get married. It’s a bit unnerving. I don’t care when I marry, as long as it’s to the right woman,” he said sensibly, “and I’d like to have children. I just haven’t met the right woman yet. I don’t have to worry about an heir for the title or the estate, since I don’t have either one, which takes the pressure off.” He was totally free and open to the possibilities of what life presented to him, and he was candid about admitting he didn’t like his job. He seemed more interested in his social life and his friends.

  He was a very relaxed person without an agenda, which made him easy to be with. She liked him a lot. He was half pal, half flirt, which she liked too. His flirtatious side made her feel like a girl, and his acting like a pal the rest of the time made him good to talk to, though not as good as Sam. But they had no history with each other as she and Sam had. “By the way, there’s a very grand house party next weekend, if you’d like to come. Fabulous house, a castle actually, one of the finest in England. They keep it going with tours of the house and grounds, which is quite awful really, but very lucrative. They give wonderful house parties, and you’ll meet some fun people. Separate bedrooms of course, if you like. I think they have forty guest rooms, so it won’t be a problem. I think you’d enjoy it.” He made it sound so appealing, she couldn’t resist. She had heard of the castle when he told her the name. He seemed to move in only the best circles, and was accepted everywhere. She was touched by his generosity in including her. She told him she was happy to accept, and took him up on the offer of separate bedrooms, since they had just met.

  She mentioned it to Leslie when she went back to work.

  “You’ll never be bored with Nigel. I think he goes to three parties a night. He knows everyone in London. He’s a good guy, very good family, though his older brother got everything of course when their father died. That’s how it works here. But Nigel will always land on his feet. He’s always such a positive presence. I adore him. I’m glad you two hit it off. He’ll introduce you to everyone, and you won’t have a free night for a year.” It was the busiest Coco had ever been, but it was a great start to her time in London, and Leslie’s endorsement put her at ease about him. Leslie and Nigel had been childhood friends, like she and Sam, though not quite as close in age, since they were five years apart. She said she’d gone to school with a cousin of his. People from good families all seemed to know one another or be connected somehow.

  He texted her what she needed to bring for the weekend, so she’d be properly dressed and wouldn’t feel awkward, which seemed thoughtful to her, so she didn’t have to guess. She packed everything he suggested and a few extras, for formal dinners, casual lunches, hiking, hunting if she chose to tag along. She had it all in two suitcases when he picked her up on Friday afternoon in a magnificent racing green vintage Jaguar. She felt incredibly chic as they drove the three hours to the castle he had told her about. She’d read up on it the night before. It sounded fabulous, and the family that owned it was interesting as well. The castle had been built by the family in the fifteenth century, and enlarged two hundred years later. All of the contents and structure were original. She couldn’t wait to see it in real life and not just photographs.

  “I love your car!” she said, as they drove along. He had the top down, and she was wearing a scarf and felt like Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief. With his blue-eyed, blond good looks, and easy aristocratic style, there was something naturally glamorous about him. He was effortlessly sophisticated and elegant without ever showing off.

  “I’m so glad,” he said about the car. “Her name is Josephine, and she’s the love of my life. I give you fair warning, if we ever fall in love, she will always come first. I hope you can live with that,” he said, grinning at her, and leaned over to kiss her cheek to soften the blow, as she smiled at him.

  “It sounds like I’ll have to.”

  “I’ll let you drive her if you like,” he said generously and Coco shook her head.

  “I wouldn’t dare. I’d be afraid to hurt her, or do something wrong.”

  “She’s rather temperamental, I’ll admit. It’s part of her charm.”

  “Do you like temperamental women?” she teased him.

  “Only Josephine,” he answered.

  “Good, because I’m not.”

  “I can tell.” He smiled at her. “That’s why you’re here.” It was an honest statement and she laughed.

  They arrived just in time to change for dinner. There were about thirty people milling around the enormous drawing room, and their hosts were warmly welcoming, and delighted to meet Coco. They were a marquess and marchioness, and Nigel had briefed her beforehand on how to address them. They were in their early forties, and made everyone feel very much at home. Nigel said they had a genius for getting the right people together. Liveried servants showed them to their rooms, and Coco noticed that they were in separate hallways, which was apparently standard for couples who were not sharing a room. They would need a compass, a map, and roller skates to find each other, she whispered to him on the way to their rooms, and he laughed.

  “No worries. I know the house very well. It’s full of shortcuts and secret passages, if I need to get to you quickly.”

  “I’d probably end up in the dungeon and no one would ever find me if I tried to find you.”

  “I promise to get up a search party if that happens,” he said, as they stopped at her room, which was a large, very English-looking room filled with handsome antiques, beautiful dark red damask fabrics, and a canopied bed. He hurried off with the footman to get to his own room and change for dinner. He disappeared down another hallway with a wave, as she closed her door. It was all a new experience for her, and she felt a little bit like Alice in Wonderland as she opened one of her suitcases and a maid in a black uniform and white cap appeared. It was very Downton Abbey, and a throwback to another era, like the house itself, which was enormous, and very much a castle. The photographs she’d seen online hadn’t done it justice.

  “Would you like me to unpack for you, miss?” she asked Coco, who was embarrassed to have someone else unpack her bags.

  “No, thank you very much.” She smiled at her. “I’m fine.” The maid was about the same age as Coco and the two young women smiled at each other like two guests at a costume party. She disappeared and Coco rushed around to have a quick bath, unpack her dress, put on makeup, brush her hair, and dress for dinner. She wore a green silk dress the color of her eyes, with a string of her mother’s pearls, her own diamond earrings, and high heels. She wore just a little mascara, red lipstick, and brushed her hair until it shone. She looked very elegant and quietly sexy as she made her way along the hall, and down the grand staircase, where she saw Nigel looking up at her and smiling. He’d been waiting for her in a perfectly cut dark blue suit. He was very handsome, and they were a striking couple as they walked into the drawing room together, and their hosts greeted them again.

  They made the rounds to meet the other guests. Nigel knew everyone with one or two exceptions, and everyone was happy to see him. He and Coco were the only single people there. The others were all in couples, his age or the age of their hosts. Coco was by far the youngest guest, but as soon as they spoke to her, they were impressed by her. Their hosts were particularly happy to see Nigel with such a charming girl. The hostess whispered to her that he had a penchant for either young actresses who acted like spoiled brats with no manners, or heiresses who were even more spoiled. They all thought Coco, with her easy, polite ways and obvious good breeding, was a breath of fresh air. “Lovely girl…” were the whispers among the other women, and they made note to invite her to their own homes, with or without Nigel, since they weren’t an item, according to their hostess. Two of the guests said they wanted to introduce her to their sons.

  After dinner the ladies withdrew to the drawing room, according to tradition, and the men joined them half
an hour later, after port or brandy and cigars. Late into the evening, card tables and parlor games were introduced. There was a great sound system, and some of the guests who were so inclined danced. No one went to bed before three A.M., and it was nearly four when Nigel walked Coco up the stairs and down the hallway to her room. He paused at the door with a smile and raised an eyebrow, asking a silent question.

  “If you invite me in now, it will spare you the embarrassment of getting lost and winding up in the dungeon,” he whispered, as he kissed her cheek in a slow and sensual way.

  “I think I’ll stay here tonight,” she whispered back.

  “And I should go back to my room?” he asked, and she nodded. “Oh, cruel woman…What if I have a nightmare, there won’t be anyone to comfort me.”

  “There’s a whiskey bottle in my room, and a bottle of brandy, in a small bar. There’s probably one in your room too. You could try that,” she said demurely and he laughed.

  “Ah, Coco, you have no heart.” But he was only teasing her and she knew it. It was much too soon to fall into bed with him, and she had no intention of doing that, especially since she was sure that many women already had. He was very charming and famously handsome, and she suspected that few women resisted him, and most fell prey to his charms. She didn’t want to be one of them. Not too quickly anyway. “See you at breakfast, after a long, lonely night.” He kissed her cheek again, and headed down the hall to his room, as she gently closed the door to hers.

  Chapter 5

  The rest of the house party at the castle was magical. They had a small, very good live band to dance to on Saturday night. Nigel warned her that most of the weekend parties he went to were not as well done as this one. They had started at the top. Their hosts had a lot of style, and made the weekend fun for everyone.

  The men went hunting on Saturday morning, and a few of the women joined them. Coco chose to be one of them, and stood discreetly behind Nigel. She chatted with their hostess, who was a very interesting woman. She was involved in a number of social causes and had a master’s in psychology.

  They explored the nearby village that afternoon, danced away the night after dinner, and this time at Coco’s door, Nigel kissed her properly, not just on the cheek, and she enjoyed it thoroughly. She still didn’t let him spend the night with her, much to his dismay. It tantalized him and just made him want her more. By the second day of the weekend, he knew that she was the woman he had been waiting for all his life. He was incredibly nice to her, and they had a wonderful time together.

  On Sunday all the guests were present for a big breakfast. Some stayed for lunch, and afterward, Nigel and Coco left after thanking their hosts profusely. The marquess and marchioness said pointedly to Coco that they looked forward to seeing her again, and hoped she would visit them soon. She had left an envelope in her room with a tip for the maid, as her mother had taught her to do. She intended to send flowers to their hosts on Monday.

  On the way back, Nigel couldn’t stop talking about how much he had enjoyed the weekend with her. “Their weekends can be quite boring sometimes, even if lavish and well run, because their guests are almost always married and a little older. They were a good group this time, although we were the youngest people there. But you were fantastic. Everyone fell in love with you,” he smiled at her, “and so did I.”

  “I had a wonderful time too. I really loved our hosts. They’re such nice people. I liked all the guests.” It had been a memorable weekend, one she knew she would never forget, no matter what happened with him. She had heard what he had said about falling in love with her, but she didn’t want to address it yet. She knew he wasn’t serious after knowing her for two weeks. But he brought it up again himself when he dropped her off at her house.

  “I meant what I said,” he said gently. “Coco, I’m falling in love with you.”

  “Let’s take it slow for a while,” she said, smiling. He didn’t know about the affair with Ed, but it had only ended three months before, and she didn’t want to rush into anything. She wanted time to get to know Nigel, not just at parties, but with time alone. If it was real, it would unfold. And if it wasn’t, she didn’t want to get hurt again, or to hurt him. There was a vulnerable side to him too, beyond the good manners, good looks, and good breeding. She knew by then that he’d had a lonely upbringing, at boarding school since he was seven, with cold parents who had died when he was young, and the older brother who treated him like a nonentity as soon as he’d inherited the title and what was left of the family fortune. Nigel had had almost no love in his life and she didn’t want to tell him she loved him until she was sure she did, or to mislead him, or rush into it before she was sure of how she felt herself.

  “Please don’t be so sensible,” he said longingly, as he kissed her outside her front door. “I’m in love with you. Let’s seize the moment.” He was almost begging her, and it touched her profoundly.

  “I don’t want to rush into anything until we’re sure.”

  “You’re too young to be that reasonable,” he complained. “What happened to the impetuousness of youth? You must be lying about your age.” She laughed. It was hard to resist him, but she forced herself to. He carried her bags inside for her, and took them upstairs. They sat on the couch in the small library, and had a glass of wine, and kissed in front of the fire he had made, and then reluctantly he left her, and texted her right away. “Call me at any hour, if you need anything. I do house calls, especially at night.” She laughed and answered him, thanking him again for the best weekend imaginable.

  “How was it?” Leslie asked her the next day at work.

  “Absolutely fabulous. Magical. I had the best weekend of my life.”

  “Nigel is good at that. And the castle is incredible, isn’t it?”

  “Everything was perfect.” Coco glowed.

  “Nigel must be head over heels in love with you by now.” She smiled knowingly at Coco.

  “So he says.”

  “He probably means it. He’s always very upbeat, but I think underneath that, he’s a very lonely guy. He says he wants to get married and have babies. I think he probably does.”

  “I’m too young for that,” Coco said, “and he wants to move too fast.”

  “If you make him wait, he’ll love you forever. That always works with men,” Leslie said wisely and went back to her office. But Coco wasn’t trying to play him or inflame him. It really was too soon for her.

  Two dozen red roses in a vase from a fashionable florist were waiting for her on her doorstep that night when she got home. She knew he was in late meetings, but he called her at ten o’clock when he got out, and wanted to drop by.

  “Can I trust you?” she asked, and he laughed.

  “No, but I’ll try to behave. I’ve had fifteen years of slutty women I never cared about. Now I’m in love, and I actually found one with decent morals. What miserable luck.” But it was also why he was falling in love with her, because he couldn’t have her easily, and she was falling in love with him too. She wanted to savor it. No one had ever been as loving in his attentions to her. She wanted to know his flaws as well as his virtues, and give it a little time.

  He was there half an hour later and they chatted about their respective days at work. His roses were almost bigger than her dining table, and looked beautiful. She thanked him. She had sent flowers to their hosts for the weekend.

  They kissed and cuddled and he left at midnight. They had dinner several times that week. When she told Sam about the weekend, he sounded suspicious. “Why is he rushing you? Is there something behind it?”

  “Don’t be so paranoid. My boss went to school with his cousin and has known him for years. She says he’s a lonely guy. His parents sent him to boarding school when he was seven, which people do here. I think he’s starving for love. In any case, I’m being sensible.”

  “Good. Get to know him.
Wait,” he said in his big brother voice.

  “I am.”

  They stayed in town the following weekend, and did several of the things she had wanted to do since she arrived. They went to the Victoria and Albert Museum, saw the queen’s jewels at the Tower of London, which was touristy but fun, and they wandered in Hyde Park. On Sunday, they had tea at Claridge’s.

  Afterward, he took her to his apartment, so she could see it. She was somewhat shocked when she did. It was in a good location, in a fashionable neighborhood, but the apartment itself was small and dark, with paint peeling off the walls. There was nothing personal about it. It looked more like a hotel room than a home, and she was sad for him when she saw it. It showed her how empty his life was. He had an active social life and many friends, but there were no photographs of his family, mementos, or family heirlooms. It supported Leslie’s theory that he was a lonely man. Then they went back to her cozy little house that looked more lived in after a few weeks than his did after five years. It struck Coco too that there was nothing on the walls at his place. There was no décor, and he had bought everything at Ikea. It looked more like a student apartment than the home of a thirty-three-year-old man. He said he never entertained there, only at his club, and she could see why.

  Once back at her house, he built a fire, and they sat peacefully together, kissing and talking. He said they had been invited to another house party the following weekend, by guests who had been at the castle with them. This one would be more human scale and less grand, but sounded like fun too. It would be more of a mixed crowd with some younger single people there, closer to his age. It sounded like fun to her and she agreed. She was thoroughly enjoying her budding relationship with him, and her introduction into his world.