The English Bride

“O.K.?” Grant spoke through the headphones, a deep frown of concern between his eyes.

“Aye, aye, skipper!” She lifted her right hand in a parody of a smart salute. Did he really think she was going to go to pieces like the ladies of old? Have the vapours? She had pioneering blood in her veins as well. Her maternal ancestor had been Ewan Kinross, a legendary cattle king. The fact that she had been reared in the ordered calm of the beautiful English countryside and her exclusive boarding school didn’t mean she hadn’t inherited the capacity to face a far more dangerous way of life. Besides it was as she’d told him. She had a cast iron stomach and she was too excited for nerves. She wanted to learn this way of life. She wanted to learn all about Grant Cameron’s life.

They searched until it got to the point when they had to turn back. When they landed Brod was waiting for them in the brief mauve dusk that in moments would turn to a darkness that was literally pitch black.

“No luck?” Brod asked as Grant jumped out onto the grass turning to catch Francesca by the waist and swing her down like the featherweight she was.

“If Curly doesn’t turn up on Bunnerong first thing in the morning we’re looking at another search. Bob report in?”

“No news. Nothing.” Brod shook his head. “You’ll stay the night.” It wasn’t a question but a statement of fact. “Better you’re here anyway. We’re closer to Bunnerong if there’s any need of a search. I expect your man is boiling the billy now moaning his radio is out of order.”

“I shouldn’t be surprised,” Grant responded to Brod’s good spirits. “It’s Francesca here who’s the real surprise.”

“How so?” Brod turned to smile down on his English cousin, as dark with his raven hair and tanned skin as Grant was tawny gold.

“I think he thought I was going to go into a panic when we hit some thermals,” Francesca explained lightly, striking Grant’s arm in reproach.

“I wouldn’t have blamed you if you did,” he answered with a faintly teasing smile, enjoying fending her off. “I’ve always said you’re much more than a pretty face.” A ravishingly pretty face.

“It would take a lot to put Fran in a tizzy,” Brod said with affection. “We’ve learnt over the years this little piece of English china has plenty of spunk.”

Up at the homestead Rebecca smilingly allotted him a guest room overlooking the rear of the house. The meandering creek that ran near and encircled the home compound revealed itself in a silver line as the moon turned on its radiance. Brod walked in a few minutes later with a pile of clean, soap-smelling clothes from his own wardrobe.

“Here, these should fit,” he announced, placing the clothes neatly on the bed, a blue-and-white striped cotton shirt on top, cotton beige trousers and underwear that hadn’t even come out of its packet by the look of it. Both men were much the same height a few inches over six feet with the lean, powerful physique of the super active.

“Am I glad of them. Thanks a lot,” Grant answered, turning away from his own speculation of the night to smile at his brother’s best friend. With Rafe and Brod those few years older he’d always been the one trying to catch up, trying to catch them, trying to emulate their achievements, academically and on the sports field. All in all he hadn’t done too badly.

“No problem.” There was an answering smile in Brod’s eyes. “You’ve saved me dozens of times. I’m for a long, hot shower. I expect you are, too. It’s been a thoroughly tiring day.” He started to move off then stopped briefly at the door. “By the way I don’t think I thanked you properly for doing such a great job,” he said with evident approval. “It’s not just the way you handle the chopper, which is brilliant, you’re a cattleman as well. The combination makes you extraordinarily good.”

“Thanks, mate.” Grant grinned. “I aim to offer the very best service. And it doesn’t come cheap as you’re due to find out. What time are we off in the morning always supposing Curly gets a message through he’s okay?”

Brod frowned, answering a little vaguely for him. “Not as early as today, that’s for sure. The men have their orders. They’ll have plenty to do. We’ll wait and see what the morning brings. I know bush logic tells us Curly has landed safely, but I’d like to stick around until we’re sure.”

“I appreciate that, Brod.” Grant accepted his friend’s support. “A land search in such a huge area would be out of the question. It will take aircraft to find him if he’s in any kind of trouble.”

“Not that it’s odd having problems with the radio,” Brod echoed Grant’s own previous words, obviously trying to offer reassurance mixed in with the voice of long experience. Brod’s expression brightened. “Now, what about a barbeque? I feel like eating outdoors tonight and it gives me the opportunity to show off. I cook a great steak if I say so myself. We can throw in a few roast potatoes. The girls can whip up a salad. What more could a man want?”

Grant smiled broadly. “Go for it! I’m hungry enough to eat the best steak Kimbara can offer.”

“You’re going to get it,” Brod assured him.

A long, hot shower was a wonderful luxury after the heat and uproar of the day. The bellowing of the cattle as they were herded into doing what they clearly didn’t want to do; leave the familiar surroundings of the scrub was still in his ears. More of the same tomorrow. And the day after. But he planned on getting right out of fieldwork. He wanted to concentrate on expanding the business. He’d go on building up the fleet and the team but his mind was firmly on extending the range of services.

With time on his hands and glad of the company of such good friends, he used some of the shampoo he found in the cupboard beneath the basin. Kinross sure knew how to look after its guests, he thought with wry admiration. There was an impressive array of stuff to make a guest feel good. Fancy soaps, bath gels, shower gels, body lotion, talc, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hair dryer, electric shaver. Lots of good, big absorbent towels. Man-size. Brilliant!

He stepped out of the shower and wrapped one around himself, feeling the exhaustions of the day slip away. His hair needed cutting as usual. Barbers weren’t all that easy to come by in the desert. He shook his wet, darkened hair like a seal deciding he’d better use the dryer if he wanted to look presentable.

Which he did. He was intensely aware of his attraction to Francesca, her marvellous drawing power though he knew how ill advised it was. The Camerons and the Kinrosses had always lived like desert lords but their world was beyond “civilisation” as Lady Francesca de Lyle knew it. No question the call of the outback had reached her. After all she had an Australian mother born in this very house but Francesca was on holiday, taking the rose-coloured holiday view. It was impossible for her to realise the day-to-day isolation, the terrible battles that were fought against drought, flood and heat, accident, tragic deaths. Men could bear the loneliness, the struggles and frustrations, the crushing workload. He knew in his heart an English rose like Francesca would find it all unbearable no matter how adaptable she claimed she was. She simply had no experience of the bush and the hazards it presented.

Grant threw down the hair dryer, thinking he shouldn’t have used it. It made his hair look positively wild. He turned to dressing, pulling out the belt of his uniform to thread it through the cotton trousers. No difficulty with sizing. The fit was perfect. If only he were certain Curly was safe and sound he could really look forward to enjoying this evening.

It had been lonely at home with Rafe away on honeymoon. He was looking forward to a letter from them or maybe another phone call. Ally had been so full of their stay in New York. She adored it. The excitement she felt as she “hit the sidewalk” the “thrum” of the place more electric than any other city on earth. “And we’ve got you some wonderful presents,” she’d added. “Really special!” That was Ally and she had the money.

The Camerons had never kept pace with the Kinrosses in the generation of great wealth, though Opal was an industry leader and Rafe was dead set on expansion, building up a chain, just as he, himself, was determined on making his mark in aviation.

The pride of lions! Well he and Rafe had tasted tragedy as had Brod and Ally. At least some things were now working out. Brod had found real love, much rarer than people thought. As for Rafe and Ally! They were like two sides of the same coin. Allowing himself to fall in love with Francesca had to make him downright crazy. Easy enough to get led astray, though, he reasoned. Finding the path back might prove very, very, difficult.

Francesca was crossing through the front hall when Grant descended the stairs. She looked up feeling a sudden rush of blood to her face. He looked marvellous, his strong, handsome features relaxed, hazel eyes sparkling, his full, thick head of hair, obviously freshly washed, settling into the deep natural waves women paid a fortune to achieve. She was astonished at her own desire, so sweet, so primitive like a woman staring at the man she wanted for her perfect mate.

“Hi!” His voice was pitched thrillingly low, stirring her further.

She had to force a flippant tone in case he read what was on her mind and man-like backed off. “You look cool.”

“Courtesy Brod.” He grinned. “He rustled up some gear.”

“It suits you.” She spoke with a nice balance of admiration and teasing.

“Actually you look very sweet yourself.” His eyes gently mocked. She was wearing a sapphire-blue full skirt with a matching strappy little top, the fabric printed with white hibiscus. Blue sandals almost the same shade were on her feet, her Titian hair wound into some braided coil that suited her beautifully. He saw the apricot flush on her creamy skin. He knew it was there because he was coming close.

How did it happen? This longing for a woman that sent a man reeling? He’d been making love to her in his mind at least three times a week for some time now, seriously considering it had to happen, shocked because he couldn’t seem to come to his senses. But what did sense have to do with sexual attraction? He felt compelled to have an affair. He couldn’t make the wider choice, yet he moved right up to her, surprising her and himself by moving her into an impromptu tango, remembering how they had danced and danced at Brod’s then Rafe’s wedding.

There was music in him, Francesca thought. Music, rhythm, a sensuality that was reducing her limbs to jelly. This man was taking her over utterly, making all her senses bloom like a flower.

“I’m in perfect company right now,” he murmured in her ear, just barely resisting the temptation to take the pink earlobe into his mouth.

“Me, too.” The words just slipped out, very soft but not concealing her intensity. She hadn’t made a conscious decision to fall in love with him surely, but his effect on her was so pervasive she could hardly bear to contemplate her holiday on Kimbara coming to an end.

Rebecca, coming to find them, burst into spontaneous applause at the considerable panache of their dance. “You’re naturals, both of you,” she cried. “I’ve never thought of it before but this is a terrific dance floor.” She looked around the very spacious front hall, speculation in her eyes.

“Why would you need it when you’ve got the old ballroom?” Francesca asked, catching her breath as Grant whirled her into a very close stop.

“I mean for Brod and me,” Rebecca smiled, still very much the bride. “Come and join us for a drink. I’ve chilled a seriously good Riesling. It’s beautiful out on the back verandah. The air is filled with the scent of boronia. How I love it. The stars are out in their zillions.” She came forward very happily to link her arm through Francesca’s, her long, gleaming dark ribbon of hair falling softly from a centre parting the way her husband loved it, the skirt of her summery white dress fluttering in the breeze that blew through the open doorway.

They found Brod wrapped in a professional-looking apron, the large brick barbeque well alight, the potatoes in foil already cooking. Ratatouille kebabs prepared by Rebecca lay ready for the grill plate, a leafy green walnut and mushroom salad prepared by Francesca waiting for the dressing.

Grant was given the enjoyable task of opening the wine, and pouring it into the tulip-shaped glasses set out on the long table, while Francesca passed around the crackers spread with a smoked salmon paté she had processed a half hour before. It was light and luscious and the conversation began to flow. These were people, interconnected through family, who genuinely enjoyed one another’s company. The steaks, prime Kimbara beef, were set to sizzle over the hot coals and Rebecca decided she’d like a tarragon wine sauce so went to the kitchen to fetch it. While they were waiting, Grant walked Francesca to the very edge of the verandah so they could see the moon reflected in the glassy-smooth surface of the creek.

“Such a heavenly night,” she breathed, lifting her head from contemplation of the silvery waters to the glittering heavens. “The Southern Cross is always over the tip of the house. It’s so easy to pick out.”

Grant nodded. “Rafe and Ally won’t see it in the United States. The cross is gradually shifting southward in the sky.”

“Is it really?” Francesca turned her head to stare up at him, thrilled because he was so tall.

“It is, my lady.” He gave a mocking bow. “A result of the earth’s precession or the circular motion of the earth’s axis. The Southern Cross was known to the people of the ancient world, Babylonians and Greeks. They thought it part of the constellation Centaurus. See the star furthest to the south?” He pointed it out.

“The brightest?”

He nodded. “A star of the first magnitude. It points to the South Pole. The aborigines have wonderful Dreamtime legends about the Milky Way and stars. I’ll tell you some of them one of these days. Maybe nights when we’re camping out.”

“Are you serious?”

A short silence. “I suppose it could be arranged.” His voice sounded sardonic. “Do you think it would be a good idea, the two of us camping out under the stars?”

“I think it could be wonderful.” Francesca drew a breath of sheer excitement.

“What about when the dingoes started to howl?” he mocked.

“Mournful not to say eerie cries, I know—” she shivered a little remembering “—but I’d have you to protect me.”

“And who’s going to protect me?” Suddenly he put a finger beneath her chin, turning up her face to him.

“Am I so much to worry about?” She cut to the very heart of the matter.

“I think so, yes,” he answered slowly. “You’re out of reach, Francesca.”

“And I thought you were a man who aimed for the stars?” she taunted him very gently.

“Aircraft are safer than women,” he countered dryly. “They don’t preoccupy a man’s mind.”

“So that makes harmless little me a great danger?” Her voice was low-pitched but uniquely intense.

“Except in the realm of my secret dreams,” he surprised himself by admitting.

It was a tremendous turn-on, causing Francesca’s body to quiver like a plucked string. “That’s very revealing, Grant. Why would you reveal so much of yourself to me?” she asked in some frustration.

“Because in many ways we’re intensely compatible. I think we knew that very early on.”

“When we were just teenagers?” There was simply no way she could deny it. “And now we’re to assume a different relationship?”

“Not assume, my lady.” His voice deepened, became somewhat combative. “You were born to grandeur. The daughter of an earl. Journeying to the outback is in lots of ways an escape for you, maybe even an escape from reality. An attempt to avoid much of the pressure from your position in life. I’d expect your father will confidently expect you to marry a man from within your own ranks. A member of the English aristocracy. At the very least a scion of one of the established families.”

It was perfectly true. Her father had certain hopes of her. Even two possible suitors. “I’m Fee’s daughter, too.” She tried to stave the issue off. “That makes me half Australian. Fee only wants me to be happy.”

“Which means I’m right. Your father has high expectations of you. He wouldn’t want to lose you.”

Francesca shook her head almost pleadingly. “Daddy will never lose me. I love him. But he has his own life you know.”

“But no grandchildren.” Grant pointed out bluntly. “You have to give him them. Such a child, a male child, would become his heir. The future Earl of Moray. Inescapably a fact.”

“Oh don’t let’s take that all on yet, Grant,” Francesca burst out. She wanted them to be together, with no conflicts between them.

But Grant had other ideas, seeing where it was taking them. “I have to. You know as well as I do we’re becoming increasingly involved. Hell what am I sacrificing here? I could fall in love with you then you’d go off home to Daddy, back to your own world, leaving me to profound wretchedness.”

Somehow she didn’t associate him with becoming any woman’s victim. He was too much the self-contained man. “I think you have what it takes to resist me.”

“Darn right!” Abruptly he bent his head and gave her a hard kiss. “I’ve seen these patterns before.”

“So what’s the solution?” She was compelled to clutch him for support.

“Neither of us allows ourselves to get carried away,” he said brusquely.

“So much for your behaviour then. Why do you have to kiss me?”

He laughed, a low, attractive sound with a hint of self-disgust. “That’s the hell of it, Francesca. Reconciling sexual desire with the need for good sense.”

“So sadly there are to be no more kisses?” she challenged with a little note of scepticism.

He looked down into her light filled eyes, aware of the complexity of his feelings. She looked so lovely, very much a piece of porcelain, a woman to be cherished, protected from damage. “Can I help it if I’m continually at war?” he asked ironically. “You’re so beautiful, aren’t you? You moved into my path like a princess from a fairy tale. I know dozens of eligible, available women. Wouldn’t I be the world’s biggest fool to pick on someone like you? A young woman who has lived a charmed life? Equally well I don’t think your father would get a big kick out of knowing you were dallying with a rough-around-the-edges man from the outback.”

It in no way described him. “Rugged, Grant. Never rough. You’re a lot more edgy than Rafe, but he’s very much your brother and one of the most courteous men I’ve ever met.”

“Free from my aggression, you mean.” Grant nodded in wry amusement. “It’s an inborn grace, Francesca, he inherited from our father. I’m nowhere near as simpatico.”

Her normally sweet voice was a little tart in her throat, like citrus peel in chocolate. “Well don’t feel too badly. I like you. Temper and all. I like the way you hit on an idea and go for it. I like your breadth of vision. I like the way you make big plans. I even like your strong sense of competitiveness. What I don’t like is the way you see me as a threat.”

He could see the hurt in her eyes but he was compelled to speak. “Because you are a threat, Francesca. A real threat. To us both.”

“That’s awful.” She looked away abruptly over the moon-drenched home gardens.

“I know,” he muttered sombrely, “but it makes sense.”

Unlike a lot of men let loose at a barbeque, Brod cooked the steaks to perfection, each to their requirements from medium rare to well done. For all her whirring feelings Francesca enjoyed herself, eating a good meal, warming to the conversation, and afterwards offering to make coffee.

“I’ll help you.” Impulsively Grant moved back his chair, willing the pleasure of the evening to go on. Brod and Rebecca had shifted seats and were now holding hands. The younger couple wouldn’t be missed for a while.

In the huge kitchen outfitted for feeding an army, Grant thought, Francesca set him to grinding the coffee beans, the marvellous aroma rising and flowing out towards them. Francesca was busy setting out cups and saucers then assembling plates for the slices of chocolate torte she’d already cut. All very deftly, he noticed. She was very organised, very methodical, with quick, neat hands.

“You’re managing very well,” he drawled.

“What is that supposed to mean?” The overhead light turned her glorious hair to flame, giving him a great wave of pleasure.

“Have you ever actually cooked a meal?” he smiled.

“I made the salad,” she pointed out collectedly.

“And it was very good, but I can’t think you ever have any need to go into a kitchen and start cooking the supper.”

She scarcely remembered being allowed in the kitchen except at Christmas to stir the pudding. “Not at Ormond, no.” She named her father’s stately home. “We always had a housekeeper, Mrs. Lincoln. She was pretty fierce. Nothing casual about her and she had staff, just as Brod’s father did, only Brod and Rebecca have decided they want to be on their own. At least for a while. Once I shifted to London to start work I managed to get all my own meals. It truly isn’t difficult,” she added dryly.

“When you weren’t going out?” He poured boiling water into the plunger. “You must accept lots and lots of invitations?”

“I have a full social life.” She flashed him a blue, sparkling look. “But it’s not an obsession.”

“No love affairs?” He found he couldn’t bear the thought of her with another man.

“One or two romantic involvements. Like you.” Grant Cameron didn’t lack female admirers.

“No one serious?” he persisted as though the thought was gnawing away at him.

“I’ve yet to meet my perfect man,” she answered sweetly.

“Which brings me to why you have designs on me.”

His effrontery took her breath away. “You can haul yourself out when the going gets tough. Because I’m only following my own instincts. You do have a certain emotional pull and physically you’re extraordinarily attractive.”

He gave a mock bow, surprisingly elegant. “Thank you, Francesca. That makes my heart swell.”

“As long as it’s not your head,” she retorted crisply.

“My head has the high ground at the moment,” he drawled. “But I’ve enjoyed tonight. Brod and Rebecca are such good company and you are you.”

It was so disconcerting, the swings from sarcastic to sizzling emotion. An acknowledgment, perhaps, that their connection was powerful, though he was going to fight it all the way.

“That’s good I’ve done something right,” Francesca said in response, trying to keep her tone light, but she was utterly confounded when tears came into her eyes. Being with him made her more sensitive, more womanly with a much bigger capacity for being hurt. For all the calmness of her voice, Grant was instantly alerted. He glanced up swiftly, catching her the moment before she blinked furiously.

“Francesca!” Heart drumming with dismay and desire he reached for her, pulling her into his arms. “What is it? Have I hurt you? I’m a brute. I’m sorry.” He could see the pulse beating in her creamy throat answering the pulses that were beating in him. “I’m trying to see what’s best for both of us. Surely you can understand that?”

“Of course.” Her voice was a husky whisper. She dashed her hand across her eyes. Just like a little girl. Grace under fire.

An immense wave of passion tied to a deep sense of protectiveness broke across him, causing him to mould her into him more tightly, achingly aware of the feel of her delicate breasts against the wall of his chest. He was on the verge of losing it. It was terrible. But good. Better than good. Ravishing.

She attempted to speak but he was seized by the urgent need to kiss her, to take the crushed strawberry sweetness of her mouth, to find her tongue, to move it back and forth against his in the age-old mating ritual. This incredible delight in a woman was something new to him. Something well beyond his former sexual experiences. He wanted her. Needed her like a man needs water.