Derek moved his hands to her head and moved it away from his chest, so he
could look into her eyes.
"I'm sure that took a lot of self restraint," he told her. "And I'm here
now and I'm fine, so you can stop worrying about that. And about Megan,
I'll get this straightened out. I love you and nothing is going to change
that."
He leaved forward and kissed her gently, his hands still on her face. Then
he moved her head back to his chest and closed his arms around her tightly,
stroking her hair with one hand. "Everything is going to be fine, you'll
see."
Julia returned the kiss and managed a ghost of a smile before he drew her
near again. She closed her eyes "You're safe and that's all that matters."
Downstairs....
Barbara entered the kitchen, Sloan having gone on to the sitting room to
await Derek.
"Hello, Jonathan." she greeted her favorite butler, going to go sit at the
breakfast table "If you're caught up on things, why don't we have a cup of
coffee and talk."
Jonathan chuckled, knowing exactly what that meant.
"Just remember, Duchess," he said by way of using the private nickname he
had ended up calling her during their private discussions "I don't give out
privy information."
He brought coffee over and sat in the chair opposite her.
Barbara Rayne smiled knowingly and made herself a cup "Oh I know. Which is
why I'm thankful you work for my son."
"But tell me about the lady on the stairs my son went to ....."
It wasn't long, after getting nothing but basic information about the lady
and Jonathan side tracking the other questions, that Barbara had an idea
about a Miss Julia Walker. So she turned to the next subject on her mind.
"What about this Megan character?"
The sound Jonathan made made Barbara raise her eyebrow curiously.
