Seduced by the Stranger (Billionaires & Babies, #2) Page 13

  Now, she stretched as she awakened. ‘Oh, sorry. I meant to keep you company.’

  ‘Not a problem.’ Max’s smile was full of affection as he shot her a sideways glance. ‘You obviously needed the sleep.’

  ‘Mm. How much longer?’

  ‘Another ten minutes or so. How are you feeling?’

  ‘Like I’m going to be completely out of my depth. I’m freaking out at meeting a whole lot of people I don’t remember, en masse.’

  ‘They’ll understand.’

  When Max and Jenna had departed Stow-on-the-Wold for London the previous day, Dr Gerber had left for Herlstone Park. She wanted to speak to the staff about how they should and shouldn’t act around Jenna.

  ‘It’s dreadful to think people are going to be tiptoeing around me afraid of saying the wrong thing. I hope I don’t offend them when I don’t remember them.’

  ‘Jen, they all absolutely adore you. There isn’t a single one of your staff who wouldn’t give you the shirt off their back.’

  So he kept telling her. ‘I didn’t end up asking you how your meeting went last night.’

  ‘Prince Khalid was happy with the construction designs for the new tourist resort, and we signed off on the deal.’

  ‘That’s fabulous news! I can’t imagine Prince Khalid was particularly easy to impress.’

  ‘I think we established a healthy respect for each other. He asked after you and said to pass on his best wishes. I’m glad he’s a happily married man or I might’ve been jealous as he was singing your praises to me.’

  She feigned disappointment. ‘You weren’t even a teeny bit jealous?’

  ‘No, I was proud.’

  ‘Aw, you’re good for a girl’s ego.’ She let her attention drift out to the beautiful countryside. ‘It’s a pretty area.’

  ‘And, home of some of the best horse studs in the United Kingdom.’

  ‘So I’ve supplied ponies to Prince Khalid. Was he the royalty you mentioned when you were telling me about the success of my breeding program?’

  ‘You’ve also supplied polo ponies to the British monarch and one of your stallions, Midnight Blue, is so impressive, you have contracted exclusive breeding rights to one of the wealthiest aristocrats in Britain for the next two years.’

  ‘The deal must be worth a lot.’

  ‘It’s worth millions of pounds. The stallion is under …’ He broke off and she was aware of a fleeting frown as he became very thoughtful.

  ‘Under …?’ she prompted.

  ‘He’s under surveillance.’

  ‘Really? I have surveillance for a horse?’

  ‘It was part of the conditions of the contract. Your client—a duke—wanted to ensure the stallion’s breeding is restricted. He’s paying for exclusive access to the bloodlines. He wanted to ensure you weren’t supplying the horse’s semen to any other breeders. His security team are responsible for the video surveillance.’ He slowed the car and turned off the road. ‘Here we are.’

  Herlstone Park.

  The sign was fixed to the massive stone pillars which supported high, wrought iron gates. As entrances went, it was hugely impressive, but there was no sensation of familiarity. Jenna merely found the entrance daunting.

  Max opened the window on the driver’s side and leant out to depress a button on an intercom system. ‘Max Bennett and Jenna Sinclair.’

  The gates began swinging open electronically.

  An odd frisson of foreboding shot up her spine.

  ‘Home sweet home.’ He sent her a wink, and edged the car forward down the gravel driveway.

  Jenna’s breath caught at her first glimpse of the main building at Herlstone Park. Surely this grand, four-storey mansion couldn’t be where she’d grown up? It was set on a slight rise above a massive man-made lake.

  ‘All this belongs to me?’ she asked in awe.

  ‘You’ve lived here since you were born and your mother left the property to you in her will.’

  ‘It’s massive.’ Massive and unfamiliar.

  ‘The main house spans almost twenty thousand square feet.’

  ‘I never imagined anything as grand as this in my wildest dreams.’

  ‘I suppose it’s one thing to know you’ve inherited a fortune and what you’re worth on paper, but another thing to actually see the representation of your wealth in bricks and mortar.’

  ‘Yes.’ It was striking, but it was also intimidating. ‘I’m going to get lost here.’

  Suddenly, she wanted Max to turn the car back to London. His home was a spacious two-storey home and she’d considered it a mansion when she’d seen it, but it was tiny in comparison to Herlstone Park. ‘I …’ A little distressed sound was all that emerged.

  He glanced across at her. ‘What’s wrong, Jen?’

  ‘It’s absolutely beautiful, but …’ She couldn’t stop shaking her head. ‘Did I really live here alone?’

  ‘You have a lot of staff, but those who live on-site are in the surrounding cottages and coach houses.’

  ‘How many rooms are there in the main building?’

  ‘It has nine bedrooms all with ensuite bathrooms. Then, as I recall there are seven reception rooms, a cinema, a—’

  ‘Max, stop the car.’

  He did as she bade then turned to her with a frown creasing his forehead.

  ‘I can’t go in there.’ Panic laced every syllable.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Er … I’m not dressed appropriately. I—’

  ‘Jen, you’re not a visitor here. This is your home.’

  The truth, Jenna. ‘I don’t recognise it. I feel out of place here.’

  ‘Just relax, sweetheart. This is the home you’ve always loved. You told me you’d never live anywhere else, even if you didn’t run your business from here.’

  Her mind flashed back to the wedding she’d nearly gone through with. This was another case of someone telling her what she loved—what she wanted, but none of what Max said resonated with her.

  ‘Max, I felt a connection to you the second I saw you coming down the aisle of the church, but I don’t feel any connection here.’

  He reached across and took one of her hands in his. ‘Take a couple of deep breaths.’

  She tried to relax but the longer she looked at the place she’d called home, the more every single vertebra tightened in trepidation.

  ‘How about we keep going?’ he coaxed. ‘Dr Gerber agreed it was time to bring you home. She’s here for you and I’ll be beside you every step of the way.’

  Her stomach knotted.

  It was almost as though she was afraid of coming back here which didn’t make sense if she’d always loved the place. It wasn’t as if there was an evil aura hanging over the building—quite the opposite, in fact. As big as it was, Herlstone Park was lovely.

  So why did her instincts tell her to leave here?

  ‘Shall I keep driving to the house, Jenna?’

  ‘I know it’s illogical.’ She spoke just as much to herself as she did to him. ‘I know it makes absolutely no sense when this is my home, but everything in me is screaming to leave here as quickly as possible.’

  Max tilted his head a fraction, looking at her intensely and hanging on her every word instead of dismissing what she said as the fanciful and ridiculous notions they were.

  ‘Are you overwhelmed by the thought of not recognising people?’

  Jenna swallowed. A chill crept up her neck and her breathing shallowed. ‘You’re going to think I’m going mad.’

  ‘No, I won’t,’ he insisted. ‘Tell me what you’re feeling.’

  ‘I feel …’ She tried to laugh off her fears but the sound got stuck in her throat. Loosening her hands from Max’s hold, she raised them to cover her face as she tried to pull herself together.

  This is simply ridiculous.

  Come on, Jenna. Max is going to think you’re fit for an asylum at this rate. There’s nothing to be afraid of, for God’s sake.

  Taking a deep br
eath and pulling her hands back down determinedly to her lap, she looked across at him and forced a smile. ‘Was I always prone to an over-active imagination?’

  ‘No.’ He continued to regard her closely and his eyes seemed a more serious grey now than blue. ‘Talk to me, Jen. What’s going through your head right now?’

  This time she did manage to laugh. ‘Danger.’ She affected a dramatic tone and rolled her eyes as she said the word.

  Max’s eyebrows drew together in a frown.

  ‘I know. It’s a stupid thought.’ She attempted to poke fun at herself. ‘Clearly, I must’ve had a buried flair for the dramatic and the bump I received to my head has dislodged it.’

  His continued silence was disconcerting.

  ‘Max?’

  He gave a small laugh that was so unnatural, her senses sharpened.

  For the briefest of moments she saw indecision in his eyes.

  Oh no. ‘You think I’m crazy?’

  ‘No.’ The response was too quick—his smile to reassure her too hurried.

  She turned his words back on him. ‘Tell me what’s going through your head right now.’

  ‘I’m thinking you’re under a lot of stress.’

  Oh dear. He was making excuses for her. ‘Funny how the mind works when under stress.’ She shrugged with a casualness she was far from feeling. ‘Okay. I admit the sense of danger was stupid. Let’s keep going.’

  Max continued to look at her thoughtfully. ‘You know I’d never let any harm come to you.’

  ‘Max, don’t say that! If you start talking that way you’ll only indulge me into believing my flights of fantasy have some substance. This is my home and, as I said before, I was freaking out a little at the unknown. Finding out home resembles a palace is so daunting it’s making returning here a hundred times worse.’

  ‘I can turn around right now if you really want to.’

  ‘No.’ Time to find a backbone and have a reality check. ‘I have to come home one day. Today, you’re with me. Having you here will make things easier—just promise you’ll hold my hand metaphorically and physically.’

  ‘I promise.’

  As the car moved forward again slowly, she tried hard to think of something else to say to make him forget the silly fears she’d voiced. ‘Are you sure I wasn’t a pampered little princess, spoiled rotten growing up in this palatial home?’

  ‘You were sweet and adorable, not to mention very kind and considerate. You were always thinking of others first.’

  ‘You make me sound like a veritable saint and I’m sure I couldn’t have been.’

  ‘Well, sometimes you could and still can be annoyingly stubborn,’ he conceded. ‘You’re always competitive, way too trusting and—’

  ‘Okay! Enough! I think I’d better stop you before you get on a roll.’

  He ignored her.

  ‘—you find it hard to delegate.’

  ‘I micro-manage?’ She cringed at the thought.

  ‘You have staff who are more than capable and you’re very quick to give them praise but I suspect they’re enjoying the extra challenges of having to run Herlstone Park without you overseeing every aspect of the operations.’

  Jenna gave a little groan. ‘In other words I was a pain in the arse as a boss.’

  ‘No. Herlstone Park’s been your baby and you’re such a perfectionist you set high standards. But, I told you, everyone loves you. None of your standards are unobtainable and all your staff have been well trained, supported, appreciated and remunerated. You’ve looked after them. I’d say they’ve missed you and will be very happy to have had a chance to look after things in your absence and to make sure the place hasn’t fallen apart.’

  She bit down on her lip. She’d asked for it and she’d got it—no holds barred. Maybe Max didn’t see it, but maybe some of the staff did resent her.

  ‘I’ve also had my staff keep an eye on things while you’ve been in hospital and from all accounts things are going well.’

  ‘Hm.’ Maybe they were. Maybe her staff wouldn’t be happy to see her back. ‘They’re going to need to keep managing everything until I learn the ropes again. How many staff do I have?’

  ‘I’m not sure exactly. You’ve retained the former household staff, some of whom have been with the family since you were a kid. You’ve also got gardening staff, those who work in the stud and in the equestrian training centre. At a guess I’d say somewhere between fifty and sixty?’

  Oh Lord. Fifty or sixty people she should know.

  It was enough to make the back of her neck prickle with perspiration.

  ‘The grounds are beautiful,’ she half mumbled. Whoever the gardeners were they were doing a fabulous job.

  ‘The manor house boasts just shy of sixty acres of stunning gardens and there are three additional lodges, four cottages and two coach houses. The estate offices are adjacent to the house and above the garages.’

  Obviously there’d been a lot of money in brewing.

  When they arrived in a grand courtyard, a dark sense of foreboding hit Jenna again.

  Max turned off the engine and went around the car to open the door for her. If he hadn’t been standing there, she would’ve been tempted to lock herself in the vehicle. Ridiculously unfounded as it was, she had a strong sense someone malevolent watched as she got out and stood in the courtyard.

  ‘Are you sure everyone here loves me?’ she whispered to Max.

  Chapter 12

  Jenna’s question chilled Max.

  Ever conscious of her safety, he’d only agreed to leave her last night because he knew security staff watched over his home. Now he was close to bundling her back into the car and returning to London. Given the attack on her life had taken place only a few miles away from Herlstone Park, perhaps her subconscious mind warned her of an element of danger her conscious mind had refused to acknowledge.

  He injected a casual note into his reply. ‘What’s not to love about you?’

  She held up one finger at a time to make each point. ‘I think you called me a competitive, stubborn, micromanager.’

  The ease of her words was in stark contrast to the stiffness of her shoulders and the way her gaze darted around as though there might be something or someone sinister lurking in the shadowed corners of the courtyard.

  A little tremor ran through her frame and he couldn’t help but reach out for her.

  ‘I think I called you sweet, adorable, kind and considerate.’ He half spun her around so he could gather her close against him, then he leant forward to brush a quick kiss over her lips. ‘Welcome home, Jenna.’

  God, it was hard to stop at one taste of heaven—especially when she raised her arms around his neck and pressed closer.

  ‘Thank you for being with me, Max. Everything is so much easier to face with you beside me.’

  ‘Nowhere else I’d rather be.’ He dipped his head again to the sweetness of her mouth. ‘You’ll be fine, sweetheart. We’ll ease you into this slowly—no introductions to anybody but the housekeeper today. Dr Gerber will be with us when I take you for a walk around the house and the property.’

  Jenna will be safe, Max told himself.

  The security team had worked to ensure her safety at Herlstone Park. Preparations for her safe return had been made even while she’d been lying in hospital in a coma. Max had hired the best. There was already a team of highly trained security personnel working undercover as grooms, gardeners, and household staff because he’d arranged for them to be eased into new positions here over the last few months.

  As of a couple of days ago, security cameras were installed strategically throughout the main house, at various points in all the other buildings and throughout the extensive grounds. The entire perimeters of both Jenna’s original family property and the extra property she’d purchased were now completely under round-the-clock video surveillance.

  The local police had been alerted to her return today. As they still had no leads in the investigation, they were
hoping she’d remember something to help them.

  ‘Hi there! Did you have a good trip?’ Dr Gerber greeted them in the courtyard as Max took their bags out of the car.

  After a quick exchange of greetings, the psychologist walked Jenna into the house as one of the staff came to take the bags from Max.

  ‘This is amazing,’ Jenna exclaimed as she walked into the room referred to as the Great Hall. On the western side of the house, it featured a hammer beam ceiling of green oak, two ornate fireplaces, hamstone flooring and meticulous plasterwork.

  Dr Gerber and Max both exchanged looks when Jenna walked from one end of the room to the other as though she was viewing everything for the first time. Both of them had hoped coming home might have triggered more memories.

  ‘Mrs Parsons, your cook, has prepared some afternoon tea in the orangery,’ Katherine Gerber told them. ‘Jenna, would you like to go up to your room first to freshen up or go straight through for some tea?’

  Jenna looked straight to Max. ‘Would you walk me to my room, please?’

  ‘Absolutely.’ God but it felt good that she made the request of him.

  They were no sooner at her bedroom door than Jenna took his hand and pulled him inside, closing the door firmly behind him. ‘I need to be held by you.’

  Max needed no encouragement. ‘A bit confronting?’ he asked as he drew her into his embrace and held her tight.

  She nodded against his chest as she looped her arms around him and hugged him back.

  ‘I’m torn. I don’t want to be a weak ninny-hammer who’s leaning on you to get through this, but I so appreciate you being here for me, Max. I can’t believe I’ve lived in this place nearly all my life. I feel like I’m in a dream and any moment I’m going to wake up.’

  At least she thought of it as a dream and not a nightmare.

  ‘Weak is definitely not a word I’d ever use to describe you, Jen. Yes, you’re in a weakened state right now because you’re operating in a completely foreign world and you feel at a disadvantage, but you’re still a very strong lady. All I ask is that you keep talking to me and don’t push too far past your comfort zone in settling back in here.’