Page 119 of The Importance of Being Emma
‘I see you’ve not waited for me this time — had enough of me already?’
‘Mark Knightley,’ I said sternly, ‘don’t push your luck.’ Then I paused. ‘So when are you going back to Mumbai?’
‘As soon as you can tear yourself away from Highbury to come with me.’ He gave me a long serious look. ‘It won’t be a long trip, I just need to sort a few things out before I come back here for good.’
I smiled, a long slow smile of relief. ‘Actually, I wondered if you wanted to come over to my place this evening. We could tell Dad about, um, everything, and then you could maybe, um, stay the night.’
‘Stay the night? I dread to think what Henry will say about that. I mean, are people allowed to have sex at Hartfield? I’m pretty sure John isn’t.’
I let the towel drop to the floor and watched with amusement as his gaze switched immediately from my face to my breasts. ‘You’re so presumptuous, who said anything about sex? I’ll be surprised if Dad allows you to sleep in the house, especially when there’s a perfectly good shed outside.’
He slipped his hands under my hips, pulled me to him and kissed me long and hard. Then he let me go and gave a wicked grin. ‘He’ll soon change his mind, I’ll tell him dreadful storiesabout the Highbury Humper preying on innocent young women in their own homes.’
‘Ah-ha, that rules me out, I’m not exactly innocent.’
‘But Henry thinks you are, so it may be worth a try.’ He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. ‘Look, if you want to see your father at all, you’d better get dressed at once. Otherwise I’ll have to take you back to bed and we’ll end up spending the night here instead.’
I glanced at the pile of wet clothes still lying in the corner. ‘Hang on, what am I going to wear?’
He frowned. ‘I suppose I could ask Saffron if she’s got anything.’
‘Don’t you dare, she’d take great delight in pointing out she’s at least three sizes smaller than me.’
‘What about something of mine? Remember when you took a fancy to that Aran sweater I got one Christmas? It came down to your knees and you wore it as a dress for a while, I’ve still got it in my wardrobe somewhere.’
‘I was only about ten at the time,’ I said, laughing. ‘Somehow I think it’ll come a lot higher than my knees now.’
He pretended to look hurt. ‘I wasn’t suggesting you wore it on its own, I’ve got some old tracksuit bottoms for you as well.’
He was as good as his word; which meant that going downstairs to see George and Saffron was a double ordeal. I had to face not only the embarrassment of them knowing I’d just slept with Mark, but also Saffron’s undisguised horror at my outfit.
‘Ah, here she is, here’s the reason Mark’s not in India,’ George said heartily, when we found them in the kitchen. ‘I should be cross with you both, but I can’t be.’
‘Can I have the car keys?’ Mark said. ‘I need to take Emma home.’
Saffron stared at me. ‘Surely you’re not going outside dressed like that, darling?’
‘It’s dark and we’re in the middle of the country, no one will see,’ I said breezily. ‘My own clothes are still wet.’
‘I’d lend you something, but I’m afraid I’m about three sizes smaller than you.’ She gave a pitying little laugh.
George winked at me. ‘I think you look very fetching, Emma. Here you are, Mark.’
Mark took the keys. ‘Thanks. I’ll be back first thing in the morning, before you set off for work.’
George and Saffron exchanged glances, then George said, ‘So you’re planning to spend the night there? Let’s hope Henry’s happy about you two, otherwise—’
‘I know, I know.’ Mark’s voice was uncharacteristically edgy and my heart sank. Tonight, more than ever, I was relying on him to be as he’d always been with my father, kind yet firm. Anything else would spell disaster, I was sure.
We drove to Hartfield in silence, my hand resting lightly on his knee. His warm fingers caressed mine, except when he needed both hands for driving. I spent the whole time wondering how Dad would react and panicking more and more with every minute that passed.
Dad must have been listening for the car, because he came to the door as soon as we parked.
‘Inside quickly, the pair of you, before you catch a chill,’ he said anxiously. ‘I’ve got the fire going in the dining room and there’s whisky if you’d like it, Mark. You know Emma and I don’t care for it, we only keep some for medicinal purposes and, of course, good friends like you.’
Poor Dad. If he’d known what his good friend had been up to, he’d have left him outside to freeze.
Needless to say, in Mark’s Aran sweater I found the heat in the dining room unbearable. I dashed upstairs to change intoa T-shirt as quickly as I could; when I returned, Mark had a tumbler of whisky in his hand and Dad was holding forth about Flynn.
