Page 74 of Lipstick Kiss

Bailey moved his head back an inch as if to take in the name. Recognition crossed his eyes, but Luke meant whathe said downstairs. He didn’t want to jeopardise Maggie or Bailey’s position at Turner Hall.

“Let’s go in,” Luke said.

Bailey snapped out of his trance, opened the door, and walked in first. “Luke Turner,” he said in his deep baritone voice.

Silence greeted them both, but Luke could feel her presence before he cleared the door and looked to the end of the morning room to the conservatory. She wore a navy pair of trousers and a cream roll-neck jumper. Her back was towards them, but Luke could tell she was ramrod straight. She might be eighty, but Luke felt like he was watching a much younger woman spritz her tropical plants.

“I’ll leave you alone,” Bailey said.

He stepped back and closed the door quietly. Luke strode to the other end of the morning room a few feet away from Cynthia. The ring cases were on display with the lids open. He gave the rows a glance but nothing more. He wanted to take his time choosing a ring for Freya.

“You can choose one. I won’t hurry you. While you’re choosing, you can tell me about my great niece or nephew.”

“You should ask Archer, not me.”

“All right. Who are you marrying?”

“The teacher,” Luke said, glancing back to the cases.

He had Cynthia in his periphery while he looked at the diamond rings. They weren’t as big as the one Jason picked. Moving to the other case where emeralds, sapphires and rubies nestled, he took his time. Cynthia fiddled with her small sapphire ring, so he instantly dismissed getting Freya anything remotely blue.

“You’re going to marry a teacher?” she scoffed.

“Now, now, aunty, I wouldn’t dismiss marrying a teacher. You like them, don’t you remember?”

He said the words like he didn’t know how hard they would hit, but he wasn’t expecting a direct hit. He tilted his head an inch to see her reaction, relaxing his face, so he didn’t show his cards. Each time he scanned right, he had a better view of her.

Cynthia instantly stopped fiddling and was still. So still, he wondered if he’d gone too far. The pain etched over her face was breathtaking. She’d never shown any emotion apart from anger before. Resisting the urge to completely face her and show any concern, he kept scanning. Luke picked out the ring with a large oval ruby surrounded by diamonds. The jewels were set in platinum. It would look stunning on her finger. It was obscenely flashy. If Freya wanted a pretty ring, she could have a pretty ring.

“What are you referring to?”

Luke straightened, picked up the empty black leather ring box with a T in gold script on top, which he assumed was for whichever ring he chose and pushed it into the black velvet cushion. He closed the ring box and pressed the stud clasp to secure it. After slipping the ring into his trousers pocket, he left his hand touching his future. Using his other hand, he raked his fingers through his hair. Could he confront her? Glancing at her fully, Cynthia looked stricken but livid.

“I’m referring to Jonathan Cranford, the almost maths teacher at Copper Island High School.”

Cynthia was just livid now. She narrowed her eyes, thinned her lips and breathed in a long lung full of air. If she were a dragon, he wouldn’t doubt he would be burned to a crisp as she exhaled through her nose.

“I haven’t heard that name in a long time,” she said in a whisper. Her body was still unmoving. He expected her topress a hand to her heart, clutching at her neck, and simply lift her hand to strike him.

Nothing but shrewd eyes assessed him.

Luke was pissed off she was playing indifferently. Cynthia had to know there was no hiding now.

“Define a long time?” he said.

He put his other hand in his pockets. Stood feet apart, staring at her, waiting for an answer. Deliberately showing her, he was not leaving until she gave him the answers he needed.

“I don’t answer to you.”

“You produced two heirs. I know one passed away, and the other is still alive. Jonathan too. With Jonathan fathering the heirs to the Turner fortune, I think I’d like to know why you are now fuzzy about liking teachers. Why do you think my marrying a teacher is below me? Do you believe that to be true, or did someone, say, Grandfather, make you believe marrying a teacher was a scandal. He must be turning in his grave that Archer married an actress and Jason married a nurse.”

Luke watched as she reached back and searched for the cane beside her tall, high-backed chair.

Bailey must have missed that cane when he did a sweep. The sight of the head of a lion just before Cynthia curved her thin gnarly fingers around it sent a shiver down his spine.

“You touch me with that cane, and I will burn it and this house. I’ll use it as a torch and set light to this horror house,” Luke barked out. “Gone are the days where you can punish me with a stick for asking questions.”

“Time for you to go,” Cynthia said, clutching hard onto the end of the cane.

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