Page 23 of Redemption's Inferno

“We’ll put these right here,” Dolores said, setting them in the center of the kitchen table. “We can enjoy them here, if it’s all right with you?”

“Absolutely.” Emilie nodded, gratefully accepting the large cup of coffee Chains had brought her. She took a sip and sighed happily. “Heaven in the morning!”

“Damn straight.” Chains had already finished the cup he’d had of Nescafé and was working on his second cup, this one from the shop. “I bought some pastries as well—that shop is new, yeah, Mum?”

She nodded and told him about the new owners, who’d moved there from Italy.

“So what would you like to do today?” Chains asked Emilie when they were finished eating.

“Oh, I hadn’t thought about it,” she said.

“You should go over to Derby and tour Calke Abbey. Then you can have lunch somewhere in Derbyshire,” Dolores suggested.

“Would you like to be a tourist?” Chains asked Emilie. “The mansion she’s talking about is pretty fantastic, and I say that as a man who has little interest in those things—but I’d go see it if you wanted to.”

She blinked again, startled. “I, er, I thought you’d want to spend time with your mum. You don’t need to cart me around.”

“It’s your birthday,” he said softly, reaching out to rest gentle fingers on the side of her elegant neck. He could feel the gooseflesh break out on her skin as he touched her and he couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy that his touch affected her that way. “We should do something special.”

She flushed. “Well, if you want to…it, it sounds lovely.” She was caught off guard yet again and didn’t know what he wanted with her. Perhaps he was thinking if they left the house, they wouldn’t have to pretend anymore and it would just be easier to spend the day that way.

“Go on and get ready,” he said. “We’ll leave in about an hour. Is that okay?”

She nodded. “Yes, plenty of time. I’ll be ready shortly.”

Chapter 9

The drive to Calke Abbey wasn’t very long, only 35 minutes or so and Chains talked the whole time about places they passed and where he was going to take her for lunch. When they pulled up, she was enchanted by the old but elegant building. Chains had brought up information on his phone and read her a passage that explained the house was built on the site of a medieval religious house. It had belonged to the Harpur family from approximately 1622 until the National Trust took over in 1985. Though they were now keeping the home from deteriorating any further, they hadn’t changed much since the late 1800s and soon both Chains and Emilie were immersed in the history as they roamed from room to room. When they got to underground tunnels leading through the cellars and a brew house, Chains gripped Emilie’s hand and pulled her along.

They wandered through the house, along the grounds and around the St. Giles’ Church for several hours, talking and enjoying the atmosphere. They were big fans of the baroque-style architecture and laughed when they acknowledged that no one else knew that about them.

“It’s beautiful here,” she said, staring out at the expansive gardens. “I could probably visit ornate historical castles every single day and never tire of it.”

“Never?” he teased.

She laughed. “All right, maybe six days a week. Once a week I’d probably want to laze about the house and watch television.”

“Never watched much myself,” he admitted. “But when I was on tour with that rock band, just before Inferno opened, they were big fans of Sons of Anarchy and I got sucked in. Now I watch that bloody Walking Dead show and it drives me batty, zombies and the like.” He shook his head. “But I record it faithfully on the DVR.”

“I’ve been sucked into Game of Thrones,” she said. “But they keep killing everyone—it’s depressing.”

“A lot of that kind of thing is popular,” he said. “A good game of football is always my preference!”

“European or American?” she asked.

“Both,” he chuckled. “You can’t live in the U.S. without learning about their football. It’s not bad—I had American friends when I was in the military, stationed together in Iraq, and we’d watch the highlights on the computer when we had internet. Crazy bunch.”

She smiled, looking out at the grounds. This was as relaxed as she’d been in a long time and there was no doubt it was because of the man beside her. She wished she could understand why, but for now, she was content to accept the peace he brought her without question. In five days their ruse would be over and it would be time to face the music.

“What were you thinking just now that made your eyes look so sad?” he asked softly.

“What I’ve got to do, I suppose. I’ve not thought about it at all since we got to your mother’s house, but now…”

“Now you still owe me five days of not thinking about it,” he said, leaning forward and pulling her against him.

“I agreed to give you seven days to help me sort out my situation; not that I wouldn’t think about it.”

“I’m amending our agreement,” he grunted, sliding an arm around her waist.

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