of an arrangement.”
“What the hell is a Viscount – it sounds awfully important?”
“Oh nothing really – it’s sort of a nobleman less important than an earl or count and more important than a baro n . ”
“More important than a lady?”
She laughed and said with forced congeniality, “Nobody is more important than a Lady.”
Stratt laughed: “I gathered that!”
Although he had made light of this connection back home, she scolded herself for trying to make excuses for her poor relationships … but she did not want him to think she was overly involved with anyone, and she had this urge to empty her heart out. Perhaps if she had admitted she was seeing someone, he might lose interest. This all had nothing to do with him and yet Stratt was so easy to talk to. He did not expect her to be anything she was not.
“A Viscount?” me mused. “I’m impressed. What does a Viscount have that we mere mortals do not?”
“Absolutely nothing,” she breathed seductively. “What about you? Have you got anyone special in your life?”
There was a moment of silence. Then he spoke, his voice echoing some deep, never-to-be forgotten sadness:
“I was in love once – some time ago. But she couldn’t live out here in the bush. I tried to move into town but I couldn’t bear it because this life is who I am. She eventually had an affair with someone else… several someone elses I am led to believe. You actually remind me of Iris a bit…”
“Oh yes? How? You think I am unfaithful?” Shilo asked popping a strawberry dipped in icing sugar into her mouth.
A drop of strawberry juice rolled onto her chin. Stratt leant over and wiped it off without thinking, and then licked it off his finger. The implications of this erotic, yet unthinking, gesture were huge. Shilo felt a thrill pass through her. And again, by touching her, he felt the electricity pass between them and found difficulty in wrenching his eyes away from hers.
Stratt paused, and she could see some internal struggle going on. He was staring at her with a very serious expression on his face, and she began to feel uneasy. She thought he was struggling with the memories of Iris and had no idea he was wrestling with his feelings for her. Scolding himself for being so stupid and making himself so vulnerable to be hurt.
“Let me tell you about Iris… She was the daughter of a famous plastic surgeon. She was also very beautiful, she was funny, … maybe it’s the just the life she was used to … the high society socialising, shopping, parties, gala evenings and charity balls, media interest … there’s none of that here.”
“You must think I’m terribly shallow,” Shilo interrupted, her voice ringing sour.
“I didn’t mean that, Shilo, you know that. You are just different from me. You need different things. Not everyone can live miles away from civilization … from basic amenities like hospitals, shops … I mean look at you … you are not meant to be exposed to this violent sunshine we have here, for example,” he reached out and gently touched her sunburnt shoulders and a thrill past through both of them again, “… you have a skin that was meant for a cold climate. I tan, you burn. We are just so different.”
“You don’t know anything about me. You don’t know what I need,” said Shilo defiantly.
“I do,” he breathed, “I know you better than you think.”
Again their eyes locked and neither was capable of looking away. So he rose from the chair, and crouched before her, one hand on her leg. He looked up into her face.
“I just meant that some people need to be near civilisation and others don’t. You do and I don’t…. Iris did and I didn’t. I don’t want to be hurt again. You and I both know what’s happening here. Me and you … I can feel it, you can feel it, can’t you? It just can’t happen, though. It can never work.
“What the hell is a Viscount – it sounds awfully important?”
“Oh nothing really – it’s sort of a nobleman less important than an earl or count and more important than a baro n . ”
“More important than a lady?”
She laughed and said with forced congeniality, “Nobody is more important than a Lady.”
Stratt laughed: “I gathered that!”
Although he had made light of this connection back home, she scolded herself for trying to make excuses for her poor relationships … but she did not want him to think she was overly involved with anyone, and she had this urge to empty her heart out. Perhaps if she had admitted she was seeing someone, he might lose interest. This all had nothing to do with him and yet Stratt was so easy to talk to. He did not expect her to be anything she was not.
“A Viscount?” me mused. “I’m impressed. What does a Viscount have that we mere mortals do not?”
“Absolutely nothing,” she breathed seductively. “What about you? Have you got anyone special in your life?”
There was a moment of silence. Then he spoke, his voice echoing some deep, never-to-be forgotten sadness:
“I was in love once – some time ago. But she couldn’t live out here in the bush. I tried to move into town but I couldn’t bear it because this life is who I am. She eventually had an affair with someone else… several someone elses I am led to believe. You actually remind me of Iris a bit…”
“Oh yes? How? You think I am unfaithful?” Shilo asked popping a strawberry dipped in icing sugar into her mouth.
A drop of strawberry juice rolled onto her chin. Stratt leant over and wiped it off without thinking, and then licked it off his finger. The implications of this erotic, yet unthinking, gesture were huge. Shilo felt a thrill pass through her. And again, by touching her, he felt the electricity pass between them and found difficulty in wrenching his eyes away from hers.
Stratt paused, and she could see some internal struggle going on. He was staring at her with a very serious expression on his face, and she began to feel uneasy. She thought he was struggling with the memories of Iris and had no idea he was wrestling with his feelings for her. Scolding himself for being so stupid and making himself so vulnerable to be hurt.
“Let me tell you about Iris… She was the daughter of a famous plastic surgeon. She was also very beautiful, she was funny, … maybe it’s the just the life she was used to … the high society socialising, shopping, parties, gala evenings and charity balls, media interest … there’s none of that here.”
“You must think I’m terribly shallow,” Shilo interrupted, her voice ringing sour.
“I didn’t mean that, Shilo, you know that. You are just different from me. You need different things. Not everyone can live miles away from civilization … from basic amenities like hospitals, shops … I mean look at you … you are not meant to be exposed to this violent sunshine we have here, for example,” he reached out and gently touched her sunburnt shoulders and a thrill past through both of them again, “… you have a skin that was meant for a cold climate. I tan, you burn. We are just so different.”
“You don’t know anything about me. You don’t know what I need,” said Shilo defiantly.
“I do,” he breathed, “I know you better than you think.”
Again their eyes locked and neither was capable of looking away. So he rose from the chair, and crouched before her, one hand on her leg. He looked up into her face.
“I just meant that some people need to be near civilisation and others don’t. You do and I don’t…. Iris did and I didn’t. I don’t want to be hurt again. You and I both know what’s happening here. Me and you … I can feel it, you can feel it, can’t you? It just can’t happen, though. It can never work.
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