Heaven Made (13 page)

Still not sure if he was awake or not, Ford turned his head
and lightly tasted Sabrina’s full, soft lips. It was the sweetest touch he could
ever remember. Of course it would be, this was a dream. Dreams were always
better than reality. He deepened the kiss, delving his tongue into her mouth.
She responded with a deep moan that set Ford on fire. He could feel himself
hardening and reached his hand down to press Sabrina’s body closer to his
arousal. One of her hands tangled itself in his hair at his nape, while the
other caressed his chest, seeking out his heated skin beneath his rumpled vest
and untucked shirt. She kissed him back with a fierceness and longing that almost
undid him. Oh, this was a sweet dream indeed. Ford allowed his other hand to
cup itself around her soft breast, caressing the nipple through her thin blouse
and chemise until it puckered with pleasure. He tried now to unhook all the
tiny buttons down the back of the garment, but they were so tiny, he couldn’t
get a good grip on them. He wanted desperately to feel her bare skin, and
suckle her naked breast. Why couldn’t he get those buttons? He mused to
himself. If this was a dream, shouldn’t a little thing like buttons just undo
themselves? He tried wishing them gone, but to no avail, they firmly resisted.
Ford was about to rip the damn blouse off of Sabrina when a faint sound
intruded upon his fantasy world.

"Mama," Alice called out weakly. "I’m
thirsty."

Ford was awake in an instant, but much to his surprise, his
dream didn’t disappear. Indeed, he was very much physically entangled with Mrs.
Tremaine. Her eyes fluttered open and although she looked surprised at their
compromising position, she couldn’t hide the desire that flared in her eyes.
Sabrina slowly licked her lips and pushed her hair over her shoulder. Ford
groaned with despair. He wanted to continue that kiss, and everything else that
they had begun. But she looked confused, disoriented and delectable. When she
moved to sit up, placing one hand on his shoulder to push herself away from
him, all she managed to do was lodge her thigh tighter against his arousal. She
could hardly have missed the evidence of his desire for her at that point.
There was little he could do to hide it.

"What happened?" Sabrina asked, blushing as she
struggled to move away from him.

"We must have both fallen asleep," Ford replied,
trying to sit in a way that wouldn’t embarrass them both.

"Thirsty," Alice said a second time.

"I’m right here, sweetheart," Sabrina said, giving
her full attention to her daughter.

Ford was grateful for the distraction. He stood and moved
awkwardly to the other side of the bed. When he had regained some modicum of
propriety, he checked Alice’s forehead for fever. "She’s cooler," he
said, then pulled out his pocket watch and checked her pulse. "That’s
closer to normal too." Then he used the stethoscope and checked her heart.
"Sounds stronger."

"She’s better?" Sabrina asked, her eyes begging
him for reassurance.

Ford nodded. "She is definitely better. I’d say the
worst is over. Now she just needs the loving attention of her mother.

Sabrina began to weep.

"Don’t cry Mama," Alice said weakly. "Mr.
Northcliffe’s mother said everything is going to work out just fine."

"My mother?" Ford asked, checking Alice’s forehead
again. "Mother’s been dead for quite a while. Do you think she’s still
delusional?"

Sabrina laughed through her tears and shook her head. "Now
I know she’s feeling better. Alice fancies herself a medium. She thinks she
talks to her father. She must have heard one of the servants talking about your
mother, and decided that she could talk to her too."

"Ghosts and nonsense," Ford muttered, raking a
hand through his hair. "I’m going to go get cleaned up." He left
hoping Sabrina wouldn’t notice that he was still very much aroused. A cold bath
was just the thing to get him back to normal. As if he could ever be normal
around Sabrina Tremaine again. He wanted her with a fierceness that he’d never
experienced before, and he had no idea how he was going to keep his hands to
himself now that he’d had a taste of her. It was the most common cliché he
could think of. Master of the house falls for the pretty servant, compromises
her, and then has to send her away when the lady of the house finds out. Only
in this case, they were one and the same, at least temporarily. When Luella
finally returned from her tour, Ford would be forced to send Sabrina away. And
right now, feeling the way he did, he couldn’t even imagine what that would be
like.

Why had he promised his mother that he would marry Luella in
the first place? Of course the answer was simple. Mother had been dying and he
would have pledged anything she requested. And since marriage was the last
thing he had been thinking about or concerned with, it had been an easy enough
promise to make. But now, he was regretting his devotion to his mother. How
could he have known then that this amazing, intelligent, beautiful, and sensual
woman would walk into his life? Thinking about his mother made Ford pause and
remember what little Alice had said. Did she really believe she could speak to
spirits? And why was everyone he knew talking about such things. He felt as
though he was caught in some sort of conspiracy to make him believe in ghosts.

Ford was lost in these thoughts as he made his way down to
the kitchen. He would ask Mrs. Dixon to sit with Alice for a while so that Mrs.
Tremaine could wash up and have a bite to eat. Halfway to his destination, he
heard the front door bell. Without thinking, he turned and went to answer it, but
Roland beat him there. Ford forgot that since Sabrina had arrived that the
staff was now readily available and the house was running tip top. He was about
to resume his previous mission, when he recognized the visitor. It was Miss
Blakemore, the young woman who worked at the employment agency he’d hired
Sabrina from.

"Good day, Mr. Northcliffe," she said, handing her
hat and coat to Roland, but holding on tightly to a small package. "I came
to see how Alice is doing."

"Miss Blakemore," Ford said, curious now about how
the young lady knew Alice was sick. "She’s much better, actually. How did
you find out—?"

"Oh, Madame Lou, my neighbor the psychic, she was very
concerned." Cassie Blakemore brushed the question aside as if it were
inconsequential. "She sent me over to give Mrs. Tremaine this special brew
of teas. She says the Chinese swear by them."

Ford was about to call bully on the young woman until she
mentioned the Chinese herbs.

"What kind of herbs?" he asked instead.

"Oh, some cinnamon, white peony, and fresh ginger."
Miss Blakemore blinked innocently. "May I go up and see Alice?"

"Yes, of course," Ford said, wondering where a
crazy old mystical woman could possibly have gotten Chinese herbal knowledge. "I’ll
take the tea to the kitchen and have some prepared."

"I’ll take care of that, Mr. Northcliffe," Roland
said, neatly slipping the package out of Ford’s grasp and removing himself to
run the errand.

"Thank you, Mr. Northcliffe," Cassie said with a
smile. "How is Mrs. Tremaine working out? As an employee, of course."

The question surprised Ford out of his contemplation of
spirits and psychics. Speaking of which, had the woman been reading his mind?
Impossible.

"Wonderful," he replied. "She has the house
running smooth as cream. I was wondering though, Miss Blakemore, did you ever
mention to me that she had a daughter? I don’t recall."

"Hmmm, now that you bring it up, I can’t seem to
remember if we discussed Alice." She gave him that naïve look again. "Is
it a problem, Mr. Northcliffe? If you don’t approve, I’m sure I can get someone
to replace Mrs. Tremaine right away. As a matter of fact, I have a new recruit
that would be perfect for you. She’s fifty-two and all her children are full
grown and on their own. Shall I have her call on you tomorrow?"

"No, no. You misunderstood." Ford searched his
mind for a response. "Mrs. Tremaine and Alice are more than welcome here,
indispensable really. You may go up to their suite now. Third door on the right,
second floor."

Ford watched her ascend the staircase, eager to end the
awkward conversation. It had almost seemed that Miss Blakemore knew what had
happened between him and Sabrina. But that was impossible, of course. Still, it
wouldn’t do to allow that sort of gossip to be spread around town. Of course he
was being silly. How absurd to actually believe that someone might have read
his mind or seen him kissing Sabrina. Preposterous. He was simply acting like a
fool because he felt guilty for nearly compromising Mrs. Tremaine. And if he
just kept telling himself that, he might eventually believe it himself.

Chapter Nine

Madame Lou could feel the strength of these two spirits
more clearly now. They were both using the little girl as a conduit. Soon they
would have to show themselves to the son. He was fighting them even as he
succumbed to his overwhelming feelings for the widow. It would take more than a
quick tumble to change his mind. But how could she make him see that he was no
longer being held to his vow to his mother? Both the cards and the spirits were
being stubborn and stingy with their help. The Fool card would not leave her
alone. But how can one keep young lovers from doing something stupid? The
spirits were moving things along at a slower pace than Madame Lou preferred.
She had a business to run after all.

Sabrina nearly jumped out of her skin when the door to the
bedroom opened. She thought it was Ford returning, and she wasn’t ready to face
him yet. Not after she had made a fool of herself, kissing him like a brazen
harlot. But it was only one of the upstairs maids, Missy.

"Beg your pardon, ma’am," the young and plump,
red-haired girl said with a little curtsy. "A Miss Blakemore is here for
you."

"No need for introductions," Cassie said, pushing
her way past the maid and stepping into the room. "I had to come myself to
make sure Alice was feeling better."

"That is very kind of you," Sabrina said, not
bothering to ask how the woman knew that Alice was sick.

Gossip among servants spread quickly, and it wasn’t that
unusual for such things to find their way to acquaintances. Gerald! She
suddenly thought with a panic, could he find her here if news of where she was
had already spread to the streets?

"Don’t you worry," Cassie Blakemore said as if
reading Sabrina’s mind. "I just had a feeling that something was wrong.
And Madame Lou had a vision. She sent over some tea."

Madame Lou again. Sabrina shook her head in disbelief. Had
the psychic also seen her kissing Ford? She blushed to her toes at the thought.
And when Cassie gave her a knowing smile, she began to wonder if the whole
vision thing might actually have some merit to it.

"Well, I won’t stay long," Cassie said, coming to
stand near Alice. "I just wanted to make sure things were moving along. I
ran into Mr. Northcliffe on my way upstairs and he seemed quite satisfied with
the current arrangement."

Sabrina wasn’t sure she could blush any deeper, but her skin
burned with embarrassment. "Yes, he has been most kind, to both Alice and
myself."

"Good, good." Cassie said, looking at the sofa
pulled up to the bed with an unreadable expression. "Do you mind if I sit
with you for a bit?"

"Please do," Sabrina said, standing up. "I’ll
have refreshments brought up." She whispered instructions to Missy, and then
came back over to the couch.

"That would be fine," Cassie said, giving her a
long look. "You need to keep up your strength. There is more to come and
you’ll have your hands full."

Sabrina started at the odd comment. "You don’t think
Alice will relapse, do you?"

"No, Alice will be fine. She’s a strong little girl and
has lots of spirits watching out for her. No need to worry there." Cassie
reached over and ran a soothing hand over the child’s cheek.

"I wish you wouldn’t encourage that nonsense,"
Sabrina said evenly. "She has enough to deal with having lost her father
and her home. We do need a friend, however. I don’t know what Ford— I mean Mr.
Northcliffe—is going to do now that he knows about Alice."

"Has he asked you to leave then?" Cassie looked
surprised. "When I discussed it with him just a moment ago, he gave no
such indication."

"You spoke to him about me and Alice?"

"Of course," Cassie replied with a dignified lift
of her chin. "I am ultimately responsible to make sure my clients are
happy. And I assure you, Mr. Northcliffe is very pleased with your services."

Was that a sparkle Sabrina saw in Cassie’s clear green eyes?
She couldn’t be certain. But as long as Ford wasn’t going to throw them out onto
the street, she could relax. The kiss had been wonderful, and she knew that the
man wanted her, but that didn’t mean he wanted a lonely widow and her child
living under his roof.

"I’m relieved to hear it," Sabrina said, sitting
back down. "We are so dependent upon him."

"Well, he feels the same about you, I believe." Cassie
turned and looked directly at Sabrina. "His house is a home again, and he
now has a real direction in life. Before he was just rambling around that
laboratory of his, mixing potions and talking to himself. Now he has something
to share with others, something that can help a lot of people."

Sabrina hadn’t thought of it that way, but she supposed
Cassie was correct. Ford probably finally felt that his years studying Chinese
herbs had amounted to something, instead of just wasting his time. A warm glow
of pride encompassed her. At that moment she felt she would do anything to help
Ford realize his dreams of curing the world of influenza. Of course he didn’t
need her help, but if he did, she would be there for him.