The Scent of His Woman (14 page)

‘Hey, smile, it’ll be fine.’
Geth draped an arm over her shoulder and the warmth of it seemed to permeate down her
spine, bolstering her confidence as it went.

Mared met them at the door, and with her characteristic enthusiasm threw her arms
around Lexie laughing.
‘Oh do come in, it’s been so long, Geth did Montreal have to last nearly a week, I’ve
just been dying to see Lexie again and Mam and Dad are so looking forward to meeting
her. I’ve told them all about you, and they love you already.’
Kissing Lexie enthusiastically she fairly dragged her down the wide carpeted
hallway, through an open doorway into a large airy room.
‘Mam, here they are, look, didn’t I tell you she was lovely? So much nicer than his
usual girlfriends.’
‘Mared, slow down give us a chance to get through the door.’
Geth moved forward kissed his mother and turned to retrieve a bemused Lexie from his
overenthusiastic sister.
‘Mam, Dad, I’d like you to meet Lexie, Lexie, this is my Mam and Dad.’
Geth’s mother smiled and moved forward to envelop Lexie in a Chanel scented hug.
‘It’s so nice to meet you at last my dear, Mared has been on pins all day singing
your praises, I almost feel I know you already. You must call me Betty, all my friends do
and I just know we are going to be great friends. Now come and meet the rest of the
family. Robert, do come and meet our prospective daughter in law.’
Robert Mathias got to his feet and Lexie could see where Geth got his height from.
His father was at least six four, and broad with it, his silver hair still streaked with gold and
eyes as blue as his son’s but brighter somehow, a twinkling wicked blue. He moved
forward and bent over to kiss the cheek Lexie offered.
‘Welcome to Caer-hafod Lexie, now come and sit by me and tell me all about how
such a little thing as you got our Geth to pop the question. Believe me his mother and I
were getting sick of waiting for him to find a nice girl and settle down.’
‘Now Dad, behave, if you think I’m letting you hog my girl, you are wrong, Lexie
come meet Rhys and Becca, they’re at least half civilized, not like this old man.’
‘Hey enough of the old, just because you’ve made it in the big city, don’t think I can’t
still keep a pup like you in line.’
Father and son, joke wrestled with real affection as they quipped, before Geth, still
laughing, led Lexie over to where his brother and sister in law waited to be introduced. The
similarity between the brothers was striking, though Rhys was a little shorter and stockier
than Geth, they both had the trademark Mathias, blonde good looks and fatal charm. More
kisses and bear hugs, before Becca, a diminutive curvy blonde, led her to a small drinks
table.
‘Wine of juice?’
‘I’ll stick to juice if that’s ok.’
Mared poured Lexie a white grape juice from the open bottle in a silver chiller. Then
after topping up her own glass, she proposed a toast.
‘To Geth and Lexie, health and happiness, and if I might say so, it’s about time.’
Laughing the family repeated the toast amidst clinking glasses, Lexie felt Mared
wrap her arms around her.’
See, we all love you already and we are going to be the best of sisters, I’ve always
wanted a sister.’

Lunch was a noisy, boisterous affair, that took place at an enormous trestle table on the
patio which led directly off the kitchen at the back of the house. Lexie helped load the table
with dish after dish of mouthwatering food. Sliced meats, salads, bowls of steaming floury
potatoes, heaped platters of crusty rolls, all washed down with a crisp Italian white, or the
delicious white grape juice which Lexie preferred. Swept along on the tide of affection, she
forgot all her earlier misgivings and enjoyed the meal more than she’d ever expected to. It
seemed so right, so natural, to have Geth sat to her left, one arm loosely draped over the
back of her chair as he and Rhys argued the merits and de-merits of a new four by four
Rhys was considering. Mared on her right, excited about the evening to come.

‘Will you wear the beaded dress to the party tonight Lexie? I loved that on you, we
must get dressed together, that way you can help me with my hair and I’ll do your
makeup.’

‘Oh no you don’t sis, if you think you’re stealing Lexie for a girlie pre-party party, you
can think again. I’ve shared her all afternoon and will have to share her all evening, so I’ll
have her to myself for a while in between.’
Lexie rose to her feet in mock indignation,
‘well I like that, talking abut me as if I was a bag of sweets, I’ll make my own mind up
where I dress if you don’t mind.’

‘Ok, ok, you choose, a girlie dressing up session complete with pink marshmallows
and fizzy wine, or a guided tour of the farm, complete with all things fluffy and cute and
accompanied by my charming self. We can shower and change at the cottage and still be
back here in time for you to help with the finishing touches Mared will need before she’s fit
be see in public.’

Mared feigned indignation, thumping her brother playfully.
‘Beast, I’m always impeccable.’
‘Well as pink is not my style, and I’m not that keen on marshmallows, sorry Mared,

I’ll go for the cute fluffy tour and see you later.’
‘Oh and I was going to scrounge some of that perfume you wear, it’s just divine.’
‘Oh it’s just something I make for myself, I like to have something unique, so I

suppose you could say it was a secret recipe. I tell you what though, when you get a
chance pop into my shop and I’ll mix something for you. Then you’ll have your very own
secret scent.’

‘What a great idea, a scent that’s unique to the lady who wears it. It might be worth
us having a think about starting up a business, really exclusive bespoke perfumes. With
your flair and my contacts it would be a sure fire winner.’

‘Well the only thing that’s sure right now is that we are off, come on cariad, you and
sis here can plot world domination in perfumery another time.’
They were accompanied on their tour of the farm by a trio of muscovy ducks. They
followed without a sound, keeping almost exactly three meters behind at all times. It was a
bit disconcerting, and Lexie found herself wondering if they were a Welsh equivalent of
guard geese. She’d heard of people who kept the large, aggressive white birds in lieu of a
dog.
‘Are they any use as guards? They seem too quiet, not aggressive enough, or do
they go into attack mode at a secret signal from you?’
Geth laughed, ‘no not from me and they’d not make much of an attack, even if there
were a flock of them. No it’s Mam’s fault, she got them as an embryonic flock for the table.
The idea was to get a drake, breed and produce a nice line in fresh duckling. She wanted
something a bit different and so went for Muscovies. The only thing was she didn't reckon
on them being such little characters. Before long she was not the only one they’d charmed
and it suddenly became impossible to imagine the place without them. They’re waiting now
to see if we stop, then they’ll crowd round for petting and treats. I’ve even seen Rhys
feeding them cake crumbs for goodness sake.’
Laughing they finished the tour, having admired the herd of pedigree Welsh Black
cattle, gazed in awe at the three Tamworth sows and been head-butted by over friendly
milking goats Lexie felt more relaxed than she’d done all day. Visiting the animals seemed
to put the finishing touches to the portrait she was painting in her head about his family.
Their strength as a unit seemed to be embodied in this farm. There was more there than
value in money. Like the family, the stock was of course intrinsically linked to wealth, but
both family and farm were so much more. Complete units, made of individuals with a role
to play. Breadwinners, nurturers, beauties and even comics, all worked together to a
common end. Lexie envied them that, because it represented that security that was
missing from her own life, had always been missing. No matter where Geth went, he would
always have roots here, a family that cared, home. She had her sisters, of course she did,
but they were more a defensive little trio than a balanced family like this one. They looked
after one another not because they were ‘family’, but more because they knew how
vulnerable they were, just the three of them. For goodness sake they had no idea where
their parents were, depend on them, the idea was preposterous. This glimpse into the life
of a real family brought her own lack of stability flooding back, and it made her just a little
edgy. She liked them, and the more she liked them the worse she felt about the deception.
‘Hey, smile, I don’t like to see you frown, not good for my image to have the girl on
my arm looking in any way discontented.’
When she didn’t answer, he stopped and turned her to face him, concern darkening
his eyes as he took in her worried expression.
‘It’s just that now I’ve met your family I’m even more unhappy with deceiving them, it
feels so wrong, mean, they’ve been so nice to me, and they’re all so happy for us. This is
wrong Geth, it’s just mean to cause such upset to nice people who just want the best for
you, for us.’
Geth couldn’t answer for a moment, her words, so heartfelt had him at a
disadvantage. For the first time he found himself questioning his own behaviour. Mean,
was that what this was? It had started out as a simple plan to ease the visit, to allow him to
do his filial duty while avoiding Mam’s matchmaking. True the prospect of keeping Lexie
with him had figured, as had protecting her from the worst of the fallout from the press, but
mean?
‘Come on now, that’s a bit strong. Ok they’re glad to see me settling down, and I’m
glad they like you, though I knew they would, they like most people, as you say they’re
nice, it comes with the territory. But they won’t think any less of you when we end this.
They’re used to my fickle ways, it will be a disappointment, certainly to Mam, but it won’t
cause any permanent damage, I promise.’
‘That’s not what I mean and you know it, and anyway I think you’re wrong, they’ll be
more hurt than you think. If they ever found out it was only ever a plan to get you out of a
sticky situation, they’d be more than upset, they’d be hurt, confused and disgusted. I don’t
want them to feel like that about me. I can’t do this, I really can’t...’
He pulled her into his arms as she faltered. An overwhelming need to soothe her
anxiety flooding through him.
‘Hey, where did all that come from? They won’t find out, how can they? All we’re
going to do is have a nice evening, then go back to our normal lives. When I prove to be a
less than perfect fiancé and you dump me, all their sympathy will be with you. I’ll be in the
bad books for a few days until I convince them that you’re better off without me. Simple.
You worry too much.’
Less than convinced, Lexie tensed as he kissed her, just for a moment, then his
mouth pushed the anxiety away, obliterating it, at least for now.
Chapter 9
The summer evening was at its most beguiling as they made their way back to the
farmhouse later that evening. The air was balmy, scented by a combination of the cottage
garden roses and the banks of wild honeysuckle that rambled over the ancient stonework.
Lexie leant into Geth, letting his arm around her waist support her, naturally falling into
step with him. They’d both showered and changed, he into a grey silk shirt and dark
slacks, that enhanced his blonde, blue eyed good looks, while Lexie had taken Mared’s
advice and wore the beaded vintage dress. It swished as she moved, under the weight of
both fabric and beading, as she looked down the tiny glass beads caught the fading light
and the dress seemed to shimmer. For once she’d opted for heels, black of course, an
imitation of the thirties flapper Mary-Jane style shoe. Rich brocade, with straps fastened by
tiny silver buckles, they set the dress off perfectly. Geth kept the pace slow, not hurrying,
enjoying the evening and having her on his arm. Her perfume, that simple, elegant scent
she made herself drifted, heady as it mixed with the already scented air. He’d never
appreciated perfume before. It was something he spent money on when the girl of the
moment indicated she wanted some. Seldom did he enjoy the fragrance himself, much
preferring the unadorned scent of a woman, but Lexie’s perfume was a part of her. He
found he missed it if she was not with him. He noticed that it lingered where she’d been,
on the air as she passed, on towels, on pillows. It assailed his nostrils now, gently wafting
up from her cloud of russet curls. It felt good, all of this, her scent, her warmth, the way her
body moved in time to his.
‘The guests will begin to arrive soon, so don’t let Mared keep you too long. I’ll have
one drink with Dad and then come to get you, and whatever state she’s in I’ll be reclaiming
you. I want you on my arm, so I can show you off.’
‘What, like a talisman to ward off evil spirits and young ladies in search of a
husband?’
‘No, that’s not what I meant, and you know it. You will be the best looking woman
there, and that means you belong with me, my fiancée remember.’
‘Even in black? I expected you to complain about that.’
‘Even in black, and don’t tease, I might have another overwhelming urge for a black
silk handkerchief.’
As he spoke he ran one hand up the back of her leg, pushing up the heavy beaded
fabric and causing her to squeak as she pulled out of reach and headed for the open
doorway of the farmhouse.
‘Keep your hands off my panties, you perve.’ She quipped as she headed upstairs
to find Mared, leaving him with just a tantalizing glimpse of bare leg.

He went in search of his father, knowing there would be a good single malt there as
well. There it was again, that sense of loss, as if it was not just her perfume that faded as
she ran upstairs, the room seemed less bright too.

‘Oh thank goodness, there you are, I’m in such a muddle, I’d decided to wear the red
dress, but now I’m not sure, the blue Versace might be better, but then again are they both
too dressy, you know I wouldn’t want anyone to think I was over dressed.’