Many thanks to all the followers of this story who have stuck with me. Hopefully the Muse will co operate for awhile longer and I can write more soon. In the meantime, I wish everyone a very happy and healthy New Year!
Katie was startled when her doorbell chimed ten minutes early for her dinner date with Anthony. Surely he wasn't calling already? But then who? She hurried to the door as she wondered. As she opened it, she realized it was Anthony. "You're early. I'm not quite ready...just be a minute or two," she blurted as she turned to go back to her bedroom. "Make yourself comfortable and I'll be back."
Anthony stood in her entry, still holding the flowers he's brought for her. A smile crept across his face as he turned to contemplate how best to be comfortable.
Trying to finish her make-up, Katie hurried through the process as she worried about keeping him too long. Who shows up ten minutes early, anyway? Exactly at seven, she reappeared and smiled at Anthony. "Ready."
He stood and turned, his gaze settling over her hungrily. Remembering the flowers, he held them out. "I um... I hope you like these," he said softly. "I wasn't sure... I mean, I ... well, haven't known you long enough to know your preferences."
Katie took the flowers. "They're lovely," she said warmly. But I'd much prefer a live plant to flowers that are just going to wilt. I'll um... just put them in ... something.
Anthony followed her to her kitchen. "I know it is a bit old fashioned, the flowers I mean, but... well, I just wanted you to know how much I've looked forward to dinner tonight."
"Oh," Katie blushed. "I have too. And the flowers really are lovely," she said as she filled a water pitcher and put them in it.
"Shall we go then?" he asked.
Katie gaped as he pulled his Rolls Wraith in front of the most posh restaurant in town. She was taken aback when the valet seemed to know Anthony. And then when they entered the building the maître de hurried to greet them. Clearly Anthony was not just a gentleman farmer from a moderately large estate in Yorkshire!
"Who are you?" she asked when they were finally seated at one of the best tables in the place.
His expression was one of complete surprise and shock. "I beg your pardon?"
Everyone here knows you and... and your car, that's ... well, it is an expensive car. Obviously you have other interests besides Locksley."
"Oh, yes...right. Well, apparently I am reasonably good at business. I've several business interests in a variety of sectors. But as far as the staff here knowing me... my aunt owns the place.," he said sheepishly.
"Your aunt?"
"Yes. I thought you might, er... well, she actually knew the original Anthony; he was her grandfather after all. She was still a child when he died but she does remember him. I thought you might like to meet her, hear her memories of him."
As if on cue, a tall elegant looking woman approached their table. Anthony stood to greet his aunt and invited her to join them. She smiled and Katie could see that a Strallan family trait was in their smiles.
"Aunt Elizabeth, I'd like to introduce Katie Crawley. Katie, this is my aunt, my father's sister, Lady Elizabeth Melton."
Katie looked across at the woman, noting a sparkle in her blue eyes that also seemed to be a Strallan family trait. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Lady Melton."
"Katie Crawley? Oh..." Lady Melton turned a questioning eye to her nephew. "Yes Auntie, she is the one." he replied to her unanswered question. The woman turned back to Katie. "Oh, I am so glad to meet you. My grandfather spoke of you, actually both of my grandparents did, but... he spoke with such high regard. I was just a small child of course; he died before I could question him about you but I was always curious. As I got older, I was told the story but it seemed so preposterous that I hesitated to believe it. Yet, here you are."
"Oh? He spoke of me to you? It is such a bizarre story I thought perhaps he'd only told your father about me."
"Oh no, the whole family has been told the story. It was quite the family mystery, how everything happened as it did." Her face took on a faraway look, as if she were someplace else. "Grandfather had such bright eyes; I can still remember the twinkle in them as he spoke of your game. They were even brighter when he looked at Grandmother. His last words were about her... and you."
"Me?" Katie couldn't believe that the man would have given her a thought as he lay dying.
"Yes, he told my grandmother how much he loved her and he asked my father keep the story alive and when the time came, he wanted one of us to find you and thank you. He'd had a full happy life, he told Father. 'Please thank her for me,' were his exact words. Then he gave Grandmother one last smile and left us. We were all gathered around him. He used to tell me he was the luckiest man ever; that his life had been taken from him by the war and other things and that you gave him his life back and he lived it as fully as possible. 'Live your life to the fullest,' he would tell me. 'Don't ever let anyone take your happiness away,' he'd tell us all. "
"I liked him very much," Katie told Lady Melton. "I'm so very glad that I had the chance to meet him."
Lady Melton gave Katie a full Strallan smile, wide and brilliant. "Well, I'll let you and Anthony have your dinner. I don't wish to intrude too much. It was very nice to have met you, Katie. And I hope I see you again." The lady rose from the table, patted Anthony on his shoulder and then drifted away.
Watching her, Katie could only think what lovely people the Strallans seemed to be. And if her affection for her nephew was any indication, they were a close knit clan, so very unlike her family. She became aware of Anthony watching her and blushed slightly. "I was just thinking of how close your family seems to be."
"We are," he replied. "Oh, we have our misunderstandings but we are close when it counts. Holidays are chaos however. Everyone gathers at Locksley and the house is overflowing. My grandfather always said that is just the way his father would want it. Apparently my great grandfather loved children. My father says that he could remember the old man getting down to play with them in the nursery, often times needing help to get up. Father said the old man was often the leader of any mischief around the house. My grandfather, Christopher, was like that sometimes as well. I remember one Christmas, my brother Phillip was getting a pony and Grandfather woke up very early Christmas morning and brought the little cob in from the stables. Had the pony tethered to an end iron just a few feet from the tree. Mother was horrified but we children loved it."
"Oh, he does sound mischievous."
"What about your family?" Anthony asked.
"What about them? " Katie replied.
"Well, how many siblings do you have, for instance. Tell me about them."
"My grandfather was the seventh Earl of Grantham and my father is the second son, so no titles. My uncle Matthew is the eighth Earl. I have one brother and one sister, Robert and Isobel. They were named for my grandfather's grandparents. Papa wanted to name me Cora after the sixth earl's wife but Mama insisted that at least one of her children would have a name that hadn't already been used in the family, so I got Katherine. I'm the youngest. Robert is a barrister in York and Isobel is an accomplished artist. She just had a big show in London."
"And you write computer games," Anthony said lightly.
"Actually, only that one. I was over the IT at the hospital in York but I left last summer. I'm at the university now. Working there, I can also take courses."
"Courses? What kind of courses are you taking?"
Katie chuckled. "Anything I'm interested in. I was very focused on the technical courses when I first attended university. This time, I pursue whatever catches my fancy. This term it is archeology. I enjoy learning new things"
"Really? I was so glad to be out of university. I have no desire to return."
"Where did you attend?"
"Cambridge. All the Strallans attend Cambridge. Goes back several generations. The original Anthony was on the rowing team there."
"And you weren't?" Katie was curious about just how closely this Anthony mirrored his life to the first Anthony.
"Heavens no. I know how, of course. But I was never good enough for competition."
Their conversation continued while they ate until finally, the meal was complete as was the wine and it was time to leave. The car was brought around promptly and Katie noticed that Anthony tipped well. He held the door for her as she entered the car and then hurried around to the other side to slip in behind the wheel. It took only a few minutes for him to return her to her house.
She turned to look at him as he pulled in front of her place. "I really enjoyed dinner, Anthony. "
"You did? I'm so glad because I enjoyed it very much. I... I'd like to do it again. I'm away... on business until next weekend but I hoped... well, perhaps..."
"I'd love to," Katie said, cutting him off. "Call me when you get back?"
"Yes," he grinned foolishly. "I'll erm, need your number?"
So Katie gave him her number and after a quick peck of a kiss bounced out of his car and into her building, floating in the euphoria of Anthony Strallan, the younger.