Chapter 27-People Who Care About Each Other
"Affair At Bromfield Hall"
Lee was trying as hard as he could to keep his temper in check as he ranted about the assignment he was on, concluding with, "And what do you do? You end up in the middle of a sex scandal."
"I am not in the middle of a sex scandal," Amanda said adamantly. "I don't even know that man!"
"That man happens to be Lord Ralph Bromfield. He's not only a peer of the realm; he's an undersecretary at the foreign office."
"I'm sorry. I didn't know that. I don't know him!" She sighed in frustration and said, Look, how can that newspaper, call me...Uh..." She lowered her voice to w whisper, "...his mistress."
"What are you whispering for? It's made every rag in town."
"It didn't make The Times," Amanda countered.
"Oh? Is that something to be grateful for?" Lee said sarcastically.
"At least the paper said I was the secretary to the president of AnaCord electronics, so it...uh...makes your cover legitimate?"
"What's that, the bright side?"
"NO, there isn't any bright side," Amanda replied. "Millions of people that I know even know think I'm a..."
"Bimbette," Lee finished for her, amusement dancing in his eyes.
"That's not funny. That really isn't funny," Amanda said. When he continued to laugh, she said, "That's really not funny at all, Lee. Now, suppose Mother reads this. I mean, the story could get picked up in the states,
"Amanda..." Lee began, but Amanda continued to ramble.
"Mother, could read it, or Phillip and Jamie could read it and I'm not even there to explain and I..."
"It's not going to make the paper back in the states," Lee interrupted firmly
"You don't know that," Amanda argued.
"I do know that," Lee said forcefully. When Amanda finally stopped talking and looked at him quizzically, he added, "I called in a few favors."
"Oh," Amanda said with a warm smile at him, deeply touched by the gesture. "You did that for me?"
"Yep," Lee said smiling back at her.
"Thank you," she said still smiling at him.
"Forget about it, okay?" He said as he reached for her, placing his hand on the small of her back. "Come on. We'll grab a cup of tea to settle your nerves a little bit, and then we can..."
Lee watched with some amusement at Amanda's shying away from the approaching couple. After arguing with her for a moment about cutting her losses and leaving, he realized that he wasn't going to win until they at least attempted to approach Lord Bromfield himself.
An hour later, they were finally having their tea while Lord Bromfield explained his stance, how he could understand where the press got their ideas and laid out his solution to the problem. Lee was thinking it was a great idea until the invitation for the weekend was extended to him as well. He argued that he had work to do.
"No, I think it's important, you see," Lord Bromfield argued, "because if the two of you were seen together, it might appear as if you were more than employer and secretary."
Lee and Amanda looked at each other at first nervously, but then Lee couldn't help but smile slightly as he thought of all of the times that they'd been close, causing Amanda to smile back. They silently locked eyes for just a moment, a mutual silent acknowledgement of their underlying desire for each other clear on both of their faces, before turning back to Lord Bromfield. "But we aren't," Amanda said, just as Lee began a denial of his own, "I mean, we're not."
"And neither are we, Mrs. King," Lord Bromfield replied pointedly. As the conversation continued with Lee and Amanda both trying to get him out of the weekend engagement so he could work his case. At seeing the looks passing between his companions, he said pointedly, "I presume, Sir, that you have some concern for the reputation of Mrs. King." It was apparent to him, that in spite of their denials, the pair in front of him were indeed lovers, although, it appeared that they were trying to be discreet about their private relationship. When lee finally conceded, he said, "Splendid." He looked on at the two for another moment taking in the looks they were giving one another and added, "Well, I shall see you tomorrow then. A nice quiet weekend in the country should put everything to rights."
The following day at the Bromfield estate, Amanda began stewing about the situation again after it was bluntly brought to her attention again by Errol Pridemore. "A sex scandal," she muttered.
"Forget it, okay? It's not your fault. I mean, nobody who knows you is going to believe it. I mean, you, in the middle of a sex scandal. All you need to do is take one look to know it's ridiculous."
"Why?" Amanda said getting irritated by his comments.
"Why what?"Lee asked as they walked to his rental car.
"Why is it ridiculous?" Amanda demanded. After all the times that they'd spent taking pleasure in each other, he should know better than anyone that she wasn't who she appeared to be to the outside world.
"Amanda..."
"Just because it isn't true, doesn't make it ridiculous," Amanda continued.
"Look, why are we having this ridiculous conversation?"
"I think we're having this ridiculous conversation because you said it was ridiculous that I should-"
"alright, alright, alright," Lee said, stepping in front of her as they reached his car, stopping her in her tracks. When he had her full attention, he said pointedly. "You're sleeping with Lord Bromfield, how's that?"
"Huh," Amanda snorted, "Ridiculous."
"That's right," Lee said triumphantly, having made his point. While he'd spent many moments learning that underneath that wholesome exterior, she was a very passionate lover, he already knew after their conversation of a week or so ago, that she wasn't the type to sleep around and especially not with a married man. Besides, that he felt a bit of smug satisfaction at her confession that she hadn't thought of giving herself to anyone but him since their non-relationship had begun even when she'd had a boyfriend. "It's ridiculous."
Amanda nodded in response, getting what he was really saying as he prepared to leave to get back to the case. His efforts were soon interrupted by the falling urn, his life saved by Amanda's quick thinking. He had protested Amanda's insistence that he see a doctor, however, once back inside the house, their hosts for the weekend had insisted.
Later when Lee had insisted that he was fine, he also insisted that they continue with their weekend plans as if nothing had happened. After dressing in his tux for the evening party, he knocked on Amanda's door to escort her to the soiree, his breath catching in his throat as the stunning black evening gown she wore and the way in hugged her curves in all the right places. He cleared his throat and stammered, "You...um...are you...um...about ready?"
Amanda smiled at his nervousness, her choice in formalwear a deliberate attempt to get his attention, elated that it had achieved the desired effect. "Almost," she said. "I was just putting on the finishing touches. I need my earrings." She closed the door behind him and made her way to the room's vanity reaching for the small jewelry case on its surface, but Lee's hand connected with hers before she could as he snake the other hand around her waist from behind.
"You look beautiful without them," Lee murmured into her ear. "Beside if you're wearing them, I can't do this." He brushed her hair aside and lightly nipped at her earlobe as he tugged on her waist pulling her tightly against him, delighting at watching in the mirror as her facial expression changed. He'd been dying to get her alone since this whole trip had begun. After the honesty of their last conversation about their status, his desire for her had only increased with the knowledge that she hadn't been with anyone but him. He lowered his mouth to her neck, then her nearly bare shoulder. He pulled back from her long enough to reach for the zipper on her dress, sliding it down her back, trailing kisses down every inch of smooth skin that he exposed while he used his hands to push the tiny straps from her shoulders.
Amanda sighed at the contact of his lips on her skin as she felt her gown poling at her feet. "Lee," she whispered as her deep desire for him was inflamed by his touch. It felt as if he were everywhere at once, one hand on her hip, the other, reaching for her bared breast, his mouth warming her skin with his kisses and his hot breath. She relished the sensations that he invoked in her with the way he touched her, her all-consuming love for him only adding more fuel to the flames.
"I wanna' make love to you," Lee said in a throaty whisper against her back.
Amanda turned to face him, tugged at his bowtie to loosen it and whispered back, "You're terribly overdressed for that," working quickly to rectify that situation, his jacket, shirt and tie soon joining her dress on the floor. She then trailed kisses down his chest as her hands roamed over his bare back, pausing when she reached his butt and squeezing it firmly, before moving her hands to work his pants open, quickly slipping them inside to touch him as she continued to work her mouth lower.
Lee clasped her hands in his and said, "No, not this time," as he stepped out of his shoes, kicked his pants and boxers aside and backed her up against the vanity to a seated position. He hooked his fingers in the side of her panties dragging them down her legs as she kicked off her heels. He parted her legs, then dropped to his knees in front of her, trailing soft, reverent kisses up the inside of her thigh until he reached his true destination.
"Oh," Amanda cried out, throwing her head back against the mirror as Lee's mouth worked furiously, licking and suckling her, his tongue occasionally dipping inside her where she wanted him to be. She felt the pressure build only to subside when he would shift positions and then begin all over again. "Lee, please," she cried as he teased her, only increasing her need for him.
Lee rewarded her for her plea for completion, finally taking her fully into his mouth, sucking hard until he felt her climax begin, and then quickly rose to her feet and plunged inside her, just as her trembling reached its peak. "OH," he groaned loudly as her spasms around him only further drove his desperate desire for her. The sound of her crying out his name spurred him on as he pushed into her again and again, needing his own completion, knowing that he could only find that true completion with her. While he'd had some great sex in his time, nothing compared to his time with Amanda, to being wither her. Since meeting her, for the first time in his life, he knew what it was like to truly make love to a woman, to have her make love to him in return. He found himself crying out her name as she was crying out his,
"LEE!"Amanda shrieked as she felt him moving within her. She clasped his butt tightly to encourage him, arching her back and pushing her hips toward him to and urge him deeper inside her. No man had ever filled her the way that he did or could make her feel as much as he did.
"God, Amanda," Lee gasped out in a hoarse voice, his breathing harsh and heavy as he pumped his essence into her shaking against her as she shook against him. He buried his face in her neck, planting warm, wet kisses against her skin while Amana wrapped her arms around his neck as they rode out their release together.
They both stilled and stayed locked like that, for a moment just holding each other until their bodies cooled and breathing slowed. Amanda was the first to break the silence by saying, "So, do you think this is ridiculous?"
Lee pulled his head back from her neck, laughed and said, "No, This is...it's...it's far from ridiculous. In fact, it's the most sensible thing I've ever done."
Amanda smiled and was about to say something else when they were interrupted by a loud knocking on her door. She sighed at the interruption, pushed on Lee's shoulders and scrambled for her dress, quickly pulling it back on when Lady Witherspoon's voice sounded on the other side of the door. "Is everything okay in there?"
"Crap," Lee muttered under his breath, having forgotten in his need for Amanda that her room was right next door to the biggest busybody in the place.
"Yes, everything's fine," Amanda called back as she made her way to the door, opening it just a crack so the other woman wouldn't see that she was not alone or that her dress was still unzipped.
"What was that dreadful noise I just heard," Lady Witherspoon asked with a bemused expression, already knowing the answer.
"Oh, I'm...um...I just slammed into the vanity and..um...knocked everything all over the place. I'm a bit clumsy, you see," Amanda covered quickly. "I...um...I should finish getting ready. I'll see you at the party." Not giving the nosy older woman a chance to respond, she quickly closed the door and leaned against it for a moment to find that Lee had disappeared and his clothes were gone from where they'd been dropped on the floor. "Lee?" she whispered.
"In here," Lee hissed from the bathroom. "I thought I should clean up a bit before we head to the party."
"Right," Amanda said. "Yeah, I should too," she added as she stepped into the bathroom.
"Probably not a bad idea," Lee said with a smirk.
As Amanda brushed by him, she glanced at his shoulder and said, "You know that really is an ugly bruise," as she placed a tender kiss to the spot.
"I'll be fine, Amanda," he said. While he was touched that she cared, he didn't care much for being mothered. He'd grown up without a mother and had gotten used to it and didn't want to get into the habit of having a woman looking after him because it never seemed to last.
Left alone outside in the hall, Lady Witherspoon grinned broadly, not for a moment believing Amanda's story about bumping into the vanity. She was more curious than ever about the story in the paper about her and their host. That is until, she saw the other subject of the newspaper article making his way down the hall toward her. She glanced at the closed door of Amanda's room, her curiosity burning as Lord Bromfield reached her. "Hello, Ralph, looking for your mistress?" she teased. "I'm afraid you're going to be quite disappointed, if you are. She's not...alone at the moment," she added with a suggestive leer.
"Come now, you know very well that she is not my mistress and she never has been. You're just looking for a juicy bit of gossip to entertain yourself with," He replied with a woeful look.
"Oh, well, I've got it now," she said patting him on the shoulder, then saying, "I'll just be going on to the party now."
Lord Bromfield shook his head and was just about to knock on Amanda's door when it was opened in front of him and Lee and Amanda emerged, apparently engaged in a bit of an argument.
"Amanda, would you just stop trying to mother me," Lee was saying. "I'm not one of your children."
Bromfield eyed the two of them and said, "I was just coming to see if you were ready."
"Yes," Amanda said closing the door as the three made their way down the hall. She then picked up her conversation with Lee saying, "Well, you really should be resting."
"Amanda, I am not Jamie," Lee said huffily. "I am not Phillip."
They were still talking about his near-death experience when preparing to attend the evening party as they entered the armory. They all conversed for a moment in the armory. Bromfield was convinced that Lee's attacker was the photographer that had been stalking, while Lee argued that it was out of character, while Amanda pointed out that the attacker must have been inside the house. Bromfield, noticing that Lee hedged when asked why he didn't believe it was Compson, changed the subject said, "Are you quite sure that you want to go to this wretched party, Mr. Stetson?"
"Oh, yes, yes, I'm looking forward to it," Lee answered with an affectionate smile at Amanda. What he was really looking forward to was the idea of getting her out on the dance floor of the large ballroom, just to hold her in his arms again.
Amanda smiled back at him, locking eyes with him, both lost in the moment as Lord Bromfield said, "Oh dear, I hate large parties. I can't think why Gwyneth insists upon having them." He glanced at Amanda, forcing her to take her eyes off Lee.
"Oh, I'm looking forward to it too," Amanda said with a smile and a nod at Lee who smiled back.
Bromfield couldn't help but notice the lingering looks between Lee and Amanda and wondered just how serious their love affair was and why they were trying so hard to hide it, "Oh, well," he said with a sigh. "In that case, we shall spend no more time in this dusty armory."
The next day as Lee and Amanda were discussing the murder of Compson, Lee looked at Amanda curiously at her assertion that Lady Bromfield was somehow involved.
"I just don't trust her," Amanda said firmly.
"I don't know what makes me ask this, but why don't you trust her?"
"It's a feeling," Amanda said with a nod.
"Oh, that solid, huh?" Lee said sarcastically.
"I don't think she loves her husband."
"Amanda, she's been married to him for twelve years. She stood by him through this whole scandal."
"That's very nice, but I don't think she loves him."
"Amanda, no," Lee argued.
"Lee, there's just something about the way that she looks at him. There's nothing in her face when she looks at him. She just doesn't look like she loves him." As Amanda continued to ramble on about the woman's lack of feeing for her husband and how people who love each other want to touch each other and be close to one another, demonstrating by clasping Lee's hands in hers causing him to lock eyes with her. She quickly released his hands, turned from the intensity of his gaze and said, "She doesn't touch him."
As they walked together, Lee just out of habit, put his arm around her until Amanda looked back at him, then quickly removed his arm as her words really began to sink in about how people who loved each other wanted to touch each other.
Once the case was closed and Amanda was surprised to hear Lee say, "He's in love."
"You noticed that, huh?" she said with a smile.
Lee smiled back as Amanda rambled about him not noticing things like that. He had indeed noticed by the look on Lord Bromfield's face when he looked at his wife. He's seen the same look on his own face in the mirror when he'd been in Amanda's room. He knew without a doubt that he was just as in love himself. He thought about telling her, but still hesitated because of the way she'd reacted to his arm around her. Instead, he simply said, "I noticed." He gazed at her with a smile then continued talking about the case they'd just closed, but internally admiring the way she looked in the blue pantsuit she wore, the same one that he'd bought her on their last trip to England to replace her missing wardrobe. He'd actually suggested it to her when they'd been shopping. He loved the way she looked in blue.
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Once back at home, Amanda was startled to hear her mother saying, "Amanda, did you know that your picture's in the paper?"
"What?" Amanda said worriedly, hoping that Lee's favors had kept the sex scandal out of the US papers.
"Right there," Dotty said showing it to her.
Amanda glanced at it and upon seeing it was the last one that had been snapped of her, Lee and Lord Bromfield, all three covering their faces with their hands, said, "Oh, Mother, that's a terrible pictures. You can't even tell who's really in it."
"Please, Amanda, that's very clearly you. You're even wearing that navy blue suit that you like so much. My question is, who are the two men with you? I know one of them is this Lord Bromfield mentioned in the article, but who's the other one?"
"Oh, he's...um..."Amanda hedged.
"Your secret lover?" Her mother suggested. When Amanda didn't' answer, she took her silence for confirmation and took the paper back from her, pushing her reading glasses up and said, "It's just such a pity that he has his hand covering his face. Just once I'd like to get a good look at this man you're so taken with."
"Mother, my relationship with him is private and I'd very much like to keep it that way," Amanda said as she quickly exited the room to avoid further questions.
"Suit yourself, Dear," Dotty said to her daughter's retreating form as she perused the paper, rereading the article for any mention of the man's name and closely examined the picture for any details that she might have overlooked. Her curiosity was definitely piqued about the man who'd captured her daughter's heart.