Unperturbed by the situation, however more determined to pry off Kate's arms around him, he calmly but firmly said, "In the future, I think it best that you call first before gracing us with your presence, Kate."
Kate pretended to be offended and ran her fingers on the side of his face.
"Am I no longer welcome in this house?"
Niles rolled his eyes. "I didn't say you're no longer welcome. All I said was call beforehand as I may be indisposed to entertain you."
"Niles, Niles… I'm like family. No need to entertain me."
Eyeing CC's svelte figure and ravishing beauty, addressing Niles in an all too familiar tone gave her a sense of overwhelming unease. Her very presence posed an impending threat to her precarious romantic relationship with Niles, something she would never allow. She'd be dead before she allowed a New York high-society socialite steal Niles right from under her nose.
"Come on Nilesy, you've never been too busy for me before. Just because you brought along your… your…plaything…"
That certainly did not sit well with CC. She was appalled to be called a plaything.
Closing the steps between them with her temper flaring, CC pushed Kate's shoulder to make her face her. CC glared at her with her arms crossed.
The British woman who spoke with the same queen's English accent as Niles and Maxwell was dressed in a tacky short dress to be considered a woman from the upper class.
"Excuse me, CC Babcock is nobody's plaything. I graduated on top of my class in Bryn Mawr and I have a master's degree in business and economics. I am a renowned Broadway Producer with two Tony Awards to my name. I don't need to cling to any man to get somewhere, which I can't say the same for you, you strumpet."
"Who are you calling a strumpet? Who just came out of Niles' bedroom, you slut," hailed Kate.
Rolling her eyes in bitter sarcasm, she replied, "Oh, please, who's dressed like there's a cloth shortage in this country? Between us, you look more like the harlot than I am."
Enraged by CC's words, Kate reached out to pull CC's hair, but Niles was quick enough to slip himself between the two women, warding Kate's hand with his own before she could touch CC.
"Hey, stop this!" yelled Niles.
To appease the tension in the living room, Edward walked into the living room and called CC for supper. He gently put his arm around her and eased her toward the dining room.
"Come on CC, it's time for dinner. My wife made a Waldorf salad and Spaghetti Bolognese. I hope you like red sauce in your pasta, and we have Blueberry pie for dessert just for you."
Due to Edward's warm hospitality and the mere mention of the pie, CC's blazing temper immediately subsided. She smiled at Niles' father.
"Oh, I love blueberry pie!" she exclaimed as she disappeared with Edward into the kitchen.
Still angry with the blond, Kate turned to Niles and spoke in an accusatory tone.
"Are you going to let her speak to me like that?!"
Still in reign of his emotions and thoughts, Niles remained calm as he reasoned out with Kate.
"Kate, Kate, please. If you are going to be hostile, better go home and come back when you have snuffed your jealous behavior!"
"She called me a strumpet! Aren't you going to defend me?"
"You called her a plaything."
Kate was still upset. Her brown eyes searching Niles' expression. He was talking to her like he was displeased with her and that woman had every right to call her a harlot.
"Well, isn't she? She came strutting down from your bedroom," accused Kate.
"She is my guest and she's staying in my bedroom," explained Niles.
He noticed how Kate's brows furrowed, her eyes disconcerted like Niles had betrayed her, its chocolate pools laced with jealousy that gave Niles a discomforting feeling at the pit of his stomach. Maybe he should continue to let her think he was sleeping with CC so Kate would lay off his back, but on the other hand, he didn't want to tarnish CC's reputation to his conservative, old-fashioned parents, especially since it wasn't true.
"I'm staying at the back room while she stays in my bedroom," continued Niles for clarification.
A big wave of relief covered Kate and she sighed in relief.
"Anyhow, I wanted to remind you about the annual Christmas party in our village. It's tomorrow at the Bluebay Hotel. I'll see you."
"I can't go. I can't leave CC alone in the house. She's my guest that would be impolite," said Niles.
Kate sighed in exasperation.
"Fine. Bring her. Everyone in town would love to see your plaything."
Confident about herself, Kate wanted to show Niles that side by side, in her best gown, she looked far more attractive than his blond plaything. She would wear her short, glittering red dress that makes the eyes of the opposite sex pop out. She knew with that dress; he can make Niles forget his New York bitch.
Niles settled beside CC on the dining table and helped himself with the pasta. He refused to address the confrontation in living room and thus did not bring it up to his father albeit he knew their voices went an octave higher and was clearly heard all the way to the kitchen.
"What did Kate want?" asked Niles' father.
Appearing nonchalant and disinterested, Niles replied. "She came to remind us about the Village Christmas party at the Bluebay Hotel tomorrow."
"Yeah, we got the invitation. Why don't we all go so CC can have a little fun and taste some of our local English dishes," said Edward.
"Maybe it's for the best that CC and I skip this one out," said Niles.
CC's presence would entail a lot of questions from his friends, neighbors and acquaintances. She was a head-turner and her presence would not go unnoticed. He didn't want to jump the gun and introduce her as his girlfriend, but he can't say they were friends either as they were not.
CC would not hear it. "No! I would love to go."
She glared at Niles in between spoonful of pies. He was such a wet blanket. She didn't know why she was attracted to him in the first place.
"You can skip it and sulk in your room but I'm going with Edward ad Marcia to the party."
"It's a formal event I'm afraid and I didn't tell you to pack a formal evening wear."
CC's eyes went big with excitement.
"I have brought two. I don't need some fairy godmother to whisk me up a ballgown. Come on Niles, say we'll go. I came prepared."
Niles had been attending the annual Christmas party so he could catch up with some of his friends and accompany his parents who always seem to enjoy the event.
He smiled at CC in amusement. He couldn't believe that during the 8 days-vacation in his family home, she even managed to pack two evening gowns that might come in handy for an unforeseen event.
When he finally agreed, the excitement and delight that CC felt was infectious, Niles had never been that excited to attend the village Christmas party.
Dancing with CC was something he'd be looking forward to.
The next day, Niles entered his room, upon hearing CC holler his name as they were preparing for the Christmas party the next day. He stared in amazement at all the beauty products that CC brought which now took over his old study table inside his bedroom.
He found CC seated on his desk chair, her hair damp from the shower, wrapped in nothing but her terry cloth robe, her long legs clearly visible from her short robe. Knowing she wore nothing beneath the robe was enough to send his desire go into another frenzy.
"Niles, can you please steam iron my gown," said CC, handing him a bulky steam iron.
She said please and her voice was sweet, but it still sounded quite like an order. Looking at all the stuff she brought with her from NYC, Niles sighed in exasperation. Not only did CC bring a steam iron, but she brought along a hair iron, and a hair dryer.
"CC, we're on vacation and not a photo shoot. What's all this paraphernalia you brought all the way from New York. It's a surprise you were not charged for excess luggage. And for heaven's sake, how many times must I tell you I'm not playing butler."
Seated on the desk chair, having no mirror on Niles' study table, CC opened Niles' closet to see her reflection in the mirror on Niles' closet door. She smiled; she liked the way her hair fell on her shoulders. That hair treatment she applied was pretty good. Inadvertently, CC grabbed her body cream and started applying it on her arms, starting her beauty regimen before getting into her gown.
"Oh Niles, you should know a woman can't live without them. One must always look perfect. Come on, Niles, iron my gown. Just this once."
She started applying her cream over her legs, her terry cloth robe hiking up without giving it much thought. Niles caught his breath in his throat, his eyes almost falling out of its sockets, he could feel his desire straining his trousers once again. Was she unmindful that a man was inside her room or was she deliberately trying to seduce him? His restraint was dwindling by the minute, and if CC does not start covering herself, he would start doing the hundred and one things he'd like to do to the insufferable blond that was plaguing his thoughts.
"You brought that steam iron, and you don't know how to work it?"
Relief flashed over Niles when CC was done with the cream. She took her hair dryer and started on her hair. His relief was short lived as CC bent her head over, starting the dryer at the nape of her neck, moving her head to the left and to the right to dry the different sections of her hair, loosening the knot of her robe and revealing the curve of her breast.
She switched off the hair drying after noticing Niles had not started steaming her gown, oblivious to the fact he was starting to look at her like a cat eyeing a canary.
She looked at him in exasperation.
"Niles, what do I have to do to get you to iron my dress? I don't want to look shabby. I'll be dead before I let that harlot, Kate, outshine me tonight."
"A little payment for my service would suffice," he said in a low voice, looking into CC's cobalt blue eyes. She felt a little queasy, there was something in the way he looked into her eyes again. It looked like the same glint he had on yesterday.
She was slightly taken aback by his suggestion and then her lips curled into a smile. That was easy, she thought, she could finally have her gown ready for the party.
"Sure." She replied with a smile, standing up until her eyes were the same level as Niles. Without her heels, he was a tad bit taller than her.
"How much would you like? Is fifty dollars good?"
"It's not your money I want," emphasized Niles in guttural tone.
Before CC could decipher what he meant, he crushed her into his arms. His lips were warm and hungry against hers. His tongue found its way inside her mouth, probing and seeking her own tongue while his large hands were pressing her softness against his bulging desire.
She could feel her heart hammering against her chest. She couldn't believe Niles was kissing her like his life depended on it. It was overwhelming but it felt so right to be in his arms. It had been years since she had been kissed with the same kind of ardor and the man who did it last had CC's palm print on his cheek, but this time CC grazed her left palm on the side of Niles' face, touching his cheek in affection as she returned his hungry kiss.
When Niles released her, she felt her knees weaken and she fell back onto the bed behind her. It took all his self-control not to pounce on her on the bed. Instead, he sat on the edge of the bed and drew her up till she was seated facing him. He could read the desire in her pupils, and he knew if he pushed this, she would let him make love to her, but instead he fixed her robe until it properly covered her and tightened the knot that held her robe. He stared back into her bewildered eyes and gave her lips a chaste kiss.
"That should be enough. I promise to have your gown ready in no time, princess."
As she watched Niles steaming her gown, she regained her composure, her tenacious nature once again in control.
She smirked at him and said, "You said you didn't want a homely-looking cow like me. You're such a liar, butler boy."
CC walked back to her seat by the desk and started combing her hair.
"So, bite me!" he retorted.
CC snapped back, "Don't tempt me."
Then she gave him a seductive smile.
Oh, my dear CC, my wanton hellion, you have no idea how much I want you.
"I want to see you try," dared Niles with a sly smile.
She tried to meet his gaze and retort something witty, but his gaze was burning, penetrating… she could not think straight. She felt shivers down her spine.
"I'm afraid I find the party more palpable to my taste than a tryst with an old Englishman," said CC before turning her back on Niles and concentrating on her make up.
