The Mammoth Book of Irish Romance Part 29

Two.

By the time Kate got round to going to find her room, the only other member of the production company who hadn't been settled was the star, Claudia Ravelle. She'd arrived late in a luxury limousine, which hadn't been budgeted for.

Kate mounted the front steps of Knock House a few yards behind Claudia. The clicking of Claudia's stiletto heels came to an abrupt halt. "Wow ," she murmured under her breath. Kate stopped and glanced around, silently echoing the sentiment. She didn't know which way to look first. The floor was an intricate mosaic of tiny blue, green, turquoise and white tiles in a pattern of froth-tipped waves. The walls glowed with a detailed mural of some fantastical palace beneath the sea. White horses pulled a gold coach bearing a smiling crowned man, while multi-coloured fish and sea creatures frolicked around him.

Claudia gave a moan of appreciation. Kate tore her eyes from the artwork to follow the other woman's gaze. The object of Claudia's desire leaned against a wall wearing board shorts, his long golden hair trailing over muscular shoulders.

"Is that Esras?" Claudia whispered.

"Him? No. That's Faelan, I think." Kate could hardly believe she had missed such a gorgeous man earlier. She must have been too focused on Esras to notice anyone else.

As they approached Faelan, he stepped forwards. "May I show you to your rooms, ladies?"

Claudia paused in front of the guy and ran a long hot-pink fingernail across his chest. "I'd like to meet Esras first, big boy," she simpered. Kate winced with embarra.s.sment.

With a nod, Faelan opened a door for them. "King Esras is in here."

"Maybe I'll see you later, Faelan," Claudia said in a breathy voice.

Although Kate had a lot of work to do, her curiosity got the better of her, and she followed Claudia into the room. The seascape painted on the ceiling was impressive, but it was the huge gold throne set with mother-of-pearl and sparkling green gems that made her mouth drop open and the man sitting in it.

Gone were the top hat, sungla.s.ses and jacket. Esras now wore only the board shorts and a loose green shirt with half the b.u.t.tons undone, revealing tantalizing flashes of his smooth sculpted chest. Now she was closer, she could see that his skin was sun-kissed gold and his eyes an impossible glittering green. He was lean and muscular with a sheen of silver-gold hair dusting his forearms and legs. Rainbows danced along a string of flat mother-of-pearl beads around his neck.

Esras rose and came to meet them. His gaze pa.s.sed straight over Claudia to settle on Kate. "You must be-"

"Claudia Ravelle," Claudia said, stepping in front of Kate. "I present the travel show." She swept back her hair seductively. "You might remember me from the hit series Murder Me with Magic."

"Of course. Delighted," Esras said with a brief frown that came and went so fast Kate wondered if she'd imagined it. He bowed then signalled to Faelan. "I'm sure you must be tired, Claudia. Faelan will show you to your room."

Claudia smiled a bemused smile. She slipped her arm through Faelan's and was swept out of the door without realizing she'd been summarily dismissed.

The clicking of Claudia's heels and her occasional throaty laugh faded into the distance. Esras angled his head. For long moments, he stared at Kate with those incredible green eyes as though he could see right into her mind and into her soul.

Her hand wrapped around her grandma's pearl and it seemed to pulse inside her fist. It was almost as if the pearl had come to life.

"You're Kate Sullivan, aren't you? We spoke on the phone." A slow smile spread across his face like the sun rising on a new world. She blinked. For a moment, it looked as though flickering rainbows danced around him.

"How did you recognize me before you heard my voice?" she asked.

His smile widened and he flicked up his eyebrows in a wouldn't-you-like-to-know expression. "Let me show you to your room." He went to the door and held out a hand to her. After an awkward pause, she slipped her fingers into his because it seemed rude not to.

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, disoriented by the surroundings, wondering at the significance of his holding her hand. He obviously had an unconventional att.i.tude to intimacy. Was it possible he expected to jump straight into bed with her? Heat blossomed low in Kate's belly and her skin felt too tight. She cleared her throat. "What about my bag?"

"That's already been taken to your room." He gave her an amused smile. "Don't worry. I'm not going to eat you, Kate."

"Oh." She bit her lip.

He tightened his grip on her hand and tugged her up the grand staircase in the centre of the entrance hall.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Esras led her along a wide corridor, threw open a door, then released her hand and stood back for her to enter.

The huge bedroom had a pearly sheen to the white walls, while the bedding, upholstery and carpet were all marine shades of green and blue. A king-size bed with a white and gold headboard dominated the s.p.a.ce, the rest of the furniture continuing the white and gold theme. She was pleased the room contained a desk that she could turn into a workstation. She preferred not to share the production team's mobile office. It always became a pigsty within hours of arriving on location.

As promised, her battered suitcase and bag sat on the bed.

"Bathroom's over there." Esras pointed at a door on the far side of the room.

She rested her hand on her laptop bag. "Thank you. This is . . . luxurious." Kate gazed around knowing she would have little time to enjoy the comfort. She waited for Esras to leave so she could get on with her work.

When he didn't move, she glanced back at him. His gaze was fixed on her pearl pendant, a curious expression on his face. "What brought you home, Kate?"

She stared at him, taken aback for a moment. "Home? Did you know my grandma? Do you know something about the pendant?"

His knowing gaze returned to her face. "Don't you?"

She shook her head slowly. "I didn't know my grandmother was born in Knocknapog until six months ago when she died and left me her pendant." She cupped the gleaming pink teardrop in her palm. "I thought it was just jewellery. But there's something strange about the pearl. I feel . . . antsy when I take it off, but it doesn't feel quite right to be wearing it either."

"That's because the pearl wasn't made for you. You should have your own, Kate." He opened the door and held his hand out to her again. "Come with me and I'll show you what it is."

She hesitated a moment, but she'd come here for just this reason, to find out more about the pearl. He led her back down the stairs, then along an inner hallway to an older part of the house. He stopped outside a low wooden door and snapped back the three bolts securing it. An unearthly glow seeped into the darkened hall as he pulled the door wide. She followed him down a narrow winding stairway, the only light a luminous glow from the sh.e.l.ls embedded in the walls.

After a little while, he paused and turned. "Do you need a rest? It's quite a drop, two hundred steps."

At her headshake, he moved on. The rushing of water sounded in the distance. As they descended farther, the noise grew louder and a cool breeze carried the scent of the sea up the stairwell.

"I've always loved the sea," Kate said, almost to herself.

Esras turned and flashed her a smile. "Of course. You're one of Lir's people."

Even as a little frisson of excitement pa.s.sed through her, she shook her head. Esras had introduced himself as a descendant of the sea G.o.d Lir. Now he was trying to involve her in his delusion. But if she thought that, why did she instinctively trust him?

They emerged into an underground cavern lit only by the same luminous glow as the steps. The sea hissed in and out of an opening in the rocks. They had descended from the top of the cliff, where the manor house stood, to sea level and must now be inside a cave under the cliff.

She followed him along a tunnel leading deeper into the rock and they came out in a small grotto. Above the murmur of the sea, she heard a swishing, sucking sound. They stopped at a circular opening in the rock floor. Water swirled inside the hole, flickers of light and dark dancing in its depths. "The Whirlpool of Lir," Esras whispered.

The pearl resting on Kate's chest lifted towards the well, tugging at the chain around her neck. "Ahh!" She grasped it and hung on as it tried to jump from her hand.

"Don't be frightened." He put an arm around her waist, pulling her against his side. Her skin hummed with his nearness and she leaned into him, enjoying the thrill of touching him even while her heart pounded with uncertainty.

"Give me Lir's favour." Esras held out a hand.

"My grandmother's pearl? What are you going to do with it?"

"Trust me." He leaned closer and stroked the back of his fingers across her cheek. She breathed in the scents of salt, sea and fresh air from his skin, combined with a musky masculine fragrance. She stared at him, mesmerized, and her worries drifted away.

She unfastened the chain from her neck and placed it in his palm. He then removed the pearl from the chain. Before she realized what he was going to do, he dropped the pearl into the swirling waters.

"No!" Kate put a hand over her mouth, staring into the water. She turned her shocked gaze on Esras. "What have you done? Grandma left that to me."

"She wanted you to bring her pearl back here," he said gently.

"I know, but-"

"She wanted Lir's favour returned to him."

Kate stared into the water, tears p.r.i.c.king her eyes. The one memento she'd had of her grandmother was lost forever.

"Kate." Esras stroked some hair that had escaped from her ponytail back behind her ear. "She wanted you to have your own favour from Lir . . . from me."

Esras crouched and scooped a handful of the surging water into his palm. Instead of leaking between his fingers, the water formed a ball. He shaped it, sc.r.a.ping away blobs of water as though they were jelly. When only a small tear-shaped piece of water remained, he stroked it, chanting under his breath. Rainbows danced around him, glowed on the mother-of-pearl at his neck, glittered in the heart of the water droplet in his palm.

Eventually, the colours faded and the cavern was once again lit only by the luminous glow from the walls. Esras held up a pink-tinged pearl teardrop and then threaded it back on her chain. "This one will feel right because I made the favour for you. Wear it by your heart and you will never be far from me or the sea."

Kate let him refasten the chain around her neck and rubbed her fingers across the pearl. Tingles danced up her hand, spread across her skin, setting her nerves on fire until she longed to feel the soothing cool stroke of the sea over her body.

"How did you make this from water?" she asked.

"Pearls are always shaped by the sea, Kate."

She stared down at the pearl, her mind churning with conflicting emotions. She prided herself on being practical and down-to-earth. The things Esras said and did clashed with everything she believed, yet she couldn't deny what she'd seen with her own eyes could she?

His fingertips slid beneath her chin and lifted her face so she couldn't avoid meeting the bottomless green of his eyes.

"I'm your King, Kate. You belong with me."

Three.

Kate spent a terrible night tossing and turning, unable to sleep. The image of Esras with rainbows dancing around him plagued her mind. By morning, she had convinced herself that the rainbow light had simply been reflections from his mother-of-pearl necklace and his making the pearl had been a trick. He obviously hadn't thrown her grandmother's pearl in the water at all. He'd hidden it. Then by sleight of hand, he'd made her believe he'd created another one.

If he was loony enough to believe he was descended from a sea G.o.d, he was likely to be the type of man who'd pretend to have magical powers.

And like a complete idiot, she'd allowed herself to be sucked into his fantasy world. After working in television for two years, she should know better than to believe everything she saw.

Kate joined her colleagues and sat at one of the plastic tables by the catering van with her styrofoam cup of tea and an egg and bacon breakfast roll. She breathed the sea air, marvelling at the fantastic view of white-topped waves on the green Celtic Sea. From the rocky headland where Knock House stood, the land sloped down to the village of Knocknapog: a small harbour surrounded by a scatter of slate-roofed cottages with bobbing fishing boats riding the waves in the bay.

On the lawn in front of Knock House, Esras' people and some of the villagers had started to erect stalls and tents for the Midsummer Feast.

As if her thinking of Esras had summoned him, he stepped out of the house, rested his hands on his hips, and surveyed the feast-day preparations. "Grand. You're all doing a fine job," he shouted to the workers. He had on his dove-grey tailcoat minus the top hat, this time with Hawaiian-pattern board shorts. His gaze found her and a smile kicked up the corners of his mouth. Kate's stomach did a hot flip as she remembered his hard muscular arm around her waist, pulling her against his side. She quickly looked away and tried to pretend she hadn't noticed him.

As he sauntered over to her, the pearl started to pulse against her chest. She ignored it, telling herself it was probably just vibrating with her racing heart.

"How are you doing this fine morning? Did you sleep well, my love?" His term of endearment caused a few raised eyebrows among the production team who were breakfasting with her. Kate's instinct was to tell him that she wasn't his love, but if she protested too much it would only confirm everyone's lascivious suspicions.

"I slept well, thank you," she replied. "The room's very comfortable."

"Wonderful." Esras rubbed his hands together and glanced around at her colleagues. "I'm expecting you all to dress up for the Feast of Beauty. I have traditional costumes for you to choose from."

"Ohh," Claudia said, slipping on sungla.s.ses as she joined them. "Did I hear something about costumes? What fun. I adore dressing up." She put an arm through Esras' as she accepted a cup of tea from Peter. "When can we see the clothes, Esras darling?"

"Right now if you like." Esras turned towards the house, taking Claudia with him. The female members of the production team followed eagerly, while the two cameramen climbed wearily to their feet and trudged behind.

Kate had no intention of dressing up. If she did, she might end up on camera, and she hated herself on film. Although she didn't want to see the costumes, the sight of Claudia hanging eagerly on Esras' arm annoyed her. She stuffed the last of her roll in her mouth and washed it down with a gulp of tea, then followed the rest of her colleagues inside.

Everyone had trailed through to the back of the house to a room full of costumes. Each outfit was carefully covered and hanging on a metal rail. What kind of man had a storage room full of costumes in his house for goodness sake? Surely that proved he was weird.

Peter looked puzzled, while the cameramen grabbed the first things that came to hand and retreated quickly. Claudia and the other women oohed and ahhed over sparkly dresses while Kate watched from the doorway.

Esras came to her and caught hold of her hand. "I have the perfect dress for you. It's the same sapphire blue as your eyes."

She stood her ground when he tried to pull her into the room. "I grew out of playing dress-up years ago."

The corners of his mouth dipped sadly although his eyes continued to sparkle with mirth. "All work and no play makes Kate a dull girl."

His words. .h.i.t a nerve. "Then I guess I'm dull," she snapped and yanked her hand away from him. How would a wealthy eccentric like Esras understand that normal people didn't get anywhere in life by wasting time playing dress-up and fantasizing about magic?

Work hard and you'll get your reward in heaven, her mother had always said. And Kate wasn't getting any work done watching Claudia fawn over stupid dresses.

Kate stomped back outside, found her clipboard, and started ticking off the jobs she had completed.

Three hours later, all her colleagues and Esras' people were in costume and set to go. Esras walked regally down the four steps from his front door garbed in a gleaming silver and emerald cape over a pearly grey suit. Despite the theatrical costume, he still managed to look d.a.m.n s.e.xy. He wore a gold crown on his head decorated with mother-of-pearl and huge sparkling green gems. The stones looked like emeralds, but couldn't be; otherwise, the thing would be locked up in a vault. Esras' people had carried out his throne, and it was set upon a dais beside a smaller throne decorated with tiny pink and yellow sh.e.l.ls.

"OK, people, are we all ready?" the director shouted. Kate glanced down at her schedule, pleased that they were starting on time despite the fact that most of the team had had to change clothes.

Dressed in an elaborate off-the-shoulder gown of silver and gold with a scattering of tiny crystals across the bodice, Claudia introduced the episode before the crew filmed Esras taking his throne.

"And now, we'll witness the highlight of the festivities here today. King Esras will choose his Feast of Beauty queen," Claudia said in her silky on-camera voice. She turned to Esras expectantly, obviously keen to be called up to sit beside him. A tense silence fell over Esras' people and the watching crowd of villagers. Kate had a.s.sumed Esras would select Claudia. She had even pencilled Claudia's name in at this point on her schedule. Still, she couldn't deny a niggle of . . . what? Disappointment? Jealousy?

Esras remained silent for so long that people began to shift restlessly and the director muttered his annoyance. Kate stared at her clipboard, bracing herself to hear Esras call Claudia to be his Feast of Beauty Queen. Finally she looked up at him. His eyes were fixed on her, a hint of a smile on his lips. She seemed to fall into the green depths. A strange tingle that felt like bubbly water raced across her skin. The faint hum of voices and the noise of the feast day faded until all she could hear was the gentle hiss of the sea.

"Why are you ignoring me, Kate? You knew I'd choose you." Esras' words whispered on the wind.

Kate stared at him wide eyed. "I didn't . . ."

"Kate is my queen," Esras announced, and she snapped out of her trance with a jolt. Everyone was looking at her, some smiling, others with raised eyebrows, Claudia with daggers flashing from her eyes.

"You b.i.t.c.h," Claudia grated under her breath.

"You can't have Kate," Peter said, striding forwards. "She's not dressed up. It's much better if Claudia's your queen. It doesn't really matter who you have, does it? It's just pretend."