She sat in her small but comfortable lounge, flipping through an old book and sipping a martini. Her long blonde hair was worn up in a stylish chignon, and her clothes were immaculate and chic, as always. It had been a long day of tedious administrative work, and she had earned some quiet time and a drink.
So naturally, there was an interruption.
"Beg your pardon, mum," said the young maid, curtsying at the entrance to the room. "There is a call on the house line. Someone insisting on speaking to Lady Greymoor."
The patrician woman glanced up at the pronouncement, looked around the small room for a moment, then back at the domestic servant. She liked this girl, even if she was a local who crunched carrots from back to front through her R's. "Well, they must mean me, then."
The girl smiled. "I believe so, mum. Should I send them off?"
"No," she sighed, getting up and shaking her head. "It was my fault for trying to take a break. Lead on, Maddy."
There were other phones throughout the place, of course, but most calls from unknown numbers were routed through a single unit, which allowed her to decide if she intended to take the call or not. It was in another study, and the girl Maddy led her there now. The servant curtsied at the entrance and walked off, her mission accomplished.
She sat behind the desk, sighed, and crossed herself (just in case the Catholics were right), and picked up the receiver on the quaintly old rotary phone.
"This is Lady Jennifer Penrose, Countess of Greymoor, and Mistress of Heatherly Hall," she announced in her pleasant and somewhat sassy tone. "With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?"
"
It is so good to hear Received Pronunciation again
," said the lovely voice of the woman on the other end of the line.
There was a long silence while Jenny paused, as if stunned. Seconds passed, and all she could hear was her own heartbeat.
"Kat?" she asked in a soft voice, almost unwilling to believe her ears.
"
And have you missed my rhotacisms?
" the voice asked with a sly tone.
Jenny's heart leapt with a kind of joy she hadn't felt in decades.
***
Mike & Karen
Disclaimer:
All characters are 18 years of age or older while actively engaging in sexual activity. This story is a prequel/sequel (sprequel?) to my other work, Alex & Alexa. As always, many thanks and gratuitous panty shots from Freja and Jeanie to my long-suffering editor and beta-reader for their assistance in polishing up and improving this work. Reviews are welcome; flames will be snickered at and deleted with extreme prejudice. Enjoy!
Chapter XXII- Just A Skip Across The Pond
"Kat!" Jenny almost shrieked in excitement, standing from her chair, her brown eyes lighting up. "Ekaterina Leda Gloriana Gordon! Is it really you?"
"
The surname is DeBourne now, but yes, Jen, it is really me
," Karen laughed, her voice indicating she was equally delighted to hear Jenny's. "
I've been sitting here for the past fifteen minutes, plucking up the courage to find your number and call you
."
"I'm so glad you did!" Jenny breathed, sitting down again, but leaning forward in her chair, her eyes wide as she stared at the opposite wall while talking. "My dear girl, Kat, how are you?"
"
Very well, thank you
," Karen said easily. "
We just got back from a visit to the family wineries in Napa a few hours ago, and I'd resolved to call you. And how are you, my dear countess?
"
"All is well, I suppose," responded the still-shocked blonde, trying to compose herself and come up with real answers. "I am truly the Lady of Heatherly Hall now. Widowed once, divorced once, and three children, with a brace of tedious grandkids."
"
I saw that your parents were both gone after a little Google search
," Karen added. "
I'm sorry, Jen
."
Jenny shrugged, as if Karen could see her. "It was quite a few years ago, Kat, we're all fine. How are Miranda and Jonathon?"
There was a quick pause. "
Mom and dad both passed, Jen. Dad just about three years ago, mom close to two
."
Jenny closed her eyes, feeling a sting in the corner of them as she was silent for a moment. She had adored Karen's parents. "I'm so sorry, Kat," she whispered in a quiet voice. "You know I loved them."
"
I know, Jen
," Karen said, and Jenny could hear the smile in her tone. "
They loved you too.
"
"But enough of that," Jenny said, sitting up again, her demeanour brightening considerably, her heart still pounding in her chest. "What have you to say after all these years? Tell me every- no, wait! Is there any other bad news I must absorb first?"
There was another pause as Karen thought. "
No, mom and dad are my only sad news for you. Aside from that, life is quite grand, I dare say
."
Jenny asked a question before she lost her nerve. "And have... Kat, have you forgiven me for running out on you all those years ago?"
Karen's voice filled Jenny with bliss as she answered.
"
There is no need to forgive you, Jen, because you were right all along. And I married the man you could tell I was in love with, even though you'd never met him. I... thank you, Jen. Thank you, for knowing me so well
."
There were tears on Jenny's cheeks as she smiled, trying not to cry happily.
"Thank God," she said finally. "Can you imagine how stupid I would feel if I'd been wrong?"
Both women burst out laughing at her statement. It was some seconds before they recovered and could speak again. They laughed together so easily, even after over thirty years apart. It was natural, it was wonderful, it was... so very right.
"Are you still married to the bloke, then?" Jenny asked cheerfully, so very relieved that Karen had found her happiness. It meant everything to her.
"
Very happily
," Karen declared almost proudly. "
And I find ways to fall in love with him a little more each and every day
."
"To have the heart of Ekaterina Gordon held that way," Jenny sighed romantically, leaning back in her chair now and gazing at her study's old wooden ceiling. "I can only imagine what he must be like."
"
Nonsense
," Karen stated. "
I called because if you are amenable, I wanted you to take a little hop across the pond and meet him. He's only heard about you for the past thirty years, and probably knows you as well as I ever did.
"
Jenny's eyes went wide at Karen's words. "You... want me to come see you at Blackshack?"
"
That is indeed where I live now, having inherited it from mom and dad, much to the consternation of my cousin Roddy
," Karen pointed out. "
I am having a housewarming in the middle of April, and it would mean the world to me if you were there
."
The countess sat forward again, wanting to make sure she heard correctly. "Kat... does your husband know... about us?"
"
Every bit as well as you and I do
," Karen answered. "
And he probably understands the whole thing better than either of us. He can be annoying that way.
"
"And he would be all right with me coming to visit?" Jenny asked.
"
I daresay
," Karen laughed. "
It was his idea, after all
."
Jenny almost shook her head, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I..."
"
Jenny, he is aware of what we meant to each other, and he knows how badly it hurt both of us when you went away,
" Karen said gently. "
It left holes in both of us, and he has never attempted to gloss over the matter and dismiss it. He just became my joy and my world, the way you said he would
."
Jenny just listened quietly, although her heart thundered in her chest.
"
And he has told me on numberless occasions about the debt he feels toward you for being so central to making me who I am today, and also for sacrificing what you thought was your only happiness so that I could pursue mine.
"
Jenny said nothing, beyond words at that moment.
"
How could either of us ever thank you enough, my dearest Jen
?" Karen asked quietly.
"Well, I daresay an invitation to stay at Blackshack is a good start," Jenny said finally, smirking now. "My God, Kat, I... what you're saying, you're blowing me away."
"
Should I list you down as an official attendee, then
?" Karen teased.
"Oh, yes, of course, your royal majesty," Jenny said grandly in her most proper voice. "How could I ever turn down such a generous offer from my queen?"
This drew a laugh from Karen before she answered. "
We would love to have you come and stay before the housewarming. Can you possibly pull yourself away for that long
?"
Jenny almost giggled. "Kat, I majored in business and property management and run our interests across the globe, with my eldest son Sam following in my footsteps. I think I can leave the running of things in his capable hands while I take a vacation. There is so much to catch up on, after all."
