She looked outside the café windows at the weak sun trying to shine through the morning fog. She had a feeling the fog would burn off as the day wore on, and the thought of sitting out in the newly weeded garden in the sun made her feel a little lighter, but really her mind was on other things.
Last night had been so full-on, so intense she had felt the need to be alone for an hour or two this morning. It had seemed every time one or both of them had turned around they were caressing each other, Samuel would be suckling her nipples or she would be stroking his shaft.
She had no problem with their intense lovemaking—it was more she needed a breather, needed to clear her head. With Samuel thrusting inside her, or even laying calmly beside her in his huge bed, everything was jumbled. She couldn’t possibly think straight.
And so she had pleaded exhaustion—which was truth—and decided to take a drive. She hadn’t gone with any direction or intention, she just needed some air. She had ended up back in the small village she recalled passing on her way to Mary and Dominic’s cabin.
A few small shops and a scattered bunch of houses made up the small village. She remembered wishing she could stop at the café for a bite to eat on first passing through, but it had been closed at the late hour she passed.
Now seemed the perfect time to pop in and drink a cup of tea and contemplate the world.
Sighing, she took another sip, wondering where the waitress had gone off to. It was admittedly quite early in the morning, but looking around the shop, Chloe realized it was just she and a very old looking woman sitting over in the other corner of the shop. No one else could be seen.
As her eyes fell on the old woman she lifted a hand and waved Chloe over to her. Mentally shrugging, she picked up her cup and the pot of tea and headed over. Even though she really wanted to think her situation through, conversely she didn’t really feel like being alone.
Chloe grinned. Sometimes she just couldn’t be pleased.
Setting the pot down in the middle of the old lady’s table, Chloe gently put her cup down and sat opposite the lady. Noticing the other diner’s empty cup, she offered, “Would you like a nice hot cup of English Breakfast, ma’am? I have a pot here.”
The old crone smiled happily. Her eyes were the very palest blue Chloe had ever seen, and very slightly cloudy. The sparkle inside them, however, was sharp.
“I would love a cup, dear. That silly young chit has gone out back to talk to her lover, so it will be a while before she gets back.”
Chloe happily poured the other woman a cup of tea, grateful to be sharing the huge pot.
“I’m so glad, I was wondering how I would drink the lot of it. I’m Chloe by the way—Mary Rutledge’s cousin.”
“I know who you are, dear. I’m Old Mona. Been around these parts forever. You’re that rascal Samuel’s mate, aren’t you?”
Chloe blinked, not knowing what to say and still be polite. Taking a sip of tea instead, she pondered her responses. Old Mona seemed like such a nice old woman, she didn’t want to upset her by trying to explain the more modern concept of taking a lover.
“Umm…I’m more of a casual acquaintance actually.”
Mona waved her hand as if to cast the lie from the air.
“Oh posh! You’re not merely lovers. Women have been taking on lovers for centuries, my dear. There’s nothing new in that. But finding a mate, now that is a rarer occasion. Particularly finding one’s True Mate, one’s heart’s passion. That takes a mixture of patience, determination, and pure luck.”
Chloe felt a niggling worry at the term “True Mate” and “Heart’s Passion”. It was well and good to realize she finally had found a heartfelt passion for teaching, and wanted to truly make her career out of it. But to associate such strong terms to a man who had easily had over a hundred lovers in his life, and had never felt the need to commit to any of them, that was a lot scarier.
Almost as if she had read her mind, Mona put down her cup of tea and leaned forward. Chloe had the distinct impression the old woman wished to shake her like a silly five-year-old.
“Don’t be crazy, my dear. Men have always played the field, or ‘sowed their wild oats’ as we called it in my day. Once they find The One, they settle down and become respectable men, or a whole lot more respectable than the rogues they were. All those Rutledge boys have turned out beautifully, even if they were hellions as children and teenagers. Everyone despaired of them when they caroused well into their late twenties and in Dom and Samuel’s case—early thirties.”
The old lady shook her head, but Chloe noticed a twinkle in her eye.
“Only their Grandpa Zach and I didn’t worry about them. Those boys had been through enough—they deserved their time. And both he and I remembered well how one’s True Mate merely pops up when one least expects it. You can’t force something like that. We knew that sooner or later those boys would meet their match, and who were we to try and force them down a path they didn’t want?”
Chloe frowned, only understanding a bit of the conversation, and not having a clue where it was leading.
“And so, young lady, you have some decisions to make.”
“Me?” she queried.
Mona rolled her eyes, not unlike how Mary
