Rejection Runs Deep (The Canleigh Series, book 1: A chilling psychological family drama), Carole Williams [ebook reader 8 inch .TXT] 📗

thinking about the nurse who he had been dating on and off for the past few weeks.  Cressida was attractive, slim, blonde, and bubbly and made him laugh and although she obviously had designs on him, he had no intentions of taking the relationship further.  Cressida was too immature and giggly and got on his nerves very easily.  He glanced at Ruth.  She, on the other hand, was just his cup of tea.  They were good friends and that was always important in any relationship.  She took her work seriously, even though she wasn’t sure about the future.  She was kind, patient, quiet, and gentle; liked classical music, history, theatre and best of all, picnics.  They had enjoyed quite a few down by the river in Oxford, sometimes in a group of friends, sometimes alone, laid on blankets, reading books or idly watching the boats drift by whilst eating salmon and cucumber sandwiches, chocolate cake and drinking the odd bottle of vino.   Richard knew he was falling for her in a big way.   He thought about her flippant words regarding marriage and babies and how they were only friends.  But were they?  Were they really?  She would make a wonderful Marchioness and one day, a Duchess … although he hoped that day was a very long time in coming.  He smiled at her warmly, having a great feeling about this weekend.  They had a whole two days to enjoy each other’s company out of the stressful setting of the hospital and with a bit of luck, she might just start falling for him.

“Well, here we are then,” he announced, pulling up at the impressive black wrought iron gates to Canleigh Hall.  “That’s unusual.  They’re normally open … won’t be a minute,” he added, jumping out of the car

Ruth watched his tall, athletic figure stride across and pull the gates open with apparent ease, her nervousness increasing by the second.  Having been invited by Richard to spend the weekend at his family’s country mansion was a daunting experience and although firstly excited at the prospect, Ruth’s qualms were now taking precedence.  Richard had tried hard on the journey up from Oxford to dispel her nerves but now the actual boundaries of his ancestral home were reached and the meeting with the Duke of Canleigh and the rest of his aristocratic family was nearly upon her, Ruth felt exceedingly apprehensive and even a little afraid.  Which was stupid, she told herself.  She had absolutely nothing to fear.  Whatever was the matter with her?

Richard was just about to return to the car when a Landrover cruised up the drive towards them and pulled up beside him.  Richard smiled at the elderly white-haired male driver who was puffing hard on a pipe.  The two men quickly became engrossed in conversation and Ruth felt a sense of relief.  A few brief minutes would give her a breathing space and time to collect her thoughts before she was driven to the Hall and launched into goodness knows what.

Although Richard had never made a secret that he was a Marquess and heir to the Duke of Canleigh, to all at the hospital he was just plain Richard Canleigh and his status was rarely discussed or even thought about.  Richard possessed no airs or graces, mixing in with his fellow students well and everyone really liked him.  He rarely mentioned his family although his mother’s indiscretions eleven years ago and the subsequent messy divorce between his parents were common knowledge, having been spread all over the media for weeks on end.  On the way up to Yorkshire Richard had mentioned his father had never remarried and divided his time living part of the year at Canleigh and the remainder at his castle in Scotland, writing successful historical novels with the help of his secretary, Susan Armitage.

Ruth considered what she knew about the rest of the Canleigh family.  She had met Lady Victoria, Richard’s younger sister, who was presently living in Oxford and reading English at St. Hilda’s college.  Vicky had joined their group of medical students on a couple of picnics and theatre outings and they had liked each other immensely so Ruth was pleased the younger girl would be at Canleigh this weekend.  It would be interesting to meet Vicky’s new boyfriend too.  Ruth wondered if he was as nervous as she.

Then, of course, there was Richard’s twin, Lady Delia.  Richard had barely mentioned her, which made Ruth incredibly curious.  She knew Delia would be marrying in a couple of weeks to the ‘boy next door’, her first and only love apparently and she was passionate about horses but apart from that Richard didn’t talk much about her but if she was as nice as Richard and Vicky it would be a pleasure to meet her.

The conversation between Richard and the man in the Landrover ended and the driver re-started the engine and drove off down a track to the right of the woods.  Richard walked back to the car and settled into the driving seat.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.  That was Dick Joyce, our estate manager.  He’s retiring shortly.” He smiled at Ruth.  “Ready for all this then?”

Ruth gave a weak grin and nodded as the engine roared into life and the journey down the long winding drive to the Hall began.  It was a truly magnificent sight with all the azaleas and rhododendrons in full flower.  Gorgeous vivid reds, hot orange, dazzling yellow, pretty pinks and pure white petals adorned the huge shrubs, entwined with one another on either side of the drive, growing so high, they were more like trees than shrubs.  Beautiful, stunning colours.  Ruth had always liked rhododendrons but these surpassed any she had previously seen and quite took her breath away.

“Delia has picked the right time to get married,” remarked Richard.  “The drive always looks a picture when all the rhododendrons are out.  That’s St. Mary’s over there,” he said as