Mike & Karen Ch. 22

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."

"Three decades worth of catching up, certainly," Karen said, sounding excited. "Jenny, I..."

"Yes, Kat?" Jenny said, almost afraid to breathe as she listened.

"I want you in my life again..."

It was all Jenny could do to keep from swooning. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she wrestled to control her emotions.

"And I want you in mine," she said finally in a trembling voice. "And I want to meet this man who you love. I want to thank him for making you so very, very happy."

She thought she heard her long-lost friend sniffle quietly. "Yes, Jen."

They both sniffled quietly as they tried to keep from crying, and neither minded the other doing it. They never had, and they never would.

"So," Karen said finally, managing to compose herself. "My family still owns a jet, should I send it to pick you up?"

"No, lovey, I'm sure I remember where Blackshack is," Jenny said, giggling. "Are you still in touch with Mona, Janet, and Lisa?"

"Absolutely," Karen replied. "They'll all hopefully be at the housewarming, but I won't tell them you're coming. I'm not telling anyone. We'll make it a surprise."

Jenny almost squealed and kicked her feet in excitement. "I cannot wait to see them again! Did... did you tell them why I... why I left?"

"Not in so many words, no," Karen admitted. "But they know my husband, so they might suspect. I've never seen fit to ask."

"Then do not tell me anything more until I am there, because you know how much I love surprises," Jenny declared. "I will refrain from checking any media concerning you, and simply coordinate about my pending arrival. You said your housewarming is in the middle of April?"

"The actual event is the twentieth," Karen said. "The girls all said they should be arriving on the twelfth."

There was a pause while Jenny thought things through.

"Unless you think I'd be overstaying my welcome, I could be there by the twenty-ninth of March," she mused. "Do you think you can endure my presence for a month?"

Karen laughed. "A month isn't nearly long enough, but perhaps it's a start. I'll keep your arrival a secret from everyone, barring my husband."

"No secret for him?"

"Jenny, I never keep anything from him," Karen said, and Jen was flooded with such warmth, hearing the devotion in her dearest friend's voice. "We'll talk soon, okay?"

"Kat?"

"Yes, Jen?"

Jenny hesitated. "I've led a great life, and a very content one, but... is it a problem that I've never stopped holding you in my heart?"

"I don't see why it would be," Karen reasoned. "After all, I never stopped holding you in mine."

Jenny found her voice. "I'll see you soon, Kat."

"Not soon enough, Jen. Take care."

Jenny hung up the phone and pushed away from her desk, leaning back and staring at the ceiling before letting out a cry of elation, spinning in her chair. She stood up from her chair and danced around the office, feeling light as air. After over thirty years, she'd almost forgotten what this wound had done to her heart, how it had dulled; and in the span of one ten-minute conversation, she felt... healed. In a way she had forgotten she needed to be.

The graceful, elegant countess waltzed balletically around the room, surrounded by tall shelves full of books, singing a tune to herself. Kat wanted her back in her life! She'd invited Jenny to come and stay at Blackshack! Her brown eyes danced in delight, wanting to sing out in joy and not caring who heard.

"Reginald!" she called out as she pirouetted around giddily before coming to rest, sitting back against the corner of her ancient wooden desk. Seconds later, she was joined by a crisp and humourless man who stood ramrod-erect and clicked his heels as he stood in the entrance of the study. He reminded her of the butler Mr. Carson from that TV show Downton Abbey, but with none of the endearing flashes of warmth or humour.

"You called, milady?" he asked in a dour English tone.

"Yes," she said, smiling dazzlingly. "I need to book a flight, to Toronto. Please see to the arrangements."

"Yes, mum," he said nodding. "Are these immediate plans?"

"No, please set them for the twenty-eighth of the month," she replied, giddy at the thought of the visit being so soon.

"Very good, mum; I am glad that you had not forgotten your schedule," he intoned with his ever-annoying formality.

"My schedule?" she asked, blinking.

"Yes, countess," he said, almost sighing. "You are due in Tewkesbury tomorrow, as you have many business arrangements to see to. There is your proposal for purchasing the Priory Park lots in the town, you have four different loan and repayment agreements to look over with some rental applicants for said space in anticipation of this purchase, a children's spelling bee to host outside the town, and-"

"A spelling bee?" Jenny protested, not liking the sound of this at all. "Why must I host? Tewkesbury is in Gloucester, not Devon! It's Henry's job!"

"Mayhap, my lady, but it was one of the terms you worked out with his lordship the duke in order to avoid paying any county dues on the new properties you intend to relieve him of. You took his place at the Catsmeat Preparatory School's annual spelling bee, amongst other agreements."

"Ugh, this ponks!" she groused, scowling and folding her arms. "Damn Beaufort, he tricked me. I'd rather have given him the money."

"Be that as it may, your ladyship, you leave early tomorrow, and you shall be back in three days," the seneschal said, bowing stiffly and then exiting from her presence.

Jenny leaned back against her desk again, looking up at the ceiling in despair.

Tewkesbury, she moaned to herself, wondering what she'd done wrong with her life to deserve this. It's practically in Belgium...

***

Toronto, March 1987...

Jenny stumbled through the house, her eyes stinging from tears, and her heart pounding and aching. She had just done the unthinkable and turned her back on the person she loved more than anything and anyone in this world.

She would never forgive herself.

Down the grand staircase of Blackwell Manor she went, nearly falling as tears blinded her, and out the front doors, where a limo taxi was waiting for her. The young woman threw herself into the back seat, gasping and shaking.

"Pearson, please..." she choked out, trying to control herself. "And please lower the privacy screen, sir, I have a lot of crying to do."

No sooner had the screen lowered than Jenny burst into tears, sobbing as she collapsed in on herself. She felt shattered, and utterly hopeless. What had she done? Why had she done it?

"I forgive you, Jen..." she'd heard Kat say, even though she didn't truly comprehend what was happening. Jenny was leaving her, moving aside for the person that she didn't even know she loved, the person Kat was truly destined for. Jenny could see it in her beloved's heart, and she had no right to stand in the way, even if it cost Jenny her own happiness. She loved Kat far too much to hold her back.

The world was only so big, and she could only run so far.

She knew she'd hurt Kat, even devastated her and broken her heart, but what else could she do? Live a lie? Convince Kat that she was her true love? Jenny would die inside every day, not only seeing Kat's love for someone else inside her, but knowing that she was denying Kat her true love.

So she cried, because it was all she had left. Her grief. The agony of loss, but one born of love.

God, forgive me, I did the right thing, didn't I? Why does it hurt so much?

How would she ever live again?

The ride to Pearson Airport took nearly two hours, but Jenny took no notice, and she was there before she was ready. Sniffling and with red-streaked cheeks, she made her way into the terminal, trying to compose herself. She did what she could to straighten herself out in a washroom, then went and booked a flight.

There were none heading to Los Angeles and then Sydney, at least not any time soon, and she didn't care. She booked a flight to Heathrow, with a connecting flight to Paris, Tel Aviv, New Delhi, and then Hong Kong. From there, she would reach Perth.

The money didn't matter, nor did the long hours. In fact, the longer it took her to get anywhere, the better. None of it mattered.

She talked to nobody during the flights and slept little. By the time she reached Tel Aviv, she was exhausted and miserable. It didn't matter. The only thought rolling through her head constantly was how much she'd hurt Kat, and what an awful person she was.

Even when she arrived back in Perth, there was no joy to be found, not even the comfort of familiar surroundings. Everything just seemed small, and pointless. Even her spacious home in Swan Valley meant nothing. The staff were all baffled- their normally bright and vivacious young charge was inconsolable. Whatever had happened while she was abroad seemed to have undone her. She stayed in her room and cried.

Eventually, her parents had come home, and her father had been predictably curt on the subject. He'd always liked her friend Kat, and her fabulously wealthy family, the Blackwells, but he did not have unlimited patience for his daughter's melancholy.

"Jennifer, I do not understand what has happened, but I also know that life goes on," he had said, standing in her bedroom while she was lying face-down in her pillows sobbing. "The answer is to throw yourself into recovering yourself, and that means concentrating on improving your life. You are going to an excellent university here, and some day it will allow you to take over the estates. You mustn't lose sight of your obligations, my dear."

Jenny hated it, but her father had slowly, eventually proven eventually right. The hurt had never left, but she had shielded herself from it, and soldiered on. Like an oyster covers an irritant in pearl, she ossified her feelings, her love, and buried it deep, hopefully to never hurt her again.

All she could do was hope Kat would forgive her. And find her happiness.

It would be some years before Jenny found someone she loved and managed to move on.

***

Gloucestershire border, the present...

The M5 had unfortunately taken her through Bristol, but by sticking to the motorway, she'd be able to slip right between Gloucester and Cheltenham, avoiding both towns. It wasn't that she hated Gloucestershire, but if she'd been presented the choice between living there or in the Sixth Layer of Hell, she would have an awkward choice to make. Gloucestershire was indeed an awkward county, in her estimation: not classy enough to belong to the east, not practical enough to associate with the Southwest, and with just enough Welsh influence to be completely annoying.