Free Dreaming of Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly

cups, knowing she had plenty to get on with, but she had a better idea. Flinging her tea towel over a chair, she took the stairs two at a time, rushing into her bedroom and staring out the window. Her guests had reached the Cobb where several vans were already in position. It was too early yet for tourists to get in the way, but Kay could see that the area had been roped off.
    She looked around her bedroom. Now, where had she put them? She hunted through her wardrobe and the drawers of her bedside table. They were there somewhere; she was quite sure of it. Ah, there they were! Tucked away at the back of the second drawer, behind a notebook featuring the face of Mr Darcy, was a pair of miniature binoculars. Kay pulled them out, grabbed a drawing pad and pencil, and ran downstairs, pulling on a pair of boots and heading along Marine Parade in the direction of the Cobb. She didn’t want to make a nuisance of herself, so she found a quiet stretch of wall along the beach and sat down.
    â€˜That’s better,’ she said to herself as she brought the binoculars into focus and settled on the little crowd of people who had joined her guests on the Cobb. There was a lot of pointing going on, and everyone looked out to sea, where a heap of bruised clouds was looming over the horizon. Teresa nodded, and Les looked as miserable as ever. And Oli was looking handsome. He had a great profile, just the sort of profile a heroine would sketch as a silhouette. Kay smiled. What a great idea that would be! She could get him sitting for her one evening and make one of those fabulous Austenesque silhouettes, just like the one Marianne made of Willoughby in the film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility .
    In the meantime, the artist in her got the better of her, and she opened her pad and began sketching. That beautiful slope of his forehead, that perfect nose and strong jaw, the sensual curve of his smile, and the buttery floppiness of that hair. Kay quickly sketched, her eyes focussing through the binoculars and then down on her pad, capturing the magic of the man as quickly as she could. She was just putting the finishing touches to it when she looked through the binoculars again. Oli had turned around, and he was waving. Kay moved the binoculars to the right, trying to see at whom he was waving, and something odd happened. Oli pointed towards her, a big grin on his face.
    Kay gasped. He was waving at her. She bit her lip and quickly got up to leave, but it was too late. She’d been well and truly rumbled. She closed her eyes for a moment and allowed herself a good old cringe. What on earth would Oli think of her now? He’d think she was some ogling starstruck fan. It was awful! She’d just have to try to explain what she was doing.
    You were ogling him , a little voice inside her said as she quickly headed back home.
    â€˜No, I wasn’t. I was sketching him as part of my work. He is playing Captain Wentworth, after all.’
    You were ogling him! You know you were!
    Kay groaned. She had better things to do than stand around arguing with herself. There was the dishwasher to load, for a start. She was piling in the dishes and thanking her lucky stars that she had the foresight to buy one, when there was a knock at the door. For a moment, her heart raced. Maybe it was Oli. He’d raced back to the B&B after seeing her ogling him— watching him. It had suddenly dawned on him that she was the girl for him. How hadn’t he seen it sooner? He should have realised it when she was serving him breakfast. Oh, all the time they’d wasted!
    Kay opened the door. It was a man, all right, but it wasn’t Oli.
    â€˜Hello,’ he said.
    â€˜Hello,’ Kay said, her heartbeat returning to something approaching normality again.
    â€˜I’m Adam. Adam Craig.’
    â€˜I’m afraid we’re full at the moment. If you’re looking for a room,’ Kay said.
    â€˜Oh, I’m not,’ he said.