Free The Forgotten Cottage by Helen Phifer Page B

her side of the road. She was wearing the familiar white cotton gown, her head was bent forward and her long dark hair hung around her face, covering it. Annie slammed the brakes on, afraid it was too late and she was going to hit her. She turned her wheel sharply to the left and screamed as her car ploughed straight through a hedge and down a steep hill. She tried to put her brakes on but there was no traction and the car spun around on the damp grass. The oak tree which loomed in front of her car was enormous and her last thought before she hit it head-on was
, I’m going to die
. There was a crunch as the metal hit the trunk and a loud squeal. Her head slammed forward against the steering wheel and she saw the woman out of the corner of her eye, with her head held high and her piercing blue eyes staring straight at her, and then the world went black.
    1782
    Betsy woke up late the next day; she had fallen asleep after her little angry outburst and not moved an inch all night. The sun was shining through the window and she stretched out. She had a headache from all the ale she had drunk but it wasn’t as bad as she’d feared. How perfect would it have been to wake up next to Joss? She had never been in love but he was so kind to her that she thought that she was falling in love with him. The only thing which spoilt her chances of being with him were his children, but she knew that they could be taken care of. She would continue to work on him; it was only a matter of time before he gave in. He was a man and they had needs, or so her mother always used to tell her. She wanted to be out of this cramped house, the sooner the better, and the only way that was going to happen was if Joss asked her to stay with him. She would offer her services as a maid to his brats if she had to—anything to escape. She had been told she didn’t need to go in to work today but if she didn’t she might miss seeing Joss and that would serve no purpose at all. It was all about the timing; she wanted to be a lady of a house, his house, and not have to work in a smoke-filled, stinking pub for ever.
    She rolled onto her side, thinking about Joss, when a loud knock on the door made her jump from her bed and look out of the window. He was standing outside her door, as if her thinking about him had summoned him to her doorstep. She was naked and grabbed the sheet from her bed, wrapping it around herself, then she ran down the stairs. She opened the door a crack, to see him grinning at her like an excited schoolboy and she smiled back.
    ‘Good morning, Betsy. I trust you slept well and are not feeling too ill today?’
    ‘I did, thank you, Joss. I would have slept better with you beside me, though.’ She noted the faint redness that worked its way up from his neck to his face. ‘Oh, come now, Joss, do not tell me you are that shy. I find that hard to believe.’
    She stepped away from the door so he could come inside the house. She had the sheet wrapped around her naked body so tightly he could not miss the soft curves it was hiding. He stepped in and shut the door behind him, taking off his flat cap.
    ‘No, Betsy, I am not that shy and I have come today to tell you that I have hardly slept a wink all night for thinking about you. I lay in my cold bed yearning to have your soft, warm body next to mine and I kept on telling myself I was a fool for walking out last night. But I have my sons to consider and I still love my wife, even though she died more than a year ago now.’
    Betsy tried not to growl at the mention of his boys. If Joss noticed the look of distaste which darkened her pretty face for a moment he didn’t speak of it. She made herself smile at him then walked towards him, letting the sheet drop to the floor and exposing her naked body. Joss paused then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, his lips finding hers. She ran her fingers through his hair then held it tight so that he couldn’t pull away and