Bittersweet Deception Page 10

  ‘Is there anything else? Or shall we eat?’

  ‘I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.’ She picked up a fork. ‘But it was a special occasion. That was why those people were in the green room to meet you? Why did you take me?’

  His smile was touched with exasperation. ‘I took you because I wanted to, Kate. Is there anything else?’

  ‘But suppose I’d mentioned that I was your cook?’ She was suddenly horror-struck at the thought.

  He seemed to find the idea amusing. ‘They would have taken one look at you and assumed you were using a euphemism for something rather different.’

  She gave a little gasp. ‘They wouldn’t!’ But even as she said it she knew he was right, and blushed.

  ‘But since you are my cook, dear Kate, perhaps you would give me your professional opinion on this.’

  The food was wonderful. A simple salad of baby lettuce, anchovies and croutons, followed by poussin which they ate with their fingers.

  ‘Well?’ He regarded her with amusement.

  ‘It was quite wonderful.’

  ‘There’s more.’

  ‘No. Not another thing. I couldn’t.’ Then she sighed as a large bowl of fresh strawberries was placed on the table.

  ‘What was that you were saying?’

  ‘Nothing,’ she said weakly. During the course of the meal he had gradually drawn from her her plans to open a restaurant of her own. Now, as they dipped the berries into sugar and cream, he said, ‘This is the secret, you know. Simple food. None of that art-on-a-plate nonsense. I hope you’re not going to indulge in that.’

  ‘I’d like somewhere just like this some day.’

  ‘And in the meantime?’

  ‘For now I’d settle for anything I can afford.’

  ‘Does it have to be in London?’

  She nodded. ‘Yes. Or somewhere near.’ She would have to be close to Sam. She wouldn’t have the time to travel long distances.

  ‘Well, when are you going to do it?’

  She sighed. ‘When I have enough money. And you have to have something special to draw people to you. Now when I’ve published my cookery book…’ she joked.

  ‘A book?’ He was immediately interested. ‘How far have you got?’

  ‘It’s still at the idea stage, but basically I plan to adapt it from my cookery column in the Evening…’ slow colour burned her cheeks as she realised what would be in her column this week ‘… in my local newspaper,’ she went on. He might just be interested enough to look for himself if he knew she wrote for one of the London evening papers.

  ‘Well, I wish you luck. But I think we’d better move,’ Jay said.

  Kate looked around and was surprised to see the restaurant was empty. ‘It’s late.’

  ‘Well past midnight, Cinderella. Come along.’

  The car purred to a halt in front of the hall and Jay walked her over the bridge, with its stone lions standing guard, and unlocked the front door.

  He turned to her and, gently lifting her chin, raised her face to his. ‘Thank you for this evening, Kate. I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I did.’

  Suddenly shy at the warmth in his eyes, her heart beating up in her throat, Kate smiled up at him. ‘I had a lovely time. Thank you, Jay.’ Relaxed, happy, she knew that when he kissed her it would make the evening quite perfect. She closed her eyes in expectation of his embrace.

  ‘If you want me to kiss you, Kate, you’ll have to ask me.’ Her eyes flew open. ‘We had a deal, remember?’

  Oh, lord, she wanted him to kiss her. It was unbearable; he was unbearable!

  He laughed. ‘I’ll see you on Saturday.’ He was halfway to the car before she realised that he was going.

  ‘Jay?’ He looked back at her, his hair touched with silver in the moonlight.

  ‘Too late, sweetheart. I have to be in London at six. An interview with the Home Secretary. I’ll only just make it.’

  Leaning against the door, she watched until the car had quite disappeared beyond the church. Then slowly she turned and went inside. She should be furious with him, but she couldn’t be. She had no one but herself to blame. He had been kind tonight. Kinder than she deserved. He had taken her out and given her a pleasant evening. But she had made the ground rules and it was ridiculous to be upset because for once he had decided to stick to them.

  * * *

  The weather held. Saturday was a brilliant day and they hoped for a big turn-out. There had been a spot about the picnic on local radio and, because so many celebrities had promised to support the event, the regional television people were expected to put in an appearance as well.

  Kate had been glad of the extra work to keep her mind off Jay and what might have happened if he had kissed her. And there was the added worry about Sam’s imminent arrival. She wasn’t going to fetch her until Monday, when Jay would be safely away in the United States, but even so, it seemed unlikely that she would be able to keep up the pretence for much longer. She would have to tell him. This weekend.

  ‘Hi, Kate! I thought I’d find you in the kitchen.’

  She spun around, and a surge of pleasure at the sight of her sister carried her across the room. Pleasure that was immediately replaced by panic.

  ‘Sam! What on earth are you doing here?’ Horrified, she looked at her watch. She grabbed the girl as she heard Jay’s voice in the hall and pushed her up the back stairs and along the corridor into her bedroom. ‘I was coming to fetch you on Monday!’

  ‘I know. But it was brilliant. One of the teachers was coming this way for half-term so I had a lift…’

  ‘You can tell me later. Right now I’m thinking.’ Sam wasn’t the sort of girl to stay shut up on a day like this. ‘Wretch,’ she moaned. ‘Why on earth did you have to turn up now?’

  ‘That’s not very nice. I thought you would be pleased…’ Sam complained, but Kate didn’t have time to listen.

  ‘You’ll just have to get lost in the crowds until I’ve had a chance to explain to Jay.’

  ‘This is some welcome,’ Sam grumbled. Then she stopped, seeing that it was useless to protest.

  ‘You should have thought of that before accepting lifts.’ She frowned. ‘Who gave you a lift anyway?’ She went pale. ‘You didn’t hitch, did you?’

  ‘I told you…’

  ‘There isn’t time now.’ She opened the door a crack to check that the coast was clear before hurrying Sam down and out of the front door, where she stood uncertainly for a moment.

  Another thought struck her. ‘Have you got any money?’ She sighed. It had been a silly question. She pushed a five-pound note into her hand. ‘Off you go. Keep your head down and don’t get into any trouble.’

  ‘Anyone would think I was a criminal or something.’

  ‘Or something,’ she said, without hesitation. She watched as Sam wandered off and joined the growing crowds streaming into the park.

  ‘Oh, lord,’ she said to herself.

  ‘Kate? Everything all right?’ Jay appeared from the shadows and she gave a nervous start as he moved forward. ‘You positively jumped. What’s up? Is your conscience troubling you?’ He laughed at her stricken expression and took her hand, then frowned. ‘You’re trembling. What’s the matter?’

  ‘Nothing.’ And it was true that the trembling had nothing to do with Sam’s unexpected arrival. It was the first time she had seen him since he had taken her out and she had spent those days dwelling on thoughts of what might have been. Even though he would only have wanted a brief affair, given a second chance she knew it was a risk she would be prepared to take. At least they would both know what they were getting into. She tucked an escaped strand of hair behind her ear and pulled away. ‘It’s been a bit hectic, that’s all.’

  ‘Well, let’s sit down for a few minutes before the rush begins.’ He put his arm in hers and led her back to the kitchen. ‘I’m sorry to be so late. I had to make a diversion to pick up one of our guests.’

  ‘Have you had lunch? I could mak
e you an omelette. It wouldn’t take a minute.’ There was a shake to her voice and a tendency to babble. Calm down, Kate, she told herself firmly.

  ‘I’ve had lunch. Who was that girl I saw you talking to? She looked familiar somehow.’

  Kate blenched. ‘I need to talk to you, Jay,’ she said, quickly. ‘I have to explain something—’

  ‘Darling! This is where you’re hiding.’ Annabel Courtney glanced around. ‘What a lovely kitchen. And Kate, too. Thank you so much for sending me your recipe.’ She came forward, hand outstretched. ‘I do wish you could come on the programme to show us all how to do it. Even better, we could film it here,’ she said, looking around. ‘It would be perfect. Jason?’ She smiled up him, with winning blue eyes. ‘Darling, please say yes.’

  ‘Forget it, Annabel,’ he instructed.

  Kate took the proffered hand and managed a smile to cover the sickening clutch of jealousy that seized her. Jay said he had given someone a lift. She should have realised it was Annabel. No wonder the diversion had taken so long. The woman, unaware of the bewildering ferocity of the emotion she had provoked in Kate, leaned forward and murmured confidentially, ‘I’m afraid Jay doesn’t like his girls running off to appear on the television.’ She ignored the warning hiss that escaped Jay’s lips. ‘He prefers to keep them tucked up at home.’

  ‘In bed?’ Kate replied, the shocking words out of her mouth before she was even aware she had thought them.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ANNABEL’S blue eyes flickered between them, speculation adding an extra lustre. ‘Jay, my darling, whatever have you been doing to this young woman to give her such an impression of you?’ She shook her head and tutted. ‘If you’re not very careful you’ll be getting yourself a reputation.’ She chuckled, delighted with her joke, then possessively linked her arm in his. ‘Come along, I have to cut a ribbon, or declare something open, don’t I?’

  ‘This isn’t a supermarket, Annie,’ he said irritably as they left the kitchen, but he paused briefly in the doorway and turned to look back at Kate, a slight frown creasing his brow.

  * * *

  There had been a steady trickle of grandparents to the Conservatory all afternoon, but they hadn’t been rushed and Kate had allowed the girls to go out for a while in turn to join in the fun. But towards the end of the afternoon they began to get very busy and Kate found herself carrying trays through to the waiting customers.

  ‘I saw you on the telly, dear,’ one woman was saying. ‘I said to my sister…’ But Kate wasn’t listening. Her sharp ears had caught the brief swirl of an ambulance siren, and a shout, and she looked out of the window across to the lake where a small crowd was beginning to gather and more people were hurrying across the park to see what had caused the fuss. She moved to the door. ‘What’s happened?’ she asked one of the estate workers.

  ‘Someone’s fallen into the lake,’ he said. ‘I’m just going to call the doctor.’

  ‘Who?’ she demanded.

  ‘No one local,’ he called back. ‘A young girl, that’s all I know.’

  Kate began to walk across the grass, numbly at first, one foot in front of another, with a sudden sickening premonition of disaster. Then she began to run.

  She came to an abrupt halt at the sight by the lakeside. A St John Ambulance nurse had wrapped Sam in a blanket and she was sitting inside the ambulance, shivering, her long hair dripping about her shoulders, her teeth chattering. ‘S…sorry, Kate. I did try not to get into any trouble, but a little boy’s teddy fell in the lake… Are you very cross with me?’

  Relief that she was apparently all right turned Kate’s anguish to anger. ‘A teddy bear! You risked your life for a teddy bear! Samantha Thornley, have you any idea how dangerous that lake is?’ Tisha Maynard had warned her how steeply it shelved. She glanced at the ambulanceman. ‘Is she going to be all right?’

  ‘She’ll be fine. A hot bath should do it,’ he said, reassuringly. ‘She’s just got a soaking. Mr Warwick insisted on sending for the doctor, but…’ The man smiled at someone behind her. ‘The young lady will be quite all right, sir…’

  Kate spun around and confronted the author of this disaster, shock blinding her to everything but the fact that her sister could have drowned. ‘This is all your fault,’ she said bitterly. ‘There should have been warnings, someone here to stop this happening. Children can’t help falling into water…’

  ‘I’m not a child,’ Sam protested vehemently.

  Kate turned on her. ‘Then why were you acting like one?’

  ‘Kate, for heaven’s sake, she was just trying to help—’ Jay protested.

  ‘Help! And where were you when all this was happening?’

  ‘I was here,’ he said, a little grimly.

  ‘You! And I suppose you’re a trained life-saver? She could have drowned.’

  ‘Kate, I can swim,’ Sam objected. ‘I just lost my footing. I didn’t expect it to be so slippery…’

  ‘Why should you? There were no notices…no warning signs…’ She suddenly became aware of the large number of people gathered around, staring in open fascination as she berated Jason Warwick. ‘Come on. The doctor’s coming and we’d better get you out of these wet things.’ She helped her down the step, pointedly ignoring Jay, but Sam stopped.

  ‘Thank you for pulling me out of the lake, Mr Warwick.’ She grinned, clearly over the worst. ‘Just wait until the girls at school hear about it. It was quite worth the soaking…’

  He smiled at the girl. ‘I’m glad you think so. But please promise me you won’t do anything like it again.’ Kate suddenly realised that Jay’s shoes and trousers were wet and thickly coated in mud.

  ‘I promise.’

  ‘Is the young lady all right?’ a young woman interrupted anxiously. She was holding a boy, about two years old, his cheeks streaked with dirt where the tears had run. Now he was simply staring wide-eyed at Sam, clutching a soaking wet bear.

  ‘I’m fine,’ Sam said. ‘I’m glad you’ve got your bear back.’ A flurry of flashes announced the arrival of the press and several reporters gathered around them.

  Jay grabbed Kate by the arm. ‘Let’s get out of here,’ he said.

  ‘But I can’t leave Sam…’

  ‘Sam?’ Nothing had outwardly changed, yet she saw the spark of something dangerous deep in his eyes. And she shuddered. She had wanted to pick her moment to tell him, but she had left it too late. And now he was angry.

  ‘My sister,’ she said. He waited. ‘Samantha. Everyone calls her Sam.’

  He glanced at the slender, laughing girl, the centre of attention of a small crowd that had gathered around her, her hair already drying out in the sunshine. ‘That is Sam?’

  ‘I tried to tell you once.’

  ‘Really? And when was that, Kate?’ he demanded, a small muscle working at the corner of his mouth. ‘When you were telling me how much you loved him? Or how you had to support him? Or the numerous other occasions that he came into the conversation?’

  ‘I didn’t start it. You leapt to the wrong conclusion!’ she declared.

  ‘And you didn’t bother to enlighten me. I wonder why?’

  For a moment the two of them stood locked together in a silent battle, his fingers biting deeper into her arm.

  A sudden flash interrupted them. ‘Thanks, Mr Warwick.’ A grinning photographer waved his camera. ‘What’s your name, dear?’

  ‘None of your damned business,’ Jay retorted. He turned and hurried with her towards the house. ‘Your sister isn’t the only one who’ll be appearing in tomorrow’s papers.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said crossly, looking back across her shoulder. ‘Sam!’

  Jay pushed her through the door. ‘It does to me.’

  Of course it did. Annabel had been the girl on his arm in the gossip columns recently.

  ‘I’m sorry if it will embarrass you,’ she said stiffly. She raised her chin, unaware that her wide grey eyes were sparkling with unshed tears.

&nbs
p; ‘Oh, God! Nancy! Hot sweet tea, quick as you can. In the study, it’ll be quiet in there. I’ve got to get into some dry clothes.’

  She protested. ‘I have to look after Sam! She’ll get pneumonia.’

  ‘In this heat? I don’t think so. But she might just pass out from the smell of this mud.’

  ‘You’ve had a shock, Kate. Come along,’ Nancy insisted, with a stubbornness that would not be moved. ‘I’ll take care of your sister, but you’ve had a shock yourself.’ She was adamant that Kate put her feet up on the sofa by the window, promising that she would make sure Sam had a hot bath straight away. Kate stared unseeing through the window as the visitors began to stream away in their cars.

  She heard the study door open and turned, expecting to see Sam, but instead Jay, his hair still damp from a shower, filled the opening.

  ‘Is she all right?’ she asked anxiously.

  ‘Fine. Sam is the least of your worries right now, Kate,’ he said, with a slightly barbed edge to his voice. ‘Nancy has our heroine in charge. She’s having a bath and then she’ll have tea with the rest of the staff. The doctor gave her the once-over, and she’s apparently none the worse for her soaking.’

  ‘I suppose I should thank you for pulling her out of the lake.’

  ‘Instead of berating me like a fishwife in front of the assembled crowd? How very gracious of you,’ he said with a touch of asperity, and she had the grace to blush. ‘But I’m sure she could have managed. If she’s anything like you,’ he said with feeling, ‘I would stake my life on it.’

  ‘She’s tougher than me, Jay. She’s had to be.’

  ‘Perhaps you should tell me?’

  ‘No.’ She tried to turn around and sit up, but he scooped up her legs and sat down alongside her, dropping her feet into his lap. He began to knead them, very gently.

  ‘It might help.’ He regarded her steadily. ‘Why don’t you start with the reason for your duplicity?’

  She kept her eyes firmly fixed on her hands. There could be only one reason for that and she was sure he knew it as well as she did. ‘I…’ She couldn’t go on.

  ‘Is it so hard to admit, Kate?’