Millionaire's Women Part 23

Philip Brace looked at her levelly. 'I can leave you in peace if you prefer.'

'Not at all. I'd be glad of company, too. Have you driven far?'

Having established that they lived less than thirty miles from each other, they discussed Jo and Leah, and exchanged opinions on the education the girls were receiving before breaking off to give their orders to the hovering waiter.

'I would have felt conspicuous as the only person on my own,' Kate admitted, once they were seated in the formal dining room later.

'I get more than enough of it on my travels for the firm.' He smiled hopefully. 'I'm driving Leah to Chipping Camden for lunch tomorrow. Would you and Jo care to join us?'

Kate explained about the tragedy which had turned Jo against car journeys, and said something polite about joining forces some other time.

Philip shot her a look as he poured the wine he'd ordered. 'If I get too pushy just tell me to back off.'

'Oh,I will,' she a.s.sured him, smiling to take the edge off her words.

'One question,' he went on, once their first course was in front of them. 'If you are Jo's aunt, is there a matching uncle?'

'No. Other than me, her only relatives are a pair of elderly grandparents.'

'Poor little thing!' He smiled wryly. 'As you can probably tell,I was trying to find out whether I was trespa.s.sing on someone's preserves.'

'If you were I would have said no,' she a.s.sured him, and got on with her excellent dinner. The meal pa.s.sed very pleasantly, they opted for coffee at the table afterwards, but when they left the dining room Kate stopped at the foot of the main staircase in the hall and held out her hand.

'I'll say goodnight now, Philip.'

'Shall I see you at breakfast in the morning?'

She shook her head smiling. 'I'm not a morning person. I'll probably see you at school later on.'

'I hope so. Goodnight, Kate.' He shook her hand very formally. 'Thank you for your company.'

Once she reached her room Kate rang reception to order breakfast there instead of in the dining room as she would have much preferred. Having dinner with a stranger was one thing, breakfast a different thing entirely. Philip Brace, she suspected, was another man finding it hard to adjust to single status.

Kate's phone rang when she was settled down in bed with a book. She checked the caller ID and smiled smugly. 'h.e.l.lo, Jack.'

'Are you in your room?' he asked, 'or have I interrupted your dinner?'

'I've had dinner. I'm reading in bed.'

'Anna Maitland told me where you were this weekend. Why couldn't you have told me?'

'Last time we spoke you weren't exactly friendly.'

'I'd just heard you'd been to the theatre with Forster.'

'It's not against the law.'

'True. Why didn't you tell me where you were going this weekend?'

'To be honest, Jack, it never occurred to me.'

'G.o.d, you're a cruel woman!'

'Why did you want to speak to me tonight?'

'Must I have a reason?'

'It's a bit late for a chat,' she said tartly.

'I waited until now to avoid interrupting your dinner. Was it good?'

'Very good indeed.'

'Did you dine alone?'

Kate ground her teeth. 'As it happens, no. The father of one of the other pupils is staying here. He suggested we join forces.'

'Is he with you now?'

'No, Jack,' she snapped. 'I told you. I'm in bed.'

Jack chuckled. 'You're annoyed.'

'Such intuition! Is that why you rang? To annoy me?'

'No. I rang to invite you to dinner at Mill House next Sat.u.r.day. With the Maitlands and the Beresfords.'

'Ah. Lucy won't be livid after all, then.'

'Run that past me again?'

'I spoke to Anna earlier. She didn't know you'd invited Mrs Beresford.'

'Were you offended because I hadn't asked you?'

'Not in the least. You're obviously repaying Anna's hospitality. You haven't had any from me.'

'No,' he agreed with a sigh, 'just hostility.'

'Nonsense. I've given you coffee.'

'Did you give Richard Forster coffee?'

'No. He left me very correctly on my doorstep.'

'Are you seeing him again?'

Kate bristled. 'As a matter of fact, he suggested dinner tonight, but Jo had a prior call on my time.'

'Good. If he suggests next Sat.u.r.day, tell him I have a prior call on your time.'

'I most certainly will not. Besides, I haven't accepted your invitation yet, Jack.'

'You mean you've got some other man on a string as well?'

'I could be seeing Philip Brace.'

'Who the h.e.l.l is he?'

'The man I had dinner with tonight. He lives in Worcester. It's not far to drive.'

'Do you intend seeing him again?'

'None of your business, Jack.'

Instead of hanging up on her as Kate half expected Jack laughed in her ear. 'It is, you know. Are you coming next Sat.u.r.day or not?'

'I might as well.'

'I'll take that as a yes.' He paused. 'By the way, are you having breakfast with your new friend in the morning?'

'Yes,' lied Kate angrily, and disconnected, seething. Jack had absolutely no right to interfere in her social life. If she wanted to see other men she would, d.a.m.n his eyes. But as she calmed down she was forced to admit the unpalatable truth. Compared with Jack Logan, all other men paled into insignificance.

Kate would have felt a whole lot better if she could have seen Jack pacing round his kitchen at Mill House at that very moment, cursing himself for behaving like a jealous school-boy. He was supposed to be patient, he reminded himself savagely. The plan was to win her back, not drive her away for good. He stopped dead so suddenly he stepped on Bran, who yelped in anguish. As he stroked the dog in apology Jack gave thanks for the second chance life had given him. This time he would make sure he took full advantage of it. He'd had no thought of marrying again, ever, until he'd met up with Kate again. He'd made work his life. But work was no longer enough. He wanted Kate back in his life for good this time, as his wife. When the time was right he'd tell her that and put his mother's ring back on her finger where it belonged.

There was no sign of Philip Brace when Kate arrived at the school next day and she drove Joanna back to lunch at the hotel with a light heart, prepared to savour every minute as her companion chattered happily throughout the deliberately careful journey.

The meal was a conventional roast, and Joanna ate hugely and then wandered with Kate in the hotel grounds in the pale winter sunshine afterwards.

'I've got another Sunday out before the end of term,' she informed Kate. 'But no Sat.u.r.day.'

'Never mind. I'll drive over and back the same day, but you can still eat here if you like.'

'Is it very expensive?' asked Jo anxiously.

'No,' said Kate firmly. 'It's starting to rain. Let's watch television before tea.'

'I get tea as well?' said Jo rapturously.

'You bet.' Kate cast an eye at the slender, long-legged child, already as tall as her aunt. 'Where do you put it all?'

The afternoon pa.s.sed far too quickly for Kate, but to her relief they arrived at the school just after Emma and Jane, Jo's bosom pals. In the flurry of introductions to parents and the comparisons the girls were making about their lunch, the dreaded parting was less painful than expected and Kate was halfway home before she remembered Philip Brace.

It was an unpleasant journey, with sleet slithering against the windscreen all the way. Her brightly lit house was a hugely welcome sight when Kate eventually turned into Park Crescent, and with a sigh of relief she locked the car, hurried into the house, deactivated the alarm, then locked her front door and threw the bolts. She'd turned off her mobile phone rather than have it ring while she was driving, and as halfexpected there was a message waiting from Jack demanding a call when she got home.

She reported in to Anna first and then rang Jack.

'I'm back,' she said, in response to the barked 'Logan' in her ear.

'Thank G.o.d for that; I was worried. It's a h.e.l.l of a night.'

'Tell me about it. Freezing fog added to driving sleet for the last few miles.'

'Do you have the right kind of phone in your car?'

'No.'

'Then get one, Kate. It's only common sense when you're driving long distances alone.'

'Yes, Dad.'

'I'm not your father!'

'True. You're my friend.'

He breathed in audibly. 'How was your day? Did your niece have a good time?'

'I think so. She certainly ate well. Jo must have a fantastic metabolism; she's as slender as a reed.'

'Takes after her aunt. By the way, did you manage to avoid your dinner partner today?'

'I forgot all about him when I took Jo back to school. I was too busy being bright and cheerful to give him a thought.'

'Good.'

'Why good, Jack?'

'Save your thoughts for me, Kate. I'll be in touch before Sat.u.r.day. Sleep well.'

Kate woke next morning to the discovery that she'd slept very well indeed. During the week she had spent restless nights, worrying over what she would find when she saw Jo again. But rea.s.surance over Joanna had combined with a tiring journey home and the gratifying chat with Jack to give Kate her best night's sleep for quite a while.

When the Suttons decided to send Joanna away to school Kate had been against the idea, convinced that the child would be miserable away from her family at the tender age of eight. But Jo had taken to boarding school life like a duck to water. And when Elizabeth and Robert were so cruelly removed from her young life the security of the familiar school background was a contributing factor in helping Jo to cope with her loss. And she still has me, thought Kate, as she wrote to Jo to tell her how much she'd enjoyed their weekend together. She made no mention of the extra care she'd taken on the drive back to ensure the safety of one of the few relatives Joanna Sutton had left in the world.

CHAPTER SIX.

THE prospect of dinner at Mill House added a tinge of excitement to a week that was busier than usual. After Kate's weekend away she was obliged to labour hard and long to finish the dining room in the time left over from the work that brought in the money. She even refused an invitation to supper with Anna and Ben mid week, too tired by evening for anything more strenuous than a bath and an early night. prospect of dinner at Mill House added a tinge of excitement to a week that was busier than usual. After Kate's weekend away she was obliged to labour hard and long to finish the dining room in the time left over from the work that brought in the money. She even refused an invitation to supper with Anna and Ben mid week, too tired by evening for anything more strenuous than a bath and an early night.

'I'll be seeing you on Sat.u.r.day, anyway,' she said, when Anna objected.

'I was hoping you'd come shopping with me on Friday first, Kate. I need something new for Sat.u.r.day.'

'You've got loads of clothes.'