Maid for Marriage

by Sue Peters

  'I do assure you, Mr Ransom ‑'

  He swept away her words as if she hadn't spoken. 'Nothing about this business reassures me. Is Bill Williams aware that while you're waiting you'll be turned loose on Delhi, alone?'

  The man was impossible! He was everything she had thought him to be, and more. Except old. Dee shot back through gritted teeth, 'Delhi is in no danger from me. I don't bite.'

  If anything more were needed, after Alan, to reinforce her views about men, Luke Ransom provided it, she decided angrily.

  'I have no fears for Delhi. It is quite capable of looking after itself.'

  Implying that she was not. Dee sucked in a difficult breath. 'Mr Ransom ‑'

  'Use my first name. It saves time.'

  With royal assurance he assumed that she must know what his first name was. Too late Dee admitted to the knowledge by retorting, 'Luke, then,' and ground her teeth with frustration when the glow in his eyes registered his victory, but he didn't wait for her to continue beyond it.

  'I'll call for you at seven o'clock for dinner,' he told her abruptly. Again told, not asked, she registered indignantly as he swept on, 'In the meantime I'll decide on something suitable to keep you occupied while you're waiting.'

  With that he flowed to his feet with a lithe grace which made light of the impossibly low settee, and before Dee was able to collect enough of her scattered wits together to enable her to retort he strode away from her, out of the foyer.

  He would decide... I'm quite capable of deciding for myself, Dee fumed. In vain she berated herself for not being more assertive, for not making it crystal-clear to Luke that she had neither the need nor the desire for his services until she was obliged to put up with his unwanted company on the flight home.

  As for dinner, she had already lost her appetite. She had been looking forward to a peaceful meal, alone and relaxed in her room. Instead it looked like being a confrontation over the cuisine, she thought without humour, and determined that when she met Luke again she would be ready for him, and more than capable of holding her own against him.

  To say the least, her unwanted escort was abrasive company, and, drained by the heat and the exertions of her day alike, she did not feel equal to meeting any kind of a challenge this evening.

  A blissfully cool shower put her in a calmer frame of mind, and she put through a telephone call to Bill to report on her progress, or lack of it, so far. The time difference caught him just finishing his frugal sandwich lunch.

  'Did you say Ransom? Luke Ransom?' His cheese and pickle roll failed to muffle his startled ejaculation.

  'The same,' Dee confirmed shortly, and outlined the details of their meeting. 'I'm stuck with the man for dinner this evening. But if he imagines he can dispose of my time at the lift of his little finger he's got another think coming. If I have my way we shan't meet up again until it's time to come back to London. That could be another ten days, Bill.'

  Dee brightened as a sudden idea struck her. 'Can I come back home, and fly out here again when everything is ready?' she asked her boss hopefully. 'It wouldn't cost any more in the long run. This hotel must be charging a fortune, so it will cancel out the extra air fare.'

  'Never mind what the hotel bill comes to. You stay right where you are, and cultivate Luke Ransom for all you're worth,' came back Bill's uncompromising instruction.

  'Do I have to?' Dee's voice became a wail. 'The man's an arrogant, domineering ‑'

  'I wouldn't know about that. All I know is, in our business, Luke Ransom spells prestige.'

  'So does WW.' Dee flew to its defence.

  'A double dose never did anyone any harm, so stick with him.'

  'What about the exhibition?' Dee shot her last, despairing arrow. 'At this rate, it looks like being over before I get back.'

  'I still haven't fixed the venue yet.'

  'No joy from Windsor Castle?'

  'I'm working on it,' Bill neatly fended her sarcasm, and added firmly, 'Be a good girl, and go along with whatever Ransom suggests.'

  'With reservations,' Dee retorted swiftly, and was rewarded by Bill's chuckle from the other end of the line.

  'I didn't mean that far, and you know it. But remember, in our line of country being noticed by Luke Ransom is as good as being awarded a royal warrant.'

  'In that case, you won't need Windsor Castle for the exhibition, will you?' Dee shot back, and felt better for Bill's laughing 'Touché!' as she put down the receiver.

  Her every instinct urged her to remain in her room and avoid having dinner with Luke, but Bill's instruction was clear and could not be lightly put aside, and, reminding herself that the coming ordeal was all in the call of duty, Dee dressed with extra care, using the necessarily limited contents of her suitcase as an armour with which to bolster her confidence for the evening that lay ahead.

  It was too hot for jewellery, she decided. She abandoned it, and chose a starkly plain pale green silk sheath dress, drawn softly into her slender waist by a wide white plaited silk belt, and complemented it with matching white linen strap sandals and handbag.

  The result looked cool and chic as she descended the wide staircase to meet Luke at the appointed seven o'clock, and, she hoped, hid the flutter of nerves which she despised herself for allowing to tighten her stomach in a manner that made her wonder if trying to eat wouldn't be a waste of time.

  Luke watched her descend.

  Dee espied him immediately, standing at the far end of the foyer. It would be difficult to miss him. His distinctively coloured hair and his impressive height marked him out from the other men grouped about the foyer, and Dee wished irritably that he would look away from her. His steady regard was unnerving.

  So much so that it made her feet feel clumsy, and instinctively her hand went out to touch the balustrade to steady herself. Immediately the tawny head tilted, registering her movement. Guessing its cause, Dee thought vexedly and withdrew her hand quickly to her side, knowing that it was already too late.

  Luke moved then. He strolled across the foyer to meet her, and Dee noticed that people automatically parted to allow him free passage.

  They both reached the bottom of the staircase at the same time, and for long moments Luke stood there, looking down at her. Dee baulked, unable to take another step until Luke chose to move, and she flashed a frustrated look up into his face in time to see the quartz flecks glowing like bright fireflies in his eyes.

  They made the nerves of her stomach tighten still further, with the uncertainty of not knowing for sure what had fuelled the fire. It could have been derision at the brief, revealing evidence of her nerves. It could have been appreciation of her appearance. Luke's voice betrayed neither as he cupped her elbow in his hand and said crisply, 'Shall we go?'

  'Do I have any choice?' In spite of Bill's injunction, Dee's voice was barbed, and Luke shot her an oblique look.

  'Cease-fire for this evening,' he commanded. 'Some friends of mine have invited us both out to dinner at their home. They thought you might enjoy it better than remaining in the hotel.'

  His old school friend, perhaps? Not as old as she had imagined, Dee corrected herself silently, and agreed out loud, 'That was very kind of them,' hoping that her reply conveyed only her gratitude, and not the tremendous sense of relief which flooded over her at his words.

  In this respect, at least, she had no difficulty in obeying Bill's instruction to go along with what Luke suggested. Having other company at dinner would help to dilute the disconcerting effect he was having upon her without any seeming effort on his part.

  Her skin tingled under the touch of his fingers, and she hoped her unease did not show itself on the surface as she walked beside Luke to the door, steeling herself to resist the sheer male magnetism of the man, which flowed from him in an almost visible aura.

  Luke Ransom was no callow university student, nor a small-town sophisticate like Alan. He was a man of the world in every sense, at the very summit of his chosen profession. Rich, powerful, and confide
nt in that power, which drew lesser mortals to him like moths attracted to a flame.

  She still found the independently minded Bill's eagerness to make contact with Luke difficult to digest.

  She wouldn't be among those whose wings got burned, Dee assured herself, with a flash of self-derision at her own taut nerves as she sat, outwardly composed, beside Luke in the car moments later.

  He drove in silence, his attention concentrated on the still crowded streets, through which he twisted and turned with a surety that told Dee he must know every inch of them by heart.

  The pungent smoke of a thousand cooking fires made the air hazy, as Delhi prepared its evening meal, and added to Dee's sense of unreality, which became stronger still when Luke finally turned the car into the drive of a large private house, cloistered from the road in a secluded garden.

  Luke's friends were evidently people of some substance. He intercepted Dee's glance, and remarked, 'You'll like Manoj and his wife. They both love entertaining, and they're the easiest people in the world to get on with.'

  The same did not apply to her companion, Dee thought ruefully, and let out an inaudible sigh of relief that, while Luke had latched on to her nervousness, he had mistaken its cause to be his unknown friends, and not himself.

  Her stretched nerves relaxed, and then tightened again almost immediately when he opened the passenger door and, leaning down, reached inside to encircle her arm with lean fingers, to help her to alight.

  In any other circumstances, she would have appreciated the courtesy. But, although Luke's touch was light, his fingers seemed to burn into her flesh like red-hot steel, making her wonder for a wild moment if their imprint might leave matching blisters to mark where they lay.

  With an effort she forced herself to concentrate on what he was saying as he went on conversationally, 'They both work in the hospital near here. Manoj is an expert on tropical diseases. He's coming over to the UK on a lecture tour to the main teaching hospitals, later this month. Gita is a gynaecologist. They've got two little boys, but I expect they'll both be in bed by now, so we shan't see them tonight.'

  His tone expressed regret, and Dee sent him a look from under her lashes. So the domineering tycoon had a weakness. He was evidently fond of children, or at least the two belonging to his friends.

  Had he got any children himself? she wondered. She had heard somewhere that Luke Ransom was unmarried. She had supposed him to be a crusty old bachelor. How mistaken could she be? But being a bachelor did not necessarily mean...

  Hastily Dee switched her thoughts into safer channels. Luke seemed to have an uncanny ability to latch on to what she was thinking, and she had no desire to boost his ego by showing the slightest interest in his private life.

  She was her own woman and she intended to stay that way, and she had no objection to him reading that thought if he wanted to.

  He gave no sign of having done so when he added, 'Never mind. You'll see the boys tomorrow. They're a delightful pair, and great fun to be with.'

  Dee stiffened. Tomorrow?

  Luke was taking a lot for granted. Like the fact that she would fall meekly in line with any plans he made to fill her time until the exhibits were ready to collect. In spite of Bill's instruction, she did not intend to offer herself as a doormat for Luke to tread on.

  His intuition had let him down badly on that score, she decided, and opened her mouth to make it clear that she had her own plans for the disposal of her free time, and those plans did not include Luke.

  She got so far as a firm, 'Tomorrow I'm going to...' when the door of the house opened, and their host and hostess appeared to greet them, cutting off her own personal declaration of independence at source.

  'How good of you to come!'

  Manoj and Gita ran down the steps to greet them, and Dee liked them both on sight. The tall, slender expert on tropical diseases, with his grave, intelligent face and eyes that smiled a warm welcome as he shook Dee's hand, and his wife, shorter, plumper, with a merry glance, and two outstretched hands that caught at Dee's eagerly as she exclaimed, 'I'm so glad to have you! Now I shall be saved from another evening of having to listen to endless talk about cricket.'

  'Cricket?' Dee could not help it. She burst out laughing, and Gita giggled, her merry look telling Dee that her hostess knew all about her recent gaffe on meeting Luke, but somehow she did not mind Gita knowing, and their shared amusement formed an immediate bond between them.

  The laughter helped Dee to relax and forget her nerves, and dinner became a lively meal. Manoj and Gita were both widely travelled, as was Luke, and Dee listened, fascinated, as the talk ranged from one end of the world to the other, the others speaking with easy familiarity of all those places which she had promised herself she too would one day go to see.

  She was not allowed to remain merely as a listener, however.

  'Tell us about your work,' Gita urged, and, encouraged by her obvious interest, Dee joined in the conversation with accounts of her journeys on Bill's behalf.

  In the company of his friends Luke became a different person. Gone was the austere, domineering tycoon of her brief acquaintance, and in his place emerged a carefree man who enjoyed playing with his friends' children.

  He teased her and Gita with gentle impartiality, and took up the conversational cudgels against Manoj in a good-humoured argument which they both enjoyed, and Dee watched covertly as the tiny quartz flecks flared, and died, and flared again as the talk ranged from the serious to the hilarious and back again.

  She experienced a distinct sense of shock when the meal came to an end, and she realised that almost three hours had passed since they had first arrived, and later, while they sat finishing their coffee in the couple's charming drawing-room, her host claimed virtuously, 'Luke and I haven't mentioned cricket once, all the evening.'

  Gita chuckled. 'You've both showing withdrawal symptoms.' She turned to Dee. 'Manoj and the boys are all mad about cricket, so you can see that I'm badly out-numbered. When Luke joins in as well I simply don't stand a chance. Oh, go on,' she laughed at the two men who, incredibly, managed to look like guilty schoolboys, 'go on, switch on the radio. You know you're longing to hear the latest scores. Come on, Dee. Let's make ourselves scarce. We'll go upstairs and look in on the boys, and talk about something interesting, like clothes.'

  'Your sari is beautiful,' Dee ventured as her hostess led the way, and Gita confessed,

  'I've got the best of both worlds. I wear Western dress quite often, for convenience. I love the Paris fashions,' she twinkled, 'although, of course, I can't afford them too often.'

  Gita would look stunning in whatever the haute couture houses of the world could offer, Dee thought silently, and said out loud, 'The embroidery is exquisite.'

  Gita smiled. 'After I've been working at the hospital all day, and wearing a plain white coat the same as the men, I like to change into something pretty in the evening. I like to stop being a doctor, and become ‑' she paused to choose her words '—and become just a woman.'

  'Not just a woman,' Dee protested, vehement in spite of herself, and Gita cast her a swift look.

  'Are you a feminist?'

  'No.' Dee's denial was equally forceful. 'I haven't got any time for that sort of thing. It always seems, well, sort of strident somehow. And unnecessary.'

  'Completely unnecessary.' Gita nodded agreement. 'However much people try to change things, women will always be women, and men will always be men, and...'

  'Vive la difference!''

  'Exactly,' Gita laughed, and placed her finger to her lips as they paused opposite a door. 'I'll go in and check on the boys. Come with me if you'd like to see them. I don't want to bore you with children...'

  Her look asked a question, and Dee answered it simply, 'I'm never bored by children.'

  Her smile carried conviction as she looked down on the sleeping pair, and Gita pointed to each of the small beds in turn.

  'Four years old, and not quite six. They don't look anything
like so angelic when they are awake.'

  'They're both lovely.' Dee's eyes softened as she looked down on the two small sleeping faces, and heard herself say, with a feeling of surprise, 'You are so lucky.'

  'Perhaps you will have children of your own soon.'

  'Oh, no. Not for a long time, anyway.' Dee regained control of her errant tongue, and insisted, 'I don't intend to get married. I want to travel and see the world.'

  The reason was her secret, and not to be shared.

  Gita said quickly, 'Manoj and the boys are my world.'

  Dee sent the other woman a curious look. Gita had travelled much more extensively than she had herself. Was she really content with domesticity after that? She had her career at the hospital as well, of course. Dee stirred restlessly, and offered, 'My brother's wife is expecting her first baby at any minute. By the time I get back home I shall probably have acquired a niece or a nephew. I can't wait to know which.'

  'It isn't the same as having a baby of your own. Are you betrothed?' Gita's eyes slid to the ring finger on Dee's left hand.

  'No.' She shook her head emphatically. 'I don't intend to sacrifice my freedom.'

  How nearly she had done so, to a man who was unworthy. Dee thrust aside the memory, and Gita consoled, 'You will meet someone one day. And then it won't seem like a sacrifice.'

  Dee's, 'Mmm,' was non-committal. From now on she had other things to do with her life that did not include men. The reason brought the tension back to claim her as she followed Gita downstairs and rejoined the men in the drawing-room in time to hear Manoj mourn, 'There won't be any more score announcements until tomorrow.'

  Dee countered Gita's unrepentant 'Hurrah!' with a smiling, 'Is your team playing? 'and her host surprised her with,

  'I don't follow a team.'

  Gita explained, 'Manoj and Luke are both purists. They don't give their allegiance to any particular team. Only to the game.'

  It took a particular brand of self-assurance to be so impartial, and Dee sensed that this was an attribute which both men shared.

  'Never mind,' Gita consoled them. 'You've still got Wednesday to look forward to.' She turned to Dee. 'Manoj and I decided to take a break before the lecture tour starts. We've handed over to our deputies at the hospital, and the boys have been given leave by their school, so they will be free to go to the match as well. They won't escape lessons altogether, of course. They'll be having a tutor for so many hours each day.'