A suitable husband

by Steele, Jessica

  'I think that's it,' she murmured calmly, taking her work over to him instead.

  Lukas took the papers from her, scanned quickly through, and he too, by the sound of it, had recovered his temper, for it was pleasantly that he remarked, 'With people like you working for Masters, it's no wonder the firm's the success it is.'

  Oh, my word—did he know how to turn on the charm when he felt like it! 'You don't have to go overboard—it was only a report,' she answered dryly, but needed a favour. 'Talking of telephones,' said she, quite well aware that they hadn't been, 'do you have one of the portable variety?'

  He didn't bat an eyelid. 'You're thinking of taking a stroll down to the bench by the bridge and calling up a few friends?'

  She almost smiled, but didn't. 'Edwina wants to ring our parents,' she replied, and made the mistake of looking into a pair of steady grey eyes which seemed to her to be clearly accusing, 'I thought you didn tell lies on a Friday.'

  Lukas soon found her a phone and Jermaine took it upstairs, unable to again refrain from wondering—had he seen through Edwina? Oh, it would be just too shaming if he knew that there was nothing the matter with her—other than that she was after him. But what had that look in his eyes been all about when she'd asked about a phone? Did he know that Edwina had not the smallest intention of phoning her parents?

  Jermaine went to her sister's room and found Edwina bathed and dressed and taking her ease on a sofa. She looked up from the magazine she was flicking through. 'Is Lukas still working?' Ash, Jermaine gathered, must have told Edwina that he was.

  'He's still in his study,' Jermaine answered.

  'How tiresome. I'm getting really fed up with this room.'

  In Jermaine's view, it was a lovely room. There's nothing to stop your leaving it,' she reminded her.

  'Not much! The minute I set foot downstairs Ash will be there, wanting to know what he's done wrong.'

  'You've obviously started the ''Don't ring me, I'll ring you" treatment, then,' Jermaine realised, and when Edwina didn't deign to answer Jermaine decided to do some ringing of her own. She dialed her parents' number.

  'What are you doing?' Edwina screeched, plainly having a very good idea.

  Jermaine ignored her, and, when her father at once answered the phone, said, 'Hello, Dad, it's Jermaine. Edwina's waiting to speak to you.'

  'How is she?'

  'She's fine.' And, walking over to the sofa, she continued, 'I'll put her on,' and held out the phone to her sister.

  For a moment Edwina just sat there looking sulky and said not a word. But, when Jermaine was starting to think she might have to find some other way of getting her sister to speak to their father, Edwina snatched the phone from her with an angry, impatient movement. 'Hello, Daddy,' Edwina cooed, adopting her little-girl voice. 'Yes, I've been in very great pain...' Jermaine could have slapped her, worrying him like that. Though she felt marginally better when it seemed her father wanted to send a consultant to examine his elder daughter's back. 'What? A specialist? Here?'

  Edwina said, barely hiding her alarm. But, as quick as ever, she at once assured him, 'Oh, that won't be necessary. As Jermaine has said,' she went on, throwing her sister a venomous look, 'I'm fine now. Just a bit achy, that's...'

  Jermaine didn't wait to hear any more. Edwina would hate her for about a week. That was the norm when, pushed beyond bearing, Jermaine sometimes retaliated. She went along to the room she had used last night. By the look of it, she was going to have to spend another night here.

  She remade her bed, and, prior to going downstairs to collect her bag from the car, she popped into Edwina's room to collect the phone. Edwina wasn't speaking. Good. Jermaine didn't feel much like speaking to her either.

  When she returned to her room she surveyed her scant wardrobe. Two shirts, the deep blue suit she had on, and some spare underwear. Edwina would have a whole wardrobe full of surplus clothes, but Jermaine wouldn't ask her. Instead she rinsed out yesterday's shirt and underwear, and knew she was going to have to settle for today's shirt to wear at dinner.

  She took a shower and washed her hair, but was ready to go downstairs long before she

  heard sounds of Edwina being assisted down to the drawing room. It sickened Jermaine that Edwina could play-act in this way. Jermaine felt sick with herself too that, out of sisterly loyalty, she was having to go along with it.

  When she was certain that the 'stretcher party' were safely downstairs and behind closed doors, she left her room and made for the kitchen to give what help she could.

  Edwina was fit enough to come to the table for dinner, and had Jermaine, who knew her sister well, had any doubts about which Tavinor brother she was after, then those doubts disappeared into thin air as she watched her in action.

  Here we go, Jermaine inwardly squirmed, wondering why neither Lukas nor Ash could see through Edwina's putting on the allure. But perhaps they could. Perhaps they were both too well mannered to notice it.

  But, whether they had or whether they hadn't, Jermaine grew quieter and quieter with every breathless word Edwina spoke as, occasionally tossing a light remark to Ash— mustn't be entirely obvious, Jermaine observed—Edwina concentrated, in the main, solely on their host.

  Their host, who was too sophisticated perhaps to give her the put-down she deserved; too good-mannered, for the very reason that he was host, to tell her to go and bat her baby-blue eyes elsewhere. It could have been, of course, that he was answering all of Edwina's breathless questions with a certain degree of charm because he, like his brother before him, had fallen for her.

  That thought gave Jermaine something of a jolt, and she darted a glance at him—to find he was looking her way. She averted her eyes. She didn't want to be here; she wanted to go back to her flat. She felt sick inside—and the only reason she could come up with to explain that was the notion that Lukas might be treating Ash in the same way that Edwina treated her; the notion that Lukas would have no regard for Ash if he felt like stealing Ash's girlfriend.

  Yet she couldn't quite believe that of Lukas. She'd seen the way he and Ash were in each other's company. The greatest of friends. No, Lukas wouldn't... But, then again, what did she know? She was glad everybody had finished dessert. She wouldn't hang about for coffee. She'd go and see Mrs Dobson and then go straight to bed.

  'I had a call from an estate agent this afternoon,' Ash announced generally, but Jermaine saw his eyes were on Edwina. 'He says he has the very property for me.' And, definitely addressing no one but Edwina, 'I'm going to view it tomorrow—do you think you'll be well enough to come with me?'

  Jermaine willed her sister to say yes even while, if her assessment was correct, she knew full well that she wouldn't. 'Oh, Ash, I'm sorry,' Edwina answered, and managed to look it. 'I wouldn't be able to sit for that long.' To Jermaine's knowledge he hadn't said how long or how far away the property was! 'I know I'm sitting now,' Edwina added quickly, before anyone should remind her of that fact, 'but all that bumping along in a car... And in any case,' she went on, glancing down at the table. Ash no longer worthy of her 'special' look, apparently, '...according to what you were saying earlier today, the roads will be flooded for a few days yet, and we wouldn't be able to get out.'

  In spite of the way Ash had behaved to her, Jermaine felt quite sorry for him. But as he went on to explain to Edwina, 'Lukas says I can borrow his Range Rover,' so Jermaine was

  too instantly furious to think of anyone but Lukas Tavinor. He had a Range Rover?

  She stared at him, thunderstruck for the moment before her feeUng of outrage peaked. 'You've got a Range Rover?' she exploded, flames of fury storming in her violet gaze. 'A high off the ground Range Rover? One that can go through floods?'

  Lukas held her gaze, her fury not lost on him for all that his voice was mild as he calmly replied, 'It's advisable to have one in this area.' He smiled, the swine, he actually smiled! 'If we're not rained in, we're snowed in,' h
e explained pleasantly.

  Jermaine drew breath, ready to go for his jugular—but Edwina, an angel by contrast, was batting her eyes at him and trilling, 'But a price so well worth paying to live in this most heavenly of heavenly places.'

  Jermaine knew her control was thin. If she didn't leave the room right now she'd be throwing something at Lukas. She didn't bother saying goodnight—stuff manners—but jerked out of her chair and went quickly from the dining room. To think she had been stuck there all day when Tavinor could have given her a lift to the railway station! Instead of which she'd had to stay cooling her heels

  while the work on her desk piled up. And, to add insult to injury, instead of being at her job doing her work—she had been hard at it in his study, doing his!

  Oh, it was intolerable! He had a Range Rover, parked, ready, waiting, doing nothing! She wouldn't mind betting he had never intended to go to his office but, even before the storms of Thursday, had planned to work from home today. Had he wanted to go to his office that day, the Range Rover would have got him there—anyone else, forget it!

  CHAPTER FOUR

  As SOON as it was light enough to see out the next morning, Jermaine was at her window. She sighed—there was still too much water about for her to risk driving her car, indeed, it would be the height of folly to try to drive through the floodwater. She felt defeated even as she tried to tell herself that Saturday was not a work day and that there was no urgency for her to leave.

  There was no urgency to leave to get back to her job, she amended, but there was an urgency to leave. While it was true she had been invited to Highfield, because of Edwina's playacting Jermaine was very aware that she was there under false pretences.

  But—that wasn't her fault, she rallied. She'd tried hard to avoid coming to Highfield. In fact she'd done her very best not to. But, no, his lordship wasn't having that, was he? Well, it was his fault, not hers, going to see her parents the way he had, she fumed.

  He'd just jolly well have to put up with it! Let him deal with having his home invaded.

  Not that she'd even intended to stay one night, much less two. Jermaine stared helplessly out from the window. If this little lot didn't clear up today, she could be there a third night.

  But he had a Range Rover! Jermaine played for a while with wonderful wild thoughts of taking a temporary loan of the vehicle—in the circumstances she didn't care to term it stealing. Two things were against that, however. For one thing she had no idea in which of the probably locked outbuildings the four-wheel drive was garaged, and for another she just hadn't a clue how one started such a vehicle without a key.

  She admitted she was not feeling at her most cheerful as she headed down the stairs. But, since the housekeeper was the only one Jermaine considered blameless in all of this, she pinned a smile on her face when she went into the kitchen. 'Good moming, Mrs Dobson,' she greeted her brightly. Though she was very tempted to let Edwina go without breakfast, she set about making her some.

  Jermaine returned to the kitchen after she had delivered the breakfast tray, and spent the next twenty minutes assisting where she could, before the housekeeper assured her she could cope very well now.

  Jermaine would have been happy to have had her breakfast in the kitchen, only just then Ash came looking for her. 'Now, why did I think you'd be here?' He smiled. 'Come and join me for breakfast,' he insisted.

  By the sound of it Lukas wasn't at breakfast. Good. Jermaine left the kitchen with Ash, but when she preceded him into the breakfast room she saw that three places had been laid at the table—one of them already occupied.

  Lukas Tavinor wasn't her favourite person just then. She would have ignored him, though found it difficult when, his grey eyes steady on hers, he enquired pleasantly, 'Over your little tantrum?'.

  Ooh, was he asking for a thump! She glared at him for his trouble, but otherwise ignored him anyway. Ash, who seemed to be in a world of his own all of a sudden, pulled out a chair at the table for her. Too late now to wish she had stayed in the kitchen.

  Quite inexplicably, Jermaine found she suddenly felt tongue-tied. Her? It was almost as if she was shy. Shy? Oh, for heaven's sake! Shy of what? The elder Tavinor, who was sitting there, totally unconcerned, eating his breakfast? Ash, who was quiet all at once—as if he had a lot on his mind?

  Jermaine helped herself to some toast from the toast rack, but looked up when Ash called her name. 'Jermaine,' he said again, his look somehow pensive. 'You wouldn't care to come and have a look at this house I'm going to see this moming—would you?'

  Jermaine didn't think she would care to. On the other hand, what else was on offer but to stay at Highfield, kicking her heels while she waited for the road conditions to improve? She was still undecided, however, when for no reason she glanced at Lukas. Oh, my word! Grey eyes, highly disapproving, bored into hers. She remembered Lukas yesterday, his grated 'What's with you and Ash?', and a defiant light entered her eyes.

  She turned from Lukas and smiled at Ash. 'I'd love to,' she answered. Perhaps he'd drop her off at some nearby railway station afterwards. 'What time are we going?' Lukas Tavinor, obviously having sufficiently breakfasted, left the breakfast room without saying another word. No doubt, Jermaine mused sourly, he thought her place was there, taking care of her sister. Tough!

  Jermaine did look in on Edwina before she went, however, and found Edwina had roused herself to eat some of her breakfast. The room was a mess, so while her sister lounged in bed Jermaine set to tidying it and putting Edwina's discarded clothes away.

  'I'm going with Ash at eleven to view the property the agent phoned about,' Jermaine informed her—and didn't miss the way Edwina's eyes lit up at the prospect of having Lukas to herself for a while.

  'Don't hurry back,' Edwina instructed, and, having a lot to do if she was to be stunning by eleven, she got out of bed and headed to inspect her wardrobe. 'Come to think of it, don't come back at all,' she further instructed.

  'I suppose it's not your fault that you're so unbearable!' Jermaine commented tartly.

  'Dad should have taken his belt to me,' Edwina agreed, and because Jermaine loved her despite all she just had to laugh. 'Keep Ash out as long as you can, will you?' Edwina requested seriously.

  Jermaine sobered. Poor Ash. 'You're impossible,' she told her sister candidly, and left Edwina to make herself ready for her five past eleven onslaught on the master of Highfield.

  The house which Jermaine went with Ash to see was some twenty miles distant. At the start of their journey, there seemed to be water everywhere. But, for all it was a gloomy, over-

  cast kind of day, the roads further on were dry as they left the flooded area behind.

  Mr Fuller, the estate agent, was waiting for them when they arrived at the attractive four-bedroomed residence. After he had shown them from room to room he left them so they should look over the property on their own.

  It was a very nice property, but in Jermaine's opinion it didn't have the charm of Highfield. There was, she reluctantly had to admit, something rather special about Highfield. Too good for its wretched owner, anyway. Now why did she have to think about him?

  'What do you think?' she asked Ash quickly, for some reason not wanting to dwell on thoughts of Lukas Tavinor.

  They were inspecting the upstairs rooms when she asked her question. But Ash stopped dead and turned, and Jermaine nearly cannoned into him.

  'I think Mr Fuller thinks you and I are contemplating setting up home together,' Ash answered quietly. Taking a hold of her arms, he tried to draw her close. 'Oh, Jermaine,' he exclaimed miserably, 'how I wish he was right.'

  Good heavens! Jermaine stared at Ash in amazement. 'Aren't you forgetting a little something?' she reminded him, resisting the pressure he was using to take her in his arms. 'A little something by the name of Edwina?'

  These last couple of days—ever since you arrived—I've started to see that Edwina isn't the one I want,
' Ash stated. The old Ash was suddenly there as he smiled his old smile— and Jermaine was appalled. She'd used to love his little-boy smile. What had happened to her? Now, instead of smiling back, she felt only irritation with him.

  His head started to come down. She moved her head out of range, and his kiss landed on her cheek. 'Don't you dare!' She pushed him impatiently away. Ash stared at her, his expression changed from smiling to astonished as she angrily fumed, 'What the dickens do you think I am?'

  'I've offended you? Oh, Jermaine, forgive me, I never intended to do that. I never...'

  'Give me the keys—I'll wait in the Range Rover!' she demanded shortly.

  'Jermaine, I...' She held out her hand for the keys. But Ash had seen all he wanted to of the property, it seemed. 'I'll come with you,' he said.

  They were silent on the way back, save for Ash once trying to explain that it had come to him last night that he had made one colossal mistake, and that he had allowed lust to rule his head. He also tried to explain that it was only when he'd seen Jermaine beside her sister that he'd...

  'I am not interested,' Jermaine cut him off. 'And if you have any regard for me at all, you'll just shut up.'

  After that, all was quiet on the return journey to Highfield. Jermaine owned she was not over her annoyance with Ash—and it had nothing to do with his defection but everything to do with the fact that any man should believe he could pick her up, and drop her down, and then think she would be grateful when he tried to pick her up again. He had even attempted to kiss her!

  The journey back didn't seem to take as long as the outward journey, and they were at Highfield before Jermaine recalled she had been thinking of asking Ash to drop her off at the nearest railway station.