"We have?" he asked, taken aback and clearly none too happy about the possibility.
"Oh, yes," she said mockingly. "You're the one who goes to dances even though you don't want to dance."
He continued to look puzzled for a moment, and then his brow cleared. "Oh, the dance last night, you mean. I wasn't there to dance; I was just looking for Scott. I needed to… ask him something," he said, his voice declaring the subject closed.
Cassie raised an eyebrow, finding no evidence of apology or regret in his tone. "Well, to each his own." Unable to resist temptation, she leaned forward and said conspiratorially, "And for the record, Erin would be the groupie, so I must be the criminal element."
For a fleeting moment, he looked uncomfortable. "What's your crime, then?"
She lowered her voice dramatically. "I murder microscopic organisms and steal their secrets." Little did he know. She walked around the table to the empty seat by the window. Maybe if the great and powerful Calder understood she wasn't looking for a boyfriend, it wouldn't be so bad. "I hadn't realized anyone was coming with Scott."
"I just arrived last night." He seemed more interested in the menu than anything she had to say.
Scott turned to Erin as a young waitress came to take their order. "What do you recommend?"
"I'm having the Gorgonzola salad, but the best thing here is dessert. They make wonderful pies."
Calder was the last to order. "I'll take the white marlin."
He might as well have used a cattle prod on Cassie. "Did you know white marlin is a threatened species?"
"No, I didn't. In that case I'll have… what would you recommend?" Calder turned his dark eyes on her.
His piercing gaze made her oddly uncomfortable. It was a relief to look down at the menu. "The striped bass and the mahi-mahi are fine, though mahi-mahi won't be local. Any of the shellfish. Not the cod."
"Cod are endangered?"
"Threatened, not endangered. Overfishing is a major problem."
"I'll go with the bass, then." He handed the menu to the waitress.
Cassie felt guilty about the sharpness of her tone. Snob or not, it wasn't Calder's fault Erin had decided to arrange this ridiculous meeting. If she had thought twice before opening her mouth, she wouldn't have said anything. "Thanks. I realize it doesn't make a difference when the fish is already dead, but I hate seeing it."
"I'd rather not support that kind of thing." He checked his watch.
So much for a peace offering. If he wanted to be aloof, that was fine with her. She turned her attention to Erin, who was explaining the history of the restaurant to Scott.
There was a brief silence when the subject was exhausted. Calder seemed to have nothing to say for himself. Cassie wasn't fond of small talk herself, but she couldn't sit there silently through the whole meal. "Scott, Erin tells me you have a summerhouse here."
"Yes. I've always wanted one, and this year I finally gave in." Scott had a charming smile. For Erin's sake, Cassie hoped the charm was more than skin-deep.
"Is it here in town?"
"Just outside, on Penzance Point. Do you know where that is?"
Of course Scott's house would be in the most exclusive part of Woods Hole. No doubt the president of Cambridge Biotech could afford it easily. His summerhouse probably cost enough to fund half the research at the MBL. She wondered if she could plead a heavy workload and leave early.
"This is my tenth summer here, so I know my way around pretty well." Cassie paused as the waitress set a bowl of fisherman's stew in front of her.
"The views are stunning. Have you been out there?" Scott asked.
"No." Cassie shelled a mussel with the ease of long practice. Penzance Point was privately owned; there was a guard on the road to keep out riff-raff like her.
Calder carefully moved his French fries aside with his fork. "So you don't live here year-round?"
Cassie's smile had an edge to it. "No, I'm a college professor. I come to the MBL every summer to do my research. I've had my own lab here since I got my PhD. Before that I was working with one of the senior researchers, studying species of fish threatened by overfishing." To her satisfaction, she could see Calder taking stock of her again. What had he thought she did, waited tables for a living? It was a good thing he didn't know the rest of her background. He would probably run a mile if he knew the truth. She looked out the window to avoid his eyes, pretending interest in a sailboat coming up the channel.
"You're interested in fish populations?" Scott asked.
"That was my grad school research. Now I'm looking at the effects of fertilizer run-off on the ecology of the salt marsh."
"Salt marsh? Sounds messy." Scott sliced into his lobster tail.
Erin said, "Careful, Scott. The salt marsh is Cassie's one true love."
Cassie laughed. "That's right. It's calm, peaceful, and more reliable than a man. And it won't waste my time when I'm trying to get tenure."
Calder crossed his arms, but Cassie thought he looked more amused than anything else. At least now he wouldn't expect anything from her. Maybe she could relax a little.
"You do research too, don't you, Erin?" Scott refilled his water glass from the pitcher on the table.
"Yes, I'm helping Cassie with her study."
Calder paused, his glass halfway to his mouth. "I thought Scott said you were in biotechnology."
Erin cast a distressed look at Cassie. "I am. I'm taking the summer off from my dissertation research. Cassie and I worked here as undergraduates, and I wanted to do it one last time before I started teaching full-time."
Two lies in one sentence, but Cassie could understand why Erin didn't want Scott to know her real reason for being in Woods Hole. And a year ago the part about teaching would have been true, before Erin decided she was better suited for a job in industry than academia.
"Well, that's Woods Hole for you." Cassie gestured toward the window with her fork. "Half the population has a doctorate. There are probably enough advanced degrees in town to sink a battleship. You'd better be careful about how you talk to any odd-looking old men muttering to themselves, because they just might be Nobel laureates. It's a world unto itself, like summer camp for grown-up scientists. One little town, and it has the MBL, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the National Marine Fisheries, and a half a dozen other research groups."
Erin, no doubt grateful for the change of subject, began to tell stories of amusing Woods Hole encounters. The moment of tension passed, and Erin and Scott chatted as they ate, with occasional additions from Cassie.
Cassie noticed Calder was watching her. She wondered how far he would take his silent withdrawal. Scott and Erin were managing fine on their own. "So, are you always this talkative, or is it just the company?"
This time his dark eyes didn't move from her. "When I have something to say, I'll say it."
Cassie opened her eyes wide in a mockery of being impressed. "Well, if I have to carry the conversation all by myself, I hope you don't mind hearing about the life cycle of Pagurus longicarpus and the impact of algal overgrowth on the population. In detail."
To her surprise, a faint smile curved his mouth. "I'm sure it will be fascinating."
So he did have a sense of humor. Unexpectedly, Cassie wanted to smile back. Just then she heard a burst of giggling from behind the counter. Several of the young women who worked in the restaurant had congregated there, looking at their table. One of them pointed at Calder, sitting with his back to them.
"You have a fan club." Cassie gestured with her head, grateful for the distraction from her awareness of him.
His smile disappeared as if it had never existed. "Damn it. Scott, I'm going back to the house before there's a scene."
"Come on, Calder, they're not doing anything. Just ignore them."
"That's easy for you to say," Calder snapped.
"If you get up and walk out of here by yourself, that will make a scene. Finish your lunch."
"I've had all I want." He
tossed his napkin on the table.
Cassie, dismayed by his sudden shift of mood, noticed Erin's unhappy look. At least this could give her an excuse to leave. "I'm done, too, and I need to get back to the lab. Maybe Calder and I could go part of the way together, and you two could take your time."
Scott's face brightened. "That won't be so bad, now! Is that okay with you, Calder?"
Calder gave a grim nod and pushed back his chair. Surprised by the speed with which this was happening, Cassie fished out a ten-dollar bill from her pocket and tossed it on the table.
Scott tried to hand it back to her. "My treat."
Cassie shook her head. "Sorry. I pay my own way."
"No, please, this was my idea."
"Scott, it's been a pleasure to meet you. Let's not spoil a budding friendship with an argument." Cassie hoped her smile took any sting from her words.
This seemed to disarm him, and she followed Calder outside. He strode off down the street at a pace she had to work to keep up with. Apparently he didn't plan to offer an explanation for the scene in the restaurant. So much for wondering if she might have misjudged him. Her first impression of him had been correct. It was disappointing.
They walked most of the brief length of the town in silence before he finally said, without looking at her, "Thank you."
"Not a problem. This is where I turn off. My lab's down here."
"I'll walk you there." He didn't sound particularly pleased with the prospect.
"There's no need. It's out of your way."
He paid no attention. Rather than argue pointlessly with him, Cassie followed his lead, glad it was only a block away.
"This is it. Take care." It was hackneyed, but it was more polite than saying, "Goodbye and good riddance."
He stopped between her and the building. "I suppose you knew all along."
"Knew what?"
His lips thinned. "Who I am."
Cassie's temper began to simmer, but for Erin's sake she didn't let it show. It wouldn't do her friend any good to have Cassie argue with Calder. "Look, I have no idea what you're talking about, I have no idea what went on back there, and I suspect I'm just as happy that way."
When he didn't respond, she flashed him a quick, if somewhat less than genuine, smile. "This is it, my home away from home," she said. "Enjoy the rest of your day." She turned and walked into the building before he could make any reply.
As she ran up the stairs, she didn't see him standing and looking after her, contemplating the rarity of a woman who couldn't seem to get out of his company fast enough. Perversely, he found himself wishing she would look back, but she never did.
Chapter 2
"CALDER WESTING? YOU MUST be joking." Cassie halted halfway through sorting a set of microscope slides. "As in the political Westings, the ones with old money? They wouldn't be caught dead with the likes of us."
"Not this one." Erin perched on the edge of the lab bench. "He's Senator Westing's son, and his brother is in the House of Representatives now. Calder hates publicity, but he still gets stalked by paparazzi. Scott says that's why he gets angry when someone recognizes him. Poor guy."
Cassie assimilated this new information. "Still, a little good manners would take him a long way. Assuming those girls did recognize him, all he had to do was to smile at them and there wouldn't have been a problem. That's all they wanted, I imagine—a smile and a story to take home."
"That's a good point," said Erin slowly, "but I don't suppose I can imagine what it's like to have that happen all the time. Maybe it's harder than we think."
"You would find a way to sympathize with the devil himself." Cassie had no sympathy for Calder Westing. No doubt he had everything in life handed to him on a platter, and if he was anything like his father, he probably thought women belonged in the kitchen and Darwin was the root of all evil. "How was the rest of lunch?"
"Great. Scott invited us both out to his house on Saturday to swim and go sailing. You'll come, won't you?"
"Wouldn't you rather go by yourself?"
Erin hesitated. "I like him, but I don't think I'm ready to go to his house alone yet. I haven't forgotten how wonderful Jack looked at first."
Cassie was glad Erin wasn't letting herself believe in surface charm this time. She didn't want to face another relationship where Erin's boyfriend sent her home with bruises. But after that experience, Cassie could understand why Erin would be anxious about being alone with a man she hardly knew. "All right, I'll come."
With a certain sense of unreality, Cassie and Erin approached the heretofore forbidden guard booth at the entrance to Penzance Point. The guard, who had chased away many years' worth of exploring grad students, was perfectly polite when Erin explained they were invited by Mr. Dunstan. He called up to the house to confirm the information before waving them through.
Cassie could see why the residents wanted to keep it to themselves. The walk along the winding road provided stunning vistas of Vineyard Sound and Buzzard's Bay. They passed a few old estates, as well as some elaborate newer houses. Scott's house, a modern construction of glass and wood, wasn't the largest or most extravagant, but it was big enough that she rapidly revised her estimate of its cost upwards. "I doubt if that cost less than five million dollars!" she whispered to Erin. What a contrast to the tiny, well-worn rental cottage she shared with Erin!
"Oh, hush, Cassie! I don't even want to think about it! Remember, we're only here to have a nice afternoon."
"And I thought you invited me to protect your reputation," Cassie teased.
Scott met them at the door with a wide smile. He offered them a tour of the house, which only confirmed Cassie's impression of his wealth. She wondered if Erin understood what she was getting herself into. They ended in the dining room, where a catered lunch was set out.
To Cassie's surprise, they were joined by a silent Calder Westing. She hadn't realized he was staying with his friend, or she would have thought twice about accepting the invitation. Maybe even three times. His presence made her uncomfortable. Every time she glanced in his direction, his eyes were on her. She had no idea what it was about her that bothered him so much. She was relieved when he disappeared again as soon as he was done eating.
Scott shrugged apologetically. "Sorry about that. Calder can get pretty involved in his work and tends to forget about anything else."
"I hadn't realized this was a working vacation for him." Erin took a sip of white wine.
Scott hesitated for a second. "Well, he has some things he needs to do for the foundation he works with. But I'm more interested in what you'd like to do than what he's doing. What will it be? Swimming? Sailing? Lazing about on the porch?"
Erin's face lit up. "I love to sail. Do you have a boat?"
"I certainly do. Want to see her?"
Cassie accompanied them as they went down to the water to look at the boat, but she doubted they noticed her presence. She was definitely a third wheel now. When the subject of going out on the water arose, she said she would be perfectly happy sitting on the porch reading, but hoped they would go ahead. Scott, looking delighted at the prospect of being alone with Erin, seconded the proposal.
Cassie found a comfortable chair on the porch and pulled out the book she had brought with her. It was soothing to sit in the cool salt breeze, the view of the Sound stretched out in front of her. She'd be able to live anywhere with a view like this. But she couldn't complain. Woods Hole, surrounded by water on three sides, was a mecca for marine biologists, and she was lucky to get lab space there so early in her career. That was more important than a beautiful view.
She had read only a couple of chapters before Calder emerged from the house and asked abruptly where the others were.
She pointed out into the Sound. "They took the boat out. I decided to be a landlubber."
"You don't sail?"
"Actually, I do, though I haven't done it much. Not like Erin. She's from this area originally, and she practically grew up on sailboats." Loo
king out over the bay, she saw a few dark clouds beginning to roll in. She hoped Scott and Erin wouldn't stay out on the water long.
"Why didn't you go with them, then?"
Certainly not in hopes of having his company. "Because they're both good sailors, and they clearly wanted to be alone together. I knew I'd be in the way. That's why I brought a book." She held it up for his inspection, hoping he would take the hint and leave.
He barely glanced at the book, preferring to keep his eyes on her. "Why did you come, then?"
Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice Page 2
