Burning Obsession

by Carole Mortimer

  ‘But, Kelly, we can’t just—just keep sleeping together!’ he said in exasperation.

  ‘Why can’t we? We’re married.’

  His face darkened angrily. ‘God, I can’t talk to you when you’re in this mood.’

  ‘Then don’t even try.’ She stood up to begin straightening the bed. ‘Shouldn’t you be going?’ She gave him a pointed glance.

  ‘I’ll deal with you later,’ he told her grimly.

  Kelly gave him an enticing smile. ‘I’ll look forward to it.’

  He shook his head. ‘I’m not sure I know you any more.’

  ‘I don’t think you ever knew me, Jordan. You never took the time to do that, you never had the time.’

  ‘Well, I’m making time now.’

  ‘That sounded like a threat.’

  ‘More a declaration of intent.’ The door closed quietly behind him as he left.

  Kelly went back to her father’s bedroom, finding him lying on the bed while the doctor examined him. She smiled reassuringly as he glanced her way.

  ‘Well, Doctor?’ she asked as he stepped back, closing up his medical bag with a snap.

  Michael Jones shrugged. ‘Slight shock, but otherwise he’s sound.’

  ‘How nice.’ Her father swung his legs to the floor. ‘I find out it’s five years later than I thought it was and I only have slight shock. Great!’ he groaned sarcastically.

  ‘You can lie back on that bed,’ the doctor told him firmly. ‘I said a slight shock, but it was enough for me to want you to have complete rest for today. A light lunch, and then a long sleep. I’ll leave you some tablets to help with the sleep.’

  ‘If you think I’m going to calmly lie back here and go to sleep then you’re mistaken,’ Kelly’s father scorned. ‘I’m going out, I want to catch up on the last five years of my life.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Mr Darrow, but you aren’t going anywhere. If you won’t rest here then I’ll have to admit you for a couple of days.’ The doctor quirked an eyebrow. ‘Which is it to be?’

  Kelly watched the stubborn anger in her father’s face, expecting the explosion at any moment. To her surprise he lay back weakly against the pillows, a look of weariness on his features.

  ‘I’ll stay here,’ he accepted ruefully.

  ‘And you’ll follow instructions,’ the doctor ordered. ‘If you don’t your daughter has strict instructions to call me.’

  Her father glowered at her. ‘She would too!’

  Kelly and the doctor laughed as they went downstairs together. ‘I meant it about the rest,’ he told her as they reached the front door. ‘Right now your father is feeling angry, when it fully hits him that all that time is a blank then he’s going to panic. It would be better if he slept through the worst of that.’

  ‘Jordan and I will make sure he does as he’s told,’ she assured him.

  ‘That won’t be easy,’ the doctor sympathised. ‘He isn’t very good at it.’

  ‘You noticed!’ Kelly laughed.

  ‘Yes,’ he smiled. ‘If he seems any worse give me a call. But I’ll be here tomorrow in any case. Now that he knows there’s always the possibility that snatches of the past could come to him, unconnected flashes of memory that will finally make up the whole.’

  And when that happened she and Jordan would no longer have a need to continue living together! But she mustn’t think that way, mustn’t be selfish. It was important that her father regain his memory, and she would do all she could to help him do just that.

  ‘In no way try to force the issue,’ the doctor instantly disabused her of that idea. ‘Only time will help him. Is your husband here?’

  ‘He had to go out. He should be back soon. Did you want to see him?’

  ‘No, not particularly. I just wondered if he had any idea how the story came to be in the newspapers.’

  ‘I think he’s just gone to find out,’ Kelly smiled at the understatement of that remark.

  ‘I see.’ The doctor obviously got the inflection behind it too. ‘Oh well, no great harm done. Although it was obviously an irresponsible thing for anyone to do. The shock of that disclosure could have had serious consequences.’

  Her father had taken it very well, in fact he was quite jovial during the snack lunch they had together. They ate lunch out in the garden, the sun and fresh air giving her father a colour that had otherwise been lacking. Jordan hadn’t yet returned, and Kelly tried hard not to think of reasons why he hadn’t.

  ‘Nap, now,’ Kelly said firmly, standing up. ‘Come on, Daddy—inside!’

  He lay on the lounger next to her. ‘Couldn’t I just stay here and doze off for an hour?’

  ‘An afternoon’s sleep, the doctor said,’ Kelly insisted, ‘and that’s what you’re going to have.’

  ‘Do I have to?’ he groaned.

  ‘You have to.’ She held out her hands and pulled him to his feet. ‘And you can take two of the tablets the doctor gave me for you.’

  ‘You know I don’t like taking tablets,’ he grumbled as they entered the lounge. ‘Not for anything.’

  Kelly poured him some water from the jug on the table, handing him the glass and the two tablets. ‘Take them,’ she ordered.

  ‘All five years has done for you is make you bossy,’ he scowled, swallowing the tablets down.

  She laughed. ‘It’s done more than that, Daddy!’

  ‘I hope I’m not in for too many shocks,’ he muttered as they walked up the stairs together.

  Kelly sobered. ‘Not too many,’ she said guardedly.

  ‘I hope not. It’s not good for a man of my age.’

  Her smile returned. ‘I never realised how vain you are,’ she chuckled.

  He looked affronted. ‘I always thought fifty was a milestone I didn’t want to reach.’

  ‘I can assure you you met it with great dignity.’ She pulled the coverlet over him as he lay down. ‘We even had a party,’ she remembered fondly.

  ‘Here?’ he asked sleepily.

  ‘No, of course—No,’ she blushed as she realised she had been about to make another slip-up. She really wasn’t very good at this pretence. ‘We were in France.’

  ‘Oh, you and Jordan joined me there,’ he nodded understanding.

  She had no idea where Jordan had been on her father’s fiftieth birthday. They had received a congratulations telegram from him, but Kelly couldn’t remember where from now.

  ‘Can I get you anything before I go?’ She made no further reference to the party, moving to pull the curtains against the bright sunshine.

  ‘No, I’ll be fine.’ His voice was distinctly slurred now, his eyes closing sleepily.

  She bent to gently kiss his forehead. ‘Sleep well. I’ll see you soon.’

  There was still no sign of Jordan when she got downstairs, so she fumed silently to herself out in the garden. He could have at least telephoned to say he had been delayed! Or maybe he couldn’t give the reason for his delay, maybe there had been a beautiful blonde at the newspaper office who had attracted his attention. Him and his damned blondes! If he—

  ‘Telephone, Mrs Lord!’ Mrs McLeod called from the house.

  At last! He must have got her anger by telepathy. ‘Yes?’ she snapped into the receiver.

  ‘Hey,’ drawled a familiar female voice, ‘I know I had to leave a bit abruptly the other day,’ Maggie said lightly. ‘But I didn’t expect that sort of reaction when next we spoke.’

  The tension left her in a sigh. ‘Sorry, Maggie. That anger wasn’t meant for you.’

  ‘Jordan?’ Maggie guessed dryly.

  ‘Who else?’

  ‘Quite,’ Maggie agreed. ‘By that I take it he isn’t there?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘In that case, would you like to come over? I feel a bit guilty about leaving you so suddenly the other day, and I also have some new designs I’d like you to look at. You have excellent taste.’

  ‘Flatterer!’ Kelly laughed.

  ‘Well, you have.’

  ‘I d
on’t think I can come today.’ She explained about her father.

  ‘Then just pop over for an hour,’ Maggie suggested. ‘After all, your father is asleep, and Jordan is out.’

  ‘I suppose so,’ Kelly said slowly. ‘Okay,’ she came to a decision, ‘I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.’

  She hurried upstairs to change out of her casual clothing into one of the stylish dresses hanging up in her wardrobe. Maggie always dressed well, at all times, and consequently Kelly always liked to dress well herself when in her company.

  ‘I’m just going out for an hour, Mrs McLeod,’ she popped into the kitchen to tell the housekeeper. ‘My father shouldn’t wake up before then, the doctor said the tablets should make him sleep for several hours.’

  ‘What do I tell Mr Lord if he should come back while you’re out?’

  If he should come back! Mrs McLeod had also obviously been aware of Jordan’s anxiety when she had arrived late back two days ago. What the housekeeper couldn’t know was of Kelly’s own anxiety about Jordan’s delay today.

  Kelly gave a casual shrug. ‘Tell him I’ll only be an hour.’ She refused to let the housekeeper tell him where she was going. Let him worry for a while!

  Maggie’s flat was as dramatic as the rest of her, abstract pictures on the stark white-painted walls, the furniture very square in design, all sharp angles, scatter rugs on the black and white tiled floor. Maggie herself was a flame of colour against the black and white background, the red linen dress a series of panels ending in a ragged hem. She looked wild and gypsyish, her beautiful face glowing with pleasure as she greeted Kelly.

  ‘You look tired.’ She held Kelly at arm’s length.

  Colour flooded her cheeks. She looked tired because she was tired; it had been the early hours of the morning before she and Jordan had fallen asleep.

  ‘I was hoping you would cheer me up,’ she derided, ‘not tell me how bad I look!’

  ‘I didn’t say bad,’ Maggie bustled her into the lounge and put a drink in her hand before Kelly even knew what was happening. ‘Just tired. Hey, you and Jordan haven’t—’

  ‘Maggie!’ Kelly stiffened. ‘If you’re going to ask what I think you are, then don’t. The subject is still personal.’

  Maggie gave her a speculative look. ‘I don’t like the sound of that. Surely you haven’t let him seduce you again?’

  ‘No, I haven’t!’ She drank the fluid in her glass straight down, choking as the whisky burnt down into her stomach. ’God, you could have warned me!’ she coughed, standing up as Maggie thumped her on the back. ‘You know I don’t drink whisky.’ She put the glass down on the table, only half the whisky left.

  ‘I forgot,’ Maggie shrugged. ‘All right now?’ she asked as Kelly stopped choking.

  Kelly blinked the tears away. ‘I think so,’ she grimaced.

  ‘Come and look at these designs, then.’ Maggie went over to her work-table, leafing through the sketches there. ‘Here, and this one too. And this.’ She collected quite a pile of the drawings and brought them over.

  Kelly looked at them almost gratefully, picking out one or two that she might have liked for herself. At least this had taken Maggie’s mind off the relationship between Jordan and herself. Not that Jordan would approve of these designs. She had bought a couple of dresses from Maggie that she could use as maternity dresses, their floating style feminine and modern but still useful as maternity dresses. Jordan had taken one look at them and thrown them out.

  ‘They’re lovely,’ she told Maggie.

  ‘Mm, I’m quite proud of them myself. I have a boutique interested in them.’

  ‘That’s great,’ Kelly enthused, glad that Maggie wasn’t going to ask her if she wanted any of them. She had the feeling Jordan’s reaction would be the same as in the past.

  ‘A select boutique,’ Maggie added hastily. ‘Each dress will be exclusively made.’

  ‘Lovely.’ Kelly listened halfheartedly as Maggie went into details, wondering if Jordan had returned home yet, and if he had if he had discovered the newspaper’s source.

  ‘Of course, if I do sign this contract with them,’ Maggie continued, ‘it will mean I can’t go back to the States for several years.’

  ‘But your father’s offered to open your own boutique!’

  ‘Exactly!’ her friend sighed.

  ‘I take it you didn’t poison your boy-friend the other night,’ Kelly remarked dryly, guessing Maggie’s indecision about returning to America.

  ‘You mean is he still around? Oh yes, even more so. He wants to move in.’

  Kelly raised her eyebrows. ‘Do you want him to?’

  ‘You bet,’ Maggie grinned. ‘But I’m not going to appear too eager. He’s too used to having things his own way. I’ll give in—eventually.’

  ‘Are you going to marry him?’ Kelly asked eagerly.

  ‘Your naïveté again, Kelly,’ her friend shook her head mockingly. ‘Of course I’m not going to marry him. Besides, he’s already married.’

  ‘I see,’ Kelly said faintly. ‘And doesn’t his wife mind?’

  Maggie shrugged. ‘I have no idea.’

  ‘Don’t you care?’ Kelly was amazed at her friend’s attitude. Maggie had always been outspoken, go-ahead, but even so this latest development shocked Kelly somewhat. Maggie had had some strange boy-friends in her time, some of them quite weird, but as far as she knew none of them had ever been married.

  ‘She should have held on to him while she could,’ Maggie dismissed callously.

  Kelly bit her lip. ‘Maybe. But that isn’t always possible.’

  Contrition washed over Maggie’s often hard features. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, Kelly. I didn’t think.’

  Kelly gave a falsely bright smile. ‘That’s all right, it isn’t important.’ She stood up. I’m pleased about your designs, and if you want to stay in England then that boutique contract sounds like the best idea.’

  ‘But you don’t approve of the other bit,’ Maggie grimaced.

  ‘It’s your life,’ Kelly dismissed lightly. ‘After the mess I’ve made of mine I wouldn’t presume to preach to you. Maybe your way round is better.’ She gave a wan smile. ‘I would certainly have seen more of Jordan if I’d been his mistress instead of his wife.’

  Her friend shook her head. ‘You’re becoming cynical.’

  ‘Realistic,’ Kelly corrected. ‘We’ll meet for lunch next week, shall we?’

  ‘Lovely,’ Maggie smiled. ‘And I’ll let you know whether I’ve chosen a life of sin or if I’m going home to Mummy and Daddy. But I don’t think it will be the latter.’

  Kelly shouldn’t really be shocked about Maggie’s boy-friend being married, after all, that sort of thing had been common enough five years ago, now it was accepted as the done thing. The fact that she didn’t subscribe to the belief herself was beside the point.

  There was an unfamiliar car parked outside the house when she got home, plus Jordan’s Mercedes, although it was the other car that held her attention. Who could their visitor be?

  The sound of female laughter could be heard among the male amusement as Kelly entered the house. The sound was coming from the lounge, so she made her way there.

  All laughter stopped as she entered the room. Her father was sitting in one of the armchairs Jordan in the other, and their visitor on the sofa. Kelly could only see the top of a blonde female head, and her breath caught in her throat. Surely Jordan hadn’t—? Not Angela Divine!

  ‘Ah, Kelly,’ Jordan stood up, coming over to the door where she still stood. ‘Darling,’ he smiled, but his eyes remained hard. He bent to kiss her briefly on the lips. ‘Where the hell have you been this time?’ he muttered.

  ‘You’ve been drinking!’ He drew back, his eyes narrowed.

  ‘Yes!’ Her eyes flashed her defiance before she put her hand in the crook of his arm, turning with a bright smile to face her father and their visitor. Only it wasn’t Angela Divine! This was someone new, although if anything she was even more beautiful th
an Jordan’s ex-secretary. ‘Aren’t you going to introduce me, darling?’ she asked her husband throatily.

  ‘You don’t need introducing to Anne, Kelly,’ her father said with amusement.

  ‘I don’t?’ she frowned her puzzlement.

  ‘Anne Fellows, darling,’ Jordan drawled mockingly.

  Anne Fellows! Kelly hadn’t even recognised the nursing Sister out of uniform. She was just too beautiful. In her uniform she had been starchily attractive, dressed as she was now in the pretty pink flower-print skirt and skimpy pink top she looked too humanly lovely, completely feminine, her blonde hair long and straight and reaching almost to her narrow waist. She must be in her early or mid-thirties, and Kelly’s jealousy increased as she realised the other woman was nearer Jordan’s own age.

  ‘I’m sorry I didn’t recognise you, Miss Fellows.’ She forced a smile to her lips, leaving Jordan’s side to go and sit beside the other woman. ‘And after all you’ve done to help my father,’ she added guiltily, her smile more genuine and relaxed now.

  ‘That’s perfectly all right,’ the other woman smiled warmly. ‘The uniform fools a lot of people.’

  ‘It certainly fooled me,’ Kelly’s father chuckled. ‘I could hardly believe my eyes today.’

  Anne gave a husky laugh. ‘You’re very kind.’

  ‘My father-in-law is understating the case if anything,’ Jordan put in.

  Anne’s smile widened. ‘You’re even kinder.’

  ‘Jordan isn’t kind,’ Kelly’s voice was brittle. ‘He merely knows a very beautiful woman when he sees one.’ She turned to meet the anger in his eyes.

  His mouth was tight, his expression glacial. ‘I ought to, I’m married to one.’

  ‘Why, thank you, darling.’ She gave him a smile of exaggerated sweetness, turning to the other woman. ‘Aren’t the men being absolutely charming, Miss Fellows?’

  ‘They certainly are. And please call me Anne. Now that your father is no longer in my care all formality can be dropped.’

  Kelly wondered how far all meant as far as Jordan was concerned. Oh, she had to stop this, she was becoming paranoic about him. It didn’t necessarily follow that every beautiful blonde he met was destined for his bed. And yet she remembered Anne Fellows’ interest in him from the start, and he made no effort to hide his admiration for her now.