Loveknot

by Catherine George

  This time, she could only think he must be waiting for her to move out from under her grandmother's roof before finally asking to share her bed.

  It was a thought which preoccupied her a great deal over the next few days, all the time she was settling in to her new home and helping her grandmother make the transition from Greenacre to the suite of rooms she was to occupy at

  Broad Oaks. Mrs. Wainwright had insisted on overseeing the packing of her possessions, most of which she had been adamant over putting into storage for future use by Sophie and her brothers, and when the _upheaval was finally over and the indomitable lady was at last installed in her new quarters

  Sophie was worried to see how tired her grandmother looked. She said so afterwards in no uncertain terms to her father and Kate, who had joined in the supervision of the move.

  David Gordon exchanged a glance with Kate, then suggested all of them go to

  Ilex Cottage to see the finished result. When an admiring tour of inspection had been made the three of them sat with glasses of the sherry provided by

  Perry as a 'libation to the god of removals', and Dr Gordon explained to

  Sophie that Cecily Wainwright's heart was not as strong as it might be.

  "When I heard she was moving herself into Broad Oaks I had a talk with her--behind your back, pet, I'm afraid." He squeezed Sophie's hand reassuringly.

  "Don't look like that! She'll last for years yet, as long as she takes it easy, with a regular professional eye kept on her. Your grandmother's a very sensible woman, and she's done the best possible thing under the circumstances."

  "I had no idea," said Sophie with remorse.

  "She never said a word."

  "And she won't thank your father for letting the cat out of the bag," said Kate gently.

  "So keep it to yourself, Sophie. Just go on as usual." She grinned.

  "You know how incensed she'd be if she thought David had spilled the beans."

  "Lord, yes!" Sophie smiled ruefully, and changed the subject by asking how they liked her colour- scheme. Kate was loud with her _approval of the yellow and white curtains, and how well the dining 7 room carpet from

  Greenacre had cut down to suit the small room.

  "I love the chaise-longue, too," she added.

  "Was that Cecily's?"

  "No. Alexander donated it as a moving-in present," said Sophie casually.

  "Perfect there, isn't it?"

  Except for the disquieting news about her grandmother, life was good for

  Sophie in the period following her move to Ilex Cottage. She saw less of

  Alexander, it was true, because Perry was now in charge of the Arlesford branch of Paget's. Nevertheless, in his role of senior partner Alexander visited the branch office fairly often, and followed his original plan of taking Sophie out for an occasional meal, or a trip to the theatre in Bath or

  Bristol, but he firmly refused her offers of a meal at Ilex Cottage by way of return.

  "No, Sophie," he said-one night, as he saw her safely into the cottage.

  "I'm giving you the breathing space you wanted, behaving like the virtuous family friend I'm believed to be. But frankly I don't think my virtue is so absolute as to survive an evening a deux with you, my lovely, neither here nor at Willow Reach."

  Sophie switched on a lamp then sat on the chaise, looking up at him in challenge.

  "What if I don't want it to survive, Alexander?"

  His mouth tightened as he gazed down at her. The soft cashmere of the suit she'd worn for the wedding outlned the curves of her breasts as Sophie clasped her hands deliberately behind her head, and crossed her legs in their gossamer dark st6ck_ings so that her skirt rode high above her knees.

  "Sophie He stopped, running a hand through his hair as he flung away to the fireplace.

  "Really, Alexander! I'm no Victorian maiden, likely to faint if you catch a glimpse of my ankles."

  "I can see a lot more than that!" He kept his back turned.

  "I'm sure you've been told how beautiful your legs are hundreds of times, so just pull your skirt down and behave, Sophie."

  She sat up straight, addressing his broad shoulders.

  "Perhaps I was wrong. Yet I could have sworn you'd changed towards me,

  Alexander.

  Lately you've been giving me the impression that you think of me as a bit more than just Sophie the family friend, or even Sophie the secretary. Was I wrong, Alexander? "

  He swung round, his eyes glittering. He stared down at her for a moment, then caught her hands and hauled her up against him.

  "You know damn well you weren't wrong." He moved her hand to touch him.

  "Does that feel as though I don't want you? Why the hell do you think I keep inventing reasons to interfere at the Arlesford office? Just to see you, my little friend! Perry gets bloody fed up with me, only he knows very well it's your neck I want to breathe down, not his."

  Sophie moved her hand delicately, exulting in his anguished groan as he crushed her to him and began to kiss her with all the urgency she'd been yearning for over the past weeks of impersonal friendliness. She'd been frantic for his touch, eager to breathe in the distinctive scent of him, feel the warmth of his body against hers. Her nerves were _ragged with wanting him, and after a long, breathless interval Sophie tipped her head back, her eyes dilated as she gazed up into his.

  "Take me to bed, Alexander," she whispered, triumphantly certain he'd sweep her up into his arms. Instead his arms fell away and he shook his head, his eyes tight closed.

  "No?" she said incredulously.

  "I can't, Sophie!" The words were bitten out.

  "Oh, God, not you as well!" Sophie turned away, hugging her arms across her chest.

  "What the hell do you mean by that?" Alexander caught her by the elbow and spun her round.

  "How many men do you ask to take you to bed, may I ask?"

  "Only you, Alexander, only you." Sophie's eyes flashed at him, humiliation and anger vibrating inside her.

  "But don't worry. I won't again. Ever!"

  He shook her hard.

  "Listen to me, you little shrew. When you moved in here I had several requests from a number of people. Not couched in similar terms precisely, but all amounting to the same thing. Your grandmother, your father, Kate too; they all asked me to keep an eye on you, to take care of you, see you were all right on your own. Now maybe they intended me to check your pipes didn't freeze, or your drains didn't block. It's possible. But you know and

  I know that they meant me to see that no man gets ideas because little

  Sophie's living alone now. And I think they include me, Sophie, since I think I can safely say I am a man."

  She pulled free.

  "Not merely a man, Alexander paragon of perfection." She put her hands behind her back, her eyebrows raised.

  "Why not come clean? Admit I don't compare with Delphine in the sex department."

  Alexander gritted his teeth.

  "For God's sake, what do I have to do to convince you I don't care a damn for

  Delphine any more?"

  "Take me to bed and make love to me!" She eyed him defiantly.

  "Why not? You've been here with me on several occasions lately, long enough to make love to me every time. Who's to know you haven't?

  Probably all the neighbours think we're lovers, anyway. "

  "But we're not! And your family trusts me to see that we stay that way."

  "Then I think we'd better revert to our original relationship in future.

  Employer and employee." Sophie quivered inside with wounded pride and something she assumed was sexual frustration. It was a new feeling. One that humiliated and hurt and spurred her on to lash out, to puncture

  Alexander's armour of rectitude.

  "Our original relationship was also friendship," he reminded her coldly.

  "Then let's decide on a new relationship, with no personal feelings involved." She went to the door. "Thank you for dinner, Alex
ander. I won't say the evening was an unqualified success but thank you just the same."

  "Does this mean I see you only at the office?" He stood over her, his eyes shuttered in his pale face. "Can't we at least be friends?"

  "I've had it up to here with men who just want to _be friends. It's very bad for a girl's self-esteem. Goodnight, Alexander." Sophie opened the door, waiting pointedly. He gazed at her for a moment, then grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her savagely.

  "A pity to disappoint the neighbours," he flung at her, then strode off down the narrow walk, leaving Sophie a prey to seething emotions as she banged the door shut and stormed upstairs to bed.

  "Bad night?" asked Perry next day, as Sophie finished going through the post with him.

  "No," she snapped, then smiled apologetically. "Sorry. Didn't mean to bite." ^ "Don't mention it just don't like to see you down in the mouth."

  Perry eyed her closely. "Weren't you dining with my cousin and revered boss last night?"

  "Yes." Sophie got up.

  "Shall I make coffee now?"

  "In other words mind your own business, E.P. Paget, Junior Partner."

  He grinned, his blue eyes alight with curiosity. -"Don't tell me Alexander came on a bit strong, Sophie! Shall Uncle Perry slap his wrist for you?"

  Sophie gave him a withering look and marched back to her office without deigning to reply. Her depression was acute. Her satisfaction over giving

  Alexander his marching orders had lasted less than the time taken to get herself to bed, leaving her utterly miserable, and prone to looking up hopefully every time her office door opened next day. But it was always

  Perry, or Brian Harris the young draughts man never Alexander. Each ring of the telephone had her diving for the receiver, but it _was never the desired voice on the other end of the line. To her dismay even her delight in her new home was dimmed by her quarrel with Alexander, and as the days went by her evenings alone in the cottage began to feel lonely instead of peaceful.

  The rest of the week passed without contact with Alexander of any kind, professional or otherwise, so that Sophie was only too glad to accept an invitation to Sunday lunch with her father and Kate. She was helping the latter in the kitchen when she heard Alexander's voice in the hall. Kate's eyebrows rose as she saw Sophie stiffen.

  "Didn't I mention Alexander was coming, love?"

  "No, you didn't. How nice."

  It was not at all nice. The meal was an ordeal, since Alexander's manner towards Sophie was chillingly polite, and her reaction was to chatter nineteen to the dozen to hide her dismay. Kate and David Gordon, plainly worried by the constraint between their respective loved ones, did their best to keep the conversational ball rolling, but it was uphill work.

  Sophie was deeply pleased to see Alexander looked haggard, as if lack of sleep was a problem they shared.

  "How is Willow Reach?" she asked brightly. "Everything done now?"

  More or less. “He met her eyes.

  "The curtains you chose look exactly right, by the way. They were hung on

  Friday."

  "Oh, splendid. No, thanks. Aunt Kate, no pudding."

  "You haven't eaten much," observed her father.

  _"Are you cooking proper meals for yourself these days?"

  "Yes, Doctor, I am!" Sophie avoided Alexander's sardonic gaze and began a conversation with Kate on a televised opera they had both watched during the week, and shortly afterwards Alexander rose to go.

  "May I give you a lift, Sophie? Arlesford is very little out of my way."

  "No, thanks. I'm staying to tea if that's all right with you. Aunt Kate?"

  Kate agreed with alacrity, and pressed Alexander to stay, but he took his leave with the air of a man desperate to escape.

  "You two had a fight?" enquired Dr Gordon, while Kate was seeing her stepson off.

  "Yes. Nothing to worry about." Sophie smiled brightly and went off to help

  Kate wash up.

  Sophie had refused Perry's invitations to lunch at the Unicorn right from the start, but next day he insisted she broke her rule. He was in jubilant mood and wanted to celebrate. Confirmation had just been received that the firm had won the Waterside Hotel job in Brading.

  "Clever lad, our Alexander," said Perry, as he brought their drinks to the table.

  "Sorry for the delay, by the way. They're short-staffed."

  Sophie sipped her wine absently, her mind on the last occasion she'd been here. With Alexander.

  "What's up, Sophie?" asked Perry affectionately. "Anyone with half an eye can tell you and Alexander have called a halt to whatever's been going on

  between you. And," he added, 'that neither of you is exactly happy about it. "

  "There was nothing” going on", as you so delicately put it." Nor likely to be, thought Sophie unhappily.

  "Sorry--rather thought there was, myself." Perry shrugged.

  "I mean you've known each other forever, of course. But since that ghastly business with Delphine I fancy Alexander's a changed man in more ways than one. He fancies you rotten these days, Sophie, old family friend or not."

  "Nonsense," aid Sophie flatly, her heart leaping at the mere thought of being fancied by Alexander.

  Perry put out a hand to cover hers.

  "And I've seen Willow Reach. I know you helped choose a lot of the stuff there, so naturally I thought----' " Well, you thought wrong. "

  "So you're just good friends?"

  "No, Perry." Sophie swallowed hard, her eyes suddenly misting over.

  "We're not even friends any more."

  "So here you are!"

  Sophie jumped yards as Alexander's voice interrupted them. She stared up at him guiltily, her heart sinking at the look of icy disapproval on his handsome face as he loomed over them.

  "We're celebrating," said Perry, unabashed. "What will you have?”

  Celebrating? “Alexander’s voice grated, and Perry gazed at him, all blue-eyed innocence.

  "The Waterside Hotel, of. course, old chap." He smiled benignly and went off to push his way to the bar.

  _"May I join you?" asked Alexander stiffly.

  "Yes. Do." Sophie swallowed some wine to moisten her suddenly dry mouth.

  "Congratulations, by the way. You must be very pleased."

  "Thank you." Alexander stared down at the table.

  "Do you lunch here with Perry every day?"

  "No. First time today, in fact. He insisted on celebrating your success."

  Sophie looked away across the crowded bar, battling to keep calm.

  "Is all well at the cottage?"

  "Fine."

  "Good. How's your grandmother?"

  "Much better now she's settled in. She's quite spoiled by the staff at Broad

  Oaks."

  Alexander put a hand out to touch hers. "Sophie----' He bit back a curse as

  Perry came back, juggling three glasses."

  "I ordered lunch for you with ours, Alexander," he panted.

  "Like a rugger sc rum back there. Miranda's left. The blonde behind the bar," he added, as the other two looked blank.

  Sophie picked at her prawn-stuffed crepe while Perry wolfed his steak sandwich then jumped up, saying he had an appointment. He pushed Sophie down into her seat as she rose to leave with him, telling her to finish her lunch like a good girl, and not to rush back to the office.

  Alone together, both Sophie and Alexander gave up' all pretence at eating.

  "Alexander----' " Sophie----' _They spoke together, then stopped short, look

  Ting at each other, and Alexander smiled for the first time.

  "I can't stand it, Sophie. I've been bloody miserable since that night. Too much time to think in my empty house."

  "I've thought a lot, too," said Sophie.

  "Were any of the thoughts about me?" He took her hand in his under the table, stroking it with his fingers.

  "Of course they were. Why were you so cold and distant to me yesterday?" she blurted.
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  'I was cold and distant? Good God you were the original Snow Queen.

  One look from you and I had icicles on my roast beef! "