The tapping of typewriter keys stopped for a moment.
‘Go away, I’m working,’ Nicholas called out tersely. Then she could hear the typewriter going again.
‘You’ve got a visitor,’ she informed him.
‘I don’t want to see anyone.’
‘I think you might change your mind when you see her,’ Cathryn remarked wryly.
The typing stopped again. A few moments later his door opened.
‘Her?’ Nicholas demanded, with a dark scowl. ‘Who the hell’s turned up?’
‘I don’t know. She didn’t give her name. But once you see her you’re bound to recognise her. She isn’t the sort of girl you’d easily forget,’ Cathryn finished pointedly.
Nicholas was still scowling, though. ‘I know a lot of girls like that.’ Then, when he saw the look on Cathryn’s face, a dry smile touched his mouth. ‘Most of the time, I meet them during the course of work. I don’t go round personally collecting them.’
‘Well, this one doesn’t look as if she’s anything to do with work. Not unless you’re in a very exotic line of business,’ she finished, her own mouth breaking into a faint grin.
Nicholas looked at her with new interest. ‘That must be the first time you’ve smiled since you arrived here,’ he commented.
‘Never mind about that,’ Cathryn said, unexpectedly confused by the personal remark. ‘Just go and deal with this girl. I’ve dumped her in the drawing-room.’
For a moment, he looked as if he was going to refuse. Then he gave a rather exaggerated sigh and limped off down the hall.
Cathryn made her way to the kitchen. She would make herself some coffee, which would give Nicholas time to get rid of his visitor. Then she would clear away the work that she had left spread all over the table in the drawing-room.
A few moments later, though, she realised that some of the papers she had left lying around were fairly confidential. She ought to clear them away right now, before Nicholas or that girl got a chance to look at them. She didn’t suppose that either of them were particularly interested in Sir Charles’s business affairs, but as his personal secretary it was her duty to make sure that his private papers remained private.
Rather hurriedly, she made her way back to the drawing-room. It didn’t cross her mind for one moment that she should knock before going in. She swept into the room, and then stopped dead as she found herself confronted by the sight of Nicholas and the blonde wrapped around each other.
Neither of them seemed to have heard her come in. Cathryn coughed very loudly. At the same time, she tried not to feel totally embarrassed. If anything, they were the ones who ought to feel awkward, she argued fiercely with herself.
‘It’s all right, Miss Harrison, I do know that you’re there,’ murmured Nicholas, without even turning round.
If he knew she was there, why didn’t he let go of the blonde for just a few moments? she muttered to herself with growing irritation. All she wanted to do was to collect the files together, and then get out of here. It wouldn’t take more than a minute; then they could get up to whatever they wanted.
Then it slowly dawned on her that it was the blonde who was wrapped around Nicholas, rather than the other way round. In fact, Nicholas was looking slightly trapped, as if this slinky blonde was rather more than he could cope with in his present state of health.
Cathryn suddenly felt like chuckling to herself. She liked seeing Nicholas Ellis at a slight disadvantage, for once.
‘I just came to collect some papers,’ she told them crisply, walking towards the table. ‘I’ll be out of here in a few moments.’
The blonde seemed to have been thrown a little off balance by Cathryn’s unexpected arrival. She unwound herself from Nicholas and slunk back on to the sofa, looking more than a little put out.
‘Perhaps I ought to introduce the two of you,’ Nicholas suggested. ‘Miss Harrison, this is Mandy.’
Mandy looked up at Nicholas, completely ignoring Cathryn. ‘I suppose she’s some sort of housekeeper?’ she said in a bored tone.
‘Actually, she’s my nursemaid,’ Nicholas said, slightly mockingly.
‘Well, whatever she is—do you think she could get me a cup of tea?’
Cathryn didn’t wait for Nicholas to reply. ‘I don’t run around after Nicholas, so I’m certainly not going to run around after you,’ she said evenly. ‘The kitchen’s at the end of the hall. If you want some tea, go and make it yourself.’
She rather enjoyed the way that Mandy’s delectable mouth fell open in blank surprise. Before the blonde girl could think of an equally crushing reply—and Cathryn guessed that that would take her some time—she collected together her files and made a dignified exit from the room.
Once outside, she wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be angry. In the end, she decided that it wasn’t worth getting worked up over Mandy. Cathryn gave a wry shrug, and headed back to her own room.
She spent some time sorting the files into order, and then realised she was getting hungry. As she made her way to the kitchen, she could hear the murmur of voices coming from the drawing-room, and guessed that Nicholas was still fully occupied with Mandy. Cathryn just hoped that his health was up to it!
She prepared her evening meal, and took it back to her bedroom on a tray. There was a small portable television in her room, so she watched that while she ate. Then, tiring of the rather bland programmes, she read for a couple of hours. Later in the evening she decided to take a bath. She pinned her hair loosely on top of her head, grabbed a towelling robe and her bag of toiletries, and headed for the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, she was soaking blissfully in hot, scented water. Gradually, she felt herself beginning to unwind as the heat relaxed her muscles. Showers were fine when you needed to wash, but there was nothing like a bath for getting all the kinks out of your nervous system.
Half an hour passed peacefully, and she still didn’t feel in the least inclined to get out of the bath. She had topped up the water a couple of times, so it was still deliciously hot, and she could feel herself becoming drowsy. This had been a good idea, she told herself. After this, she would sleep like a log tonight.
In fact, she would have to be careful that she didn’t fall asleep right here and now!
Her eyes had actually begun to droop sleepily when a sharp knock on the door made them fly open again.
‘Who is it?’ she demanded. Then she realised that was a ridiculous question. There was only one person it could be.
‘Are you going to stay in there all night?’ came Nicholas’s slightly curt enquiry.
‘And what if I am?’ Cathryn retorted huffily. She could feel her sense of relaxation beginning to evaporate, and that annoyed her. It had taken her a long while to get rid of all the tension that seemed to build up after any encounter with Nicholas Ellis. Now, just when she had managed it, he was getting her strung up all over again!
‘Mandy would like to take a bath,’ he announced.
‘What? Wait there a moment,’ she snapped.
She heaved herself out of the hot water and wriggled her wet body into the towelling robe. Then she hurried over to the door, leaving a trail of wet footprints and drips.
She quickly unlocked and opened it; then she glared at Nicholas as he stood calmly outside.
‘What do you mean, Mandy wants to take a bath? Surely she’s got a bath of her own at home?’
‘Of course she has,’ Nicholas agreed. ‘But she’s decided to stay here tonight.’
Cathryn suddenly remembered the large shoulder-bag that the blonde girl had been carrying. Mandy must have planned to stay from the very start, bringing with her everything she would need. And Cathryn could guess what that list included. Expensive bath oils, a change of sexy underwear, and something very slinky to wear—or perhaps, not to wear!—in bed tonight.
On the other hand, it was none of her business how Nicholas spent his time—or rather, misspent it. For some reason, Cathryn had taken an immediate dislike to M
andy, but she could quite see that a healthy male would look at the blonde girl from a very different point of view. Even a physically below-par male, such as Nicholas, would be distracted from his medical problems for a few hours.
Cathryn pulled her wet robe more tightly around her still dripping body. ‘Mandy will have to wait until I’m finished in here,’ she said, not caring in the least that her voice radiated disapproval. ‘Then she can have the bathroom for the rest of the night, if she wants it.’
‘How very generous of you,’ Nicholas remarked. An amused glitter lit his eyes now, and he seemed in an unexpectedly good mood. Cathryn wasn’t particularly surprised. What male wouldn’t be in a good mood, with someone like Mandy waiting for him?
She closed and relocked the door; then she peeled off the damp bathrobe. Slowly, she dried herself on one of Sir Charles’s huge fluffy towels. Then she found herself taking a mental inventory of her own body.
Medium height, good legs, slim hips, firm breasts—when it was all put together, it was certainly enough to draw glances whenever she walked into a room. On the other hand, she definitely wasn’t in the same league as Mandy. Men wouldn’t just look at Mandy—their eyes would positively pop out!
Cathryn gave a faint sigh. It seemed rather unfair that sex appeal—or whatever you wanted to call it—was handed out in such varying quantities. Some girls had far too much of it, while others just seemed to have missed out altogether. She supposed she came somewhere in the middle, which was OK until you met someone like Mandy, and realised that girls who had lashings of it definitely had an unfair advantage over all the others.
Then Cathryn’s brows drew together as she realised that her thoughts had been wandering in a direction which they had never really taken before. Why was she suddenly feeling so inadequate, when she knew perfectly well that she wasn’t?
‘Blonde bimbo!’ she snorted irritably under her breath. ‘I wouldn’t want to be like that, even if I had the choice.’
In a thoroughly unsettled mood, she finished drying herself, slapped scented body lotion over her warm skin, and wriggled into her nightshirt. Then she picked up her damp robe, grabbed hold of her toiletry bag, and left the bathroom free for Mandy.
Back in her own room, she slumped on to the bed and watched television for a while. A late film was on, but it didn’t hold her attention. In the end, she decided to make herself a hot drink, and then try to get some sleep.
She went along to the kitchen, made some coffee, and was just wandering back to her bedroom when she saw the bathroom door open.
Mandy came out, wafting scent in all directions and wearing a flimsy silk and lace concoction that would have got even an octogenarian’s pulse racing.
‘Oh—hello,’ she said vaguely, not even looking directly at Cathryn. ‘I didn’t know you slept in. I don’t suppose you’ll disturb us, though, will you?’
Cathryn gritted her teeth. ‘I’ll certainly try not to.’
Mandy gave another empty smile. ‘Good. See you in the morning.’
‘You’re sure you wouldn’t like breakfast in bed?’ Cathryn couldn’t stop herself from enquiring sarcastically.
‘That would be very nice,’ Mandy called over her shoulder as she drifted off. ‘Just tea and a slice of toast, please.’
Cathryn stared after her in disbelief. She had actually thought Cathryn had meant it! How dumb was it possible to be?
Mandy wandered on in the direction of Nicholas’s bedroom, but Cathryn didn’t wait to see her go through the door. She went back to her own room, shut the door far more noisily than was necessary, and then settled down to watch the last half of the film with fierce concentration.
She didn’t sleep well and blamed it on the fact that she had made the coffee too strong. She finally managed to doze for a couple of hours just before dawn, but woke again just as the sun was rising. Her eyes felt bleary, and her head ached slightly from lack of sleep. With a faint groan, she hauled herself out of bed and shuffled towards the kitchen.
Early though it was, Nicholas had still got there before her.
And he wasn’t just up. He was looking unexpectedly bright-eyed. After a night with Mandy, Cathryn had expected to find him in urgent need of resuscitation!
‘Want some coffee?’ he offered. ‘I’ve just made some.’ Then, when she didn’t reply, his green gaze studied her thoughtfully. ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’
Her eyebrows lifted expressively. ‘I suppose I’m just not used to your being so polite. Maybe Mandy’s a good influence on you,’ she commented drily.
‘Mandy is a thorough nuisance,’ he stated, to her complete astonishment. ‘And I certainly didn’t invite her round here. In fact, I hardly know the girl.’
‘Hardly know her?’ Cathryn echoed in disbelief. ‘She wanders into your bedroom at midnight, wearing not much more than a splash of perfume, and you expect me to believe you hardly know her?’ Then, to her annoyance, she found herself flushing. She hadn’t meant to let him know that she had seen Mandy going to his room. She didn’t approve of casual sex, but it was entirely his affair if he wanted to risk indulging in it.
‘If you’d watched a little longer, you’d also have seen Mandy leave my room,’ Nicholas told her, apparently fairly unperturbed by her outburst. ‘Mandy is a rather frustrated little girl this morning.’
‘You turned her away?’ Cathryn couldn’t quite keep the incredulity out of her voice.
Nicholas grinned, confusing her further. He was in a good temper so very rarely that she didn’t know quite how to cope with this side of him.
‘I turned her away,’ he agreed. ‘On purely medical grounds,’ he added, his eyes glinting.
‘What medical grounds?’ Cathryn demanded. Then she found herself flushing brightly again. ‘All right,’ she said irritably, annoyed by her lack of control over the colour that kept surging over her hot cheekbones, ‘I know it’s nothing to do with me.’
‘No, it isn’t,’ he agreed, in that same unruffled tone. ‘But I’ll tell you anyway, since you’re so interested. The doctors have advised me to avoid any unnecessary excitement over the next few weeks. And Mandy can be very exciting,’ he softly purred.
‘If you’re meant to avoid excitement, why did you kiss me the other night?’ Cathryn demanded. ‘You seemed pretty excited on that occasion,’ she reminded him pointedly.
He lifted his shoulders in amused acceptance. ‘I told you—three months in hospital is a very long time. It’s very hard not to give in to temptation. But I am trying to follow doctors’ orders. And they’ve recommended that I live like a monk for the next three or four weeks.’
Cathryn stared at him. ‘Then you really mean that—?’
‘I mean that Mandy was extremely disappointed,’ he said with a mocking smile. ‘It also means that she’ll be leaving as soon as I’ve been along to drag her out of bed.’
‘Will she want to go?’
‘No, she won’t. But she’s already outstayed her welcome.’
Cathryn looked at him curiously. ‘How on earth did you get involved with someone like Mandy?’ Then she realised that she was asking personal questions again. Was he going to order her to mind her own business?
He did no such thing, though. Instead, to her surprise, he answered her question. ‘I met Mandy through a mutual friend. I took her out one evening, but once was enough. She hasn’t got a brain in her gorgeous little head. I’ve met plenty of blondes who are bright and intelligent, but Mandy certainly isn’t one of them!’
But Cathryn wasn’t at all sure that she swallowed that story. ‘If you only took her out once, why did she turn up on the doorstep like that?’ she demanded.
‘Mandy likes celebrities,’ Nicholas said simply. ‘For some reason, it makes her feel important to be seen around with someone who’s well known. Since I’ve appeared on the television, and then attracted even more attention by getting myself blown up, she’s decided that I fall into the celebrity category. And once Mandy gets hold of a
celebrity, she doesn’t let go of him easily.’
Cathryn considered what he had said for a few moments. That’s rather sad,’ she said at last.
Nicholas looked faintly surprised. ‘Yes, it is,’ he agreed. ‘But I didn’t expect you to see it that way.’
‘Why not?’
‘Women often seem to feel threatened by someone like Mandy. All that sex appeal on blatant display makes them feel uneasy, indignant—perhaps even inadequate.’
Cathryn was about to deny it quite furiously when she suddenly remembered her own reaction yesterday. ‘Perhaps you’re right,’ she admitted at last, with deep reluctance.
‘Not that you’ve anything to worry about,’ Nicholas went on, in the same slightly detached tone. ‘When it comes to sex appeal, you’ve got a lot going for you. Not quite like Mandy, of course—women like Mandy are a fairly rare species,’ he continued drily. ‘But you could certainly turn me on, if you put your mind to it.’
Another of those infuriating flushes spread across her face. ‘I’ve no intention of putting my mind to it,’ she informed him hotly.
He gave an unconcerned shrug. ‘I didn’t for one moment think that you would. I’m just saying that you could, if you really wanted to. And don’t give me that spiel about not being interested in sex,’ he went on as she opened her mouth indignantly. ‘Some women aren’t, I’m willing to accept that. Just as some men find it easy—or even prefer—to be celibate. But you’re not one of them, Cathryn.’ It was the first time he had used her Christian name, and the way he said it made her feel distinctly uneasy. ‘There’s a light in your eyes sometimes ... And you move quite seductively, although I don’t think you know you’re doing it—which, incidentally, makes it all the more provocative. No, there’s nothing basically cold or frigid about you,’ he finished thoughtfully. ‘Some day, someone’s going to prove that to you.’
But Cathryn had had quite enough of this conversation. ‘Perhaps they will, and perhaps they won’t,’ she retorted, getting swiftly to her feet. ‘Personally, I very much doubt it. I know what I am. But whoever proves it one way or the other, that person isn’t going to be you.’
A Kiss by Candlelight Page 5
