Amy spoke firmly. ‘Well, you won’t be doing them this time. I intend to do them myself.’ Turning to Cathie, she said, ‘I think daffodils will give a touch of brightness to the entrance hall.’
Lola’s manner changed as she suddenly became affable. ‘Oh—I didn’t realise that you would be doing them,’ she said to Amy. ‘I thought that perhaps—’ Her glance slid over Cathie, then she went on, ‘I’ll find a basket and scissors. You and I shall go together so that we can get to know each other. We must become friends—Amy.’
Amy spoke calmly. ‘How very sweet of you, Lola. But you’re doing such an excellent job in the house that I wouldn’t dream of taking you from it. Besides, you haven’t done the kitchen and bathroom floors yet. However, I’ll be glad of the basket and scissors, if you’ll find them for me.’
Lola had no option but to do so, and Cathie hid her smiles as she followed Amy through the back door and out into the garden.
* * *
When Cathie woke next morning she felt apprehension crowding in upon her. And while she knew the cause lay in the fact that today she would be meeting Baird’s mother, she told herself that the ordeal would not last forever.
So what made her so sure it would be an ordeal? she asked herself while getting dressed. Only the certainty that Lola would have plenty to say in her efforts to influence the maternal parent against herself.
She went downstairs to find Baird already in the kitchen filling the room with the aromatic odour of coffee. He looked smart in his dark grey business suit, and the fragrance of his aftershave seemed to envelop him with an intangible cleanliness.
Cathie became busy with herbs and within a short time placed before him scrambled eggs made tasty by the addition of parsley and chives. Then, looking at him across the kitchen table, she asked with the suspicion of a tremor in her voice, ‘What time do you think your parents will arrive?’
‘About mid-afternoon. The journey is approximately a hundred and seventy miles. They usually leave late in the morning and have lunch on the way.’ He sent her a sharp glance. ‘Do I detect nervousness on your part?’
‘A little,’ she admitted, then in a burst of confidence she went on, ‘I’ve no wish for your mother to dislike me through the viciousness of Lola’s tongue.’
He sat back in his chair and regarded her with a hint of amusement. ‘I’m afraid you can’t blame Lola for being mad with you, especially after the remarks you made about her.’
She sent him a wan smile. ‘You still don’t believe me, do you?’
‘I’m afraid not. I mean—how can I possibly believe it? I’ve known Lola for so long.’
Cathie took a deep breath. ‘Then let me tell you something. You don’t know Lola at all.’ Born of frustration, the words came with vehemence.
He regarded her with concern. ‘Now simmer down, Cathie. You appear to be in a real stew about meeting Mother. Just remember—she can’t actually eat you. And if you’ll take my advice you’ll keep off the subject of shoplifting with regard to Lola.’
‘I’ll certainly do that,’ Cathie promised. ‘But apparently you don’t mind how much Lola blackens me to your mother.’ The awareness of this caused a deep hurt.
‘You’re really concerned about Mother’s opinion of you?’
‘Only because she happens to be your mother.’ The words slipped out before she realised their significance.
‘You want her to like you just because of me?’
‘Yes, I suppose so,’ she admitted reluctantly, avoiding his eyes.
‘Well, I must say that’s very satisfying,’ he said in a low voice. ‘Quite a surprise, in fact.’
She looked at him doubtfully. ‘Don’t bother to deny that you’re highly amused,’ she said in a pained voice while inwardly cursing herself for thoughtless words that could tell him that she cared for him. Then, before she could let further indiscretions slip from her lips, she left the table, saying, ‘I’d better attend to Amy’s breakfast tray. She’ll be wondering where it is.’
By the time she came downstairs again Baird was ready to leave for the office, but before going out to the car he said, ‘About dinner this evening—I’ll reserve a table at a restaurant.’
She looked at him blankly. ‘Is that necessary? Wouldn’t your parents prefer to relax at home?’
‘I’ve no intention of burdening you with cooking for my family.’
‘But it’s no trouble to put a leg of lamb in the oven. There’s one in the deep freeze. Why not use it?’ Her mind leapt ahead to the meal. ‘I’ll bake potatoes and we’ll have peas, carrots and cauliflower with cheese sauce. I’ll bake an apple pie for dessert.’
He strode across the room and gripped her shoulders, then, staring down into her face, he said in a tense voice, ‘Are you wooing me?’
‘No—of course not!’ she gasped, mortified by the thought that she could have been so obvious, then, shrugging his hands from her shoulders, she snapped, ‘You can forget it. We’ll go to a restaurant as you suggested. It’ll be much wiser—otherwise your mother will imagine I’m setting my cap at you. It will confirm all Lola has to say.’
He frowned. ‘My oath, you’ve sure got a thing about Lola,’ he said in a disapproving tone.
She hung her head. ‘I’m sorry—I can’t help it.’
‘But you’re right in thinking that my parents should relax at home this evening, especially after their long drive. We’ll have that leg of lamb, even if I have to cook it myself. Will you help me?’ he asked appealingly.
She laughed. ‘Of course. I’ll put a pinny on you and tell you what to do. I’ll tell you how to make the mint sauce—’
‘We’ll do it together,’ he said in a light-hearted manner which made it sound like an adventure.
However, by the time Baird returned from the office Cathie was in the depths of despair. After lunch she persuaded Amy to have a rest on her bed, and to try and sleep if possible, while she herself made various preparations towards the evening meal. When she had done all she could she went to her room to get changed.
She had a quick shower, after which she attended to her hair and makeup. The emerald skirt and top were put on, then she opened the top dressing-table drawer to find her gold orchid and earrings. The small box in which they had been purchased was there—but it was empty.
Cathie stared at it in shocked disbelief, recalling that after the last time she’d worn the brooch and earrings they had been replaced in their red box with its white satin lining. In fact she was always most meticulous about keeping them in it. So where were they now?
She began a systematic search through every drawer in the dressing-table and tallboy, telling herself that she might have put them in some other place, yet knowing that she had not. Frustrated and in tears, she began crawling round the floor, looking under every piece of furniture, but there was no sign of even one earring.
And then the memory of Lola at the wardrobe leapt into her mind. Could Lola have taken them—or perhaps hidden them for the sake of really upsetting her? she wondered. If so she had certainly succeeded, Cathie thought as her tears of frustration turned to tears of fury.
Eventually she was forced to abandon the search because she wanted to bake the partly completed apple pie before the meat went into the oven; therefore she went downstairs, put on an apron and became busy in the kitchen. As she worked more tears came to her eyes but she brushed them aside and got on with getting the pie into the oven. The orchid set had to be somewhere, she argued with herself. It couldn’t be far away. But the more she thought about it, the more assured she became that Lola had something to do with its disappearance.
Baird arrived home as she was removing her apron. He took one look at her pale face then said, ‘Something’s wrong? What is it?’
Her lip quivered as she shook her head, but she said nothing while turning away from him.
He strode across the room, then swung her round to face him. ‘You’ve been weeping. What’s happened to upset you?’
‘You mean you’ve lost them?’
‘I have not lost them—but they’ve disappeared.’
‘How could they do that?’ he demanded curtly.
‘Only with the help of somebody else, of course.’
His eyes narrowed as he said coldly, ‘Are you blaming Lola for this? Are you saying she has taken them?’
‘I haven’t said so,’ she retorted, knowing it would be wiser to wait until he realised his own suspicions of Lola.
‘Perhaps you lost them when you went to the minimarket,’ he suggested while frowning at her.
‘You’re saying that the brooch fastener and its safety catch both popped open, and while one earring flew north the other flew south? In any case, I didn’t wear them to the minimarket, so that theory is blown out.’
‘Come and show me where you usually keep them,’ he commanded in an abrupt manner. ‘I find this hard to believe—’
They went upstairs and into her bedroom. She pulled the drawer open, showed him the empty box, then stood in silence awaiting his comments.
‘You’ve had a really good search?’ he asked while staring about the room.
‘In every nook and cranny. I’ve turned the place upside-down and given it a good shake,’ she said in a pathetic tone.
‘So—apart from yourself and Amy, who could have come into this room?’ The question was almost snapped at her.
‘Only Lola and the window cleaner.’
‘Ah—the window cleaner.’ He frowned thoughtfully. ‘But he’s been coming here for years. He’s honest and reliable.’
Cathie said quickly, ‘Not for one moment would I suspect him.’
‘But you do suspect Lola. You think she has stolen them.’ His voice had hardened to its former coldness.
‘I didn’t say that—but it’s possible she has hidden them for the sheer joy of driving me into a rage. You say I’ve got a thing about Lola—it’s nothing to the thing she’s got about me. Have you forgotten how infuriated she was when you brought her a paperweight instead of an orchid set like mine?’
‘I’ll speak to her about it.’
‘She’ll deny it, of course. I can’t help feeling I’ll be lucky if I ever see them again.’ The thought brought a fresh gush of tears to her eyes.
He put his arms about her, pressing her head to his shoulder. ‘Don’t cry—if they don’t turn up I’ll get you another set.’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t want another set—it wouldn’t be the same. That one meant so much to me because you gave it to me when we were at Singapore.’
His arms tightened about her. ‘You really mean that?’
‘Of course.’ Somehow her own arms had slipped round his waist.
He tilted her head back while he kissed her brow and her tear-dampened cheeks. ‘Sometimes you say the nicest things,’ he murmured. Then his lips found hers in a kiss that sent her pulses racing until he put her from him gently. ‘You’ll need to bathe your eyes in cold water,’ he said. ‘And don’t let the loss of the orchids play on your mind. I’m sure they’ll come to light when you least expect to see them.’
‘I hope you’re right. Thank you for comforting me. I’ll try to forget about them.’ Impulsively, she raised her face and kissed his firm jawline, then went to the bathroom to repair the damage by pressing a cold wet cloth to her eyes.
Her makeup was then restored, and after telling Amy it was time to get off the bed she ran downstairs to check the state of the apple pie. It was doing nicely, and she was about to return to Amy when Baird waylaid her.
He said, ‘I’ve just phoned Lola at her salon. She denied having touched the brooch and earrings, but started talking at random about clothes being all over the floor. What was she going on about?’
Cathie laughed. ‘She imagines I’ve told you about the wardrobe incident.’ She proceeded to recount the details, but against the loss of her orchid set it was now insignificant and of no importance.
Baird said, ‘I told her I wasn’t interested in clothes on the floor, but when I questioned her again about the jewellery she said that if anything is missing the window cleaner will have taken it.’
‘Of course—that’s what she’s expecting you to believe. She knows you have such faith in her, therefore you’re sure to blame the window cleaner,’ Cathie said bitterly. ‘Now I must go and help Amy to get dressed.’
He laid a detaining hand on her arm. ‘Do you intend to tell Amy about this unfortunate business?’
‘No—it would only upset her,’ Cathie said with decision.
‘Good girl,’ he approved.
As she made her way upstairs her cheeks felt warm, making her realise that it took only the slightest hint of praise from Baird to cause a flutter of pleasure within her mind. But she must watch herself, she warned mentally. She must not allow her love for him to be written all over her face, especially before the eyes of his parents, who would be here within a short time.
It was four o’clock when they arrived. Ewen MacGregor was a tall man whose dark hair was well streaked with grey, and whose determined chin indicated that here was a man with a mind of his own. However, he showed friendliness when he shook hands with Cathie. His grip was firm as he said cheerfully, ‘Ah, a young Campbell. Don’t try to fight with me—the clan wars are all in the past.’
‘Thank goodness for that,’ she laughed, and knew that she liked his manner of coming straight to the point.
Muriel MacGregor, having greeted Amy, now approached Cathie, who saw from whom Baird had inherited the auburn glint in his dark hair. She was a tall, slim woman with dignity written all over her, and her brown eyes now observed Cathie with interest as she said, ‘My son has told me about you. He said you’ve been most helpful to Amy.’
‘She’s my great-aunt,’ Cathie reminded her. ‘We’re family,’ she added as though that answered everything.
Muriel gave a faint smile. ‘I’m afraid we’re not very strong on family,’ she admitted ruefully. ‘We seemed to lose it when we came to New Zealand.’
‘But you gained a great place in which to live,’ Cathie pointed out.
‘Yes, you’re right about that.’
‘Would you like a cup of tea?’
‘I’d love one. Let me help you.’
They went to the kitchen where the trolley was already set with with bone-china teacups. Muriel went straight to the sink to fill the electric kettle, and as she did so she said, ‘When I make tea in this house I feel as if I’ve never been away from it, despite the fact that it now belongs to Baird.’
Cathie filled a plate with crisp brown hokey pokey cookies made only that morning. It seemed strange to be doing things with Baird’s mother, and perhaps it was the homely atmosphere of the kitchen that made her realise she no longer felt nervous of this woman whom she had almost dreaded meeting.
The trolley was pushed into the living room where Amy sat chatting with Ewen. She smiled at him and seemed strangely stimulated, almost as if she were seeing her late husband again, Cathie thought as she poured the tea. No doubt with the passing of years Ewen had grown to look like his father.
Muriel tasted a cookie. ‘These are delicious!’ she exclaimed. ‘Did Lola make them?’
‘You’ve got to be joking, Mother,’ Baird snorted. ‘The day Lola makes as much as a slice of toast will be the day,’ he added with a hint of derision.
His mother looked shocked. ‘My dear—Lola is so good; you should learn to appreciate her.’
‘Yes, she’s good in the house,’ he conceded. ‘But when it comes to food she prefers to have it prepared by other people.’
Muriel looked from Amy to Cathie. ‘Of course you’ve met Lola? Such a sweet girl. I arranged for her to take care of this house for Baird. I feel sure that sooner or later—’ Her words dwindled as she looked at him hopefully.
‘Don’t count your chickens, Moth
er,’ Baird advised abruptly.
‘It’s my grandchildren I’m hoping to count,’ she retorted.
Amy said quickly, ‘We don’t need help in the kitchen from Lola—even if she were capable of giving it. Cathie attends to our meals. As for these cookies, this morning she had them made in a flash.’
‘Is that so? I really would appreciate the recipe,’ Muriel said.
After that the conversation became general until Ewen finished his second cup of tea. He then stood up and indicated to Baird that he’d like to look at the factory. ‘It seems a long time since I heard the clatter of those machines,’ he said.
Baird glanced at his watch. ‘You’re too late to hear them in action today,’ he pointed out. ‘However, I’ll show you what we’ve got on hand with regard to the work programme.’
Cathie looked at Baird then spoke anxiously. ‘Are you likely to become so involved that you’ll forget dinner is at seven?’
‘Little lady, we’ll be home soon after six for pre-dinner drinks,’ Baird promised.
His father laughed, then said teasingly, ‘Well—if that doesn’t sound like a married couple—’
His words caused Cathie to draw a sharp breath while colour flooded her face.
Muriel spoke sharply. ‘Really, Ewen—you’re embarrassing Cathie. You’re making her blush.’
Cathie turned away while placing the teacups on the trolley. She pushed it out to the kitchen, and as she began to deal with its contents she knew that Baird ushered his father out through the back door. She heard him laugh and wondered if his mirth had been caused by the utter absurdity of the thought of being married to herself.
The suspicion sent a sharp pain towards the region of her heart. Tears stung her eyes, but she dashed them away while warning herself against becoming agitated over something that was mere supposition. However, it was several long minutes before she felt like returning to the living room, where Muriel might look at her with questions swirling about in her mind.
But Muriel hardly noticed her return because she was engrossed in all Amy had to tell her about her years with Ewen’s father. Cathie sat and listened with interest because the reminiscences also concerned Baird, even if only indirectly. Despite the fact that he had taken no part in the recounted incidents they seemed to be part of the background that had formed his character.
Heir to Glengyle Page 14
