Reform of the Rake

by Catherine George

  CHAPTER FIVE

  COLOUR flared in Adam’s face then receded, leaving him pale and dauntingly grim.

  ‘You’re wrong!’ he said cuttingly. ‘My health is something I take great care of. In every way. I may enjoy the company of women but I’m no health risk to any of them, including you.’

  Lowri blushed to the roots of her hair, her eyes bright with dismay. ‘I had no intention—I mean the health warning bit was a joke, a stab at flippancy. I was referring to the heart trouble you inflict, nothing else!’

  ‘Were you really?’ He smiled sardonically. ‘About time you grew up, Lowri. Hearts don’t break. And I’ve never misled a woman in my life. I admit I enjoy the company of your sex, make the most of any privileges I’m offered—and I do mean offered—but always on the strict understanding that the arrangement’s temporary. No strings and eyes wide open are the rules of the game. Permanence is out for me. At least for a good few years yet.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘You know, Lowri, if you expect some kind of commitment from every man who wants your company, you’re likely to get pretty lonely.’

  ‘I’m not that stupid!’

  Adam gazed at her thoughtfully, an assessing gleam in his eyes. ‘If you were any other woman I’d suspect your tactics.’

  Lowri stiffened. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Frankly I’d take it as a ploy to arouse my interest, maybe even a bid to change my point of view.’

  ‘Dream on!’ she said scornfully.

  The amusement faded. ‘Then what is it, Lowri? Why won’t you spend time with me?’

  She smiled pityingly. ‘Is it so hard to believe that I might just not want to?’

  ‘Yes,’ he snapped. ‘It is. You enjoyed the picnic the other day.’

  ‘Of course I did.’ Lowri got up and cleared away the coffee-mugs. ‘But I didn’t realise it committed me—if you’ll pardon the word—to come running any time you were at a loose end.’

  Comprehension dawned in Adam’s eyes. ‘Ah, I see. The truth at last. You were annoyed because I asked you at such short notice.’

  ‘That’s right,’ said Lowri glibly, glad he’d accepted her explanation at its face value. ‘Now I’m sure you have other things to do tonight. Thank you for the trip to the cinema, Adam.’ She held out her hand with deliberate formality. ‘Perhaps you’ll pop in on Dominic as you go out. I’ll say goodbye here.’

  Adam looked at the hand, then took it to pull her into his arms, holding her cruelly tight as he kissed her open, protesting mouth. Lowri struggled instinctively at first, but soon found Adam was a very different protagonist from Guy Seton. Adam was taller, broader, fitter, and even more intent on getting his own way. But his greatest advantage was Lowri’s realisation that the pleasure she was experiencing was so intense it seemed a shame not to savour it. She yielded, and Adam took full advantage of it, kissing her until they were both shaken and breathless.

  When he raised his head Adam’s eyes glittered in triumph.

  ‘You see?’ he demanded, panting.

  ‘See what?’ she said unsteadily, thrusting her hair back from her flushed face.

  ‘You asked what I saw in a girl like you. If I’m honest, Lowri Morgan, I think it’s a lot to do with sexual chemistry.’

  The words damped Lowri down like a cold shower.

  ‘You don’t like that,’ he said, eyeing her warily.

  Lowri shrugged and said nothing.

  A smile played at the corners of his mouth. ‘You’d prefer I was enamoured with your mind?’

  Lowri looked at him steadily. ‘It doesn’t really matter, Adam. Either way I’ve no intention of adding my name to your list of conquests.’

  Adam’s lips compressed. ‘Always supposing I’d any intention of suggesting that,’ he said with heat.

  She nodded, unruffled. ‘True. Goodnight then, Adam. It was very good of you to help entertain Dominic and Emily. They had a lovely day.’

  ‘Up until a few minutes ago, so did I,’ he said bitterly, and with a curt goodbye he turned on his heel to go in search of Dominic.

  Lowri passed a restless night in the Clares’ guest-room, spending a major part of it convincing herself she’d done the right thing. In the long run, she told herself stringently, she’d be glad she’d resisted temptation and made her position clear to Adam. If she gave in and spent whatever time with him he wanted it was obvious he’d take it for granted they’d become lovers—a prospect which sent a slow, cold shiver down Lowri’s spine. But eventually, probably sooner than later, Adam would grow restless and take off to seek pastures new. As he always did.

  When she heard no more from Adam for a while Lowri tried hard to convince herself she was happy about it. The fact that she wasn’t went unnoticed, mainly because she was working harder than she’d ever done on draft after draft of Rupert’s novel. He was proving just as hard a taskmaster as Sarah had warned, but his moods had no effect on Lowri. She was glad of the work, just as determined as the author to arrive at a final jewel of a novel, cut and polished to the standard Rupert Clare’s readers had come to expect.

  When Rupert finally professed himself satisfied enough to let his impatient editor see the manuscript Lowri heaved a great sigh of relief and went home to Cwmderwen for the weekend, as she’d promised she would once her contribution to the book was finished.

  ‘You realise the manuscript may come back for revision?’ Rupert warned as he drove her to Paddington. ‘For one thing the damn thing’s probably too long. Tom Harvey will want me to cut it.’

  Lowri stared at him in dismay. ‘Oh, no—you can’t! It’s perfect as it is.’

  ‘Did I ever tell you I loved you, Lowri Morgan?’ said Rupert, chuckling. ‘Only don’t let my wife know I said that.’

  ‘Sarah wouldn’t mind a bit.’ Lowri gave Rupert a wry smile. ‘She knows you’ve got no eyes for anyone else in the world.’

  ‘True. But it took quite a bit of persuading to make her believe that at one time.’

  Lowri eyed her cousin’s handsome husband consideringly as he brought the car to a halt in the station approach. ‘I can well believe it.’

  Rupert gave her a wry green look. ‘Even the wildest rake settles down in time, Lowri, given the chance.’

  ‘Always assuming he has the slightest inclination to do so,’ she retorted, well aware he was referring to Adam. She took her grip from him. ‘Thanks for the lift. I’ll see you on Tuesday.’

  Lowri enjoyed her weekend of peace and quiet, with nothing more demanding on the programme than watching her father play cricket and helping Holly prepare meals. And to her own secret relief she found she could tease Holly about her approaching motherhood with no trace of qualms about the advent of a new little Morgan. It made for a happy holiday all round, particularly since Geraint Morgan was well aware of the fact and grateful to his daughter for her reaction.

  ‘You look a lot better,’ said Sarah, when Lowri returned to St Johns Wood. ‘Hardly surprising. A spell away from Rupert is a necessity now and again.’

  ‘Not for you!’

  ‘That’s different. If Rupert and I fight we can make up afterwards—and enjoy it. But anyone who works for him needs a break from the famous temperament now and again. Come and have some lunch before you unpack.’

  Over the meal Lowri gave the news from Cwmderwen, frank about her relief at feeling happy about the new baby. ‘But I didn’t go to church,’ she added diffidently. ‘It’s not the same without Uncle Glyn.’

  Sarah’s face shadowed. ‘No. The sudden shock of having my mother die first soon did for my father, and now he’s gone I don’t suppose I’ll ever set foot in the church there again.’ She blinked, and smiled brightly. ‘But to change the subject, and cheer us both up, would you groan if I enlisted your help on Saturday?’

  ‘Party?’

  ‘Just a dinner. Ten of us. One of which,’ added Sarah firmly, ‘is you. And before you trot out your usual excuses, you won’t be an odd female, Tom Harvey’s coming.’

  ‘His
divorce came through recently, didn’t it?’

  ‘That’s right. It’s your job to cheer him up.’

  ‘Thanks a bunch!’ Lowri pulled a face.

  After a few days deep in the fourteenth century, researching the Peasants’ Revolt, Lowri thoroughly enjoyed a Saturday morning spent in helping with preparations for the dinner that night. Brenda was going through the rest of the house like Sherman through Georgia, and Rupert had volunteered to take his children swimming, followed by lunch in the restaurant of their choice.

  ‘Which means cheeseburgers and milkshakes and the devout hope that Emily won’t be sick afterwards,’ said Sarah, as she concocted a sauce to serve with the salmon they were to eat later. ‘What are you wearing tonight?’

  Lowri pulled a face as she looked up from scrubbing tiny new potatoes at the kitchen sink. ‘The black dress I wore to the last Clare soirée I graced, I’m afraid.’

  ‘No afraid about it.’ Sarah grinned. ‘Beside, Tom was missing that night, so he won’t have seen it.’

  ‘I don’t suppose he’d notice if he had.’ Lowri pulled a face. ‘What do I talk about to cheer him up, for heaven’s sake? He’s tremendously witty and erudite, according to Rupert. I’m frightened before I’ve even met the man.’

  ‘All you do is mention Rupert’s book and you’re up and running.’

  ‘I hope you’re right!’

  Lowri’s evening began with a series of surprises, the first of which was the pleasant discovery that she’d lost a pound or two. The black dress was far less struggle to get into. Then while she was doing her face Rupert knocked on the door of the flat and presented her with a package.

  ‘A small token of appreciation for all your hard work, Lowri.’

  Deeply touched, she opened a box containing a silver filigree brooch shaped like a butterfly, with coral insets in its wings. ‘Rupert, this is so lovely! But you had no need—’

  ‘A bribe to ensure future labours,’ he assured her, kissing her cheek. ‘Hurry up. Come and have a drink before the others arrive.’

  When he’d gone Lowri added a few more touches to her face than she usually bothered with, then pinned the new brooch just below her collarbone, delighted to find it quite transformed her plain little dress.

  The third—and biggest—surprise confronted her in Sarah’s drawing room. When Lowri saw Adam Hawkridge chatting with Rupert near the open french windows she stopped dead in her tracks, heart thumping as she fought the urge to turn tail and run.

  Rupert beckoned her over with an affectionate smile. ‘There you are, Lowri. Come and say hello to our unexpected guest. May I say you look ravishing this evening, little cousin?’

  ‘You can say it any evening,’ she returned flippantly, and walked towards them hoping her turbulence wasn’t showing behind the bright, social smile she gave Adam. ‘Hello there. I didn’t know you were coming tonight.’

  Adam took her hand and held it for a moment, his answering smile accompanied by the familiar gleam in his eyes. ‘Hello, Lowri. Rupert’s right. You look wonderful. And I’m afraid I’m a sort of gatecrasher—again.’

  ‘Nothing of the sort,’ said Rupert, handing Lowri a glass of champagne. ‘Adam came round to consult us about the cricket bat he’s giving Dominic for his birthday, so Sarah insisted he stay for dinner. One extra is never a problem to my wife.’

  ‘You’re a lucky man,’ said Adam with feeling.

  ‘I second that!’ Rupert raised his glass.

  Lowri joined in the toast with enthusiasm, then excused herself to go off in search of Sarah, who was running down the stairs, looking her radiant best in a narrow midnight-blue dress. Lowri thanked her for the gift, lifting one shoulder to emphasise how good the butterfly looked on her dress.

  ‘I thought it would. I helped Rupert choose it. I suppose you know we’ve got an extra guest?’ added Sarah warily as they went into the kitchen together.

  ‘Yes—shall I lay another place?’

  ‘I’ve already done it. Do you mind having Adam here, Lowri?’

  ‘Of course not. Besides, Madam Hostess, it’s your dinner party. The guest-list is nothing to do with me.’

  ‘Oh dear. You do mind.’ Sarah sighed. ‘I didn’t ring the flat to tell you in case a mysterious malaise suddenly struck you down. Are you sure you didn’t have a fight with Adam that weekend?’

  ‘He was a bit miffed because I wouldn’t go out with him.’ Lowri tasted the consomme appreciatively. ‘His ego took a blow, that’s all.’

  ‘Do him the world of good,’ said Sarah callously.

  Having an extra man at the table was no drawback to the success of the evening—quite the reverse, Lowri discovered, from her own point of view. Sarah’s table was round, which made for ease of both seating and conversation, and placed between Tom Harvey and Patrick Savage, a fellow writer friend of Rupert’s, with Adam directly opposite, Lowri settled down to enjoy herself rather more than she’d expected.

  Far from being glum about his newly divorced state, Tom Harvey seemed in a mood to celebrate it, and proved so entertaining Lowri forgot his renowned intellect in simple enjoyment of his conversation. Patrick Savage, too, was an easy dinner partner, though his conversation, to Lowri’s amusement, centred more on his newly born son and small daughter than literature. They chatted comfortably about babies, Lowri telling him about the new arrival due in her own family, and the pleasure she took in Dominic and Emily’s company. The blond, attractive man was so engrossed in the subject that she looked up at one point to find Adam’s eyes fixed on her in deep disapproval. He turned away instantly to talk to Carey Savage, Patrick’s wife, and Lowri quelled a very human little gush of satisfaction as she plunged back into discussion of Rupert’s book with Tom Harvey.

  When the men returned to the drawing-room later Adam detached Lowri the moment she’d finished handing round coffee. He drew a couple of chairs up near the cool breeze coming in from the windows and installed her in one firmly.

  ‘Neat. Just like one man and his dog,’ she commented.

  Adam laughed. ‘Which one am I?’

  ‘Oh, the man,’ said Lowri promptly. ‘I’m the nice woolly sheep the dog cuts out from the rest of the flock.’

  ‘A wonder I’m not the dog. Lord knows I’m in the doghouse where you’re concerned.’

  ‘Nonsense,’ she said lightly, and smiled up at Rupert in refusal as he offered her brandy.

  ‘I won’t either,’ said Adam with regrets. ‘If I’d known I was staying to dinner I’d have come by cab.’

  ‘You’re law-abiding, then,’ said Lowri, as Rupert moved on to another group of guests.

  ‘Too much at stake for me to be otherwise.’ Adam drank his coffee and put their cups down on a nearby table. ‘Soon I’ll be in the driving seat at Hawk Electronics. My parents are off on a world cruise and I’ll be left minding the baby.’

  ‘But this baby is just your cup of tea—far more than the usual kind, I fancy.’

  Adam smiled at her. ‘Frankly, yes. I know where I am with electronics. Hand me a real live squalling baby and I’d run a mile.’ He paused. ‘I would have rung you last weekend, but Rupert said you were away.’

  Why had he wanted to ring her? ‘Yes,’ she said serenely. ‘I went down to Cwmderwen once Rupert’s manuscript was on Tom Harvey’s desk.’

  Adam’s face darkened. ‘You were getting on remarkably well with Harvey.’

  ‘Yes—though I’ve never met him before. He’s a very interesting man.’

  ‘And only recently loosed from the chains of matrimony. Be careful, Lowri.’

  ‘I make it a habit to be, Adam,’ she said sweetly, and got up. ‘Forgive me, I must circulate.’

  For the rest of the evening Lowri took good care to avoid privacy with Adam. It was by no means difficult, since Tom Harvey seemed to have taken a fancy to her, and, just as Sarah had predicted, was only too happy to discuss the autumn launch of Rupert’s novel all night. It was well after midnight before the party showed any signs of b
reaking up, and Tom was last to go. Adam, to Lowri’s intense disappointment, had been first to leave. Going on somewhere else, of course, she thought in secret fury.

  Brenda had left the kitchen spick and span and gone off on the back of her Wayne’s motorcycle by the time Lowri said goodnight to Sarah and Rupert.

  ‘Did you have a good time?’ asked Rupert, putting an arm round his wife. ‘You were talking nineteen to the dozen with Tom Harvey.’

  ‘He’s nice. Not so frightening after all,’ admitted Lowri.

  ‘How about Adam?’ asked Sarah. ‘I saw you talking together at one stage.’

  Lowri nodded. ‘He seemed rather irritated because I got on so well with Tom Harvey.’ She exchanged a little smile with Sarah, then said goodnight and left them to lock up as she crossed the moonlit garden to her flat. As she reached the flight of wrought-iron stairs leading to it a figure emerged from the shadows, startling her.

  ‘It’s me, Adam,’ said the familiar, velvet voice as he moved out into the moonlight.

  She breathed out audibly. ‘I thought you’d left.’

  ‘I did. But I decided to wait for you, so I walked round and let myself in by the side gate.’

  ‘I was just coming to lock it.’

  ‘Talk to me for a while first.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Does there have to be a reason?’ he said irritably.

  ‘You must have some reason for coming back at this time of night,’ she pointed out.

  ‘I came back to see you. Which,’ he added harshly, ‘you know perfectly well.’

  Lowri battled for a moment with common sense, and lost. ‘Then you’d better come up. I’ll make coffee.’

  He followed her up the stairs with alacrity, eyeing her face as she switched on the lights in her flat.

  ‘I don’t want any coffee,’ he said bluntly.

  Lowri gave him a very straight look. ‘Coffee’s the only thing on offer.’

  ‘You think I don’t know that? I’d decided I just wasn’t going to bother again,’ he said morosely. ‘But one look at you tonight changed all that.’ He looked at her slowly, feature by feature. ‘Your hair’s grown a lot since I first met you. I like it. And you looked so full of life tonight; your eyes shone like lamps when you were talking to Harvey. What the hell was he saying to switch you on like that?’