Jaz's mouth firmed. 'Not at all. As you know, I'm working for him at the moment.' The whole village would know that by now!
Madelaine gave a husky laugh. 'My dear girl, I'm sure you must realize that everyone is agog with the knowledge that the two of you had dinner together the other evening!'
'It was hardly dinner—we merely had a pub meal together,' Jaz defended impatiently. Although it was the first time she had eaten any sort of meal out for longer than she could remember...
'You don't have to explain yourself to me.' Madelaine reached out and squeezed her hand reassuringly. 'I have been quite strong in my disapproval of the gossip, I do assure you.' She frowned. 'It's because it's Beau Garrett, of course,' she sighed.
Jaz gave a disgusted shake of her head. 'He's just a man, like any other.'
Madelaine gave her a look of girlish speculation. 'Surely not, Jaz?' she drawled.
Well...okay, Beau Garrett wasn't like any other man she had ever met before—or was ever likely to meet, either. She just wasn't feeling very kindly disposed towards him at the moment.
'He's far too old for me to be in the least interested in him in a romantic way,' she told the older woman firmly. 'And the thought of him being interested in me—in any way!—is ludicrous!' she added, with a twinge of insecurity.
'My dear Jaz, you underestimate yourself, as usual.' Madelaine shook her head reprovingly before taking a delicate sip of tea from the china cup, very beautiful today in a cream silk blouse and chocolate-coloured silk trouser suit, the chunky jewellery she wore not of the fake kind.
In fact, the two women were an unlikely pair to have formed a friendship, and yet Jaz was more comfortable with Madelaine than with anyone else, knew that she had no secrets from this woman.
'I don't think so.' She looked down pointedly at the over-large dungarees she had worn to work in today, another old jumper of her father's worn beneath them for warmth, in a particularly ugly shade of green that did nothing for her at all, and which she wasn't sure had done anything for him, either; where on earth had her father found these awful jumpers?
Madelaine gave her a considering look. 'You don't make the most of yourself, that's your problem. Now if I could just persuade you to come to London with me on one of my trips and have your hair professionally trimmed, your face professionally made up too, and you let me take you to a rather lovely store—'
'Stop right there,' Jaz told the other woman laughingly. 'For one thing I don't have the money to do any of those things—'
'It's your birthday soon, I could—'
'No, thank you, Madelaine,' Jaz cut in firmly, knowing exactly what the other woman was going to suggest; Madelaine was one of the most generous people she had ever met. 'It isn't just a case of not being able to afford them,' she continued ruefully. 'I would feel stupid— self-conscious,' she amended as Madelaine looked bemused. 'It wouldn't be me,' she concluded flatly.
'But it could become you,' the older woman insisted reasoningly. 'You have such lovely hair, Jaz. And your bone structure is—'
'Please stop!' Jaz actually laughed out loud now. 'I only wanted your opinion on my idea of selling up and moving,' she reminded teasingly, knowing the other woman meant well, but also knowing she would be most uncomfortable with this 'make-over' Madelaine was suggesting.
The other woman gave it some thought. 'I don't suppose it's such a bad idea,' she murmured consideringly. 'It depends on your reasons for doing it, of course... Jaz, has something happened?' She frowned concernedly.
Jaz stiffened slightly in her chair, at the same time making every effort to keep her expression noncommittal.
Had something happened!
The second letter, also anonymous, which she had opened the previous evening as soon as she'd been sure Beau had definitely gone, was even more upsetting than the first one had been. 'Find your own man, and not someone else's, like your mother did'.
Again, Jaz had been sure the writer had to be referring to Beau Garrett—there simply was no other man she had been even remotely close to!—and the implication was that Beau was already committed elsewhere, maybe already married. But Beau had already assured her that he wasn't, so that part of that single line didn't make any sense to her. The rest of it, concerning her mother, made altogether too much sense!
'No,' she assured Madelaine stiltedly. 'Nothing has happened. I just—I never even considered moving before. And now that I have...well, I can't understand why I didn't think of it before. It's perfect, a new start, away from here and everything that happened—' She broke off awkwardly. 'I think maybe I just need a fresh start, Madelaine,' she concluded huskily.
Madelaine's smile was wholly sympathetic to what Jaz wasn't saying, the other woman having lived in the village long enough to know that Jaz's life so far certainly hadn't been a bed of roses. 'The idea does have some merit.' She nodded frowningly. 'I'm just not sure it's a good idea for anyone to move completely away from things that are familiar. Charles and I did that when we moved here, and I adapted quite well—in fact, I can't imagine living anywhere else now,' she acknowledged ruefully. 'But it doesn't always work out that way,' she warned concernedly. 'What would you do about a job, for instance, and somewhere to live?'
Jaz gave a rueful smile. 'I could work in a garden centre for someone else—and earn regular money for a change! As for somewhere to live—there should be enough money from the sale of the cottage and land for me to buy myself a small cottage somewhere.'
Madelaine gave her an admiring look. 'Well, I can see you've obviously given this some thought. And I can't say it's a bad idea, but—I will miss you if you go, Jaz,' she added wistfully.
Madelaine's friendship was one of the few things she would miss if she went ahead with this idea to sell up and move away. But the other woman was slightly wrong in assuming Jaz had given this idea a lot of thought; most of her plans—amazingly!—seemed to have come together in her head as she was actually talking.
Madelaine eyed her teasingly now. 'Are you sure Beau Garrett doesn't have something to do with this?'
Jaz stiffened. 'Very sure,' she bit out more forcefully than she intended, forcing a smile as the other woman's eyes widened slightly at her vehemence.
'Hmm,' Madelaine murmured speculatively. 'Well, we'll see, shall we?'
'No, honestly, Madelaine,' she assured the other woman decisively. 'I have this job to finish for him, and after that I probably won't see him again.'
'I wouldn't be too sure of that,' the other woman murmured enigmatically.
Jaz would—in future she intended keeping any relationship with Beau Garrett on a purely businesslike footing; the man was altogether too fond of passing personal remarks for her liking!
* * *
'Ready?'
Jaz stared dazedly at Beau Garrett as he stood on her doorstep, wearing a heavy black coat over what looked like a black dinner suit and bright white shirt and bow-tie, rubbing his hands together in order to keep them warm.
She blinked. 'Ready for what?' But she had a feeling she already knew!
Madelaine had telephoned this morning and invited Jaz over for dinner this evening, explaining she had guests staying for the weekend and had decided to invite a few people over to meet them—as if Madelaine had ever needed an excuse to throw a dinner party! The other woman thrived on social occasions, and, when there weren't any, contrived to make her own.
Jaz had been only too willing to accept the other woman's invitation; the garden centre was always busy on a Sunday, and the thought of cooking dinner at the end of her busy day wasn't a pleasant one.
So instead she had taken a leisurely bath after locking up for the day, taking her one good dress from the wardrobe, the same dress she had worn to Madelaine's drinks party the previous week, her 'little black dress', suitable for any occasion. She had bought it while at college, and it was getting old now, but the straight, short-sleeved, knee-length style was classic, and so wouldn't date. Besides, there was nothing else for her to we
ar!
Beau Garrett was looking at her admiringly, her hair newly washed and curling silkily down her spine, wearing foundation and lip gloss this evening, very conscious of her legs beneath the short dress, too.
'Madelaine's, of course,' he easily confirmed her suspicions as to his being one of Madelaine's guests this evening too.
Jaz frowned. 'But I thought—you said you were away for the weekend,' she reminded him abruptly, desperately trying to re-evaluate this evening in her mind.
She had been expecting to meet several of the sophisticated friends that Madelaine often invited from London, was already acquainted with quite a few of them, but she certainly hadn't expected Beau Garrett to be amongst their number.
'I was,' he replied unhelpfully. 'And I can see that you're ready to go.' He nodded his appreciation of her changed appearance. 'Do you want to get a coat so we can be on our way? They were right about the snow,' he added with a grimace at the sprinkling of snow that covered the frozen ground.
Yes, they had been, a light dusting of it still covering the ground, the evening air frosty to say the least. But that wasn't her main concern at the moment.
'Madelaine telephoned and asked me, because of the weather, if I would mind collecting you on the way,' Beau supplied dryly as he seemed to guess what her 'concern' was. 'There's no point in both of us driving when we don't have to,' he added dismissively.
No, there wasn't—but Jaz had a definite feeling that wasn't Madelaine's prime motive behind the telephone call; she had never thought of the other woman as a matchmaker, but she had a feeling that was exactly what the other woman was being by throwing her and Beau together in this way!
'Come on, Jaz, get a move on,' Beau chided impatiently. 'It's cold out here!'
Yes, it was, and she was being a little ungrateful, in the circumstances, by keeping him standing outside on the doorstep. It was just that she was a little taken aback to see him at all...
'Come inside while I get my coat,' she invited stilt-edly, turning to run back up the stairs and collect her winter coat from the wardrobe. It was bright red, and ankle-length, and she had bought it on impulse five years ago, only to discover it was one of those coats that never wore out; she looked like Mrs Christmas in it!
Beau nodded his approval as she hurried back down the stairs. 'Red suits you,' he supplied as she eyed him suspiciously.
'Thank you,' she accepted stiltedly as she walked out through the door he was holding open for her.
Beau chuckled softly as he followed behind her. 'You are the least gracious woman I have ever known when it comes to receiving a compliment,' he explained mockingly as she gave him a backward glance.
Jaz gave him a glare. 'Maybe that's because where you're concerned I'm never sure it is a compliment!'
She had barely finished speaking when she felt her arm grasped as Beau turned her to face him in the darkness, the clear moonlight illuminating the frown on his brow.
He looked down at her searchingly. 'What's wrong, Jaz?' he finally prompted slowly.
'It's cold,' she tried to shake off his hand and only succeeded in encouraging him to tighten his grip. 'If we don't leave now we're going to be late,' she pointed out impatiently, wishing he would stop looking at her in that totally focused way; it made her feel as if he could look deep inside her, somehow, and read her deepest thoughts. Which, at the moment, would not be a good idea!
For one thing, she was still a little shaken by his presence here at all. For another, he looked breathtakingly handsome in the tailored suit and shirt, and as for the smell of his aftershave... that was doing very strange things to her pulse rate!
Beau shook his head. 'Ten minutes one way or the other isn't going to make much difference,' he shrugged. 'So what's happened, Jaz?' His gaze narrowed piercingly.
She made an impatient movement. 'Why does everyone keep asking me that at the moment?'
'Probably because at least some of us are concerned about you!' he came back decisively. 'And by "everyone", I take it you mean Madelaine and myself?' he added dryly. 'No one else in this place seems to give a damn what happens to you.'
Jaz felt the warmth enter her cheeks. 'You have absolutely no basis on which to—Oh!' she gasped before Beau claimed her mouth in a crushing kiss.
Jaz melted. Her lips softened and moved beneath his, her body curving into his hardness, every part of her, it seemed, becoming fluid.
She wanted this man. The last few days of telling herself he was arrogant, and opinionated, and just far too full of himself all melted away as he continued to kiss her, his arms about her now as he sipped and tasted the warmth of her lips.
Beau's expression was grim when he finally lifted his head and held her in front of him by her upper arms, eyes glittering silver in the moonlight. 'Don't I?' he ground out harshly, giving an impatient shake of his head. 'Has anyone, in your entire life, shown you any kindness?'
Jaz stiffened as if he had struck her, her eyes wide blue pools in the paleness of her face. 'How dare you—'
'How dare I?' he repeated angrily. 'I'll tell you why I dare—'
'No, I don't believe you will,' Jaz cut in coldly, pulling out of his grasp, the thickness of her coat preventing it from actually bruising her, her moment of madness over as quickly as it had begun; the last thing she wanted from this man was pity! 'You're far too fond of "telling" people your opinion,' she bit out disgustedly as she stepped firmly away from him. 'And I would prefer it if you didn't kiss me again, either,' she added icily.
'Would you?' Beau eyed her challengingly. 'And what if I can't stop myself?'
Her eyes flashed deeply blue. 'Then I would advise you to resist the impulse,' she said warningly.
He continued to look at her for several long seconds, and then he gave a shrug of his shoulders. 'Maybe,' he drawled derisively. 'It really depends on how much provocation you give me,' he added tauntingly before moving to unlock the Range Rover so they could both get inside.
In future, Jaz decided indignantly, she didn't intend giving him any provocation to do anything. Anything at all...!
CHAPTER TEN
'Beau—darling!'
Jaz was almost knocked off her feet as a woman swept past her in a direct path to Beau, briefly enveloping Jaz in a wave of her heady perfume, the woman letting out another squeal of delight before she launched herself into Beau's arms.
Waiting arms, Jaz noted with some disgruntlement as she turned to look at them. Although why she should feel that way after the disagreement the two of them had had before coming here, she had no idea. Well...she had some idea—she just wasn't willing to probe into it too deeply when Beau was being linger-ingly kissed on the mouth by the tall, lissom blonde!
'Camilla,' Beau greeted dryly—when he had his lips free to say anything!
'The one and only,' the beautiful blonde acknowledged perkily, slipping her arm possessively into the crook of his as she smiled up at him.
At the same time managing to look as if she would like to eat him instead of dinner, Jaz decided frown-ingly.
They had barely got into Madelaine's house, Jaz handing her coat to the young girl from the next village who came to help out whenever Madelaine was entertaining—she was the daughter of Dennis Davis's 'friend', Jaz believed—before this woman Camilla had come bursting out of Madelaine's elegant sitting room to launch herself at Beau.
Not that he seemed to be in the least upset by this enthusiastic greeting, grinning widely at the other woman now—at the same time seeming to forget that Jaz was even there.
Jaz opened her shoulder bag and took out a tissue. 'Here,' she held it out to him. 'That shade of lipstick does nothing for you,' she informed him waspishly as he looked at her enquiringly.
Camilla was the one to take the tissue out of Jaz's hand, laughing softly as she slowly wiped the lip gloss from Beau's mouth, at the same time managing to make it look like an act of even deeper intimacy than the original kiss had been!
I gi
ve up, Jaz decided impatiently as she turned her back on the other couple and moved into the sitting room, her movements stiff and uncoordinated as she tried to come to terms with the feelings coursing through her.
Jealousy.
It was an emotion she had never known before, and yet she had no doubts that what she was feeling—the anger and resentment, at the same time as a slight but definite nausea—were due to seeing the woman Camilla kissing Beau in that familiar way.
It was not only painful, but humiliating; how could she possibly feel jealous over someone who made her so angry one moment and so softly compliant to his kisses the next? Quite easily, when she was falling in love with him, came the immediate answer.
Jaz stopped in her tracks. Falling in love with Beau Garrett? Had she completely lost her mind? What—?
'Jaz!' Madelaine greeted warmly as she crossed the room. 'And have you seen— Ah,' she gave a rueful grimace as Beau and the beautiful Camilla entered the room together at that moment, turning concernedly to look at Jaz. 'I'm so sorry,' she sighed, at the same time touching Jaz's arm consolingly.
Jaz gave the other woman a startled look. 'What on earth for?'
Madelaine shook her head. 'I had no idea that Camilla even knew Beau until a few minutes ago when I happened to mention he was one of the guests invited to dinner.' She gave another grimace, self-derisive this time. 'So much for "the feather in my cap"!' She turned to look over to where Camilla was determinedly keeping Beau in conversation. 'It looks as if we've all lost out this evening; Camilla doesn't look as if she's about to release Beau's attention any time soon!' She gave a rueful shake of her head.
Jaz determinedly kept her gaze away from the other couple, not even going to give Beau the satisfaction of noticing him now that they were at Madelaine's, the sitting room crowded with eight or nine other guests. 'Madelaine, I realize what you were doing by asking Beau to pick me up and bring me here this evening,' she chided gently. 'But you really do have the wrong impression concerning—concerning the two of us,' she finished firmly.
Madelaine gave her a teasing smile. 'I was just trying to be helpful.'
The Vengance Affair Page 8
