by JH Fletcher
‘I see.’
He stopped by the window, looked out at the placid lake, the clouds mirrored in its surface. ‘I told you, remember? I said I would never sacrifice myself on the altar of your fantasies.’
‘You made that very plain,’ she agreed. She had not meant to sound so cold, but there had been too much pain, too many broken hopes.
‘And of course there are all those bonuses, superannuation benefits …’
Love and immortality? she thought. Old hat, nowadays. Trade them in for a package. Bonuses and superannuation guaranteed. I cannot bear it.
‘It’s the only business I know.’
He had turned and was walking across the room towards her.
‘So I didn’t see I had much choice. I thought I was a bit too old to go back to tennis.’
A laugh seemed expected; she did her best.
‘I suppose you are …’
He stopped in front of her. ‘I told him to stuff it.’
She couldn’t have heard him right. ‘What?’
He said, ‘I should have phoned but somehow I couldn’t bring myself to do it.’
Her heartbeat threatened to stifle her. ‘It doesn’t matter.’
‘I was afraid you might tell me to take a jump.’
‘Oh God.’
‘That job you mentioned,’ he said. ‘I wondered, if it’s still open, if I might apply for it, after all?’
And the world, the pain, the cool and sunlit office, dissolved in a sudden gush of grateful tears.
Acknowledgement
It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge publicly what I have long acknowledged in private: the debt I owe to my agent Selwa Anthony, for her friendship, encouragement and unfailing support in times both good and bad. To say nothing of her super-glam looks, efficiency and finely-honed commercial skills.
About JH Fletcher
JH Fletcher is the author of eight romantic historical novels, published to both critical and popular acclaim. The author's plays for radio and television have been produced by the BBC and the South African Broadcasting Corporation, and many of this author's stories have been published in Australia and throughout the world.
JH Fletcher was educated in the UK and travelled and worked in France, Asia and Africa before emigrating to Australia in 1991. Home is now a house within sound of the sea in a small town on the South Australian coast.
Also by JH Fletcher
View from the Beach
Wings of the Storm
Fire in Summer
Sun in Splendour
The Cloud Forest
Voice of Destiny
Eagle on the Hill
First published by HarperCollins Publishers Pty Ltd in 2000
This edition published in 2013 by Momentum
Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd
1 Market Street, Sydney 2000
Copyright © JH Fletcher 2000
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
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A CIP record for this book is available at the National Library of Australia
Keepers of the House
EPUB format: 9781743342527
Mobi format: 9781743342534
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