She was trembling slightly as she straightened, committed now to working for Raff Quinlan. At least, for the moment …
CHAPTER THREE
RAFF hadn’t been lying when he’d said he ‘wasn’t doing her any favours’ by offering her the job of typing his correspondence; most of it was pretty boring, standard stuff to do with the estate, and there was a lot of it!
Jane had waited only two days after the accident before offering to start work on the typing, having spent most of that time alone, her meals served in her room, her wanderings down to the sitting-room in the evenings revealing only an empty room bare of any human warmth because its master wasn’t present.
She knew she had to do something to break out of her rut when she had actually started seeking Raff’s company!
She quickly discovered where he had been on those evenings she had sat alone wishing for even his abrasive presence, for replies to the dozens of letters that were piled up on a table in his study had been curtly dictated into the machine he had thrust into her hands on the morning she had tentatively approached the room Mrs Howard had told her was his study. There had been no surprise shown at her decision to accept his offer, just a brief explanation of where she could find everything she would need to start work before he’d excused himself to go off in search of a man he had fixing a fence out on the estate somewhere.
What had she expected? Gratitude? Pleasure? Relief? She would wait a long time for any of those emotions from Raff!
She hadn’t seen any more of him after two days of typing until her fingers ached, unaccustomed as they were to moving on the typewriter keys. In fact, the only contact she had had with him had been a curt note stuck on one of the letters she had typed saying ‘yield’ was spelt ‘ie’ and not ‘ei’ as she had typed it! There wasn’t a word said about the rest of the letters that had been neatly typed without any spelling mistakes.
But then, she was sure Raff didn’t go around thanking Mrs Howard for keeping the family dinner service free of dust, or making sure the carpets were kept clean, either. She was an employee now, and she would do well to remember that!
To Jane’s surprise Raff joined her in the dining-room for dinner that evening, and she couldn’t help the thrill of pleasure just the sight of him gave her.
Ridiculous. She must be getting desperate for company if she could actually be pleased to see Raff Quinlan!
He didn’t sit down, just stood across the table from her scowling down at her. ‘I knew you were going to be trouble the moment I saw you,’ he growled impatiently.
Jane sat back with a sigh of exasperation. ‘What have I done now?’
He gave an irritated movement of his hand. ‘My aunt and uncle have decided to come down for the weekend,’ he announced curtly.
Jane knew a little more about the Quinlan family now, having had coffee with Mrs Howard in the mornings, although the other woman was most discreet, answering Jane’s questions with the minimum of information without actually being rude. Jane knew that Raff was an only child, and he himself had told her both his parents were dead. His immediate family seemed to consist of his aunt Anita and her lawyer husband, and their three offspring.
This had to be the aunt and uncle Raff spoke of now. ‘That will be nice,’ she said slowly, for she could tell by Raff’s expression that he thought it would be far from that. A thought suddenly occurred to her to make her feel anxious too. ‘Does this mean you won’t need me to do your typing any more?’ Having kept a job for only two days had to be worse than having no job at all! How utterly humiliating!
‘Anita isn’t coming down here because she’s interested in doing any work,’ Raff instantly scorned.
‘No?’ Jane frowned.
‘No,’ he bit out impatiently. ‘My dear aunt is only interested in seeing who the woman is I have staying here with me!’
‘The woman you— You mean me?’ Jane gasped.
Raff gave her a pitying look. ‘Are there any other women staying here?’
Of course there weren’t, but Raff had given little indication he had even noticed she was here, so perhaps she could be excused for showing her surprise. Although Raff’s derisive expression didn’t seem to agree with her.
‘I’m acting as your secretary,’ she frowned; he had even let her advance to taking messages from the calls he received while he was out today—promotion indeed!
Raff’s mouth twisted. ‘You’re also female.’
She arched mocking brows, her lips tilting challengingly. ‘Am I?’ she taunted. ‘I didn’t think you had noticed!’
Raff simply looked at her, the intimate knowledge he had of her body unclothed there in his gaze, and as he continued to look at her Jane felt the heat enter her cheeks.
Had she really thought, even briefly, that she could challenge this man? He would meet her challenge every time, and better it!
‘What’s the matter, Jane?’ he said softly. ‘Are you starting to miss having a man in your life?’
Her head went back at the insult, her defiance only wavering slightly as his gaze rested fiercely on the vividness of her hair. She put a hand up to the silken tresses self-consciously.
‘What’s the matter?’
He moved slowly, almost predatorily, coming around the table to stand so close to her she could feel the heat of his body through the black trousers and grey shirt he wore. His hand moved, almost against his will it seemed, the movement made jerkily as he gathered up a handful of the fiery hair.
‘I should never have let you stay here,’ he rasped, although he didn’t seem to be speaking to her, but to himself.
The touch of his hand made her tremble, though she did her best to try to look unmoved by the intimacy.
‘Red hair,’ he muttered harshly. ‘Damned red hair!’ His hand clenched in her hair now, and in doing so it pulled her closer towards him.
Jane looked up at him with pained eyes, but he didn’t seem to realise he was hurting her, staring at her hair as if it were about to catch fire in his hand.
She had noticed his reaction to her colouring in the hospital and then again the following morning in her bedroom upstairs. Oh, God, it would be just her luck if the wife who had walked out on him had been a redhead! It would certainly explain his behaviour now.
It didn’t even begin to explain her own reaction towards him!
The man had been rude to her, insulted her in ways that no one else ever had, and yet she was more aware of him than she had been of any other man, could feel her pulse racing now, her breathing shallow, as if she was almost afraid to break the spell that held him captivated.
And yet, in a way, she knew he didn’t even see her, that his thoughts were miles away … with some other woman, probably. Jane knew a sudden desperation to know more about the wife who had deserted him when he had apparently needed her the most.
But she was given no opportunity to voice her curiosity as Raff’s mouth came crashing down on hers, arching her neck back painfully.
Her pulse leapt at the unexpectedness of his kiss, her first instinct to pull away from the anger that emanated from him. But then the anger seemed to leave him, the kiss suddenly slow and searching, his lips moving sensuously against hers.
She was lost, had never felt so helplessly out of her depth in her life.
It was only a kiss, she tried to convince herself.
But it was so much more.
She had never felt so totally weakened before, knew that if Raff decided to make love to her, here and now, she would be able to do nothing to stop him.
She looked up at him with darkened eyes as he at last raised his head from hers. ‘Raff, I—’
‘I wondered if—’
An embarrassed Mrs Howard stood in the doorway, her face colouring as she took in how close Raff and Jane were to each other.
‘Erm—I’m sorry,’ she attempted awkwardly. ‘I only wanted to see—I’ll come back later.’ She turned to beat a hasty retreat.
‘Mrs Howard,’ Ra
ff stopped her harshly. ‘I was just on my way to see you anyway,’ he announced, although it must have been obvious to all of them that that hadn’t been his immediate plan.
Jane wasn’t sure what his immediate plan had been! She would probably never know now, either.
Was she stupid? This man, despite having just kissed her, despised her too, and she was still living in his house only because she needed this job very badly, and for no other reason. To even imagine there could ever be anything between herself and Raff Quinlan was just asking for trouble.
When had she ever avoided trouble?
She dismissed this thought immediately. Raff Quinlan wasn’t the man for her. Then why did her legs still feel weak and her arms ache to arch up about his neck and draw him back down to her?
‘My aunt and uncle are coming down for the weekend,’ he told the housekeeper abruptly. ‘Could you make up a room for them?’ He strode forcefully from the room without waiting for her reply.
Mrs Howard looked completely dazed. ‘Miss Anita and her husband …?’ She frowned. ‘Why, I can’t remember the last time they both—’ She broke off, shaking her head, focusing slowly on Jane. ‘I’m really sorry about just now, I didn’t realise—I only wondered if Raff would be joining you for dinner,’ she explained lamely.
Jane had come to like this woman very much over the last few days, and she respected her deeply for her unwavering loyalty to Raff and his family, guessing that the Quinlan family had become almost her own after her husband had died of a heart attack only a few years after they had been married.
She couldn’t help but regret being partly to blame for the other woman’s embarrassment now.
‘It would appear not,’ she shrugged ruefully. ‘But I’ll help you prepare the room for Raff’s aunt after I’ve finished my meal if you would like me to?’
‘Oh, I couldn’t let you do that.’ The older woman shook her head.
‘Why not?’ Jane instantly dismissed. ‘I work here too, you know, and I’m well aware of the amount of work involved with clearing away after dinner.’
Mrs Howard seemed to run the household completely single-handedly, and while that was admirable she wasn’t a youngster any more. And, in the circumstances, helping to prepare the bedroom seemed the least Jane could do; after all, if she weren’t here she doubted Anita and her husband would be coming down to Quinlan House at all!
* * *
Anita Barnes turned out to be a female version of Raff when she arrived with her distinguished-looking lawyer husband the following afternoon—possessed of a regal elegance with her dark hair caught in a neat coil at her nape, the grey tailored dress suiting her tall slenderness.
She looked Jane up and down critically after Raff had introduced the two women, her eyes narrowing as she looked into Jane’s face.
‘Nice to meet you,’ she greeted Jane offhandedly. ‘You remind me of someone,’ she accused without preamble.
Jane’s eyes widened, feeling almost as if she had been attacked. ‘Do I?’ she returned with a politeness the other woman lacked. Anita Barnes, like her nephew, was someone who didn’t suffer fools gladly. What a family! Jack Barnes seemed innocuous enough; he probably had to be with a wife like this!
‘Hm.’ The other woman still looked at her through narrowed lids. ‘I’m not sure …’
‘Anita, leave the poor girl alone,’ Raff derided in a bored voice. ‘Her name is Jane Smith, and she’s a secretary. Leave it at that, will you?’ he instructed tersely.
Neither statement was strictly accurate, but Jane wasn’t about to argue with him.
‘Hm, it will come to me soon, I’m sure.’ Anita Barnes remained undiverted, although she turned her attention to her nephew now. ‘I hope you don’t mind, darling, but Bobby will be down some time before dinner.’ The affectionate smile she gave completely transformed her face, making her look almost beautiful. ‘The poor darling needed a little break from London; he’s been working terribly hard.’
‘Bobby’s idea of working hard is getting up before ten o’clock in the morning,’ Raff muttered as his aunt and uncle left the sitting-room to go upstairs and rest in their bedroom before dinner.
‘Who is Bobby?’ Jane asked, completely in the dark about his identity.
‘Anita’s oldest offspring,’ Raff explained scornfully, ‘and the apple of her eye. Bobby can do no wrong as far as Anita is concerned,’ he added disparagingly.
Bobby Barnes. It sounded like a name of a football player, or maybe a boxer.
‘He’s an actor.’ Raff instantly shattered that idea, his contempt for anything as frivolous as acting for a career evident in his expression. ‘Unfortunately, Bobby is one of the ninety-five per cent of actors who are always out of work!’
‘With a name like Bobby Barnes I’m not surprised!’ Jane made a face.
‘Hm, on the subject of names …’ Raff’s mood suddenly changed, his attention all centred on Jane now.
She was instantly wary, bracing her shoulders defensively. ‘Yes?’
He nodded slowly. ‘I telephoned the hotel you gave at the hospital as your last address—’
‘You had no right!’ she gasped, horrified that he had thought to do such a thing; it had never even occurred to her that he might do so. But she was living in his house, working for him; she had been a fool to think he would just accept her on face value alone. And now he had caught her completely off-guard!
‘I had every right,’ he rasped, moving closer to her. ‘Do you know what they told me at the hotel?’ he queried softly, his manner no less ominous for that.
That they had no Jane Smith registered the night she had claimed to be there …
She swallowed hard. ‘No, what did they tell you?’ she delayed, trying to think of some sensible remark she could possibly make to the question she knew had to be coming. There wasn’t one!
Raff eyed her mockingly. ‘That they aren’t at liberty to tell me who may or may not have been guests at the hotel,’ he drawled, dark brows arching as he watched the colour flood back into cheeks that had been pale with tension a moment ago. He gave a derisive inclination of his head. ‘A pity, but there you are.’
Jane gave an inward sigh of relief, glaring up at Raff with resentful eyes. He had done that deliberately, had hoped to knock her off balance into possibly admitting something she otherwise wouldn’t have done. Thank God she hadn’t completely lost her nerve and done just that!
‘Yes, isn’t it?’ she returned sweetly, completely insincere—as he was! ‘I think I’ll follow your aunt and uncle’s example, and go up to my room for a rest before dinner,’ she told him lightly, her head high as she crossed the room.
‘Yes, do that,’ Raff murmured from behind her. ‘But, Jane …?’
She turned reluctantly, having no choice but to do so, although she made no verbal response.
‘I’ll continue searching and probing until I find out exactly who you are,’ he warned softly, all mockery gone now. ‘Just because I don’t make an issue of it every time I see you, it doesn’t mean I don’t think about it.’
‘I could be a criminal of some kind,’ Jane challenged; she was shaken by his persistent interest, she couldn’t deny it. She had been a fool to think even for a moment that he wouldn’t pursue the subject.
‘I don’t think so,’ he returned consideringly. ‘But I hate mysteries,’ he warned again.
Jane left the room more hurriedly than she would have liked to have done, stopping in the hallway to heave an exasperated sigh.
Raff could ruin everything for her with his ‘searching and probing’…
* * *
Raff wasn’t present when Jane entered the sitting-room later that evening; only Anita and Jack Barnes were there, the latter, as Jane had guessed, wearing a dinner-suit and snowy-white dinner-shirt. Jane had thought dinner with the Barneses present wouldn’t be the casual affair she had been used to, which was why she had put on the royal blue cocktail dress, its design simple, but comfortable to wear
on her still bruised body, the bodice fitted, the skirt flowing silkily about her shapely legs.
Anita Barnes had swapped one tailored dress for another—black this time, but just as expensively cut.
Bobby Barnes didn’t seem to have put in an appearance yet, unless he too was still changing for dinner.
Jane couldn’t help feeling curious about how Raff would look in a dinner-suit. Devastatingly attractive, she decided defeatedly. She was becoming altogether too interested in Raff Quinlan, the memory of the kiss they had shared the evening before having kept her awake long into the night. It had been no casual kiss, and had seemed almost against Raff’s will. Her lips still tingled from the touch of his, and she looked about her guiltily as she knew her conflicting emotions must have shown in her face. Fortunately Anita Barnes didn’t consider she had to make polite conversation with the ‘hired help’, and her attention was centred on her husband as she talked to him in her imperious voice. Jane took the opportunity to get her wandering thoughts firmly under control.
‘Miss Jane Smith, I presume?’
She swung round at the sound of that mocking voice, a voice that was more than vaguely familiar, her breath catching in her throat as she looked up at the dark-haired young man with his classical good looks and laughing blue eyes.
Robert Barnstable!
And he knew damn well she wasn’t ‘Miss Jane Smith’ at all!
CHAPTER FOUR
JANE closed her eyes, willing him to disappear, but he was still standing mockingly in front of her when she opened them again.
She had been so deep in thought she hadn’t been aware of anyone having entered the room, but now she looked up at Robert with disbelieving eyes. Why him? Was nothing going to go right for her?
‘Bobby Barnes, I presume?’ she returned softly, although inside she was quietly panicking.
For, by a process of elimination, in the same way he had probably realised she was ‘Jane Smith’, she knew this had to be Raff’s cousin Bobby.
It was just her luck that ‘Bobby’ had turned out to be one of the group of young actors she knew well in town.
Fated Attraction Page 4