'Of course, I cannot prevent you from leaving if you wish,' he said with a smile, 'but Sarah would be disappointed.'
'It is – a little unconventional for me to be at your house when neither Sarah nor your mother is there,' she said, hesitating.
'You want a chaperone?' he asked in surprise. 'Have I come into your bedroom too much, bringing you breakfast?' he added, his eyes glinting disturbingly.
'No, it's not that,' she tried to explain, but blushing at the recollection. 'It is just that people may talk.'
'Let them,' he said briefly. 'If you really do prefer it you can go to stay at an hotel. Perhaps you would find it livelier?' he said accusingly.
She denied it, but he was withdrawn and aloof for the remainder of the evening, and even telling her about the show and the successes of his horses did not cause him to smile again in the same intimate manner as before, and he left her at the front door when they arrived home, saying he needed to go down to the stables after he had garaged the car to make certain the horses had arrived safely back from the show.
'I want to see one of the foals, too. He wasn't very fit earlier today but Jenkins thought he would soon recover.'
Nicola went to bed, astonished at how greatly she missed the friendly companionable times of the previous evenings, but thankful he did not want her to go away.
Sarah had asked for several things as well as her clothes so on the following day Nicola borrowed the Fiat and drove into Lymington to do some shopping. The main car park was full so she parked in one at the top end of the town and walked slowly down the High Street, admiring the ancient Angel Hotel, the Georgian buildings, and the delightful alleys where she found some fascinating little shops. After a coffee in a small café where the mouth-watering display of pastries and gateaux tempted her, she did her shopping and then wandered down the steep cobbled Quay Hill, looking at the goods displayed in the dainty boutiques.
'Nicola!' a voice exclaimed, and she turned to see Paul Moncrieff striding towards her. 'It's good to see you. Are you really better? Can you spare the time for lunch?'
She nodded, reluctant but unable to think of a reason why not, for he would know there was no urgent need for her to return to The Lodge early. He led her along Quay Street, a narrow lane at the bottom of the hill, and into the hotel at the end where the Town Quay began. Many boats were tied up there and people sat on the benches on the wide paved promenade watching the bustling activity of the harbour.
They sat at a small table on a terrace facing the river and Nicola was persuaded to try the locally caught lobster which she agreed was delicious. Afterwards she accepted Paul's suggestion of walking along the bank of the river towards the Yacht Club and the Marina. They crossed an attractive green which ran beside the river, with many pretty cottages fronting it and looking towards the multitude of boats of all sizes moored in the river.
There was a circular boating pool with a central island where children sailed their toy boats, and further on an old wishing well.
'Throw in a penny and wish,' Paul said with a laugh, and Nicola did as he suggested. He followed suit and then grinned at her.
'Can you guess my wish?'
'You are not supposed to say,' she reminded him hastily and turned to walk on. They passed the Yacht Club and walked through what had been mostly salt marshes before the Marina had been built.
'They used to boil the sea-water and collect the salt as it evaporated,' Paul explained. 'It was quite a thriving industry here before sailing boats became so popular.'
'There are some magnificent ones here,' she replied, looking in awe at the huge boats moored in this extension of the harbour, and then turned as a loud hooter sounded behind them. 'What on earth is that?'
'The Island Ferry. Did you pass the entrance on the far side of the river?'
'Yes. Sarah and I were planning to go across one day. I must see it while I am here.'
'Come with me,' he suggested. 'I've got a boat.'
'Well, that's very kind of you, Mr Moncrieff – '
'Paul, please!'
'Paul, then. It's very kind of you, but I think Sarah would be disappointed if I did not wait until she was better.'
'As you wish. But since you refuse that invitation you must not refuse to come and have tea with me. My cottage is just a short distance away. Come, a simple cup of tea,' he said with a mocking look at her.
She agreed and they went along a curving lane to his cottage, a tiny but charming place with roses climbing round the doorway.
Inside she exclaimed over the antiques with which it was furnished, and discovered Paul had a real enthusiasm for them.
As he made tea he talked about the pieces, where he had acquired them and the problems he had had with some of them to restore the original glossy patina.
She began to like him a little more, and when he suggested she might go out to dine and dance with him one evening she agreed.
'On Saturday then, and we'll go to one of the hotels in Bournemouth, they have dinner-dances at several. I will call for you at The Lodge unless you have decided to go to Jane's. I really think you ought, you know.'
Nicola shook her head. 'It seems unnecessary,' she said quietly. 'Sarah will soon be home. Thank you for the tea, I must go now.'
He looked at her unsmilingly. 'You're a very attractive girl, Nicola. I don't like the idea of your being alone with Robert. Oh, I know he's charming and all that, but Jane knows him very well and she is worried. No, she's not jealous,' he added, seeing the slight curl of Nicola's lips. 'She and Robert have been – well, we're all adults, there's no need to hide it – they've been lovers for years, even before her marriage broke up. In fact that was part of the reason for the divorce. He was crazy to marry her but she would never agree. She had that much sense left. She finds it too difficult to make a complete break and since I live down here and she wants to stay near me, as I am the only family she has, she is bound to meet him, but she has often said she pities the girl he will eventually marry. He has a wild temper when he is roused,' he warned.
'Thank you for the warning. I'll bear it in mind,' Nicola said as calmly as she could, and he shrugged and walked back with her to her car, talking again about antiques, and the building of the strange serpentine walls they passed, one side built by French prisoners of war during the Napoleonic wars, the other by Dennis Wheatley, a famous author who had lived in the town for many years.
*
When Nicola got back to The Lodge she found Robert waiting on the terrace.
'You've been a long time. I was afraid the old Fiat had broken down,' he said. 'What will you have to drink?'
'Sherry, please. I've been exploring Lymington. I met Paul Moncrieff.'
'Moncrieff? You'd best – oh, I suppose you know how to look after yourself but he's got an unsavoury reputation!'
Nicola did not reply and after a while Robert suggested they visited Sarah early. Nicola nodded and went to change, and they made good time to the hospital.
When Sarah had thanked Nicola for the things she had brought, and the clothes, she said she hoped to be out in a few days, if the infection cleared up.
'It seems that everything else is going well.'
'Good. I've been wondering whether you would like me to rent a flat in Penzance for a few weeks where you and Nicola could stay near to Mother and Emma. Would you like that when you are well enough to travel?' Robert asked.
Nicola looked at him in dismay for he had not mentioned this plan to her and it did not appear to include him. Sarah was looking at him, her eyes narrowed.
'You are trying to keep me away from Tony,' she accused.
'I do not need to try,' he answered sharply. 'I went to see that young man this afternoon and he knows what to expect if he makes any attempt to meet you again.'
'How dare you? It's my life and I'll do what I please!'
'Not while I am your legal guardian. You will stay away from him, as he will from you. You will not like the consequences if you don't,' he warned.
> 'You beast! You made a mess of your life, and forced Emma to run away, and you're trying to ruin mine. I hate you. Go away! I don't want you to come again. Get out!'
Robert, a thin white line about his lips, and a pulse throbbing in his cheek, glared at her and began to speak, but Nicola, aghast, sat beside Sarah and tried to comfort the girl, who was weeping uncontrollably.
'Leave her to me!' Nicola said sharply, and almost burst into tears herself when she glanced at him and saw the furious look he gave her. He stood up and turned abruptly to the door.
'I will wait for you outside,' he said curtly, and went swiftly from the room.
Sarah immediately calmed down and Nicola was able to persuade her she had no alternative until her mother came home but to obey her brother.
'But when I'm free of him I'll show him he can't order me about and get away with it,' she said vindictively. 'I was sorry for Rose at the time, but now I think she was fortunate. It was a lucky escape for her!'
'Rose?' Nicola asked, immediately remembering the signature on the photograph beside Robert's bed.
'His fiancée. I pity anyone he marries. Sometimes, when she makes me mad, I wish he would marry Jane. It would serve them both right!'
She said no more about Robert and soon Nicola was able to leave her. She found Robert pacing up and down in the entrance hall of the hospital and he gave her a rueful smile.
'Who would have sisters like mine? Thank you for preventing me from slaughtering her. Should I go in and make my peace now?'
Nicola shook her head. 'Give her time to come round. You'll only start her off again.'
'Anything but that! Now, on condition my wretched family and their concerns are not mentioned, I want to take you to one of my favourite restaurants. Agreed?'
Thankfully Nicola smiled and nodded, and he took her arm as they went to the car. He drove to the west of Bournemouth this time, and through the modern town centre of Poole, with its shopping complex and newly built offices and flats, to the old quayside, lined with what Nicola thought exceptionally large boats, working boats as well as yachts, from several European ports.
Poole Harbour was very big and across it they could see the Purbeck Hills, and in the centre Brownsea Island. It was dotted with hundreds of sails, being both a pleasure harbour and a busy port.
The restaurant he took her to was an unpretentious building on the quay.
As they went in through an entrance lobby furnished with old benches, and up the stairs where ropes served as handrails, Robert explained it was a converted building which had once been used as a warehouse to store the cargo of the port.
'Those beams are enormous,' Nicola commented as they sat in the bar looking across the harbour where the river emptied into it.
The beams she referred to were of golden oak. The bar and the dining room on the other side of the stairs were divided by thick uprights into sections, and the stone walls, rough and painted, gave it a look of age, as did the old prints on the walls.
They were shown to a small table flanked by tall old settles, and Nicola admired the palms and bamboo which decorated the room, and the grandfather clocks and an enormous wheel which decorated one wall.
Robert had ordered Huitres de Poole and he said there were extensive oyster beds in the harbour itself. This was followed by Cotelettes de Porc Magdelen with a delicious red wine sauce.
'And we will have champagne,' Robert suggested, 'to bring us luck.'
He talked of his hopes for the Novice Cup, saying Night Demon was in great form.
'He hates the wall, though,' he added. 'That will be the worst moment.'
He told her of other horses which had odd quirks of behaviour, and then, answering her eager questions, told her much more about the shows he entered for, the qualities he tried to breed into his own horses, and how he had built up from his father's stable, buying out his father's old partner when he had inherited the money his father had left in trust for him.
When they had finished he suggested they walked along the quay, and they went out into the twilight, admiring the boats and looking in the windows of the Poole Pottery showrooms.
'It's a major industry here. We'll come one day when it is open. One can tour the factory.'
Nicola shivered, and Robert was instantly solicitous, asking if she felt cold. As they walked back to the car he put his arm round her shoulders, holding her close to him, but as they drove home he seemed to withdraw from the friendly mood he had maintained, and bade her an almost offhand goodnight when they arrived.
*
Chapter 6
Nicola had permitted herself to be distracted from Sarah and her own problems during the evening, but she woke early and lay pondering over what the girl had said. Her mention of Robert's fiancée, Rose, seemed to give credence to Jane's story about a girl jilting him. Yet if that were so why did he keep a photograph of her beside his bed? What was the truth? Was Paul right when he claimed Jane and Robert were lovers? According to Sarah, Jane had been pursuing him for some time, unsuccessfully, and Robert's unreasonable anger at the stupid mistake over the flowers and the message tended to support her.
Jane could have her own interests in view when she tried to persuade Nicola to leave The Lodge, and might have invented the second broken engagement twisting the facts to fit her own designs. Was it true? Paul might have been playing his sister's game. In which case they must fear Robert's interest in Nicola, if indeed it was more than mere politeness towards a guest. What was it, she wondered. Did she want it to be more than politeness, or the casual flirting of a man who knew he had only to lift his little finger and foolish women would flock to him because of his looks and his money? She admitted he had a devastating effect on her. When he touched her, even if only to help her into the car, she trembled in response. Yet while he was sometimes so charming, he could also demonstrate a furious anger.
Was this caused by the heartbreak of being jilted? Could he not forget his fiancée? Did this explain his flashes of irritation which were so quickly aroused? Did it also explain his attitude towards her, friendly, even affectionate, and then cold and distant?
Nicola could not solve the riddle, and decided to avoid him as much as she could for a few days while she tried to sort out her own emotions towards him. She also thought it might be advisable to make some excuse for not visiting Sarah every evening. If she and Robert could talk alone they might come to some better understanding, and besides, she did not wish to appear to make Robert obliged to take her out every evening.
When they were breakfasting, however, she almost forgot this resolution.
'Do you feel fit enough to dance tonight?' he asked.
Nicola was sorely tempted but she shook her head.
'I really do feel very tired,' she replied. 'Some day, perhaps, I would love to, but I would really prefer to go to bed early tonight. Would you mind giving Sarah my apologies and telling her I will see her again soon?'
He looked at her closely and then nodded, and soon left to go to the stables. Nicola pressed her lips hard together to stop them trembling. Until she knew the truth, or had disentangled her own feelings for him, she dared not fall under his spell to a greater extent than she had already succumbed. To dance with him, to have his arms about her again, would make it impossible for her to think sensibly. She dared not, great though the temptation was, dance with him.
Robert left before lunch, saying he would take the opportunity of doing some business in Bournemouth before visiting Sarah, and Nicola sent Mrs Trotter home, declaring she was perfectly happy with something out of the fridge for dinner. She had just wandered restlessly out onto the terrace after having a cup of tea when the telephone rang. It was Jane.
'Why, Nicola, are you alone? Has Robert gone to Bournemouth yet?'
'He went earlier. I'm sorry, did you want to speak to him? Can he ring back later?'
'No, it's you I want, actually. I'm in a spot and you could help me out. Could you come to dinner tonight?'
&nbs
p; 'Me?' Nicola replied ungrammatically, greatly surprised, but suspicious this might be a further move in Jane's attempt to get her to leave The Lodge.
'I'd better explain,' Jane said swiftly. 'I've invited an important photographer to dinner. I'm hoping to get some work with him. I used to be a model as you may have heard and I need to work again, the alimony doesn't stretch as far as it used to!'
Nicola murmured some indistinguishable words but Jane was not listening.
She rushed on. 'The point is, he's just got married and his wife is young and very possessive. I'd invited another man and a couple but the Andersons have just rung to say they can't come.'
'I don't see how my coming could help,' Nicola said slowly.
'Oh, but it would, Nicola! You see his wife might think, if it's just a foursome, that I'm trying to pair her off while I concentrate on her husband. He used to take me about once, actually, and she knows it and didn't want to come tonight. She'll persuade him not to give me work if I'm not terribly careful. So you see I do need another couple at dinner.'
Like another knife and fork, Nicola thought indignantly.
'But Robert has gone to see Sarah and won't be back in time,' she explained, glad she would not be forced into accompanying him to Jane's house.
'I know and I didn't intend to ask him. I've already asked Thomas Rankin, and then I asked Paul when I knew I needed another man, because he wants to meet this man to talk about some feature on his antiques. Anyway I need another girl. Will you help me out out of a jam?'
'Surely there's someone else?' Nicola said hopefully.
'I've already phoned several girls who might be free, but none of them are and I can't ask a couple – my little table only seats six, and I can't put off either Paul or Thomas. Please, Nicola!'
'Very well,' she answered resignedly. It really did seem as though Jane's problem was urgent, and possibly, a persistent little voice whispered, if Jane had work to do she might meet Robert less often.
'Paul will pick you up at about seven-thirty. Thanks a million.'
Jane rang off and Nicola looked at her watch. It was already after six. She flew into the bathroom and showered, deciding that there was no time for a long soak if she was not to appear completely out of place with Jane's sophisticated friends.
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