When Nicola was about to leave Sarah suddenly repented of her ill humour.
'I'm sorry Nicola, it's not your fault,' she apologised. 'It was sweet of you to bring the flowers.'
Nicola smiled. 'Why do you have no roses in the garden?' she asked. 'There are so many other flowers I hadn't really noticed there weren't any until today when I thought some would look nice in here and tried to find some. Don't they grow well by the sea?'
'Oh, that's Robert again! He made Mother take out all she'd planted.'
The Ward Sister came into the room at that moment.
'Good evening, Miss Browne. Isn't Mr Wilmington coming today?'
'No, there are problems with his horse,' Nicola replied. 'The stables were broken into and one of them doped last night.'
'Oh dear, what a shame. Still, tell him this young lady will be able to come home in a day or so. That will cheer him up.'
Sarah glared at her and Nicola stifled a giggle. At the present moment she could think of nothing less likely to please Robert than having Sarah at home to plague him, but she could hardly say so. She soon said goodbye and drove slowly home.
Robert was still at the stables and she ate a lonely dinner. Mrs Trotter told her that he had been up to the house and slept for an hour but proposed staying at the stables all night in case Night Demon, who appeared to be responding satisfactorily to the treatment, had a relapse.
Weary from the strains of the previous night, and unable to dismiss the thought of Robert and Jane together, she took a book to bed with her and read until she dropped asleep, but her dreams were of losing her way through endless passages of trees and headlamp beams, constantly barricaded by gorse bushes and Jane Prendergast, with Paul Moncrieff looming behind her, shadowy and menacing, and Robert laughing heartlessly and refusing to come to her aid.
At breakfast Robert joined her. His face was pale with fatigue and there were dark shadows under his eyes.
'How is Night Demon?'
'Much better, thanks. I'm leaving Fowler with him for a few hours, he seems to trust Roddy more than any other of the grooms and I must get some sleep. How was Sarah? Thank you for going in for me.'
'She was better and will be able to come out soon I think.'
'Was she still furious with me?'
Nicola shrugged. 'I'm afraid so. She suggested it might have been someone with a grudge against you who attacked Night Demon. Have the police discovered anything yet?'
He was looking at her oddly. 'Not Tony Scott?' he said in disbelief. 'However he feels about her I cannot think he would wantonly hurt a horse!'
'I'm sure Sarah had no such thought,' Nicola reassured him.
'The police are checking on all the other competitors. They are the obvious suspects, but I am certain anyone guilty will have made sure of a good alibi.'
'There is very little that can be done then?'
'Unless we are very lucky, no. The police have some fingerprints which are new and not made by anyone at the stables. They took prints from your room, I'm afraid, to eliminate you, although I said you had rarely entered the stables. I hope you don't mind? It was necessary to try and eliminate as many as possible before they try to identify those of strangers.'
'Of course I don't mind. Will they want me to give proper ones?'
'No, they were able to match up your own from various places in your room with some in the Fiat. Now please forgive me but I must sleep.'
*
Nicola wandered about restlessly all day and again took Robert's apologies to Sarah who received them with a shrug. It was the same on Tuesday. Robert was sleeping for a few hours and spending most of the rest of the time down at the stables. When he saw Nicola occasionally at mealtimes he told her the police had made no further progress apart from identifying a set of prints as those of a petty crook who had various convictions for theft and racing and betting crimes.
'Someone obviously put him up to it. If they find him he might confess, but it's unlikely. He'll have been paid well to keep his mouth shut.'
On Wednesday Robert came into lunch while Nicola was sitting on the terrace. He brought her a glass of sherry and looked happier than he had for days.
'Is Night Demon better?' she asked.
'Yes. I took him out this morning, and since he was fidgety I let him tackle some jumps. He was naturally hesitant and knocked some of them down which he would normally have made nothing of, but he went over the wall without a murmur! I hadn't been intending to show him it, but he actually swerved away from the double and went for it himself. I think I shall take him after all. Yesterday it seemed impossible, after this break in his training, but he is so very much better. I think I ought to travel with him in the horsebox tomorrow and settle him in, though. We'd better stay there too, nearby, in case I am needed. I'll book rooms in an hotel.'
Nicola, having in the past two days been able to force herself into an unnatural calm, firmly telling herself Robert's relationship with Jane was nothing to do with her, and his kisses meant nothing to him, shrank away when he rested his hand on her shoulder for a moment. He looked down at her and after a slight pause carried on talking.
'I will come with you tonight to see Sarah.'
'What if she can come home?'
'Trottie is quite capable of looking after her for a few days even if we are away. But you do not have to come, to show an interest if you do not feel it,' he added, and Nicola's heart gave a leap of dismay. However much she wanted to disassociate herself from Robert she could not pretend his success in the Novice Cup was not of importance to her.
'I would like to come,' she said quietly. 'Perhaps, though, I could drive over?'
'It will be easier for you if you stay in the hotel. Do you think you could drive the Mercedes tomorrow if I go in the horsebox?'
'I've never driven one,' Nicola said apprehensively, 'but I'd love to try if you would really let me.'
'Drive it tonight and get used to it.'
'It's a fantastic car,' Nicola enthused later as she guided the Mercedes through the Bournemouth traffic. After initial hesitations she soon got used to the controls and found it a most enjoyable car to drive. She was almost able to forget for a time the gnawing misery in her heart at the thought that soon she would have to say goodbye for ever to Robert.
Sarah was beginning to smile at Nicola when she saw Robert following her into the room.
'You!' she said in tones of loathing. 'Why do you have to come when I don't want you?'
'Because I care for you even if you at the moment feel you hate me,' he replied equably. 'Has the doctor said when you came come home?'
'He keeps on muttering that my temperature is unsteady,' Sarah said disgustedly. 'How can he expect it to be anything else when you are so beastly to me I can't think.'
'I expect you have a slight infection. Have you heard from Mother again?'
'Yes, she says Emma is much better and she and the baby will soon be able to leave hospital,' Sarah replied abruptly.
She received the news they would not be coming for two days with apparent relief and Robert, his lips pursed, soon brought the visit to an end. He did not suggest having dinner out that evening and Nicola wondered if he really did have a great deal of preparations to make for the following day or simply did not wish to be alone with her.
He had not referred to the circumstances of her arrival home that disastrous evening or Jane's presence in his room. He did not mention Paul, and Nicola had heard nothing from him either. She did not know whether Jane had been again or, if she had, whether she had learned from Paul any details of what had happened and passed them on to Robert. As they ate the meal Mrs Trotter had prepared, Nicola felt his eyes resting on her occasionally, and with an intent gaze she did not understand. When they had had coffee he excused himself, saying he wished to go down to the stables.
'I'll start about nine in the morning. Pack a couple of long dresses, there will be dances in the hotel both evenings. Goodnight.'
*
> Dismissed so abruptly, Nicola felt the tears in her eyes, and blinked them away angrily as he left the room. She must learn not to feel anything, she sternly admonished herself, and went to pack a case. She packed the one evening dress she had not yet worn, and then defiantly she also put in the dress she had worn to Jane's dinner party, telling herself that if there was a dance at the hotel Robert would be forced in common politeness to dance with her, and she would at least have the satisfaction of at last dancing with him, and in the most seductive dress she had. Not that it would do any good, a small voice murmured, for Jane was bound to be there and would be certain to be wearing something even more stunning.
Robert left early after breakfast with Night Demon and another horse which was entered for a minor competition that afternoon. He gave Nicola the keys of the Mercedes and told her his own luggage was already in it.
'I'll see you at the Crown for lunch at one. It should not take you much longer than an hour and a half to do the trip. Goodbye.'
Nicola lingered over the remains of her breakfast and read The Times. There was a brief paragraph in the sports pages about the attack on Night Demon and a comment that the police expected to make an arrest soon. They might get the actual man who had been in the stables, Nicola thought, but who was behind him? Who had wanted to harm Robert?
Such speculation was pointless and Nicola soon left to drive after the horsebox. When she reached the Crown she found she had been given a delightful room overlooking a quiet courtyard where an ancient cedar of Lebanon tree gave shade to several wooden seats scattered about on the billiard table-smooth lawns. The walls of the courtyard were smothered with thick climbing rose bushes which were heavy with masses of creamy, pink-tipped and heavily scented blooms.
She unpacked quickly, admiring the combination of modern efficiency in the bathroom and a quaint old-world charm in the heavy oak furniture and flowered chintz curtains in the bedroom, and then went down to sit on a terrace that occupied one side of the courtyard and opened out of a low-ceilinged bar decorated with a profusion of ornamental brass objects.
She was sipping a sherry when Robert emerged from the bar and walked across to her.
'You got here safely then. Do you want another drink before lunch?'
Nicola looked at him, a lump in her throat. In a grey silk shirt and grey trousers he looked so dashing she could not believe he had ever held her in his arms, whatever the obscure motive behind his kisses.
'No, thank you,' she managed. 'Is Night Demon happy?'
'Yes, full of high spirits. I think the effects of the dope have worn off, but the official vets are seeing him this afternoon. I have to be back by three, so shall we eat?'
The remainder of the afternoon passed quickly. After lunch Robert changed into riding gear and they drove to the showground a mile outside the town. While Nicola watched the events in the ring Robert dealt with various formalities and later came to say the vet had pronounced Night Demon fit enough to compete for the Cup. Then he went off to ride another horse in a minor competition, winning it easily. As he sat on his horse to receive the winner's rosette Nicola thought how handsome he looked in his white jodphurs and black jacket, and the ecstatic exclamations of a crowd of schoolgirls nearby echoed her own thoughts.
*
Nicola had seen Jane earlier sitting some distance away with Paul and several other people. She had waved in an offhand manner but made no attempt to come across until Robert, having taken his triumphant mount back to the stables, came to join Nicola. Then she appeared and slipped into an empty seat on his far side.
She wore a severely tailored, dazzlingly white silk dress trimmed with a delicate shade of pink, and matching pink shoes and bag. Nicola, in the deep yellow dress which she had liked so much before, immediately felt hot and fussy compared with Jane's cool sophistication.
'Darling,' Jane was saying, 'we've organised a party to the dinner dance at the Crown tonight. Will you join us? Nicola too, of course,' she added after a slight pause.
Robert turned and raised his eyebrows at Nicola, and when she nodded quickly he smiled and turned back to Jane.
'Thank you, we'd like that.'
'Where are you staying? I'll pick you up if you like, to save using two cars. I'm taking Paul.'
'That's not necessary, we're already at the Crown.'
For a moment Jane looked startled, then she forced a laugh.
'Of course, you no doubt booked ages ago and Nicola is using Sarah's room. I couldn't get rooms there. How is Sarah?'
'Much better, thank you. She would have been here too if she had not been in hospital,' he added, and Jane frowned slightly. Nicola wondered whether Robert had some special influence or whether, although he had first said that they would drive over, he had all along had rooms booked.
The dinner was, despite Paul's presence, enjoyable. He made no reference to the night when he had left Nicola alone in the Forest and she avoided speaking to him. The party was large enough for that to be possible without being noticeable, and to her relief he did not try to dance with her, although Thomas Rankin, the man she had met at Jane's house, was very attentive.
Knowing the dance the following night was to be the more important occasion Nicola was not wearing her red dress tonight. She had chosen a seagreen taffeta, strapless and low cut, with close-fitting bodice and wide, billowing skirts. The only jewellery she wore was a necklace of matching green beads and long earrings, but pinned to her bodice was a spray of white orchids.
She had found them in her room on returning from the show earlier. A small card, carefully tied to the flowers, simply read 'From Robert'. When Nicola, blushing furiously as she recollected their first encounters, thanked him for the flowers, he grinned down at her.
'I wrote it myself this time,' he said with a laugh.
He danced with her once at the beginning of the evening, and Nicola surrendered to the joy of being in his arms, even though he held her impersonally and talked mostly of the horses and their riders.
Then he danced with several other women in the party while Nicola partnered their menfolk. Once he danced with Jane, who glittered in a dress of pink and silver shot silk, and Nicola tried to avoid staring at them.
The dance was due to finish at midnight, and at a quarter to the hour Robert stood up and took Nicola's hand.
'Come, let's dance,' he said quietly, and led her onto the floor.
This time he held her closely, expertly weaving his way across the small dance floor. After a couple of turns he suddenly swung Nicola round and led her off the floor at the side opposite their party.
'Shall we slip outside for a moment?' he asked, and drew her arm through his without waiting for an answer. Swiftly he led the way through the bar and into the courtyard, where other couples strolled on the grass or sat beneath the huge cedar.
'A full moon, romantic music, and the scent of roses,' he commented. 'A night for lovers, the poets would say. Somewhat crowded for privacy, though, don't you agree?'
Nicola, finding he had put his arm round her shoulders and was gently pulling her towards him, stammered some reply. They stopped and he put his other hand under her chin, lifting it towards him so that she had to look up at him.
'Nicola, I want to apologise to you for my behaviour about those wretched flowers. It seems so long ago now,' he added. 'I know you thought me totally unreasonable, but there was something you couldn't know.'
He paused, and as the music suddenly stopped they heard the quick tap of heels along the terrace.
'Robert!' It was Jane's voice, and muttering something under his breath Robert released Nicola and turned to where she was coming towards them.
'What is it, Jane?' he asked curtly.
'It is Sarah. There has been a message. She has left the hospital, discharged herself I understand, and is at Tony Scott's flat. He has been phoning round trying to find you all evening.'
*
Chapter 10
Robert had never driven the Mercedes so fa
st as he did in the early hours of the morning. He reached Tony's stables soon after one, and he and Nicola hurried across to the door leading up to a small apartment above the loose boxes. Robert had not spoken during the drive and had spoken previously only to ask Nicola if she would mind going with him. When Jane had offered to accompany him he had shaken his head, saying Sarah was more Nicola's responsibility than hers.
So I am just a companion again, Nicola thought bleakly, not knowing whether to be annoyed at this reversion to her real status or gratified he had rejected Jane's offer and taken her with him. Then commonsense told her Sarah would need careful handling and would probably accept it more readily from her than from Jane, whom she had shown clearly enough she disliked.
Nicola had no trouble in blaming Jane and Sarah indiscriminately for breaking that moment of quiet intimacy with Robert. What had he been going to tell her? Why had he been so angry about the red roses sent to Jane? Had he been about to tell her something of his relationship with Jane? His words about the setting for lovers had sounded bitter. Was he recalling some other evening when possibly he and Jane had been lovers? They must have stayed at the Crown before, for previous shows. She worried about this and about the condition they would find Sarah in, throughout the drive.
Tony had heard the car and was waiting for them at the top of an outside staircase that led to his flat. He nodded to them and smiled briefly.
'She won't eat, and keeps getting hysterical,' he said quietly as they reached the top of the steps.
Robert nodded grimly. 'Thank you for contacting me.'
'This way.' Tony led them through a small vestibule into a tiny but neat sitting room. Sarah, dressed in a cotton skirt and top Nicola had taken to her in hospital, was sitting huddled into a huge squashy armchair, her face tear-stained, and an untouched cup of coffee on a small table beside her.
Robert crossed to stand looking down at her, an exasperated expression on his face.
'I presume you consider yourself the best judge of when you can leave hospital!' he rapped out at her.
Fires in the Forest Page 13