Anything, Any Time, Any Place

by Gordon, Lucy

  “Only that they were singing ‘Sweet Peggy O’Reilly,’” he volunteered.

  “Is that bad?” Kaye asked when Jack groaned again.

  “The worst. When Sam starts on ‘Peggy O’Reilly’ he’s pretty far gone. If he sings the alternative words he can get arrested.”

  As they emerged into the street he was doing wild calculations. “It’s nearly closing time. With any luck, wherever they went next, they’ll have stayed put. The King’s Head is just five minutes down there. It’s worth a chance.”

  He seized her hand and hurried away. Kaye had to run to keep up with him. In a few moments The King’s Head came into view, the sign swinging in the breeze. To their dismay the tables outside were already being cleared and people were drifting away. But a buxom barmaid, her hands filled with mugs, recognized the descriptions at once.

  “They dropped in, but they didn’t stay when they saw we were closing. Said they wanted a real night out and they were off to find a place that stayed open late.”

  “That’s got to be The Shining Star,” Jack said. “It’s the only nightspot in staggering distance.”

  “Sam had no right to take him there,” Kaye said crossly. “Bertie’s not well.”

  “One little cold? With the amount of booze Sam’s poured into him tonight he’ll probably never have a cold again.”

  “It’s all very well talking like that, but I don’t just mean a little cold. Bertie isn’t strong. You know he had a heart attack, and the way he lives he’ll likely have another one. What would you and Sam understand about that? You’re both so disgustingly healthy.”

  “You make that sound like a crime,” Jack objected. “What are you pitching at me for?”

  She was on edge in a way that had nothing to do with their fruitless search. Sitting beside Jack in the car, too close to him for comfort, had made her nerves jangle. Now that they were walking she would have liked to keep her distance, but he grasped her hand in his and there was no escaping his physical impact. She was furious with him. She wanted desperately to kiss him. She wanted to walk away and never see him again. She wanted to stay with him forever.

  “There it is,” he said at last. “Let’s hope they haven’t been booted out of there, too.”

  As nightspots went, The Shining Star was at the unsubtle end of the market, with a colorful neon sign flickering brazenly in the darkness. They were shown downstairs to where a garish floor show was in full swing. The room wasn’t large, and even in the poor light they could see that there was no sign of Bertie and Sam.

  “Well, that’s it,” Jack said, sitting down with a sigh of exasperation. “I don’t know what to suggest next.”

  “Don’t tell me that,” Kaye said stormily. “You can’t just say you’ve lost my grandfather and haven’t any ideas.”

  “I’ve lost—? I didn’t lose Bertie, he lost himself. Sam’s missing, too, in case you haven’t noticed.”

  “That’s different. Sam knows what he’s doing. Grandpa’s never known what he was doing in his entire life.”

  “For once we’re in agreement. What’s that noise?”

  “Your mobile’s ringing,” Kaye snapped.

  Jack answered the phone, shouting, “Hallo?”

  “Dad?”

  “Georgy?”

  “It’s all right. They’re home.”

  “What?”

  “They got back in a taxi five minutes ago. They’re just having a nightcap now.”

  “A nightcap?”

  “To ‘round the evening off,’” Georgy quoted, chuckling.

  “Well, I’ll be—Thanks, darling. That’s a weight off my mind.” He shut off the phone and looked at Kaye. “I hardly know how to tell you this, but they’re home. They must have gone in one door of this place and out the other, straight into a taxi. So that’s all right.”

  “All right?”

  “Aren’t you glad Bertie’s safe?”

  “Of course I’m glad he’s safe. Now I can wring his neck.”

  “I feel much the same,” Jack admitted. “I’m used to Sam’s wild ways, but tonight he’s gone too far. It’s time he started acting his age.” He sighed. “Oh, what the hell! Now we’re here, let’s stay for a while. After that chase I need something for my nerves.”

  “But I’m not dressed for a nightclub,” she said, regarding her ordinary dress with dismay.

  “Neither am I, but that didn’t stop them letting us in. Now they can feed us.”

  The floor show was coming to an end, and they could hear themselves talk. If there was one thing Jack understood it was the art of being a perfect host. He consulted Kaye’s preferences, made suggestions from the menu to please her and was never lost for the right words. His jokes were genuinely funny, and several times she laughed. But inwardly it was a different story. The resentment she’d felt toward him all day was growing.

  Jack had claimed to lack imagination, but even so, he couldn’t be unaware of the tension in the air. At last he sighed and fell silent, with the air of a juggler putting away the clubs.

  “I get the feeling I should taste my coffee very carefully,” he said to nobody in particular. “Arsenic, strychnine, cyanide—I believe they’re all effective.”

  “Don’t be absurd,” she said, trying to laugh it off.

  “Kaye, you’ve been as mad as a wasp all day. Don’t deny it.”

  “All right, I won’t.”

  “So? Have I let you down in some way? Am I keeping you short? Does Paul need some help?”

  “That’s it!” she flashed. “That’s your first thought, isn’t it? I’m a little out of sorts, so you assume I’m sulking because I want money.”

  “I’m sorry. But if it isn’t money—”

  “Oh, but it is. In one sense money is at the bottom of everything that’s wrong with us.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  In silence Kaye opened her purse, took out the statement and pushed it across the table to him. “How dare you!” she breathed. “How dare you pay that behind my back, and not even tell me!”

  He stared. “I thought you wanted me to.”

  “If I’d wanted you to I’d have asked you.”

  “You don’t need to ask. We both understand that.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  Jack’s answer was a smile. In the tolerant irony of that smile she saw everything in their relationship that made her ashamed, and her anger grew.

  “You took that paper from my bag,” she said furiously.

  “It fell out. I did us both a favor by paying it discreetly.”

  “I didn’t want you to pay it. Paul asked me to and I turned him down. He slipped it in my bag when I wasn’t looking.”

  That caught his attention, she was glad to see. “You turned him down?”

  “I want him to stand on his own feet. Luckily he seems to be learning to do that. He’s got a job, and he says he’ll pay you back every penny.”

  Before the words were out she knew that she’d fallen victim to another delusion. Jack’s wry expression gave everything away.

  “You found him that job?” she breathed.

  He shrugged. “Lionel North Garments makes sports clothes. M&M is their chief customer, and I own some shares in the firm. They needed a sock rep, and it isn’t a very demanding job. The socks sell themselves. Paul will only have to drive around the established outlets, refilling the shelves. I thought it would please you.”

  “You thought it would please me to know that my family is leeching off you? Thank you!”

  “Kaye, why bother with this? We made a bargain. I’m trying to keep my side of it, even though your side might be called patchy.”

  “Would you mind explaining that remark?”

  “You were going to marry Vane for Paul’s sake. I stopped that, so you married me instead. You even gave me the big come-on before the wedding.”

  “I did what?”

  “Remember how you kissed me when I came to your room that first day? I’d just give
n you Paul’s documents. You knew he was safe and you were all over me. And that night in the garden, you started making love to me, and I began to remember things—about that time we nearly made love on Singleton, how sweet and lovely you were, how full of warmth. I thought what a lucky man I was to have found you again. Then Bertie interrupted us. I wonder how far you’d have gone if he hadn’t. Far enough to make sure you kept me on the hook, or did you think backing off was a better tactic?”

  “How dare—”

  “But when I’d served my purpose you gave me the cold shoulder. I have to admire your nerve. Most women would have let me into their bed just once, to be on the safe side. You didn’t even bother with that.”

  “Do you have the nerve to suggest—?”

  “I’m suggesting that you played your hand brilliantly. You’ve changed a lot from the girl I knew in the Caribbean. That girl was loving and giving, and I thought she always would be.” He shrugged. “But time does change people. I have no real complaints. You’re doing a great job with Georgy.”

  “And that’s what you hired me for, isn’t it?” she said, her eyes kindling.

  “Hired? I thought we got married. That was stupid of me. Boy, have you learned a thing or two about business transactions!”

  Shocked, Kaye stared at him, realizing that there was no protest she could make. She had thrown Jack out of her bedroom on their wedding night, leaving him to think whatever he liked. Yet, irrationally, she was angry that he’d assumed the worst. She was even more angry at his cynical acceptance of what he supposed was her deviousness.

  “Don’t scowl at me,” he said mildly. “You’ll curdle the wine.”

  “Scowling’s the least of it,” Kaye said darkly. “If you knew what I’m thinking about you this minute you wouldn’t sit there so easily.”

  “Perhaps I should duck.”

  “Perhaps you should. I’d like to—” She struggled for words. “I’d like to walk right out of here so that I don’t have to look at you anymore tonight. And I think that’s just what I’ll do.”

  Kaye rose sharply and pushed back her chair. Before Jack had time to realize that she was serious, she was striding away from the table.

  “Waiter!” he called hurriedly. By the time he’d paid the bill Kaye was far enough ahead of him to have reached the car. When he caught up she had the engine running.

  “I suppose I should be glad you didn’t drive off and leave me,” he said, looking through the driver’s window. “Move over. I’ll drive.”

  “You will not,” she seethed, staring straight ahead.

  His answer was to reach in and pull the key from the ignition. “Kaye, I don’t really understand any of this. I’m a plain man, lost in a maze. I’ve never seen you in a temper before, and it’s quite a sight. But one thing I do know, and that is that you’re not driving a car while you’re in this state. You may not care if we get home alive, but I do.”

  “Then I’ll walk,” she snapped. She got out and slammed the door. She was beyond being rational.

  “Get back into the car,” he said quietly.

  “Don’t tell me what to do. You get back in. Drive home. I’d rather walk.” She turned and stormed off.

  After a moment he fell into step beside her. “Fine, we’ll both walk. It’s not far. We’ve come around in a circle.”

  When they’d gone a little way in silence he said, “You’re really good and mad at me, aren’t you?”

  “Ten out of ten for observation!” she snapped.

  “Have I said something that offended you?”

  “Calling your wife a devious schemer might be considered offensive in some circles,” she said in a tight voice. “Not in yours, obviously.”

  “I thought I was praising your astuteness.”

  “If that’s praise, I’d hate to be there when you insult someone.”

  “You’re limping,” he said suddenly.

  “I’m not,” she snapped.

  “Those are new shoes. You shouldn’t have worn them for walking.”

  It was true, but nothing would make her admit it, even though every step was painful.

  “Come back and get into the car,” he said, taking her arm.

  “Stop telling me what to do.”

  “You’re right,” he said, moving swiftly and determinedly. “Words are wasted on you.”

  “Put me down at once. Did you hear me?”

  “I heard you, I heard you.”

  “Then do it.”

  His only answer was to tighten his arms, holding her even more closely against his chest. “Gee, if I married a shrew! Look at it this way—you’ve got the advantage. You can nag me all you want, and while I’m carrying you, there isn’t a thing I can do about it.”

  “If you think I’m just nagging, I’m wasting my time. For heaven’s sake, put me down!”

  “Not until you tell me the rest. Come on, there’s more. Give.”

  “It’s not my fault that we haven’t—that nothing’s happened between us since we married.”

  “Isn’t it?”

  “You’ve kept your distance. I know you were injured, but you’re over that now. You’ve stayed well away.”

  “Only because you made it very clear that’s what you wanted.”

  “That first night—after what I—” Kaye struggled to assemble her thoughts. It was hard, because being held close against Jack’s chest was sending her senses into a whirl. She knew she was handling this all wrong, but the tension that had been building up in her for weeks was coming to the boil and nothing could stop it now.

  “You deceived me, Jack. All that talk about reclaiming my promise—making me feel you needed me—I believed it. You had no right to do that to me.”

  “You did give me a promise. Anything, any time, any place. I didn’t imagine that, did I?”

  “But that’s not why you interrupted my wedding. You just pretended.”

  He stared at her, and the baffled expression on his face drove her to say frantically, “I know, Jack. I know the truth. Grandpa blurted it out at the reception. He asked you to find a way of saving me. Can you imagine how that makes me feel? It was bad enough to know you’d only married me because you’d been backed into a corner, but at least I thought there was something you really wanted from me.”

  “Kaye, I can’t cope with all this subtlety. You’re making something complicated that’s actually very simple. Okay, Bertie called and asked my help. Luckily I remembered your promise, and that gave me the idea. Are you saying this is what was bothering you on our wedding night?”

  “Of course it was. I felt dreadful, like a charity case. And you kept talking about how you’d thought of me over the years. I know you meant to be kind, but it made everything worse because I knew it wasn’t true, and I wanted to scream at you to stop.”

  “I wish you had. We could have sorted this out then.”

  “It can’t be sorted out, don’t you see? Everything about our marriage is wrong.”

  “Kaye, why don’t you just stop talking and kiss me?”

  She’d been wondering that herself for the past few minutes. Her face was unavoidably close to his, and somehow her arms had crept around his neck. It was a simple matter to tighten them and lay her mouth on his. Once it was there, no power on earth could have made her remove it. His lips felt so good, so right against hers.

  His arms were occupied holding her up, so he couldn’t use them as he’d have liked to, but he made up for it by moving his mouth against hers in ways there was no mistaking. He had wide, well-shaped lips, and he used them expertly to speak without words, communicating a timeless message. She answered in kind, wreathing her fingers in his hair and giving herself up to the pleasures of kissing him.

  She had no idea how long she enjoyed herself like this, but she did, finally, come out of her dream to the realization that she was still being carried.

  “People will be staring at us,” she murmured.

  “They are.”

  Startle
d, she looked up and realized that they were no longer in the street. While she’d been entranced in his arms, Jack had reached the house and walked straight in. They were in the hallway, and Kaye had no idea how long they’d been there. Just above them, leaning over the banister, were Bertie and Sam, welloiled and gleeful.

  Still with her in his arms, Jack continued on up the stairs. “Night, Sam, night, Bertie,” he said.

  The blood was pounding in Kaye’s veins, and she was beyond speech. But she blew a kiss to the two old men as Jack carried her past and on to her bedroom. When she’d kicked the door closed Jack stood there in the darkness, still with her in his arms.

  “Mrs. Masefield,” he whispered, “are you going to go on fretting about things that don’t matter, or are you going to make love to your husband?”

  She answered him, not in words but by touching his face with her fingertips, in a gesture of infinite tenderness. Gently he set her on her feet, putting both arms around her and kissing her deeply. Happiness flooded her, and all the cares and anxieties that had kept them apart fell away.

  “Are you sure this time?” he asked softly.

  “Oh, yes,” she breathed. “Quite sure. I’ve been sure since—since our wedding night.” Even now, the truth couldn’t be told. But perhaps she was getting closer.

  “I wish I’d known,” he murmured, kissing her again. “I’d looked forward to you, thought about you....”

  “What kind of thoughts?” she asked, for the pleasure of hearing the answer.

  His ready laughter came surging up even through the growing intensity of his lovemaking. “Very basic, very disrespectful—not gentlemanly at all...” He was undressing her as he spoke, opening her buttons, expertly slipping garments from her until the last one had gone.

  “I don’t want you to be respectful,” she said. “Not just now.”

  “Why don’t you show me what you want?”

  It was too good an invitation to pass up. This was the third time she’d been here, and nothing was going to be allowed to snatch it away again. She was naked, and it was intolerable that he should still be fully dressed.

  But she had only to make the first movements. When he felt her fingers at his buttons and knew that this time she was here to stay, Jack moved swiftly to complete the job.