Yet hadn’t Jay shown her plainly enough by his actions today how mistaken she had been in thinking his feelings were as strong as her own? Wouldn’t it be wiser to take this job, put a distance between them before she got herself in too deep to recover? But then, when did love ever listen to wisdom?
While she was still torn by indecision, Kate said, ‘Mirry, at least let me tell Graham about you. If you don’t want a full-time job, you might be able to take on certain projects working from home. And it wouldn’t do you any harm going to talk to him.’
And Mirry had to agree.
She was giving Kate and Clive tea in the library when the snarl of an exhaust outside heralded Jay’s return. Mirry’s cup rattled against the saucer, and she took a deep breath to try to settle her bouncing heart. Her eyes on the door, she saw his first glance was for her, then he was smoothly greeting the visitors.
‘Mirry’s looking after you, I see.’ Then, still without a word of apology or explanation to Mirry, ‘Well, Clive, what do you think?’
‘A challenge, but that’s what I thrive on.’ Clive swept a hand theatrically through his over-long grey hair. ‘It’ll mean a lot more structural alteration than it would have done if you’d stuck to your original idea of turning the place into a hotel, but I have no doubt I can come up with the right scheme.’
Mirry winced and wondered what structural alterations the man intended. Her own scheme had entailed very few. She found she couldn’t look at Jay, her hurt at his thoughtless treatment of her reanimated as she listened to the conversation.
Then Clive was saying, ‘Time we were off, Kate. I’ll let you know when it’s convenient for me to come down for a few days.’
Kate’s spluttered giggle at the man’s pomposity was hurriedly changed to a cough, but Mirry didn’t find it at all amusing. She was only too aware that in a few moments she would be alone with Jay, and she hadn’t made up her mind yet what she was going to say to him.
Kate rather limited her options when she called out as she was getting into the car, ‘I’ll be in touch, Mirry, just as soon as I’ve spoken to Mr Wren.’
Jay glanced at her sharply, but waited until the car was pulling away before asking, ‘What was all that about… Kate getting in touch?’
And because his behaviour towards her today still rankled she said bluntly, ‘She’s offered me a job. At least, she seems certain her boss will jump at the chance to employ me.’
‘A job?’ Jay looked stunned. ‘You mean you’re actually planning to leave here and work in London? But why? Not because of those stupid remarks of mine when we first met, I hope. You know I didn’t—’
‘Not entirely,’ Mirry broke in, ‘but I always intended finding something to do once Nick was better. It didn’t seem so urgent while there was the chance you might want me to work on the flat conversions, but now Wren Interiors are going to do it… well, I won’t be needed here.’ To her horror, she felt tears pricking at her eyes.
The urge to cry got worse when Jay, looking completely baffled, said, ‘You thought I’d want you to do the conversion?’
‘Since you seemed to like the plans I’d drawn up, yes.’ She blinked furiously to keep the tears at bay.
‘But it never crossed my mind,’ he admitted.
‘I know that—now. It was brought home to me painfully.’ She saw him frown. Kate was right. Strong, self-assured, successful, heart-wrenchingly attractive he might be, but he really had no idea how much he had hurt her today.
‘I never meant to upset you.’ His uncertainty now made it hard not to forgive him anything. ‘And I didn’t mean to imply you couldn’t do the job successfully. I wanted Wren Interiors to do the flats so you could concentrate on the house itself once we’re married.’
‘Married?’ There seemed no end to this man’s capacity for surprising her. Of course, it was what she had secretly been dreaming about, hoping for, but the manner of his proposal left her speechless.
‘It’s what we were working up to, wasn’t it? At least I was, until you slapped me down with this job idea.’ It was that uncertainty again that was so appealing in a man usually so sure of himself.
Thrilled and delighted, Mirry threw herself into his arms. ‘Oh, Jay, I do love you so…’
‘You mean, you will? Marry me, I mean?’
She could feel the tension in him as she curled her arms lovingly round his neck, breathing, ‘Oh, yes, Jay. Yes, please…’
With a groan he gathered her to him, lifting her right off the floor. ‘Mmm, you’re so tiny… so dainty… so warm…’ Kisses punctuated his words. ‘You fascinated me right from the start.’ His warm breath in her ear made her shudder with delight. ‘No more talk of leaving to get a job?’
She shook her head, smiling blissfully. ‘There’s only one job I want, being your wife.’
He lowered her feet to the floor, but only so he could unbutton the front of her dress and push it from her shoulders. Her back arched in helpless ecstasy as his mouth closed over the aroused nipple, moistening it through her silk teddy. Frantically she scrabbled at the buttons of his shirt, surrendering to the yearning to touch him as she had only touched him in her dreams before.
Her senses delighted in the crispness of his body hair against her fingertips, the suddenly accelerated thud of his heart against her palms, and she found it both touching and erotic the way she could make him tremble.
His voice was harsh and uneven as he groaned, ‘Mirry… my little miracle… I want you in my home, in my bed, soon…’
The touch of his hands, the touch of his mouth, the erotic image his words conjured in her mind, and Mirry was lost. If he’d taken her there on the floor of the library it would have been with her full co-operation. It was Jay who, breathing raggedly, drew back, leaving her dazed and bereft.
‘No, we mustn’t,’ he said hoarsely. ‘Mirry, I want everything perfect, a virgin bride and a proper wedding night. Only it will have to be soon. No long engagement.’
Mirry was so touched, her eyes swam. ‘Let’s go and tell the family.’ She smiled through her happy tears. ‘Your family now, Jay.’
They took the path through the grounds, making for the kitchen where Mirry knew her parents would be together, talking over their day as her mother prepared the evening meal. She didn’t notice the glance they exchanged as she burst into the kitchen, dragging Jay behind her, so she was entirely unprepared when her excited, ‘Mum… Dad… Jay and I have just got engaged to be married,’ was met with an appalled silence.
Confused, she glanced from one to the other. ‘What’s the matter? I—we thought you’d be pleased…’
Cathy Grey put down the spoon she was holding and pushed the saucepan to the back of the stove. ‘Oh, darling… are you really sure about this?’
‘Of course I am, Mum. I—’
Before she could tell them how much she loved him, Jay broke in, his face a wooden mask, ‘Perhaps your parents don’t care for you to marry a bastard.’
Donald Grey pushed himself out of his chair and said vehemently, ‘That has nothing to do with it, son.’
‘As if we’d let that make any difference,’ Cathy echoed, visibly distressed at the construction Jay had put on her reservations. ‘Truly, Jay, we have no personal objections to you at all. It’s just that…’ She looked uncomfortable, glancing at her husband for support.
‘The fact is, Cathy and I have seen this coming and it’s worried us,’ Donald said heavily. ‘Your mother won’t like it, Jay.’
It was then that Mirry remembered Simon’s joking remark about her parents not caring for the idea of Valerie Elphick as her mother-in-law, and her heart sank even further.
‘I don’t like to speak ill of her to you, Jay,’ Cathy put in earnestly, ‘but she stirred up so much trouble, the few months she was here, that we can’t help fearing for Mirry.’
Mirry glanced at Jay apprehensively, and felt a measure of relief to see his wooden expression had relaxed. ‘And that’s your only objection?’ he as
ked, his voice clipped. Her parents nodded, albeit uncertainly. ‘Then I can assure you your fears are groundless.’
When her parents continued to look doubtful, he curved a possessive arm round Mirry’s shoulders, drawing her closer. ‘In the first place I like to think I can protect Mirry from anything unpleasant, and in the second place my mother sold up and went to California soon after I started at university. We corresponded sporadically for the first year, and the last I heard she was getting married. As she never replied to my letter wishing her well, I can only suppose she decided to break all contact with me. I don’t know her married name, where she lives, or even if she’s still alive, so it’s hardly likely she’ll decide to look me up after all this time, do you think?’
‘But you were only eighteen when you went to university,’ Cathy gasped, horrified. ‘And she left you to fend for yourself?’
Jay shrugged. ‘I’d been more or less fending for myself most of my life, Mrs Grey. I can’t say I lost any sleep over it.’
‘Cathy. You must call me Cathy…’ Pink-cheeked, she glanced at her husband ‘…as you’re going to be a member of the family.’
Mirry relaxed against Jay as the tension drained away, her face as she lifted it to smile at him radiant. There was a flurry of hugs and handshakes and wishes for their future, then Cathy said, ‘We’ll have to throw an engagement party, though it might have to be delayed until all the boys are free at the same time.’
‘Just as long as you don’t expect the wedding to be delayed,’ Jay said firmly. ‘We don’t want a long engagement.’
‘We thought a month, Mum,’ Mirry concurred happily, then, seeing her mother’s dismay added quickly, ‘William and Eleanor were married within a few weeks of their engagement.’
‘Yes, but they’d known each other a long time, while you and Jay…’
‘Oh, Mum!’ Mirry wailed. ‘It’s not as if we’ve got to save up to buy a house.’
‘We have one that badly needs Mirry’s talents to make it into a home,’ Jay said, then, with an open appeal to her father, added ‘And quite frankly, sir, though we’d both prefer to wait for our wedding night, I can’t answer for the control of either of us if we’re forced to wait.’
Mirry looked pleadingly at her parents, her cheeks peony-red. ‘It’s true. We love each other so much…’
Not for a moment did it occur to her to question that assertion.
CHAPTER TEN
Everyone declared it was the prettiest wedding the tiny Wenlow church had seen in years. The June day was perfect, with the sun pouring down and only a gentle breeze to ruffle the exotic hats. The bride in her white lace and fluffy veil was incandescent with happiness, while her groom displayed all the pride and protective possessiveness that was thought proper.
The five Grey brothers, immaculate in their morning suits, made impressive ushers. Of course the bride’s side of the church far outstripped the groom’s, but the church was so small and so packed with well-wishers that every seat was taken.
And the four little bridesmaids behaved like angels: Richard’s two daughters and Kate Redding’s twins. For when Simon had come home for the engagement party, he had brought Kate and her children with him.
Kate had been a little embarrassed, joining in the engagement celebrations so soon after warning Mirry against falling in love with Jay, but, warmed by the reception the Grey family extended to herself, and relieved and touched by their delight in her twin daughters, she soon forgot her unease.
For Mirry the last month had passed in a whirl: first the trip into Leicester to buy the engagement ring, an emerald flanked by two diamonds the size of which even now took her breath away, then the rush to see the vicar to put up the banns. There was the wedding gown to choose and the little girls to organise for fittings, not to mention Mirry’s going-away outfit and the new beachwear she would need for the honeymoon on the Algarve where Lord Shilbury was loaning them his villa. But most exciting of all was going round the house with Jay, deciding what alterations they would need to do.
The old-fashioned kitchen would have to be completely gutted, of course. The whole place needed redecorating too, Jay declared, but that would have to wait until the new heating system had been installed, and at least two new bathrooms provided.
Mirry laughingly protested that maybe he was being too ambitious. ‘It’s going to cost an arm and a leg to do all that as well as going ahead with the conversion of the wings, Jay. Wouldn’t we be better to do the house a little at a time as we can afford it?’
‘I’d rather get all the upset over at once, then we can settle down in comfort.’ He smiled at the anxious line creasing her brow. ‘Am I getting myself a thrifty little wife? Don’t worry, darling, if I run out of cash there’s always Lady Jayston’s legacy to fall back on. I still feel uncomfortable about accepting that anyway when—’
‘But you need that to pay for the work on the new flats,’ Mirry pointed out, but Jay just laughed.
‘The flats are a business proposition—a good one, too. I had no trouble raising the finance. If there’s one thing I know about, it’s money, and if I have any talent, it’s for making it. So anything you want to do in the house, anything you need to buy, go right ahead and get the best. I promise you won’t bankrupt me.’
Of course Mirry had recognised at their first meeting that Jay wasn’t the humble bank clerk of their imagining. She had known she was marrying a successful man, but this was the first intimation she had had that she was marrying a rich one.
So she had drawn up her plans for the house with the heady sensation of having a bottomless purse to draw on. Not that she was wantonly extravagant. The red brocade curtains at the library windows had rotted in the sun and would definitely have to be replaced, but the velvet in the dining-room had matured to a soft moss green and she decided to keep them.
There had been no time to put these plans into operation and have everything completed before the wedding, but at least they’d made a start on the most important part. For the last week Martha had been staying in the Dower House and Jay had been back in his London flat—which he had decided to keep on— while the builders and plumbers had moved in, promising the remodelled kitchen and the new heating system at least would be finished by the time they returned from their three-week honeymoon. Mirry had her doubts, but she was already looking forward to their return, to making a home for Jay and any children they might have.
And as he slipped the broad gold band on to her finger she looked up into his serious face, silently vowing that it would be a happy home, that he would find himself so loved he would forget all the years when it seemed no one cared.
At the reception in a marquee on the Dower House lawn a slimline Abby Minto—her precious new son left for the afternoon with the devoted Mrs Jameson—said, ‘Oh, wouldn’t David and Georgie have been pleased at this marriage!’ And David’s old friend, Lord Shilbury, heartily agreed. Wasn’t everyone commenting on how Jay couldn’t take his eyes off his radiant bride?
They cut the three-tiered wedding cake, drank the toasts, Jay responding wittily to the speeches, and when it was time for them to change they slipped upstairs hand in hand. On the wide landing, away from the prying eyes, they paused before going to their separate rooms, just looking at each other.
Jay’s hand came out to touch the froth of veiling round Mirry’s head and whispered unsteadily, ‘You take my breath away.’
‘Oh, Jay…’ Deeply touched, Mirry’s dark eyes brimmed with tender loving. ‘We’re going to be so happy… I promise…’
She believed it implicitly, and even if she had remembered Kate’s warning of the irreversible forces that had formed Jay’s personality she would still have believed it.
In a cotton voile dress, the colour subtly shading from gold to flame, the finely pleated skirt flaring as she moved, she looked like a flame herself, dancing lightly round her encircling family saying her farewells, Jay sticking proprietorially by her side.
They had
hoped to slip away through the grounds to the Hall, where Jay had left his car with their luggage safely locked in the boot, but of course family and guests streamed after them, and though they were spared the usual ‘Just Married’ messages scrawled on the car, as they drove away from the laughing crowd a rattling din followed them.
‘Your brothers!’ Jay exclaimed, drawing into the first farm gateway along the lane to rid them of the unwelcome parting gift.
Mirry laughingly reminded him, ‘They’re your brothers too, now.’
Jay grimaced. ‘If you say so. It’ll take some getting used to.’
They were spending their wedding night at Jay’s flat in London and flying out to Portugal the following day. The flat was in an imposing block in the Barbican with an underground car park and tight security. It was the first time Mirry had been there, and she was astonished at the understated luxury.
The sitting-room and the sunken dining area reached by two wide steps were decorated in shades of bronze and cream, the sofa and chairs upholstered in the softest bronze suede, the dining-table and two coffee-tables of heavy glass. Jay’s bedroom was even more masculine, the predominating colour brown, while the second bedroom was furnished as a study with yet another computer brooding on the desk. There were two good-sized bathrooms, one with a bath large enough for two people and which she later discovered to have a whirlpool, but the kitchen was unexpectedly small, and, though well-equipped, looked as if it was rarely used.
With their plans for the house in mind, Mirry asked if he had done the decor himself, but Jay shook his head. ‘I bought this place when I came back from New York. I was far too busy getting into the new job to bother with such things, so I turned it over to Wren Interiors.’
It was unreasonable, but she felt a stab of jealousy and asked, ‘Did Kate do it?’
‘I wanted a bachelor pad, not a boudoir,’ he derided. Having shown her round, he carried her overnight case into the bedroom.
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