The Loving Gift

by Carole Mortimer

  Jade’s legs felt weak, and instead of joining in the revelry outside she sank weakly down into a nearby chair.

  She liked working at the Kendrick Preparatory School, and after only one term of being here she was disappointed that it wasn’t to be a permanent position. She even liked living in this small Devonshire village, where she was on a first-name basis with all her delivery men. And after living in town all of her life, the last four years of that in London in an apartment on her own, where she had to go out to the shops to buy all her needs, she hadn’t expected to adapt so readily to country life. She willingly admitted that it had been the warm hospitality she had received from Penny and Simon that had helped ease her into this totally different way of life.

  Penny, loving Simon as she undoubtedly did, couldn’t be blamed for thinking Jade must have encouraged Simon’s behaviour of a few minutes ago in some way. She couldn’t possibly be expected to believe—as Jade herself found it difficult to!—that her mild-mannered husband could behave so recklessly without encouragement of some sort, even with the artificial confidence of alcohol.

  It all had such repercussive consequences, also endangering Jade’s long-standing friendship with Cathy, the other woman having no choice but to side with her sister. And she had even tentatively been looking forward to Christmas among her new friends. She had been invited to several functions at Penny and Simon’s over the holiday period, their two children home for the holidays to complete the family unit. Cathy would also be trying to come down for a few days later on. Now all of that looked very precarious, although at this moment a long and lonely festive season seemed the least of her worries; her job was in jeopardy, a job that meant more to her than any of the people here could realise.

  ‘Would you like to start clearing up the mess?’

  Jade gave a guilty start as she looked up at Penny, feeling ill at how pale and exhausted the other woman looked. ‘Penny, about what happened earlier—’ she began awkwardly.

  ‘Yes. I—I’m sorry about that,’ Penny answered vaguely, not at all her usual authoritative self—and who could blame her? ‘I—could you and the others tidy up here?’ She looked uncertainly at the debris in the room from the end-of-term party. ‘I have to go and look for Simon,’ she added agitatedly.

  Jade gave a pained frown. ‘I just want to try and explain—’

  ‘Could we talk later?’ Penny’s voice was sharp; a small, pretty, blonde woman, slightly overweight, and looking all the more attractive because of that, she possessed the sort of organising mind that more or less kept the school running on a day-to-day basis. ‘I really do need to find Simon,’ she frowned.

  That shouldn’t be too difficult: she just had to follow the sound of the booming ‘Yo ho hos’!

  ‘I quite understand.’ Jade nodded heavily. ‘But I do need to talk to you afterwards,’ she added firmly.

  ‘Of course.’ The other woman nodded, her mind obviously elsewhere. ‘I’ll just go and find Simon,’ she repeated distantly before disappearing out of the room in search of her husband.

  Jade felt even more deflated than she had before; despite her reluctance to discuss it now, Penny was obviously deeply disturbed by Simon’s behaviour. But weren’t they all? At least none of the children had guessed that ‘Father Christmas’ was more than a little inebriated. But it would only need one of the pupils to mention to their parents Father Christmas’s more than seasonal familiarity with one of the teachers for more than Simon’s relationship with Penny to be in jeopardy; most of those parents were well aware of the fact that Simon annually took the part of Father Christmas!

  The Kendrick school was one of the best of its kind in the country, and Jade had instantly felt comfortable and at ease working in such a happy and contented atmosphere. It wouldn’t remain that way for long if people were to learn that Simon took the occasional secret tipple. He risked so much for what appeared to be no more than a craving for something that completely changed his personality—and not for the better!

  But Jade put a brave face on the incident when the others returned from outside—Penny and ‘Father Christmas’ conspicuous in their absence—as she helped to organise the clearing-up process, relieved when the only thing left to do was clear away the carol books in a cupboard. She smiled as she thought of the angelic faces of the children as they had all gathered around the piano to sing Christmas carols beside the flamboyantly decorated tree, each child having made at least one decoration to adorn it. There was something so magical about the innocence of children at this time of year, and it was virtually impossible not to feel drawn into the fantasy.

  ‘Dare I hope that at least part of that smile is for me?’

  Jade spun around with a start, disconcerted to suddenly find herself face to face with ‘Father Christmas’ once more. And he didn’t look in the least repentant!

  ‘Penny was looking for you,’ she told him sharply, watching him warily.

  He nodded, taking up most of the doorway to the store-cupboard. ‘She found me,’ he drawled.

  Her frown turned to puzzlement; if Penny had managed to locate him, what on earth was he doing wandering around loose again in his condition? ‘You haven’t upset Penny again, have you?’ she asked suspiciously.

  He shrugged. ‘She was crying her eyes out when I left her just now.’

  Green eyes widened incredulously. ‘And you just left her?’

  ‘Well—not exactly. But I needed to see you again before you went home,’ he excused himself.

  ‘Penny—was—crying—her—eyes—out—and—you—just—!’ Jade’s incredulity turned to disgust as she stared at him in disbelief.

  ‘I told you, I needed to see you before you left,’ he insisted.

  ‘To apologise?’ Her eyes flashed warningly at his utter selfishness.

  He did manage to look a little shame-faced. ‘I suppose I did go a little over the top a short while ago, but I was only—’

  ‘Over the top?’ Jade repeated with soft anger. ‘You were utterly outrageous!’

  He grinned. ‘I don’t normally act in that impetuous way, it’s just that—’

  ‘I’m well aware of the way you normally act,’ she snapped, wishing she could have the usual Simon back again, instead of this virtual stranger.

  ‘—I was attracted to you the moment I entered the room,’ he concluded as if she hadn’t interrupted so vehemently.

  ‘That you were—! My God, Simon!’ Jade choked emotionally. ‘You’ve really gone too far now. That scene you created a little while ago I could maybe excuse because of the amount of alcohol you’ve apparently consumed, but to come here to me now, when Penny is obviously broken-hearted, is inexcusable.’

  ‘I was only—’

  ‘Don’t you dare touch me!’ she warned harshly as he would have reached out for her.

  ‘But I—’

  ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you!’ she choked at the same time as her hand made contact with the side of his face in a resounding slap.

  Jade stared at him in horror after the uncharacteristic violence—and then she swayed dizzily as he began to laugh, a loudly triumphant laugh that convinced her he wasn’t drunk, after all, but bordering on the insane! The strain of owning and running the school must have become too much for him. No one in their right mind laughed when they had been slapped the way he just had!

  And then her own horror turned to a pained groan as Penny suddenly appeared in the doorway. She was terrified that the other woman would actually think she had been encouraging Simon in this madness. ‘Penny, I’m so sorry about all this, but I—’

  ‘You have no reason to be sorry about anything,’ the other woman dismissed easily, gazing affectionately at the man in the Father Christmas suit as he still grinned idiotically, the only sign of her recent tears a slight puffiness about her eyes. ‘He always did have a warped sense of humour,’ she excused him indulgently.

  Jade had never noticed it before! ‘I still wouldn’t want you to think that I encour
aged him,’ she insisted pleadingly.

  Penny smiled. ‘I’m sure he didn’t need encouraging.’ She shook her head.

  It was wonderful that Penny could take her husband’s errant behaviour in her stride—Jade wished she could come to terms with it as easily!

  ‘You really are incorrigible.’ Penny shook her head with rueful disapproval at the grinning ‘Father Christmas’. ‘If you have—’

  ‘Darling, surely there has to be a better place for this conversation than a store-cupboard?’ Simon chided lightly as he appeared in the doorway behind his wife—wearing his usual school attire of tweed jacket and tailored trousers.

  Jade froze as she stared at him, turning slowly to face the man in the Father Christmas suit. If it wasn’t Simon—and she knew now without a doubt that it wasn’t!—then who was he?

  CHAPTER TWO

  ‘I’M TELLING you, Wellington, he almost met his Waterloo after that stupid stunt,’ Jade muttered as she poured the cream from the top of her milk into a saucer, giving a snort of disgust as the cat merely looked up at her with pitying eyes before turning his attention to the treat she had put down in front of him.

  Jade watched the avid lapping of that delicate pink tongue for several seconds; Wellington certainly had the right idea, concentrating on his drink to the exclusion of all else certainly beat working yourself up into a temper because of the stupidity of some totally insensitive man!

  Wellington had appeared on the doorstep of her rented cottage only her second day here, immediately earning his name, completely snowy white except for the four totally black feet that gave him the appearance of wearing Wellington boots.

  In the beginning Jade had assumed the friendly cat had wandered over from one of the cottages close by, but after several days of returning home to find him sitting on the doorstep waiting for her she had found out from a neighbour that the cat belonged to no one, that the old lady who had once owned him had died some time ago and the cat hadn’t let anyone near him since then, living wild.

  Two strays together, Jade had thought ruefully. Whether he had sensed some need in her that matched his own, or whether he had just decided she looked soft-hearted enough to feed him without demanding too much in return, she didn’t know. But, whatever the reason, he had made the cottage his home the last few months, and when the time came for Jade to leave she didn’t know what she was going to do about him. Wellington had become her constant companion, her confidant, someone she could talk to without fear of judgement or rebuttal, and she believed that in his own feline way he had come to care for her too, curling up to sleep on the foot of her bed every night, like a sentinel on guard. But at the same time she knew she couldn’t take him back to be cooped up in her rented apartment in London, and there was no way she could afford to buy a house of her own out of town.

  But there could be no doubt that Wellington had attached himself to her, and she to him.

  His drink finished to his satisfaction, he now strolled across to stretch himself out in front of the fire Jade had lit when she came in, proceeding to wash himself with leisurely strokes of his tongue, pausing in the task to look up at her enquiringly as he sensed her gaze upon him.

  She quirked mocking brows. ‘So, you’re finally ready to listen now, are you?’ she derided, putting the milk bottle away in the fridge before joining the cat in front of the fire, taking with her the cup of tea she had just poured for herself, knowing she had been right about his readiness to listen to her now as he contentedly began to wash again. ‘You’re very definite about your priorities, aren’t you, boy?’ she teased, absently stroking that silky fur, receiving a rasp of the pink tongue over her hand for her trouble.

  She leant back against a chair, giving a pained sigh. ‘I have had the most awful afternoon, Wellington.’ She shook her head, thinking back to what had transpired after Simon had interrupted that conversation in the store-cupboard.

  She had stared at ‘Father Christmas’ with wide, horrified eyes, noticing as she did so that her slap to the side of his face had knocked the flowing white beard slightly askew, some of it having parted with his cheek completely, revealing a face that, although very similar to Simon’s in features, was obviously younger than the other man’s, something that was unmistakable now that his face was more fully revealed.

  Before she could say a word, ‘Father Christmas’ had burst into speech. ‘She slapped my face, Pen!’ he told the other woman excitedly before once again giving that triumphant laugh. And he didn’t seem able to stop.

  Jade looked from Penny to Simon, wondering why one of them didn’t step forward and slap ‘Father Christmas’s’ face again—this time for hysteria. But the couple just looked on bemusedly, and so it was left to Jade to take the initiative before the whole thing turned into more of a farce than it already was.

  Because her victim was more of a moving target this time, her aim wasn’t quite so good, and instead of making contact with the man’s cheek she caught the side of his eye. To her horror, this only seemed to fuel his excitement!

  ‘My God, I’ll probably have a black eye from that one,’ he cried excitedly. ‘Penny, Simon, do you realise what this means?’

  Jade had more than a good idea; the man behind the Father Christmas suit was ever so slightly insane. No one in their right mind could possibly be pleased at having their face slapped, not once but twice! This man’s disturbed state of mind might also explain Penny’s ashen face when she had realised it wasn’t her husband beneath the disguise, for it was obvious now that that was the reason Penny had looked so distressed when ‘Father Christmas’ came into the room. Simon, she could see at a glance, was as sober as he always was.

  ‘I was attracted to her on sight,’ ‘Father Christmas’ was rambling on. ‘But now I know I’m going to marry her!’

  Marry her? The man was definitely certifiable!

  Penny was the first one to recover her voice. ‘David, can’t you see you’re distressing her?’ she soothed. ‘Jade isn’t used to—no woman is, I’m sure—’ she added with brisk dismissal ‘—to six foot two Father Christmases proposing marriage to her at their first meeting!’

  David. At least she could put a name to the man now, and from the similarity between him and Simon she would say his surname was Kendrick. David Kendrick. No wonder Simon had never spoken of having a brother; David was definitely the ‘black sheep’ of the family!

  And, if anything, Penny was understating her reaction to David’s claim that he was going to marry her; she was more convinced than ever that the man in the Father Christmas suit was in need of medical help!

  ‘But, Penny, can’t you see it’s like a sign?’ he was insisting now. ‘And she didn’t just slap me once, but twice!’

  Penny eyed Jade uncertainly, obviously alarmed by the pallor of her cheeks. ‘David, I don’t think you should persist in this just now.’

  Jade had had enough, couldn’t take any more today. ‘I think I should be going now, Penny—’

  ‘You can’t go!’ David pounced, grabbing both her hands in his, holding her captive. ‘I’ve only just found you—do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to come into my life?’ he prompted eagerly, continuing to talk before she could even attempt an answer to his question. ‘Do you think I’m going to let you walk away from me now, when all I know about you is that your name is Jade and you’re great with kids?’

  And that he intended marrying her. Incredible, absolutely incredible. And the day had progressed so normally until his advent into her life, too!

  ‘David, I really think it might be better to leave this just now,’ Penny intervened again, shooting Jade nervous glances.

  ‘But I can’t,’ he insistently refused, keeping a firm grip on Jade’s hands. ‘It’s like a sign, Penny,’ he repeated firmly. ‘A blessing—’

  ‘If I read all the signs correctly just now, Jade is getting ready to shout “escaped lunatic”!’ Penny stepped forward to pointedly release Jade from the steely grasp.
‘David, there has to be a better place and time for this,’ she told him firmly.

  ‘The poor girl will come to no other conclusion than that you have a few screws loose if you continue to talk in this way,’ Simon put in softly.

  If he continued…? Jade was already convinced the man had a serious problem!

  David looked perplexed. ‘But you both know the significance—’

  ‘Yes, yes,’ Penny quickly silenced him, shooting Jade an embarrassed smile. ‘Why don’t we all discuss this later over dinner? You are staying to dinner, aren’t you, David?’ The normally practically assured woman looked less than certain for once.

  David’s expression gentled as he gazed at the other woman. ‘Longer than that, if I’m welcome?’ He looked a little shame-faced.

  ‘Of course you are.’ Penny blushed her pleasure. ‘The kids will be overjoyed to see you.’

  ‘I’ve missed them.’ David’s voice was husky with emotion now.

  Jade was a little puzzled by the hesitant pleasure in Penny’s face, at Simon’s emotional smile as he looked on—but she was even more concerned about the thought of dinner tonight, not least because she had completely forgotten that she was supposed to be dining at the Kendricks’ this evening! The first week she had arrived here Penny and Simon had invited her over to dinner on a Friday night, a practice that had continued, and as today was a Friday… She had no intention of meeting David Kendrick ever again, and certainly not over a cosy family dinner tonight!

  ‘Maybe I should give dinner a miss for tonight?’ she hastened to excuse herself. ‘You all sound as if you have quite a lot of catching up to do, and so—’

  ‘My dear, most of the talk will be about you, if I read my little brother correctly,’ Simon drawled in an amused voice, blue eyes twinkling teasingly. ‘So you might as well come along as arranged and avoid all that unnecessary ear-burning!’

  It was her face that burnt now. Penny and Simon really were the nicest couple—she could believe that again now she knew Simon hadn’t turned into a drunken lecher!—and she had greatly appreciated those weekly dinners with them in the past, but she really would rather not spend any more time in David Kendrick’s company than she had to.