Suddenly Ruby raced, barking, towards the door of the boot room, and Georgia hurried to open it for her as Chance came in from the garden with Luther on his heels.
He kicked off his boots and gave her a friendly smile. ‘Merry Christmas, Georgie. Hello, Ruby!’
‘Merry Christmas, Chance.’ She returned the smile in kind and patted Luther’s damp head. ‘Sorry I slept late.’
‘I’m glad you got some rest.’ He shrugged out of a bulky down jacket. ‘I have to be up early to see to the dogs. Ruby’s legs are too short to let her enjoy the snow for long, but I took Luther with me to check on the situation. I’ll report over breakfast,’ he added, rubbing Luther down. ‘Or have you had yours?’
‘No, just some tea. I’ll cook, if you show me where things are.’
‘An offer too good to pass up,’ he said with enthusiasm, looking windblown and so fit it was hard to believe he’d been ill. He held the kitchen door open for her. ‘I took the liberty of putting your Christmas presents under the tree in the study with mine. Did you see them there?’
She shook her head. ‘I didn’t like to explore on my own.’
‘What a polite little girl you are!’
‘Not that polite!’
‘And not a little girl either.’ His eyes moved over her with frank appreciation. ‘Toby was a total fool to break up with you.’
She gave an inelegant sniff. ‘Is that what he told you? You may not believe this, but it was the other way round.’
‘Of course I believe it! I knew damn well he was lying to save face.’
Georgia smiled, relieved. ‘He’s been such a total pest ever since, he’s partly to blame for my runaway Christmas. He’s taken to lying in wait for me outside Amy’s shop, and the last time he resorted to caveman tactics—something which made me so furious I slapped him and told him to get lost. But he kept on ringing me afterwards, so I bought a new mobile phone. The answer-machine picks up his landline calls, but if my flatmate’s in when he rings she picks up and gives him hell…?.’ She trailed into silence at the blaze in Chance’s eyes.
‘The fool’s been stalking you?’
‘I wouldn’t put it quite like that,’ she said hurriedly, wishing too late that she’d kept her mouth shut.
‘I’ll have a word,’ he said ominously.
She shook her head. ‘Please don’t. I’d hate to cause more trouble for your family.’
His eyes hardened. ‘But Toby’s causing trouble for you, so it must stop. After the holidays I’ll see to it.’
Georgia sighed unhappily. ‘Perhaps Toby will have given up by then.’
‘Or the minute you get back you’ll have him making your life a misery again! I’ll make very sure he doesn’t, and at the same time keep him from causing any more trouble for Nicholas Warner Senior.’
‘Senior? Is Nicholas Toby’s first name?’
‘No, mine. At least it was until I went away to school. I told everyone there I went by my middle name, Chance, and from then on I refused to answer to anything else at home.’ He smiled crookedly. ‘Chance was my mother’s maiden name. It was a comfort on my first time away from home.’
Georgia felt a sharp pang of sympathy. ‘Poor little boy.’
‘Going away to school did me no harm. In fact I benefited enormously, due to John Gillespie, who encouraged my interest in things electronic.’ Chance turned as Luther padded across the floor to him, with Ruby in pursuit. ‘Sorry, chaps. I forgot.’ He took a bag of dog biscuits from one of the cupboards and handed some out.
‘How about their master?’ Georgia asked. ‘If a fry-up appeals, just show me where things are and I’ll get started.’
‘Yes, ma’am!’ He bent to open cupboards in the island, and took out a couple of pans, leaving her to work out the switches for the hotplates while he rummaged in the fridge for the ingredients for a traditional English breakfast. ‘The grill is in the smaller of the two ovens over there,’ he told her, setting packages on the counter. ‘I’ll man that while you get started.’
As scenarios went, thought Georgia later, when they sat down to eat, this was one of the strangest. To be having breakfast with Chance Warner, who had helped cook it, was a far cry from her original expectations of Christmas Day.
‘This sort of thing,’ he said indistinctly, ‘is wonderful now and then—all the more for its aura of sin in our health-conscious times.’
Georgia smiled. ‘Unfortunately I had more or less the same for supper last night, too. Amy would be horrified.’
‘Who is Amy? And why the horror?’
‘She’s been my friend since nursery school and now shares my flat in Pennington. Amy’s constantly on a diet of some kind, hence the horror.’ She chuck led. ‘I burned off last night’s indulgence on the hike from the cottage, but I’ve sinned again this morning.’
His eyes glinted. ‘If that’s the worst of your sins, Georgie, you hardly need worry.’
‘I don’t,’ she said serenely.
‘Is the weight-conscious Amy a model?’
‘In a way. She designs clothes—dresses, mainly—and sells them with the rest of the stock in a trendy little shop she manages in Pennington. She works hard to stay at a perfect size ten to show off her creations. I help there too, from time to time.’
He eyed her in surprise. ‘I thought you were a teacher.’
Georgia nodded. ‘I am. But at the moment I’m attached to an agency as a tutor. I help students prepare for an exam, or catch up when lessons have been missed through illness.’
‘Does it pay well?’
‘Quite well, yes. And I help Amy in her shop between jobs. For the time being I prefer the variety of tutoring to a post in a school. My actual degree is in history, but I’m qualified to teach seven to fourteen-year-olds across the entire curriculum. They learn at an amazing rate with one-on-one teaching.’
‘Lucky little devils!’ His eyes gleamed. ‘None of my teachers looked like you, Georgie.’
‘Surely you went to a single-sex school?’
‘Only from eleven.’ He grinned. ‘I had a huge crush on Miss Pargeter in the one before that.’
Georgia chuckled. ‘It must have been a culture shock at a single-sex school. Did Toby grace the same one?’
‘No. Elaine persuaded my father to enrol him at one of the local schools, so he could stay home with Mummy.’ He smiled wryly. ‘Personally, I think a spell away from the apron strings would have done him a whole lot of good.’
‘I agree,’ she said with feeling. ‘By the way, what are the roads like out there?’
‘Bad. The rain froze into a layer of ice before the snow came down on top of it overnight, so Luther and I didn’t get very far. I meant to check on Ridge Cottage this morning, but the roads are dangerous over quite a wide radius in this area. According to the travel news on the radio some are blocked, and more snow is forecast.’ He touched her hand. ‘I’m afraid that for the immediate future we’re more or less marooned. But don’t worry, Georgie. Thanks to Mrs Dawson we won’t go hungry.’
‘I’m not worried,’ she assured him, ‘just enormously grateful to you for rescuing me last night! Though I hope the snow doesn’t last very long. I’m due at my next job just after New Year.’
‘Where?’
‘Happily it’s in Pennington this time—’ She broke off as her phone rang. ‘It’s Amy. If you don’t mind, I must call her back. She’s probably worried.’
‘Tell her you’re safe here with me.’ The intent blue eyes held hers as he got up. ‘Which you are, Georgie.’
She nodded briskly. ‘Of course.’
‘Come into the study. You can chat in peace there.’ Chance led her into the room across the hall. ‘It’s a bit of a squeeze with the Christmas tree in here, but it seemed pointless to put it up in the drawing room where I would hardly ever see it.’
He switched on the tree lights and led her to a deep leather sofa in front of a stone fireplace, then left her alone.
Amy was deeply re
lieved to hear from Georgia, and reported that the side roads were blocked in Pennington, and main roads only passable with care. ‘It’s a good thing Liam is staying right here with us for a bit because he can’t move the car. But what on earth is it like in the back of beyond with you, love?’ demanded Amy. ‘We’re worried sick about you.’
Georgia gave a brief, unembroidered account of the rescue mission the night before. ‘And now we’re pretty much snowed in here for the time being. On the plus side Chance is stocked up with food—’
‘Whoa!’ broke in Amy. ‘Are you saying you’re all alone with the man who caused all that trouble at Toby’s party?’
‘I caused the trouble, not Chance,’ corrected Georgia. ‘I’m very grateful to him for rescuing me.’
‘Is—is everything all right, Georgie?’ said Amy anxiously. ‘I mean—’
‘I know what you mean, and everything’s fine.’ At least she hoped it was.
‘If you say so. Anyway, I thought you’d better know that your rescuer’s pest of a brother rang here this morning.’ She chuckled evilly. ‘He went ballistic when I refused to give him your new phone number!’
‘You are such a star, Amy. I owe you,’ said Georgia fervently. ‘Give your parents my love. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.’
‘Be careful!’
‘Always am. By the way, I haven’t opened any presents yet, but thanks in advance for yours. I shall start unwrapping shortly.’
‘I just wish you were doing that here with us.’
‘Stop worrying! I even have two dogs to play with, so I’ll be fine.’
‘As long as it’s only the dogs you play with,’ said Amy darkly.
Georgia put her phone away and curled up in a corner of the sofa, her eyes brooding. She’d done all she could to cut Toby Warner out of her life, unwilling to show even Amy that his stalking had begun to frighten her. Yet here she was, spending Christmas with his brother. Fate must be laughing up its sleeve.
She looked up as Chance came in. ‘I’ve put Amy’s mind at rest. She was worried about me.’
‘Hardly surprising if she thought you were alone in this! My little brother has a lot to answer for,’ he said grimly, and bent down to put a match to the fire.
‘He rang Amy this morning, asking for my new number.’
Chance’s eyes glittered coldly. ‘Toby just has to learn to take no for an answer—something he’s not used to. But where you’re concerned he’ll get used to it fast. I’ll see to it personally. And don’t worry,’ he added, as her eyes narrowed, ‘I shall use rhetoric this time, not force. I’ve just been speaking to my father, by the way. They’re snowed in and Toby’s in a black mood because some party’s been cancelled. Dad was unusually keen to know if I’d opened my presents yet, so I’d better do that now. Do you want to open yours or leave them for later?’
‘Now, of course!’
‘Let’s hope they survived our trek without damage.’
‘Amen to that.’ She smiled at him, and sat down cross-legged near the tree. ‘Weren’t you tempted to open yours beforehand?’
He shook his head and let himself down beside her. ‘I get pretty much the same every year.’
‘My parents left presents with Amy for me,’ she told him, undoing one end of a parcel of clothes. ‘Thank you, Mother, just what I needed,’ she told the card gratefully, and smiled at Chance. ‘I’ll look at them later.’
He eyed his own parcels without enthusiasm. ‘Elaine usually gives me some article of clothing I pass on to a charity shop. Toby invariably buys—or Elaine does—some kind of book. And here it is. Pictorial views of various cricket grounds round the world. Good choice this year!’
‘You like cricket?’
‘Big fan. And I’ll enjoy the book all the more because it’s obvious that my father chose it, not Elaine. I doubt that my little brother had anything to do with it other than scrawling the label!’
‘What did you give him?’
‘A cheque—what else?’ Chance shrugged. ‘He prefers money to anything less than a Porsche.’
Georgia frowned. ‘I never realised Toby was so immature. But then, I saw him only a few times socially before the birthday debacle.’
‘And now you refuse to see him again, and Toby always wants what he can’t have.’ Chance met her eyes. ‘If he does get it, he no longer wants it.’
Her hands stilled. ‘Is that a warning?’
‘No, just a statement of fact, Georgie.’ He raised a wry eyebrow as he opened another parcel. ‘I’m surprised Elaine gave me anything at all this year, but Dad probably put his foot down.’ He shook out a square of black cashmere. ‘Oh, God. Why has she given me a shawl?’
Georgia grinned. ‘I think it’s a sort of posh throw, to use on a long haul flight.’ She took a peep at Amy’s present and hastily thrust it back in its wrappings.
His eyes gleamed. ‘Something I shouldn’t see?’
‘Absolutely.’
‘Spoilsport!’
Georgia went through the rest of her presents quickly, smiling gratefully when she came to a card with a sizeable cheque from her stepfather. ‘Paul never had children of his own and tends to spoil me,’ she told Chance. ‘So I gave him the best present I could come up with—his first Christmas alone with his wife in their Portuguese hideaway.’
Chance eyed her with respect. ‘So the “no time” excuse was a white lie?’
‘Right.’ She sighed. ‘But it’s a really painful wrench to spend Christmas away from my mother for the first time.’
Chance was suddenly still as he looked inside the box he’d unwrapped. ‘It’s my father’s pocket watch,’ he said, clearing his throat. ‘His wedding present from my mother.’
She leaned closer to look. ‘What a gem!’
Chance touched it with a reverent finger. ‘I thought Dad would just leave it to me in his will,’ he said huskily.
Georgia gathered up her belongings and stood up. ‘While you ring to thank your father, I’ll take my stuff out of the way.’
She lingered in her room to go over her haul of book tokens, jewellery, perfume, and her mother’s gift of a cashmere sweater and some dramatic wide-leg velvet trousers from Amy’s shop. She grinned at the wisps of nude chiffon and lace from Amy. ‘For extra-special occasions’ her friend had put on the tag. Georgia rolled her eyes. No kidding!
Chance was waiting at the foot of the stairs in his bulky down jacket when Georgia joined him. ‘It’s not snowing—yet—and your boots are dry now. I thought you might like a walk round the garden.’
She smiled, delighted. ‘I’d love it.’
In the boot room Chance produced a vintage sheepskin coat and helped her into it. ‘This will swamp you, but it’s warmer than your raincoat. If you fish in the pockets you’ll find some gloves.’ He began fastening the excited terrier into her harness. ‘Luther’s fine off the lead, but Ruby is an escape artist. I don’t want her tearing off in this weather. She’d be hard to spot in the snow.’
‘Unlike Luther.’ Georgia patted the black glossy head, delighted when he stayed close beside her as they went outside.
‘A flagged terrace wraps around the house, with paths leading down to various parts of the garden,’ Chance informed her. ‘Ridgeway dates from around 1825.’
Georgia gazed up at the classical façade of multi-paned windows flanking a pillared portico. ‘It’s beautiful. Have you had a lot done to it?’
‘The kitchen has been done, but the reception rooms need work. The building’s listed, so I proceed with care.’ They walked on, sinking ankle-deep on the paths leading down to lawns blanketed with snow. ‘The man who lived here lavished far more care on the gardens than the house. Too much, for my taste. I prefer a wilder, more natural look. There’ll be a marvellous show of snowdrops on the terrace soon, and later on the beds and the walled garden will be full of daffodils. Then great swathes of bluebells arrive in May.’ He shot a look at her. ‘You must come back and see them.’
‘I’d like
to.’ She shivered suddenly.
‘You’re cold. We’ll go back to the house and watch a film or whatever.’ He took her hand. ‘Let’s run for it.’
Their chase through the snow, with happily barking dogs for company, gave Georgia bright pink cheeks and sparkling eyes by the time they reached the house.
‘What would you have been doing at your friend’s house?’ asked Chance as he took her boots off, his hands deliberately lingering over the task.
‘Snoozing in front of the television at this stage, probably.’ She smiled brightly to hide her heightened colour. ‘But Christmas evening at the Conways’ means party games. I hope Liam’s up for that. He’s Amy’s new man—and yet another reason why I decided against joining the party.’
‘Don’t you like him?’
‘I do—very much. But their relationship is fairly new, so I didn’t relish playing gooseberry there, either.’
Chance eyed her searchingly. ‘Wasn’t there someone you could have brought to the cottage with you?’
‘If you mean a man, no,’ she said flatly. ‘After the unpleasantness with Toby I’m steering well clear of men for the time being.’
He grinned. ‘Does that include one who entices you with a log fire, hot tea and Mrs Dawson’s prize-winning Christmas cake?’
She shook her head, laughing. ‘Present company definitely excepted on those terms. Consider me enticed!’
CHAPTER THREE
IT WAS surprisingly restful, later, to sit facing the log fire and just talk for a while rather than watch a Christmas film. But eventually Chance turned to Georgia with a look of purpose which put her on the alert.
‘After our second encounter that famous night, you drove off before I could ask for your phone number.’ He held out his teacup for a refill.
She kept her eyes on the tea she was pouring. ‘Why did you want it?’
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