by Penny Jordan
‘I’m fine.’
It was the truth. Physically at least she felt reasonably well. The vitamin supplements she was taking were already helping to alleviate the draining exhaustion of her early pregnancy and every day she regained a little more of her own strength.
The flight was a long one and after lunch Lucy gave in to her desire to sleep, turning her head away from Saul. Which made it all the more embarrassing that she should wake up with her head pillowed against his shoulder, his arm curled around her.
To anyone who didn’t know the real situation they must look like a devoted couple, she thought as she sat up and Saul immediately removed his arm.
‘Sorry about that.’
Her voice sounded stiff with defensiveness as she pulled away.
‘Why? Because I’m not Summers?’
Saul’s voice was unwarrantedly harsh. Why did he keep having to bring Neville into their conversations? Was he doing it to hurt her? Deliberately mentioning the name of the man he thought she loved to cause her pain? It hurt to know that he thought her capable of making love with him for calculating motives, in order to help Neville. Surely he must have known when he held her in his arms that her emotions were real and not assumed? But why should he care either way? He had made it plain that he had simply been using her as he thought she had been using him.
After that she couldn’t sleep again, growing increasingly tense and nervous as the end of their journey drew nearer.
How would she fit in with Saul’s family? How much would they be expected to see of them? Where did Saul live? Did he have his own house, or…
Almost as though he followed her train of thought he said abruptly, ‘Tonight we’ll be staying with my parents. They think this is a love-match, Lucy, and I’d be obliged if you don’t do anything to alter that impression. I owe my stepfather a good deal,’ he added harshly, ‘and if you do anything, anything at all to prejudice his health…’
What sort of a woman did he think she was? She felt almost sick with despair.
‘You don’t have to extract promises from me, or make threats, Saul,’ she told him tightly. ‘I’m as anxious for your family to believe we’re happily married as you are.’
She saw his expression and told him tonelessly, ‘Our child will be growing up among them. I don’t want him to be considered an outcast, to hear gossip about his parents, or…
‘Him?’ Saul queried mockingly, his expression lightening briefly. ‘Are you so convinced we will have a son, then?’
Was she? She examined the question and found she didn’t really mind if she had a boy or a girl.
‘“He” just came automatically,’ she told him. The brief softening in his mood encouraged her to ask tentatively, ‘Where will we live Saul? Do you…’
‘At the moment I have an apartment—it’s in the centre of town and convenient for my work, but I shall sell it and find something more suited to family life. I spent several years cooped up in an apartment as a child, and it’s not what I want for any son or daughter of my own.’ He frowned as he said, ‘My mother will probably ask us to stay but in the circumstances I think we’d be better using the apartment until we can find the right house. It would be too much of a strain if we had to keep up the pretence of our marriage on a day-to-day basis.’
‘Yes.’ Oddly enough it made her feel closer to him to hear him say that he, too, was aware of that strain; it made him seem more human, more like the Saul she had seen so briefly in those halcyon days before their quarrel.
‘I warn you, you’ll be subjected to a good deal of cross questioning by my stepsisters; they both live locally with their families and…’
‘And quite naturally they’re going to be curious about the woman who’s married their little brother?’ Lucy supplied.
The voice of the captain announced that they were nearing the end of their journey and further personal conversation became impossible in the hurly-burly and bustle of preparations for quitting the plane.
* * *
It was not so much the heat as the humidity that struck Lucy first, hitting her like a wall of hot, moist air the moment they left the terminal building. Saul had refused to allow her to help him with their luggage, and now she felt glad. The effect of the humidity was such that it drained her completely of energy.
‘Saul! Saul, over here…’
A tall, dark-haired woman was waving to them, and Lucy felt her heart jump and then almost stand still as she recognised in his mother her resemblance both to Saul and to her own father.
So this was Saul’s mother… her aunt. Tanned and slim, she was elegantly dressed in walking shorts and a patterned top, her hair elegantly styled, her fingernails gleaming with polish. Against her Lucy felt untidy and drab, conscious of the fact that her hair was probably curling in the humidity and her nose shining. And then, as she was unexpectedly enveloped in a warm hug, she saw past the elegant façade to the woman beyond, and a tiny glimmer of hope began to grow inside her. Saul’s mother didn’t dislike or resent her.
She was released and held at arm’s length, to be studied by twinkling grey eyes, very like Saul’s.
‘A true Martin by the looks of you, Lucy. That must have pleased your father.’ A faint shadow crossed the grey eyes.
‘For all that we didn’t see eye to eye, I would have come to his funeral if Harry hadn’t been so ill. I hated missing it. He was my brother, after all.
‘What on earth are you going to call me?’ Suddenly she was more practical, as she teased, ‘I don’t suppose many girls get their aunt as their mother-in-law. Perhaps you should just call me Sophy as Harry’s girls do?’
‘Save the chit chat for later, Ma,’ Saul advised, coming between them to soften his words by kissing her on the cheeks. ‘Lucy isn’t used to our humidity yet, and she’ll probably pass out on us if we leave her standing out here much longer.’
His mother was instantly apologetic. ‘Lucy, forgive me, in all the excitement I forgot. Yes, you do look dreadfully pale you poor thing. Saul’s told me about the baby…’ Her smile was warmly encouraging. ‘I admit at first I was somewhat surprised—Saul isn’t normally so unorthodox—but after all what could be nicer than getting a niece, a daughter-in-law and a grandchild all at once?’
Chatting away she led the way to her car, smoothing over Lucy’s embarrassment and discomfort, making her feel as though she was indeed very welcome. It went a long way to offsetting the anxiety she had endured during the flight, and as she got into the car Lucy could almost feel the tension draining out of her.
Saul’s mother drove with a competence Lucy envied when she studied the heavy traffic, explaining as she drove that their home was several miles away in a small new township near the coast.
The car’s air-conditioning was blessedly cool after the heat of the airport.
‘How’s Harry?’ Saul questioned his mother as they left the freeway and turned on to a more minor road.
‘Better, but fretting to get back to work—you know what he’s like. Dr Schlinder’s told him he must rest and build up his strength before they can operate.’
She turned to Lucy and said soberly, ‘Harry, my husband, has a problem with two heart valves. He will be having an operation to replace them but Matt Schlinder, our doctor, believes in getting his patients just as fit as he can before putting them in for surgery, and Harry doesn’t have a lot of patience, I’m afraid. Saul being away has made things worse—Saul’s just about the only person he trusts to handle his business affairs properly, which was why he had to come rushing back over here.
‘There were problems on one of the construction sites, and it was heading for a real labour confrontation. Harry was worrying so much I was afraid he would have a relapse. I’m sorry I had to drag Saul away from you like that, virtually in the middle of the night.’ She turned to her son and said affectionately, ‘It was lucky you were able to get that early morning flight, Saul. I was really beginning to panic.’
Lucy glanced across at h
er husband. He was frowning slightly as he looked out of the window. She hadn’t realised he had left the Manor so hurriedly—was that why he hadn’t contacted her? Could he have been called away that same night that they had made love? Hope clutched tightly at her stomach and then faded away to make room for pain as she remembered that even if by some coincidence Saul had been called away that night he could always have telephoned her, or written to her. He could even have contacted her on his return… But no, if she hadn’t gone up to the Manor and accidentally bumped into him, she doubted that she would ever have seen him again.
‘Nearly there,’ Saul’s mother commented, mistaking her unhappy silence for tiredness.
‘I’ve told the girls definitely no visitors tonight,’ she added, smiling at Lucy. ‘They’re dying to meet you.’ She looked past Lucy to grin at her son. ‘Meryl says you’ve won her twenty dollars. Apparently she bet Christie that much twelve years ago, when you first went over to England, that you’d fallen for Lucy, and now she claims she was right. You’ll find my stepdaughters are inclined to be rather outspoken,’ she told Lucy. ‘An American habit that I still find startling at times. They accuse me of being too British and “buttoned-up” and claim that I’ve brought Saul up the same way, which is why he’s chosen to marry a British girl.’
They were driving through a new township now, and Lucy looked around with interest, wondering if this was the sort of place where she and Saul would eventually make their home.
As yet she had barely thought beyond the initial stages of their marriage, but now she had a bleak picture of the years ahead, empty of love and warmth, and she had to close her eyes against the tears prickling her eyelids.
‘Nearly there.’
Sophy Bradford turned off the main road into one lined with grass verges and trees, with large houses set well back from it on both sides.
She turned into the drive of one of them, activating the automatic gates. Trees and shrubs hid the house from view, but, as they drove past well-tended flower beds and lawns, Lucy recognised the expensive gloss of wealth and good taste.
The house was long and low, its walls white, and embellished with delicate iron grilles and balconies.
‘This place was built in the thirties by a wealthy bootlegger. We bought it five years ago when Harry first retired from the business. It’s too large for us really, but neither of us likes cramped surroundings.’ She stopped in front of the house and, as they got out of the car the main door was opened by a smiling Mexican maid.
‘This is Elena,’ Sophy told her, introducing the maid. ‘She and her husband, Tomás, run the house for us. Come on in. Is my husband in his study?’ she asked the maid as Lucy and Saul followed her inside.
‘No, I’m here.’
Harry Bradford was not much taller than his wife, his skin tanned and seamed by years of exposure to the elements, his hair grey. He looked frail, Lucy thought as she stepped forward to be introduced to him, but as she recognised the integrity and astuteness in his eyes she realised why Saul was so fond of him. Instinctively she knew she was in the presence of a man who lived his life by a strict code of ethics. Here was a man who was probably a little old-fashioned in his attitude towards her sex, but who would always treat people with consideration and respect.
‘So this is the girl who finally brought you down, eh, Saul? You’re very welcome here, my dear,’ he told Lucy. ‘Very welcome indeed. I’ve been telling this young hell-raiser for years that it’s high time he settled down.’
‘We’ll have dinner in an hour, Elena,’ Sophy told the maid. ‘Would you ask Tomás to take the bags to the guest suite?’
‘You’ll want to shower and change before we eat,’ Sophy told Lucy. ‘I’ll show you to your room while these two catch up on business.’
∗ ∗ ∗
The guest suite was at the far end of the house overlooking beautifully tended lawns and flower beds.
‘The pool area is over there to the right,’ Sophy told Lucy, as she stood next to her in front of the french windows of an attractively furnished private sitting-room. ‘And beyond it is the tennis court. Do you play?’
‘Not much,’ Lucy confessed. ‘Although I was keen on it at school.’
‘Well it’s the latest craze around here. Anyone who’s anyone belongs to one or other of the local clubs; most of my contemporaries have private coaching as well. Of course you won’t be wanting to involve yourself in any sports at the moment, but later… after the baby arrives…
‘The business takes Saul away quite a lot, visiting the various construction sites, and you’ll find it helpful to have a circle of friends of your own. When you eventually find a house, I recommend you join the local country club. It takes a while to make the adjustment from the English way of life to the American—I know. But don’t fall into the trap that I did, of isolating yourself completely from everyone. My first husband had to travel a great deal, and I was on my own with Saul when he did. I found I became very lonely. Of course I know you’ll have your writing, but that is a very solitary occupation.’
Sophy’s advice was sound and practical, and it warmed Lucy’s heart that Saul’s mother should be concerned for her well-being.
‘Saul’s told us about the problem with your pregnancy,’ she commented as she turned away from the window and walked over to another door. ‘This is the bedroom,’ she said as she opened it and waited for Lucy to walk through.
Like the sitting-room, the bedroom was decorated in soft yellows and blues, the floral fabric very English country-house in style, and the walls washed in a soft golden yellow and rag-rolled.
‘Anything British is very “in” over here at the moment,’ Sophy commented. ‘But I must admit it was more nostalgia than fashion that made me have this suite decorated like this.’
‘It’s lovely,’ Lucy told her, looking hurriedly away from the huge double bed. Seeing it had given her a shock. She knew that Saul’s family were not aware of the reality of their marriage, but somehow she had expected that they would be given a room with two single beds.
‘The bathroom’s through here,’ Sophy told her, indicating a door in the far wall of the bedroom, ‘and the closet’s there. Since you’re only staying the one night, I’ll tell Elena not to unpack your things. Saul says you’ll be living in his apartment until you can find somewhere more congenial. The girls will be coming round for lunch tomorrow, so you’ll get a chance to meet them then. I’ll leave you to get changed now.’
Before she left, Sophy turned to kiss her cheek.
She squeezed her arm lightly as she released her. ‘I’m very glad that Saul married you, Lucy,’ she told her, frowning slightly as she saw the sparkle of tears in the brown eyes. ‘My dear, is something wrong? Don’t you feel well?’
‘I’m fine… Just overwhelmed by your kindness,’ Lucy told her shakily. ‘I thought you’d probably loathe me, especially when I think of the way my father behaved towards Saul.’
‘George was my brother, don’t forget,’ Sophy reminded her drily. ‘I know exactly what he was like; we never saw eye to eye as children. I liked your mother very much though. She was a sweet girl.’ She frowned and then said honestly, ‘I must say I was angry when I heard what George had done with the estate—but I suppose I should have expected it. He always was almost obsessive about it. He must have been bitterly disappointed when his second marriage produced another daughter.’
Lucy was beginning to feel the effects of the long flight; exhaustion creeping over her and Saul’s mother’s warm reception of her relaxing her normal guard, she replied without thinking, ‘Oh yes, especially with Oliver being born before he and Fanny…’ As she realised what she was saying she went silent, a dark tide of guilty colour stealing up under her skin.
Sophy frowned again, and then said slowly, ‘Are you saying that Oliver is George’s child?’
She had said too much to retract now and, biting her lip, Lucy nodded her head. ‘That was why he sold off so much of the estate. He
wanted to provide for Oliver. He wanted to have him made legitimate so that he could inherit but Fanny wouldn’t hear of it. She went frantic at the very suggestion because she said she couldn’t endure the gossip it would lead to. I don’t think she ever really understood my father’s obsession for the Manor. She could see no real advantage in Oliver inheriting it, especially when my father had provided so well for him financially.’
‘If Oliver had been legitimate, would he have been able to keep the Manor going—financially I mean?’
‘No,’ Lucy told her honestly. ‘And I think in his heart my father knew that. If he himself had lived much longer he would have had to sell—either that or let the house deteriorate around him. The estimate for the roof repairs alone was nearly £250,000, more than my father realised from everything he sold.’
‘Saul intends to keep it—and to have it fully restored. He can afford to of course. Thanks to my husband Saul’s a very, very wealthy man. Harry gave both girls a million dollars when they married but Saul is his partner in the business. Those two are much on the same wavelength when it comes to the construction industry, and they’re very close—much closer in many ways than if they were actually father and son.
‘I’m glad Saul found you, Lucy. We’ve been worried about him; wanting to see him settling down with a wife and family and yet worried that he might marry the wrong girl. He’s had lots of girlfriends—even several serious relationships—but I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen him genuinely in love. I could tell when he came home when Harry was ill that he wasn’t really with us, but of course we already knew about you from his letters and phone calls.
‘I’ll leave you now,’ Sophy said with a smile. ‘If I stay here much longer it will be dinner time and neither of us will be ready.’
Alone in the suite, Lucy went to stare out of the window, turning only when Tomás came in with their cases, which he put in the bedroom. It had surprised her to hear that Saul had talked about her to his family. If all he had intended all along was simply to pay her back for her childish cruelty all those years ago, surely he would have kept quiet about her. But perhaps because of their blood relationship his mother had been curious about her? Telling herself that such speculation would do nothing but re-activate hopes she already knew were pointless, Lucy searched through her case for the silk dress she intended to wear for dinner, noting with relief that it was not creased, and taking it and fresh underwear with her into the bathroom.