A Pearl for Love (6 page)

‘
We
’
ve been engaged for over a year,
’
she said flatly.
‘
Michael has commitments which will have to be resolved before we fix the wedding date.
’

‘
Oh,
’
said Catherine. She felt as though she had been treading on private ground, and it was obvious that Elizabeth had no wish to discuss anything further with her. She crossed to the lounge and threw open the door where James Sheridan seemed to be arguing with his son and Michael. All three men stood up briefly, and again Catherine felt uncomfortable. She could see the small, rather twisted smile on John
’
s face, while Michael looked very cool and remote. Uncle James
’
s colour was rather high, but he forced a smile when he saw the two girls.

‘
Oh, hello, you two. Is it time, then?
’

‘
Yes, come along, all of you,
’
said Aunt Lucille, coming into the room behind them.
‘
We
’
re all ready to begin.
’

Michael had taken Elizabeth
’
s arm, but his eyes lingered on Catherine and she was again fully aware of his attraction, as John came over and took her arm, grinning down at her.

‘
Someone looks lovely tonight,
’
he told her admiringly, and she felt her cheeks colour. As John walked beside her, she was aware of his rather quick breathing, and a glance confirmed her suspicions. In spite of his friendly greeting, and his smile, John was seething with anger, and she could sense the power in him which made even Michael seem less striking. What had been said to make him so annoyed? she wondered. She suspected more and more that all was not well in the relationship between the three men.

Could Michael be standing on his rights as a junior partner against the other two? Or was it the two younger men who were all out to modernise and move with the times, against tradition?

Now and again she had heard John advocate a more modem approach for some things, and to argue amiably with his father, who maintained that customers liked to be conservative about their jewellery.

‘
If they pay a lot of money for something, they want to be sure it isn
’
t a gimmicky thing which will go out of fashion in a year,
’
he argued.
‘
They want something which is going to last and last.
’

‘
But fashions do change, Father,
’
John had argued.
‘
I mean, just look at some of this secondhand Victorian stuff we
’
ve got in to sell. It
’
s nothing like our present-day stock, yet people are buying it all over again. Fashions do keep changing, but people aren
’
t going to throw their jewellery away just because it goes out of fashion. They
’
ll keep it, because it
’
s sure to be back
in
fashion again.
’

‘
Only good stuff that lasts. Some of that stuff is just rubbish. These Victorian pieces are of good design. Probably there was rubbish then, too, but it will have vanished long ago.
’

John sighed, then shrugged with his usual grin.

‘
All right. You
’
re still the boss.
’

‘
Good job, too
!’

Uncle James had grinned at Catherine. She had a feeling they enjoyed their squabbles, but it looked as though they had not enjoyed the last one. However, the atmosphere at the dinner table lightened a little as
Mrs.
Bannon passed round plates and Aunt Lucille talked lightly of the happenings of the day. She had been chairman at a Spring Fete for one of her pet charities, and a local artist had opened the Fete.

‘
He
’
s a wonderful artist, but an appalling speaker,
’
said Aunt Lucille.
‘
Everything he said had a double meaning, and the hall rocked with laughter. He was very surprised, and it was all rather embarrassing.
’

‘
I should have thought it was a howling success, Mother,
’
John commented, his eyes dancing.

‘
Well, it wasn
’
t at all as it was meant to be,
’
said Aunt Lucille, and Uncle James, too, began to chuckle.

‘
What did he say?
’

‘
You should have been there to hear,
’
Aunt Lucille told him pointedly.
‘
I told you the children could manage on their own for one day.
’

‘
Children
!
’
shrieked John and Elizabeth in chorus.

This time Michael caught Catherine
’
s glance across the table, and she saw that he, too, was beginning to laugh a little.

‘
Not
on a Saturday,
’
said Uncle James firmly.

‘
Well, all right. But I refuse to satisfy your curiosity by repeating the speech.
’

‘
I had a funny woman in today who showed me a ring she had bought from the fashion jewellery counter of a large store. A friend was sure a mistake had been made and the stones were real, and she wanted me to confirm this, and buy it back from her! I kept trying to tell her it was only paste, but her friend had known better, and I just couldn
’
t convince her. She went off in a huff, no doubt to try someone else. Some people are odd about their jewellery. If anyone suggests their piece is valuable, then nothing will convince than that it isn
’
t.
’

‘
It
’
s like that with watches sometimes,
’
agreed Michael.
‘
They won
’
t believe that a watch can wear out after years of faithful service. The same old watch keeps coming back again and again for repair, and they can become rather offended if one suggests that it
’
s suffering from old age. It kept perfect time for Grandfather, so why not now?
’

‘
Must my family always talk shop?
’
asked Lucille.
‘
Let
’
s go through to the drawing room f
o
r coffee, shall we?
’

‘
Of course, my dear,
’
said James.
‘
Then perhaps you
’
ll give us that speech by your artist friend!
’

In the drawing room Catherine found herself sitting next to Michael on a large, rather sumptuous couch, while Elizabeth had plumped herself down on the other side, then jumped up again, excusing herself to go and find her handkerchief. James had taken John into the study for a moment, and Catherine found, to her slight discomfort, that she and Michael were alone.

‘
Oh. Perhaps I
’
d better see if I can help Aunt Lucille with anything,
’
she said confusedly.

‘
Oh, must you? Surely everyone can
’
t desert me, or I shall think I have B.O. or something.
’
His dark eyes suddenly glinted rather wickedly into hers.
‘
Besides, I don
’
t think I
’
ve yet said hello properly to you, and that I
’
m glad to have you with us.
’

‘
Thank you,
’
she said, faint colour in her cheeks.
‘
I was hoping you wouldn
’
t think I was in the way. I mean, sometimes I feel that I
’
ve been rather foisted on Sheridan and Rodgers, and you, being a Rodgers, might have resented me since it was the Sheridans who brought me here.
’

‘
The thought never occurred to me,
’
Michael told her.
‘
Besides
...’

‘Wh
at?
’

‘
I doubt if I
’
d have been consulted, anyway,
’
he told her, with a small laugh.

‘
Oh, but surely, since you
’
re a partner
...’

He glanced at her, frowning.
‘
I
’
m the son of James Sheridan
’
s partner,
’
he said flatly.
‘
I
’
ve no more authority than...’

‘
John?
’

‘
Perhaps. You
’
re David Lyall
’
s daughter, aren
’
t you? The pearl man.
’

‘
Yes, but my parents are dead now, and I
...
well, I
’
m having to work for my living.
’

‘
Not exactly for your living, surely. Not with your father fishing out pearls.
’

She laughed.
‘
And you a jeweller! I would have thought you would know that it isn
’
t all that easy to find really wonderful pearls, enough to become rich.
’

‘
No,
but
...’
He
glanced at her curiously.
‘
Never mind. I think Elizabeth said her father had been made your guardian or something.
’

‘
He
’
s my godfather, though we haven
’
t really seen much of the Sheridans over the years. My father kept in touch, and called in when he went to London on business. It
’
s awfully good of Uncle James and Aunt Lucille to give me a home like this.
’

‘
What were you doing otherwise?
’

‘
I had a flat in Perth, but Un
cl
e James has seen to it all for me. It
’
s been let and the things I want to keep are in store.
’

‘
In store in Perth
?’

‘
Yes, though I
’
ve a few boxes and cases to go through here. I keep putting it off, but I
’
ll have to start to it all one of these days. I
...
I
’
m only getting my sea legs back after
...
after the accident,
’
she said, a trifle shakily.

‘
Poor Catherine
!’
His eyes had grown rather soft as he looked down at her.

‘
Oh, it
’
s all right,
’
she said hastily.
‘
I
’
m tons better now. Coming here has helped enormously.
’

‘
I
’
ve no doubt,
’
he said, rather dryly.
‘
They
’
ll make you very welcome. But don
’
t go grovelling with gratitude. Take it from me, there
’
s no need.
’
His voice was suddenly harsh, and she felt an odd twinge of distaste when she looked up into his dark, moody face. This man was an enigma to her. He
could be bright and charming, then in a moment she could feel an almost sulky moodiness in him, and a sort of smouldering anger. Against whom? At first she had wondered if it could be herself, but now she knew it wasn
’
t. Yet it would appear that Michael Rodgers had everything which should bring happiness to a young man
...
good looks, a share in a fine, well established business, and someone as attractive and suitable as Elizabeth for his
fiancée
. He seemed to be welcomed into the Sheridan family, so what could be wrong?