Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice (2 page)

   "Some things never change. See you in the morning, then, Jim." Rob ambled away toward a redheaded woman who was apparently more inclined to dance. Cassie watched as they took hands in the line of dancers.

   "Sorry." Jim seemed suddenly interested in his shoes. "I was going to warn you about that."

   Cassie was well practiced at looking assured when she felt nothing of the sort. "No need. I don't have any problems with Rob."

   "He won't be here the whole summer, just a couple weeks, if that's any consolation. And he isn't involved with Lisa anymore."

   "It doesn't matter." Cassie ignored the stab of pain. Like it or not, she would have to get used to seeing Rob, especially if she wrote the paper with Jim. It would hurt, but there wasn't anything new about that. But the spawning results were amazing. She was already thinking of how to present them.

Although the start of the season was a few weeks away, tourists already clogged Water Street, the sole thoroughfare through the town of Woods Hole. The low blast of a ferry horn announced the arrival of another crowd of visitors.

   "Erin, this has to be quick. I have a lot of work to do." Years of friendship had taught Cassie that men came before work for Erin.

   "Even you have to eat lunch, Cassie, and I want you to meet Scott." Erin placed her hand behind Cassie's elbow and urged her on.

   There was nothing wrong with a sandwich at her lab bench, like every other day, but meeting Erin's latest crush was important, too. Cassie needed to check him out before Erin became too involved. "Is he from the MBL or the Oceanographic Institution?"

   "Neither. He works at Cambridge Biotechnology."

   An industry scientist, then, rather than a researcher. It could be worse. Cambridge Biotech was reputable, at least. "What does he do there?"

   Erin scuffed her feet against the curb. "He's the president."

   "He's what?" Cassie stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk. "And you're dating him? You just applied for a job there!"

   "He doesn't know about that. I don't want him to think I'm using him to get a job. And we're not really dating. Not yet, anyway."

   Cassie forced herself to keep walking. Men had hurt Erin too many times, and this was asking for trouble. "What's he doing in Woods Hole if he's with Cambridge Biotech?"

   "He has a summerhouse here, and he came to a lecture at the MBL. That's where I met him."

   The town drawbridge, raised to allow passage of sea-faring boats to and from the inner harbor, blocked their way. Cassie was glad for the brief respite. They waited with the other pedestrians behind the safety barrier as the boats, a pleasure craft and an MBL tug, left the harbor for the dark waters of Vineyard Sound.

   When the bridge finally creaked down, they made their way across to the rambling, grey-shingled restaurant on the opposite shore of the narrow channel. The Dock of the Bay Café, with its unpretentious atmosphere and view over the harbor entrance, was one of Cassie's favorites. She wondered if it would be up to the standards of the president of Cambridge Biotech.

   Cassie opened the screen door and stepped onto the worn wooden floor of the restaurant. No men sitting alone. Scott must be late.

   A fragment of conversation drifted past her from the nearest table. "It won't be so bad. You might even have a good time," one man said to the other.

   "I doubt it," replied a deeper voice. It was the man from the dance, the one who had turned her down. "You don't know who they are or where they're from. They could be groupies. Or criminals." His tone suggested the two were equivalent.

   Erin came in behind Cassie. With a bright smile, she addressed the first speaker. "Scott, it's so nice to see you again."

   Cassie recognized the deeply tanned man with curly hair now. She stiffened as she realized what the subject of their conversation had been. So Scott's friend didn't like having lunch with two little nobodies from nowhere. Used to more elite society, no doubt.

   "Hi, Scott." Erin drew out the chair opposite him. "This is Cassie."

   He shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Cassie. This is my friend Calder."

   The tall man beside him rose to his feet. "A pleasure." He sounded like it was anything but.

   Cassie watched with amusement as he shook Erin's hand without any evidence of pleasure. When he turned to her, she smiled sweetly up at him and said, "Oh, yes, we've already met."

   "We have?" he asked, taken aback and clearly none too happy about the possibility.

   "Oh, yes," she said mockingly. "You're the one who goes to dances even though you don't want to dance."

   He continued to look puzzled for a moment, and then his brow cleared. "Oh, the dance last night, you mean. I wasn't there to dance; I was just looking for Scott. I needed to… ask him something," he said, his voice declaring the subject closed.

   Cassie raised an eyebrow, finding no evidence of apology or regret in his tone. "Well, to each his own." Unable to resist temptation, she leaned forward and said conspiratorially, "And for the record, Erin would be the groupie, so I must be the criminal element."

   For a fleeting moment, he looked uncomfortable. "What's your crime, then?"

   She lowered her voice dramatically. "I murder microscopic organisms and steal their secrets." Little did he know. She walked around the table to the empty seat by the window. Maybe if the great and powerful Calder understood she wasn't looking for a boyfriend, it wouldn't be so bad. "I hadn't realized anyone was coming with Scott."

   "I just arrived last night." He seemed more interested in the menu than anything she had to say.

   Scott turned to Erin as a young waitress came to take their order. "What do you recommend?"

   "I'm having the Gorgonzola salad, but the best thing here is dessert. They make wonderful pies."

   Calder was the last to order. "I'll take the white marlin."

   He might as well have used a cattle prod on Cassie. "Did you know white marlin is a threatened species?"

   "No, I didn't. In that case I'll have… what would you recommend?" Calder turned his dark eyes on her.

   His piercing gaze made her oddly uncomfortable. It was a relief to look down at the menu. "The striped bass and the mahi-mahi are fine, though mahi-mahi won't be local. Any of the shellfish. Not the cod."

   "
Cod
are endangered?"

   "Threatened, not endangered. Overfishing is a major problem."

   "I'll go with the bass, then." He handed the menu to the waitress.

   Cassie felt guilty about the sharpness of her tone. Snob or not, it wasn't Calder's fault Erin had decided to arrange this ridiculous meeting. If she had thought twice before opening her mouth, she wouldn't have said anything. "Thanks. I realize it doesn't make a difference when the fish is already dead, but I hate seeing it."

   "I'd rather not support that kind of thing." He checked his watch.

   So much for a peace offering. If he wanted to be aloof, that was fine with her. She turned her attention to Erin, who was explaining the history of the restaurant to Scott.

   There was a brief silence when the subject was exhausted. Calder seemed to have nothing to say for himself. Cassie wasn't fond of small talk herself, but she couldn't sit there silently through the whole meal. "Scott, Erin tells me you have a summerhouse here."

   "Yes. I've always wanted one, and this year I finally gave in." Scott had a charming smile. For Erin's sake, Cassie hoped the charm was more than skin-deep.

"Is it here in town?"

   "Just outside, on Penzance Point. Do you know where that is?"

   Of course Scott's house would be in the most exclusive part of Woods Hole. No doubt the president of Cambridge Biotech could afford it easily. His summerhouse probably cost enough to fund half the research at the MBL. She wondered if she could plead a heavy workload and leave early.

   "This is my tenth summer here, so I know my way around pretty well." Cassie paused as the waitress set a bowl of fisherman's stew in front of her.

   "The views are stunning. Have you been out there?" Scott asked.

   "No." Cassie shelled a mussel with the ease of long practice. Penzance Point was privately owned; there was a guard on the road to keep out riff-raff like her.

   Calder carefully moved his French fries aside with his fork. "So you don't live here year-round?"

   Cassie's smile had an edge to it. "No, I'm a college professor. I come to the MBL every summer to do my research. I've had my own lab here since I got my PhD. Before that I was working with one of the senior researchers, studying species of fish threatened by overfishing." To her satisfaction, she could see Calder taking stock of her again. What had he thought she did, waited tables for a living? It was a good thing he didn't know the rest of her background. He would probably run a mile if he knew the truth. She looked out the window to avoid his eyes, pretending interest in a sailboat coming up the channel.

   "You're interested in fish populations?" Scott asked.

   "That was my grad school research. Now I'm looking at the effects of fertilizer run-off on the ecology of the salt marsh."

   "Salt marsh? Sounds messy." Scott sliced into his lobster tail.

   Erin said, "Careful, Scott. The salt marsh is Cassie's one true love."

   Cassie laughed. "That's right. It's calm, peaceful, and more reliable than a man. And it won't waste my time when I'm trying to get tenure."

   Calder crossed his arms, but Cassie thought he looked more amused than anything else. At least now he wouldn't expect anything from her. Maybe she could relax a little.

   "You do research too, don't you, Erin?" Scott refilled his water glass from the pitcher on the table.

   "Yes, I'm helping Cassie with her study."

   Calder paused, his glass halfway to his mouth. "I thought Scott said you were in biotechnology."

   Erin cast a distressed look at Cassie. "I am. I'm taking the summer off from my dissertation research. Cassie and I worked here as undergraduates, and I wanted to do it one last time before I started teaching full-time."

   Two lies in one sentence, but Cassie could understand why Erin didn't want Scott to know her real reason for being in Woods Hole. And a year ago the part about teaching would have been true, before Erin decided she was better suited for a job in industry than academia.

   "Well, that's Woods Hole for you." Cassie gestured toward the window with her fork. "Half the population has a doctorate. There are probably enough advanced degrees in town to sink a battleship. You'd better be careful about how you talk to any odd-looking old men muttering to themselves, because they just might be Nobel laureates. It's a world unto itself, like summer camp for grown-up scientists. One little town, and it has the MBL, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the National Marine Fisheries, and a half a dozen other research groups."

   Erin, no doubt grateful for the change of subject, began to tell stories of amusing Woods Hole encounters. The moment of tension passed, and Erin and Scott chatted as they ate, with occasional additions from Cassie.

   Cassie noticed Calder was watching her. She wondered how far he would take his silent withdrawal. Scott and Erin were managing fine on their own. "So, are you always this talkative, or is it just the company?"

   This time his dark eyes didn't move from her. "When I have something to say, I'll say it."

   Cassie opened her eyes wide in a mockery of being impressed. "Well, if I have to carry the conversation all by myself, I hope you don't mind hearing about the life cycle of
Pagurus longicarpus and the impact of alga
l overgrowth on the population. In detail."

   To her surprise, a faint smile curved his mouth. "I'm sure it will be fascinating."

   So he did have a sense of humor. Unexpectedly, Cassie wanted to smile back. Just then she heard a burst of giggling from behind the counter. Several of the young women who worked in the restaurant had congregated there, looking at their table. One of them pointed at Calder, sitting with his back to them.

   "You have a fan club." Cassie gestured with her head, grateful for the distraction from her awareness of him.

   His smile disappeared as if it had never existed. "Damn it. Scott, I'm going back to the house before there's a scene."

   "Come on, Calder, they're not doing anything. Just ignore them."