Winter at Cray (26 page)

‘
I wasn
’
t,
’
he admitted blandly.
‘
I
’
m a great believer
in the adage that says enough
’
s as good as a feast. You got so tired of being urged to marry Stephen that you finally turned him down, didn
’
t you?
’

‘
I don
’
t see—
’
she began, and he raised a hand, grinning at her reflection.

‘
I know it doesn
’
t concern me, but I know anyway, I
’
m quite sure your—our cousin couldn
’
t have resisted telling me if you
’
d said yes, so I drew my own conclusions. I also explained to Robert,
’
he went on,
‘
that grown-ups don
’
t marry one another with quite such gay abandon as he seemed to think. It takes long and careful consideration and I haven
’
t known you for very long—although that
’
s not strictly true.
’

‘
Not true?
’
She turned then, moved by curiosity, and met the warm, dark gaze as it looked down at her.
‘
I
’
ve never met you before, have I?
’

He shook his head, trying to look solemn and betrayed by that gleam of laughter as usual.
‘
Not physically,
’
he allowed,
‘
but I always had an uneasy feeling that you existed somewhere. My granny warned me that one day I
’
d get sidetracked by a girl who
’
d fell me with one glance of her beautiful blue eyes. Yours
are
blue, aren
’
t they?
’
He bent closer and looked deep into her eyes until she hastily lowered
her lashes over them.
‘
She said this wonderful girl would make me forget my vows of bachelorhood and a career.
’

Louise thought of Essie and how she would view this scene, and of Stephen too with his possessive jealousy, and for a moment felt a twinge of conscience, despite the way her pulse was racing as she looked at him.

‘
It sounds very melodramatic put like that,
’
she told him, and he shook his head, his features solemn but belied by those expressive eyes.

‘
Maybe
,’
he allowed.
‘
It
’
s probably the hack journalist in me coming out, but it
’
s true just the same.
’

‘
Did you explain
that
to Robert too?
’
She no longer pretended that she would or could take offence at anything he said, but felt the surge of excitement that filled her with the desire to laugh with him at the situation they found themselves in.

He shook his head again.
‘
No, but I tried to explain that no woman would think I was much of a husband if I was always off somewhere or other at short notice like now. And I said it was unlikely that you would share his enthusiasm for me as a stepfather, because you
’
d made some pretty broad hints at various times that my room was very definitely preferable to my company.
’

‘
But—
’

‘
I also,
’
he went one as if she had not spoken,
‘
told him that you were unlikely to change your mind in such a short time to the extent of marrying me.
’

‘
That was very clever of you.
’
His puzzlement was genuine and she knew the excitement that stirred in her made her eyes shine as she looked up at him from under her lashes.

‘
Well,
’
she explained,
‘
it allowed you to put the blame for his disappointment firmly on to me.
’

‘
Oh, I see, I
’
m sorry about that.
’
He put his two hands firmly in the middle of her back and drew her so close to him that she was obliged to tilt back her head if she was to look at him.
‘
Does he have to be disappointed?
’
he asked softly.
‘
I know it
’
s a very short time and I have been rather like the man who came to dinner and stayed on and on, also I
’
m likely to be flitting about the world for some years yet because it
’
s my job and I wouldn
’
t be happy doing anything else, but I
do
love you, Louise. I
’
ve loved you
ever
since I stepped off that boat and saw you standing there like some lovely little Nemesis waiting in the wilderness.
’

‘
You hated Berren,
’
she accused, sounding a little breathless as she absorbed the full meaning of what he was saying,
‘
but you should really see it in the spring, Jon, it
’
s beautiful then.
’

‘
It
’
s beautiful now,
’
he averred solemnly as if he had never thought otherwise,
‘
and stop changing the subject. Will you marry me or will you have me and Robert hating you for the rest of our lives?
’

She laughed softly, still scarcely believing what was happening, her fingers absently stroking the soft wool of his sweater.
‘
I can
’
t have you doing that,
’
she told him.
‘
For Robert
’
s sake I shall have to marry you.
’

He looked down at her, suddenly sober.
‘
For no other reason
?’
he asked.

Louise looked up at him, seeing another face, hearing another voice for a second, then she shook her head and impulsively tip-toed to kiss him gently beside his mouth, dismissing the malicious ghost of Simon Dupont for ever.

‘
No other reason, except that I love you,
’
she whispered, and when his arms tightened around her and his mouth found hers, the big room seemed suddenly no longer cold and empty, but warm and full of life.