‘For heaven’s sake, Kate,’ said Anna in exasperation, ‘surely you could have taken the day off today of all days! No wonder you sound on edge.’
‘Why should I be on edge?’
‘I assume that it’s dinner for six tonight?’
‘I think so.’
‘Then Lucy Beresford—the biggest gossip in town—will take it for granted that you and Jack are, or are intending to be, a couple too.’
‘Oh, God! I hadn’t thought of that.’
‘Well, I had. Have you seen Jack lately?’
‘We shared a Chinese here last night.’
‘Does this mean you’re getting back with him, then?’ Anna demanded.
‘No. At least not in the way you mean.’
‘Pity. Now tell me what you’re wearing so we don’t clash.’
Kate had signed on with a doctor, and even with Anna’s dentist, but had never made it to a hairdresser. She wished she had, later, when her hair refused to behave. Her intention had been a sleek, sophisticated knot to to wear with her sleek, sophisticated suit, but her slippery hair refused to stay up, and after a while she gave in and left it loose. But when she viewed the overall effect with the suit she wasn’t unhappy. No cleavage or anything clinging tonight, not even jewellery, other than her gold watch .The mannish tailoring of her black velvet trousers and jacket was softened only by the gleam of a white silk camisole. And, because the weather was no more in party mood than she was, Kate pulled knee-length black boots over the velvet trousers to protect them from the pouring rain, belted on her trench coat, switched on the burglar alarm, locked the door behind her and stood under the shelter of the door pediment to aim the remote at her little two-seater.
When Kate reached Mill House the door was standing open and Jack, wearing a more casual suit than usual, came to meet her with a golf umbrella.
‘Hi,’ she said brightly. ‘What a night! Am I the first?’
‘Yes. Come and talk to Bran before I banish him to the boot room.’
‘Hold on, I’m just collecting my shoes.’
When she slid from the car Jack shouted, ‘Sit,’ to the retriever as he came bounding towards her in welcome, and Kate bent to scratch Bran’s ear, full of admiration when he obeyed his master instead of jumping all over her as he obviously wanted to.
‘You are so gorgeous,’ she told him, and Jack laughed.
‘Just like his master.’
‘You wish!’
The dog trotted happily beside them as they went inside. In the small outer hall Kate exchanged her boots for the silverheeled black silk shoes and handed her coat to Jack, her eyebrows raised when he stood looking at her in silence.
‘You don’t approve?’ she demanded. ‘Should I have worn a dress?’
‘You look sensational and you know it,’ he said gruffly. ‘Your hair looks hellish sexy like that with the tailored suit.’
‘I wasn’t aiming for sexy,’ she protested.
‘Then God help me when you do!’
‘Did you get my message about the flowers, Jack?’ she said hastily. ‘They were lovely. Thank you.’
‘I aim to please.’ He clicked his fingers to the dog. ‘I’ll hang your coat in the boot room. Come and meet Molly.’
Two women turned round from the range, smiling, as Jack led Kate into the kitchen.
‘Ladies, this is my friend, Kate Durant,’ he announced.
‘I’m Molly Carter,’ said the young one, surprising Kate. ‘This is my mum, Hazel. She’s helping out tonight.’
‘Nice to meet you,’ said Hazel, a neat figure in a white lawn apron over a black dress. ‘I’m just the help. Molly does the cooking.’
‘And it’s wonderful,’ Kate assured her. ‘I tasted some of it the other night!’
Molly smiled, pleased. Small and sturdy in jeans and vast white apron, with blonde hair in a braid down her back, she was much younger than Kate had expected. ‘I hope you like the menu for tonight. It’s simple because the boss thought it best not to be too adventurous, but I hope it will suit everybody.’
‘No doubt about that,’ Kate assured her, as Jack came back from exiling Bran.
‘Right then, Kate,’ he said briskly. ‘Let’s have a drink before the others arrive. Any bits and pieces, Molly?’
‘Cold ones on the coffee table, Boss, hot ones to follow when the others arrive,’ she informed him, and went back to stirring something in a saucepan.
Kate followed Jack to the main room and stopped in her tracks. Spring flowers in a shallow creamware bowl sat between the promised dishes of canapés on the big rosewood table, but the sight that brought a smile to her