‘I was attracted to him, certainly. He was charming, witty and very good company. But until that horrible night I’d never come up against the real Rupert Chance.’ She shrugged. ‘It clinched my decision to give up my job. I’d worked in Personnel for years and prided myself on my judgement when it came to people. If that was no longer working for me it was time to call it a day.’
‘Did Joanna like him?’
‘She never met him. He was abroad at the time of the funeral. My relationship with Rupert—if you could call it that—lasted less than a school term. Why?’
‘Her reaction to him might have been interesting.’ Jack gave her a crooked smile. ‘I get a card from Sydney every Christmas, with the current snapshot of Dawn, husband and progeny—three sons at the last count. Her way of telling me she’s a respectable matron these days.’
‘Is she still gorgeous?’ asked Kate, hoping Dawn had lost her looks by now.
‘In a different, earth-mother kind of way I suppose she is.’ Jack shrugged. ‘She looks contented with her life, and who can ask more than that?’
‘Are you contented with yours?’
He was silent for a moment, his eyes on the fire. ‘I’m head of a very successful outfit,’ he said slowly, ‘with a beautiful house here and a flat in London, and I’m the proud owner of several classic cars and a great dog. So I must be contented.’ He turned to look at her. ‘Are you?’
‘Yes,’ said Kate firmly. ‘I’m going to make a good life here for Joanna.’
‘She’s fortunate to have you to care for her.’
She shook her head. ‘It’s my good fortune to have Jo.’
‘I’d like to meet her some time. You don’t like the idea?’ he added as she frowned.
‘It’s more a case of whether Jo likes it. I’d have to ask her first.’
Jack got up, clicking his fingers to the dog, who padded after him obediently. ‘I’ll just put him out for a moment.’
Kate sat very still when she was alone, staring, unseeing, into the fire.
‘You’re still frowning,’ said Jack, coming back into the room.
Kate managed a smile. ‘Just thinking. Where’s Bran?’
‘In bed.’
‘Sensible chap. I should be making tracks for my own bed soon.’
‘First tell me what’s making you look so blue, Katie.’
Damn. She’d always turned to marshmallow when he called her that. ‘You want the truth?’
He smiled crookedly. ‘Probably not, but I promise I’ll take it like a man.’
‘To revert to the friendship issue—’
‘You’ve changed your mind?’ Jack sat down beside her and took her hand.
‘No.’
‘But you’re thinking of Joanna. You chose her without hesitation over the objectionable Rufus—’
‘Rupert.’
‘Right. So it was obvious you’d make the same choice if she objected to me.’
‘Exactly.’ Kate smiled ruefully. ‘So if I’m too much work as a friend I’ll understand, Jack.’
‘I’ve never been afraid of work.’
‘I know that. Your father is very proud of you.’
His eyes softened. ‘The funny thing is, Kate, that if you’d stayed with me I might not have achieved the same level of success. The all out concentration would have been impossible with you around to distract me.’
‘Then maybe I did you a good turn by running off.’
‘It didn’t feel like it at the time,’ he retorted.
‘Nor to me.’ Kate shook her head in wonder. ‘I was such a girl when I met you, Jack. But I grew up pretty quickly after you dumped me.’
His eyes glittered dangerously. ‘Your memory’s at fault, Katherine Durant. It was you who dumped me.’
‘Only technically!’ She glared back. ‘I had to salvage some remnant of pride! You wouldn’t even meet me to say goodbye.’
‘I was afraid I’d go down on my knees and beg you to stay.’
They stared at each other in silence broken suddenly by a log falling in the fireplace.
‘That’s an unlikely picture,’ said Kate at last.
‘The knees maybe,’ he conceded. ‘But not the begging.’
She shook her head. ‘I can’t imagine it.’
He shrugged. ‘It belongs in the past, anyway, Kate. Far better to focus on the present.’
‘You’re right about that,’ she said with a sigh. ‘When Liz and Robert were killed, my own mortality hit me in the face. I even made a will.’
‘Good move. Thinking in worst scenario terms,’ he added, ‘what provision is made for Joanna if anything happens to you, Kate?’
‘Guardianship would go to her Sutton grandparents, with Anna and Ben named in the will as trustees.’ She yawned suddenly. ‘Sorry. It must be this fire. I really must go home now, Jack. Sorry