The father of one of the other pupils is staying here. He suggested we join forces.’
‘Is he with you now?’
‘No, Jack,’ she snapped. ‘I told you. I’m in bed.’
Jack chuckled. ‘You’re annoyed.’
‘Such intuition! Is that why you rang? To annoy me?’
‘No. I rang to invite you to dinner at Mill House next Saturday. With the Maitlands and the Beresfords.’
‘Ah. Lucy won’t be livid after all, then.’
‘Run that past me again?’
‘I spoke to Anna earlier. She didn’t know you’d invited Mrs Beresford.’
‘Were you offended because I hadn’t asked you?’
‘Not in the least. You’re obviously repaying Anna’s hospitality. You haven’t had any from me.’
‘No,’ he agreed with a sigh, ‘just hostility.’
‘Nonsense. I’ve given you coffee.’
‘Did you give Richard Forster coffee?’
‘No. He left me very correctly on my doorstep.’
‘Are you seeing him again?’
Kate bristled. ‘As a matter of fact, he suggested dinner tonight, but Jo had a prior call on my time.’
‘Good. If he suggests next Saturday, tell him I have a prior call on your time.’
‘I most certainly will not. Besides, I haven’t accepted your invitation yet, Jack.’
‘You mean you’ve got some other man on a string as well?’
‘I could be seeing Philip Brace.’
‘Who the hell is he?’
‘The man I had dinner with tonight. He lives in Worcester. It’s not far to drive.’
‘Do you intend seeing him again?’
‘None of your business, Jack.’
Instead of hanging up on her as Kate half expected Jack laughed in her ear. ‘It is, you know. Are you coming next Saturday or not?’
‘I might as well.’
‘I’ll take that as a yes.’ He paused. ‘By the way, are you having breakfast with your new friend in the morning?’
‘Yes,’ lied Kate angrily, and disconnected, seething. Jack had absolutely no right to interfere in her social life. If she wanted to see other men she would, damn his eyes. But as she calmed down she was forced to admit the unpalatable truth. Compared with Jack Logan, all other men paled into insignificance.
Kate would have felt a whole lot better if she could have seen Jack pacing round his kitchen at Mill House at that very moment, cursing himself for behaving like a jealous school-boy. He was supposed to be patient, he reminded himself savagely. The plan was to win her back, not drive her away for good. He stopped dead so suddenly he stepped on Bran, who yelped in anguish. As he stroked the dog in apology Jack gave thanks for the second chance life had given him. This time he would make sure he took full advantage of it. He’d had no thought of marrying again, ever, until he’d met up with Kate again. He’d made work his life. But work was no longer enough. He wanted Kate back in his life for good this time, as his wife. When the time was right he’d tell her that and put his mother’s ring back on her finger where it belonged.
There was no sign of Philip Brace when Kate arrived at the school next day and she drove Joanna back to lunch at the hotel with a light heart, prepared to savour every minute as her companion chattered happily throughout the deliberately careful journey.
The meal was a conventional roast, and Joanna ate hugely and then wandered with Kate in the hotel grounds in the pale winter sunshine afterwards.
‘I’ve got another Sunday out before the end of term,’ she informed Kate. ‘But no Saturday.’
‘Never mind. I’ll drive over and back the same day, but you can still eat here if you like.’
‘Is it very expensive?’ asked Jo anxiously.
‘No,’ said Kate firmly. ‘It’s starting to rain. Let’s watch television before tea.’
‘I get tea as well?’ said Jo rapturously.
‘You bet.’ Kate cast an eye at the slender, long-legged child, already as tall as her aunt. ‘Where do you put it all?’
The afternoon passed far too quickly for Kate, but to her relief they arrived at the school just after Emma and Jane, Jo’s bosom pals. In the flurry of introductions to parents and the comparisons the girls were making about their lunch, the dreaded parting was less painful than expected and Kate was halfway home before she remembered Philip Brace.
It was an unpleasant journey, with sleet slithering against the windscreen all the way. Her brightly lit house was a hugely welcome sight when Kate eventually turned into Park Crescent, and with a sigh of relief she locked the car, hurried into the house, deactivated the alarm, then locked her front door and threw the bolts. She’d turned off her mobile phone rather than have