A Pretend Engagement (19 page)

Varnie wished she had known that Leon was spending the same fraught night that she had wearied through.Though perhaps matters had worked out for the best. Had he taken her in his arms again, in her bedroom or in the kitchen for that matter-in a hold of comfort or whateverwho knew what chemistry might not have erupted between them?

`You went to sleep around the time I left?' she offered.

`I swear I slept no longer than ten minutes before I was awake again, and again enduring the torture of waiting for six o'clock.' `You left your room around six?"

'And just couldn't believe my eyes when I found your note.' He looked at her solemnly then, and after some moments commented slowly, `You may have thought it best to leave,Varnie Sutton, but I didn't.'

`Oh,' she murmured, and tried her hardest not to read anything there that simply was not there. `Well, you can't be thinking of staying at Aldwyn House for much longer. And, from what I've seen you're quite able to look after yourself. And in any casethere's plenty of foodstuffs in the freezer. All you-'

`The freezer may be full.' He cut her off and very near shattered her when quietly he added, `But the house is empty-without you.'

Her mouth felt dry, and her heart started to pound, and Varnie was having the most dreadful time in trying to tellherself that Leon did not mean anything at all by that last statement. It must be all very much part of his charm. And yet-he was looking at her very much as if he did mean something, that he did feel that the house was empty without her. 'Um-well, I would have left at some time...' she attempted.

`But not before I had a note of your address,' he butted in. He wanted to know where to contact her? Oh, heavens. `You arrive in the dead of night,' he went on, as if laying a charge at her door, `and depart in the dark of early morning, with not the smallest intention of letting me know where you're going. Do I mean so little to you?' he demanded.

Oh-keep away fromthere ! No way was she going to tell him what a very great deal he meant to her. `How did you find my address?' she asked, sheer desperation to hide what a very great deal he meant to her bringing a diverting question.

Leon stared unsmiling at her, and she thought for several panicking moments that he was going to press for an answer to his question before he answered hers. But all at once he seemed to relent, just as if supposing it was a question he could go back to when her question had been dealt with.

`I rang John Metcalfe,' he said simply.

`You ra... !In Australia!' she gasped. And, while her brain tried to cope with what Johnny might or might not have told Leon, `I didn't know you had his phone number.' `I didn't,' he agreed. `But he was the only person I knew whom I thought would have your address-or at the very least your phone number.'

Oh, my word. Varnie took a steadying breath, trying not to read anything ridiculously hopeful into Leon seeming a touch keen to contact her. `You didn't have his Australian number, you said?' Take it slowly, Varnie, she advised. You could fall flat on your face at any moment.

`I rang my PA.'

`At six in the morning!'

He shook his head. `I pointed my car in this direction and rang her at seven.'

He had followed her? Without knowing where she lived-his only clue being that she lived Cheltenham way-he had followed her! `Your PA had Johnny's number?" 'Not with her. It's company policy for senior management to leave a contact number when they go on holiday,' Leon explained. `While Metcalfe doesn't have that status, I was hoping that Evelyn had been her usual ultra-efficient self and had included Metcalfe because, basically, he works from the top floor. She rang me as soon as she reached the office.'

`You rang him from your car?"

'I thought I'd better do it from a landline. I stopped at a hotel.' Leon paused, his eyes watchful,then he went on, `He tells me he's getting married. In fact he's so animated about it I had a hard job prising him away from that subject to tell me what I wanted to know.' Leon's gaze was thoughtful. `How do you feel about it?' he asked.'Metcalfe getting married?"

'I'm very pleased for him,' Varnie answered truthfully.

`You are? You knew he was getting married?'

Varnie did not understand his severe expression, but smiled and quite without thought stated, `That's part of the reason for my parents being out just now. They're checking on flights for our trip to Australia to see him married.' Leon stared at her. `Your parents know him too?' he questioned. Then bluntly, a touch aggressively, she thought, `Don't you think it's time you told me what the hell has been going on?'

In her view she did not owe him an explanation, and had no need to tell him anything. Against that, though, she loved the wretched man. `I-um-haven't been totally honest with you,' she confessed.

`Tell me something I don't know!' he grunted, and, plainly sifting through what he so far knew, `How did you know Metcalfe is getting married? He hadn't met the girl before he left for Australia. Ah-he rang you on your famous mobile!'

`Famous?"

'I got to thinking it was very convenient, Metcalfe phoning you more or less at the same time that you were dumping the married Martin,' Leon replied, going on to challenge, 'Metcalfe didn't ring you when you were en route from the airport, did he?'

Varnie stared at Leon and felt a nervous laugh rise to her throat.`To be honest, no."

'Hmph!' he grunted. `And all that guff about not wanting to come here because you didn't want your parents to witness your upset was just so much baloney?"

'No!' she denied. `That was true. I was on my way home when I thought about my parents-they'd had a bit of a stressful time recently. I decided to lick my wounds at Aldwyn House instead.'

`You'd stayed there before,' he documented, and, as intelligent as ever, `You thought the house would be empty and knew where to find the key.' He halted, and then questioned, `Don't you think you were taking a bit of a risk?'

Oh, heck, there was nothing for it. Retribution was here-but if she were going to go down, it would be with colours flying. `There was no risk, so far as I was aware at the time,' she replied. `Nor was there any need for me to look for a key.I already hadd a set of keys.' She wished she felt as cool as that had sounded. `I...' She coughed. The moment was unavoidable now. `I-um-own the place,' she brought out faintly.

Silence, deathly silence greeted her announcement. `You own Aldwyn House?' Leon demanded harshly. `My grandfather-I told you he had recently died-he left it to me.' Oh, grief, Leon's expression was grim.

`Let me get this straight,' he said toughly. `I've been living in your house? The property I've been living in is owned by you?' And, with anger there, `Why the blazes didn't you tell me? Why, in thunder...? Hell's bells, you've cooked and cleaned for me! You-'

`It wasn't so bad.' She attempted to interrupt.

`Talk!'He cut her off. `Start talking-and make it the truth!' he rapped, and, his quick thinking mind there again, `Why, for instance, if as you say it's your house, does Metcalfe have a key he can hand out to all and sundry?' he demanded.

Any sign of her trying to appear cool promptly fell away. 'He-um-didn't know I would be paying a visit,' she mumbled.`And?' Leon was relentless.

'And-er...' `The keys"

'I-um-gave it to him-er-some while ago,' she owned. Oh, heavens, Leon was back to being the way he had been when she had first met him.

Her initial instinct was to revert to the snappy way she had been too. But she had got to know him a little, and, aside from being deeply in love with him, she knew he had a more sensitive side.

`And...' she began again, but did not know quite where to start.

Leon was there again, leaving the issue of her giving John Metcalfe a key in abeyance for the moment, but pressing determindly for more information just the same. `You didn't know I was there-at Aldwyn House?' He kept up his interrogation.

`It was a bit of a shock to see you there,' she mumbled, feeling a familiar pink around her ears as she recalled trotting into his room stitchless. `A lot of a shock, actually.' Leon observed her high colour. But then something else struck him. `You weren't expecting me to be there at all? You thought believed-were sure-that you'd have the house all toyourself !' He stared dumbfounded at her, before accusing, `As far as you were concerned I was an interloper!'

Varnie didn't know what to say to make it better. 'It-er-as I said,it was a shock to see you there. But I knew who you were,' she hurried on. `I'd seen that picture of you in the paper, thumping Neville King.'

`Why didn't you tell me to clear off?' Leon wanted to know. `You didn't know at that stage that you had a "tenant".'

`I was going to,' she had to admit. `As soon as you came downstairs I was going to take great delight in throwing you out. Only by the time I saw you again I had found a note from Mrs. Lloyd-she's the lady who used to work for my grandfather. The note was meant for Johnny, apologising that she wasn't able to look after his guest. I was still ready to throw you out, though,' she owned. `Only before I had the chance you said something about Johnny being your new and soon to be short-lived assistant, and...'

`And?'Leon prompted when she hesitated. `Well, Johnny loved that job so much. Andand it looked as if you were about to sack him. I couldn't...' Her voice faded. `I couldn't let you. I couldn't just walk away and let you do that.'

`You couldn't?'

She shook her head. `Johnny so wanted that job, and I knew just how desperate he would be to keep it.'

`So desperate that he told me this morning that he would be staying in Australia and intended writing to me with his resignation?'

`Hasn't he done that yet?' she exclaimed, though didn't know why she was surprised. It was so typically Johnny in 'airy-fairy-other priorities' mode.

`You knew he was going to resign?' Leon picked up.

There seemed little point in denying anything now. `He rang on Friday, wanting to speak with you to-'

`Last Friday?' Leon took up-as, had she been thinking at all clearly she would have realised that he would. `You never thought to give me the message?'

She did not care too much to be taken to task. `Johnny said he would write to you. I-er-believed he meant to do it that day.'

`You didn't tell him that I was still there-at Aldwyn House?"

'He was all sort of excited about getting married.'

`So he didn't know you'd been doing a housekeeping stint for me?' Varnie shook her head, and Leon gave her a frustrated kind of look. `What goes on, Varnie?' he wanted to know. `You obviously care very much for Metcalfe. To the extent you'd stay on cooking and cleaning for me-in property you own just to ensure he keeps a job he wanted so badly he's given it up without thinking twice. You-'

`Johnny did love that job with you.' She defended her brother. Though suddenly saw that was irrelevant, and could only fall back on, `Protecting Johnny has become something of a habit, I suppose,' she said lamely.

`Protecting him? Why would he need protecting?' Leon demanded, as she had known, as sharp as a tack.

`I don't know!' She was getting exasperated. `Johnny's different. He has trouble settling down to things. He's clever,' she defended, 'but-but...' Helplessly, she gave it up. `I love him,' she said simply-and saw what she had said seemed to have shaken Leon rigid.

`You love him?' he demanded tautly.

Varnie did not like his tone. `Why wouldn'tI ? " she retorted, and, suddenly realising that the need for pretence and evasions was completely gone, she took a breath and stated, 'He's-my brother.'

Leon stared at her as though he could not believe his hearing. 'Metcalfe's your brother?' He seemed totally stunned for several seconds, as if such a relationship had never occurred to him. Guilt swamped her. 'I'm sorry,' she apologised faintly.

But Leon was not long in sifting through what she had just told him.`His name's Metcalfe; yours in Sutton. Heavens above!' he exclaimed, and actually seemed to lose some of his colour. `Don't tell me now that you're married! That Sutton's your married name?"

'Of course it isn't! I'm not married!' she exclaimed abruptly, but calmed down to explain, `If you want me to be more precise, Johnny is my stepbrother. His father married my mother when I was two. But Johnny has always been my brother.'

Leon stared at her incredulously for more stunned seconds. `My stars, Varnie Sutton!' he grunted, shaking his head. But was soonback to his demanding best. `Is that the truth?' he insisted.

`It is,' she confirmed, and actually found a smile as she apologetically told him, 'I'm sorry if it hurts your pride, but...'

'There's more at stake here than my pride!' he retorted forthrightly. And while Varnie wasn't sure what, if anything, to make of that statement, she felt she could safely confess, `It's a relief not to have to lie to you any more. I don't usually tell lies,' she admitted. And, because she only ever wanted to be friends with him, `Are you going to forgive me?"

'Why should I?' he asked aggressively.

`Why shouldn't you?' she replied, and with an impish smile, not wanting him cross with her, `You know you like me.'

`Like you?' he questioned harshly, and very near made her collapse when, in the same harsh tone, he rapped, 'Dammit woman. I love you!'