There was no way she was going to emulate those women she’d seen at Ricardo’s today and she was almost tempted to take seriously Leon’s suggestion to redecorate the place. But what was the point? She wouldn’t be in it long enough to enjoy it.
She shuffled through the letters on the hall table. There was a couple of bills, a gilded invitation to a wedding, and a postcard from England. It wasn’t her mother’s handwriting.
Arriving on the 30th. Ring me ASAP for details. Much love, Sarah.
Much Love?
Darcie frowned as she slipped the postcard between the bills and headed towards the kitchen to change. Was it another woman from Leon’s past? It would be interesting to see if he mentioned the postcard when he came in.
He didn’t. He took the mail through to his study, and then checked his messages. It was his habit to return his calls straight away, and she heard the rumble of his voice on the phone. With a pang of jealousy, she wondered if he was talking to Sarah.
He was all smiles when he came back into the kitchen. Nuzzling his nose into her hair, he whispered. ‘Something smells good.’
She pulled away from his embrace, busying herself by taking knives and forks from the drawer in the dresser. ‘Steak and kidney pie.’
He turned her round to face him, holding her at arm’s length. ‘Is something wrong?’
The concern in his eyes made her feel guilty about what she was about to say. ‘Yes, and I wish I’d spoken to you before you’d bought that car. I don’t feel easy about all the gifts you’re giving me, Leon.’
`‘I see.’ The instant flare of hurt in his eyes was replaced by an amused cynicism as he drawled. ‘This morning, you were delighted.’
‘I know.’ She had to look away from him. ‘It’s just that I’ve been thinking things through. I feel as if you’re trying to buy me.’
‘Bought. Past tense.’ He gripped her chin and pulled her face round to his. ‘I consider that I got a bargain. You’re wonderful in bed, look good, and can even cook. That was a bonus I didn’t expect.’
Instinct told her that Leon was simply hiding his hurt behind sarcasm. ‘Don’t do this, Leon,’ she murmured. ‘I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings.’
His eyes had a flat gray look to them, like a film of ice over water. ‘What
are
you trying to do?’
Trying to buffer herself from anguish. Trying to fall out of love with him. She didn’t know what she was trying to do. She was all mixed up.
‘
You’re spending a fortune on me, Leon. I’m not used to it.’
His expression softened a fraction. ‘Can’t you get used to it?’
‘I don’t want to.’
A smile flitted across his mouth. ‘You’re running scared. You’re like a cornered rabbit, but you don’t know where to run.’
She glared at him. ‘You don’t scare me.’
‘I know. It’s yourself you’re scared of. You came back from overseas and were forced to rely on your own resources. In the process you learned things about yourself that make you uncomfortable.’
She stared at him, wide-eyed. ‘Such as?’
‘Such as, you’re not somebody’s child any more, you’re a desirable woman. Being my wife makes you an equal partner in my book, and you don’t quite know how to handle the responsibility.’
‘That’s not true.’
‘I haven’t finished.’ His lips brushed against hers as he whispered. ‘You’ve discovered you’re a highly sensual woman who is capable of using her body to satisfy her own needs - and to attain her own ends. You didn’t
have
to marry me, Darcie. Your biological clock started ticking as soon as our eyes met and you realized that you needed a mate.’
‘I could have just gone to bed with you,’ she whispered.
‘And would have eventually. You preferred the security of marriage. You wanted me, and my money. You found me comfortable to be with.’
‘Wrong,’ she said faintly, because he was feathering miniature kisses along her jaw-line and everything inside her was beginning to go haywire. ‘I only married you because I felt sorry for you. I don’t want your money, you can go and paper the hen-house with it as far as I’m concerned. As for finding you comfortable ... ’ She was quivering against him like an over-strung bow and found herself growling, ‘You’re entirely uncomfortable at this moment.’
His breath shivered crazily against her eardrum.’ How long before the steak and kidney pudding is cooked?’
Her fingers groped towards the stove, found the knob and turned the flame down under the pan. She slid her arms up around his neck and met the desire in his eyes head on. ‘Long enough ...’
Later, she was annoyed with herself for allowing him to demonstrate her weakness by exploiting it. Only when she admitted to herself that her anger stemmed from the fact that Leon hadn’t seen fit to mention the mysterious Sarah, did she find herself in a calmer mood. She was jealous when she really had no right to be. Leon had never promised to love her.
Her driving lessons with Leon didn’t go too well the following weekend. She was nervous, even though he didn’t shout, and took her to a quiet track to become familiar with the car. Everything he said seemed to go in one ear and out the other. Finally, she leaned her head on the steering wheel and groaned out loud.
‘You can drive, but you lack confidence in yourself,’ he said quietly. ‘You’re so used to failing that you expect to. Drive us home.’
‘What!’ she gasped, immediately beginning to tremble.’ You mean, drive on the road ... with the traffic?’
‘That’s the usual place to drive. You know all the road rules, don’t you?’
‘I can’t, Leon.’
‘Can’t, or won’t? You must have had plenty of driving lessons with your cousin if you sat the test all those times. You’re either dim-witted, or a coward. Which is it, Darcie?’
Colin had said those very same words, only he’d shouted them at her. Color rose to her cheeks. Throwing him a flaming look she ground out. ‘Make sure your seat belt is fastened.’
Leon had taken a calculated risk, and it was like waving a red rag at a bull. His knuckles gripped the edge of his seat as the car took off in a cloud of dust.
‘Slow down,’ he said in as reasonable a voice as he could muster, then tried to think of some prayers when she reached the road and skidded into a slot in the traffic.
‘
Jeeze,
’ he whispered, catching sight of her tense profile. ‘If you want me to take over just signal and pull on to the road verge.’
‘And prove you’re right,’ she muttered, ‘Not on your Nellie, Leon Price. You want me to drive - I’ll drive.’
And drive she did, clinging on to the steering wheel with white knuckles, her eyes staring straight ahead. She cursed softly now and again when some other driver was foolhardy enough to get too close to her, but mostly they gave her a wide berth when they saw the learner’s plates prominently displayed.
‘The lights are about to turn red, slow down,’ Leon said as calmly as he could.
She speeded up and shot through them on amber, then nodded, and smiled to herself.
I said
... slow down.’
She shot him a quick, uncomprehending glance and slowed to a crawl.
He sighed. ‘Not now ... at the last set of lights.’
‘Why? They weren’t red.’
He wondered if she were color blind, and decided not to question it. ‘Never mind. Speed up a bit, you’re holding up the traffic.’
‘Make up your mind.’ She put her foot down and the car surged forward - then just as Leon thought she was about to ram the car in front she eased down.’
‘Too close,’ she muttered to herself. ‘Leave two cars lengths.’ He watched her check the driving mirror. She knew all the moves, but just didn’t seem to be able to co-ordinate them.
‘Indicate, and gradually slow down,’ he murmured, ‘You’ll be turning left at the next set of lights.’
She took the corner a bit fast, the tires squealing on the tarmac. The car pulled across into the oncoming lane and just missed another car coming in the opposite direction. A horn blasted.
‘Whoops!’
Leon clenched his teeth in an effort not to swear.
Once they were on the quieter road leading home she began to relax a bit, and attacked the roundabout with a confident verve, circumnavigating it twice before she selected the correct road to take.
Then the wrought iron gates of the house were looming in front of them. ‘Slow down, Darcie,’ he yelled. ‘Give them time to open.’
She stood on the brakes and the car skidded towards the slowly opening gates. They slid through with a light scrape signaling an injury to the right wing. The car skewed sideways and came to rest in a flowerbed.
She switched off the ignition and turned to stare at him, her eyes wary and anxious, mouth mutinous, like someone waiting to be shouted at.
Adrenaline salted his tongue. ‘That wasn’t too bad,’ he lied, deciding he could afford to be generous now he was out of danger.
Her eyes widened, then a tiny relieved grin pulled the mutiny into the corners of her mouth, ‘I thought it was lousy and I was terrified.’
So had he been.
He forced a smile to his face. ‘You seemed quite confident to me. I’m sorry I yelled.’
The blue of her eyes deepened, filled with amusement. ‘You have to be the biggest liar in the world, but thanks for being nice to me. I’ll do better now I know you’re not going to jump down my throat every time I do something wrong.’
Her voice was as amused as her eyes and Leon had the feeling she was laughing at him. Something Gary had said came into his mind.
She had Colin tearing his hair out when he insisted a driving school was a waste of money.
Had her driving been a deliberate attempt to scare him off? If it had, she’d succeeded.
He leaned across the seat and lightly kissed her. ‘Right, now you’ve given me a test run, what’s your driving really like?’
‘Better than it was today. The last time I took my test I only missed out by one point.’ A funny twisted smile flitted across her mouth. ‘To be quite honest, I can’t concentrate with you sitting beside me.’ She gave a husky laugh that set the hairs on his wrists prickling. ‘Would you mind if I went to a driving school?’
He’d be relieved.
He’d decided she felt inadequate and nervous with someone she knew teaching her. Colin’s browbeating had made her feel incompetent. He could understand that.
‘
If that’s what you want. I’ll leave it up to you to organize. If you get your license by the end of the week we’ll fly to Singapore for the weekend and do some shopping.’
‘You’re on.’
He smiled at her eager, expectant face and kissed her again. He’d already booked the flight and hotel as a surprise for her.
She
surprised him. By the end of the week, and with only five lessons under her belt she came home bubbling with excitement and waving her license in the air.
He swept her up in his arms and kissed her. ‘Great, go and get packed. We take off in four hours ...’
Her mouth opened slightly. ‘I thought you were joking, Leon. I can’t go to Singapore.’
‘Why not?’
‘I need a shower and my hair needs washing, and ...’
He kissed her again, longer and more passionately, and she slid her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
Whilst they were together under the shower he found time to wash her hair for her ... and they still managed to make the airport on time.
If great sex was all there was to marriage, Darcie knew she could be happy forever with Leon.
But sex wasn’t all there was to it, as they both found out when they arrived back at the Argyle Inn the following week to discover her cousin Colin waiting for them in the chalet, the letter she’d left in his letter box clutched in his hand.
In his usual fashion, Colin started in with his lecture before even being introduced. ‘How could you have done such a stupid thing as marry a man you’d only just met?’
‘Well-’
‘Don’t interrupt, Darcie,’ Colin thundered. ‘The dust has hardly settled on your father’s accident. What you’ve done is something so stupid that it’s beyond reason. You even broke into my house. It would teach you a lesson if I had you charged.’
‘There was a reason,’ Leon interrupted, watching Darcie’s face grow pale and tense. ‘Darcie arrived home to discover her bank account closed, and everything she owned gone. If she hadn’t married me she’d have starved to death on the street.’
‘Nonsense!’ Colin spluttered, going red in the face. ‘She has a home ... and she could have applied for social services if she had difficulties finding employment. It’s not my fault she came home earlier than I expected. Why did you, Darcie?’
‘I needed to know what happened to dad and where he’s buried. I didn’t have time to say goodbye to him. Can you understand that, Colin?’
‘But I wrote and told you all about it as soon as I got things sorted out. When my transfer suddenly came through and I decided to take my holiday, I wrote again with my new address, and to let you know where Wee Georgie was. I intended to ring you, but your phone was dead, there was no phone number in the book, and when I tried inquiries it was ex-directory.’
‘I didn’t get your letters.’
Puzzlement came into Colin’s eyes. ‘I can understand one going astray, but two? I’m sure it was the right address. I got it from your father’s address book. Makepeace Street.’
‘Makapin Road. Dad got it wrong. You know how absent-minded he can be ...
was ...
at times.’ She shrugged.
Colin’s eyes softened. ‘Then they must have been returned to my new address. What a mess. I’m so sorry, Darcie.’
‘I guess it wasn’t your fault.’
‘I thought it was better if he was cremated. I’ve had his ashes brought across. I thought we might have a memorial service and bury them at the local cemetery before I leave.’
Tears filled Darcie’s eyes.
This man was as sensitive as a lump of wet clay
.
Leon stared hard at Colin Channing. He was a bit on the plump side, with thinning hair and spectacles framing pale blue eyes.
Colin stared back at him, hardly bothering to disguise his contempt as he accused, ‘I suppose you married Darcie for her inheritance.’