Past All Forgetting (15 page)

Her hand moved convulsively, and he covered it with his own.

'Be careful,' he warned softly. 'The captain of industry has his antennae trained on us. Perhaps we should concentrate on this fascinating debate on hunting, across the table, for a while.'

When she finally rose to go the drawing room with the other .women, Janna was unhappily aware that she had hardly touched a mouthful of her meal, and that Colin was watching her concerned. She sent him a smile holding a confidence she was far from feeling. Sir Robert's openly speculative gaze she avoided altogether.

She was able, to relax a little as she poured coffee, and answer the friendly questions directed at Her about her forthcoming marriage. No, she had to confess, they had not fixed an exact date yet, but yes, they were looking for somewhere to live.

'But I thought that was all settled,' Mrs Mortimer, a tall, angular woman with rather carefully styled blonde hair, exclaimed. 'I thought you were going to live here at the Hall.'

Janna set down the coffee pot with extra care. 'Not as far as I know,' she answered quietly, her heart thumping.

'Oh, I'm sure I'm right,' Mrs Mortimer went on. 'Sir Robert was telling me over dinner that he's been consulting an architect on the matter. He plans to divide the West Wing from the rest of the house and turn it into a self-contained flat for you both.' She gave an artificial laugh. 'Young people today are so spoiled. They have everything made for them, don't they, Jennifer?'

Jennifer Hargreaves, a plump, rather managing woman, who was chairman of the local magistrates' bench, returned her coffee cup to the tray and gave Janna a searching look as she did so.

'Only if what is made happens to be what the young people in question actually want, Alice,' she said dryly. 'I think in this case we may have spoken out of turn.' She gave Janna's hand a brisk pat 'Don't look so taken aback, my dear. Nothing may come of it, after all, or we may well have misunderstood his intentions.'

She turned to Frances Beckett, the wife of the local master of the hunt.

'I'm a little surprised to see Rian Tempest here tonight, Frankie, I'd heard he was back and in control at Carrisbeck, of course. Do you suppose it means that whatever breach there was has been healed?'

Janna knew Mrs Hargreaves had deliberately changed the subject to be kind and avoid further embarrassment for her, so it was sheer irony that the new topic should be even more unwelcome to her. She bent over the tray to refill Mrs Mortimer's cup, hoping that this action would explain her suddenly heightened colour.

'Breach?' Mrs Mortimer demanded. 'You make it all sound very intriguing, my dear. What happened?'

Mrs Hargreaves shrugged. 'No one knows. On the surface, everything seemed fine, then one day Rian left Carrisbeck House and if you can believe the gossip, the Colonel refused to have his name mentioned in his presence again.'

'I know it was a great sorrow to Agnes Tempest,' Mrs. Beckett said slowly. 'We were great friends, and I was very shocked when she told me that they were closing the house and moving to the south. She never hinted at the cause of the quarrel, but .she said once she was glad to be going as the house was unbearable to her.' She sighed. 'These family feuds are so distressing. I remember going to a party at Carrisbeck just before all this happened. It was a wonderful evening—Agnes had a positive genius for these things and then within a matter of weeks, the house was closed and the furniture sold.' She turned to Janna with a smile. 'You were there that, evening, weren't you, my dear? I remember how pretty you looked and how grown-up. Wasn't it a wonderful evening?'

'Yes.' Janna's face felt wooden. 'It—it was most—enjoyable.'

'As if she remembers!' Mrs Hargreaves exclaimed bracingly. 'My dear Frankie, it was seven years ago, and Janna will have been to hundreds of parties since then.' She gave her a warm smile which Janna was totally incapable of returning. 

'Of course, it's obvious what the quarrel must have been about.' Mrs Mortimer, who had been sitting lost in thought, spoke up suddenly. Everyone looked at her. 'Women.' She gave a brisk nod. 'Rian was always very attractive, and there was a lot of talk about his conquests.'

'Indeed there was,' said Mrs Beckett. 'And I'm sure you're right. That would have been anathema to the Colonel, of course. He prided himself on being one of the old school, and he never disguised the fact that he disapproved violently of Rian's whole way of life. I know poor Agnes had to intervene on more than one occasion,'

'There was the Kenton girl,' Mrs Hargreaves said thoughtfully. 'That I do remember. But that wasn't serious. Rian was simply playing the field.'

'And played it once too often,' Mrs Beckett said regretfully. She looked at Janna, her eyebrows lifted. 'You youngsters always knew everything that was going on. Was there a mystery girl in Rian's life, and who was she?'

There was an endless silence. Janna moistened her lips desperately, aware of the curious glances from the older women, but her throat muscles seemed paralysed and would not obey her. And then, as if in answer to an unspoken prayer, the sound of men's voices was heard and the drawing-room door opened to admit the remainder of the party.

Pouring fresh coffee, adding cream, and enduring some rather heavy-handed compliments from the men, Janna was reprieved.

When the coffee was finished, someone suggested bridge. Janna was secretly appalled. She had mastered no more than the rudiments of the game, but all her protests were firmly overruled, and she found herself making an unwilling fourth with Colin and the Becketts.

Sir Robert and Rian did not play. After walking round the tables and bending a benevolently expert eye on everyone's hands, Sir Robert suggested to Rian that they should withdraw to his study, and after a pause Rian quietly assented. As he passed Janna's table, she sent him a long, pleading look. His brows rose and his mouth twisted slightly as he followed in Sir Robert's wake, and she could read nothing from his enigmatic look. Her hands were shaking as the door closed behind them, and she misdealt and had to start again.

It was not a long rubber, although it seemed to Janna to last an eternity. The Becketts won easily, and Janna could see by Colin's compressed lips as he totted up the score that he was not pleased with her performance.

'What's the matter with you, Janna?' he demanded as the Becketts moved out of earshot. 'Some of your bidding tonight was positively half-witted! You'll never learn to play properly, darling, if you don't concentrate.'

She apologised, contritely, knowing that an ability to hold her own at the bridge table was one of the social graces that Colin wanted from her. She enjoyed playing cards, and at one time the task of mastering the intricacies of the game's conventions would have presented an appealing challenge. Now it seemed just another problem to be shouldered.

Colin was going to pour drinks, and with a feeling of defiance she held out her own glass to be refilled. He gave her an astonished look.

'Are you sure you're all right?' he asked in an undertone. 'You don't usually drink as much as this. You're not nervous, are you?'

'I only want one drink, not the whole bottle,' she said defiantly. 'Poor Colin, am I shattering your illusions?'

'No,' he said tightly. He brought her another drink, his eyes cold with disapproval. 'For goodness' sake be careful, Janna. You had quite a lot of wine at dinner, you know.'

'Yes, I know.' She took the glass and raised it in a mock toast. 'Don't look so worried, Colin. I won't pass out and disgrace you.'

'Such a thought never occurred to me,' he said coldly. 'But please don't let my father see you drinking as much as this. My mother never drank anything stronger than fruit juice.'

'How brave of her,' she said too brightly. 'I'm afraid I shall need something far stronger than that if I'm to face living in the same house with your father.'

A muscle twitched beside his mouth. 'I've never seen you like this before,' he muttered. 'We can't discuss this now. Mrs Mortimer is watching us. For heaven's sake pull yourself together, Janna. You're behaving like a hysterical child.'

'No,' she said. 'You've never seen me behave like that, Colin. For one thing, I tell lies—terrible, damaging lies. And tonight, I feel incredibly truthful.'

His mouth thinned. 'I don't know what you're talking about, Janna, but I advise you to pull yourself together, and quickly too. Dad will be back soon, and I don't want him to see you like this.'

'No, that would never do,' she agreed ironically, and met unmoved his fulminating glance before he turned away.

Janna sipped at her glass, feeling the unfamiliar warmth spreading through her veins. She was beginning to feel lightheaded, she told herself candidly, and deliciously uncaring. For the first time in her life, she could understand why people turned to alcohol when they were in trouble. Recklessly, she downed what was in her glass and walked over to the drinks trolley, ignoring Colin's outraged stare.

As she reached for the decanter, the drawing room door bounced open and Sir Robert stalked into the room. It was evident from merely a casual glance that the genial host had vanished for the evening. In his place was the man who believed in getting his own way, to whom no one said 'no' with impunity, and to whom the impossible had just happened.

Ignoring his guests, he stared fiercely across at Colin.

'Do you know what that damned fool is planning to do?' he demanded furiously. 'He's going to let a pack of bloody kids run wild round the place—and destroy the best stretch of fishing of the river into the bargain!'

There was an awkward silence, then Mrs Beckett rose and diplomatically announced she felt they should be going. Her voice seemed to bring Sir Robert belatedly to his senses, and he made a commendable effort to carry out his duties as host, making his farewells and seeing the guests to the door in a forced imitation of his usual hearty manner.

Janna remained alone in the drawing room. She guessed there was going to be a row, but the prospect was not as dismaying somehow as it would have seemed at the start of the evening. She found she was suppressing a giggle as she picked up the decanter. A hand closed round her wrist and Rian said calmly? 'Don't you think you've had enough?'

'Spoilsport! 'She pulled a face at him. 'I'm not frightened of you any more.'

'So I see.' There was a trace of faint amusement in his voice. 'So belt, Janna, if you're determined on your downfall. But you'd better let me pour it. What shall it be—a single or a double?'

'Make it a treble.' She smiled brilliantly at him, and received an appreciative twitch of the lips in return. She wagged a finger at hint 'You're in trouble, you know.'

He laughed. 'There's nothing new in that. But I'm afraid you share his displeasure. As your father is the District Planning Officer, Sir Robert feels you should have given him a hint as to what was in the wind.'

'Oh dear,' she heaved a mock sigh. 'I shall be quite an outcast'

'An outcast's life isn't so bad. I speak from experience, you understand,' he said ironically. 'The important thing is to make sure you, aren't alone in the wilderness.'