Josie watched the car disappear down the road, a sadness in her heart that only intensified as she took the doorkey out of her purse and entered the house. Somehow she already felt a stranger. Going into her bedroom, she glanced around. There was nothing here she needed to keep, she thought sadly. Her doll, the posters on the wall all seemed to belong to a girl who no longer existed. She packed a holdall with a few small items, including a picture of her mother and that was it.
Entering the hall of the Manor House, she shivered, not so much with cold, but with a dread of what the future would bring. This was now her home... Her father, the one person who might have helped her, was perfectly content with the new living arrangements. If she wanted a different future it was up to her to make it for herself. The prospect was daunting, but not impossible, she reminded herself firmly. She could get an apartment of her own; make a life for herself.
The following morning she did just that. A trip into Cheltenham to call at the office of Brownlow’s proved very beneficial. No one had been hired to replace her yet. Apparently a succession of temps had been used, and after a conversation with her boss, Mr Brownlow, she made arrangements to go back to her old job on a temporary basis, but to Josie it was the first step to regaining her independence.
Fuelled with success, she also visited her local G.P. It was amazing how the name Mrs Zarcourt smoothed the interview, and she was enrolled in a course of antenatal classes in Cheltenham. Her baby was her first priority, and tenderly she placed a hand on her stomach. Her baby; the thought filled her with delight.
As for Conan, in the days that followed she tried her best not to think of him at all. Josie knew his interest in her was fleeting at best. He might have said he wanted to share a bed with her, but once he had slept with Angela again he would quickly forget about a small, plump, pregnant wife, she told herself firmly, and tried to block him from her mind.
Amazingly Josie slipped back into her old lifestyle very easily. Conan phoned most evenings, but she omitted to tell him she was working. In fact she told him very little. Josie found it impossible to speak normally to him. But, driving back from Cheltenham after the office party the day before Christmas Eve, she had a sudden attack of nerves. Conan had informed her he would be arriving at about seven the next night, and, however much she tried to deny it, she had missed him and was looking forward to seeing him.
CHAPTER SIX
THE bright yellow Mercedes coupé stood on the drive, a huge blue bow tied around it, with ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS LOVE CONAN’ woven into the fabric.
‘But it can’t be for me!’ Josie exclaimed for the third time.
‘Look, lady, just sign here.’ The salesman waved a delivery note in front of her face. ‘It’s Christmas Eve and I want to knock off for the day.’
In a state of shock Josie signed the form and took the keys from the man along with the ownership papers. The sweater she had bought for Conan suddenly seemed pitiful in comparison.
The first shock of the day had been the arrival in the post of Conan’s present to the Major and her father. Two tickets for a round-the-world cruise, sailing from Southampton in January for four months. The two old men were in the study, plotting the route they were taking.
Josie opened the car door and slid into the driver’s seat. It was the most fantastic present; she could hardly believe it. She had spent the last few days convincing herself she would have no trouble resisting Conan’s avowed intention to share her bed when he returned home. She only had to think of Angela... But now she was not so sure. Was she really so shallow as to be bought for the price of a Mercedes?
Yes! she thought impulsively. To pot with pride! It was time she accepted the inevitable. For better or wo
rse she loved Conan, and he must care for her or he would never have given her such a wonderful gift. If he still wanted her, he could have her... How she ached for him. So why not fight for him? Angela had already had three husbands. Why should she have Josie’s as well? Conan could have married the woman any time in the past ten years but he hadn’t. Surely that was a good sign? Josie convinced herself, and with her decision made she spent the rest of the day in excited anticipation of Conan’s return.
At midnight she followed the Major and her father up the stairs to bed. Obviously Conan was not coming back yet. Saddened, Josie slid into the huge bed, closed her eyes and prayed for sleep.
But the ringing of the telephone had her eyes flying open. She felt for the receiver on the bedside table, and pressed it to her ear.
‘Josie! How are you?’ It was Conan’s deep, sexy voice that echoed down the line, making her pulse race. But she made herself respond casually.
‘Fine. Where are you? We all thought you’d be here by now.’ She used the ‘we’ deliberately, rather than admit she had been waiting for him all evening.
‘I’m still in New York. A snow storm has closed Kennedy Airport.’ She could hear the exasperation in his tone. ‘I am sorry, Josie; I’ve tried everything, including a charter, but it’s hopeless.’
Relief flooded through her. It wasn’t his fault he was delayed. ‘Don’t worry, what’s a day or two between friends?’ she said with a smile.
‘But I really wanted to be back for Christmas, and I’m afraid it’s going to be more than a day or two. Even if it clears up tomorrow, I have to be back here by Friday. The problem is more complicated than I thought. I won’t bore you with the details.’
Josie’s heart sank. He had only intended spending forty-eight hours with her anyway, it seemed. Why did she keep deluding herself he might care?
‘Please do tell...’ She meant to sound sarcastic but only sounded breathless.
‘The bank extended a large loan to a Japanese-American corporation, and it’s in a spot of bother—nothing I can’t handle. But enough about me. How are you, Josie? Not running around after your father and mine, I hope.’
‘Hardly. They got your present, and have been studying maps all day. What made you give them a cruise?’ she couldn’t help asking.
‘Mainly because they’re both too old to live in a house with builders and decorators all over the place.’
‘That was considerate of you.’
‘I’m a considerate kind of guy. Hadn’t you noticed?’ he asked, with a chuckle that made her heart spin.
Belatedly she remembered the car. ‘Yes, I had, and thank you for the car. I love it, but really there was no need. I can drive Dad’s.’