Which was why his illness wasn’t public knowledge, Dare guessed. If it were the share price of BG Textiles wouldn’t just fall, it would crash. ‘I hope you have some other ideas to follow up.’
‘I have some, yes.’
And Dare had no doubt the wily old goat would attempt to get to the bottom of it when he should be resting in preparation for his operation. Not that it was any of Dare’s business. If the old man wanted to kill himself sooner rather than later that was his concern.
‘I’m sorry, Dare. If I had realised Rachel had reverted to Pearl’s maiden name and that you were—’
‘Stop there, Benson.’ His grandfather’s soft words struck like a sharp blade in Dare’s chest. ‘Shoulda, coulda, woulda—isn’t that the expression?’ he said stiffly.
Benson’s shoulders dropped. ‘Yes.’
A knock at the door broke the tension between them and Dare turned, half expecting to see Carly standing in the doorway.
It wasn’t. It was the butler asking what time Benson would like Mrs Carlisle to serve dinner.
Once the elderly butler left Benson turned back to Dare. ‘Will you stay another night with us, Dare?’
Dare looked at his grandfather’s sagging shoulders. The stuffing seemed to have come out of him and he saw lines of strain on his face. He didn’t want to stay, he really didn’t, but the old man was getting to him, despite his best attempts not to let him.
Someone else was getting to him as well and she’d no doubt be coming down to dinner.
Dinner here, dinner in London... He needed to eat, didn’t he? ‘I’ll stay,’ he found himself saying impulsively.
But first he’d head out on his bike and get some fresh air.
And if there was a lightness to his step as he headed back to his room to put on his leathers, it was only because he was finally satisfied that Benson’s intentions in communicating with his mother again were born from a genuine desire to make up for the past. It had nothing to do with the fact that his grandfather wasn’t sleeping with the delectable Carly Evans. Nothing at all.
CHAPTER SIX
CARLY FELT A sense of relief as she checked her appearance in the mirror before heading down to dinner. She had heard Benson leave his room a few minutes earlier and had almost contemplated excusing herself to eat in her room because of a headache.
Then she’d remembered hearing Dare’s death trap roar down the driveway so she knew he’d gone—without saying goodbye, thank goodness—so there was really no need to act like a coward. And she enjoyed dinner in the dining room.
Mrs Carlisle usually outdid herself with the evening meal and Carly had never eaten as well as she had since arriving at Rothmeyer House. Probably she never would again. Her beginnings, while not lacking by everyday standards, did not include household staff and a live-in cook! And Mrs Carlisle’s cooking would definitely be something she missed when she moved on to her next job.
Something she was still putting off thinking about. She knew she had to go home at some point but...was she ready to return to Liverpool again? In many ways she had loved seeing parts of her country she never had before, but travelling had been Liv’s dream and Carly sometimes wondered if she wasn’t moving around a lot in an attempt to honour Liv more than herself.
Liv who would never get to travel, never get to fall in love... Carly’s heart squeezed and for some reason Dare James’s face swam into her consciousness. How on earth she could find a man like him attractive was beyond her.
Yes, he was good-looking...manly...fit...primal... She pulled a face. If you liked that kind of thing. He was also another version of the Daniels of the world. Full of himself, arrogant, rude...and that take-charge mentality? She shuddered.
Yes, it was definitely good that he hadn’t bothered to say goodbye or try to apologise. She couldn’t have been happier to have things back to normal. And right after dinner she’d set herself up with her computer and make some definite decisions about her life. Maybe she’d move to London and really live it up for once.
Liv would surely laugh at that. Her sister had always balanced her, pushing Carly out of the house and out of her studies, or work, to go to movies or a club, giving her fashion advice and turning her hair from a layered, carroty mess into the smoother style she wore it in today.