'He decided not to be entertaining after all. He went off to take some phone call in his study and hasn't come back.' Adele's tone was short. 'He seems out of temper, Caroline dear. Perhaps he's finding this persistent virginity of yours a tad trying.'
Don't rise to the bait, Cally adjured herself, inspecting the tea table instead. There were tiny cucumber sandwiches, cut into triangles, plus a plate of scones, accompanied by dishes of jam and cream, and a side stand bearing a rich fruit cake, a Victoria sponge, and some shortbread.
Mrs Thurston seemed to be a treasure indeed, she thought gratefully.
She poured Adele's tea, with a slice of the requested lemon, and added milk to her own cup, then sat back taking an appraising look around her.
It was all entirely different. The heavy wallpaper had been replaced by a creamy paint, and large comfortable sofas, their linen covers the colour of sand, had superseded the old-fashioned dark leather suite. Pale drapes hung at the long windows, and instead of the dreary carpet there were stripped and polished floorboards and Persian rugs. It was as if there'd been an explosion of light.
'Counting all the changes?' Adele asked, taking a sandwich. 'It'll take a long time.'
Cally shook her head almost wonderingly. 'The room seems to have doubled in size.'
'Well, at the Dower House I feel as if I'm living in a shoe-box,' Adele said shortly. 'And I've had to fight tooth and nail for the place to be made even habitable. In fact, that's one of the reasons I came up this afternoon—-to ask Nick to send a carpenter round. Some of the upstairs window catches still don't fit properly.'
'I'll tell him about it.' Cally watched her. 'So, what was the other reason for your visit?'
Adele shrugged. 'Vulgar curiosity, my pet. I simply couldn't believe you'd swallowed your dubious pride and returned to Nick's eager arms after all. Proof, if proof were needed, that money always talks. You look a little careworn,' she continued. 'So I suppose the long-delayed consummation is scheduled for tonight.'
Her smile was cat-like. 'But I wouldn't worry too much. Your husband's an incredibly successful businessman, sweetie. I'm sure he's equally adept with women—especially nervous novices. You're the kind of challenge he'll enjoy—for a while. So I recommend you make the most of it,' she added with bite.
'Why, Adele—' Cally managed a laugh '—I do believe you wanted Nick yourself.'
But the older woman was unfazed. 'It would have been— convenient. God knows, Ranald left me hardly anything to live on. It was all tied up in trusts and entails. Too boring for words.' She shrugged again. 'But I simply wasn't prepared to ruin my figure providing Nicholas with the heir and the spare
he clearly wanted. I'd already been through all that with Ranald. So he was forced to look around, and there you were.'
'Yes,' Cally said slowly. 'So I was.'
Adele gave a slight yawn. 'You can hardly blame him, after all the money he had to shell out to pay off your grandfather's creditors. He's no doubt made it plain to you where your duty lies. He wants a return on his investment, and pretty damned soon. I'd really make sure he gets it. Because he can be pretty ruthless when he tries.'
She drank the rest of the tea and put her cup on the table. 'And now I really mustn't intrude on this romantic idyll any longer.'
She rose and strolled towards the French windows. Then turned.
'By the way,' she added negligently, 'I understand Nick's— other interest has gone away for a week or two. Very diplomatic to absent herself while the reconciliation takes its course, don't you think? But don't hope for too much, because I warn you now—she'll be back. So you'll just have to learn to turn a blind eye, sweetie. Won't you? Because running away clearly hasn't worked.'
And with a last smile she was gone.
CHAPTER SIX
Cat t y sat very still, staring in front of her. She was aware of a number of things—birdsong from the garden, the faint scent of the lilac that grew on the terrace, the clock ticking quietly on the mantelpiece—and yet at the same time she felt numb.
She looked down at her bare arms, almost surprised to find the skin unblemished. She'd half expected to see marks, scored into the flesh from Adele's talons.
Last time her own nails had etched crescents into the palms of her clenched hands as she'd stood listening, unable to speak or move away. She'd felt like some ancient city she'd heard of in history, which had been destroyed stone by stone and its earth sown with salt so that it would remain a barren waste.
But she'd been through that and survived—somehow. So why should she be remotely upset now at Adele's taunting remarks? After all, they were no surprise. She might have known Adele would not wait to put the boot in.