Millionaire's Woman

Cory caught Catherine’s eye and the two women exchanged a smile.

Rosie and Geoff joined them within a few minutes, their children, Robert and Caroline, politely introducing themselves to Cory before they disappeared to the end of the garden for a game of football with their father. All the dogs joined in, one or two barking frenziedly, while most of the cats retired to the fence where they sat looking down on the antics below with consummate disinterest. It was suddenly a lot noisier.

Jenny and Rod arrived next with Pears and Peach. The two small girls were identical twins and looked angelic, great big blue eyes looking out from under shiny blonde fringes and tiny rosebud mouths widening into smiles as Cory said hallo.

‘Angelic?’ Jenny snorted when Cory said what she’d thought. ‘Don’t you believe it. They’re monkeys, the pair of them. I can’t let them out of my sight for a minute.’

Within seconds the din in the garden had increased tenfold and Jenny smiled at Cory over the top of her wineglass. ‘See what I mean?’ she said resignedly. ‘They have this effect wherever they go.’

It was another half an hour before Margaret appeared, and Cory knew instantly that the other woman had timed her entrance for maximum effect, knowing everyone would be here. She looked stunning, her hour-glass figure filling out a low-cut black linen catsuit and her red hair styled in flirty fullness about her face. Red lips and talons completed the picture of a la

dy who meant business.

The men were all occupied with the barbecue and the women, having brought out the salads, french bread and all the extras, were sitting having another glass of wine when Margaret walked into the garden by way of a side gate at the end of the house.

‘Wow.’ Jenny was sitting by the side of Cory now in the swing seat, and her eyes widened. ‘Impressive. Tarty and over-the-top and totally without taste, but impressive.’

Catherine had jumped up at her god-daughter’s entrance, hurrying to meet her and then escorting her to a chair and fetching her a glass of wine. Cory schooled her face into a smile as Margaret glanced her way but then, to her shock, the other woman looked straight through her.

Whether Jenny had noticed the little exchange, Cory wasn’t sure, but Nick’s sister’s voice had a definite edge to it when she drawled, ‘Won’t you be a little warm in that today, Margaret? Black’s not ideal when it’s so hot.’

Margaret’s lovely green eyes were cold as she looked at Jenny. ‘I don’t feel the heat.’

‘Lucky old you.’ Jenny grimaced. ‘Still, I dare say Mum can find you an old cardigan or something if you start to burn.’

Margaret raised perfectly shaped eyebrows before turning and engaging Catherine in conversation, although Cory noticed the redhead’s gaze was fixed on the men at the barbecue. Or one man in particular.

The afternoon passed pleasantly enough. They all ate too much; the children wound the dogs up more and more until Catherine banished them into the house—the children that was, not the dogs—until they calmed down. They drank wine, glasses of homemade lemonade, which were absolutely delicious, talked, even dozed a little. It was relaxed and comfortable, or it would have been if Cory hadn’t been aware of every single glance Margaret sent Nick’s way. And there were plenty.

To be fair, Nick seemed quite oblivious to the other woman’s concentrated attempts to get his attention. Even when the redhead managed to brush up against him several times, ostensibly while fetching more food from the barbecue, which Nick was in charge of, he barely spoke to her. He was courteous but cool, Cory noticed. And she didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. Did it speak of unfinished business? Of something bubbling away under the surface? A lover’s tiff maybe?

Jenny and Rod left just after tea time to take the twins home, declaring the two little girls would need at least an hour to settle down before they could put them to bed. ‘They adore being with Robert and Caroline,’ Jenny said, as she hugged Cory goodbye, ‘but they do get overexcited.’ Then, her voice soft, she added, ‘It’s been lovely meeting you, Cory. You’re so good for Nick. I’ve never seen him so happy.’

Cory stared at her, taken aback. ‘Thank you.’ She didn’t know what else to say.

They had all wandered out to Jenny and Rod’s car to wave the little family off, and once indoors Cory let the others walk through to the garden and disappeared to the downstairs cloakroom. It was as she was leaving it that she stopped dead as she heard Margaret’s voice somewhere near.

‘Please, Nick, you have to listen to me. I can’t bear it when we’re apart. I’ll come down to London, I’ll do anything but I want to be with you.’

‘Don’t start this again, Margaret.’

‘I know you don’t want marriage or anything like that and I accept it. I do. We don’t even have to live together if you don’t want that.’

‘Margaret, move on. I have.’ Nick’s voice was cold, flinty.

‘You’re not talking about that little nincompoop you’ve brought with you? Darling, you’ll be bored with her in a month or two. I guarantee it.’

‘Leave Cory out of this. I’m talking about us having nothing left, Margaret, not Cory or anyone else. Whatever you’re searching for, it’s not me. It never was. You’ve always wanted me only because I didn’t fall at your feet like most men you meet. Even as a child you always had to be the centre of attention and it wears thin.’

‘You wanted me once.’ It sounded sulky.

‘We had a few dinners, a few laughs and that was all it was,’ Nick ground out stonily. ‘Face it. You were between partners and so was I.’

‘This is because I said I loved you, isn’t it?’ Margaret’s voice was quivering. ‘Because I wanted us to be together always. It scared you off.’

She heard Nick sigh impatiently. ‘Margaret, once you went to university you found the big world of men and you never looked back. I’ve lost count of the number you had before, during and after your marriage. You have no idea what love is unless it’s love for the reflection in the mirror. You know damn well that’s true; you’ve as good as admitted it in your better moments. I’m a challenge, the one who won’t play ball. That’s all. Now, cut the heartbroken act because it doesn’t wash.’

There was a screaming silence for a few seconds and Cory found she was holding her breath. Then Margaret said, a different note to her voice now, ‘We’re two of a kind, Nick, you and I. You’ll never settle down with one woman, just like I’ll never settle down with one man. But we could at least have some fun for a while.’