‘And he rejected you?’ Sue asked, saucer-eyed.
‘He thought I made a habit of going to bed with all and sundry,’ Kate told Sue drily, ‘but it’s all in the past now.’
‘Well, I must say you’re taking it all very philosophically,’ Sue marvelled. ‘In your shoes…well, I’d certainly like to give him a taste of his own medicine at the very least!’
Although she had told Sue everything that had happened eight years ago, Kate had not told her that she now knew that Dominic desired her, nor did she intend to; it would complicate the issue too much, and besides, she had no wish to expose him. On the contrary, she actually felt faintly protective towards him, wanting to shield him.
‘It’s over now and totally unimportant,’ she told Sue lazily.
‘But to criticise you like that, and in public…’ protested Sue, growing quite heated again. ‘Honestly, Kate, you should have told him the truth…taken him down a peg or two. I’ve invited the Bensons over for lunch on Sunday. I could have a word with Vera, if you like…’
‘No… honestly, I’d rather leave it,’ Kate told her, glancing at her watch and announcing that it was time she was on her way.
‘Well, don’t forget, we expect you for lunch as well on Sunday,’ Sue reminded her as she walked her to her car. ‘I hope this weather holds, I thought we might have a barbecue outside…what do you think?’
‘I think it’s a good idea, the forecast is promising.’
‘Mmm.’
They kissed and Kate got in her car. Sue was a dear and loyal friend, if inclined to be a little hot-tempered, she thought with a grin as she drove off, but the last thing she wanted now was for Dominic to know the truth—although even if he did know would he be able to accept it?
She took a different route home than usual to save time, one she rarely used because she did not like it. The road ran past the grim bulk of a high-security prison, and every time Kate saw it it made her shiver. What must it be like to be locked up inside there for the rest of one’s life? And yet weren’t even many people who were physically free still prisoners, locked up within their own emotional problems? Just as she had been locked up in the fear of her own inadequacy as a woman…just as Dominic was locked up in his struggle between wanting her and despising her.
Sighing faintly, she automatically increased her speed a little as she drove past the prison.
There had been a tremendous amount of local opposition to it when it had been built twenty years ago. Both her father and Ricky’s grandfather had objected strenuously to it, since it was closer to their homes than it was to the village, but their objections had not prevailed.
The restlessness which had possessed her since Dominic’s reappearance in her life consumed her that evening. She wandered out into the garden, suddenly realising that she was still wearing her new dress. Why? It was the sort of dress a woman wore for a man…but she had no man to wear it for…nor wanted one, she told herself fiercely.
The heat of the day had given way to an oppressive over-warm evening, with the promise of the sort of night that made sleep impossible.
Kate was just considering the virtues of a cooling shower when the phone rang.
Picking up the receiver, she recognised Vera’s voice, bubbling with excitement and pleasure.
‘Kate, Ian’s agreed to your design for the conservatory!’ she began without preamble. ‘I’m so thrilled, I had to ring and tell you right away. He loved the design right from the start, but he took a bit of convincing over the cost.’ Vera gave a rich chuckle. ‘But now that he and Dominic have agreed the last details of their merger, he’s a little more relaxed. I was wondering if I could come over and see you so that we could discuss the design in more detail?’
When Kate replaced the receiver, tempering her delight that Vera had offered her the commission was the knowledge that Dominic might be about to become a more permanent feature of local life than she had envisaged. Still, she comforted herself that he would want to be involved with her as little as she did with him. His desire for her was purely physical, tormenting him all the more because he felt he should not want her, and who could tell, now, believing that Martin Allwood was her lover, might he not decide that he did not want her after all?
Logic told Kate that a man who on his admission had wanted her for eight years was hardly likely to suddenly cease that wanting…but it was a logic she didn’t want to hear.
CHAPTER SIX
ON the Friday morning Martin Allwood rang to discuss with Kate the price he thought she should ask for the property. It was very much higher than she had expected, but he explained to her that he thought it highly likely that it would be bought by one of the many London-based businessmen moving into the area.
‘We could have asked another three or four thousand,’ he continued, ‘but in view of the proximity of the prison I decided against it. There are those who would consider that, plus the relative remoteness of the house, a negative factor,’ he warned her. ‘It’s not exactly unknown for prisoners to break out of these places, and the house is pretty close by. However, I don’t think we need to concern ourselves too much about that.’ He paused and then added quickly, ‘I was wondering whether I could take you out for lunch on Sunday…it’s the only day we don’t work during the summer and…’
Thankful that she had a genuine excuse, Kate refused, explaining that she was already committed to lunch with someone else, and since Martin did not press the issue, she suspected it was the sort of invitation he made casually to every woman who took his eye.
It was only later that she called herself a fool for not taking what would have been a golden opportunity to provide herself with a genuine barrier against Dominic, but it was too late for second thoughts now.
Saturday she spent with Harry, going round some of the churches under his care. Together they inspected their stained glass, Kate making notes for later on. This more traditional aspect of their work was not as interesting to her as the more modern commissions, but it all provided valuable experience, and she couldn’t help marvelling at the details that had gone into some of the windows. In many cases they were already damaged with pieces missing, but they could be repaired, and it was good to have something that would bring in a regular source of income.
‘Same time next week,’ joked Harry as she left for home. ‘We’ve still got a dozen or so to do.’
‘Fine,’ Kate agreed. ‘I’ll get these notes typed up and make out a folder for them.’
‘Very businesslike,’ Harry teased her, adding wryly as she started her car, ‘And take care, I don’t like you driving that old banger all the way over here, Kate… I think I could swing it so that you could get a loan from the bank to buy a new one.’