The Garnett Marriage Pact

It was doubly hurtful to remember Justine telling her how he had refused to allow Heather an abortion; no doubt in her case, had she been pregnant… Tears stung her eyes which she tried to deceive herself were the result of the undiluted brandy.

‘I’ll go up and shower now so that the bathroom’s free for you,’ she heard Lyle saying behind her, and surely it could only be the brandy that tormented her to point out to him that as a man and wife they could surely share the bathroom, but fortunately caution made her hold back the words and keep silent.

She heard the babysitter arrive while she was upstairs putting the finishing touches to her make-up. Lyle answered the door and Jessica hurried downstairs to introduce herself to Susan and her father.

She sensed from the firm handshake she received from the latter that part of his purpose in bringing his daughter round himself had been to assure himself as to their suitability to employ her, and Jessica felt herself warming to such a concerned parent.

After

refusing the drink Lyle offered, he excused himself, suggesting that he call to pick Susan up at one o’clock.

She had two younger brothers, Susan explained to Jessica as she introduced her to the boys, and indeed her manner towards them was friendly but firm.

‘That’s a lovely outfit you’re wearing,’ she complimented Jessica shyly.

‘Indeed it is.’

Jessica hadn’t heard Lyle come into the room, her nerve-endings jumping tensely as she registered his soft compliment. It would be foolish to place any importance on it. Quite obviously he was simply playing the devoted husband for Susan’s benefit. Smiling tautly at the younger girl, Jessica picked up her bag and headed for the door, leaving Lyle to follow her.

‘Do you want to drive or shall I?’

They were going in her car, and Jessica checked, slightly surprised. ‘I think I’d prefer to be a passenger,’ she told him. ‘This skirt is all too prone to crease.’

‘Mmm, silk, isn’t it?’ He reached out and took the fabric of her jacket between his thumb and finger, standing so close to her that she was immediately aware of the heat of his body. It took every ounce of willpower she possessed not to melt against him and beg him to take her in his arms.

Shaken by the violence of her feelings, Jessica stepped back, forgetting how high her heels were and stumbling slightly on the uneven drive. Instantly Lyle steadied her, his fingers curling round her arm, making her shiver in responsive delight.

‘Cold?’ He was frowning as he watched her, and Jessica knew why. It was a hot August night with no reason on earth why she should be feeling cold.

‘No, just fright. I thought I was going to fall for a moment.’

Fortunately he seemed to accept her explanation, releasing her immediately and walking over to the car to unlock the passenger door for her.

Her fear that once they were alone Lyle might bring up the subject of their marriage subsided a little when he made no attempt to speak, instead feeding a cassette into the machine, flooding the car with some of her favourite chamber music.

The journey seemed to last for ever, but eventually they were there, Andrea coming out to welcome them, laughing slightly as her ‘bulge’ got in the way as she hugged Jessica.

‘Just you wait until it’s your turn,’ she threatened teasingly when Jessica laughed.

Beside her Lyle tensed, and as easily as though she could read his mind Jessica knew what he was thinking. It was impossible to stop the faint touch of scorn edging up into her voice as she responded coolly to her sister’s teasing.

‘Well, it most definitely isn’t on the cards at the moment.’

Although it was Andrea she addressed her comment to, it was meant for Lyle, but conversely instead of making him relax it only seemed to increase his tension.

‘Come on inside and meet the others.’

Andrea had a new glow and self-confidence about her that had restored much of the spiritedness she seemed to have lost recently. Jessica noticed that she seemed far less inclined to cling to David, her manner assured and calm.

There were three other couples in the drawing-room; all the men were David’s colleagues, and Jessica recognised two of them as senior lecturers, no doubt invited so that David could indulge in some discreet lobbying, Jessica reflected wryly.

This aspect of the academic scene had never appealed to her; quite the reverse, and although she made no protest when David paraded her in front of his superiors, almost as though she were a prize exhibit in some sort of show, the gleam in her eyes should have warned him that she didn’t appreciate being used to further his career.

‘Jessica is shortly to submit another book to her publishers,’ David told them, smiling at her. ‘This time I believe the subject is ‘‘Love and its effect on Western Culture’’.’

Jessica was all too glad to escape on the pretext of giving Andrea a hand in the kitchen. As she tugged her arm away from David’s too-tight grip she noticed that Lyle was already deep in conversation with the wives of David’s colleagues; one of them, a particularly attractive woman in her late thirties, was standing so close to him that their bodies touched. Far from moving away whenever she came near him, Lyle seemed to be enjoying the light physical contact. The woman turned towards him, touching his arm in emphasis of some point she was making, and Jessica swallowed hard as she saw the way Lyle looked down into her animated face, jealousy seizing her body in a paralysing grip.

‘Jessica?’