Millionaire's Woman

‘The firm concentrates on quality rather than mass production and made everything individually to my specifications. After their coverage in the article the orders came flooding in, so we’re all happy,’ said Jack. ‘I believe in patronising local tradesmen. Come on, eat up,’ he added, ‘you’re lagging behind.’

When the plate was empty Jack got up and filled two mugs, then returned to his place on the bed.

‘I made the coffee while Bran was out doing the necessary, then decanted it into Molly’s insulated jug. I like my coffee red-hot.’

‘I remember,’ said Kate, sipping cautiously.

Jack leaned back at the foot of the bed, eyeing her in wry amusement. ‘I’ve thought of having you in this bed right from the moment we met up again, Kate, but never in quite these circumstances.’

‘I bet,’ she said dryly, and smiled. ‘But this is nice, just the same, Jack.’

‘It is,’ he agreed. ‘Friendship with you isn’t really such hard work.’

‘Even after the fright I gave you last night?’

He frowned. ‘What happens when you sleepwalk in Park Crescent?’

‘I haven’t so far.’

‘How do you know?’

Kate drank some of her coffee. ‘For obvious reasons I’m always barefoot when I wander. If my feet are clean when I wake up I’m in the clear. And, contrary to belief, sleepwalkers don’t drift round like ghosts; they knock things over and bump into furniture. So if everything’s in its place I know I’ve stayed in bed all night. Besides,’ she added, ‘even if I found the key and unbolted the front door in my sleep I’d wake up pretty quickly when the alarm went off.’

‘True.’ Jack looked relieved. ‘You’ve had that kind of security everywhere you’ve lived?’

Kate nodded soberly. ‘Robert installed it in their place, and I had it done in Anna’s flat when I moved there. David’s loft was already like a fortress, so no problem, but I did the necessary when I went to live alone in Notting Hill, and again before I moved into Park Crescent.’

Jack looked thoughtful as he finished his coffee. ‘You might not get out of the actual house there, but those stairs are hellish steep. You could fall and break something—like your neck.’

Kate shook her head. ‘There were stairs in the Sutton household, but I stayed in one piece.’

‘How often did it happen there?’

Her eyes dropped. ‘More than I liked. As you can appreciate, it was a bad time for me when I was first living with them in London. But it only happened once after I moved into Anna’s flat.’

‘Did she know about it beforehand?’

‘Of course. I had to tell her that when I applied to share. But Anna wasn’t fazed. Her brother was captain of the first eleven at his school and used to walk in his sleep before important cricket matches. He’d get out of bed in the dormitory with his bat, and shape up to an invisible wicket.’

Jack grinned. ‘That must have been fun for his mates.’

‘Apparently they just bowled a few balls to him and he went back to bed.’

‘You’re making that up!’

‘I’m not. Nick Travers told me that himself.’

Jack chuckled as he put their mugs on the tray, then shot her a questioning look. ‘Are you having lunch with the Maitlands today?’

Kate shook her head. ‘I’m having supper with them during the week instead.’

He looked at her speculatively. ‘And you’ve finished your painting, so what are you going to do today?’

She shrugged. ‘Nothing much.’

‘Then you can do that here with me, Kate.’

‘I’ll have to if the floodwater hasn’t gone down,’ she reminded him.