A Pretend Engagement (12 page)

She peeled potatoes and dwelt on her 'engagement'. While it was plain that it fell into the 'nine-day wonder' category, if it lasted that long, she supposed she had better try and accept-since she was the one who was guilty of starting the `engagement' ball rolling in the first place, that for the rest of Leon Beaumont's stay at Aldwyn House they were engaged.

She could not say that she liked it.But could not see that she was in any position to do anything about it. Eddie and Pauline had found them and... Oh, heavens. Another thought hopped into her brain and, without stopping to think, Varnie hurriedly left the kitchen.

`I knew you were mad at me,' Leon drawled as she slammed into the study, `but do you really want to set about me with that lethal looking instrument?'

Varnie looked to where he was looking-so urgent was her business she still had the potato peeler in her hand. `If those two press people found you, what's to prevent other newshounds coming down here?" 'You flatter me.'

`You exasperate me!' she snapped. His lips twitched. Oh, to be able to box hisears ! `You're well known. There'll be hordes of press people descending...'

`Hordes?' he echoed. `I doubt I'm that well known. But,' he went on, when she would have jumped in to contradict him, `I let that pair believe that you were out shopping for a few things you needed to take with us when we leave later this afternoon.'

`You told then we were leaving?'

`For a more private location.I rang my PA a short while ago and told her to make sure the news that you and I are leaving Wales in a few hours reaches Antonia King's ears today.'

`You think of everything!' Varnie said shortly, and marched back to the kitchen. He patently considered that if any of the newspaper people questioned the veracity of what Eddie or Pauline might pass on,then either Antonia King or her husband would confirm it. Varnie did not see anything of Leon for a few hours, but knew when he had left the study and when he went to the drawing room. Knew when he left the drawing room and knew when he went to take his shower. She was busy putting the finishing touches to an apple pie when he joined her in the kitchen.

`Is that for us?' he asked, leaning negligently against a dresser. She gave him a look, as if to ask whom the devil he thought she was making it for. As if reading her thoughts, he quirked his lips. And after a second or two he commented, `It seems ridiculous that you eat in here and I take dinner in the dining room. You may as well lay another place in the dining room,' he decided.

He was inviting her to eat her meal with him? Magnanimous! An imp of mischief she seemed unable to suppress all at once jumped into the fray. And though that very morning V arnie had been so embarrassed that nothing would have seen her referring to the way she had parted from him the previous evening, theafternoon's happenings seemed to have sent all embarrassment on its way. She enquired nicely, 'You're um-not afraid of the consequences after dinner?' her eyes wide and innocent.

Leon looked at her, looked into her saucy innocent eyes. And Varnie knew from the suddenly laid-back look of him that there was nothing wrong with his recall. That he had no difficulty at all in remembering the way she had taken it upon herself to kiss him when they'd returned to Aldwyn House. He smiled a nice if phoney smile. `You're worried, post-apple pie, that you might not be able to control your-sexual urges?' he replied delightfully.

Sexual urges! Now she was embarrassed. There had been nothing remotely sexual in the way she had last night kissed him. Had there?

She was suddenly too hot and bothered to know. But, although she felt a touch pink around the ears, she managed to stay outwardly calm, at any rate, to scoff, `You think I might be unable to resist throwing myself at you?'

He shrugged, and smiled a silky smile. `It has been known,' he informed her.

Pig! She hadn't thrown herself at him! But that was what he was intimating; she knew full well it was. And what could she do about it?Nothing. `You'll forgive me, I'm sure-' she favoured him with a phoney smile of her own `-but if it's all the same to you I'll decline your most generous offer.'

Her sarcasm did not so much as put a pinhole in him. And she had to admit he looked far from broken-hearted as he stood away from the dresser and politely told her, `Suit yourself,' prior to ambling casually out of the kitchen. The words `sexual urges' haunted Varnie for the remainder of that day, and she was still thinking of Leon's accusation when she lay in her bed, trying to get to sleep that night.

She was sure that she hadn't `come on to him' in that sense. Yet somehow there was a stray niggle of doubt. Varnie thumped her pillow and tried to get to sleep-had she kissed him a little longer than she should? Had that `I trust you'

kissturned into an `I wouldn't mind a bit more response' type of kiss?

No, no, no, she denied. And made up her mind there and then that for however much longer she was going to have to stay here-my heavens, was she going to make that brother of herssuffer when she saw him-she was going to keep a very long distance between her and one Leon Beaumont Esquire!

Which notion was put under a very heavy strain the next morning when, Leon already there when she entered the kitchen, he, coffee in hand, stayed, his eyes on her.

`Did I thank you for picking up a paper for me yesterday?' he asked. Varnie was fully aware by that time that he had a better memory than anyone she knew. `You're welcome,' she replied, turning away and going to the fridge.

`I can get my own paper today.'

That surprised her. She took the bacon from the fridge, straightened and turned to look at him. `You're going into town?"

'I thought I might.'

`You're not working?' Now, that was a surprise.

`I've taken on board what you said about Jack and dull,' he replied, and there was nothing wrong with her memory either. It was he who had said it. She had said he should get out more, and he had come back with, `Jack's a dull boy?"

'Shall I take a message if any business calls come through?' she enquired evenly. `I rather thought you might comee with me,' Leon announced out of the blue, to prove this was her day for surprises. `You could take the day off too. We could have lunchin '

`No, thanks!' she cut in shortly-that orforget all about her nagging hours of worrying if there had, after all, been anything of a sexual nature in her kiss. That or do a total about-turn on her decision to keep a very long distance between her and Leon. `Besides which...' She ran out of ideas.

`Besides which,' he filled in for her, `you're still out of sorts with me because of our conversation yesterday.'

She could have asked him which conversation that would be. But she knew, and to her mind he knew more than enough about the way a woman's mind worked than was good for him.

`One egg or two?' she asked shortly.

`If I apologise nicely, can we be friends?' he asked softly. Ye gods, his charm was swamping! `Look here, Beaumont,' she snapped, `I might have to be engaged to you, but I draw the line at having to be friends with you as well!'

He laughed, and she had to laugh too. There was something about the wretched man. Her heart had definitely had a giddy moment just then.

He went to the study after breakfast, and she fretted briefly that he might have changed his mind about having some time off. But, after making a few phone calls, he stopped by the kitchen on his way out. `Anything you need bringing back?'

`We're all right for everything, I think. Thanks all the same.'

He did not ask her again to go with him, but went to get his car from the garage. And suddenly she felt flat. She wished she had said she would go with him. There was nothing to be done that could not wait.

She had anticipated he would be back within a couple of hours, but he wasn't, and Varnie went from room to room admitting that she felt dreadfully restless. And when three hours had passed, and he still wasn't back, it was with

somethingakin to shock that she faced the fact that she missed him.

It was true that with Leon forever in the study and sometimes in the drawing room she never saw a great deal of him anyway. But he had always been in the house, and now he wasn't. And she found there was a difference.

Don't be absurd. She attempted to scoff at any weird notion that she was missing Leon, and took herself off to the attic. She had tidied and sorted out a lot of her grandfather's impedimenta, but so far the attic had remained untouched. Perhaps if she got involved in sorting through the attic she would forget any peculiar idea that Aldwyn House wasn't the same with Leon not there.

After filling several plastic bags with bits and pieces to take to the charity shop and countless old photographs of people she had never met which she intended to take to her mother, Varnie was feeling hot and dusty. She left the attic and went to take a shower.

She had just arrived downstairs when Leon came in. It amazed her more than a little how pleased she was to see him. `Have a nice time?' she enquired, as he came into the kitchen. `Been busy?' he countered.

`You know how it is-a woman's work is never done,' she trotted out, and felt awkward suddenly for no reason. 'Er-have you had anything to eat?'

`I have, but if there's any apple pie left...' Justthat, and she was over her feeling of awkwardness.Weird-truly weird.

He was carrying a whole clutch of newspapers. But, to warm her through and through, he placed the one she favoured on top of the breadbin and went and sat at the kitchen table.

`Thanks for the paper,' she said, and unable to find a cause for her sudden feeling of breathlessness that he was not taking himself off to the drawing room to read his papers. 'You..um-you'd like your apple pie now, right?'

He glanced up, his eyes on her eyes, straying briefly to her mouth, and then back up to her eyes again, `Right,' he said, and began reading his paper. When later he went to the study-Varnie supposed to check the computer for some detail of business-she prepared a cold supper of meat and cheese and a side salad and left it for him.

She had an early meal herself,then started to experience a feeling of restlessness again. But it was too late to think of taking a walk-not to say too pitch black out there. She decided she might as well go to her room. Her eye caught sight of the paper Leon had brought back for her. It was as yet unread. She picked it up and, intending to read it later, took it with her.

Varnie thought about knocking on the study door and saying goodnight.And then wondered if she was going slightly dotty. She had never sought Leon out to say goodnight before-what on earth was the matter with her?

Up in her room she realised that what was the matter with her was nothing more simple than the fact that where she and Leon had started off as antagonists-he a snarling brute and she giving no quarter-they now, unbelievably, seemed to be getting on quite well.

Well, sort of, she qualified.Mostly. He could still be a snarling brute if he felt like it, and she wasn't too short on acid either. But, all in all, she found that she rather liked the brute. As she decided that she might as well get ready for bed, have an early night and try and catch up on some missed sleep, Varnie found she was smiling.

She had showered and was in bed-wide awake-when she remembered her newspaper. She hopped out of bed and collected it, feeling, to her bewilderment, surprisingly content. Now, wasn't that odd? She didn't want to be here with Leon, but... She turned the page over-and abruptly all thought ceased!

There in front of her was a picture of Leon, taken at some function or other-and beside it a picture of Aldwyn House! She read the headline and felt a jolt of shock in the pit of her stomach. There in bold print was stated, 'Tycoon's Secret Engagement'.

Hoping against hope, she read on. Oh, heavens above, it got worse. Varnie gasped audibly as she read how one of the most eligible bachelors, Leon Beaumont, was secreted away in his Welsh haven with his fiancee, Varnie Sutton.

No! It was a dreadful shock to see her name in print, her own name linked to his, and a shock to read that, because of the death of a close member of Miss Sutton's family, they were not yet officially announcing their engagement. There was more about how they had now left their haven in Wales-but as her shock evened out all Varnie could think of just then was Leon.

Had he seen the article? Was it in his paper? Or any of thebundle of papers he had brought back? Perhaps it was only in her paper? She had no idea if Pauline and Eddie were freelance people, or what they were. In any case, weren't

somenews items often shared or sold to other newspapers?

With the notion in her head to go and show the article to Leon, Varnie was half out of bed when she looked down at her nightdress and thought better of it. She did not feel like disturbing him clad in her nightclothes and, while she could easily have got dressed and gone to find him, she suddenly wondered if perhaps she was making too much fuss about it.

Leon was a man of the world. A man used to dealing with the press. In all probability he had fully expected something to appear in the paper today.

Yes, but what if he hadn't? What if he hadn't seen it? What if it wasn't in his paper? He had not mentioned it-and he'd been reading one of his papers in the kitchen. He had probably read the others in the drawing room. Could he be reading them right now? This very minute! Half fearing to hear a knock at her door at any moment-though on past experience Leon was more likely to walk straight in-Varnie knew then that if Leon did not learn what was in the newspaper tonight, tomorrow morning she was going to have to tell him.