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'Are
you
staying here?' Matt asked.

'Yes. We've been here nearly a week.'

'With the "old friend" who offered you such an honourable proposal?' he sneered. 'When you said old friend, I hadn't realised you meant it so literally.'

She looked at him blankly, then the penny dropped and she could barely refrain from laughing. 'Jack's very young at heart,' she replied, straight-faced.

'He doesn't look English.'

'He's American. In oil.'

'For frying?'

'Very funny,' she said, trying to look affronted.

'Not funny at all. The damn fool's old enough to be your father.'

'When two people are mentally, attuned,' she said in a little girl voice, 'age doesn't matter. Don't you find that with Lolita?'

'I assume you're referring to Maggie,' he answered stiffly.

'Unless you've got someone younger with you as well.'

He glanced down at her hand and went into the attack again. 'I see you're not married yet. Is he slipping from the noose too?'

'The way you did?' she smiled, hating him for his cruelty. 'On the contrary, But he's in the process of severing an old noose.'

Matt went pale with rage. His mouth opened and shut, then without a word he stalked over to his companion. A few seconds later they left, and Caroline allowed herself a bitter smile.

She recounted the story to Tom over dinner that evening. He was highly amused, but she no longer found it funny, and was suddenly overcome by a sadness. How could Matt believe she would go off with a man of Jack Morgan's age? Did he really believe money was more important to her than love?

After her meeting with Matt, Caroline could not wait to return to England, and in the weeks that followed she saw a great deal of David. Either she went down to the country for the weekend, or he came to London. His parents lived in Kensington and he stayed with them. They welcomed Caroline warmly and made it clear that they would be delighted to welcome her into the family..

Caroline was in a quandary. She knew David was in love with her and wanted to marry her, and she sensed that the only reason he had not proposed was because he was afraid she would refuse. Yet she herself was by no means sure what she would do.. She liked David very much and though there was no spark in their relationship, she was warmed by the love he had for her. If only she could stop comparing every man with Matt; no one stood up to the comparison.

She managed not to repulse David's tentative attempts to make love to her, but she could not respond the way she knew she was capable of doing, and David, who had read of her engagement to Matt, was sufficiently sensitive to know she was not yet heartwhole.

In September she spent a further ten days away, completing the final two drink commercials. This time they went to Capri and Monte Carlo. She was not pleased to be back in the South of France. It revived too many memories, particularly when she and Tom were filmed in the bar of the Hotel de Paris.

The only gift she had not returned to Matt was the poodle brooch he had bought for her. Perhaps it was because she felt that when he had given it to her it had not been for any ulterior motive but was an instinctive act of generosity—unlike the ring or the money. Oh, Matt, she thought miserably, will there ever be a time when I can think of you without pain?

She now read the gossip columns avidly, something she had never bothered to do before. Occasionally there was some reference to Matt, but he never seemed to be with the same girl for long.

She dreaded having to start work again on the catalogue, but she and Tom were contractually bound to do it, and it was with a great deal of trepidation that she went to the studio in High Holborn where all the photographic sessions were being held. One part of her hoped Matt would be there, and the other part prayed that he wouldn't. But he did not show up, nor did Helen or Mark, a fact which Lee and Ann both commented on.

'I suppose it's because Matt and I are no longer engaged,' Caroline said. 'Perhaps they felt it best to keep out of the way.'

'What went wrong between you and Matt?' Ann asked when she had a chance to speak to Caroline alone.

'He found we'd let the glamour of Antibes go to our heads. In the cool atmosphere of London, our love wasn't so hot.'

Ann looked sceptical, but before she could say anything Lee called across to them.

'Stop the gabbing, so we can get started. Caroline, put on some heavier make-up to cover the bags. You've lost weight and it doesn't suit you.'

Caroline had not realised that her loss of weight was so noticeable, but perhaps it was because Lee and Ann had not seen her for some time. Her appetite was certainly not what it had been, and she often had to force herself to eat a meal.

Throughout the day they worked hard, not even breaking for lunch, which consisted of coffee, as Lee was determined to finish all the photographs as quickly as possible. He found the project irksome and regretted having taken it on. He was the type who worked best when his enthusiasm was high, and he found it tedious to have a project carry on over a number of months—with large gaps in between.

It was seven before Lee called a halt and they were all relieved to get out of the studio and into the cool October night.

Ann linked her arm with Caroline's. 'How about coming back to our place for dinner? We've plenty for four.' She looked enquiringly at Tom.

'Thanks, Ann, but I've already got a date.'

'I haven't,' said Caroline, pleased to accept the invitation.

The knowledge that she had been working for Matt had brought back memories she had been trying to bury, and she could not face the idea of an evening watching television, as she had originally planned. That was the one trouble with going steady with David. He rarely managed to get to London during the week, and because she had no wish to date anyone else, she spent most of her weekday evenings alone. Tom was actively looking for a flat of his own again, and she was hoping he would find it difficult, for she enjoyed having him around.

Lee and Ann lived in a new luxury block off Campden Hill. The furnishings would have made Heals' glow with pride. It was not surprising, with their eye for perfection, to find such a subtle blend of colours, but they had managed to make the huge lounge dining room look comfortable and lived in —not an easy achievement in such a starkly modern home.

The blue and white Poggenpohl kitchen fitments were a dream, and while Ann prepared the steaks and jacket potatoes, Caroline mixed the salad and laid the table in the wood-panelled dining-area.

Over supper, they regaled her with stories about some of their famous clients, and she left them at midnight feeling much more cheerful than when she had arrived. Four more days of catalogue photography and all reminder of Matt would be at an end.
¹
The following morning when she arrived at the studio she was dismayed to see Mark talking to Ann. She prayed he was not the
forerunner
for Matt! In her current state of mind, one sarcastic comment from him and she was likely to burst into tears. The thought of returning to him was so frequently in her mind that she was horrified by it. Only the indoctrination of her childhood helped her to stay resolute, though a moral sense of rectitude made a poor bedfellow.

'Hullo, Caroline.' Mark came up to her. It was the first time they had met since Tom had returned the ten thousand pounds to him, and she herself had left Matt, and she was curious to know if he had any sense of guilt over the part he had played in deceiving her. But his expression was guileless, and she decided that he did not care what he did, so long as it proved to be good for him. Had she not disliked Helen quite so much, she would almost have felt sorry for the girl.

'A pity you weren't at my wedding,' he said, 'but Helen didn't think you'd come.'

'I'm sorry too,' she said, smiling pleasantly. 'It would have made me very happy to see the two of you getting married. You really deserve each other.'

He had the grace to redden, and his next words showed that he knew to what she was referring. 'I suppose you're angry because I wouldn't lend Tom the money without getting you to do something for me in return?'

'That's one way of putting it.'

'You were keen on Matt,' he reminded her. 'I knew that the minute I saw you together. So where was the hardship?'

'I expected marriage,' she said flatly. 'That's why I signed the agreement with you.'

Mark looked discomfited. 'You really believed he'd ask you? You amaze me, Caroline. I thought you were sophisticated enough to know the score.'

She shrugged, afraid to continue the conversation in case she gave her feelings away.

'It's all over and done with, Mark. Let's forget it. Tom and I could repay you, and I was able to leave Matt with my honour still intact.'

Mark's lack of surprise at this part of her statement told her that Matt had already put him in the picture. She wondered why he had, for it could only have made him look a complete fool. Conscience must have made him decide to save her reputation, there was no other explanation.

'Haven't you changed yet?' Lee called out irritably, and with a nod in Mark's direction, Caroline hurried off to the dressing room.

When she emerged, Mark had gone, and with a sense of relief she took her place in front of the lights.

Caroline
and Tom spent Christmas with their aunt and uncle, and David joined them on Boxing Day.

Early in January he was called away to America on business for a client, and for the entire month Caroline was left to her own devices. It gave her a breathing space and enabled her to see things with greater clarity, which made her realise she could never become his wife—or any man's wife—while the mere thought of Matt made her feel so raw inside.

Hard on this thought, she received a wedding invitation from Ann and Lee. She had only seen them twice since finishing the photographic session—once at a party, and then one evening when they had asked her out for dinner.

The wedding was only three weeks away, and the reception was at the Dorchester Hotel. No reply card was enclosed, so Caroline telephoned Ann to say she would accept.

'What suddenly made up Lee's mind for him?' Caroline asked.

'The patter of little feet. Straight after doing Bishop's catalogue, we did a big session on baby food, and one infant looked so much like Lee that the whole crew nearly collapsed with hysterics.'

'What about Lee?' Caroline laughed.

'The little brat awoke his paternal instinct.'

'Lee's?' Caroline was incredulous.

'That's right,' Ann burbled happily. 'Until now he never wanted a family of his own. No commitment, and no hassle—you know the sort of thing.'

Only too well Caroline did, and wondered if a baby that looked like Matt might turn her own world from grey to rosy.

'I'll expect to buy a layette for you in nine months' time,' she said.

Ann laughed. 'Why not bring your current boyfriend along with you?' she suggested.

'I will, if he can get away for the day.'

There was a pause. 'We haven't invited Matt,' Ann said. 'Lee was going to ask him, but I told him if he did, he'd have to have the baby himself!'

'It wouldn't worry me to see him,' Caroline lied.

'Well, he won't be there, so you can come to the wedding with an easy mind.'

Knowing she would not have to see Matt decided Caroline not to ask David to come with her to the wedding. But on the day itself he telephoned early in the morning to say he had an appointment in Town and was free to have lunch with her.

'I'm going to a wedding,' she confessed, and because he sounded disappointed at not being able to see her, she invited him to go with her.

It was a sunny day, but cold. Caroline could not go to the ceremony as she had an interview with the fashion buyer from a top New York store who was holding an English fortnight and wanted to engage her. It would mean going to the States, but she was happy at the thought. Indeed she would cheerfully have gone to Timbuctoo; gone anywhere to put as much distance between herself and the man she had so firmly proclaimed she despised.

Having been accepted by the fashion buyer, she was in a happy mood as she rushed home to change into a bottle green suede suit that deepened the green of her eyes. She noticed she had to pull the belt in a notch further, and realised she would have to be careful that her slenderness did not become skinniness.

When she reached the Dorchester, David was already waiting for her. He was easily spotted, being one of the few men not in Arab dress. His grey pinstripe suit, worn with a white shirt and Stowe old school tie, made him look exactly what he was: dependable and courtly. But dull, she thought with a pang of guilt, and knew more firmly than ever that she must break off their relationship.

'Have you been here long?' she enquired, as they waited for the lift to take them up to the Penthouse Suite.

'Only a few minutes. I ...'

The rest of his words were lost as the doors opened and she was pushed into the back of the lift by a sudden, surge of people. She found herself squashed into a corner, her ribs tightly pressed by the man standing beside her, whose blue satin tie was on a level with her eyes. She tried to glance past him for a sight of David, but there was no sign of him and she inched her body back to try and put some distance between herself and the man who was still half shielding her from the rest of the people in the lift. Only as she did so did she glance up. Oh no! she thought, as she recognised the brown eyes gleaming into hers. What was Matt doing here?

She did not know whether she said his name aloud or merely thought it, but he gave her a tense smile.

'You can't escape me,' he said softly. 'I've been lying in wait for you. We've got things to talk over.'

'I'm going to a wedding.'

'I know. That's why I'm here.'

'I've come with another man,' she said coldly.

'Too bad!'

'Don't use your bullyboy tactics on me!' she whispered furiously, aware of other people listening with interest.