In Separate Bedrooms (12 page)

He gave a wince. ‘Mattie, I was hoping for a chance to talk to you when we returned to the hotel last night—’

‘But we were rudely interrupted,’ she interjected.

‘Yes,’ he acknowledged grimly. ‘There’s something I really should tell you before we go downstairs to meet the family—’

‘Tell me on the way,’ she suggested, moving out into the carpeted corridor. Besides, she already knew what he really should tell her!

A little late in the day for confession time, she would have thought. Besides, she really didn’t intend giving him the chance to confess anything; she might be under an obligation to Betty and the rest of the Beauchamp family to be on her best behaviour, but as far as Jack was concerned she felt no such compunction.

She wanted the satisfaction of seeing the shocked surprise on his face when she met his sisters and showed no surprise at their identity at all. She felt, after the way Jack had made her feel so guilty over her mix-up with the flowers, that she was owed that, at least.

Jack joined her out in the corridor, taking a firm grasp of her elbow as he prevented her from walking too fast. ‘You see, Mattie,’ he began with audible reluctance. ‘I haven’t—’

‘Jack! Mattie! Wait for us!’

Mattie almost burst out laughing at the impatient frustration on Jack’s face as they both recognized his mother’s voice behind them. Poor Jack, he wasn’t going to get the chance to make his confession, after all. She
could almost feel sorry for him. As sorry as he’d made her over the mix-up with the flowers!

She turned to smile at Betty, her eyes widening slightly as she took in the man who walked at Betty’s side; he was so like Jack, give or take another forty years, that this had to be Edward Beauchamp. Mattie felt she would have been able to recognize exactly who he was—Betty’s husband—anyway.

Tall, much taller than his wife, dark hair threaded through with grey, his face an older version of Jack’s good looks. They really
were
a very attractive family, Mattie decided.

‘Mattie, this is my husband Edward,’ Betty introduced warmly, looking extremely regal in a long black sequinned gown. ‘Edward, this is Jack’s friend, Mattie.’

Even the eyes were the same warm brown, Mattie discovered as she looked up into the aristocratically handsome face of Edward Beauchamp as the two of them shook hands.

‘It’s a pleasure to meet you,’ Edward told her with sincerity.

‘Isn’t this nice?’ Betty proclaimed happily as she linked arms with Mattie with the friendliness that seemed to be such a part of her nature, the two women walking ahead of the men now as they made their way to the lift. ‘The girls are all absolutely furious that I’ve stolen a march on them and met you first,’ she confided conspiratorially, obviously immensely pleased with herself for having done so, too.

Mattie was glad that Jack wasn’t in hearing distance of that last remark. Just a few minutes fun, that was all she wanted. Just to see Jack squirm for a little bit, as he had made her squirm.

Was that being vindictive, after all? she wondered. No, she concluded; it was only for a few minutes, and after that, no matter how she might personally feel about practising such a deception on this charming family, she would do her best to help Jack get through what promised to be a very uncomfortable evening for him.

Even if it was of his own making!

‘C
OULD
I just borrow Mattie for a few minutes?’ Jack asked as the four of them approached the hotel bar, the sound of people chattering audible over the soft playing of a piano.

Mattie turned to look at him, her arm still linked with Betty’s. Jack had the look of a man about to face the executioner!

She moved away from Betty to now link her arm with Jack’s, looking up at him unconcernedly. ‘I’m sure there will be plenty of time for us to talk later, Jack,’ she assured him brightly; she could easily feel the tension in his arm beneath her fingertips.

He looked less than reassured. ‘But—’

‘The girls are going to be so disappointed if I tell them you’ve been delayed,’ his mother warned him with light reproval.

Almost as if Betty knew what Mattie was doing. Although Jack’s mother couldn’t possibly know. Could she …?

‘Come on, son.’ His father gave him a playful slap on the back. ‘You know what the Beauchamp women are like. Besides, it will be less—momentous, for Mattie, if the four of us go in together.’

Well, at least one member of this family appreciated how difficult Mattie was finding this meeting with them! Even if Edward couldn’t fully appreciate why!

‘Let’s go in, Jack,’ she encouraged. ‘It will be all
right,’ she relented enough to reassure him as she saw how truly miserable he was looking.

But it was of his own making, she reasoned to herself as he reluctantly complied. Why hadn’t he just told her the truth in the first place? It would have been so much simpler.

The sisters were all there in the bar. Sandy laughing softly with a tall dark-haired man, the love shining out of her face proclaiming him as Thom, her new fiancé, Tina was talking with a slightly stocky man who was probably the insensitive Jim; Sally was with a tall blond-haired man, and Cally’s choice of husband was a tall red-haired man Mattie thought might be a Scot. There was also another older couple present, who were probably the new fiancé’s parents. However, there was no sign yet of their daughter, Sharon.

As the four of them approached all conversation ceased between the other members of the Beauchamp family as they turned to look, and Mattie could feel Jack’s tension deepen as he reached down to tightly clasp her hand in his.

He really was worried about this meeting!

What did he think she was going to do, for goodness’ sake? Even if she hadn’t been aware of exactly who Tina, Sandy, Cally, and Sally were, she believed she could be trusted not to make a scene in front of Jack’s family!

Although Jack obviously wasn’t as sure!

Mattie relented slightly in the face of Jack’s increasing misery, standing on tiptoe to whisper softly in his ear. ‘Just introduce me, Jack; it’s going to be fine.’

He swallowed hard. ‘I just wish you had let me explain—’

‘Do it later.’ She gave an encouraging squeeze of his hand. ‘And please don’t worry—’

‘Hi, everyone!’ greeted a huskily sexy voice from close behind them. ‘I do hope I’m not too late?’ the woman added insincerely.

Jack had stiffened at Mattie’s side at the first sound of that come-to-bed voice. Mattie gave him a concerned look before turning slowly to look at the newcomer.

The woman was tall, with flowing dark hair that reached down to her waist. The short, figure-hugging tube-dress she was wearing was the same deep violet colour as her eyes—eyes framed by the longest dark lashes Mattie had ever seen, her face having the delicate beauty of an exquisite china doll.

This
was Thom’s sister, Sharon?

She had to be. Everyone else in the family was already present.

This was the woman Jack claimed he needed protecting from?

Mattie glanced at him consideringly. If that was how Jack really felt, then he must be the only man in the room who did!

Because every other man present, whether alone or with someone, was unashamedly staring at the beautiful woman who was now laughingly greeting Sandy and Thom, before moving on to the other sisters and their respective spouses.

But even as the woman chatted and laughed with the rest of the family, Mattie was conscious of the fact that Sharon was completely aware of Jack as he stood stiffly at Mattie’s side, could sense the other woman’s interest even before she finally came to stand directly in front of him.

‘Jack,’ Sharon initiated.

He gave a polite inclination of his head. ‘Sharon.’

‘I’m sure we can do better than that; after all, we’ll soon be one big, happy family!’ Sharon murmured throatily before leaning forward and kissing him lightly on the lips, effectively prompting the release of Jack’s hand from Mattie’s as he reached up to clasp the slenderness of Sharon’s tanned, bared shoulders and moved her firmly away from him. ‘It’s so good to see you again,’ Sharon persisted, now determinedly linking her arm with his in forced intimacy.

Mattie had heard other women use the phrase, ‘I just want to scratch her eyes out’, although she had never before felt such an inclination herself. But at that moment she knew she could cheerfully have carried out such a threat on the beautiful Sharon!

How dared Sharon look at Jack in that way, as if she just wanted to devour him? As if, for her, no one else in the room existed?

Although, to give Jack his due, he wasn’t giving the woman any encouragement—

He didn’t need to!

Sharon looked like a woman who knew what she wanted. And got it, too. And she obviously wanted Jack Beauchamp.

What Mattie didn’t understand was why Jack didn’t want Sharon in return. Or, at least, said he didn’t …

But why should he lie about such a thing? It didn’t—

‘—me introduce you to my friend, Mattie Crawford,’ Jack was saying now, his arm moving lightly about Mattie’s waist as he pulled her to his side. ‘Mattie, this is Sharon Keswick, Thom’s sister.’

‘And I thought we were so much more than that,
Jack,’ the other woman taunted before turning hard violet-coloured eyes on Mattie. ‘It’s nice to meet you, Mandy,’ she greeted disinterestedly, her handshake definitely on the limp side too.

‘Mattie,’ she corrected, releasing her hand as quickly as possible, having no doubts that the use of the wrong name had been deliberate on the other woman’s part, at the same time deciding there was absolutely no point in returning any nicety of her own; she wouldn’t mean it any more than the other woman did.

‘Mattie,’ Sharon corrected in a bored voice, the light of challenge in those violet-coloured eyes now. ‘Have we met before? Perhaps you know the—’

‘Can I get you some champagne, Sharon?’ Edward Beauchamp stepped in to offer politely.

‘If you’ll both excuse us?’ Jack cut in dismissively. ‘I just want to introduce Mattie to the rest of the family.’

Considering that a few minutes ago it was the last thing he had wanted to do …!

‘What a good idea,’ Mattie agreed. ‘I’m sure we’ll talk again later in the evening, Miss Keswick,’ she told the other woman coolly.

‘You can count on it,’ Sharon murmured before turning smilingly to Edward Beauchamp and accepting the glass of champagne he held out to her.

‘Whew!’ Jack breathed deeply once they were safely out of earshot. ‘See what I mean?’ he added grimly.

Mattie wasn’t at all sure what she was supposed to see. Sharon
was
as interested in Jack as he had claimed she was—more than interested!—and he was as obviously fighting shy of that interest.

But surely there had been more to the encounter than
that, an underlying something, a feeling that some sort of intimacy did exist between the two of them?

One thing Mattie did know: all the fun had gone out of the evening for her. She had intended teasing Jack a little concerning the identity of his four sisters, of having just a little fun at his expense, but now she felt no such inclination. In fact, as far as Mattie was concerned, with Sharon Keswick’s arrival she stopped enjoying herself!

Mainly because, as Sharon hadn’t been present when they’d arrived downstairs, a part of Mattie had begun to wonder if there really was a Sharon at all, if it hadn’t just been another part of the game Jack was playing with her. Because if that were the case, then there was the possibility that perhaps Jack had invited her to Paris with him for an altogether different reason …

But all those half-hopes and dreams had disappeared out of the window the moment the other woman had put in an appearance. And what an appearance!

Mattie once again felt like that ugly duckling amongst so many beautiful swans. One beautiful swan in particular …!

‘All I saw was a beautiful woman,’ Mattie snapped abruptly.

‘Oh, she’s certainly that,’ Jack conceded ruefully.

Mattie bridled resentfully; he could have at least attempted to play down the other woman’s beauty—even if it weren’t the truth! ‘Then where’s your problem?’ she returned scathingly.

Jack gave a shake of his head. ‘It’s too complicated to explain right now—’

‘I’m sure that if you use simple words, ones with only two syllables or less, that I’ll understand!’ Mattie scorned.

Jack turned to her looking worried. ‘Mattie—’

‘Not now, Jack,’ she interrupted, forcing herself to smile as they approached his family group. ‘Now you have to introduce me to your four sisters: Tina, the twins Sally and Cally, and Sandy,’ she recited.

Even the stunned look on Jack’s face as he came to an abrupt halt at this announcement didn’t give her the satisfaction she had expected it would. Because the arrival of the beautiful Sharon Keswick had completely taken the shine off the evening as far as Mattie was concerned.

‘If I were you, Jack, I would stop my impersonation of a goldfish, and introduce me,’ she told him, still smiling—even if she felt more like crying. ‘Your sisters and their partners are all wondering what’s keeping us.’ In fact, the younger members of his family were all discreetly looking the other way as she and Jack talked softly together. No doubt they were under the impression that she and Jack were murmuring sweet intimacies to each other.

No such luck!

This would teach her to believe there might be such a thing as happy-ever-after for her with Jack. Jack himself had claimed from the beginning that he wanted her with him in Paris as a deterrent to the attentions of Sharon Keswick, and the last few minutes had shown her that was the truth. Nothing less. But certainly nothing more.

She had envisaged that this evening, she would finally forgive him for his little subterfuge, and then hopefully the two of them could spend the rest of the evening together enjoying themselves. They might even have
ended the evening in the way that they could have done last night if his sister hadn’t interrupted them …

None of that was going to happen now!

It was her own fault, of course. Jack had been pleasant to her, a wonderful companion the evening before, but he had never given any indication that he felt more than that. She was the one who had made the mistake of falling in love with him.