Interior Designs (24 page)

"Cathryn!" It was Susannah, running across what was, so help her, a drawbridge. Susannah looked radiant.

They kissed the air beside each other's cheeks. Cathryn stared unabashedly up at the crenellated tower above.

"I see what you mean about this house," said Cathryn with a grin.

"Yeah," replied Susannah ruefully. "Come on in—I've installed you in the southeast tower guest room."

"The southeast
tower?"

"Sure. Whoever built this place must've been an admirer of William the Conqueror. Isn't it awful?"

"Unusual," hedged Cathryn. "Whatever persuaded Avery to buy it?"

"His ex-wife, Queen Shirley."

"You call her Queen Shirley?"

"Well, only to Avery. And now you."

Arm in arm, they trooped across the drawbridge past a banded oaken door heavily encrusted with iron bolts. A suit of armor loomed in the large dark-paneled hall. Susannah contemptuously smacked it on the knee. The resulting clang resounded from the high ceilings.

Susannah had not exaggerated the depressing décor. The Jacobean furniture was black with age. Ratty red-velvet draperies were dragged down by limp gold fringe. Yet the place had possibilities. The study abounded with tall, mullioned windows, and the family room across the back of the first floor overlooked a picturesque free-form swimming pool.

"This place will be fun to work with," declared Cathryn after a tour of the house. She and Susannah stood in the tower bedroom that was to be Cathryn's for the duration of her visit.

"I'm glad you think so," replied Susannah fervently. "And now, if you don't mind, I'll go see what the cook is doing to the roast. I tried to explain the recipe, but I just hired her last week and she barely speaks English. Dinner's at eight, so why don't you come down whenever you're ready? Avery will be home soon and he's dying to meet you."

Twilight had dusted the woods with silver light by the time Cathryn descended the winding tower staircase. From the family room—the only room in which Susannah could bear to remain for any length of time—Cathryn heard the murmur of voices and the bright tinkle of Susannah's laughter. Cathryn smiled upon hearing it. She didn't recall ever seeing Susannah this happy with husbands number one, two, or three.

Susannah glided forward to greet her, her flowing crimson dress echoing the glowing embers in the fireplace beyond. Cathryn recognized Avery by the distinctive silver wings at his temples. Suave, sophisticated and elegantly attired, he was everything Susannah had claimed.

"I'm delighted to meet you," Cathryn said, offering Avery her hand.

"Welcome," he said, smiling down at her. He pulled Susannah close. "Susannah and I want you to stay as long as you like. Don't be in a hurry to get back to Palm Beach. Susannah will enjoy having company here in this big place." He smiled fondly at his wife.

"I can't stay as long as I'd really like to because of my studio," began Cathryn, and before she knew it she was embarked on the stock explanation of her busy life, telling Avery about the speech she was going to make at the conference and outlining her plans for the rest of the year.

Through it all, Avery listened carefully, thoughtfully, and Cathryn couldn't help but admire Susannah's current choice of husband. Avery, so interested and attentive, was the dignified counterpoint to Susannah's brashness. Perhaps this marriage would not go the way of Susannah's first three after all, thought Cathryn hopefully and with considerable surprise.

It was evident throughout dinner that Avery adored his wife. Communication between them was special and deep, and they seemed entirely in tune with each other.
Just as Drew and I once were,
Cathryn thought unhappily. Why, oh, why, when she saw a happy couple, did her mind always fly to thoughts of how it might have been if she and Drew had stayed together? But why think of that? What was the use?

She pushed the thought of Drew from her mind. In spite of her sadness, which contrasted with Susannah and Avery's happiness, Cathryn turned her attention at once to the job she had traveled here to do.

She spent the next few days studying the house, talking with Avery and Susannah to determine their preferences in home decor, and studying how they spent their days.

"Mostly, I want this house to be comfortable," insisted Susannah, flipping through color charts. "And colorful. It should be welcoming, so that people will want to visit."

As she listened, Cathryn formulated a design plan in her head that included taking advantage of the lovely big family room overlooking the pool and making it the heart of the house. Since Avery had assured her that money was no object, she would also order new furniture for the entire downstairs, perhaps including lots of European antiques, preferably in light woods. She made quick preliminary sketches of drapery treatments that would take advantage of the quaint mullioned windows. Susannah and Avery were thrilled when she described how their house would come alive with its new look.

"You know, this estate is charming, Susannah," Cathryn told her friend earnestly a day or two before she was planning to leave. "That is, once you get over the shock of the castle. But the trees, this winding road—all of it is beautiful."

They were walking along the driveway beneath foliage bright with autumn colors. Their path was strewn with leaves of brown, ochre, and russet. Shafts of light from the autumn sun shone through treetops, casting patterns on the stone walls of the castle and mellowing them into a charming backdrop. As Cathryn spoke, a saffron-colored leaf floated down and landed on Susannah's blue cashmere sweater; impatiently she flicked it away. The air blew cool with the breath of approaching winter.

"I like this place, too," Susannah said, smiling. "The country, the fresh air—well, it's not Palm Beach, but I'm comfortable here."

"You
are
happy, aren't you?" Cathryn asked curiously.

"I've never been so happy in my life. I love Avery so much."

"And he loves you. It's easy to see that."

Susannah turned serious eyes upon Cathryn. "It's the kind of love I hoped you would find with a man. Avery and I truly care about each other, Cathryn. I thought that with Drew you might—"

"No!" cried Cathryn sharply. It hurt even to hear Susannah speak his name.

They walked on in silence, Susannah biting her lip. "I'm sorry," she said quietly after a time. "I had no idea Drew was such a sensitive topic, even though you haven't mentioned him since you've been here."

"Forgive me for being so morose these days," said Cathryn unhappily. "I'm afraid I haven't been especially good company."

"Of course you have! But I admit that you haven't seemed quite your old self. Do you want to talk about it?"

Cathryn took her time in replying. "I got out of the relationship with Drew," she said finally. "It... it wasn't working out. He wanted to get married, and I couldn't."

"You couldn't? Why on earth not?" Susannah stared at her as though she'd taken leave of her senses.

"I didn't have time for both Drew and my career, especially after his daughter came. My work suffered, so..." She lifted her shoulders and let them drop. "He wanted to get married, but I couldn't see myself planning my life around the needs of a child, and—"

"You thought he wanted to marry you just so you'd take care of his little girl?" Susannah was incredulous.

"No, it wasn't like that. But Selby is part of him and would be very much a part of our marriage, especially if Drew gains custody of her as he would like. She's only seven, and she needs a lot of attention."

"I sympathize," Susannah said. "After all, I got stuck with husband number two's Heather Marie. She used to bite me when he wasn't looking."

"Selby isn't like that. She's a sweet child, very loving and dear and—"

"Then I don't understand the problem. If you love him and you like Selby—"

"I grew to love Selby," said Cathryn unhappily, fighting tears.

"Then you should have made room in your life for her," Susannah insisted. "Why couldn't you leave the nuts and bolts of Cathryn Mulqueen Interiors to your assistants? You've built it up, made it grow. Can't your business thrive on its own now, with just an occasional nod from you?"

"That's not the point. I
am
my work. I wouldn't be the same person without it. Don't you see?"

Susannah shook her head. "Not really. I wouldn't allow anything to come between me and the man I love."

Living with Susannah and Avery, Cathryn had to admit that she'd been envious. The secret glances they shared, the quiet laughter when they thought they were alone, the tender touch when they believed she wasn't looking—all this convinced her that Susannah and Avery were meant for each other and were deeply in love.

"You and I are not much alike, Susannah," was all Cathryn said.

Before the silence became brooding, Susannah suggested they turn back toward the house. Suddenly she said, "Avery has tickets for a dance next week. It's a charity ball in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, and we'd like you to go with us. You will, won't you?"

"But I—"

"Of course you will. It'll give you something to look forward to after that stuffy conference. And it'll get your mind off Drew."

"I don't know what I'd wear, and—"

"You can wear anything and look like a princess. Oh, please go, Cathryn. It would be such a good time, honestly."

"But I won't know anyone, so—"

"I've already lined up a date for you."

"A date!"

"Yes," Susannah said with a sly glance. "So you can hardly say no, because that would put me in the position of telling him you canceled, and I've already given you a big buildup."

Thoroughly exasperated, Cathryn said, "You had no right to ask someone without my permission. For heaven's sake, Susannah, will you ever grow up?"

"Probably not." Susannah laughed, and she looked so pleased with herself that Cathryn found herself giving in.

"All right," she said, shaking her head. "But don't ever put me in this position again, you idjit."

Susannah smiled. "Don't be silly. Would I take my chances?"

Probably,
thought Cathryn, but she couldn't be truly angry. Susannah, in her own way, was only trying to cheer her up.

* * *

Contact with other interior designers from all over the country stimulated her, and there was so much happening at the conference that Cathryn had little time to dwell on her own thoughts. That was good. She didn't want to think about Drew and Selby.

But there were those inevitable moments alone in her hotel suite when she had all too much time to mull over past events. At those times she resolutely chided herself. The affair with Drew was
over.
It was over because she'd wanted it to be.

Even after all these weeks, she missed his bright presence in her life, his openness and honesty, his capacity for tenderness, and his total understanding. Being around Susannah and Avery had only made her remember painfully how rewarding a close relationship with a man could be.

Missing Selby was almost as bad as missing Drew. She knew now that she should never have allowed her natural liking for the child to intensify into love. It was a lesson she thought she'd learned with Terry Ballard and his adorable little boys. But, no, she had allowed herself to be drawn willingly into Drew and Selby's family unit and had experienced a new kind of encompassing love that included all three of them. Now that it was gone, there was a hole in her life. It made the parting from Drew all the more painful.

Her week in New York would help. Here she was caught up in activities that would culminate at the banquet at which she was to speak.

The matronly president of the League of Interior Designers took Cathryn under her wing. The morning of the banquet she asked a surprised Cathryn, "How would you like to be on television? They want somebody to appear on one of the local cable shows on Friday morning to talk about the League. Will you do it, Cathryn? You're such a good spokesperson for our organization, and you're so photogenic."

"Of course," Cathryn said. "But what will the interview be about?"

"Your life, your career, and current design trends. You know."

That night after the banquet Cathryn took a quick shower and slipped on her robe before she sat down at the desk in her suite with pages from the speech she had just given, hoping to capture a few of the highlights. This would help her to think clearly when she was being interviewed on television the next morning, she reasoned.

She jotted a few sentences on paper before restlessly tossing it into the wastebasket. She stood and walked the length of the hotel room. When she plunged her hands into the robe's deep pockets, her fingers closed over something hard and round. It was the shell she had found on the beach at Hobe Sound months ago when she confided in Drew her fears about sharing him.

She stared at the seashell, remembering how she had studied it that day as she thought about its inner design.

The intricate interior of Cathryn Mulqueen had protected her from everything until Drew Sedgwick came along to tear down all the barriers and change the very form of her beliefs. He'd let in space and light where none had been able to penetrate the convoluted passages before.