THE RELUCTANT BRIDE (26 page)

She
stared after him. Had he gone to bed? She waited but he didn't return
and in the end she rose, turned off the lights and went slowly up the
stairs to their room.

It
was empty. And the door to the dressing room was closed. She tiptoed
across to it and listened, holding her breath. At first she heard
nothing, then came a faint creak from the bed as he shifted his
position.

She
backed away until her knees hit the edge of a chair. She sat down,
letting out her breath in a long sigh. She had not expected the
heartache to begin so soon.

In
the morning he was polite, equable, a stranger. Neither of them
mentioned the previous night. Breakfast was a rushed affair and
Gabriella was grateful that her mother was still in bed. She left a
note for her, promising to return for lunch.

“
We
might as well take both cars,” Rod said. “Otherwise you'd
have to take a taxi home.”

“
That
makes sense,” she agreed.

He
picked up his briefcase and jacket. “In that case I'll see you
there.” He nodded and was gone.

She
listened for the scrunch of gravel as his car turned in the drive,
then she got up, tipped her uneaten toast and scrambled egg down the
waste disposal, and followed him out of the house.

“
Gabriella!
What are you doing here?” a surprised Jenny greeted her as she
walked into her office. “Where's Rod?”

“
He's
here too, but I'm only staying for a couple of hours.”

“
You
look marvellous. Not very tanned but that's hardly to be expected,”
Jenny grinned.

Gabriella
made herself laugh. “When you see Rod you'll think we spent all
our time in the sun” She changed the subject quickly. “What
about Englands? Any problems while we've been away?”

Jenny
pulled a wry face. “Oh, nothing much. The trainers came a day
late so all the schedules had to be altered. One of the new machines
had a bug in the programme. The VAT man turned up without warning -”

Gabriella
groaned.

“
Don't
worry. We managed. We even got three orders out on time!”

“
Thank
goodness. Who's we?”

“
Frank
has been fantastic. He got on to the machine suppliers and bullied
them into getting someone here overnight. Frank stayed with him and
they had it sorted out by morning. And then he got everyone working
at double speed to catch up on production. I think he's got a knotted
whip somewhere!”

“
I'm
glad he's turned out so well. Rod and I were worried about him a
while ago.”

Jenny
nodded. “I know. But you don't have to worry now.”

“
What
about the training?”

“
The
schedules weren't too much of a problem. I persuaded the tutors to
put in some after-hours with the trainees and we've caught up now.
The VAT man caused the most havoc. He was under my feet for two
days.”

“
Well,
thanks for coping so well, Jenny, I really appreciate it. Tell you
what, let's have lunch out on Monday. My treat.” She hesitated.
“What about Sue? Did she manage all right with Rod away?”

Jenny's
grin faded slightly. “Oh yes. Well – she had a day off
sick. But otherwise -”

She
was hiding something. Jenny was Sue's confidante, Gabriella was sure
of it, and she wanted to drag the truth out of her. But she couldn't
do that. It wouldn't be fair to Jenny and anyway it would be too
humiliating to have the situation between Sue and Rod put into words.
“What about the mail? Any surprises there?”

Jenny
smiled, obviously relieved at the change of subject. “Nothing
important. I've dealt with most of it. The ones that still need
action are in your tray.”

As
she sifted through the accumulation of correspondence she wondered if
Rod was doing the same. Or was he 'comforting' Sue? The urge to drop
everything and march along to his office was almost irresistible. She
resisted it until eleven o'clock and then she cleared everything away
into her desk drawers.

“
If
there's nothing else, I'm off,” she told Jenny. “Have a
good weekend.” She grabbed her coat and bag and then she was on
her way.

Sue's
room was empty. Gabriella hesitated before the door of Rod's office.
Should she just barge in? She put her hand on the door handle, then
withdrew it and knocked.

“
Come
in,” came Rod's deep voice.

He
was behind his desk and swivelled his chair to face her. At his side
sat Sue and Gabriella saw that her eyes were red rimmed. The girl
rose as she entered and brushed past her without a word.

“
Is
something wrong?” Gabriella asked, knowing that it was.

Rod
looked at her coldly. “You'll no doubt consider it good news.”

“
What
do you mean?”

“
She's
leaving. Today.”

She
stared at him. “Are you -” She moistened her lips which
were suddenly dry. “Are you going to tell me why?”

“
No,
I don't think so. Of course, she should work out a month's notice,
but I never think that's a particularly good idea, do you? So she's
finishing tonight and I'm paying her until the end of June. Have you
any objection?”

“
Not
if that's what you want to do,” she said slowly. “But I'd
still like to know -”

He
swung his chair back to his desk and picked up his telephone. “You'll
have to excuse me, Gabriella, I've got to recruit a new secretary
from somewhere, preferably to start on Monday.”

She
stood up. “I'm going home now. Ask Jenny to help you. She can
phone the agencies.” She turned and left him.

That
afternoon as she worked on the garden with her mother her thoughts
returned constantly to Sue Langdon, searching for an explanation. Why
was she leaving? Was it her decision or Rod's? And did it mean that
the affair was over? If that was the case, how would it affect her
own relationship with Rod? Would he turn to her? Or to someone else,
yet another new face?

She
thought of Rod's ex-wife, 'the lovely Caroline', and felt a distant
sympathy for the torment she must have gone through. Presumably she
had loved Rod when she married him. How soon had it been before he
sought out other women?

She
sat back on her heels, the trowel dropping earth unheeded on to her
lap, hit by the sudden realisation that she was behaving just like a
jealous wife. But she wasn't his wife, at least not in any real sense
of the word. She stared at a clump of blue delphiniums without seeing
them, reminding herself of the terms she had insisted upon. Hadn't
she made it quite clear to Rod, over and over again, that the
marriage was to be purely a business arrangement?

But
Madeira had changed all that and for the first time she admitted to
herself how dangerously close she was to falling in love with the
man. If he came home now – if he touched her – she closed
her eyes, dizzy with a sudden longing for him.

“
Are
you all right, dear?” asked Mrs Stevens who, balanced on one
stick, was snipping fresh flowers for the house.

“
Yes,
Mum. Just been bending over for too long. I think I'll start on the
lawns instead.”

As
she marched up and down behind the mower she lectured herself
fiercely. Stop behaving like a weak silly fool. He cares nothing for
you, so stop thinking of him as anything more than a business
partner. No more questions, no more tearful scenes, no more
lovemaking. As for Madeira, forget it. Madeira was just a meaningless
interlude.

CHAPTER
ELEVEN

When
Rod telephoned to say he would be late that evening she had to bite
back the accusations that she knew would only anger him and increase
her own misery.

“
Don't
hold dinner,” he said. “I'm not sure when I'll be home.”

“
Problems?”

“
Something
wrong with one of the machines. Nothing major but I'd like to stay
till it's working again. Don't save anything for me – I'll send
someone out for a sandwich.”

It
was possible that he was telling the truth. No doubt something
was
wrong
with one of the machines, he knew she could easily check that part of
his alibi. But his apartment was only ten minutes from Englands. It
wouldn't be difficult for him to disappear for an hour or so, under
pretext of working in his office. She was sure he had planned to meet
Sue there.

It
was none of her business, she drilled herself, and now Sue was
leaving Englands she couldn't even argue that he was behaving
indiscreetly. But all evening she tortured herself with pictures of
them together.

When
he came home at about nine thirty she asked no questions and kept up
the pretence of a loving relationship in front of her mother and Mrs
Priddy, but as soon as she could she pleaded a headache and went to
bed. When Rod came upstairs she feigned sleep. She heard him open the
door quietly, heard him in the bathroom, and then the creak of the
bed in the dressing room.

As
the days passed she managed somehow to prevent any further outbreaks
of hostility between them, maintaining a cool politeness with the
minimum of conversation when they were alone, a show of affection
when others were there. Each day at Englands brought new projects,
new problems to discuss and sometimes these generated an interest and
enthusiasm in them both that brought a temporary warmth to their
relationship, but it never lasted beyond the discussion. And at the
end of the day they went to their separate beds and she lay awake and
remembered how he had held her in his arms and made love to her
throughout the night.

But
she had been right. Madeira had been merely an interlude. Rod was a
sensual passionate man and she had been there. Not only there, but
very much available. But he didn't need her now. He had Sue and on
the evenings when he was late home or on his trips to other companies
she knew that he was with her.