The Widow and the Wastrel (9 page)

"Maybe another time the three of us can make it a more enjoyable day," he suggested.

"Yes, another time," she agreed uncertainly, and stepped from the car.

Waving once as he reversed out of the drive, Elizabeth walked toward the house. Amy's behavior should not be allowed to go by without comment, but she was reluctant to lecture her about it. Sighing heavily, she opened the front door.

The sound of Amy's laughter halted her on the threshold. The entire afternoon she had barely smiled at all, now she was laughing. Elizabeth's chin lifted at the sight of her daughter standing in front of the bending form of Jed. His tawny gaze saw her first, a watchfulness in his expression despite the wide grin on his face. Then Amy glanced over her shoulder and the smile faded from her mouth. Apology flickered in her dark eyes before she dashed toward the stairs.

Jed stood upright as Elizabeth shut the door behind her. A flashfire of irritation raced through her veins, angered that he had prompted Amy's laughter when Allan had tried so hard and failed.

"I didn't expect you back so soon," Jed commented.

"That makes two of us, because neither did I," she retorted coldly.

"What happened?"

There was a chilling arch to her brow. "Didn't Amy tell you? Her little sulk succeeded in making the picnic totally miserable for everyone."

"No, she didn't mention it," he returned evenly.

"Really? I was certain that's what the two of you were laughing about," she said in a faintly accusing tone. It completely slipped her mind that she still had not apologized for doubting his word the other night. She had not had the opportunity to speak to him alone and she had no intention of apologizing to him in front of Rebecca or Amy.

"I wouldn't worry." Jed tipped his head to the side as he mockingly inspected her. "I doubt if your boyfriend will be put off by one less than satisfying afternoon."

"He's not—" Elizabeth checked the denial that Allan was her boyfriend. It would only earn her another taunt. "As a matter of fact," she said coolly, "I'll be seeing Allan at the charity dinner next Saturday night."

"I hope you didn't agree to let him escort you there," he observed dryly.

"What business of yours would it be if I did?" she challenged.

"It would be Mother's business, not mine," Jed corrected. There was an indication of some secret knowledge in the wryly amused curl of his mouth.

"Rebecca doesn't dictate my social life," Elizabeth stated firmly.

"That's one you can argue out with her." Uninterest moved across his face as he turned away.

"What makes you think that I would need to argue with her?" she demanded, drawing an over-the-shoulder glance from Jed.

In the fleeting instant, there was the look of a rogue about him, youthful and daring. His eyes glittered with mischievous satisfaction, totally erasing the cynicism that was nearly always present in one form or another. But more, the hard look was gone, the look of a man who had seen much that was unpleasant.

"Mother has decided that I'm to make my public debut at your dinner next week," Jed replied. "She intends the Carrel family to attend this social function as a unit."

"And you're going?" she murmured doubtfully.

"You've forgotten, Liza." His gaze narrowed slightly. "I came back to make some sort of peace. That requires compromise. So yes, I am attending your black tie banquet."

Chapter Five

"JED has arrived with the sitter, Elizabeth. Are you ready yet?" Rebecca called.

Halting the tube of coral lipstick inches from her mouth, Elizabeth answered, "In a minute!"

"Well, please hurry," her mother-in-law returned impatiently. "I don't want to be the first to arrive, but neither do I want to be the last."

Sighing ruefully, Elizabeth looked into the mirror, wishing for the umpteenth time that she hadn't allowed Rebecca to persuade her to arrive at the dinner with Rebecca and Jed. She had thought she had the perfect excuse, the supervision of the pre-dinner arrangements. But Rebecca had adamantly insisted that as chairman, Elizabeth should appoint someone else to the task. Now she realized that she had given in because of the subconscious re-echoing of Jed's words concerning compromise and making peace. So she had compromised her own judgment by agreeing to Rebecca's demands.

The silk underlining of her white lace dress rustled as she walked toward the hallway door. Turning the doorknob, she remembered her matching shawl and evening bag were lying on the bed. She retrieved them quickly from the blue satin coverlet. Her pulse was behaving erratically and her nerves were so jittery that she was certain she hadn't been this disturbed by her first date. But her outward composure revealed none of her inner agitation.

Amy was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. Her brown eyes widened and her mouth rounded into a sighing, complimentary "Oh!" A smile of genuine pleasure eased the tense muscles around Elizabeth's mouth.

"Do I look all right?" She turned slowly for her daughter's benefit.

"Oh yes, Mom, you look scrumptious!" Amy assured her in a breathy voice.

"Hello, Cindy," Elizabeth greeted the schoolgirl standing in the hall.

"Hello, Mrs. Carrel. That's a lovely gown." The young girl gazed almost enviously at the gently moulding long lace gown. There was a telltale glimmer of braces as she barely moved her lips to speak. Elizabeth remembered her own schoolgirl dreams of enchantment whenever she had seen adults dressed in formal attire and smiled.

"Thank you," she nodded, wishing she could cast aside her misgivings toward the evening and catch some of the stardust that was in Cindy's eyes. "Did my mother-in-law give you the telephone number where we can be reached if you have any problems?"

"Yes, she did, but I'm sure everything will be all right," the girl added hastily.

"Elizabeth, Jed is waiting in the car," Rebecca stepped into the archway of the front hallway.

Bending to kiss her daughter's cheek, Elizabeth teased, "Be good for a change, Amy."

Brown eyes twinkled back at her. "I'll try," she said as she wrinkled her nose impishly.

Following her mother-in-law to the car, Elizabeth took her place in the back seat, murmuring a polite thanks when Jed held the door open for her. The country club and adjoining golf course was only a mile or so from the which made the journey short. But Elizabeth was conscious of Jed's faint air of preoccupation. She was almost certain his silence couldn't be blamed on the evening before them.

Silently she acknowledged that his dark evening clothes suited him. It wasn't until they had arrived at the club that she noticed it was not the suit she had picked out for him. The entrance lights fully illuminated the expertly tailored suit as he opened the car door for her, offering a hand out. Elizabeth frowned her bewilderment. The material of his suit and the white silk shirt were much more expensive than any she had seen locally.

"What's the matter?" One corner of his mouth lifted as he tossed the car keys to the parking attendant. He touched the dark lapel with his finger. "Don't you like the suit?"

"Yes," she answered quickly, avoiding the roguish light glittering in his eyes. She made a pretense of adjusting her rectangular shawl. "It's just that you didn’t mention that you'd bought anything when you went to Cleveland last week."

"I wasn't aware that I needed to," he replied, lightly touching her elbow to guide her around the car to where Rebecca waited.

Pressing her lips tightly together, Elizabeth didn't comment. Jed had been absent most of the week, a situation that had preyed on her nerves since she had never been entirely certain when he might turn up. His explanations, even to his mother, as to where he had been were vague and uninformative. Elizabeth couldn't make up her mind whether his mysteriousness was deliberate or merely an extension of his personality.

When they reached Rebecca's side, she preceded them into the club, her head tilted regally as though she were leading a royal procession. In answer, heads turned at their approach. Curiosity was the main reaction, cloaked in the guise of greeting. The farther they walked into the small reception area where cocktails were being served, the more conscious Elizabeth became of another reaction.

Her gaze slid sideways to the man at her side. Six foot, lean, with thick, carelessly waving tobacco brown hair and rakishly carved features, Jed Carrel was a compellingly attractive man. He was not the handsomest or the tallest man in the room. And Elizabeth realized that he was not holding everyone's attention simply because he was a Carrel or because he was a Carrel who had become an outcast by his family.

Perhaps a part of it was the worldly look in his eyes, that intimation that he had seen and experienced much without ever revealing what had happened. But more, Elizabeth knew, with a certainty that it was the potent virility, his maleness that silently challenged women.

She was still making a surreptitious study of him when Jed turned his head and held her gaze. In that charged second she knew that he had been aware of her inspection all along. It was there in the laughing glitter of his eyes.

"What do you suppose they're thinking?" he murmured to her in an aside as he nodded and greeted the various people who were acknowledging them.

Elizabeth gave a quick hello to Mr. Shaw and his wife before answering Jed's question in a voice as soft as his. "That you've grown into a fine-looking man." The smile she gave him as she looked into his face was cool and controlled. "No doubt the mothers are wondering if they should let their daughters near you and—" pausing for emphasis, "whether they're too old to catch you themselves."

His quiet chuckle touched only her ears. "I didn't expect cynicism from you, Liza."

The captivation in his smile caught her by surprise. She hadn't realized he could be so charming if he chose. She quickly averted her gaze, feeling the warmth rising in her neck, but bringing only an attractive pink tint to her cheeks.

"I didn't mean it to sound cynical," she replied.

At that moment Barbara Hopkins detached herself from a younger group of adults and glided forward to meet Elizabeth. Her friend's eyes kept straying to Jed, leaving Elizabeth in little doubt as to whom she was really interested in meeting. It was only natural, she supposed. After all, Jed could be classified as an eligible bachelor and there wasn't an abundance of unattached males in Carrelville.

"Elizabeth!" Barbara called gaily, reaching out with a ringed hand in greeting. "That's a stunning gown."

Patiently Elizabeth returned the greeting and compliment, before introducing Jed. Barbara's coy gaze vaguely irritated Elizabeth when it was directed at Jed, but he didn't seem to find it too sweet.

"So you are Elizabeth's tennis friend?" he smiled, holding Barbara's hand longer than Elizabeth thought was necessary.

"Oh, yes, we play at least once a week. Do you play, Mr. Carrel?"

"Jed, please," he corrected smoothly with a brief inquiring tilt of his head, "if I may call you Barbara?" His answer was a wide, satisfied smile of agreement, "I do play tennis, although not recently."

"Perhaps we can arrange a game of doubles." Barbara glanced pointedly at Elizabeth, letting her know it wasn't an idle suggestion. "You'll have to persuade Allan to be your partner."

The reference to Allan Marsden made Elizabeth conscious of the man standing to her left. At the mention of his name, he stepped forward, handing Elizabeth one of the drinks he held in his hand.

"Hello, Elizabeth. I've been waiting for you to come." He smiled pleasantly as he spoke, a vague questioning light in his eyes.

Not meeting his gaze squarely, she replied, "there was a last-minute adjustment of the schedules," completely aware that she had put him off escorting her tonight because she was supposed to be here early.

Jed's hand shifted from her elbow to the back of her waist as he leaned around her, a faint intimacy in his touch that she found unnerving. "You must be Allan Marsden. Elizabeth has mentioned you." He extended his hand. "I'm Jed Carrel."

"Welcome home," Allan said, shaking the hand firmly and smiling. "I imagine that's been said to you many times."

Tawny eyes slid to Elizabeth, mocking her quickly ricocheting look. "Not all that many times that I've grown tired of hearing it," Jed responded.

Her fingers tightened around the cocktail glass Allan had given her as she wondered if anyone had told Jed that before. Certainly she hadn't, and neither had his mother. It would be ironic if his first words of welcome were given by a stranger. Ironic and cruel.

"I see you've been here long enough to locate the cocktail bar," Jed observed, glancing to the iced drink in Allan's hand.

"Let me show you where it is," Barbara offered quickly.

Her friend was wasting no time in staking a claim on Jed, Elizabeth thought with a flash of bitterness that surprised her. Jed's gaze laughed openly at the darkening green of her eyes.

"You will excuse me, won't you, little sister?" The grooves around his mouth deepened with a suppressed smile.

"Of course," she nodded. Her skin felt suddenly cool where his hand had warmed the back of her waist. Some of the chill crept into her voice, tight and dull.