When Enemies Marry. Lindsay Armstrong

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СКАЧАТЬ He released her wrist. ‘Then talk away while I start my breakfast.’

      ‘What have you been doing?’ she said involuntarily as she followed him reluctantly back into the kitchen where his breakfast was keeping warm on the range. He had on jeans, boots and a yellow sweater, his thick dark hair was ruffled and the cold morning air seemed to have agreed with him. In other words he looked fit, tough and capable, alert and slightly mocking, and more than a match for her. But when did he look any different these days? she wondered bitterly.

      ‘I’ve been out and about,’ he said idly, and carried the plate of sausages, scrambled eggs and toast to the kitchen table. There was a pot of coffee bubbling gently on the stove.

      Lucy went over to it and poured two mugs which she carried to the kitchen table and sat down opposite him. ‘You can tell me, you know. Not only is the place still half mine but I’m intemted,’ she said with extreme frustration before she could stop herself. ‘Wouldn’t I under normal circumstances have some sort of voting power or some say in what you do?’

      ‘I’ve only been inspecting fences in the twelve-mite paddock, Lucy,’ he said mildly. ‘I made no momentous decisions other than that they need repairing.’

      Lucy drew a breath and thought how much she’d have enjoyed a gallop down to the twelve-mile before breakfast instead of the lonely, aimless ride she’d been about to take. ‘What about the boundary rider’s hut?’ she asked tonelessly. ‘The last time I saw it it was a bit ramshackle. Grandad always liked to keep it provisioned and weatherproof because the twelve-mile can flood, but it’s on the only high ground, so if you did get marooned out there—’

      ‘That too. They’re starting on it today.’

      She lowered her lashes instead of glaring at him. ‘Well,’ she said even more tonelessly, ‘tell me about the house party. You haven’t given me much notice.’

      Justin spread marmalade on his toast. ‘I can get someone in to do it all if you like. I have mentioned that there’s no need for you to do so much of your own work, Lucy.’ He put the lid on the marmalade with some impatience.

      ‘And I’ve told you, I’d go round the bend that way, Justin, not to mention feeling as if I was on the receiving end of your patronage.’

      He smiled. ‘I can assure you it’s not patronage to provide one’s wife with household help.’

      ‘But then we’ve agreed I’m not much of a wife. Look, I can do it. I can get Mrs Milton and her sister to come up—as I’ve done before on Dalkeith.’

      ‘Then do it,’ he said curtly. ‘What do you want to know?’

      ‘When they’re arriving, when they’re leaving, who they are and just what kind of a weekend you have in mind!’

      ‘Why, the kind of weekend Dalkeith is famous for, Lucy,’ he said blandly. ‘I’m sure I don’t have to tell you. There’ll be four guests and Sasha.’

      She stared at him then forced herself to relax. ‘Well, if they come on Friday afternoon, we’ll have an informal dinner, a buffet and a simple evening—music, cards and so on. Saturday, a picnic at the creek, some sightseeing around the place, some target shooting or archery, a little gentle croquet for the ladies, then a formal dinner to which I could invite some locals.’ She considered. ‘Yes, I could invite the Simpsons, and Miles Graham for Sasha! That should even things up.’ Her eyes glinted. ‘Then on Sunday morning a late breakfast, and they can do what they like until they leave after lunch.’

      ‘And you and Mrs Milton and her sister can cope with all that?’ he queried.

      Lucy shrugged. ‘They’ve got it down to a fine art. Mrs Milton does the cooking, although a lot of it is prepared beforehand, and her sister makes the beds, tidies up, waits on table et cetera. It’s all in the preparation, Justin. So long as you feed people really well, the rest seems to take care of itself.’

      ‘It’s Tuesday today, Lucy,’ he warned.

      ‘That gives me three full days, Justin,’ she said wearily. ‘Besides, I think I need a challenge,’ she murmured, and propped her chin on her hands.

      He regarded her steadily then said quietly, ‘You’re making things awfully hard for yourself, Lucy.’

      ‘No, you’re making them hard for me, Justin.’

      ‘I hesitate to labour this point, but if it weren’t for me you wouldn’t be here.’

      ‘Perhaps. But I might have felt I’d gone down in a fair fight—who knows?’

      ‘How are you going to handle us in front of these people?’

      She blinked, then grinned. ‘I hadn’t thought of that—yet.’ She sat up suddenly and tossed the thick plait she’d braided her hair into over her shoulder. ‘Do you mean we’ll have to put on a loving show?’

      ‘It’s not unexpected in newly-weds,’ he observed.

      ‘Oh.’

      ‘And I don’t expect I’d take kindly to being made a fool of,’ he added without the least emphasis, yet a curious underlay to his words that made her nerves prickle oddly. Perhaps it was something in his eyes as well, as they rested on her.

      She opened her mouth, closed it then said with dignity, ‘It’s not a pre-requisite to... I mean, some of the people I’ve known who really were in love didn’t...sort of flaunt it.’

      ‘Perhaps not,’ he agreed. ‘What I’m trying to get at is, are you prepared to be sensible or are you going to cook up something like yesterday to advertise to the world that we’re not in love?’

      Lucy pursed her lips. ‘I might just be normal and let them work it out for themselves,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘I don’t think you can expect much more from me, Justin.’

      ‘When you say normal, do you mean you’ll include me in your come hither—?’

      ‘I don’t do that,’ she cut in sharply.

      ‘Perhaps you don’t realise you’re doing it. Perhaps it’s second nature now. Didn’t you notice Robert Lang going weak at the knees when you smiled at him yesterday?’ He lifted a dark eyebrow at her.

      Lucy set her teeth.

      He waited then gathered his plate and took it over to the sink.

      ‘I can’t help how I smile!’ she said in a goaded sort of voice at last.

      ‘No, but with a bit of age and maturity you should be able to use it with discretion. Otherwise you could find yourself in a situation you might find hard to handle one day.’

      Lucy tossed her head and stood up, with not the slightest idea, as he came back to the table, what he had in mind. ‘Like this,’ he said softly, standing right in front of her so she had to tilt her head back, and taking her in his arms as her eyes widened. ‘In the position of being kissed by your sworn enemy.’

      Her lips parted. ‘Justin...’

      But he ignored both the look in her eyes and the incredulity СКАЧАТЬ