Wicked Caprice. Anne Mather

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СКАЧАТЬ work. What he needed was an evening with his girlfriend, and time to expunge his sexual frustration. What he didn’t need was an aberrant attraction to Richard’s mistress, who was simply not his type.

      ‘Then why don’t you speak to him about it?’ he asked now, unaware that he was still avoiding answering her question until she repeated it. Then, ‘Yes. Yes, I saw her. You don’t have anything to worry about, believe me.’

      Jillian’s hesitation was expressive. ‘What do you mean?’ she asked at last, and Patrick took another restraining breath.

      ‘I mean that I can’t imagine what—if anything—Rich sees in her,’ he declared at last. ‘She’s—insipid, Jill. A nonentity. I can only assume he’s in the mood for dowdy spinsters these days.’

      Jillian uttered a cry. ‘Do you think that makes me feel any better?’

      ‘It should.’ Patrick was growing impatient. ‘Believe me, Jill, if you can just close your eyes for another couple of weeks, it’ll all be over.’

      ‘No!’

      ‘What do you mean, no?’

      ‘I mean I can’t close my eyes to what’s going on right under my nose. You don’t know Rich as I do, Pat. This time I think he’s serious. He doesn’t have any time for me; he doesn’t have any time for the children. Susie’s beginning to notice. Just last night she asked me why Daddy doesn’t play games with them any more.’

      Patrick closed his eyes. ‘You’re exaggerating.’

      ‘I’m not.’ Jillian sniffed again. ‘Anyway, what did you say to her? Did you tell her Rich was married? That he has a family who depend on him?’

      ‘I think she knows,’ admitted Patrick unwillingly, recalling that she’d mentioned Susie’s name. ‘As far as speaking to her goes, I’m not sure that would be an advantage. You could exacerbate the situation, if you see what I mean.’

      ‘I don’t see what you mean!’ exclaimed Jillian resentfully. ‘And it’s not as if you don’t have any power. What you’re really saying is that you don’t want to help me. That as far as you’re concerned she holds all the cards.’

      ‘No.’ Patrick’s jaw clamped, and he knew an uncharacteristic urge to hang up on her. This wasn’t his problem, he told himself grimly. God, why couldn’t she have married someone else?

      ‘Well...’ Jillian was obviously making no effort to hide the fact that she was upset—and disappointed in him. ‘I suppose I shall have to go and see her myself—’

      ‘You can’t do that.’ Patrick spoke through his teeth. Then, with great reluctance, he went on, ‘All right, all right, I’ll go and see her again. But I’m not making any promises. I’ll just put your point of view across and see what she says.’

      ‘You won’t put her out of the shop?’

      Patrick gasped. ‘Put her out of the shop?’ he echoed. ‘What the hell are you talking about?’

      ‘Well, Shannon Holdings do own the leases on all those shops, don’t they?’ Jillian pointed out silkily. ‘If she wasn’t one of your tenants, Rich would have no excuse to go and see her.’

      Patrick’s jaw sagged. ‘And you think that would stop him?’

      Jillian gulped defensively. ‘It might.’

      ‘Forget it,’ said Patrick harshly. ‘Just leave it with me. As I say, I’ll see what I can do.’

      With the phone safely returned to its hook, Patrick turned angrily towards the handbasin. Groping for his razor, he avoided meeting his eyes as he applied lather and scraped savagely at his beard. For God’s sake, he thought frustratedly, Jillian was sometimes more trouble than all his overseas operations put together. Or, perhaps more accurately, Richard was. He wondered what she’d say if he suggested getting rid of his brother-in-law instead.

      He knew he couldn’t do it, of course. For all his faults, Richard was still family, and because, soon after he and Jillian had got married, he’d lost his position with a Japanese company due to their relocation to Taiwan Patrick had offered him the job.

      It had been either that or suffer Jillian’s recriminations. She had been pregnant with their first child at the time, and any idea of moving to the Far East had been out of the question so far as she was concerned. She’d wanted to stay in England; she’d wanted to keep her home and be near her family. It would have been a hard man indeed who could have withstood her pleas.

      And, although Patrick was regarded in some quarters as a hard man, he had accommodated her. Since their father had died some years ago, he’d been regarded as the head of the family, and it was a responsibility he hadn’t accepted lightly. Outside Shannon Holdings, it was the only responsibility he was prepared to shoulder. His ex-wife’s greedy machinations had convinced him of that.

      He cut his chin with the razor, the blood welling crimson over his jaw. Dammit he swore angrily, swabbing it with a towel and scowling at the stain on the pure white cotton, why couldn’t Jillian solve her own problems? He had no desire to go back to Horsham, no desire to see Isobel Herriot again.

      As luck would have it, he had a free morning. He hadn’t been expected to arrive back from the conference in Switzerland until today, and although his managing director would expect to see him at this afternoon’s meeting he had more than enough time to drive to Warwickshire and back again. All he had to do was pick up the phone and call Joe. In a little under an hour, he could be on his way.

      Mrs Joyce had breakfast waiting for him, but apart from two cups of coffee and a slice of toast he barely touched it.

      ‘Is something wrong?’ asked Mrs Joyce fussily, knowing that he usually enjoyed her blueberry pancakes, and Patrick gave her an apologetic smile.

      ‘I’m afraid I’m not hungry this morning, Mrs Joyce,’ he said, folding his copy of the Financial Times and getting up from the table. ‘Offer them to Joe when he gets here. I know he won’t turn you down.’

      ‘And have him suffering from indigestion all morning because he’s had to hurry them?’ Mrs Joyce rejoined tartly. ‘If he’s coming to pick you up, you know you’ll be waiting. And Mr Muzambe is nothing if not conscientious.’

      ‘Aren’t you all?’ murmured Patrick in an undertone, striking his thigh with the rolled-up newspaper as he walked out of the morning room. He didn’t have time to massage Mrs Joyce’s feelings. Right now he was fighting Jillian’s battles, and he still had a business to run.

      A couple of hours later, as they approached the turn-off for Banbury and Stratford, Patrick put away the papers he had been working on since they’d left London and applied his mind to the interview ahead. He grimaced. Not that it hadn’t been on his mind ever since he’d spoken to Jillian, he admitted to himself irritably. His efforts to work on the journey were proof of that. He had read the last balance sheet at least half a dozen times.

      ‘How much further?’ he asked, more for something to say than anything else, and Joe Muzambe looked into the rear-view mirror and fixed him with a thoughtful look.

      ‘Ten—twelve miles, maybe,’ he answered, transferring his attention back to the road. ‘Is this another fleeting visit, or will you be having СКАЧАТЬ