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at Maitlands?'
'Oh, my dear, the girl's had a veritable baptism of fire!'exclaimed Deborah,
rather dramatically, Caroline thought. 'There's been another scene with
Laura. James had to send her to her room.'
'Poor old Laura,' remarked David Frobisher tolerantly, giving Caroline an
almost conspiratorial grin. 'What has she done now?'
'It's no joking matter, David,' retorted Deborah, looking annoyed. 'Laura has
admitted to - to having relations with this man!'
Irene's shocked exclamations were overridden by James's appearance and
his words of taut impatience. 'I don't for one minute think that Laura has had
- relations - with Mooney,' he told the company shortly. 'Can't you think of
anything else to talk about?'
The argument which might have ensued was prevented by David saying
casually: 'As a matter of fact, James, I called in to ask whether you'd fancy
crewing for me on Sunday. It's the Pastoral Challenge Cup race and young
Carney's gone and sprained his wrist playing tennis.'
The conversation divided at this point, James discussing the race with
David, and Deborah and Irene exchanging sympathetic comments. Caroline
gulped her coffee and stood up.
'If you'll all excuse me ... I am - rather tired.'
Deborah looked as though she might object, but before she could say
anything James intervened. 'Yes, of course. . Good night, Miss Douglas.'
Caroline supposed Deborah and the Frobishers said good night too, but after
glimpsing the look of intense weariness in James's eyes, all else defeated
her.
To her surprise, she slept extraordinarily well. The bed was superbly
comfortable, and although she had never slept between silk sheets before,
she found it a pleasurable experience. A change, too, from the rather lumpy
continental-style quilt which had been all her landlady had provided. She
awoke to the sound of birds arguing noisily in the garden outside her
windows, and lay for several minutes just savouring the sense of well-being
that produced, so different from the roar of traffic which had been all she
could hear in London. She leaned over and looked at her watch, lying on the
table beside the bed. It was not yet eight o'clock, and she relaxed.
The night before tiredness had overwhelmed her, a kind of mental as well as
physical exhaustion which the strain on her nerves had provoked. Rut this
morning her mind was rested and alert, and -the events of the previous day
could be viewed with more perspective. To her astonishment, she found
herself actually contemplating the task ahead of her with some enthusiasm.
But what of other complications? Her brows drew together in an uneasy
frown. Was it really possible that until yesterday James had not known of
her identity? That until he met and spoke with Mrs. Frobisher he had not
associated the governess who had been employed for his daughter with the
girl he had once ...
Caroline pushed back the covers and got out of bed. The sun was already
glinting through her curtains, and she drew them back, confident that no one
could overlook her here. Then she drew back aghast. A man was walking
towards the house, a dark man in a dark towelling robe, his hair sparkling
with specks of water. As she drew back her curtains, the action must have
attracted his attention, because he looked up and saw her, her slender body
silhouetted within the drift of chiffon she wore as a nightgown.
Caroline sank back against the bedroom wall, her arms wrapped protectively
about herself. Deborah Booth had said that her husband often used the
swimming pool in the grounds. Obviously James had been swimming, but
what twist of fate had devised that she should draw back her curtains at
precisely that moment? She found she was shivering and went swiftly into
the bathroom to take a shower. As she pulled the plastic shower cap over her
hair she wondered how she could possibly have contemplated staying here
longer than was absolutely necessary.
By the time she was dressed, businesslike in a plain navy suit which
unconsciously drew attention to her extreme fairness, she had herself in
control again, and could almost ,chide herself for behaving so
self-consciously. Seeing her employer, for that was what he was, after all,
returning from a morning's dip in his pool should not arouse any emotion
inside her whatsoever. It was nothing to do with her, and James could
certainly not be blamed for her drawing back her curtains at that particular
moment. In future, she would check before acting so impulsively. In future...
She stopped in the act of fastening her watch about her wrist and examined
what those words might mean. Had she decided to stay here after all? Had all
yesterday's anger and indignation been for nothing? Or had practical
necessity finally won over emotional irrationality? If she was prepared to
stay here, she would have to accept two things. First, that James's
astonishment when he saw her was genuine, and secondly, that she would be
living in the house of a man with little respect for any member of her sex,
including his own wife. Could she believe that look of disbelief James had
shown in those first revealing moments in this very room? And could she
bear to stand by and watch him deceive his wife?
She sighed, and finished fastening her watch. Why # should she want to stay?
Even if James chose to behave as if he had never passed more than the time
of day with her, he would always be there, and she would always be
conscious of him. Deborah Booth seemed friendly enough, but Caroline was
sufficiently conversant with human nature to know that things might not
always be so affable. The house and its appointments were luxurious, but
Caroline had never had a sybaritic nature. That was why she had gone to Sri
Lanka - the austere life there had appealed to her. And perhaps she had
rushed into this job because of her need to get away from Tim. So what was
it that appealed to her about it ?
The answer came in one word - Laura. Her pupil. The girl she had come here
to teach, and in fact the reason for her employment. She would not be an
easy charge, and there would be problems beyond the normal range of a
teacher-pupil relationship. But she presented a challenge, and more than
that, Caroline wanted to help her. Something in the girl was crying out for
assistance and understanding, something that defied Caroline to turn her
back and walk away because of things that should have been long buried.
A knock at her door halted her self-examination, and she went to open it,
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