Читать книгу His to Command: the Nanny: A Nanny for Keeps - Cara Colter - Страница 7

JACQUI felt as if all the wind had been knocked out of her.

The fact that Maisie was black had been the last thing on her mind, but it was possible that her high-profile adoption by the luminous Selina Talbot had exposed her to all kinds of unpleasant remarks from the jealous, or the just plain thoughtless.

And she’d been so wrapped up in her own problems that she’d allowed herself to be fooled by this little girl’s apparent self-assurance into believing her unaffected by what was happening to her.

It didn’t matter a damn that the last thing in the world she needed right now was to be responsible for someone else’s child. With her mother flying off on some major assignment and her grandmother on holiday on the other side of the world, it only left the giant to care for her. And that was never going to happen. Maisie needed reassurance and she was going to get it, no matter how it messed up her own plans.

‘No, Maisie. It’s got absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you’re adopted,’ she said firmly. ‘It’s simply that—’

Maisie lifted her head and looked straight into her eyes. ‘I think that’s why Harry doesn’t want me,’ she said.

Jacqui was shocked to the core, and her automatic response was, ‘Oh, I’m sure that’s not true.’ But even as she said the words she remembered the way he’d looked at Maisie as she’d waited in the car. His blank, emotionless response. Remembered the way Maisie had slid down in the seat as if to hide from him.

If she’d given the matter any consideration at all, she’d have assumed that even bad-tempered giants in story books had family feelings…

OK, so she was family by adoption. Jacqui tried to remember everything she’d read about that. There had been plenty of coverage in the lifestyle magazines at the time, but precious little in the way of detail that she could recall…

Not that who Maisie was, or where she came from was any excuse for Harry Talbot’s behaviour.

Harry.

The name didn’t suit him at all, she decided. It had a warm, cuddly feel to it. It was the name of a man who’d give you a hug when you were miserable, tell you good stories, know the words of every single nursery rhyme. It wasn’t the name of a man who’d reject a little girl because she was adopted…

Actually, she couldn’t think of a name horrible enough for a man like that and she wanted to hug this little girl so hard…Show her that at least one person in the world cared what happened to her. In other words, a straight-from-the-heart emotional reaction to the situation.

Not good.

Fighting it, she folded herself up and, instead of enveloping the child in a hug, sat on the lowest step so that she was level with Maisie. Then, taking her hands, she held them in her own and in the most matter-of-fact voice she could muster, said, ‘Just you listen here, Maisie Talbot. It wouldn’t make one jot of difference to me if you were sky-blue-pink with green hair and purple spots, do you understand?’

Maisie regarded her steadily for long moments. Then she gave a couldn’t-care-less little shrug and said, ‘OK.’

Not an overwhelming endorsement of trust, but what did she expect? There were no instant results with children. Trust had to be earned. She’d just have to show the child that she was genuine and, since she suspected that glossing over the situation was not going to impress Maisie one bit, she’d start with the truth.

‘You’re a smart girl, so I’m not going to mince words. We’ve got a problem. This is the way it is. The plan was simply for me to bring you here and hand you over to your grandmother. You know that I wasn’t supposed to stay here, not even for a little while, don’t you?’

She shrugged again, this time staring at her shoes and refusing to meet her gaze. ‘I s’pose.’

‘It’s not because I don’t like you, it’s not because you’re black, it’s because I’m supposed to be catching a plane in…’ she glanced at her watch and realised that time was fast running out ‘…well, quite soon.’

‘Like my mother.’ It was a flat, expressionless statement that suggested she was someone else who was flying off and abandoning her. Not fair. But then, in Maisie’s shoes, she probably wouldn’t give a hoot about what was fair, either.

‘Well, no.’ Nothing like Selina Talbot, who’d be flying first class—probably with a sky bed—and would arrive in Beijing looking a lot fresher and more relaxed than she would after being crammed in like a sardine for three hours on a charter flight. ‘Your mother is working, which is really, really important. I was only going as far as Spain…’ already she was talking about it in the past tense ‘…for a holiday.’

‘Oh.’ She seemed momentarily crestfallen, but immediately brightened and said, ‘Do you have to go to Spain? It’s nice having holidays here.’ Then, presumably remembering that Harry was in residence. ‘Usually.’

‘I’m sure it is. For you. When your grandma is here.’ Then, because this didn’t seem enough, somehow, ‘And you’ve got your lovely pony to ride.’

‘There are loads of other animals. We don’t have any at home because London isn’t a good place for them, but my mother is always rescuing them and sending them here because Grandma has loads of room. There are dogs and cats and chickens and ducks and rabbits…’ Her little face suddenly lit up as she raised her hands in an expansive gesture. ‘Even some donkeys that are worn out from giving children rides on a beach somewhere.’ Then, ‘But if you have to go…’ Her little hands dropped and the bright expression faded. ‘I’ll understand.’

Double bedknobs′

‘Thank you, Maisie, but I’m not going anywhere until you’ve got someone to take care of you, OK?’

She didn’t look up, but instead jabbed one satin toe into the threadbare carpet. ‘Even if it means you miss your plane?’

‘Even if it means I miss my plane,’ she assured her. What choice did she have?

‘You promise?’

I promise.

Two little words that once uttered to a child must never, ever be broken. Two little words that had to be used with the utmost care and forethought because sometimes it was beyond your power to keep them…

But Maisie was waiting anxiously for her response and the truth was that she wasn’t going anywhere until she was happy with the arrangements for this child’s care. It wasn’t a lifetime commitment.

‘I promise, Maisie.’

‘OK.’ Then, ‘And if you can’t find anyone else, you’ll stay and look after me until my mother comes home, won’t you?’

‘Did you find everything you needed?’

Jacqui didn’t think she’d ever be pleased to see Harry Talbot; she wasn’t, but she was very glad of the interruption and she stood up quickly.

‘Yes, thank you.’

‘You’d better go on through to the kitchen, then and warm up.’ He looked down at the child from his great height and she thought of the men in her own family who would have swooped down, picked her up, made her laugh. ‘Hello, Maisie.’

Jacqui felt Maisie’s hand creep into hers as she dropped her eyes and said, ‘Hello, Harry.’ Then, ‘Can I see Meg’s puppies?’

Puppies, rabbits, donkeys and her own special pony. It was easy to see why Maisie wanted to stay here…

But what had happened to the llama?

‘She’s out in the stables. I’m not taking you out there dressed like that.’

‘She could change,’ Jacqui said. ‘If you’d be kind enough to fetch her bag in from my car. It’s not locked.’

Harry Talbot gave her the kind of look that warned her not to take him for a fool and said, ‘I’ll bring the puppies into the kitchen.’ Then, while she was still trying to come up with a response that was fit for the ears of a six-year-old, he turned and walked away.

But he had made a pot of tea and there was a tempting cut-and-come-again cherry cake on the table. ‘Do you like tea, Maisie? Or would you rather have milk?’

‘Tea, please. And some of Susan’s cake.’

She poured out the tea, adding plenty of milk to Maisie’s cup. Then, as she was cutting the cake, her mobile phone began to ring. It was Vickie.

She handed Maisie a plate, then, taking the phone into the little office so that she could speak freely, she answered the call.

‘OK, Vickie, what gives?’

‘I couldn’t raise Selina, but I’ve left a voice mail asking her to get in touch with me urgently. As soon as she does I’ll know what alternative arrangements she wants me to make.’

‘Nice try, but according to Maisie her mother is on her way to China. It’ll be tomorrow at the earliest before she’ll be picking up her messages.’

‘Oh…’ She let slip a word that no self-respecting nanny would ever use, not even in the privacy of her own room.

‘What’s the matter, Vickie? Did you think I wouldn’t find out?’

‘I swear I didn’t know where she was going. This was just a simple delivery job.’ Then, ‘China?’

‘Where the silk comes from,’ Jacqui replied, just a touch acerbically. ‘She’s going to drape herself over the Great Wall dressed in the kind of clothes that neither of us will ever be able to afford, even in our wildest dreams. You must have an emergency contact.’

‘Of course I do.’ She cleared her throat. ‘It’s her grandmother. At High Tops.’

‘Oh, come on…’

‘Honestly!’ Then, ‘Look, I really want you back on my books, you were born to take care of children, but I’m not stupid enough to think that I could trick you into it.’

‘Excuse me? So why am I here?’

‘OK, I’ll put my hands up to being a little underhand getting you to deliver Maisie. I simply wanted to remind you what you were put on this earth for before you went off to lie on a beach to contemplate your future career path. And I admit I hung on to that package until I had the right job to tempt you—’

She wished the woman had stuffed it in a drawer and forgotten all about it.

‘I could probably sue you,’ she said.

‘I’m sorry but I was desperate. I didn’t know how else to make you see that this is what you’re made for, but I’m not a fool. The last thing I want is for you to be so ticked off that you’ll never even talk to me again, let alone work for the agency.’

‘Then you’re not doing very well, are you?’

‘I can see how it must look, but you have to believe me…’

She’d think about it, but not now. This was just wasting time.

‘So what’s gone wrong? While the perfect mother-and-daughter spreads in the lifestyle mags might be a touch over-the-top, I can’t believe that Selina Talbot is this casual about Maisie. She must have spoken to her mother before despatching the child to stay with her.’

‘Frankly? I haven’t a clue. Maybe her secretary or agent or one of an absolute host of minions she employs to deal with the boring details was supposed to have made the arrangements and the wires got crossed somewhere. So who’s at the house now?’

‘Selina’s cousin and leaving her with him is not an option. I haven’t seen anyone else although Maisie assures me that there’s a woman who comes in every day to cook and clean.’

‘And you have a plane to catch.’

‘And I have a plane to catch. So where are you? I assume you’re well on your way by now?’ she prompted, without any real confidence. The signal was too steady, too clear to be via a hands-free car phone.

‘Jacqui, please, try and understand. If I could have got away of course I would have, but I’ve already had to put back a vital meeting while I try and sort this out. I won’t be able to get away from the office before six at the earliest and…’

She stopped abruptly.

‘And?’

‘Nothing.’

‘Oh, right. How big a “nothing”?’

‘I’ve been given tickets for the Covent Garden Opera by a grateful client, if you must know. It’s a gala, but honestly if I could have got away in time to make any difference I would have sacrificed…’

‘Stop! Please don’t perjure yourself on my account. The fact of the matter is that unless the real Mary Poppins puts in an appearance in the next half an hour, I can forget two weeks with my toes up by a swimming pool. Yes?’ she prompted, when there was no immediate answer.

‘I’m sorry. Really. Of course Selina Talbot will reimburse you for the cost of your holiday—’

‘You’re very free with her money.’

‘If she ever wants domestic help from this agency again, she’ll pay up with a smile.’

‘Yes, well, since this particular circumstance isn’t likely to be covered by my holiday insurance she’s going to have to, but my missed flight is the least of our problems right now, wouldn’t you say? There’s a little girl here and no one to take care of her.’

‘You’re there. And since your holiday has been wrecked, you could do worse than see the job through.’

Well, surprise, surprise.

She didn’t even offer to try and find a replacement. Not that it mattered, because she’d promised Maisie that she’d stay.

‘And how long is that going to be?’

‘I don’t actually know. I told you, this was just a delivery job, but I’ll speak to Selina tomorrow. Until then, I’m in your hands, Jacqui.’

‘The giant is not going to like it,’ she said. ‘He doesn’t like company.’

‘Giant? This is the man you wouldn’t leave Maisie with? Are you going to be all right there? Maybe you should take Maisie to the nearest hotel until I can check him out with Selina.’

‘Maisie wants to stay even though she doesn’t like him, which suggests he’s grouchy rather than dangerous…’ Her voice petered out as she remembered his eyes, his hands, the touch of his shirt against her cheek and swallowed. There was dangerous, she thought. And then again there was dangerous…‘We’ll stay out of his way as much as possible while you sort something out with Selina.’

‘You’re a star, Jacqui. I’ll make sure your worth is reflected in the hourly rate.’

‘Oh, no, you don’t get me that way. I’m on holiday. I told you six months ago that I would never do this for money ever again and I meant it.’

‘But—’

‘But nothing. Just concentrate on getting hold of Selina Talbot and find out what in the world she was thinking, what she’s going to do about her daughter and, even more important, when she’s going to be home. In the meantime I have to go and break the good news to Harry Talbot that he has house guests.’

‘I owe you, Jacqui.’

Yes, you do, she thought as she clicked off the phone and looked up to find Maisie standing in the doorway, her face alight with joy as she held up a wriggling bundle of black Labrador puppy for her to see.

‘Look, Jacqui! He’s so cute!’

‘And beautiful,’ she said, crouching down beside the child and stroking his silky head with her finger. ‘You match.’ Her reward, as she let the puppy snuffle at her fingers, was to have Maisie lean trustingly against her. Her arm, of its own volition, reached out to encompass both child and puppy. ‘What’s his name?’

‘I don’t think he has one.’

‘Well, maybe you should give some thought to that,’ carefully unfurling her arm and standing up, to put a little distance between them. ‘But he’ll be missing his brothers and sisters.’ And there was no point in putting off giving Harry Talbot the bad news. ‘Meantime, I have to speak to Mr Talbot.’

‘He’s gone back down the cellar.’ She carried the pup back to the kitchen and placed him in a basket containing a number of wiggling look-alikes. ‘He’s fixing the boiler, I expect.’

‘Is he?’

‘It’s a waste of time. Grandma says it’s definitely on the blink. It’s why she…’ Maisie stopped.

‘Why what, Maisie?’

‘Why she’s going to buy a new one.’

‘Oh, right.’ But, grateful for this temporary reprieve, she said, ‘In that case perhaps we’d better not disturb him again. I’ll just go and fetch our things in from the car.’

‘You could drive round to the back to save carrying them. It’s what everyone else does.’ Then, looking up from the wriggle of puppies, ‘I thought I should tell you that in case you didn’t ask.’

‘Smart thinking, Maisie.’

‘You can put it in the coach house if you want.’

‘Maybe I’d better wait for an invitation from Harry, first.’ She’d see how he reacted to the fact that she’d moved in before she started getting really pushy and helping herself to garage space. ‘I won’t be a minute. Don’t move from that spot while I’m gone. And don’t touch anything.’ Then, as Maisie opened her mouth to protest, ‘Except the puppies.’

‘No, Jacqui.’

‘Promise.’

The child looked up and smiled, and in that instant Jacqui knew that her fate was sealed. She wasn’t going anywhere until Maisie had done with her.

‘I promise,’ she said.

Harry Talbot lifted his head as he heard the sound of a car starting, attempting to squash a lick of guilt as the throaty roar proclaimed only too loudly that its exhaust had suffered in the journey up the lane.

He’d promised his aunt he’d get it sorted while she was away. And he would. Just before she came home. The last thing he wanted was the neighbourhood dropping by, being neighbourly. He’d even persuaded the postman to leave the mail at the shop for collection.

Dammit, he had come here to avoid company. Be alone. Was it too much to ask?

He slammed the wrench into the side of the boiler and then slammed it down and headed for the stairs. If Jacqui Moore drove back down the lane with her exhaust bouncing around, there’d be nothing left of it when she got to the main road.

But by the time he’d reached the front door, there was no sign of her or her car.

He listened, but couldn’t hear the sound of her retreat either, which, despite the muffling effect of the mist, surprised him. He should have felt relief, but instead walked to the gate, half expecting to find her stopped a few yards down the lane.

No relief, just guilt. Tomorrow. He’d do something about it tomorrow. And in the meantime he’d call the garage in the village and have them look out for her and offer assistance.

One of the dogs—a lanky, cross-bred creature with pretensions to deer hound—joined him, in expectation of another run.

‘Forget it, mutt,’ he said, returning to the house, grabbing his collar to stop him taking a short cut through the front door. ‘Round the back with you. Susan will kill us both if we trail mud over her polished floor.’ He pulled it shut and then followed the dog around the back.

He came to an abrupt halt when he saw the VW pulled up in the courtyard. He should have realised it was too good to be true.

Jacqui Moore, alerted by the dog, who’d rushed over to her looking for a fuss, straightened from the back seat as if caught out in a guilty act. Forgetting, for a moment, that his intention had been to stop her, that he was intent on an errand of mercy, he said, ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’

Which was stupid, because he could see what she was doing. She was unloading the car.

‘Would you mind not using that language in front of Maisie?’ she replied, passing the child a small white bag.

‘I’m so sorry,’ he said, moving closer, calling the dog to heel before both females were covered in mud, further delaying their departure. ‘I’ll rephrase the question. What the hell do you think you’re doing?’

Jacqui leaned into the car, ostensibly to pick up the matching white holdall, but in reality to gain breathing space.

She understood that Harry Talbot didn’t want them cluttering up his life. She understood and was sorry to be such an annoyance, but her first concern was Maisie. She hated confrontation as much as anyone, but since it was clear that she wasn’t being offered a choice, she might as well get it over with. The sooner he realised that she couldn’t be bullied, the sooner he’d stop.

‘Take your bag inside, Maisie, and stay in the warm,’ she said. And only then did she give her full attention to Harry Talbot. It wasn’t that difficult. The grey wool shirt hung loosely from his shoulders suggesting that he had, however impossible it seemed, actually lost weight and muscle. That he’d once been even broader than he was now. The washed thin denims he wore still clung to powerful thighs, however, and stretched over a hollowed stomach that only emphasised…

‘Well?’ he demanded, bringing her sharply back to reality.

She swallowed. ‘Well, Mr Talbot,’ she said, trying to erase the errant thoughts from her mind. ‘This is a car and this is a bag and what I’m doing is taking the latter out of the former.’

Sarcasm, Harry realised, had been a mistake.

He’d known it from the moment he’d opened his mouth. Regretted it the moment he’d opened his mouth. The fact that she was blonde, with curves in all the right places, didn’t make her dumb.

Despite a full lower lip that drooped enticingly and the kind of earthy sex appeal that sent out a siren call to man’s most basic instinct, she was still a nanny and nannies didn’t take nonsense from anyone. As if to confirm it, she gave him a look from grey eyes as cool as her mouth was hot, leaving him in no doubt that she wasn’t in the mood to take any from him.

‘Why?’ he demanded. It was a fair question.

‘Extraordinary,’ she replied, shaking her head, so that her misted hair swung in a soft invitation to touch. How long was it since he’d touched a woman’s hair…?

He curled his fingers tight against his palms, but she was already leaning back inside the car to pick up a second bag.

‘You don’t look stupid,’ she said, turning to him as she straightened.

He wasn’t about to debate it. He’d already had all the conversation he could handle.

‘You can’t stay here.’

She smiled. ‘There! I was right. You knew the answer all along.’

‘I mean it.’

‘I know you do, and I’m sorry, truly. But the car is damaged, Maisie is tired and, as you’ve already said, you can’t manage her on your own.’

‘That’s not what I…’ He stopped, suddenly aware of a yawning chasm opening in front of him. If he declared himself more than capable of looking after one small girl—this small girl above all others—she’d walk away and leave him to do just that.

He’d come to High Tops for solitude. Peace. To seek some kind of future for himself. She had to go and take the child with her. Now.

‘Didn’t you say something about catching a plane?’ he enquired.

‘There’s always another plane.’ Then, putting out a hand as if to touch his arm, reassure him, ‘Don’t worry, Mr Talbot, we’ll keep out of your way as much as possible.’

He moved before she could make contact. ‘This is intolerable. I’ll speak to Sally, make her see reason.’

‘You’ll have to stand in line,’ she replied. ‘There’s a queue. But no one will be speaking to your cousin until tomorrow. She’s on her way to China.’

‘China?’

‘Where the silk comes from.’ They both turned to look at Maisie, who was standing in the doorway, and once she had their full attention, she gave a little shrug and said, ‘That’s what Jacqui said when she was on the phone, anyway.’

‘You were listening?’ Jacqui asked her, not angry, not accusing the child of something bad, just distractedly; Harry suspected she was trying to remember what she’d said that she wouldn’t have wanted Maisie to overhear.

‘No.’

Maisie looked up at her, a picture of innocence. Something he’d seen her do a hundred times. She’d been listening…

‘I was waiting until you’d finished, that’s all.’ With that, she turned and flounced inside. The dog followed her.

‘When is Sally due to arrive,’ he asked, reclaiming her nanny’s attention, ‘in China?’

‘I have no idea,’ she said, adding a carrier bag to her load, which she held in one hand as she shut the car door. ‘Tomorrow some time, I would imagine. She might pick up her messages earlier if she has a stopover. Of course it’ll be the middle of the night here so she’ll probably wait until the time zones connect before she calls.’

Harry doubted that the difference in time zones would stop his cousin. It would be the sure and certain knowledge that if she called home she’d be expected to do something about the mess she’d made, rather than consideration. That and the fact that the longer she delayed, the more likely it was that someone else would have sorted it out for her by the time she did call. He didn’t say that.

He said, ‘In other words I’m stuck with the pair of you for the night.’

‘Thanks for the welcome,’ she said and smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile. Not the kind of smile that would make a person feel warm inside, a smile acknowledging how hard this was for him. It was a smile that suggested, in the fullness of time, he’d regret being so thoroughly ill-mannered. ‘And the tea. That at least was lukewarm when I drank it. What time do you have dinner?’

‘Whenever you feel like making it, Miss Moore. Tea is about as domestic as I get.’ He didn’t bother to cross his fingers at this blatant lie. He just wanted her to go and he didn’t care what he had to do to make it happen.

She stared at him. ‘Did someone programme you?’

‘I’m sorry?’

‘So am I, but we’ll let that pass. I mean did someone take you into a laboratory and fit a chip, preprogrammed with chauvinist cliche´s, into your head?’

‘Is that necessary?’ he enquired. ‘I’d always been led to believe that it was genetic.’

‘That’s just something mendacious men made up to avoid doing their share of the housework.’

‘Possibly,’ he admitted. ‘Although my personal theory is that it was made up by pathetic women to excuse their inability to control them. No matter how hard they try.’

Her eyes, he noticed with interest, had heated up to the colour of molten silver, but that was the only indication that her temper was on a short fuse.

‘I only asked what time you eat,’ she continued, with impressive outward calm, ‘so that we won’t disturb you. You are, of course, more than welcome to join us for nursery tea at five o’clock.’

‘You won’t find any fish fingers in my freezer.’

‘No? Well, I’m sure we’ll manage.’

He shrugged. ‘Maisie has a room of her own in the east tower,’ he said, resisting his natural inclination to take the bags and carry them up for her. The worse her opinion of him, the more likely she was to keep out of his way. ‘She knows where it is. You can have the room next door. Don’t get comfortable, you’re not staying a minute longer than necessary.’

‘Extraordinary! I’d have said we didn’t have a thought in common, but do you know that’s exactly what I promised Maisie?’ He must have frowned be-cause she added, by way of explanation, ‘That I’d only stay until we could find someone she liked to take care of her.’ And she smiled again, as if she knew something that he didn’t.

He ignored the smile and said, ‘I’m glad to hear it. Give me your keys and I’ll put your car in the coach house.’

‘Oh, right,’ she said, clearly caught off balance by such unexpected thoughtfulness. ‘Well, thank—’

‘Nothing that old should be left out overnight in the cold and damp. I’ll take a look at your exhaust while I’m about it. I wouldn’t want anything to delay you in the morning.’