Читать книгу The Unwilling Mistress - Кэрол Мортимер, Carole Mortimer - Страница 6

MARCH wasn’t in the least surprised to see the powerful red sports car still parked in the yard when she arrived at the farm that afternoon shortly before two. In fact, she had counted on it!

Will Davenport, with his good looks and air of sophistication—his lack of apology for taking her parking spot!—had totally rubbed her up the wrong way this morning. Well, the boot was on the other foot now—as he was shortly going to realize.

Wednesday was half-day at the agency, a fact she had been very aware of when she’d made the appointment for Will Davenport to view this rented accommodation at one-thirty.

‘You really didn’t have to bother to come all the way out here, you know,’ Will Davenport’s unmistakable voice drawled from behind March as she turned to get her bag from the back of the car. ‘I did tell you I would be able to manage for myself,’ he added with confident dismissal.

March slowly straightened before turning to give him a mocking smile. ‘And have you?’ she taunted.

‘Of course.’ Will stepped aside so that the person standing behind him was now visible. ‘Apart from signing on the dotted line, I believe May and I have settled everything.’ He grinned his satisfaction.

March turned to the young woman who now stood beside Will. ‘I don’t think we have a dotted line for Will to sign on, do we, May?’ she prompted lightly.

Her sister smiled. ‘Not that I’m aware of, no,’ she drawled, at the same time now giving March a quizzical look.

May, as the eldest of the three sisters, had always been the more level-headed one too; it didn’t need two guesses to know that she was not going to be pleased with March for the little trick she had played on Will Davenport today.

Never mind; it had been worth it—just to see the puzzled expression as his gaze moved frowningly between the two sisters!

‘“We”?’ he finally prompted slowly, his expression wary now.

March gave a satisfied grin. ‘I didn’t come here to check up on you, Mr Davenport—I happen to live here!’ she took great delight in telling him.

To say he looked stunned by this disclosure had to be an understatement; he looked as if someone had just punched him between the eyes!

Yes, he looked stunned—and something else, March realized as his expression instantly became guarded. She had thought, from the little she had seen of him, that once Will got over the surprise at learning that it was her family farm she had sent him to, he would laugh about the situation. But obviously she had misjudged his sense of humour, because he certainly didn’t look as if he felt much like laughing.

‘It was only a joke, Mr Davenport,’ she told him ruefully. ‘Not a very clever one at that,’ she allowed dryly.

‘After all, we do have the studio for rent, and you did say you were looking for somewhere in the area…’ She trailed off as she could tell that, far from seeing the funny side of the situation, he was now frowning darkly.

‘The two of you are sisters,’ he realized woodenly.

‘I don’t think you get any Brownie points for guessing that!’ March grinned as she moved to stand next to May, the likeness between the two women more than obvious, both tall and dark-haired, their features similar, only the eyes a different colour, May’s a clear emerald-green.

Will Davenport didn’t return her smile. In fact, he seemed momentarily at a loss for words.

‘Why don’t you come into the farmhouse and have a nice cup of tea, Mr Davenport?’ May briskly took charge of the situation, shooting March another reproving look as she took hold of Will’s arm to urge him towards the house.

March followed slowly behind them. Some people just didn’t have a sense of humour, she decided scornfully. It had only been a joke, for goodness’ sake. And he had seemed to like the studio well enough before he’d realized she lived here too.

Maybe that was his problem, she realized a little disgruntledly. Perhaps he thought she might try to follow up on his earlier dinner invitation? That she had done this for some hidden reason of her own?

Well, he needn’t worry, she had no intention of bothering him even if he did move into the studio for a couple of weeks; she was out at work all day, and busy with chores about the farm the rest of the time. Besides, she had the distinct feeling that Will Davenport was way out of her league…

‘Put the kettle on, March,’ her sister instructed firmly once they were in the warmth of the kitchen, Will Davenport still not looking any happier as he sat at the kitchen table. ‘You obviously had no idea that this was March’s home, too?’ May prompted as she sat down opposite him.

‘None at all.’ He seemed to rouse himself out of his stupor for a few seconds as he looked up at March. ‘You would be March Calendar?’

She grinned. ‘I certainly would.’

May frowned across at March before turning her attention back to their visitor. ‘My sister sometimes has a warped sense of humour—’

‘Oh, for goodness’ sake!’ March cut in impatiently.

‘It was only a little joke. What possible difference can it make that I live here too?’ she added irritably.

May sighed. ‘Well, if I were in Will’s shoes—’

‘Which you obviously aren’t,’ March taunted; Will Davenport’s shoes, indeed all his clothes, looked much more expensive than anything they could afford!

Her sister glared at her. ‘March, when are you going to learn that you just can’t do things like this? You’re twenty-six years old, for goodness’ sake, not six!’

Her cheeks became flushed at her sister’s rebuke. ‘It was a joke,’ she repeated incredulously.

‘It may have been—’

‘It really is all right, May,’ Will Davenport cut in lightly. ‘March was just settling a score from this morning. Right?’ He looked at her with narrowed blue eyes.

March shrugged. ‘Well, I thought it was funny,’ she muttered disgustedly.

And, no matter what May might say, it was funny. But March also knew the reason for May’s concern; the money they would receive from letting the studio for two weeks would come in very handy. Any extra money always came in handy on a small farm like this one!

Will Davenport seemed to visibly relax. ‘It was. It is.’ He nodded ruefully. ‘You see, May, I rather inconvenienced March this morning by “usurping” her parking space,’ he explained wryly, at the same time shooting March a derisive look. ‘This was obviously pay-back time.’ His gaze was mocking on March now. ‘Well, I’m afraid the joke is on you, March—because I have every intention of renting the studio for a couple of weeks. If that’s okay with you?’ He turned back to May.

‘Hey, I live here too,’ March defended ruefully.

‘I think we’re now all well aware of that fact!’ May bit out impatiently.

Will Davenport began to smile, the smile turning into a chuckle. ‘I think I’m going to enjoy my stay here, after all,’ he murmured appreciatively.

‘How could you have doubted it?’ March came back mockingly, more than a little relieved that he had decided to stay after all; May really would never have forgiven her if he had decided not to simply because of the joke she had played on him.

‘Only too easily, I would have thought,’ May snapped, but she was smiling too now.

‘I was thinking of moving in later this afternoon, if that’s okay?’ their new paying guest prompted lightly.

‘He hates staying in hotels,’ March put in derisively.

‘Of course it’s okay for you to move in today,’ May confirmed. ‘The studio should be thoroughly warm by this evening,’ she added apologetically.

Something it obviously wasn’t yet. Despite March’s prompt call earlier so that May could go over and switch on the heating for their visitor. The studio hadn’t been used since last summer, and so there hadn’t been any heating on over there, either.

‘Although you might prefer to come over and have dinner with us just for this evening?’ May continued frowningly.

Now that was just going too far in March’s opinion. The man was supposed to be renting the studio, completely independent of them and the farm, not moving in with them!

Will Davenport sat back in his chair to shoot her a knowing smile—as if he were only too well aware of what she was thinking. Which he probably was; she never had been any good at hiding her feelings! And with this man, someone who wouldn’t be around long enough to matter, she didn’t see why she should bother…

‘How about that, March?’ he drawled mockingly. ‘We can have dinner together, after all!’

Oh, goody—she didn’t think!

‘Will invited me out to dinner earlier,’ she told May bluntly as her sister looked slightly puzzled by the conversation.

May looked speculative now as she glanced first at Will Davenport and then more closely at March. ‘Really?’ she finally murmured enigmatically.

‘Really!’ March confirmed with a certain amount of resentment; the last thing she wanted was for her eldest sister to start thinking there was actually anything between Will Davenport and herself—because there wasn’t. ‘I said no, of course,’ she said flatly. ‘One can never be too careful, can one?’ she added pointedly.

May turned to Will Davenport. ‘Our younger sister used to sing at a hotel in town and was recently—involved, in the arrest of a man who was attacking people in this area,’ she explained with a grimace.

‘I sincerely hope you’re not implying that I—’

‘No, of course not,’ May laughingly dismissed Will Davenport’s mocking query. ‘It just wasn’t very pleasant, for January, or anyone else, for that matter,’ she added with a frown. ‘In fact, her fiancé has taken her away for a short holiday to get over it.’

‘January?’ Will Davenport echoed ruefully. ‘Your parents certainly liked the names of months for their children, didn’t they?’

‘Personally, I’ve always been rather relieved I wasn’t born in September,’ March put in dryly. ‘I can imagine nothing worse than going through life being called Sept! I suppose August wouldn’t have been too bad—’ She broke off as May spluttered with laughter.

‘That wouldn’t have suited you at all!’ May explained with a grin.

‘No, March suits you perfectly,’ Will Davenport assured her wryly.

March gave him a narrow-eyed look as she placed the mug of tea on the table in front of him.

He returned her gaze with a look that was just too innocent for her liking. ‘I’ve always looked on the month of March as brisk and crisp, the month that blows all the cobwebs away,’ he drawled mockingly.

‘That’s March to a T!’ May confirmed with another laugh.

‘Thanks very much!’ she muttered disgruntledly.

‘You’re welcome.’ Will gave a derisive inclination of his head before turning back to May. ‘Dinner this evening sounds wonderful—if you’re sure I’m not intruding?’

Of course he was intruding. But, as March knew only too well, beggars couldn’t be choosers, and the money he would pay them in rent over the next two weeks—once they had paid the commission to Carter and Jones, of course—would be very useful. The roof needed fixing on the barn, for one thing, and there were any number of small jobs about the farm that needed doing.

No, all things considered, she didn’t mind this man ‘intruding’ for two weeks.

Will couldn’t get over the likeness between the two sisters. He probably should have realized the connection when May Calendar had introduced herself on his arrival, but at the time he had had something much more important to occupy his mind.

As it still occupied his mind!

‘You said your sister January is away on holiday with her fiancé at the moment?’ he prompted lightly.

‘Max.’ May nodded with an affectionate smile. ‘It’s been rather a whirlwind romance, but we like him, don’t we, March?’ She looked up at her sister for confirmation.

Giving Will a few seconds’ reprieve to come to terms with this latest piece of information. Max had got himself engaged to one of the Calendar sisters? Well, that certainly explained a lot!

‘We do now,’ March said with satisfaction.

‘Oh?’ Will prompted interestedly.

But not too interestedly, he hoped; he might have walked into the lion’s den by accident—designed by March Calendar herself, if she did but know it!—but he was staying through choice.

He liked these two women. But especially March, with her quirky sense of humour and her outspokenness. It was refreshing to meet someone who said exactly what she thought. Or, if she didn’t exactly say it, looked what she thought.

But he was still stunned by the fact that Max had become so personally involved with this family that he was actually going to marry one of them. Max had been a loner for as long as Will could remember, had always scorned the very idea of love, let alone marriage. Although if January was anything like March and May, perhaps the attraction was understandable…

Yes, he liked these two women, but whether or not they were still going to like him at the end of two weeks was another matter…

‘Just a little family problem,’ May answered him dismissively.

‘Anything I could help with?’ Even as he asked the question Will knew he had gone too far, could see the puzzlement in May’s expression, March’s more openly hostile.

‘Not unless you’re acquainted with Jude Marshall,’ March bit out hardly. ‘Max is a lawyer, originally sent here on Jude Marshall’s behalf to buy our farm,’ she explained at Will’s frowning look. ‘Which we aren’t interested in selling!’ she added with a pointedly determined look in May’s direction.

A look Will was all too aware of. Dissension in the ranks? It certainly looked like it. May’s next words confirmed it.

‘We’re thinking about it, March,’ she told her sister.

‘You might be—but I’m certainly not,’ March snapped, two spots of angry colour now in the paleness of her cheeks.

May sighed before turning back to Will. ‘You’ll have to excuse us, I’m afraid, Mr Davenport—’

‘Will,’ he put in smoothly.

May smiled in acknowledgement. ‘I’m afraid that whether or not we should sell the farm is an ongoing problem at the moment.’ She gave a rueful shake of her head.

‘May thinks we should, and I don’t agree with her,’ March snapped unnecessarily.

‘And what does January think?’ Will was intrigued about the younger sister, in spite of himself. Although he had already guessed at the rift between March and May over the situation…

‘She’ll go along with whatever I decide,’ March announced triumphantly.

‘Whatever you decide?’ he prompted mildly; there were three sisters, shouldn’t they all decide?

‘Yes, you see May is—’

‘I think we’ve bored Mr—Will,’ May corrected at Will’s gently reproving look. ‘We’ve bored him with our problems long enough for one day, March,’ she stated firmly as she stood up. ‘The only thing that Will needs to know is that we definitely won’t be selling the farm during the two weeks he wants to stay here,’ she added lightly.

‘That’s a relief.’ He smiled, preparing to leave as he took May having stood up as his cue to leave. ‘I should be back by about five o’clock, if that’s okay?’

May nodded. ‘The garage beneath the studio is for your use.’

‘Yes.’ March grinned now. ‘One fall of snow and you could lose your little car underneath it!’

What March described as a ‘little car’ was in fact a Ferrari! It was Will’s pride and joy, the culmination of years of hard work. But, he had to admit, March was probably right about the snow! Yorkshire was having a particularly hard winter this year, many people having been snowbound in their homes until the last few days.

He gave a rueful smile. ‘I’ll try to remember that.’ He nodded.

‘Dinner is at seven o’clock,’ May told him briskly as she walked to the door with him.

‘Stew and dumplings tonight, isn’t it, May?’ March put in with a deliberately mocking smile in Will’s direction.

She obviously didn’t see him as a man who normally ate such nourishingly basic fare, and in one way she was probably right; he lived alone, had a busy life, and things like home cooking were not a luxury he could afford. Although he didn’t think March would understand what he meant by that…

‘It sounds wonderful,’ he told May warmly.

‘Just like your old granny used to make?’ March put in tauntingly.

‘March!’ May winced laughingly.

‘Let’s hope so,’ Will answered March dryly. ‘My grandmother is a first-class cook!’ he added challengingly, rewarded with the satisfaction of seeing that superior smile wiped off March’s beautiful face!

‘So was ours, and she taught us all to cook,’ May assured him smilingly, lightly touching the sleeve of his coat in apology for March’s outspokenness.

Strange that it was their grandmother who had taught the three sisters to cook, and not their mother…?

‘There you are, March; something we have in common!’ He grinned across at her.

‘It’s probably the only thing,’ she muttered in reply.

Causing Will’s grin to widen appreciatively. This woman really did have an answer for everything!

‘Any chance of a home-made apple pie to go with the stew and dumplings?’ he prompted hopefully. ‘My grandmother makes the most mouth-watering pastry too,’ he added dryly.

‘Would you like us to get out the best silver and white table linen too?’ March came back impatiently.

He raised mocking blond brows. ‘Not unless it’s what you normally do, no.’

‘Hardly,’ she scorned.

‘It was only a suggestion about the pie.’ He shrugged, laughter gleaming in his eyes at March’s obvious disgust with the whole conversation. ‘Obviously if you can’t make mouth-watering pastry—’

‘Oh, but she can,’ May put in, laughter lurking in her own eyes now as she listened to the exchange with obvious enjoyment. ‘The art of making good pastry is having cold hands, I’m told,’ she added mischievously.

‘“Cold hands warm heart”?’ Will returned teasingly.

‘Let’s leave my heart out of it,’ March put in disgustedly.

Hmm, perhaps they had better, Will agreed with an inward frown. It was one thing to have a little fun at March Calendar’s expense—as she had done earlier with him!—quite another for him to actually become involved with any of the Calendar sisters.

From all accounts, with Max’s recent—surprising!—engagement to January Calendar, his friend had already fallen into that particular trap; he didn’t think Jude would appreciate having Will do it too!