Читать книгу Australian Affairs: Seduced: The Accidental Romeo - Carol Marinelli, Carol Marinelli - Страница 19

‘I FEEL LIKE Mary Poppins,’ Marnie said as Harry opened his front door.

‘Oh, you’re no Mary Poppins.’ Harry grinned, taking her case. He was looking more rumpled than usual and that clean-shaven look of yesterday was fading. ‘Come in. Charlotte’s just starting to realise that chickenpox isn’t so much fun after all.’

No, Marnie was no Mary Poppins. Mary was a good girl who didn’t notice things like Harry’s bum as she followed him through to the lounge, but, then, she’d never seen Harry in just a T-shirt and jeans and barefoot too. Oh, she’d seen him in a suit, in scrubs and stark naked, but there was something very attractive about him in a T-shirt because it showed off his very flat stomach and in jeans his legs just looked longer.

No, she was no Mary Poppins, but Marnie was still a good girl because she didn’t give that bottom a pinch as they walked and she kept her thoughts well to herself too—butter wouldn’t have melted in her mouth as she gave his children a smile.

‘This is Marnie,’ Harry introduced her. ‘You both met her at the hospital.’

Adam looked up and smiled and said hello, but Charlotte’s eyes narrowed. ‘A nurse isn’t a nanny.’

‘I’m not a nanny,’ Marnie said. ‘I’m here to help look after you so that Daddy can work.’

‘Have you looked after children before?’

‘Charlotte,’ Harry warned.

‘It’s fine,’ Marnie said. ‘I don’t mind being interviewed—I’d want to know who was looking after me too.’ She turned to Charlotte. ‘I’ve looked after plenty of children and I have lots of nieces and nephews and many younger brothers, so I’ve have a bit more of a head start than most.’

Harry showed her around—it was a lovely old home, though the stairs creaked terribly as Harry lifted her case upstairs.

‘It’s a beautiful home.’

‘It’s needs a demolition ball,’ Harry said. ‘It looks nice but everything needs fixing, apart from this…’

He opened a door and Marnie almost whimpered at the sight of a beautiful bathroom—it was completely white except for a few dots of dark tiles on the floor. ‘It’s the one thing that has been renovated,’ Harry said. ‘I think they gave up after that. I can’t wait to see the back of it.’

Marnie was surprised. Surely this home would be filled with memories and the last thing he would want was to let it go, but he must have read her confusion.

‘Oh, no…’ Harry shook his head. ‘We’d just sold our house and were looking for somewhere when Jill died…It was hell—the buyers had sold too and there was no getting out of it. I didn’t want the upheaval for the children.’

‘Poor things.’ It just poured out of her mouth. ‘I hated moving, more than anything, I hated leaving Ireland and then when we had to leave Perth…’ Marnie stopped. She didn’t really like talking about herself but she was just trying to say that she understood how hard it must have been for the children to move so close to losing their mum.

‘It wasn’t exactly great timing,’ Harry said when Marnie went quiet, ‘but there was no real choice, so I rented this. Your friend Dave put me onto it.’

‘Ah, Dave!’ Marnie gave a bitter smile.

‘It was supposed to be for six months…’ He turned round and there was Charlotte, standing at the top of the stairs watching them.

‘I’m itchy,’ she said.

‘I’ll just show Marnie her room and then I’ll come and put some cream on.’

They walked down the hall and he opened a door and put Marnie’s case inside. ‘I hope this is okay.’

‘It’s lovely.’ It was, a large room with an iron bed dressed in white linen and lovely wooden furnishings that mismatched perfectly.

Charlotte, who had followed them, stood in the doorway and watched as Harry showed Marnie how the dodgy windows worked. ‘Do you want to come in and help me put some things away?’ Marnie offered.

‘We’re not allowed in the nanny’s room,’ Charlotte said, and huffed off.

‘Fair enough,’ Marnie said.

‘She’s normally much more friendly.’

‘She’s normally not covered in spots,’ Marnie pointed out, as Harry, a touch awkward now, headed for the door. ‘Do you want to go through our diaries?’ Marnie suggested. ‘Get it out of the way?’

‘Sure.’

‘I’ll just unpack and I’ll be down.’

Marnie unpacked her case—it only took a moment. She put her clothes in the wardrobe and hung her dressing gown up on the door and sorted out her toiletries. She put Declan’s photo in the drawer of the bedside table. She didn’t want questions if the children came peeking, but she couldn’t bear to leave him at home, then she headed downstairs.

It was a working arrangement.

They sat at a large table and drank tea as they tried to sort out the upcoming week. ‘I phoned Helen and I’ve got the shifts she can do, as well as Lazlo, he’s on now and I’m going in tomorrow.’

‘Who’s Lazlo?’

‘He used to work there and said that he can come in for a couple of shifts…’

Marnie looked at the schedule and saw Harry pencilled in for a shift on Friday night.

‘I’m out that night,’ Marnie said, and didn’t elaborate, but Harry’s jaw did tighten just a fraction as he recalled that she was going to the ballet.

With Matthew.

‘Not a problem.’ Harry cleared his throat before continuing. ‘Okay, if I can get Helen to cover that night I can, if it’s okay with you, be on call for the rest of the weekend and then Juan’s back.’

It was a working arrangement.

She made that very clear.

When Harry opened a bottle of wine once the kids had gone to bed, Marnie politely declined.

‘I’m going to have that bath.’

‘Sure.’

She was a strange person, Harry thought—Marnie didn’t even come down and say goodnight. But, ages later, when he headed for bed himself, he could hear her chatting away in her room and it took a moment for it to click that she was on the computer.

‘You’re living with him?’ Siobhan checked, and Marnie was very glad for her headphones. ‘You’ve slept with him and you’ve moved in but there’s nothing going on?’

‘You’re making this more complicated than it is,’ Marnie said.

‘What does Matthew have to say about it?’

‘I don’t discuss things like that with Matthew,’ Marnie said, but she did worry for a moment. ‘Matthew and I…’ She looked at Siobhan, who’d been married for nine years now and just loved hearing about friends with benefits and her best friend’s rather glamorous life. ‘I don’t know,’ Marnie admitted.

‘What would Harry have to say about Matthew?’

‘Nothing!’ Marnie said. ‘Because he’s not going to find out.’

Except Harry had been there when Matthew had invited her to the ballet.

Marnie’s conscience was pricking as she turned off the computer and tried to get to sleep.

She and Harry had been a one-off, an indulgence, safe in the knowledge they wouldn’t be working together again.

See what happens when you take your eye off the ball, Marnie scolded herself.

It certainly wouldn’t be happening again.

No, there was no hint of anything. The next morning she was up and dressed and even had lipstick on as Harry held up the kettle and asked if she wanted tea.

‘Leave the tea bag in this time,’ Marnie said.

‘You’re sure you don’t mind doing this?’ Harry checked. ‘Charlotte’s been up half the night crying. It’s hardly a great day off for you.’

‘Harry, I’m just relieved to know that the place is being looked after. It’s been nothing but a headache trying to get the department covered.’ She turned as Adam came down. ‘Good morning.’

‘Morning, Marnie.’

She was lovely to Adam. She chatted away and found out that he’d like cornflakes and juice and yet, Harry couldn’t put his finger on it, she still held back. Then Charlotte appeared.

‘Do you want babies?’ Charlotte asked as Marnie sorted out her breakfast.

‘Charlotte,’ Harry scolded.

‘It’s fine.’ Marnie smiled. ‘No, Charlotte, I don’t want babies.’

‘Why?’

‘Because…’ Marnie filled a bowl with cornflakes as she spoke ‘…I like my work, I like my holidays, I like lots of things. And,’ Marnie added, ‘as I told you, I had lots of younger brothers. I’ve changed more nappies than most!’

‘Don’t scratch,’ Harry warned, as Charlotte started to.

‘I keep forgetting.’

‘I’ll paint your nails red later,’ Marnie said. ‘That will remind you.’

After Harry had gone, she did paint Charlotte’s nails red and then she went about opening the windows and stripping the beds between putting on anti-itch cream at various times throughout the day.

‘Do you like our house?’ Charlotte asked as she showed her the cupboard at the top of the stairs where the fresh sheets were kept.

‘I think it’s lovely,’ Marnie said, as she pulled out some sheets. ‘Right! Which ones are yours, Adam?’

‘The blue ones, silly,’ said Charlotte. ‘Mine are pink.’

Harry could not have done it without her.

The children could not have been better looked after and a wary Charlotte had quickly warmed to Marnie’s chatter and rather offbeat humour. Despite refusing to iron a thing for Harry, Marnie hauled out the ironing board on the Tuesday evening and made a major dint in the piles of children’s bedding and clothing.

‘Do you ever stop?’ Charlotte asked. She was helping Marnie to fold things as a distraction from scratching.

‘Not till the work’s done,’ Marnie said.

Only Harry noticed that Charlotte’s smile wavered.