Читать книгу Worlds Apart - Kay Thorpe - Страница 7

SUNDAY was long and quiet. Restless still, Caryn took advantage of the continuing good weather to go for an afternoon stroll into town.

The sun had brought out the holidaymakers in force. For the first time in weeks the main beach was a scene of activity. Some hardy souls had even ventured into the sea, braving a water temperature that made Caryn shiver just thinking about it. She never attempted to swim in the sea before August even in a good season.

At four o’clock, having seen almost no one she knew, she set off to walk the couple of miles back home, not looking forward to the dull evening ahead. Her father was right, of course, she acknowledged wryly. She did spend far too much time on her own. The problem was finding someone she wanted to share that time with.

Apart from Jane, she didn’t have a lot in common with her contemporaries, who seemed to spend most of their time either visiting various public houses or attending discos where the loudness of the music drowned all attempts at conversation. Other than the cinema, or a trip to one of the Norwich theatres, that was about it, she supposed.

It had been different when she’d been going out with Michael Sinclair those few weeks. He had introduced her to another world. She had refused to see him again after Logan left, and had no idea at all of where he might be these days. Not that it mattered anyway.

Reaching the crossroads on the outskirts of the town proper, she took advantage of a gap in the traffic to save waiting for the green man to put in an appearance. A misjudgement, she realised immediately, hearing the sudden blare of a horn from a car that seemed to have appeared from nowhere.

Hurrying to get across, she stumbled on the kerb and almost fell her length, hitting one knee against the stone edge with sickening force as she went down. She was vaguely aware of hearing a car door slam, and then there were hands under her arms, lifting her back into her feet.

‘Thanks,’ she said wryly, trying to ignore the pain from her knee. ‘That was stupid of me.’

Her voice died in her throat as she turned her head to glance at her rescuer, the apologetic little smile freezing on her lips.

‘Yes, it was,’ agreed Logan briefly. ‘You gave yourself a nasty crack. How does it feel?’

‘It’s nothing,’ Caryn assured him, recovering her tongue if not her equilibrium. ‘I’m fine!’

‘I’m sure,’ he returned with satire. ‘You’d better get in the car and I’ll run you home.’

‘I said I’m all right!’ she snapped. ‘I don’t have far to go, in any case.’

‘St Albans, isn’t it? We have to pass the end of your road.’ His tone was unequivocal.

For the first time, Caryn became aware of the woman occupying the passenger seat of the silver blue Mercedes drawn into the roadside. Dark-haired like her son, Helen Bannister was well enough known by sight around the town, if not exactly on intimate terms with the general population. She was watching the scene now with a curious expression on a face that already showed signs of deterioration in health by its lack of colour and hollow cheeks.

‘I think you had better do as Logan says,’ she called through the opened window.

Logan settled the matter by taking Caryn’s arm in a firm grasp and propelling her over to the car, leaving her with no alternative, short of causing a scene, but to slide into the rear passenger seat when he opened the door for her.

‘Put the belt on,’ he instructed. ‘It might only be a few minutes’ ride, but better to be safe than sorry.’

Safe enough in body, perhaps, Caryn thought hollowly. Fate played some dirty tricks.

Seated right behind Logan as he put the car into motion again, she was too close for comfort. The crisp, clean line of his hair across the nape of his neck made her ache with the longing to reach out and touch. Nothing had changed. Not where her senses were concerned. Everything about him made her ache.

Helen Bannister half turned in her seat to offer a somewhat reticent smile. ‘Such a lovely day for a walk after all that rain!’

‘Yes, it is.’ Caryn could find nothing to add to the abrupt affirmative. None of this was Mrs Bannister’s fault, she reminded herself. The woman could have no idea of the underlying currents between her son and this stranger he had picked up from the roadside. So far as she was concerned, he was simply playing the Good Samaritan.

‘You must be in a lot of pain after a knock like that,’ continued the other. ‘Knees are always the worst places to injure.’

Caryn forced a smile of her own. ‘It really isn’t hurting very much at all,’ she lied. ‘It was my own fault anyway. I should have waited for the green light.’

Logan made no comment, but she could sense his glance through the driving mirror, imagine his sardonic expression. They were already approaching the turn-off from the main road. He took it without hesitation, as also the next turn into St Albans, drawing to a halt in front of the Gregory residence.

‘Here you are,’ he said. ‘Safe, if not exactly sound. You should get that knee seen to. You might have chipped the bone.’

‘I will,’ she affirmed, hoping no one happened to be looking out of the front windows at present. ‘Thank you for the lift.’

‘I’ll help you out,’ he said as she reached for the door-handle. ‘At the very least it will have stiffened up.’

He was right, Caryn discovered, biting off an exclamation as she moved her leg. Perhaps not chipped, but certainly badly bruised. Fortunately her job didn’t call for a lot of walking.

Logan came back to open the door and extend a hand. She took it with reluctance, relinquishing it again the moment she was out of the car and standing on the kerb. Turning her head, she directed a brief smile at the other occupant.

‘Goodbye—and thank you too.’

Mrs Bannister nodded but didn’t speak. She looked, Caryn thought fleetingly, as if she scarcely knew what to say.

Logan made no further attempt to touch her in any way. Wearing a soft leather jacket in light tan, and silky roll-necked sweater, he looked every inch the landed gentry. Only on the surface, though, she reminded herself. Underneath he was pure dross.

‘I need to talk to you,’ he said in low but urgent tones.

Body tensed, nerves stretched, she said jerkily, ‘I don’t think we have anything to talk about.’

‘Yes, we do.’ He paused, added with purpose, ‘You wouldn’t want me to come to the house, I assume?’

Her head lifted sharply. ‘No!’

‘Then meet me tonight on the beach. Seven o’clock. Same place.’

He was gone before she could say yea or nay, rounding the car bonnet to slide back behind the wheel. Mrs Bannister lifted a hand in farewell as the vehicle moved off.

Staring after it, Caryn wondered what on earth Logan could have to say to her that hadn’t already been said last night. Nothing she wanted to hear, at any rate, so he could wait in vain.

On the other hand, he might very well keep his threat to come to the house if she failed to keep the appointment, and how would she explain that to her parents? She had no choice but to go, regardless of how she might feel about it. He had made sure of that.

It was something of a relief to find that her arrival had gone unwitnessed. Her knee was painful, and as Logan had warned, already stiffening up, but she managed not to limp on her way upstairs to view the damage.

Just badly bruised, she judged from a cursory inspection. It would probably be black and blue by morning, so short skirts were definitely out. Fortunately, fashion didn’t dictate any particular length at present.

They ate at six, as they always did on a Sunday. Right up until ten to seven, Caryn was vacillating over keeping her appointment with Logan. She reached a final decision on the strength of curiosity alone—or so she told herself.

Her announcement that she was going for another walk drew no particular comment. Her mother was ensconced in front of the television for her favourite situation comedy show, her father was still engrossed in the Sunday newspapers—the two of them settled into comfortable middle-age. Nothing wrong with that, Caryn supposed, yet tonight it somehow seemed indicative of everything she didn’t want for herself. Life was for living, not stagnating. It was high time she gave some serious thought towards exchanging one for the other.

She was at the appointed place on the hour, to find the stretch of beach empty of all but the gulls. By ten past she had begun to think the whole thing had been Logan’s sick idea of a joke, although what possible entertainment he might get from that she couldn’t begin to imagine. She was on the verge of leaving when she saw horse and rider finally approaching.

Logan came up at a fast canter, drawing to a halt far enough away to avoid showering her with sand kicked up by the chestnut’s hooves.

‘Thanks for waiting,’ he said, dismounting. ‘I had a call from Australia.’

Caryn retained her seat on the ledge of sand as he moved towards her. ‘I only came because you made it impossible to refuse,’ she said stonily. ‘Not because I want to be here. Just say what you have to say.’

He contemplated her in silence for a lengthy moment, eyes veiled. When he did speak it was with an odd note in his voice. ‘I need to know how you really feel about me now, Caryn.’

The question dried her throat. She gazed at him with darkened eyes, fighting the almost overwhelming urge to jump up and rake her nails down that lean brown cheek. ‘How would you expect me to feel?’ she got out with an effort

His smile was wry. ‘What I’d expect and what I can hope for are two different things.’

Her voice seemed to be coming from a long way away. ‘So what do you hope for?’

‘That you’ll be prepared to marry me,’ he said.

This couldn’t be for real, she thought dazedly. He was making fun of her. He had to be!

‘Don’t look so stricken,’ he said on a dry note. ‘All I’m asking for is a simple yes or no.’

‘All?’ She drew in a shaky breath. ‘I don’t know what kind of game you think you’re playing, but you’re not doing it with me!’

He caught her arm as she began to turn away, pulling her back round to face him and holding her there, a look of determination on his face. ‘It’s no game, believe me. I need you, Caryn.’

Need, not love, a part of her mind registered, but the shock was still too great to take any real account of the distinction.

‘I don’t understand,’ she managed to get out. ‘Why now?’

His lips twisted. ‘Because you’re eighteen, not sixteen. Old enough to know your own mind.’

Eyes wide and dark, she gazed at him in silence as she grappled with the implications of that statement. When she did find her voice it came out low and husky. ‘Are you trying to tell me you felt the same way two years ago?’

‘Why else do you think I went away?’ he asked. ‘You were sixteen, I was thirty-one. I doubt if your parents would have sanctioned marriage between us—whatever the circumstances.’

He was right about that, Caryn knew. They would have been utterly devastated had they been forced to learn of her premature initiation into womanhood, but there would have been no marriage. Not at sixteen. She searched the firm features with a sense almost of desperation, heart and mind in turmoil. Right at this moment she didn’t know how she felt about him—about anything. It was all too much to take in.

As if in recognition of her dilemma, he drew her to him, sliding a hand behind her head to tilt her face up to his. The kiss moved her immeasurably in its gentle yet inexorable seeking. She found her arms moving of their own accord up about his neck, her whole body surging into closer proximity. There had never been anyone else who could make her feel this way—as if fireworks had been lit inside her. She wanted him to go on kissing her, to make love to her, to lift her to that seventh heaven she had experienced so briefly yet never once forgotten.

It was Logan himself who brought matters to a halt by putting her firmly, if with reluctance, away from him. He was smiling, eyes fired with a desire he made no effort to conceal.

‘Still the same lovely, warm, responsive Caryn,’ he murmured. ‘I’ve dreamed about making love to you again, but it isn’t going to happen like this. We have a lot to talk about first.’

Still held fast in the grip of her turbulent emotions, Caryn allowed herself to be drawn to a seat on the wedge of sand she had so recently vacated. Logan kept an arm lightly about her shoulders.

‘Before we go any further,’ he said, ‘I have to tell you that my mother knows the whole story, and has done from the start. She kept an eye on you for me. If there had been any hint at all of a pregnancy, I would have come back and faced up to it, but going away seemed the best thing for us both at the time.’

Caryn said slowly, ‘Does she know about… now?’

‘Yes.’

‘And approves?’

‘Yes,’ he said again, and hesitated a moment before continuing, ‘She’s the main reason I’m not prepared to spend too much time rebuilding a relationship between us. It’s her dearest wish to see me happily married.’ There was a pause, a change of tone. ‘You are going to marry me, aren’t you, Caryn?’

‘It’s all so sudden,’ she protested. ‘I can’t take it in.’ She could feel herself trembling as reaction began to set in. ‘You didn’t attempt to see me last year when your father died.’

‘I dared not let myself. I was only here a few days, anyway.’ He brought up his other hand to trace the line of her mouth with the tip of a finger, making her tremble with another, quite different emotion. ‘You told me once that you loved me,’ he said softly. ‘Does that still follow?’

Caryn was hard put to it to think of anything other than what he was doing to her with that slow caress. She caught at his hand, staying the movement yet not pulling away. ‘We hardly know one another,’ she whispered. ‘Not in any real sense.’

‘We know how we feel,’ he returned. ‘That’s the most important.’

Caryn wasn’t sure. She felt totally confused. For this to happen after two years of hatred was beyond all reason. How could she even begin to sort out her emotions?

‘Does your mother really consider me the kind of wife you should have?’ she asked. ‘There must be others far more suitable.’

‘Suitable to whom, and for what?’ Logan queried. ‘If I’m going to take a wife at all, then it has to be my choice.’

He studied her for a brief moment, then tilted her chin and kissed her again, this time with less restraint, parting her lips in surging response. Caryn didn’t try to think, only to feel—the way she had always felt about this man deep down in her heart. He had been her first love; she wanted him to be her only love. Nothing else seemed important right now but that.

‘I take it the answer is yes,’ he said with a touch of arrogance when he lifted his head at last. ‘It must be soon. There isn’t a lot of time left.’

‘It can’t be that soon.’ She was breathless, heart racing, mind in a whirl. ‘What do I tell my parents?’

‘The truth, up to a point,’ he suggested. ‘Just leave out the more intimate detail. They’ll surely understand the need for haste when they know about Mother.’

‘She won’t mind their knowing?’

‘Providing they keep it to themselves. The last thing she’d want is for the whole town to know.’ Logan took her hand, pressing the back of it to his lips in a gesture that warmed her all the way through. ‘You’re of age. It’s your decision, not theirs. Your life.’ His smile was an inducement in itself. ‘You won’t regret it, Caryn. I’ll make sure you don’t.’

Caution went to the winds. Whatever the cost, she thought recklessly, she couldn’t turn her back on this dream come true. Logan had to love her, even though he hadn’t actually used the word. How else could he contemplate marriage?

‘Yes,’ she breathed, not trying to keep her emotions in check any longer. ‘Yes, Logan, I’ll marry you. As soon as you like!’

He made no attempt to kiss her again, much as she wanted him to. His acknowledging nod was verging on the perfunctory. ‘Give me half an hour to return Ballantyne to the stables, and I’ll come and see your parents,’ he said. ‘Or better still, why don’t you come on back with me, then we can drive in together?’

It was all going too fast, much too fast, but Caryn wouldn’t allow herself pause for reflection. Logan was in charge all the way; that was how she wanted it. It was how she had always wanted it.

He put her up before him on the horse, the same way he had that other evening. Only this was different, so different, she thought blissfully, leaning against him. She could feel the strong beat of his heart through the two layers of clothing, the radiating body heat. The muscles of her inner thighs went into spasm at the memory of that other time. Such an age ago, but never forgotten. And soon to happen again, if Logan had his way. Only this time they would be man and wife.

Whitegates lay back from the coastal road. Built of mellow brick, and Georgian in design, the house was large and imposing, the formal gardens immediately surrounding it full of life and colour. The stables lay off to the rear, reached via a lane running alongside the property, with the seventy acres of privately owned land stretching beyond.

A youth came out to the yard to take the horse as Logan handed Caryn down from its back. She knew him by sight if not by name, and was aware that he recognised her too from the way he gaped at her.

‘You can talk to Mother while I get out of these things,’ said Logan, turning her back towards the house. ‘It won’t take me long.’

‘What do I say to her?’ Caryn asked, panicking at the very thought of facing the woman.

‘Just be yourself,’ he advised. ‘She won’t bite.’ He gave her a reassuring smile. ‘She wants this as much as I do.’

Neither of them more than she did herself, came the fervent thought as she looked up into the lean features. She belonged to this man, wholly and for ever. Time had no bearing. A day, a week, a year, even two yearsit was all the same.

They went in through a side door, passing along a corridor to emerge into a lofty hall panelled in oak. The staircase rose from the centre, branching off at the halfway point to galleried landings either side. Black and white tiles polished to a high but non-slippery sheen covered the floor.

Glancing around, Caryn felt intimidated by the obvious signs of wealth allied to superb good taste, conscious of her simple cotton trousers and shirt, her windblown hair. Even in jodhpurs and riding boots, Logan looked completely at home.

He crossed to double doors on the right and ushered her through to a room full of soft evening light. A beautiful room, full of antiques yet with a lived-in look that gave her fresh heart. Seated on a brocade sofa by the side of the white marble fireplace, Mrs Bannister welcomed the two of them with a smile that seemed wholly genuine.

‘I gather that congratulations are in order?’ she said to her son. To Caryn, she added, ‘Come and sit by me. We have to get to know one another.’

‘I’ll leave you to it, said Logan. ‘I’m going up to change.’

Stay, Caryn wanted to beg, but he was already closing the door in his wake. Feeling totally at a loss, she moved to do his mother’s bidding, perching on the very edge of her seat.

‘Do make yourself comfortable,’ the older woman invited. ‘I realise how difficult this must be for you, but I can assure you that I thoroughly approve my son’s choice.’

‘But you don’t even know me,’ Caryn pointed out bemusedly.

‘I know of you—and of your family. The Gregorys are very well respected.’ She paused as if to choose her words, eyes reflective as they dwelt on the face turned towards her. ‘You’re very young. The only question I would ask is, are you quite sure this is what you want?’

‘Oh, yes!’ Caryn could say that without hesitation. She gave a laugh. ‘I’m still reeling from the suddenness of it all, but it’s definitely what I want. What I always…’ She broke off, colouring and looking down at the hands clasped in her lap. ‘Logan said he’d told you… everything.’

‘Yes, he did. Two years ago. It was the only way he could make me understand why he had decided to accept his friend’s invitation to partner him in Australia.’ The tone was matter-of-fact. ‘It seemed the best thing at the time.’

Caryn said softly, ‘Because of me you lost your son for two years.’

‘Not wholly. I visited him. In any case, he and his father didn’t get along too well, so it was better for them both to be apart for a while.’ Her voice briskened. ‘That’s all in the past. We have the future to look to now. You’ll be prepared to live here at Whitegates after you’re married, I trust?’

‘Well, yes, of course.’ Caryn hadn’t got that far in her imaginings as yet, and could find no other answer.

‘You’ll have your own rooms, of course. The house is big enough to convert the upper east wing. Plenty of room for a nursery too.’

‘Nursery?’ Caryn’s head came up, eyes startled. ‘Isn’t that looking a bit far ahead?’

‘I hope not too far.’ The smile was still there, but slightly strained now, the grey eyes so like her son’s petitioning. ‘I’d give a great deal to see my grandchild before I die.’

‘Of course.’ Caryn could think of nothing else to say. She and Logan weren’t even married yet. If they were to grant his mother’s wish, they would have to move fast. She felt disconcerted by the request, even while she could appreciate the motives behind it. Everything was moving too fast.

She was relieved when Logan came back into the room. He had exchanged the jodhpurs for linen trousers and a fine cotton shirt in a pale green that enhanced his tan. Her heart jolted at the very sight of him. It just didn’t seem possible that he was to be her husband.

‘Ready?’ he said. ‘Let’s go and get it over with.’

For the first time Caryn allowed herself to consider the shock they were about to drop on her parents. How on earth did she make them understand?

‘It’s too soon,’ she heard herself saying apprehensively. ‘They never even met you before!’

‘They’ll adjust,’ Logan declared firmly. ‘They’ll have to adjust.’

‘Logan will take care of it,’ his mother assured her.

Caryn came to her feet with reluctance. Logan might, but she would still have to face her family after he had gone. They were going to be devastated, disbelieving. How could they be anything else in the circumstances?

‘I’ll see you again soon,’ said Mrs Bannister. She looked tired, her face pale. ‘Very soon.’

They were in the Mercedes and heading down the drive before Caryn found her tongue. ‘I think I’m going to wake up and find this is all a dream,’ she said, unsurprised to hear the quiver in her voice.

Logan looked amused. ‘Would you like me to pinch you to prove you’re awake? It’s real enough, I can assure you.’

She glanced at him sideways as he brought the car to a halt before turning out on to the road, viewing the clean-cut profile with an undeniable thrill of excitement. He moved the car out from the drive, and accelerated away, hands firm on the wheel. Good hands, thought Caryn, watching their movement; long and lean and knowledgeable, the nails neatly trimmed and cleanrimmed. If he was nervous, he certainly wasn’t revealing it. He looked totally at ease.

Sensing her scrutiny, he glanced her way with a brief smile. ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll do the talking.’

It wasn’t a long journey. Caryn knew a wave of sheer panic when Logan brought the car to a halt at the front gate. She fought it down, but could feel herself trembling inside when she got out of the vehicle.

‘Bear up,’ said Logan softly, closing the door. He slid an arm about her shoulders and drew her close for a moment, his lips warm against her temple. ‘It will be all right, you’ll see.’

Eventually, perhaps, she thought, but it was the here and now that had to be got through first.

The front door was unlocked, the way it usually was during the day despite all the warnings. Susan Gregory came out from the living-room as Caryn closed the door again.

‘You’ve been a long…’ she began, breaking off abruptly on taking in Logan’s presence. Surprise gave way to confusion as her gaze moved from his face back to her daughter’s, then her natural good manners took over. ‘Mr Bannister, isn’t it? From Whitegates?’

‘That’s right,’ he returned easily. ‘And the name is Logan. I’m sorry to spring things on you this way, but better sooner than later.’

The confusion grew. ‘I don’t understand. What things?’

He indicated the room from which she had just emerged. ‘I think you and your husband should hear it together.’

Throat dry as a bone, Caryn felt his hand at her centre back ushering her ahead of him into the room in her mother’s wake. Her father looked at the newcomer in surprise, then questioningly at Caryn.

‘Is there something wrong?’ he asked.

Face registering little, Logan reached out an arm and drew Caryn to his side in a gesture unmistakably possessive. ‘Before anything else, we should tell you that we’re going to be married.’

The silence following that forthright announcement seemed to Caryn to stretch interminably. The two stunned faces gazing back at them looked to be carved from stone. John Gregory was the first to recover his power of speech.

‘Isn’t this a bit sudden?’ he asked on an amazingly mild note. ‘I know who you are, but I wasn’t aware that you and Caryn knew each other. Didn’t you just get back from Australia or somewhere?’

‘That’s right,’ Logan said again. ‘Only yesterday. I’ve waited two years. I wasn’t prepared to wait any longer. It would be nice to have your blessing.’

Nice, but by no means essential, his tone suggested— to Caryn at least. She kept her eyes fixed on her father’s face, neither caring nor daring to glance in her mother’s direction.

‘I know it has to be a shock for you both,’ she said huskily, thinking that that had to be the understatement of the year. ‘It was for me too. But it’s what I want. More than anything in the world!’

‘I don’t understand,’ said her mother blankly. ‘It doesn’t make any sense! You were just a schoolgirl two years ago!’

‘Which is why I went away when I did,’ put in Logan smoothly. ‘To give her time to grow up. Even if you’d been willing to grant approval then, which I very much doubt, I couldn’t have traded on a sixteen-year-old’s feelings. Fortunately, Caryn still feels the same way. We want to be together.’

‘Are you saying you were seeing each other while she was still in school?’ demanded Susan on a shocked note. ‘You must be nearly old enough to be her father!’

The dark head inclined, mouth wryly slanted. ‘Possible, if unlikely. Caryn was a very mature schoolgirl in a lot of ways. We shared a lot of interests.’

‘Michael Sinclair introduced us at a family party,’ said Caryn swiftly. ‘You remember Michael?’

‘Of course I remember Michael. You brought him to meet us.’ Susan’s voice had sharpened. ‘This is quite ridiculous!’

‘I think the two of you had better sit down,’ said John Gregory. ‘You too, Susan,’ he added to his wife. ‘We have to discuss this.’

‘There’s nothing very much to discuss,’ Logan returned. ‘Apart from wedding arrangements perhaps. It would probably be easier all round if we made it the register office rather than a church ceremony. Easier and quicker. Before the end of the month for preference.’

‘Now just wait a minute!’ Relatively calm up to now, the older man was beginning to sound agitated. ‘Everything else aside, what’s the rush? You haven’t been back five minutes!’

‘There’s a good reason,’ said Caryn, deciding it was time she put in a word. She glanced at Logan, taking his nod as recognition and approval of what she was about to impart. ‘Mrs Bannister doesn’t have long to live,’ she went on, trying to sound as matter-of-fact about it as the woman herself had been earlier. ‘She naturally wants to see Logan settled before she goes. The longer we wait, the weaker she’s going to become.’ She paused, looking from one parent to the other in an appeal for understanding. ‘I don’t want to wait either.’

‘I’m sorry about your mother,’ said Susan Gregory to Logan on a subdued note. ‘I heard she’d been ill, but I had no idea it was so bad.’

‘She’s accepted it,’ he returned levelly. ‘But you can appreciate that I’d want her to be as happy as possible while she’s still with us, and this will help.’

‘Does she already know about it?’

Caryn took it on herself to answer that question too. ‘Logan took me to see her before we came on here.’

‘It’s a wonder the shock didn’t kill her!’

‘She’s always known how I felt about Caryn,’ answered Logan without particular inflection. ‘I realise how you must both of you be feeling, and I’m sorry it has to be this way, but that’s the way it is. Caryn is happy about it. I’d like you to be too.’

The arm about Caryn’s shoulders increased pressure for a fleeting moment, then was removed. ‘I think the best thing is for me to leave now and give you all chance to talk in private. Tomorrow will be time enough to start discussing arrangements.’ To Caryn herself, he added on a softer note, ‘Come and see me off.’

She accompanied him wordlessly, reluctant to have him go so soon, even while she recognised the motive behind his departure. She had to face her family alone some time, so why prolong the agony?

‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’ he said at the door. ‘You have to get to know your future home.’

‘I’m at work tomorrow,’ she reminded him, and saw his expression alter.

‘I’d forgotten about your job. Are you monthly or weekly salaried?’

‘Weekly,’ she acknowledged. ‘But—’

‘Then you only need give a week’s notice. I’d propose that we arrange the wedding for the twenty-ninth. That’s a week from Wednesday. I can only spare a few days for a honeymoon, but we can take a longer break later.’

Caryn’s head was reeling. He had it all planned. Every last detail! And why not? came the thought. Wasn’t it better to have a man who knew exactly what he wanted and did something about it than one who left everything to others? She had always known him for a forceful character; she wouldn’t want him any different. And hadn’t she been saying only yesterday that she found her job boring? Life as Logan’s wife would be infinitely more exciting!

‘I’ll hand my notice in first thing,’ she promised. She gave a sudden laugh. ‘It’s going to cause quite a furore when I tell them the reason!’

Logan smiled and shrugged. ‘A nine-day wonder. They’ll get over it.’ Bending his head, he placed a brief and unsatisfying kiss on her mouth, leaving her aching for more. ‘You’d better go on back and face the music,’ he said. ‘I’ll be here tomorrow evening.’

He was gone before she could protest, pulling the door closed behind him. Caryn stood for a moment or two gathering herself before returning to the living room. Nothing anyone could say or do was going to change her mind, she vowed. She would marry Logan come what may! As he had said, it was her life, her choice.

All the same, facing the two of them was one of the hardest things she had ever done in her life. Looking from one accusing face to another, she sought defence in a direct frontal attack.

‘I do know what I’m doing, and I’m of age to do it,’ she declared, ‘so please don’t try telling me any different. I was in love with Logan two years ago, and I am still.’

‘You were too young to be in love with anybody two years ago,’ said her mother flatly. ‘You were infatuated with an older man.’

‘Call it what you like,’ Caryn returned defiantly. ‘I know how I felt then, and I know how I feel now.’

‘And what about Bannister?’ asked her father without raising his voice. ‘Are you as sure of his feelings?’

‘Of course. Why else would he want to marry me?’

Susan made a helpless little gesture. ‘I still can’t take it all in. You never even mentioned his name before!’

Caryn felt the defiance crumble. She crossed swiftly to her mother and pressed a kiss on her cheek. ‘It’s going to be all right. It really is. I love him.’

‘A man nearly twice your age!’

‘I’d feel the same way whatever age he was.’ She tried to lighten the atmosphere with a joke. ‘And you have to admit, he’s an awfully good catch!’

‘There’s a great deal more to marriage than money,’ said her mother sharply, taking the remark at face value. ‘How do you know you can trust him? He had quite a reputation in the past.’

‘If he had, it’s in the past,’ Caryn responded, refusing to allow the intimation to bother her. ‘I’d be far more worried if he hadn’t already sown his wild oats, as the saying goes.’ She made an appealing gesture to her father. ‘I’m sorry for springing it on you this way, but please try to understand. I love Logan, I’m going to marry him, and I want you to be happy for me.’

‘If he cares enough for you,’ said John Gregory slowly, ‘he’ll be prepared to wait a while.’

‘Regardless of his mother’s condition?’ Caryn shook her head. ‘It wouldn’t make any difference, anyway.’ She paused, looking from one to the other of her parents. ‘You won’t refuse to have anything to do with the wedding, will you?’

‘Meaning you’ll be going ahead with it whether we do or not.’ Her father’s tone was wry. ‘No, we won’t refuse. How could we turn our backs on our own daughter?’

‘Thanks.’ Caryn hardly knew what else to say. ‘I think I’ll have another early night,’ she tagged on, anxious to escape any further discussion. ‘I’ll be giving in my notice tomorrow, by the way. Logan doesn’t want a working wife.’

She made her escape before any comment could be made, and went straight upstairs to her room, sitting down on the end of bed to contemplate her reflection in the dressing-table mirror. Love not only made the world go round, it also improved one’s looks, she decided, viewing her bright eyes and glowing skin. Confidence, that was the key. With Logan to inspire it in her, she could handle any situation that came along.