another handsome man made Ria’s thoughts turn briefly to Seth…Would she ever be able to banish him entirely from her mind? she asked herself. But how could she easily rub out that time when her heart had been ripped from her? As if it was some minor incident that could be forgotten? And was the man sitting beside her another one just like him—was he, too, utterly self-confident, utterly self-assured, delighting in his powerful masculinity? Did Jasper Trent see only his own life and hopes and dreams—with scant concern for anyone else’s?
She turned her attention to the scenery unfolding all around them and took a deep breath. She had no doubt that Jasper Trent had been in perfect charge of his school for a good number of years, running it with impeccable authority. But what did he do in his private life? she wondered. To her, he didn’t look the marrying kind with a clutch of kids at home, so how would he spend his time, what did he do in order to relax? Ria scolded herself. What he did or didn’t do was no concern of hers.
He glanced across at her briefly. ‘You’ll have noticed the car parking area when we picked mine up just now,’ he said. ‘You might even be lucky enough to nab one of the garages sometimes.’
Ria smiled. ‘Oh, my car has never been used to the dignity of being garaged,’ she said. ‘Anyway, I’ll be selling it in a few months’ time when I head off.’ She paused. ‘And, who knows…I may not come back at all. I may find that the grass really is greener away from England.’
‘There’s only one way to find out about that,’ he said levelly, keeping his eyes on the road ahead.
‘It’ll do me good to put my toe into alien waters and see if I can cope with the unknown without going to pieces,’ Ria said. She wasn’t going to admit that she was already rather dreading the moment of departure, that sometimes she wished she’d never planned it at all. But she’d talked for hours and hours with friends who’d done exciting things, been to exciting places, and she’d boxed herself into a corner she couldn’t escape from. And everyone was egging her on all the time—to change her mind now would be pathetic.
The Lamb was about a five-minute drive from the school, and the restaurant was just nicely crowded as, presently, Ria and her new employer sat at a corner table by the window enjoying their meal. She looked across at him as she put down her knife.
‘That cheese platter was just perfect,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’
He leaned back and picked up his pint of lager. ‘Yes, the food is generally pretty good here,’ he said, ‘and the atmosphere is always relaxed and congenial. It seems to have become the school’s “local” over the years. Some of the staff drop in for a drink now and then, and our older pupils, too, have been known to enjoy chilling out after exams.’ He watched as Ria drank the last of the sparkling water she’d ordered, noting the way her slender fingers curled around the stem of the glass, admiring the unassuming elegance of her every move. She looked up then and saw him studying her, and almost at once her cool cheeks warmed visibly.
‘So,’ she said lightly, ‘term begins next Wednesday—a week from today?’
‘It does,’ he replied. ‘But the boys will be returning on Monday—or some on Tuesday.’ He paused. ‘I expect you’d like to do the same?’
‘Tuesday would be very convenient for me,’ Ria said.
‘Helen will be at school permanently from Monday. She’ll give you your keys, show you the ropes.’
‘Does Helen live in?’ Ria asked.
‘No, she has a cottage just walking distance from school. She lives there with her elderly mother,’ he replied briefly.
‘She seems very…competent,’ Ria said.
He replied quickly, ‘She is certainly that. I think we’re all a bit afraid of her.’
Ria smiled, but said nothing. She could never imagine Jasper Trent being afraid of anyone—or anything.
‘And do you live permanently “above the shop”?’ Ria asked innocently, hoping that she wasn’t being inquisitive—but wanting to know, just the same.
‘I occupy my own flat during most of term time,’ he replied casually, ‘but it’s not my permanent home.’ He paused before going on, ‘I am merely acting Head of school, in any case,’ he added shortly.
Ria looked across, really surprised at that. ‘Oh?’ she said curiously.
‘My brother is the permanent Head, but he decided he’d like a bit of time off, so I agreed to step into his shoes for a few months and allow him some space.’ The strong mouth lifted wryly in one corner as he went on, ‘But, unfortunately, while he was on a skiing trip he had a bad accident, resulting in various complications, so the anticipated few months will have become a full school year.’ He cleared his throat. ‘But he takes up the reins again in September.’
Ria couldn’t help feeling confused. Jasper Trent had seemed to her to be the perfect headmaster, determined and authoritative, and apparently entrenched in the school’s life. She decided to go one step further.
‘So…where do you normally live, then?’ she asked.
‘Somerset,’ he said briefly. ‘Not so far away that I can’t make fairly regular flying visits for a day or so when I feel like it.’
Yes, but what did he do in Somerset? Ria wondered—but didn’t have the courage to enquire, and neither spoke for a few moments after that.
‘You said you were “homeless” at the moment,’ Jasper said casually.
‘Well, that’s not exactly true,’ she said. ‘My family home is in north London, but I’ve hardly ever lived there, not really. Though, naturally, I was sometimes there in the school holidays. But the house is often empty because my father works for the Foreign Office, and he and my stepmother are frequently away. So, until two months ago, I shared a flat with a girl friend, but her plans have changed so we didn’t renew the lease and I feel in a bit of a vacuum at the moment.’ She smiled. ‘Luckily for me, the friend in Salisbury insisted I stay with her until I take off in September—but now, of course, thanks to Highbridge Manor, I shall have somewhere of my very own for a while.’
He’d been watching her closely as she spoke, loving the changing expressions flickering across her heart-shaped face, and every instinct he possessed warned him not to get carried away, not to be overly affected by this beautiful, warm and appealing woman. But Jasper Trent’s more sensible instincts were heavily outnumbered by his hormones, and he was having difficulty keeping his eyes off her.
Pushing back his chair slightly, he glanced across. ‘Let’s order coffee, shall we? I could do with one.’ Almost before she could agree or not, he’d got up and gone over to the bar. Ria watched him speaking briefly to the bartender. Jasper Trent was so outstandingly handsome, she thought—there must surely be a woman on the scene? How could he possibly avoid it? Yet nothing he’d said indicated that there was. It had all been very first person singular. Then her expression darkened briefly. He was probably—no, obviously—a man who enjoyed relationships with no ties. That must be it. With his physical attributes, he could pick from any bunch he happened to be with, enjoy the moment and pass on to the next. Then she bit her lip. Stop it, she told herself fiercely, stop putting the poor bloke in the compartment of your own choice. You know nothing of his personal life at all. Stop making things up.
In a few moments he returned
