smile widened as he took in the determined tilt of her chin completely undermined by a freckle-covered nose and the strands of fine, flyaway hair escaping from her pony-tail. ‘I think you’ve got potential as a Rottweiler pup. More importantly I trust you not to say anything.’ He hesitated before adding, ‘And if I’m going for complete honesty here, it’s not just Richard’s feelings I’m worried about.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I think Sonya has it in her to be vengeful. I’m going to have to be quite brutal with her in the end, and if I’m alone with her at all there’s the danger of people believing anything she might choose to say about me. Even if she weren’t believed implicitly there’d be the assumption I must have encouraged her. Much as you thought—and you know how much I think of Richard.’
‘I didn’t say that exactly.’
‘Yes, you did. Anyway, it’s a risk I don’t want to take. Not if I can help it. And until Richard has retired I want to play it softly. I don’t want him hurt and I don’t want my reputation mired up with anything quite so distasteful.’
Amy struggled to take it all in. She pushed up the sleeves of her jumper and hugged her knees. Her knowledge of Sonya was scanty, but she was unquestionably the type to be vindictive when she realised that Hugh, who seemed to have slept with half of London over the years, was drawing the line at her. ‘I can see you need someone,’ she said doubtfully. ‘I just don’t think I’m a very good idea. I’m not a properly trained secretary.’
Hugh jumped at the blatant sign of weakening and pushed home his advantage. ‘It’s only for two weeks.’
She sighed. ‘It’s not that I don’t want to, Hugh. It’s…’ Amy trailed off hopelessly. It was difficult to put into words exactly what were her objections.
Everything came so easily to Hugh. Exams, women, success in business, everything he wanted had always plopped on his plate as though some benevolent god were smiling on him. Any small hiccup in his plans had always been carefully smoothed and now it was her turn to be useful. Good old Amy! Except that ‘good old Amy’ didn’t relish being suddenly noticed because she could be useful. Particularly today. Her birthday.
‘Just two weeks,’ he coaxed, watching her face closely. ‘At least it will tide you over while there’s nothing else in the pipeline—’
‘How do you know that?’ she cut across him, her eyes narrowing astutely. ‘I suppose I don’t need to ask where you got the impression I’d be grateful for anything. It can only have been Seb. I suppose that explains why it’s all been left to the last minute.’
‘He only said things were a bit quiet for you.’
‘And how would he know?’ she asked indignantly. ‘He’s not been down here for weeks. I’ve put in loads of applications to television companies. It might be very difficult for me to put my own life on hold.’
Seb pushed open the door with his bottom, perilously carrying three mugs of tea while ducking under the low cottage beam. ‘But you will, won’t you?’ He smiled ingratiatingly across at Amy. ‘You’re the one with the flowers on it.’
‘Sexist!’ Amy retorted as she cleared the table of the Sunday newspapers and magazines.
Seb shrugged. ‘Mum’s taste in mugs, not mine, and if you will have sugar in your tea—take the consequences. How else do you expect me to remember which one’s yours?’ He handed a mug across to Hugh. ‘Of course she’ll do it.’
‘Of course she won’t! Not just like that.’ She shot a look of pure dislike back at her favourite brother. ‘I want to be a researcher, I don’t want to be a secretary and even if I did I’d never choose to work for Hugh.’
‘No, hideous prospect,’ Seb agreed, flinging himself down in a leather club chair. ‘Shouldn’t care to do it myself, but think of your debts, little sister. Hugh’s desperate. Name your price.’
Amy tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear and turned her attention back to Hugh. ‘What kind of things does Sonya do?’
‘Do?’
She nodded. ‘Is she aggressive? Does she cry? If I agree I want to know the kind of things I’d have to protect you from.’
‘It’s nothing like that. She’s calmly confident. Totally convinced there’s a sexual attraction between us.’
‘Even without encouragement?’ she asked incredulously.
‘She imagines there is. She’s in no doubt I want her.’
‘She’s certainly persistent and becoming less subtle,’ Seb cut in as he passed across a packet of biscuits. ‘Tell her about Friday’s package.’
‘In the morning mail was a small parcel—’ Hugh began reluctantly, before stopping as the telephone rang from the depths of the hallway.
Seb grunted. ‘Just when it’s getting spicy. Hold the thought. I’ll be back in a moment.’
‘So?’ Amy queried as the door closed gently behind him.
‘She sent a packet of condoms, together with a hotel address, date and time.’
Amy, in the act of sipping, spluttered. ‘I don’t believe it.’
‘Neither did Barbara.’
‘That’s so…so…tacky.’
‘Isn’t it?’ Hugh agreed.
Seb opened the sitting-room door. ‘Hugh, it’s Callie. She wants a word.’ Mutely he held the door open until Hugh obeyed the summons. Seb sat back down in the chair he’d vacated and picked up his mug. ‘Did I miss much?’
‘Nothing you don’t know. I can’t believe she sent Hugh a packet of condoms at work.’
‘Variety condoms,’ Seb added irrepressibly.
‘Does that make a difference?’
‘It does to Hugh’s secretary. You haven’t met her, but she is an absolute “spinster of this parish” type, probably never seen a condom in her life, let alone a variety pack. I know it’s not funny, but I can’t get rid of the picture of Barbara Shelton opening the parcel. Can you imagine any temp keeping something like that quiet? That’s why I thought of you.’
Amy sighed as she felt the net tighten about her. It didn’t matter how much she resented Seb’s cavalier attitude to her time, he was right. She’d seen enough of the pain of marriage breakdown to last her a lifetime. Her mother had never really recovered from her father’s leaving. The betrayal had scored in deep and left a wound that had festered until the day she’d died. If chaperoning Hugh would prevent her godfather being hurt, there was no way she could refuse.
‘Poor Richard,’ she said, watching the apricot roses softly bobbing at the window. It was so sad how everyone’s lives went wrong. Richard had waited such a long time before deciding to marry, and then he’d gone and fallen for someone like Sonya. For someone whose business acumen was a byword in the City it was a strange anomaly he’d made such a poor choice in his personal life.
‘Feel
