Naive Awakening Read online

  ‘It’s very appropriate,’ he murmured, and she eyed him warily. Not quite the insult she was expecting, but then, she had realised, innocuous remarks from him often had a way of turning into biting criticisms. A tactic he no doubt employed in court.

  ‘I thought so,’ she ventured evenly.

  ‘Suits you. Makes you look more severe, though. Especially with you hair knotted back like that. There’s something desperately tempting about hairstyles like that.’

  She watched, frozen to the spot, as he moved swiftly across to her, his hand reaching behind her to release her carefully prepared chignon.

  Her heart was beating heavily in her chest, and she had to take deep breaths to control her emotions, which seemed to be running haywire all of a sudden.

  ‘There,’ he murmured with satisfaction, ‘that looks infinitely better.’

  Her hair flowed around her, a mass of tumbling red. Matching my face, she thought. He’s doing it again. Playing with me for a spot of amusement. She parted her lips to give him a swift retort when the door behind them opened and Leigh spun around to see Lady Jessica standing there, her eyes taking in everything, from the proximity of their bodies to the hectic colour in her cheeks.

  Nicholas didn’t look in the slightest bit put out by the appearance of his girlfriend. Nor, Leigh noticed, did he make any effort to move back to the security of his desk. No, it was up to her to put some distance between them, which she did, very hurriedly.

  Lady Jessica viewed Leigh with dislike and then spoke, her voice hard and brittle.

  ‘Doing some overtime on your first day here? How industrious.’

  Nicholas was once more seated on the edge of the desk, his arms crossed, his face betraying nothing whatsoever.

  Leigh smiled weakly and watched as the other woman moved gracefully across the room to Nicholas, and draped her arm around his neck. Staking her claim, Leigh thought drily. Can’t she see that she has no need to bother?

  ‘Nick, darling,’ Lady Jessica said, resting her chin comfortably on his shoulder, ‘you hadn’t forgotten that I was going to meet you here, had you?’

  ‘As a matter of fact I had,’ he drawled, watching Leigh as he spoke.

  ‘You naughty boy!’ She ran her long white fingers through her hair and he abruptly rose to his feet.

  ‘Haven’t you got work to be doing?’ Lady Jessica directed the question to Leigh. ‘Can’t you see that we want to be alone together?’

  Leigh’s face managed a polite smile. ‘I’ll do that reference work before I leave,’ she said, looking at Nicholas and all the time aware of the hostility flowing out of the other woman. He nodded briefly, and she turned on her heels and fled.

  You’re acting like a fool, she told herself disparagingly, as she rifled through the bookshelves and withdrew the appropriate law books. Anyone would think that I’d been caught at the scene of a crime instead of in the boss’s office quite innocently getting some work.

  Except, she thought, I didn’t feel that innocent, did I?

  The question hovered on the edge of her mind, daring her to explore it further, and, hard as she tried to fight it, she found herself reliving those minutes in his office, reliving that sickening sense of attraction she had felt when he had stood inches away from her, his hand in her hair.

  She dumped the reference books on her desk and began flicking through the pages, marking the relevant chapters, but her brain was buzzing with unwelcome thoughts.

  So, she told herself, she had found him attractive. For just that split second. He was an attractive man. He had that lethal combination of brains and good looks that few women would be able to resist.

  And it was late. She had been working hard all day. He had caught her with her defences down. That was it, of course. It had all been a question of the wrong place at the wrong time, and she should be grateful that Lady Jessica had interrupted things when she had, because she had a feeling that that momentary attraction which she had felt for him might have become a little too embarrassingly obvious.

  She glanced across to the closed office door and moved tentatively towards it.

  Now that Lady Jessica was here, there was no way that she was going to hang around for a lift back, but she refused to be cowed into simply running away without letting him know of her decision.

  She hesitatingly approached the door and was about to knock when she heard her name being spoken. She stopped, torn between a desire to leave and an insatiable curiosity to find out what was being said about her.

  Lady Jessica’s voice was low but piercing, rising and falling.

  ‘I knew it was a mistake taking her on here, Nicholas,’ she heard Lady Jessica say with malevolence. ‘In fact, it was a huge mistake bringing her down to London in the first place just through some absurd whim of your grandfather’s. She doesn’t belong here.’

  Leigh’s body was shaking with anger, but her feet remained glued to the spot.

  ‘She’s a cheap gold-digger, we both know that,’ Lady Jessica continued in a rush, ‘and, worse than that, if you’re not careful, she’s going to try and get her claws into you.’

  There was deep laughter, then Lady Jessica’s voice returned with increased anger. ‘You might laugh, but…’ Her voice lowered, and Leigh turned away quickly, feeling sick.

  She found her bag and blindly made her way out of the building.

  Why, she wondered furiously, was she so disturbed by what she had heard? Didn’t she already know what Nicholas thought of her? Hadn’t he made that obvious enough? So now she knew that Lady Jessica shared his low opinion. That should hardly surprise her.

  Those two, she thought, richly deserved each other. She could well imagine them laughing at her, comparing notes on what little schemes they thought she had in mind for getting her hands on the family fortune.

  It’s beneath contempt, she thought. But inside her head a little voice was warning her to be careful, because she had a suspicion that Lady Jessica would stop at nothing to protect her investment in Nicholas. And that same little voice was telling her that Lady Jessica could be very dangerous indeed.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  LEIGH buried herself in her work for the remainder of the week. She also avoided doing any overtime unless she was absolutely certain that Nicholas was not going to be around.

  It’s not as though I don’t trust myself, she thought with uneasy rationalisation, it’s simply that certain situations could not arise if the opportunity was not there in the first place.

  Nevertheless, by the time Friday evening rolled around she couldn’t help feeling relieved that there had been no more uncomfortable confrontations with him. He had been around, but intermittently, and when he had made an appearance she had resolutely averted her eyes from him and concentrated on her work. Like a schoolgirl who busied herself with her books at the back of the class, and hoped that the teacher would forget her presence.

  As she strolled down to breakfast on the Saturday morning, she realised with a twinge of guilt that she had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts, and in the job, that she had barely seen anything of Sir John or Freddie.

  They were both waiting for her at the breakfast table, and she greeted them with a broad smile, her conscience making her more garrulous than she normally was.

  Freddie, she learned, had just landed himself an apprenticeship, and she made the appropriate exclamations of delight.

  ‘No need to go overboard,’ he told her, when she had congratulated him for the third time. ‘It’s just a job. I don’t remember you being so enthusiastic when you got that job with Nicholas.’

  ‘Wasn’t she?’

  Leigh raised her eyes to see Nicholas approaching them through the kitchen door. Did he have to move so stealthily? she wondered with irritation.

  There was a short silence while all eyes turned to her, and she smiled sweetly.

  ‘I was thrilled,’ she said, saving a particularly sickly smile for Nicholas, who had sat down opposite her and was pouring him
self a cup of coffee. ‘If I recall,’ she continued, ‘it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.’

  Sir John was watching them closely, then he dropped his eyes and said in a casual voice, ‘Freddie and I have already had our little celebration at his job. And I thought that tonight the three of us could go to the theatre to celebrate in a more adult fashion.’

  Leigh looked at him in amazement.

  ‘You’re going to leave the house?’ she asked. ‘But I thought…’

  ‘Can’t stay cooped up in here for the rest of my life,’ Sir John informed her. He glanced across at Nicholas, challenging him to say something, but there was silence.

  ‘Anyway, I’m beginning to go a peculiar shade of grey from being indoors too much,’ Sir John carried on. ‘The doctor never warned me about that side-effect.’

  ‘Since when have you given a damn what shade of colour you were?’ Nicholas asked drily. ‘Don’t tell me that you’ve decided to become vain in your ripe old age.’

  ‘That’s a very unpleasant thing to say,’ Sir John replied testily. ‘It’s never too late to start caring about one’s appearance.’

  ‘I see,’ Nicholas said thoughtfully. ‘Well, Grandfather, I’m afraid the two of you will have to go on your own. I’ve made other arrangements for this evening, and—’

  ‘With that awful woman, I suppose?’ Sir John interjected disapprovingly.

  ‘Not this again.’ There was an edge of impatience to his voice which Sir John ignored.

  ‘I’m an old man…’

  ‘So you keep reminding us…’

  ‘With few pleasures left in life…’

  ‘I don’t know. You seem to have rediscovered the value of mirrors…’

  Leigh stifled her amusement and bit into her piece of toast and marmalade.

  ‘I never thought I’d see the day that my own grandchild would poke fun at my expense.’ Sir John shook his head sorrowfully and darted a sidelong glance at Leigh from under his bushy brows. ‘I would have thought that you of all people, Nicholas, would have been delighted…’

  ‘Believe me, I am, Grandfather…’ He was beginning to get that cornered look which Leigh had come to recognise in his dealings with his grandfather.

  ‘…at my decision to leave the house,’ Sir John went on. ‘Of course, I can see now that you’re all too happy to have me remain here, trapped between these walls, never breathing the fresh air—’

  ‘The air in London is hardly fresh,’ Nicholas interrupted, adopting another tactic.

  ‘Why else—’ Sir John turned to face Leigh ‘—would

  he cast aside my pathetic decision to go out to the theatre tonight in favour of some jaunt with that awful woman?’

  Leigh cleared her throat and smiled weakly. She didn’t want to be part of this interchange, but Sir John was looking at her, expecting some kind of response.

  She shrugged and glanced across to Nicholas. ‘Perhaps he’d rather spend the time with Lady Jessica,’ she said placatingly. Wrong words. Nicholas frowned heavily at her.

  ‘I really don’t think you’re qualified to make sweeping assumptions on my motives for doing anything,’ he retorted coldly.

  Why not? she was tempted to ask. You do about mine. She stared blankly at him until he clicked his tongue impatiently.

  ‘Well, maybe she’s right, Nicholas,’ Sir John murmured with a sigh. ‘Maybe you would rather spend time with that awful woman than with your frail old grandfather…’

  ‘Oh, all right!’ Nicholas snapped, and was rewarded with a beaming smile from Sir John. ‘Where are we going?’

  Sir John named a popular romantic musical playing in Shaftesbury Avenue. ‘I’ve already bought the tickets,’ he informed them. ‘Starts at seven. I thought we could go and then perhaps have a bite to eat afterwards.’

  That settled, he returned to his breakfast with gusto, only briefly glancing at Nicholas as the latter excused himself a few minutes later. They heard the front door slam in the distance and Sir John wiped his mouth delicately with his napkin.

  ‘You’ll have to excuse me too, my dear,’ he said to Leigh, who was amused to see Freddie spring to his feet as well, his arm fondly around Sir John’s shoulders. ‘But about tonight. Do go and buy something charming. It’s a rather dressy occasion, and I have a delightful necklace I’d like you to have. Belonged to my late wife. Been sitting up there in her jewellery box ever since she departed this vale of tears, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have it than you, my dear.’

  Leigh opened her mouth to protest, and he stopped her before she could utter a syllable.

  ‘Humour me,’ he said with a kindly expression, and she understood how Nicholas must feel when faced with his grandfather’s opposition.

  Seventy-nine years old, she thought wryly, as they left the breakfast-room, and still more than capable of running rings around us all. Still, a trip to the theatre would be fun. Even if Nicholas was going to be there as well. At least she wouldn’t have to make conversation with him during the musical, and afterwards, well, Sir John would dilute the intensity of his presence.

  She threw herself into buying something wickedly appropriate, finally finding the perfect little black dress at one of the larger department stores in Knightsbridge. The sort of dress which she would never in a million years have bought in Yorkshire, because the opportunity to wear it would have been precisely nil.

  Later that evening, as she dressed for the theatre, she looked at her reflection in the mirror with satisfaction.

  The dress was long-sleeved and not particularly short, but it clung to her figure lovingly. She slipped on the diamond necklace which Sir John had given her earlier on, despite her further attempts to refuse it, and stood back to survey herself.

  She felt like Cinderella about to go to the ball. No prince, of course, and in the morning she would be back to her normal self, but just now it was a wonderful feeling.

  She ran lightly down to the sitting-room and pushed open the door, her eyes immediately drawn to Nicholas.

  He was standing by the open marble fireplace, a drink in his hand. Something about him, his dark, compelling good looks, made her breath catch in her throat. Then she turned away quickly, hiding her reaction with a polite smile.

  ‘Ready?’ she asked brightly.

  ‘My dear,’ Sir John murmured, ‘you look radiant. Wonderful. Doesn’t she, Nicholas?’

  ‘You’re not dressed!’ Leigh exclaimed in dismay.

  ‘Sadly, I won’t be coming with you two,’ Sir John informed her, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Nicholas’s scowl blacken.

  ‘Why not?’ she asked desperately. I can’t face an evening on my own with your grandson, she wanted to scream.

  ‘I don’t feel very well, I’m afraid.’

  ‘You’ll feel better once you’re outside,’ Leigh pleaded, realising that her objections were pointless. He shook his head.

  ‘Another time. Now, you two go and enjoy yourselves.’

  ‘But…’

  Nicholas dumped his glass on the coffee-table and walked across to her. ‘Come on,’ he said with a grim expression, ‘there’s no point trying to persuade Grandfather to come. I’ve spent the past half-hour doing just that and it’s got me precisely nowhere.’

  Sir John waved cheerily at him, unperturbed by Nicholas’s ill humour.

  ‘I won’t wait up,’ he said lightly. ‘Take your time. I’ve booked your table at the restaurant. Nicholas knows it. See you later.’

  Leigh found herself being hustled out of the front door, and as her brain began to get back into gear she stopped in her tracks and turned to Nicholas, her hands on her hips.

  ‘Will you stop acting as though I’m to blame for your grandfather’s illness?’ she snapped.

  Nicholas turned to face her, his face taut.

  ‘Illness? Don’t be such a damned fool! He never had any intention of going to the theatre with us.’

  ‘Well, you can’t blame me for that!’ Leigh stared at h
im angrily.

  ‘Can’t I?’ he grated. ‘You haven’t exactly discouraged him, have you?’ He glanced down at her necklace and frowned. ‘And where the hell did you get this?’

  Leigh stared at him without speaking.

  ‘I see,’ he muttered grimly. ‘More little presents.’

  He turned away and began striding towards the taxi which had been ordered for them, holding the door open for her, then slamming it shut after he had eased himself inside.

  Leigh stared at his averted profile with a mixture of anger and defiance. What was the point in trying to protest her innocence? Whatever she said he would twist to suit his own arguments, anyway.

  They drove in silence. The taxi deposited them directly outside the theatre, and she followed as he took charge of the tickets, which were for prime seats.

  The place was buzzing with people. She stared around her, impressed. A far cry from a barn dance at the village hall, she thought drily. These people were having a night out on the town, and they had dressed for the occasion. The women were chic and impeccably groomed, their eyes skimming over the crowds, covertly eyeing what their rivals were wearing. She noticed that quite a few of those covert glances stopped in their tracks when they saw Nicholas before resuming their restless appraisal of the crowd.

  She hurried behind him as he cut through the masses of people milling around, and wondered whether he was as aware of the effect he had on the opposite sex as she was. If he was, he was doing a good job of concealing it. But chances were that he wasn’t, she thought. When you were surrounded by that sort of thing all the time, you grew immune to it. The novelty wore off.

  They reached their seats and Leigh sat down, peering delightedly around her.

  ‘This is wonderful,’ she breathed, turning to face him.

  There was a glint of amusement in his eyes as he looked at her. What a rustic he must think I am, it flashed through her head. Shame I didn’t wear a little flowered smock, a straw hat, and a twig in my mouth.

  ‘I take it you haven’t been to the theatre before?’ he asked lazily.

  ‘My little village isn’t exactly overflowing with them,’ she agreed wryly. ‘Good pubs, yes, and wonderful scenery, but nothing like this. I know you’re probably wishing that you weren’t here, but I’m glad I came.’ She could hear the note of defensiveness in her voice, and wondered whether he could as well.