New Boss at Birchfields (20 page)

Later on, as she leisurely made her way along Aberdeen
’
s principal street, Briony marvelled anew at the shop-window displays. There were so many things to cater for the wealth that had flowed in since the beginning of the oil boom. Certain shops were completely given over to American delicacies. Another contained a display of the most expensive sweaters she had ever seen. Each one was unique and knitted from the finest wools. She marvelled at some of the designs—snowy mountains or calm seas with sailing boats, and one particularly clever one actually showed a vista of a street complete with pedestrians. Each sweater was totally different, never to be repeated and somewhat resembling a painting. Briony sighed enviously. Evidently, to many people in Aberdeen money meant nothing, and she had no doubt that these fabulously priced goods would find ready buyers.

Time passed quickly as she made her odyssey from shop to shop, not daring to buy more than a few toilet requisites, although her heart yearned for some of the luxuries that were being so temptingly displayed.

She glanced at her watch. It was time she stopped dawdling and moved on to the hotel, she decided. Blane Lennox, she knew from experience, was not a man who would wait patiently.

It was as she was approaching the entrance to the hotel that she felt her heart give a thud of recognition, for the figure that was approaching her was Jeremy
’
s. At the first glance she saw that he had not changed in the slightest. He was as handsomely fair as ever. But she was a different person now, with a completely altered outlook on life. A new Briony—much more experienced!

Jeremy
’
s rejection had left its scar on her heart, she realised. Never again would she respond so eagerly to a man
’
s profession of love. For her there would never be another springtime, she thought bitterly.

For a moment she had the satisfaction of seeing the disconcerted look that flitted across his han
d
some face as he caught sight of her.

But almost at once it was replaced by the glowing smile that, in other days, would have made her heart beat quickly.
‘
Why, Briony, what on earth are you doing here? I thought
—’
He stopped awkwardly.

Yes, you thought I
’
d gone home with my tail between my legs, Briony thought. He was so sure of his attractions then that the idea that she should remain and seek out a new life had not even occurred to him.

‘
I
’
ve got a job in Abergour,
’
she told him shortly.

‘
You
’
ve taken a job?
’
he asked, surprised.
‘
But what sort of a job would you get in a place like Abergour? As far as I know, it
’
s in the wilds.
’

‘
I
’
m working for a man who bought my godmother
’
s place and he
’
s running it as a riding school, and I like the work very much,
’
she told him.
‘
I always wanted an outdoor life anyway, so it suits me very well.
’

There was a pause while he scanned her face intently. Was he looking for signs of a broken heart? she wondered wryly. Did he by any chance think she was putting on a false front to hide her hurt at his rejection?

Well, whatever he was searching for he didn
’
t get, she thought with a little glow of satisfaction as she detected a faint look of disappointment flit over his face.

When he had once more repeated how delighted he was to see her, and showed no signs of breaking off the conversation, the suspicion flashed through her mind that the affair with the American girl was over and that he was now attempting to patch things up, and renew his relationship with her.

A moment later he made it clear her surmise was all too correct. She had hit the nail on the head. With the disarming impulsiveness he could assume when he wanted to be at his most charming, Jeremy tucked her arm in his and pressed it close.
‘
But this is wonderful! I can
’
t tell you how bucked I feel meeting you again. What about some coffee and a chat?
’
He half turned as though to lead her into the hotel.

She pulled her arm away abruptly.
‘
Thanks, no! I
’
m to meet someone.
’

He looked dismayed.
‘
Then you
’
ll have time for a drink.
’

‘
No, Jeremy,
’
she replied firmly.
‘
There would be no point in it. After all, what have you and I to chat about? As far as I
’
m concerned the past is over.
’

But Jeremy was not to be so easily put off.
‘
There
’
s no reason why you and I shouldn
’
t be friends,
’
he insisted stubbornly.
‘
Let
’
s go in for a few minutes. There
’
s something I want to say to you, and I can
’
t do it out here.
’

And before she knew quite what had happened Briony found herself hustled willy-nilly into the hotel and plumped down on one of the comfortable blue and green banquettes that lined the foyer.

Briony looked at him in desperation.
‘
What on earth do you want to talk about, Jeremy?
’
She glanced anxiously at her watch. Blane would be appearing at any moment and Jeremy was the last person she wanted him to see her with. Nothing would escape his quick eye. Instantly he would be ferreting out the facts behind her humiliating rejection. The thought made her voice shrill with anxiety.
‘
But this is ridiculous! You made it quite clear the last time we met just how you felt about me.
’

‘
I won
’
t keep you more than a few minutes,
’
Jeremy assured her hurriedly, with a new air of humility that she had never noticed in him before.
‘
It
’
s just this, to put it in a nutshell, well—after you
’
d gone, I realised what a fool I
’
d been. I must have been crazy to let you go. There were a lot of things
I
didn
’
t understand. My values are completely different now.
’
His eyes fixed on her face with new awareness.
‘
And you know, you
’
re even prettier now than you were—if that
’
s possible.
’

Catching a glimpse of herself in the ornate mirror that covered the wall on the opposite side of the foyer, Briony realised he was only speaking the truth. She had new colour in her cheeks and an air of energy and vitality that she had never had when working for Stanton, Hodges & Co. Her hair was rippling and shining, her skin clear and translucent. And, in a strange way, unpredictable as Blane was, she felt more security in her job. Looking back, she realised that she had subconsciously known that her relationship with Jeremy rested on a shaky basis. His facile charm had varied from day to day, and she had never quite known where she was with him. His final departure to Aberdeen and his rejection of her was simply something she had been vaguely dreading since she had first fallen in love with him.

‘
I take it, then, that it
’
s all over between you and Miss Morgan?
’
she asked dryly.

‘
Yes, it
’
s completely all over,
’
he said eagerly.
‘
I don
’
t know what on earth made me fall for her in the first place. She
’
s so utterly superficial.
’

But Briony was not deceived.
‘
I think I know how it happened,
’
she told him.
‘
She was so sophisticated, a woman of the world, and compared to her I was like the girl next door. All the same, I
’
d be interested to know why you think she
’
s superficial.
’

He had the grace to look faintly abashed.
‘
Oh, I discovered there
’
s only one thing that interests her, and that
’
s money and position. When the son of a big shot in the oil world blew in from Texas, poor old Jeremy found himself out in the cold. But don
’
t let
’
s talk about the past,
’
he continued urgently.
‘
What do you say to my slipping down to Abergour one of these days? We could have a little get-together, just like old times. Don
’
t say no, Briony, becaus
e you and I always got on well
together, and I do honestly feel rotten about the way I treated you.
’

She shook her head and stood up.
‘
No, Jeremy, it
wouldn
’
t work out. You
’
d better realise it
’
s all over between us, once and for all.
’

Reluctantly he got to his feet. She saw the familiar sulky frown as he realised that his charm was of no avail, and she felt a sense of surprise as she remembered how anxiously she would at one time have tried to avoid his sudden fits of displeasure.

‘
Very well,
’
he told her huffily,
‘
if that
’
s how you feel! But there
’
s no need to be so bitter. After all, we did have some good times together.
’

‘
I
’
m not bitter,
’
she assured him.
‘
Just a bit more wary, perhaps.
’
But even as she said it she had the guilty feeling that she was not being absolutely honest with him. If Blane had not entered her life would she have rejected Jeremy
’
s attempts at a reconciliation quite so firmly?

‘
You must give me your address in Abergour,
’
he urged.
‘
After all, there is a bond between us, in spite of everything. I
’
ve still got your ring, you know. I
’
ll never part from it.
’

Reluctantly she did as he asked, and when he had noted down her address, he turned away with that little
-
boy-wronged air which was, she realised now, part of his stock in trade.

As he left her, she noticed with dismay that Blane had come through the swing doors of the hotel. As he advanced towards her she knew from his expression that he had seen them in conversation, and as Jeremy passed him he turned his head and gave him a searching glance.

‘
You
’
ve fallen in with an acquaintance, I see,
’
Blane remarked casually as he joined her, and together they moved out of the foyer.

‘
Oh yes,
’
she said, trying to sound equally casual.
‘
Someone who used to work with me in the office!
’

‘
I see! Well, considering I
’
m later than I expected, it must have helped to pass the time for you.
’
But the glance he gave her was every bit as searching as the one he had given Jeremy, and she turned her head away with a sudden inexplicable feeling of embarrassment.

To her relief he made no further reference to the incident but chatted easily while they had their meal in the large restaurant. But as far as Briony was concerned, the pleasant companionable relationship which had existed during the drive into town had now evaporated. She felt curiously upset by that chance encounter with Jeremy. The old life had intruded on the new and, in spite of the fact that she had given Jeremy no hope of a reconciliation, there vividly flashed through her mind remembrances of the time when he had meant so much to her—days when she had waited for the phone calls which he had not troubled to make, or had watched the post for letters which had not arrived.

Suddenly she became conscious of the long pause in the conversation and looked up to find Blane
’
s eyes fixed on her troubled face.
‘
This young friend of yours, he seems a nice enough chap,
’
he said.

‘
Oh yes,
’
she agreed quickly, then found herself babbling on.
‘
He was always frightfully ambitious, a real go-ahead type, and when the office was opened in Aberdeen he was one of the first to apply to be transferred. I expect he
’
ll wind up an executive in the firm.
’

‘
You didn
’
t mind his going, then?
’
he asked.

‘
Why should I?
’
she replied quickly—rather too quickly, she realised.

He raised his brows
‘
Don
’
t tell me you
’
re unaware that your friend is extremely good-looking and, I suspect, very charming when he wants to be?
’

‘
No, of course not!
’
she said airily.
‘
Jeremy Wa
rn
e was considered quite a catch. In fact, most of the girls were crazy about him.
’

‘
In that case,
’
he said dryly,
‘
he must have left behind quite a lot of broken hearts—with the exception of yours, of course!
’