Roses For Katie (23 page)

‘Oh, I’m, not sure about either of those suggestions,’ Katie looked sideways at him. ‘If you recollect, I never said that I wanted to ride; I might have said I wish I had learned to ride… years ago. It might have been your idea, but it wasn’t mine.’ She thought hard, realising she had to get out of this situation as gracefully as she could. ‘And as for staying overnight, I question the wisdom of that too. I think my friend, Rex, would be very much put out. His feelings would be hurt. You see, I’ve just refused to go to Majorca for a holiday with him.’

‘He’s asked you?’

‘Yes, several times.’

Tom went silent for quite a few minutes, then he gave her a long, serious look, and took her hand gently in his again. ‘I haven’t known you for long, Katie, but long enough to know that I want to be with you every moment of the day and night.’ He looked away, as though he were fearful of what she would say. Then he looked bashfully at her. ‘Katie, I believe I’m in love with you. And the thought of you being with someone else hurts. Seeing you go off with Rex, even witnessing your enjoyment of the Irish gardener, makes me jealous. I hate that he can make you laugh.’ He shrugged and looked up at the ceiling. ‘I know there’s no rhyme or reason for my thinking this way, but what I feel for you is not something I’ll grow out of in time. The hard fact is that I want you… all for myself, Katie.’

She wanted to laugh. It all seemed so ridiculous; two men, in such a short space of time, both declaring they wanted a permanent relationship with her — an exclusive relationship. ‘I’m flattered, Tom,’ she said, and then she heard herself repeat what she had said to Rex.

Tom sat across the table, silent and subdued. ‘I don’t know you well enough to make any promises,’ she said, gently. ‘Let’s carry on as we are, being good friends who enjoy each other’s company.’

Tom looked away and tightened his mouth to cover his disappointment. ‘I suppose I rather jumped the gun, but the thought of losing you to someone else prompted me to speak my mind.’ He shrugged his shoulders. ‘What can I do? I have no choice but to accept what you say. However, I hope that a bond will form between us, and I’m determined to do everything within my power to secure it.’

Throughout the rest of the meal, Tom’s natural ability to hold interesting conversation seemed to desert him. Even when he took Katie to see the geldings, there was no enthusiasm. Katie was suffering a little guilt complex for making him feel so downcast, and that stopped her from enjoying herself.

‘Come on,’ she said, as they headed for the car to travel home. ‘Let’s go back to my place for a drink or a cup of tea… whichever you fancy.’

They arrived back at Priory Farm just as daylight was fading, and as they drove in, much to Katie’s surprise, Rex’s car stood in her driveway. She glanced around, but there was no sign of him. Then the annex door opened, and he appeared, with Pat framed in the doorway behind him. She wondered why he had visited Pat. Then it dawned on her that maybe he had called on her, and knocked on Pat’s door when he found she was out. Rex walked slowly towards Tom’s car, while Pat went back into the annex and closed the door.

Tom had no sooner helped her out of the BMW, when Rex approached. He gave a nod and a brusque greeting to Katie, and walked straight up to the Colonel, and boldly asked for a word in private. Katie wondered what it was all about, but whatever it was, Rex had made it quite plain that it was nothing to do with her. She left them together, and went into the house, but was curious enough to leave her front door slightly ajar so that she would be able to see and hear them. She waited for a minute, and leant against the doorframe, acutely aware that she shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but things didn’t seem right somehow, and for some unknown reason, she felt it was necessary.

‘Sir,’ Rex began, his voice loud against the stillness of the late evening, ‘I have met you only briefly, and I understand that you are a new friend of Katie’s. I need to speak with you, because she is my concern.’

‘Your concern, Professor?’ Tom’s voice was high and indignant. ‘That’s a strange way to put it. How, may I ask, is Katie your… concern?’

‘Katie’s had a tough time since her husband died.’ Rex gave a nervous cough. ‘It’s time things changed for her, and I want her to be happy. I’ve offered her a holiday at my villa in Majorca, which would do her the world of good.’ Then he cleared his throat again as though he needed a little time to compose himself. ‘To put it bluntly, I feel that you might have some bearing on her refusal to take advantage of that offer.’

Tom’s immediate reply was sharp. ‘I can assure you that her refusal has absolutely nothing to do with me. Katie has not discussed it with me, although she did mention your invitation briefly, in passing. Moreover, I want you to know that my intentions towards her are both serious and honourable.’

Rex moved closer to him, and his voice was almost a growl. ‘I thought there was something. Look here, Katie and I could have a good life together. Indeed, if you hadn’t turned up, by now that could well be the scene already.’ He took another threatening step forward, his whole body taut and his fists tightly clenched. ‘So… I’m telling you to back off.’

‘What a damned nerve. That is something I will not do.’ Tom stepped back from Rex, squared his shoulders, and clasped his hands behind his back. ‘Don’t you try to tell me what to do. Good god, man, you talk as though she’s your property… your chattel. How dare you.’

‘I make no apologies,’ Rex said. ‘I want you out of her life. Now. And that’s final.’

Tom gave a mirthless laugh. ‘To blazes with you, Professor — I’m going to ask Katie to marry me.’

Rex made an explosive remark and turned on his heels, muttering all the way to his Jaguar. He slammed the car door and drove off.

The voices had been so loud, and the exchange so heated, that Katie heard every word.

‘Oh, good grief, she whispered softly. ‘So Tom wants to marry me, and Rex wants me to live with him. Oh dear.’ She crept away from the door as quickly as she could, not wanting Tom to know she had witnessed the exchange. They’re like a pair of kids fighting for possession of a toy. She firmed her mouth. Only, I’m no toy.

She had the kettle boiling by the time Tom pushed the door open and walked in, looking all red-faced and flustered. Katie made no comment, and neither did he. They drank their tea in comparative silence, then Tom got up, still flushed in the face.

‘It’s time I went, Katie. I’ll phone you tomorrow about going to Springwood Farm in a few days, if that’s all right with you.’

‘I’ll look forward to it,’ she said, with a smile and a nod, relieved that not a word was mentioned of what had just gone on outside.

With what had gone on that night, Katie found it difficult to fall asleep; she kept thinking about what had been said by the two men, and wished it had never happened. Eventually she slipped into a restless slumber.

When morning came, Pat was working on someone else’s garden, so it was well past lunchtime before she saw him.

‘Can I ask why Rex called on you last night?’ she said.

‘It was you he wanted to see. I told him he could leave a message with me, but then you arrived. Nothing seemed amiss to me.’ He took a closer look at her. ‘You seem troubled. Is everything all right, Katie? Has something upset you?’

Within moments she was telling him all that she had overheard.

‘Damn cheek of them both, for sure an’ all,’ he said. ‘That was no way for gentlemen to behave… if that’s what they like to call themselves.’ He fell silent for a short while, but there was the hint of a twinkle in his eyes when he spoke. ‘So the Colonel is going to ask you to marry him, is he, and the other one wants you as a live-in lover?’

‘That’s what I heard. Of course, Tom may have said it only for effect, you know, to put Rex off and leave the field clear for himself.’ She covered her face with her hands to hide the tears that suddenly welled up in her eyes. ‘Oh, Pat,’ she said, with a little sob in her voice, ‘I can do without complications like this. I thought things were going too well for me, but… now this… ‘ As her voice trailed off, Pat put his arm around her and held her tight.

‘Oh, dear Katie, please don’t let them upset you like this. It’s not worth it. Anyway, no one can make you think or do what you don’t want. Remember that you’re the one holding the cards; you decide your own future, whatever you want. Try to dismiss what you heard as a jealous spat between two grown men who should know better. You just carry on as though nothing happened. Don’t take it too seriously.’

‘Pat, you’re so sensible. What would I do without you?’ She brushed her hair back and wiped her eyes.

‘Come along.’ He took both her hands and pulled her to her feet. ‘Come and see how your garden grows. That should cheer you up.’ He stopped in his tracks to the garden and laughed aloud as he looked down on Katie’s tear-stained face. ‘Hey, cheer up… there are women who’d give their right arm to be chased like you are.’

Chapter Eleven

Margie called in on her way home from work later that day, and excitedly waved her left hand in front of Katie’s face.

‘Just look at this, Mum. Isn’t it gorgeous?’ She was so excited, she could hardly keep still. ‘I didn’t phone you; I wanted to show you… to surprise you. We got engaged last night.’ She looked lovingly at the gem on her finger again, and sighed. ‘I’ve no idea how Dylan knew that rubies are my favourite, but he got it right, and this one’s a beauty… a Ceylon ruby. It fits perfectly, too, but whatever he bought would have been all right by me.’

‘Oh, my love, I’m so happy for you!’ Katie hugged her daughter close. ‘He really is a delightful man, and so handsome. I wish you all the happiness in the world.’

‘Dylan and I have decided to have a little family celebration on the weekend, so I hope you’re free. I can never tell these days, what with you racing off with one or the other of your boyfriends. You’re worse than I ever was.

‘I’ll certainly be there, my pet.’ Katie clasped her hands together. ‘Oh, I am so delighted at this wonderful news. So that cottage… did Dylan have that in mind for your both?’

Margie laughed. ‘Right again, Mumsy. He wanted it all to come together, so now there’ll be no need to delay our wedding while we search for a home.’

‘I’ll miss you, pet,’ Katie said.

‘Oh, come on, Mumsy, it’s not far away, so it’ll make no difference to the number of times I pop in. Anyway, you’ve never had it so good. You’re having the time of your life, and you’re not going to have time to miss me or anyone else.’ Then she winked. ‘Maybe you’ll settle down as well, who knows? A double wedding maybe?’

Katie threw up her hands and laughed. ‘No, no, no… preserve me from that. I want no relationship to be that permanent.’ She wagged her finger underneath Margie’s nose. ‘I’m not in the market for marriage.’

Margie looked a bit crestfallen, and wrapped her arms around her mother. ‘Shame… we were hoping; honestly we were. We’ve all been worried sick about how you’ve shut yourself away in this rambling old house for years.’

‘Margie, forget me for now, and concentrate on your good news and the plans for your wedding. When is it to be?’

Margie shook her head. ‘No, Mum, let’s talk about you for a minute… and Rex. I like him; he’s interesting, even if he is a little hot headed on times and a bit of a womanizer, but that’s only according to Richard, and it’s in the past. I wouldn’t mind betting he’s been looking for the right woman for years, and trying out every one he’s fancied. You could be
the
one.’

‘Yes, I know. He’s actually admitted that his feelings for me are deep, but what he wants is for me to… well, be his woman. He told me he’s not proposing marriage, and that’s fine by me, but, I just don’t fancy him enough to get into bed with him.’ She gave Margie a wan smile. ‘It’s as simple as that, sweetie… I don’t fancy him. ‘

‘What about the Colonel? How do you feel about him? Now he’s smart, and very distinguished looking. Apparently well off, too. Aren’t you helping him set up his new home?’

‘Yes. And it appears that his intentions are more serious than Rex’s. I overheard him telling Rex that he was going to ask me to marry him. They had a very heated argument right outside my door, never thinking that I could see and hear everything. It does seem as though he’s got me in his sights, but I think he envisages installing me along with his new furniture. And that makes me feel like one of his chattels.’ She shook her head slowly. ‘Flattering, in a way, I suppose, but the idea is totally out of the question.’

‘Oh gosh, Mum, for goodness’ sake, I agree; don’t let him classify you as one of his possessions.’ She looked concerned. ‘That would never do, and it could happen that way, you know.’

Katie folded her arms, and gazed out through the window. ‘I admit to enjoying life these days, but I’m at a loss to know what to do. I don’t want to commit myself, but I don’t want to lose their companionship either. I like it the way it is, going out with them both, yet not promised to either one in particular.’

Full of mirth, Margie wagged a finger under her mother’s nose. ‘Dear Mother mine, you’ve become one big flirt; not that I think it’s a bad thing to play the field. Haven’t I done it for a couple of years?’ She curved her arms around Katie and gave her a big hug. ‘Mumsy, one day you just might fancy settling down again, like me, to lead a comfortable life with an adoring partner. But keep in mind that those two men you’re going out with don’t have a lifetime ahead to play around with. I think they’d prefer to know exactly where they are pretty soon.’

Katie smiled at the wise words of her enthusiastic daughter. ‘So, that’s the game, is it? It seems to me that you all want to marry me off. I must admit that I had my suspicions, you little demons, but I really appreciate the concern you all have for me. It hasn’t happened yet, but let’s wait and see if one of them ever captures my heart. In the meantime, we’ll concentrate on your good fortune in finding such a gem as Dylan.’

Margie stood up, ready to leave. ‘So we’ll see you at my place on Saturday evening. Expect to have a good time.’