The Second Bride (12 page)

Jo thought it over. 'I'd rather not fly anywhere. I get a bit sick in a plane. It might not be good for the baby.' Her chin lifted. 'And I'd rather not go anywhere you went with Claire, either.'

'I wouldn't be oaf enough to suggest it,' he said tersely. 'Give me credit for some sensitivity.'

Suddenly there was hostility in the air. Jo turned away, but Rufus caught her by the shoulders and turned her back to face him.

'Sorry,' he said shortly. 'Just tell me where you'd like to go and I'll make the necessary arrangements. Think about it for a day or two if you like.'

She nodded silently, and he bent suddenly and kissed her cheek.

'Meet me in town tomorrow for lunch, Jo.'

'But
Ï
want to work—'

'Just this once. We need to go shopping. For a ring,' he added.

Her eyes glittered with dismay. 'Rufus, I don't
want
a ring!'

'Possibly not,' he said wearily. 'Nevertheless you're going to have one.'

Jo stared at him mutinously, then sighed. 'Oh, very well.'

'I'll meet you outside the
lawcourts
at twelve. The ring first, then we'll have lunch, and after that I'll leave you in peace for a day or two. If that's what you want.' He waited, almost as though he expected her to contradict him. When she didn't Rufus turned abruptly and went to the door. 'Goodnight, Jo.'

'Goodnight,' she said, so forlornly that he came back to her, took her in his arms and kissed her swiftly on the mouth.

'Goodnight again, Jocasta Fielding. Sleep well.'

Then Rufus was gone, and Jo, more comforted by his kiss than she would have liked him to know, went to the telephone to ask her mother's advice on what to wear for Rory
Grierson's
wedding and to give answers to all the questions Rose Fielding hadn't been able to ask in front of Rufus.

Later, in bed, Jo came to the conclusion that things could be a lot worse. Rufus had met with her mother's unqualified approval, the green dress, with the purchase of a smart hat, was deemed perfectly suitable for Rory
Grierson's
wedding, and, all things considered, decided Jo, marrying Rufus was a prospect which grew dangerously more attractive by the minute.

If only. . . She clamped down on her thoughts savagely. It was pointless to wish for the moon. She knew perfectly well that Rufus was marrying her purely for the baby's sake. While she was marrying him for the simple reason that she loved him more and more each day. Baby or no baby.

By the
time Jo arrived in town to meet Rufus next day he was pacing up and down, glancing at his watch. His face cleared as she dashed up to him.

'Hey, slow down! Where've you been?'

'I was working and forgot the time,' she said breathlessly. 'I had to rush to make myself presentable.'

'You look good, Jo—positively blooming.' Rufus took her by the elbow to walk through the gardens towards the shops in Broad Street. 'I've already been to Fournier's. They've got a selection of rings ready for you.'

'I don't want anything too showy,' she warned. 'A ring of any kind makes me feel—well, fraudulent.'

Rufus stopped near the central fountain, and took her by the hands. 'Jo, this is for real. All of it.' He smiled down into her troubled eyes. 'Don't look like that. In time you might even like being married to me.'

She smiled. 'Stranger things have happened, I suppose. It's just that everything's such a rush.'

'Once we're married you can relax,' he promised. 'Now let's go shopping. And, just in case you were wondering, Claire's ring came from a London
jeweller
.'

Grateful for his perception, Jo entered into the spirit of the purchase with more enthusiasm, and half an hour later her small brown hand wore an antique gold ring set with green tourmalines interspersed with diamonds.

'You should have had the emerald,' said Rufus as he hurried her from the shop.

'I preferred this one,' said Jo, admiring it, then
realised
they were crossing the road towards his car. 'Where are we going for lunch?'

'To my parents' house,' he said, thrusting her in the passenger seat.

'But —'

'No
buts,
Jo. I knew you'd argue if I told you sooner. Mother wanted to make it a celebration dinner tonight, but I'm due in London later this afternoon, and I'll be away for most of the week, so lunch it is.'

Afterwards Jo was glad she'd had no time to be nervous, since both
Griersons
were kindness itself to her over lunch at their comfortable, conventional house on the outskirts of Pennington. They gave Jo a warm welcome, and made it clear they thought their son's choice of a second wife the most natural thing in the world. They mentioned Claire without constraint, and complimented a guilty Jo on her sensitivity in refusing to announce the engagement sooner in deference to Claire's memory. After only a short discussion of wedding plans Rufus rushed Jo away again soon after the meal. He gave his departure for London as an excuse, and promised his mother they'd linger as long as she liked on their next visit.

'I won't come in,' said Rufus, when he drew up in
Bruton
Road. 'I would have postponed this London trip if I could, but with the honeymoon coming up I thought I'd better get it over with. Come to a decision yet?'

Jo nodded. Because their honeymoon wouldn't be the normal arrangement of two people wanting to spend as much time alone together as possible, she'd had a brainwave in the night. 'I'd like a plush London hotel for a long weekend, with trips to theatres and art galleries and so on. The family holiday was usually a cottage near a Welsh beach, and otherwise I had just the one holiday with Claire and her family in France. The bright lights rather appeal.'

'Done,' he said promptly. 'I'll
organise
it while I'm up there. Any particular plush hotel?'

She shook her head, smiling. 'You choose.'

'What an amenable little wife you're going to be!'

'Don't count on it!'

Rufus reached out to flip a finger across her cheek. 'Take care while I'm gone. By which I mean eat something at intervals while you're glued to your computer.'

'I won't be. Mother's coming for a day or two tomorrow. More shopping,' said Jo, resigned.

Rufus felt in his pockets and produced a key. 'In that case why not take her to Beaufort Crescent and show her over the house?'

Jo beamed at him. 'Why, thank you; she'd love that.' She hesitated. 'Rufus, thank you for the ring. It's beautiful.'

'Which reminds me.' He looked at her in silence for a moment. 'Don't take this the wrong way, Jocasta Fielding, but this shopping of yours—does it involve a wedding dress of some kind?'

'Of course it does. Why?'

'Since it's my fault you need one, would you let me foot the bill?'

Jo stiffened. 'Absolutely not.'

Rufus reached out a detaining hand as she turned to get out of the car. 'My offer was well intentioned, I swear. Take heart. I'm a quick learner. I never make the same mistake twice.'

Jo's eyes took on a feline glitter as she gave him a smile as sweet and cold as a sorbet. 'I'll take good care to see you don't.'

His answering smile was
tigerish
. 'If you're referring to my hopes about the exact nature of our future relationship, as I always say, Jo—never refuse a request before it's made.'

Jo's eyes flashed dangerously, and without another word she got out of the car and hurried up the path to the house, grinding her teeth in fury as Rufus drove away before she even reached the door.

Surprisingly, the biting little exchange had no effect on her creativity. Jo spent the rest of the day in front of her computer, elated to find that she was only days away from finishing the first rough draft of her novel. Later that evening, when protesting muscles forced her to stop at last, Jo was on her way to a hot bath when the telephone rang.

'Jo?' said Rufus.

'Yes.'

'Are you still angry with me?'

'Of course not,' she said airily. 'I never gave it another thought.'

'I'll make a note not to offer you money again.'

'And I promise not to keep reminding you that this marriage is purely an agreement on paper,' she countered.

There was silence for a moment. 'So now that's all cleared up,' he went on at last, 'did you manage to get some writing done this afternoon?'

'I certainly did. I got on like a house on fire. I worked late to make up for my day off tomorrow when Mother's here.'

'Give her my regards, Jo.'

'I will. She's going to help me choose a hat for your brother's wedding.'

'Don't get too tired.'

'I won't. In any case I think the swollen-ankles bit happens later on, not at this stage.'

'Still no morning sickness?'

'No. In fact,' added Jo, 'I don't feel pregnant at all yet. Perhaps I'm not, and all your arrangements are unnecessary after all.'

'I'm sure you'll inform me if that's the case.'

'Of course. Not much point in getting married if there's no baby,' she said acidly.

'Quite so,' agreed Rufus at his driest. 'I'll ring you when I get back, Jo. Goodnight.'

Rose Fielding stayed only one night with Jo, sympathetic with her daughter's eagerness to get on with the novel while it was going so well. Their shopping spree was very successful. Mrs Fielding bought Jo a dress in pale, muted pink, bias-cut from pure silk
crêpe,
and flatly refused to let her daughter see the price tag. She insisted Jo splurge her own money on the hat, a wide-brimmed natural straw with a cluster of pink silk roses rioting over the brim. Jo couldn't resist the extravagant confection, despite the price, but chose a plain straw boater with green ribbons to wear to Rory's wedding.

'Pity I couldn't have worn the same hat to both,' she complained as she settled the bill.

'No, Jocasta Fielding, definitely not!' Mrs Fielding chuckled. 'I can just see
Thalia's
face if you did that.'

'No doubt the heavenly twins are turning up in designer gear from head to toe?' asked Jo as, feeling very pleased with themselves, they ate lunch together in the department store's restaurant.

'Probably. They were both wild with excitement at the news, though I fancy Thalia thought senility had finally overtaken me when I said you were marrying Rufus.' Rose looked at her daughter searchingly. 'Darling, that's an exquisite ring, and Rufus made all the right noises the day you came to lunch, but would you
be
marrying him if you weren't pregnant?'

Jo made no attempt to lie. 'No, I wouldn't. But he's always wanted a family, which is why Claire went through hoops to try and provide him with one. For my part I would have done without a husband, but Rufus wants his child to grow up in the same house as both parents. It's a great house, Mother; we'll go and see it when we've finished here.'

'Was the house a deciding factor, then?' asked her mother in amusement.

'It helped. So in three weeks, much to my astonishment, I'm marrying Claire's husband. A bit hard to believe at times.'