When Wishes Come True (33 page)

She stirred, turned on her side, then after a few seconds opened her eyes. ‘Oh, Philip, for a while I couldn’t make out where I was.’ Her eyes caught sight of the tray, and she was pushing herself into a sitting position when she realised she was naked. She made a grab for a sheet to cover herself, but Philip anticipated her move and took hold of her hand. ‘Would you spoil a day which I am sure is going to be such a happy one for both of us?’

It was then she noticed that once again he was wearing no clothes beneath the dressing gown. ‘Pass the tray, my dear, then get into bed and we will enjoy breakfast in each other’s company.’ She was wide awake now, and felt a tingle as the memories came flooding back. ‘How thoughtful of you to bring me breakfast in bed. I will have to watch you don’t spoil me. I do believe it should have been me waiting on you.’

He placed the tray carefully on her lap, then slid into bed. ‘I want to spoil you, and go on spoiling you. What man in his right senses would not spoil a woman who is so beautiful and passionate?’

Evelyn was pouring the tea into small china cups. ‘Please be still, my love, otherwise the tray and everything on it will spill over. I think we should drink a cup of tea first, put the empty cups on the table, and have our toast. We can always have another cup of tea later.’

‘Oh, there won’t be time for a second cup of tea, darling,’ Philip said, a twinkle in his eye.

There was surprise on Evelyn’s face, and a look of disappointment. ‘But I thought I wasn’t going home until this afternoon? That is what we arranged.’

‘If I can bear to part with you, then yes, it will be this afternoon when you go home. But, my wonderful lover, I am hoping for several repeat performances of last night before then. That is if you are agreeable?’

The anticipation started with butterflies in her tummy and accelerated with her racing heartbeat. She held on tight to the tray while she closed her eyes. At twenty-nine years of age, she was just finding out the real meaning of happiness and pleasure, and she wasn’t going to throw them away. ‘I find I am not so hungry after all, so shall we just have one cup of tea and one slice of toast?’

Philip nearly sent the tray flying when he put his arms around her and kissed her cheek. ‘You, my very darling Evelyn, are the most adorable woman I have ever met. And one slice of toast will be ample. I have an appetite, but it is not for food.’

Evelyn searched his face. ‘Talking of food, how is it you always have a well-stocked kitchen? Does your mother shop for you?’

‘Good grief, no! The person who does my shopping for me is the same person who keeps the apartment clean and attends to my washing and ironing.’

There was a look of horror on Evelyn’s face. ‘Then she must wonder who owns the ladies’ clothes in the wardrobe, and satin underwear in the drawers. Does she know you have a lady friend, or does she think you have a mistress?’

‘Keep calm, my love, keep calm.’ Philip began to chuckle. ‘I don’t know, though, they say anger is excellent for enthusiastic love making.’

‘Philip, please be serious. I do not want anyone thinking I am your mistress or that I am a paid paramour. It would spoil our relationship for ever.’

‘My maid of all work is a woman in her fifties, with a husband and four children. She is an excellent worker, doesn’t ask questions, just gets on with what needs doing. I stole her from my mother who has never forgiven me. Annie had worked for her for ten years. Now, does that explanation satisfy you?’

Evelyn raised her brows. ‘And she will never be here when I am due?’

‘Certainly not!’ Philip was enjoying this. ‘I could never attend to two women at the same time, I haven’t the stamina for it.’

This brought a smile to Evelyn’s face, another indication of how she had changed. ‘Oh, from what little I have seen of you, my dear, I would say you are perfectly capable of attending to two women at the same time. But I would not advise it, as I have a very jealous streak.’

‘You would be prepared to fight for me, then, my darling? What a very lucky man I am. Now shall we partake of a little sustenance to give us the strength for the very pleasant task ahead of us? I should hate to fall by the wayside before lunch.’

Their love making became more playful, each teasing the other and both filling the room with laughter. It was perfect heaven for Evelyn who had never known what it was to be so happy. She felt contented, taking the love Philip was giving her and giving it back in return. She was shocked to realise she had never before known what true love was. For her parents weren’t loving or even affectionate towards her. She couldn’t remember ever once being kissed or hugged, and never a word of endearment.

Evelyn gave a start as Philip cupped her chin and turned her face towards him. ‘You look so serious, my darling, what thoughts were in your head to bring a frown to that beautiful face?’

‘They weren’t pleasant thoughts, my dear, but they have helped me understand why I have never known any real happiness until the last few weeks when you came into my life. Oh, I thought I loved my husband, and if he hadn’t been killed perhaps our love would have blossomed. But it was not him I was thinking of, it was my parents and the miserable existence they lived.’ Evelyn felt Philip pull her close to comfort her, and opened a little of her heart to him. ‘My parents were never loving towards me. All they cared about was money, it was their only topic of conversation. They were very frugal, almost miserly, and I was never given pocket money or allowed to bring my school friends home. There was never any laughter in the house, it was frowned upon. On my nineteenth birthday I was allowed to go to my first dance with a girl I knew from school. And because my mother bought my clothes, ones in the style she liked, I was the frumpiest girl at the dance.’

Philip was shaking his head in disbelief. ‘How could they treat you like that? They should have been so proud of you!’

‘I could have understood if money had been scarce, but it wasn’t! Father had a decent position and earned a good salary, but he and Mother hated parting with a penny.’ Evelyn felt she had said enough now about her past, but hoped what she had told Philip would help him understand why she might have appeared aloof and secretive. He had been drawn to her by her air of mystery, and it was vital she should keep back the most important part of that mystery, her daughter Amelia. If he became aware of her existence, it would surely have him walking away … their association at an end. She realised now that would break her heart, for she had fallen in love with him.

‘In a few short weeks, you have brought me out of my shell and shown me how loving a person can bring happiness,’ she told him. ‘Especially last night. You were so understanding, so gentle and loving. I will always love you for that.’

‘My poor darling.’ Philip pressed her head to his shoulder and stroked her hair. ‘Never again will you be without laughter or love, I shall make sure of that. From now on, my main priority in life will be to protect you, take care of you, and love you. In fact, my darling, I think it would be a good idea if you were to move in here permanently and then I can take care of you, properly. If you would agree, my life would be complete.’

A cold hand clutched Evelyn’s heart. There was nothing in the world she would like more than to be with Philip every day, but she knew that could never happen. At least not for the forseeable future. ‘No, Philip, much as I would love to live with you, I think we should have more time to get to know each other. It’s barely a month since we met for the first time.’

‘I know all I want to know about you, my love.’ He looked disappointed. ‘I know every part of your body, as you know mine. And, little by little, I am finding out what you have done so far in your life. I really see no reason to wait.’

‘But what about me, Philip? I would have to get used to being a kept woman, and even though I do love you, that wouldn’t sit easy on my shoulders. I do not want to give up my job, I enjoy it and it makes me independent. The staff at the office would soon notice the difference in our relationship, too, and I’d feel they were talking about me behind my back.’

‘Hang the office staff! Who cares what they think? I wouldn’t want you to live here as my mistress but as my wife! And under no circumstances would I permit a wife of mine to go out to work.’

Evelyn was stunned. For a brief moment she listened to the voice in her head which was saying, If only your life wasn’t such a mess … But it
was
a mess, and although she would like nothing better than to be his wife, that could never be. ‘Philip, I feel very honoured, and I know your intentions are good. But I don’t think you have had time to consider what you are saying, or what the consequences would be if I were to encourage you into asking me to be your wife. For your sake I suggest we carry on as we are for a few more months, to give us both time to find out if getting married is what we both want.’

‘I don’t need time to consider.’ Philip’s expression mirrored his stubborn streak. ‘I know without any doubt that I want you to be my wife. We may only have known each other a short time, as you point out, but I think I knew from the second I set eyes on you that I wanted you. I admit that in the beginning, when you were so cool and off-hand with me the attraction was more of a challenge.’ He managed a grin. ‘I was going to stalk you, like a tiger stalks its prey, until I got what I wanted. But as each new day came, and you walked into the office, I could feel a pounding in my heart which went beyond lust.’ He gazed at her naked body, the firm breasts jutting out so proudly, and stroked a finger over a taut nipple. ‘I have opened my heart to you, my lovely, now it is your turn to tell me your thoughts.’

‘Let us snuggle down under the clothes,’ Evelyn said, ‘and we can hold each other close. I want to feel you near me.’

With a soft feather eiderdown over them, they snuggled up close. ‘The way I feel about you now, Philip, I would marry you tomorrow. I have truly fallen head over heels in love with you. But in my life so far I have been dealt some hard blows and have learned to be cautious. That is why I am going to ask you to wait a few months, until we know each other inside out. Our good points, and our bad. I am considering your welfare, not just my own. It’s Christmas soon. Why don’t we carry on as we are until the festive season is over, see how we feel then? It is not an eternity, my love, just a matter of weeks.’

‘And we’ll see each other as often as possible in those weeks, won’t we?’ Philip pushed a lock of dark hair back from her forehead. ‘I won’t agree to your terms unless we continue to meet as often as possible.’

‘Yes, I promise.’ Evelyn had something on her mind that was troubling her. ‘What about your mother? Does she know about me, and my visits to your apartment?’

‘No, she doesn’t. Until last night your visits have been on a friendly basis, remember. But I am going home today. When you are ready to leave, I shall leave with you. Mother rang this morning while you were still asleep, to ask if I had forgotten where I live. So I’ll have my evening meal and sleep there for the next two or three nights. That will keep my parents happy. Which means, apart from Annie coming in to clean, the apartment won’t be used until we meet for our tryst at lunchtime on Wednesday. I shall leave a note asking her to have a light lunch set out for us.’

‘I’m going to request, Philip, that my name is not mentioned while you are at home. Promise you won’t tell your parents about me? If your mother knew I visited you here, unaccompanied, she would be entitled to think I am not the sort of woman she would welcome as a wife for her son. So you would do our relationship no favour by discussing our friendship.’

A sheepish grin crossed Philip’s face. ‘You are far more practical than I am, my love. I want to tell the world about our romance. But that would be foolhardy of me. My parents are quite strait-laced and I haven’t always lived up to their standards. But being free from any tie, old enough to know what I’m doing, attending parties several times a week where the girls were practically throwing themselves at eligible males … well, my parents must have known I wasn’t living the life of a saint! And I have never pretended to you that I was inexperienced, have I? I have had several affairs. None of them has lasted longer than a week or two. I find myself getting short-tempered with females who cannot conduct an intelligent conversation, whose only interest in life is having the most fashionable clothes and being invited to the best parties. They make very dull companions.’

‘But not too dull to go to bed with?’

Philip wasn’t in the least embarrassed by the question, and didn’t see why he shouldn’t be truthful. ‘With the light out, my lovely, they all look the same. Those were not acts of love on my part, but acts of necessity. I can honestly say that last night was the first time I made love to someone I was in love with. The other women served their purpose, over in a short time and forgotten immediately I was outside the bedroom door. Last night was a miracle for me. You transported me to a place I had never been before, and I shall never make love to anyone but you for the rest of my life.’

Evelyn had felt her jealousy rising as he spoke about the other women he had bedded, but quickly pushed the thoughts out of her mind. They were in the past, and best forgotten.

‘Considering you are my first lover and I am twenty-nine years of age, I didn’t do too badly, did I?’

Philip frowned. ‘I only have a vague recollection of the night’s events, my love, so could you please give me a repeat performance?’

Evelyn was learning fast, and surprised herself by asking, ‘You mean, on my own?’

He chortled. ‘Oh, I think I will join in somewhere along the way. In fact, even talking about it has my heart pounding, so I think I will start off the proceedings and you can just lie still and enjoy yourself.’

Evelyn walked down the entry with her head bowed, deep in thought. On the journey home, as the tram rattled and lurched, she had taken stock of her life and been surprised and shocked by some of the things that occurred to her. She had told Philip how her parents had never shown her any affection, no hugs, kisses or endearments. And suddenly it had come to her that she had treated her own daughter in the same way. She had never kissed Amelia, even when she was a baby. The wet nurse and the maid had taken care of the child’s needs. And when the wet nurse had left, Amelia was put on a bottle. So did Amelia hate her, as Evelyn had hated her own parents? She really hadn’t been fair to the child, blaming her for everything that had gone wrong in her life. Still, she couldn’t honestly say she loved her daughter, for she didn’t. She felt sorry now for the way she’d treated her, and wouldn’t hurt her or wish her harm, but she couldn’t conjure up these maternal instincts she’d heard people refer to. And it was going to be difficult putting Philip off after Christmas, he wasn’t stupid enough to keep on believing her lies and excuses.