Winter at Cray (19 page)

This was the moment, Louise thought, to break the news to him that Emma Kincaid had invited Jonathan Darrell to stay on for the birthday party, but somehow she could not bring herself to do it, and instead bit her lip anxiously as she watched her son romp with the man who had aroused both her own and Stephen
’
s worst instincts. It would not be easy telling Stephen and she would rather wait until some more opportune moment.

The next day, still snowless, Jonathan eventually managed to put through the telephone call he had
been talking about and Louise was surprised, as she passed him in the hall, to hear him conversing in rapid French. He still had his back to her when she returned to the old lady
’
s sitting-room a few moments later, and he was still busily talking.

She closed the sitting-room door with careful deliberation so that he would not hear her and turn round.
‘
Who
’
s that on the telephone?
’
old Emma asked as Louise tucked a shawl round her legs.
‘
I know someone is, because I could just see an elbow from here.
’

‘
It
’
s Mr. Darrell,
’
Louise told her, anticipating questions.
‘
He
’
s been trying to put through a call for several days now and apparently he
’
s managed it at last.
’

‘
Who
’
s he ringing?
’
the old lady demanded, and Louise sighed resignedly.

‘
I don
’
t know, Great-gran, he didn
’
t say who he was trying to get, but he was talking in French just now when I passed him.
’

‘
French?
’
The shrewd old eyes narrowed and she looked up at Louise
’
s carefully composed features.
‘
You couldn
’
t hear any of it?
’

‘
I didn
’
t listen,
’
Louise told her indignantly.

‘
Well, you should have.
’
The old lady mused for a moment.
‘
Something to do with that Dupont fellow,
’
she decided at last.
‘
He
’
s checking up.
’

‘
Oh, now what
can
he be checking up on?
’
Louise asked reasonably.
‘
His passport proves he
’
s Henri Dupont as he claims. You
’
re making things up, Great
-
gran.
’

‘
No, I
’
m not,
’
Emma objected indignantly.
‘
Jon has a bee in his bonnet about something, I know the signs.
’

‘
Quite possibly,
’
Louise admitted.
‘
I wouldn
’
t put anything past him.
’
She turned her head as the faint ping of the bell told her the call had ended, curious despite her professed lack of interest.

‘
Can
’
t you go and listen?
’
the old lady suggested baldly, and Louise shook her head.

‘
No, I can
’
t, Great-gran. Anyway,
’
she added,
‘
he
’
s just finished, I heard him hang up.
’

Jonathan
’
s footsteps sounded across the uncarpeted hallway and her own curiosity gave her an absent air as she tidied the cushions round the old lady
’
s chair.

‘
Go and find out about it,
’
Emma Kincaid told her shortly.
‘
Go on, girl, and then come back and tell me.
’

‘
No, Great-gran, I can
’
t.
’

‘
Of course you can! Go on
!’
The thin hands waved her away and she left the room, full of misgivings, wondering how on earth she was going to satisfy the old lady without sounding downright rude and inquisitive.

She went into the big sitting-room, horribly uncertain of what she should do for the best, and saw that he had been cornered by Diamond who eyed her approach with the beginnings of a pout, suspecting she was about to interrupt their t
ê
te-
à
-t
ê
te.

Jonathan himself looked up as she came nearer, almost as if he knew her errand concerned him and she hesitated briefly, still too unsure of herself to speak. An arched brow questioned her and she took a deep breath.

‘
Mr. Darrell,
’
she began, her heart pounding uneasily as she prepared to bend the truth a little for the sake of her own reputation,
‘
Great-gran would like to see you when you have a moment.
’

He rose at once, ignoring Diamond
’
s frown of disappointment.
‘
Is she still in the little room?
’
he asked, and Louise nodded, feeling slightly panicky now that he had answered her summons so quickly. There was no telling what the old lady
’
s reaction would be to her ruse in making her ask him herself about the call he had made.

He followed her from the room and across the hall, and just outside the door of the little sitting-room, he touched her arm bringing her to a halt.
‘
Louise, did the old lady really ask for me
?’

She hesitated, juggling with the truth.
‘
Why—yes, yes, of course she did. I mean,
’
she amended hastily when she saw his look of doubt,
‘
that is, she didn
’
t exactly ask for you, but—
’

‘
But you took pity on me and rescued me from Diamond
?’
he guessed, and laughed.

‘
I didn
’
t,
’
she denied,
‘
if you get cornered by Diamond you have only yourself to blame, you shouldn
’
t flirt with her.
’

‘
Flirt with her?
’
He looked at her as if the suggestion shocked him.
‘
Are you suggesting that one
needs
to flirt with your cousin
?’

‘
Diamond isn
’
t my cousin,
’
she declared, and flushed at the way he spoke of the girl.
‘
And please don
’
t speak about members of my family like that, you haven
’
t the right.
’

‘
Defence for Diamond?
’
he teased, laughing again.
‘
She doesn
’
t need your help, you know, Diamond is perfectly able to take care of herself.
’

‘
I—I happen to be very fond of Colin,
’
she confessed.
‘
And Diamond
is
a Kincaid even if it
’
s only by marriage.
’

He sighed.
‘
So you
didn
’
t
rescue me? Oh well, I suppose it was too much to hope for. Anyway,
’
he added,
‘
does
the old lady want to see me or
not?
’
She bit her lip, hesitating a moment longer, then raised her head and looked at him almost appealingly.
‘
Not exactly,
’
she confessed.
‘
Great-gran—Great-gran wanted to know who you were calling on the phone just now.
’
She sounded a little breathless and unwillingly honest.
‘
I—I was supposed to find out for her, but I
’
m not very good at playing Mata Hari.
’
His quiet laugh did crazy things to her pulse, which was ridiculous in the circumstances, but she refused to lower her gaze.
‘
Oh, I don
’
t know,
’
he said softly.
‘
Face, figure, you have all the necessary qualifications. Except temperament, of course,
’
he added.
‘
You
’
d need to be a little more—smoochy and a little less fiery to prise
some
men
’
s secrets out of them.
’

The stress on the
‘
some
’
added to her embarrassment and she shook her head hastily.
‘
I
’
m not sufficiently interested in anyone
’
s secrets to try and prise anything from them,
’
she retorted,
‘
least of all you. It
’
s Great-gran who
’
s curious, not me.
’

‘
I believe you,
’
he grinned, not in the least put out by her shortness,
‘
but this particular intelligence really concerns you, so you
’
d better hear it too.
’

‘
Me?
’
She frowned.
‘
I don
’
t understand.
’

‘
You will,
’
he told her,
‘
if you come in and hear what I have to say.
’

The invitation was irresistible and she followed him into the small sitting-room. Emma Kincaid looked up when they came in, her smile wide with satisfaction when she saw Jonathan.
‘
What did she tell you,
’
she demanded with a dry chuckle,
‘
that I was a nosey old woman who wanted to know all your business
?’

‘
Not exactly in those words
,’
he told her, sitting beside her,
‘‘
but you are, aren
’
t you
?’

‘
Dear Jon.
’
She leaned across and p it a hand on his arm.
‘I’m
going slowly deaf and blind and I
’
m nearly a full century old, but I still like to know what
’
s going on around me. I haven
’
t the time to be diplomatic, though in truth I never was.
’

‘
Then don
’
t try on my account,
’
Jonathan told her with a smile. He flicked a glance over his shoulder at Louise.
‘
I
’
ve told Louise that she
’
d better hear what I have to say as well, since it concerns her. I was waiting for an opportune moment to see both of you, as a matter of fact. Being summoned to the presence solves it for me, so here goes.
’
He sat forward in his chair, his face more sober suddenly as he spoke.
‘
I rang a friend of mine who runs a little local newspaper in a village in Brittany. A small town, actually, but it
’
s all very rural and gossipy. I met him some years ago when I was covering some festival or other for the magazine. It
’
s fortunate that it happens to be the same place that Henri Dupont had as his home address on his passport, the name struck a note when I saw it the other night.
’
Louise sat down quietly, her eyes curious and a little apprehensive.
‘
I played a long shot,
’
he confessed,
‘
but it paid off
—
Plebin knows the Dupont family, or more accurately he knows
of
them.
’