Sun in Splendour by JH Fletcher

Author:JH Fletcher [JH Fletcher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781743342503
Publisher: Momentum
Published: 2013-11-08T05:00:00+00:00

‘So where is he?’ Katie asked.

‘Where’s who?’

‘Neil, of course.’

‘How should I know? He walked me back here, then left.’

‘You let him go?’

‘Of course I let him go. I’d never set eyes on him before last night.’

‘What’s that got to do with anything?’

‘Maybe it wouldn’t matter much in your life, but it certainly does in mine.’

‘Time you changed, then. And after I’d gone to the trouble of arranging everything —’

‘What did you arrange?’

‘For you to meet Neil, of course. You don’t think it just happened, do you?’

‘He never said …’

‘Of course he never said! He didn’t know!’

‘You’re not telling me that Garford —’

‘God, no. He wasn’t supposed to be there, at all. That bastard’s enough to ruin any plans. But Neil … My whole idea was to get you together with him.’

‘Why?’

‘To save you from Horace Ingersoll.’

Marie threw exasperated arms in the air. ‘I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about.’

‘You’re afraid Horace may cut off your allowance if he finds out what you’ve been painting. Right?’

‘Yes. But —’

‘So provide him with other ones. Neil’s taking a trip into the Outback. I thought, play your cards right, he might be willing to take you with him. Come back with some landscapes, show them to Horace, you’re safe.’

Into the Outback? With a man she barely knew? Out of the question. But if the man were Neil Otway … Hmmm.

‘Why should he agree to take me?’

Katie laughed ruefully, shaking her head. ‘I love you. I truly do. Of course I hadn’t thought of you kicking him out.’

‘It never entered my head …’

‘Well, now it has. I’ll see what I can fix up. But try not to mess things up, next time.’

‘What happened after I left?’

‘They quietened down, had a few more drinks, we all went home. Take no notice of what happened; they’re always fighting. It means nothing. If you can bring yourself to come with me again, they’ll be glad to see you: you’ll see.’

‘Kevin Garford included?’

‘The way you handled him, he’ll not try his luck a second time.’

Even so, after Katie had coaxed her back to the Orient that evening, Marie was glad that Kevin Garford was not there. Whereas Neil Otway was.

Katie left early, with Doug, leaving Marie not only with Neil but a couple of sore ribs where her elbow had gouged her, suggestively.

Now was the time. She could let him walk her home, as last night, then leave him and go upstairs alone. Or she could follow Katie’s urging and invite him upstairs with her.

She resented the need to make a decision at all. Did she want this man? Of course she did. Did she want to be free of him, of all ties that might circumscribe her life? Of course she did.

To have both was impossible. Another problem: memory stalked her, remorselessly.

The bush reeling past, blurred by tears, terror. A sense of violation. Jim Keith’s breath upon her neck.

I cannot permit a man, any man. I cannot.

Yet she felt warmth as she watched the man who

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