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Maria smiled. ‘I have. At least, that’s what Geraldine thought I would enjoy doing. But after listening to you, I’m not so sure. There must be hundreds of old people, like this Mrs Ainsley. Perhaps there are opportunities in that kind of social work—’
Mrs Lacey looked anxious. ‘Now don’t you go getting all romantic about caring for people and sorting out their troubles,’ she said. ‘It’s not all that easy. You have to have the patience of Job.’
Maria raised her eyebrows. ‘I suppose you’re right. Back home families are larger and usually someone is only too willing to care for the old folk. My grandmother is still alive, and lives in a cottage not far from my father. He wouldn’t dream of cutting her off by moving away.’
Mrs Lacey sighed. ‘No, well, things are different here. People don’t have time to do everything they should do. They’re too busy trying to better their neighbours. They don’t realize that they’ll be old, too, one day.’
Maria traced the pattern of the formica on the breakfast bar with an idle forefinger. ‘Still, I suppose so far as I’m concerned you’re right. But I can’t help feeling sorry for people.’
Mrs Lacey’s expression softened. ‘Don’t be too vulnerable,’ she advised quietly. ‘There’s always someone ready and willing to take advantage of you.’
Maria smiled, ‘That sounds very cynical.’
‘Perhaps I am, at that.’ Mrs Lacey shrugged. ‘Working here as Mr Adam’s housekeeper, I see quite a lot of hardship, but not everybody deserves the help they’re given. You go and take your office course, like you planned. That way you’ll keep out of mischief.’
Maria looked indignant. ‘I can take care of myself.’
Mrs Lacey looked sceptical. ‘Can you? I’m not so sure. Not here, anyway. London’s not all Changing the Guard and Buckingham Palace, you know.’
‘And I’m not still wet behind the ears,’ replied Maria shortly.
‘Nobody said you were. But just by having you here, Mr Adam’s letting himself in for a lot of extra responsibility, and he works hard enough as it is.’
Maria sighed and slid off her stool. She had had enough of this conversation. She remembered her suitcases, still not unpacked, upstairs. She could go and deal with them before lunch, and possibly find something different to wear. Something Adam might not find so objectionable.
But even as she was about to mention her plans to Mrs Lacey the front door bell rang, and Mrs Lacey sighed in annoyance. ‘Oh, will you go and answer that?’ she asked of Maria. ‘My hands are wet. If it’s someone for the doctor you’ll have to ask them to come back later.’
‘All right.’ Maria nodded and walked out into the hall. Smoothing her hair, she opened the door and stared in some surprise at the woman who was tapping her foot impatiently as she waited outside. Somehow she had not expected to find anyone so decorative on Adam’s door-step, and this woman was most certainly that. Small, and delicately proportioned, with silky golden hair bound into a coronet on top of her head, she was quite beautiful, but her expression as she stared appraisingly at Maria was not pleasant.
‘Yes?’ Maria looked at her expectantly. ‘Can I help you?’
The woman glanced back down Adam’s drive, and now Maria noticed a chauffeur-driven limousine at the gates. The woman looked again at her and said: ‘You must be Maria. Adam’s told me about you.’
Maria managed a faint smile. ‘Oh, yes. Er—won’t you come in?’ She felt obliged to invite the woman in, for she was obviously no ordinary patient of Adam’s.
The woman’s lips parted in a semblance of a smile and she stepped into the hall. Her entry brought Mrs Lacey to the kitchen door and when she saw who the visitor was she wiped her hands on her apron and came through.
‘Oh, it’s you, Miss Griffiths,’ she said politely. ‘I’m afraid you’re too early for Mr Adam.’
Loren drew off her pearl grey gloves. ‘But I didn’t come primarily to see Adam,’ she replied smoothly. ‘I wanted to—meet—Maria.’
‘I see.’ Mrs Lacey glanced doubtfully at the girl. ‘And does Mr Adam know you’re here, miss?’
Loren raised her dark eyebrows. ‘I hardly think so. Does it matter?’ Her voice was cool. ‘I’m sure he won’t object, Mrs Lacey.’ She regarded the older woman challengingly and Mrs Lacey’s gaze fell before Loren’s persistent stare.
‘No, miss,’ Mrs Lacey agreed at last. ‘Er—would you like some coffee?’
Loren shrugged. ‘If it’s not too much trouble, Mrs Lacey.’
Mrs Lacey sniffed and without another word marched back into the kitchen. ‘Ignorant old woman!’ remarked Loren maliciously, and Maria felt her own cheeks burning as she over-heard the comment. Then Loren turned to her and said: ‘As Mrs Lacey has omitted to introduce us, I suppose I had better do it myself. I’m Loren Griffiths!’
She said the name as though she expected it to have some effect on Maria, but Maria merely managed a faint smile and Loren went on: ‘Has Adam mentioned me?’
Maria twisted her hands together. ‘I’m afraid not. But then it’s several years since I last saw him, and I only arrived yesterday afternoon.’
‘Ah, yes.’ Loren smiled rather sardonically. ‘Well, shall we go into the lounge?’
Maria moved forward quickly, apologetically. ‘Oh, yes, of course,’ she said hastily, not altogether sure how to treat this woman who seemed to know her step-brother so intimately, and was quite at home in his house.
Loren preceded her into the low, light lounge that faced the gardens at the back of the house. It was a pleasant room furnished simply and comfortably with black buttoned leather couches and a cream and gold patterned carpet on the floor. Here Adam had a television and a radiogram, and there were bookshelves filled with every kind of literature, as Maria had discovered the night before. French doors opened on to a small patio, where there were tubs of climbing plants and a trellis overgrown with rambling roses.
Loren seated herself comfortably on the couch, opening her coat to reveal a short-skirted woollen dress in an attractive shade of turquoise, and indicated that Maria should take the chair opposite. But in this Maria thwarted her, pretending not to see her gesture. She was somehow loath to sit down to what might well turn out to be a kind of refined catechism. Obviously this woman had come here out of curiosity to see what Adam’s stepsister was really like, and although Maria could understand her curiosity, she couldn’t help feeling this visit was precipitate. However, she did come to stand by the screened fireplace, smiling cautiously at her guest and wondering exactly what her relationship was to Adam.
Loren herself seemed completely at ease, lighting a cigarette which she had extracted from the heavy box on the low table in front of her and drawing on it to her satisfaction. Maria waited patiently for her to speak, and presently Loren said:
‘I suppose Adam was quite surprised to find you here yesterday, wasn’t he?’
Maria smiled and relaxed a little. ‘Oh, yes,’ she agreed, with candour. ‘I don’t think he was particularly pleased about it.’
Loren studied her intently. ‘Perhaps not. Didn’t it occur to you to consider that it would have been more diplomatic to wait until you were actually invited?’
Maria was taken aback. ‘No. I didn’t think it was necessary,’ she replied. ‘Adam is my brother.’
‘He is your stepbrother, which is quite a different thing.’
‘Nevertheless, he is a part of my family.’
‘A part you don’t know very well, I would hazard a guess,’ observed Loren a little dryly.
‘Perhaps so. I intend to remedy that,’ replied Maria, aroused by the other woman’s scornful manner.
Loren inhaled deeply and at that moment Mrs Lacey came in with the tray of coffee. She placed it on the table beside Loren and straightened stiffly. ‘Is there anything else you require, miss?’
Loren glanced at the tray. ‘No, thank you, Mrs Lacey. That looks perfect.’
Mrs Lacey nodded briefly and withdrew, and Maria looked after her rather doubtfully. She wondered whether Mrs Lacey approved of her entertaining this woman in Adam’s house and in his absence. Had she been mistaken in thinking that Loren Griffiths was a friend of Adam’s?
Loren poured out the coffee, but Maria refused to have any. She had already had some with Mrs Lacey, and besides, she had no particular desire to be sociable with this woman. There was something about her manner that she didn’t like, although apart from a few observations Loren had said nothing offensive. Yet she had the feeling she was being thoroughly appraised and she wondered again why she should have wanted to meet her. They seemed to have nothing in common.
‘What course are you planning to take?’ Loren interrupted her train of thought with a question.
Maria shrugged. ‘I’m not sure yet, Miss Griffiths. I’ve made no definite plans.’
‘I see.’ Loren frowned. ‘I should have thought it would have been more convenient for you to take such a course nearer your own home. After all, they do have that sort of thing there, don’t they?’ She said it as though Ireland was inhabited by primitives.
Maria nodded politely, however, and said: ‘Yes, there are courses there, but I wanted to come to London.’
‘I see,’ Loren said again. ‘Even so, you must admit, coming here to live with your stepbrother is rather—how shall I put it?—unconventional.’
Maria felt her cheeks colouring. ‘Is it, Miss Griffiths?’
‘Don’t you think so?’
‘No!’
Loren sighed, pressing out her cigarette impatiently. ‘You’re obviously not a child, Maria. Surely you can see that it would have been far more suitable for you to share a flat with several other girls than living here with Adam?’
Maria stiffened. Such an idea had never entered her head, and besides, she knew her father would never have countenanced such a suggestion. In consequence, her young voice was heated as she retorted: ‘I don’t see what business it is of yours, Miss Griffiths, where I choose to make my home!’
‘Maria!’ The unexpectedly male voice startled both of them, and Maria swung round to find Adam standing in the doorway to the lounge, his face dark and annoyed. They must have been so absorbed in their argument that they had not heard him enter the house.
Loren immediately got to her feet and before Maria could speak she rushed across to him eagerly. ‘Adam! Darling!’ she exclaimed, her voice soft and appealing, much different from the rather harsh tones she had used to Maria. ‘I’ve been waiting for you.’
Adam regarded her sardonically for a moment, restraining with his arm any attempt she might have made to embrace him. Then he looked across at Maria questioningly. Maria twisted her hands behind her back and lifted her shoulders in a defiant shrug. She had no intention of trying to make explanations while Loren Griffiths was there.
As though sensing her withdrawal, Adam looked back at the woman who was clinging to his arm, and his eyes softened. ‘Well, Loren?’ he said challengingly. ‘Exactly why are you here? Or can I guess?’
Loren made an eloquent gesture, and realizing he was not in a mood to be cajoled, decided to be honest. ‘I came to meet Maria,’ she said coolly. ‘After all, I am your fiancée, aren’t I, darling?’
‘Are you?’ Adam was equally as cool, annoyingly so.
Loren sighed. ‘Of course I am.’ She looked across at Maria. ‘Perhaps you ought to explain that to your—er—stepsister!’
Maria controlled herself with difficulty. Loren was being openly insolent now, secure in the knowledge of Adam’s support. Even so, Adam didn’t appear at all amused by the situation, and she could only assume he was still angry with her for speaking to his fiancée as she had done. He should have told her he was engaged. He should have explained that his fiancée might call. He should not have allowed her to be placed in such an embarrassing position.
With a muffled, ‘Excuse me,’ she walked quickly across the room, brushing past them to escape into the hall. Once there, she made a hasty retreat to her bedroom, slamming the door rather harder than was necessary. Then she glared at her reflection in the dressing table mirror. All of a sudden she didn’t like today either…
CHAPTER THREE
IT was with some reluctance that Maria eventually came down for lunch. In her room she had unpacked her cases and hung her clothes away in the wardrobe, but she had little heart in the task. If Loren Griffiths had her way she would use her influence with Adam to have Maria sent back to Kilcarney, and the realization of this infuriated her.
Thrusting these thoughts aside, she had washed and changed into a short-skirted tangerine dress that drew attention to the slender length of her legs, and brushed her hair until it shone. Even so, it was not until Mrs Lacey called: ‘Miss Maria! Lunch is ready!’ that she ventured downstairs.
As she entered the dining-room, she assumed a defiant expression, but she needn’t have bothered because she was alone. However, the table was set for two and a puzzled frown marred her smooth forehead. Hearing steps behind her, she swung round expecting to see Mrs Lacey, but it was Adam himself who came into the room, and she felt the hot colour run annoyingly up her cheeks.
‘Sit down!’ he said, indicating the chairs at the table, and Maria decided to obey rather than create any kind of argument then. Adam went to help himself to a whisky at the drinks cabinet to one side of the windows, and Maria watched him with some impatience. Would he ask her to join him? And where was Loren Griffiths?
Adam returned to the table, swallowing half his whisky and placing his glass on the table. Seating himself, he regarded Maria sombrely, and she fidgeted with her napkin, wishing he would say something—anything.
Finally she asked: ‘Where is Miss Griffiths?’
Adam lifted his shoulders in a casual gesture. ‘Keeping an appointment with her producer, I believe,’ he replied.
‘Her producer?’ Maria licked her upper lip thoughtfully. ‘What is she? Some kind of actress?’
Adam’s expression grew slightly mocking. ‘You mean you haven’t heard of her?’
‘Should I have done?’
He frowned consideringly. ‘Perhaps not. Her reputation has been made mostly here and in the United States. She’s had considerable success there.’
‘I see.’ Maria nodded. ‘I thought she expected some kind of recognition from me. I think I disappointed her, Adam.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘Well, I suppose that’s one way of putting it,’ he remarked mildly. ‘Tell me, exactly what was going on when I arrived to interrupt you?’
Maria’s cheeks turned a brilliant red. ‘Didn’t she tell you?’
‘If she had, would I be asking?’
‘I don’t know. You might. You might expect me to lie about it.’
‘Now why would you do that?’
Maria lifted her shoulders defensively. ‘Oh, well, she said I shouldn’t have come here uninvited, and that I ought to have found a flat to share with some girls of my own age.’
‘Did she now?’ Adam sounded intensely interested. ‘And what was your reaction to that?’
Maria compressed her lips. ‘You heard it,’ she said shortly.
‘Ah!’ Adam nodded. ‘Well, I’m glad you’ve explained, at any rate. I prefer the truth to prevarication. Remember that, will you?’
Mrs Lacey came in with their meal at that moment, and for a time there was silence as they tackled the delicious lunch the housekeeper had prepared. Then Maria said:
‘You didn’t tell your mother you were engaged to be married, did you?’
Adam looked up. ‘No,’ he agreed.
‘Why?’ Maria bit her lip. ‘If you had explained I shouldn’t have said what I did.’
Adam lay back lazily in his chair. ‘You must know my mother very well by this time. Would you say she would approve of Loren?’
Maria rested her elbows on the table and cupped her chin on her hands. ‘I don’t know. Perhaps. Surely the most important thing is whether you would be happy with her.’
Adam raised his eyebrows. ‘Such worldly wisdom!’ he observed.
Maria sighed. ‘I don’t think she would make you happy,’ she volunteered truthfully.
Adam stared at her exasperatedly. ‘I don’t recall asking for your opinion.’
‘No, but I’ve given it, for what it’s worth.’ Maria studied her fingernails. ‘Have—have you known Miss Griffiths long?’
‘A year,’ replied Adam briefly, and Maria knew she had annoyed him again.
He rose from his seat a few moments later before Mrs Lacey returned with their coffee, and Maria watched him with some exasperation. Surely he was not about to desert her again? Getting up, she came round the table, linking her fingers together nervously.
‘I’m sorry,’ she began, sighing. ‘I’ve annoyed you, haven’t I?’
Adam looked at her impatiently. ‘You provoke me, Maria,’ he replied shortly. ‘I’m not at all convinced Loren isn’t right in her suggestion that you might be better off sharing a flat with girls of your own age.’
Maria’s brows drew together. ‘You can’t be serious!’
Adam regarded her intently, and shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘Why not? You must admit your arrival here was a trifle precipitate!’
Maria compressed her lips impotently, anger rising inside her at his hurtful words. ‘You’re deliberately trying to provoke me, now,’ she accused him hotly.
Adam raked a hand through his thick hair. Maybe she was right. Maybe he was being deliberately cruel, but if he was, it was because her directness aroused his irritation.
With an exclamation he turned away, hearing the telephone begin to ring with some relief. He opened the door and went to answer it, and when he came back Mrs Lacey was with him, carrying the tray of coffee.
‘Oh, surely you don’t have to rush out without even having your coffee, doctor,’ she was protesting, and Adam was apologizing but explaining that the call was urgent.
Maria stood unhappily watching them. ‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ she asked, and Adam shifted his gaze to her for a moment.
‘One of my patients has had a heart attack,’ he replied briefly. ‘I’m sorry to have to dash off like this, but I’m afraid it’s all part of the romance of a doctor’s life!’ His tone was sardonic and Maria was quite sure he was glad of the chance to escape any further conversation with her.
She scarcely made any response, and a few minutes later she heard the roar of the Rover’s engine as he backed it expertly out of the drive.
During the afternoon, Maria decided to go out.
Mrs Lacey wasn’t at all happy about her venturing far alone, but Maria disregarded her anxious admonitions and taking only a long knitted jacket for her shoulders went out about two o’clock. She felt sick and fed up, and very much out of sorts with herself. It was impossible to consider that this time yesterday she had been full of excitement and anticipation when now she felt so morose and dejected.
She tried to remember more about the times Adam had visited Kilcarney, but it was difficult finding any comparisons between the man she had known then and the man she knew now. Her impressions then had been those of a schoolgirl, and naturally she had found his greater age and experience rather awe-inspiring. Even so, he had been human and kind, and over the years she had built up a picture of him as a friendly, attractive person, willing to listen to her and interested in her aspirations. How different he was, persisting to regard her as a rather trying nuisance the responsibility for whom had been thrust upon him unwillingly. For the first time, she wondered whether he would have refused to allow her to come had she waited for his reply to her stepmother’s letter. Had she been precipitate, as he had said? She sighed. Either way, it didn’t matter now, and all of a sudden she felt immensely homesick for the warmth and familiarity of her father’s house.
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