Catherine George
THE MILLIONAIRE’S CONVENIENT BRIDE

TORONTO • NEW YORK • LONDON AMSTERDAM • PARIS • SYDNEY • HAMBURG STOCKHOLM • ATHENS • TOKYO • MILAN • MADRID PRAGUE • WARSAW • BUDAPEST • AUCKLAND

MILLS & BOON

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To Howard, with my love.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER ONE

HESTER’S excitement escalated as she neared her goal. She checked the address again, then mounted the steps of one of the tall houses which lined three sides of leafy Albany Square. She rang the bell, gave her name over an intercom and, after a pause, the door was opened by a man who was obviously an employee of some kind, but nothing like her idea of a butler.

He smiled at her pleasantly. ‘Good morning, Miss Ward. Come this way.’

Hester followed him along a high-ceilinged hall and up a flight of Bath stone stairs to a large, book-lined study. He held out the chair in front of the desk, told her his employer would be with her shortly and left her alone. Her anticipation at fever pitch, Hester sat, tense, on the edge of the chair. Her preliminary interview had been over coffee in a hotel lounge with John Austin, personal assistant of the owner of this house, but now she was about to meet the man himself.

On the desk a solitary framed photograph faced the window. She hesitated a moment, then turned it towards her and felt a rush of pure adrenaline. Her hunch had been right! The man she’d come to see really was her mysterious Mr Jones. And one look at that striking face, with its knife-edge cheekbones and intense dark eyes, sent her straight back to her first encounter with the man smiling down at a child in the photograph.

She had been packing that cold January night when her mother rushed in, radiating urgency.

‘Give me a hand, darling. We’ve got guests.’

Hester stared at her in disbelief. ‘What? At this time of night?’

‘I just couldn’t say no. It’s snowing, and they look exhausted.’

‘Honestly, Mother! We’re supposed to be closed for the entire month. You should have put the No Vacancies sign out.’

Moira Ward gave her a stern look. ‘I want help, please, not a lecture.’

‘Right away!’ Hester hurried after her mother, down the back stairs to the kitchen. ‘Where are they?’

Moira began taking food from the refrigerator. ‘Settling into their rooms while I whip up a snack. Mr Jones accepted my offer of sandwiches with such enthusiasm I think it’s a long time since either of them had a meal.’

Hester shook her head in disapproval as she buttered bread. ‘You’re too soft-hearted by half.’

‘But not soft-headed,’ returned Moira tartly. ‘I don’t turn away paying guests who offer cash in advance.’ She sighed. ‘Besides, the poor girl looked ready to drop. I couldn’t turn them away.’

‘Of course you couldn’t!’ Hester blew her a kiss. ‘What shall I put in these?’

‘Slice some of the roast ham from supper, and I’ll heat up the rest of my vegetable soup. The girl looked frozen.’

‘You want me to take the tray up?’

‘Yes, please, darling. I’d rather they knew I’m not alone in the house.’

Hester laughed. ‘I doubt that my presence will make much difference if Mr Jones has anything sinister in mind.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘Wait a minute. Did you say rooms plural?’

Moira nodded. ‘The connecting rooms at the front.’

‘So we not only feed these people supper as well as breakfast, we clean the two largest rooms in the house after they’ve gone!’

‘For which I’ve been paid a handsome sum in advance,’ her mother reminded her, and, with a triumphant smile, played her trump card. ‘You can have half of it to take back to college.’

Hester laughed as she gave her mother a hug. ‘Brilliant! Thanks, Ma. Why aren’t they sleeping together, do you think?’

‘Ours is not to reason why.’ Moira added a tureen of steaming soup to the tray and sent her daughter on her way.

Hester bore her burden with care up the wide staircase, eager to take a look at the couple who’d appealed to her mother’s hospitable heart.

The man who opened the first of the garden view rooms smiled as he took the tray and one look at the handsome, haggard face took Hester’s breath away.

‘Thank you.’ His voice was deep, with a timbre that sent shivers down her spine. ‘Would you tell Mrs Ward we’re deeply grateful?’

‘I will,’ she said with effort, and pulled herself together. ‘You’ll find biscuits, coffee, tea and kettle on the desk, and I’ve brought fresh milk. Can I get you anything else?’

He shook his head as he inspected the tray’s contents. ‘This is wonderful—and much appreciated.’

‘No trouble at all,’ she assured him fervently. ‘What time would you like breakfast?’

He glanced at the closed connecting door. ‘We need to be on our way first thing. Would toast and coffee be possible about seven-thirty?’

‘Of course. I’ll bring it up.’ And bring it willingly if it meant another encounter with the knee-trembling Mr Jones. Plus no dining room to clean afterwards.

Hester went back downstairs in a pink haze. That, she thought reverently, was one mouth-watering male specimen if you liked your men tall, dark and masterful. Which she did. Or would if she knew any. She sighed enviously. The lady with him was very lucky. Her man had charisma in spades.

Moira was drinking tea at the table when Hester went back to the kitchen. ‘Everything all right?’

‘With the über-gorgeous Mr Jones, yes. The connecting door was half closed so I didn’t see his lady.’

‘If you had, you’d have seen for yourself why I couldn’t turn them away. She looks like a ghost, poor thing.’

Hester poured milk into a mug, stirred in squares of chocolate and put it in the microwave to heat. ‘He wants breakfast at seven thirty, so I said I’d take it up. But what on earth were they doing out here in January at this time of night? We don’t normally do much with passing trade.’

This was true. Most of their customers came via tourist agencies and the Internet.

‘Mr Jones said he’d meant to drive overnight,’ said her mother, ‘but his companion began feeling ill about the time it started to snow. At which point he spotted our sign on the main road and turned up here on the off chance that we had room.’

Hester fluttered her eyelashes. ‘I thought Smith was the alias of choice for secret getaways. Do you think Jones is his real name?’

‘That’s how he signed the register.’

‘Pretty anonymous. He could have murdered the woman’s husband to run off with her for all we know.’

Moira shook her head. ‘I somehow doubt that! But they’ll both be gone in the morning, so we’ll never know.’

Never say never, thought Hester, her excitement back in full force as she heard footsteps on the stairs. The clock struck the hour in a nearby church steeple to mark the occasion as she rose to face the man who’d made such an impression on her ten years ago that she’d never forgotten him.

Tall and impressive in a formal suit, he looked older and more remote, but the thick black Celtic hair and ink dark eyes were unmistakable—and had exactly the same effect as the first time they’d met. He came towards her, hand outstretched, a slight smile softening the hard, imperious features. ‘Connah Carey Jones. I apologise for keeping you waiting.’

Hester took the hand and felt a jolt of heat rush through her like an electric shock. Heart thumping in startled response to the contact, she returned the smile with determined composure. ‘Not at all, I was early.’

He waved her back to her chair, then seated himself behind the desk, looking at her in narrow-eyed silence for a long moment before turning to her application.

She tensed. Could he have remembered her? But if he did he made no mention of it as he read through her CV.

‘You look young to have so much experience in childcare,’ he said at last.

‘But, as you see, I’m twenty-seven.’ She hesitated. ‘Mr Carey Jones, to avoid any possible waste of your time, could you confirm that the post is purely temporary?’

‘Certainly. It’s for the summer vacation only.’ The dark eyes looked up to connect with hers. ‘However, there is a complication. Lowri went away to school when she was eight, and would hotly resent the idea of having a nanny again. To get round this, I’ve told her I’m hiring a temporary housekeeper. Sam Cooper, the man who let you in, actually runs our all male household, but during the school holiday I need a woman on hand to provide Lowri’s meals, see to her personal laundry and take her out during the day. Her evenings would be spent with me.’

‘I see.’ Not that Hester did, entirely. Once she’d discovered the name of her prospective employer, and began wondering if he was the same Mr Jones, she’d put out some feelers through a journalist contact on the Financial Times to find out if her hunch was right. But Angus had drawn a blank on personal details. Known as the Welsh Wizard due to his phenomenal success in the world of finance, Connah Carey Jones kept his private life so strictly private there’d been no mention of a wife and child.

He returned to her application. ‘Would a Norland-trained nanny with such glowing references object to posing as a housekeeper, Miss Ward?’

‘Not in the slightest,’ she assured him. ‘I have experience in that field too, Mr Carey Jones. After my father died, my mother turned the family home into a successful bed and breakfast operation. I was involved at every level right from the start. I enjoy cooking and did a certain amount of it in my previous post, as I explained to Mr Austin.’

‘It would certainly help in this instance,’ he agreed, ‘but my priority is finding someone trustworthy and competent, who is also young enough to be company for my daughter. It would be necessary to live in for the period of employment, also to furnish the requisite references and agree to a security check.’

‘Of course.’

He mentioned the very generous salary offer and looked at her in enquiry. ‘Now that you’re clear about my requirements, Miss Ward, would you accept the post if it were offered?’

Like a shot.

‘Yes, Mr Carey Jones, I would,’ she said firmly.

‘Thank you for being so straightforward. I’ll be in touch as soon as possible.’ And, instead of ringing for his butler, he surprised her by accompanying her downstairs to see her out.

Buzzing from her encounter with Mr Jones, Hester set off at a brisk pace to walk back to the house on the hilly outskirts of town. She waved, smiling, when her stepfather threw open the front door before she was halfway up the steep path to the house. ‘Hi, Robert.’

He hurried her inside, his kind face expectant. ‘How did it go?’

‘Quite well, I think, but I’ll have to wait to see if I beat the opposition.’

‘Of course you will! Moira’s popped out for something missing from the lunch menu, but we’ll eat in the garden as soon as she gets back.’

Hester kissed his cheek affectionately, then went out to climb the fire escape stairs to the garage flat Robert Marshall had redecorated to her taste. Hester’s chosen career required her to live in with whatever family she worked for, and now the family home had been sold she was deeply grateful to Robert for providing her with the security of a private, self-contained apartment as a base. She gazed out over his steep, beautifully tended garden as she changed into shorts and a halter-neck top, wondering if a second interview was likely. Having met Connor Carey Jones again, she fervently hoped so.

When Moira came back with her shopping, her jaw dropped when Hester, not without drama, announced that her interview had been with the man who’d made such an impression on them both all those years ago.

‘I had an idea it might be him, Ma,’ she said, smiling triumphantly, ‘but I didn’t say anything because it sounded so farfetched. But I was right. The man in need of a temporary nanny for his daughter really is our mysterious Mr Jones.’

‘Amazing! How did you react when you saw him?’

‘Luckily there was a photograph of him with a little girl on his desk, to give me advance warning.’

Moira shook her head in wonder. ‘Did he recognise you?’

‘Of course not. I’ve changed a lot since then. Besides, you saw far more of him than I did. They didn’t end up leaving early in the morning as they’d planned and I had to get back to college before they left—so I never did meet his lady.’

‘He was worried in case she had something infectious. She didn’t, as it happened, but she was far too ill to travel, so I let them stay on for a few days until she was better.’ Moira smiled reminiscently. ‘Mr Jones was very appreciative. He sent me the most wonderful flowers afterwards.’

‘Now you’ve solved your mystery, would you like the job, Hester?’ asked Robert.

She nodded fervently. ‘I certainly would. But apparently the daughter would object to having a nanny again, so if I did get it I’d have to pose as the temporary housekeeper.’

‘No problem for you, darling,’ said Moira promptly. ‘You’ve had far more experience of housekeeping than most girls your age.’

‘I think the age bit might be the problem. I got the impression he wanted someone a bit older.’

Hester found out sooner than expected. During the evening John Austin rang, asking if it was convenient for her to call back at the house in Albany Square to meet his employer at noon the next day. She raced into the garden to break the news.

‘First hurdle over, folks. I’ve got a second interview tomorrow.’

Hester felt nervous as she mounted the steps to the elegant house in Albany Square the following morning. Which was silly. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if she didn’t get the job. But, having met Mr Jones again, she was very keen to work for the man she’d had such a crush on when she was a teenager. And the bonus of six weeks generous salary while she was filling in time wouldn’t hurt, either. The original plan for the gap between jobs had been a holiday in the South of France, but she’d kept that secret in case it fell through at the last minute. Which it had.

The butler gave her a friendly smile as he opened the door. ‘Good morning, Miss Ward. I’ll show you straight upstairs.’

This time Connah Carey Jones was waiting at the open study door to greet her.

‘Thank you for coming again at short notice.’ He led her to the chair in front of the desk. ‘To get straight to the point, your credentials tick all the boxes, Miss Ward. I notice you even live here in town.’

‘Yes. Though it’s actually my stepfather’s house.’

His eyes sharpened. ‘You don’t feel welcome there?’

She shook her head. ‘On the contrary, Robert couldn’t be kinder.’

When his phone rang he glanced at it, then, with a word of apology, left the room. Hester’s tension mounted as she waited for him to come back. It looked as though the job was hers. But first she had to tell him that they’d met before. He obviously didn’t remember her. No surprise there. He’d been so worried about his lady at the time he’d had no attention to spare for a chubby teenager with heavy eye make-up and yards of blonde corkscrew curls. She was ten years older now, twenty pounds lighter, and her smooth coiled hair and discreet cosmetics were more in keeping with her job.

Connah Carey Jones came back into the room shortly afterwards and sat behind the desk. ‘John has checked your references, Miss Ward, and has also run a security check on your background—’

‘Before you go on,’ she said, bracing herself, ‘I must tell you that we’ve already met.’

He sat back in his chair, nodding slowly as he trained his eyes on her face. ‘I thought you looked familiar, but I couldn’t pinpoint why.’

‘Until I saw you yesterday,’ she said quickly, ‘I didn’t know we’d met before. I’d read about you in the press, but I’d never seen a photograph—’

‘Because I make very sure I keep out of the limelight,’ he assured her. ‘I’m not a social animal, so where exactly did we meet, Miss Ward?’

‘You came knocking on the door of our B & B one night, looking for accommodation.’

He stared at her, arrested. ‘That was your home?’

‘Yes. We were supposed to be closed, but it was snowing, so my mother hadn’t the heart to turn you away.’

‘And I thanked God for it. I’ve never forgotten her kindness.’ He frowned. ‘But I’m afraid I don’t remember you.’

‘I was the one who brought your trays up.’

‘The teenager with yards of hair?’ He smiled, surprised. ‘You look very different now.’

‘Ten years is a long time,’ she said wryly.

‘It is indeed.’ He looked at her in silence for a moment. ‘Right. Let’s get down to brass tacks, Miss Ward. You and your mother were so kind I’m only too glad to return the favour in some small way. If you want this job, it’s yours.’

She smiled warmly. ‘Thank you. I promise to take good care of your daughter.’

‘Good. Talking of Lowri, you need some details about her.’ He looked at his watch. ‘Let me give you some lunch while I put you in the picture.’

The meal was served under a vine-covered pergola overlooking a suntrap patio garden at the back of the house.

‘May I give you some wine?’ asked Connah.

‘Thank you. I’m walking today; my car’s in for service.’

‘You won’t need your own car while you’re here,’ he informed her as he filled glasses. ‘Sam Cooper will drive you wherever you need to go. His official job description is butler, but he’s a great deal more than that. While Lowri is here with me, his priority is security.’

Hester eyed him, startled. ‘You’re afraid of kidnap?’

‘Afraid isn’t the exact term. Let’s say I keep a constant guard against the possibility.’

‘Does Lowri know this?’

‘No.’ The handsome face set in grim lines. ‘Nor, if humanly possible, do I intend her to find out.’

‘But how do you manage when she’s at school?’

‘I chose one with security as one of its top priorities.’

‘But she had a nanny up to that point?’

He nodded. ‘Her mother died when she was born, and my mother brought her up with the help of a girl from the village. When Lowri went away to school Alice stayed on to help my mother for a while, but she got married recently; hence the problem for the school holiday. My mother’s recovering from heart surgery and can’t take care of Lowri this time.’

Hester looked thoughtful as she helped herself to salad. ‘Does Lowri like boarding school?’

‘She took to it like a duck to water, thank God. Now,’ he added briskly, ‘down to business.’

Connah Carey Jones made his requirements very plain. Without letting his daughter feel she was being watched every minute of the day, Lowri’s safety was to be Hester’s main concern.

‘Sam will drive you to the park, or into town for shopping. This last, by the way, is urgent. Lowri needs new clothes. She’s growing rapidly, particularly her feet. But you can leave school shoes until the end of the holiday,’ he added, with an unexpected touch of economy.

‘I shall do my best for her,’ she assured him.

He nodded briskly. ‘I feel sure you will, Miss Ward. In this household, by the way, we’re all on first name terms. Are you happy with that?’

‘Of course.’

‘Good.’ He smiled briefly. ‘I hope you enjoy your stay with us. Feel free to ask me for anything you need.’ He looked up as Sam appeared with a coffee tray. ‘Hester has agreed to work with us during Lowri’s school holiday, Sam. I’ve put your many and varied services at her disposal.’

‘Right you are.’ Sam gave Hester a friendly smile and set the tray down in front of her. ‘I live in the basement flat, so I’m always on hand.’

‘Thank you.’ Hester smiled at him warmly. ‘I’ll depend on you to show me the ropes.’

‘You can run Hester home later, Sam,’ said Connah. ‘I’ll give you a call when she’s ready.’ He leaned back, relaxed, as Hester dealt with the coffee. ‘This is pleasant. I should eat out here more often.’

‘Does Lowri share your evening meal, or should I make supper earlier for her?’

‘When I’m home we eat together, to make the most of each other’s company. But I’ll let you know in good time if I can’t make it.’

‘Thank you.’ She smiled. ‘It would also help if you could give me an idea of Lowri’s tastes. At her age I was a bit picky.’

He shrugged. ‘Lowri will coax for fast food because the school doesn’t allow it. Indulge her now and again as a treat, but otherwise just make sure she keeps to a balanced diet. Sam normally shops online, but Lowri might enjoy looking round a supermarket. Choose what you want, pay in cash, and Sam will carry the bags. And right now he’ll give you a tour of the house before you leave.’ Connah downed his coffee and got up. ‘I collect Lowri on Friday, Hester. Are you free to start on Monday morning?’

‘Yes. What time shall I come?’

‘About eight-thirty. Unfortunately I need to be in London afterwards for a day or two so I’m throwing you in at the deep end. But Sam has my contact numbers.’

‘Mr Carey Jones—’

‘Connah,’ he reminded her.

‘I just wanted to ask after your mother.’

‘She had a triple heart bypass and her convalescence is worryingly slow. When I fetch Lowri we’ll spend time with her before coming back here.’ He glanced at his watch and collected his jacket. ‘I must be off.’

‘Thank you for lunch,’ said Hester, as they went back into the house.

‘My pleasure.’ He beckoned as Sam appeared. ‘Show Hester round, then drive her wherever she wants to go. I’ll see you on Monday, Hester. All right, John,’ he said, resigned, as his assistant opened the study door. ‘Put your whip away, I’m coming.’

‘If you’re ready, Hester, we’ll start at the bottom with my quarters and work up,’ Sam suggested.

She followed him down a short flight of stairs to a compact, orderly basement flat. His sitting room doubled as an office, with electronic equipment to screen visitors, and the control panels of a very complicated alarm system.

‘Connah’s very hot on security,’ he explained.

‘So I gather. Have you worked for him long?’

‘Since I left the military. The lower stairs lead to a cellar Connah converted into a double garage,’ Sam added as he led her up to the ground floor into a kitchen with tall sash windows and a door that opened on to the back patio. ‘My quarters used to be the kitchen and scullery, and this was the original dining room,’ he explained. ‘The old butler’s pantry leads off it—very handy for the freezer and washing machine and so on.’

‘Very nice indeed,’ she commented. The large kitchen was fitted with every modern appliance possible, including a state-of-the-art electric range. ‘You’ll have to give me a teach-in on that before I start producing meals.’

Sam chuckled. ‘If I get a share in the result sometimes, no problem. I’m a dab hand with a potato peeler.’

‘I’ll remember that!’ They went up to the next floor and passed by the closed study door to enter a drawing room furnished with the emphasis on comfort and lit by the multi-paned windows typical of Regency architecture. The adjoining dining room was more formal and painted an authentic shade of pale green Hester found cold. The master bedroom on the next floor was part of a suite with a bathroom, dressing room and guest room, Sam informed Hester as they passed by on the way to the top floor.

‘You’re up here, next to Lowri,’ he said, leading the way to two adjoining bedrooms, each with a small bathroom and a view over the trees in the square to the hills encircling the town. ‘You wouldn’t think so now, but these were the attics at one time. Suit you all right?’ added Sam.

Hester nodded, impressed. ‘But how is it so cool up here on a hot day like this?’

‘Air-conditioning.’

Sam’s phone rang as they went downstairs. ‘Right you are, Connah. Coming down now. He wants to see you again before you go, Hester,’ he added.

Connah looked up as she put her head round the study door. ‘Come in and sit down. Is your room satisfactory?’

‘Very much so.’

‘Good.’ He consulted a list. ‘Next on the agenda, time off. You’re free to go out some evenings when I’m home, Sundays are your own, also the occasional Saturday from noon onwards. You’ll have to ring the doorbell to gain entry, but Sam will either be with you or waiting for you, so it’s not a problem.’ He paused, as though gauging her reaction. ‘Or is it?’

‘Of course not,’ said Hester, though it was, a little. ‘Otherwise I’d need the code for your impressive security system.’

‘Other than myself, only Sam knows that.’

‘Not even Mr Austin?’

‘No. John’s London based so he isn’t here very much, but when he is he rings the bell.’ He paused, giving her a very direct look. ‘One last point. In your application you say you’re single but precisely how single are you?’

Hester felt her hackles rise as she met the intent dark eyes. ‘For the time being, totally. There’s no danger of gentleman callers, Mr Carey Jones.’

CHAPTER TWO

‘I’VE been pronounced fit to take care of Connah Carey Jones’s ewe lamb, but not to drive her anywhere myself, nor to be trusted with a key to the house,’ Hester announced when she got home. ‘Security is a religion with the man. If that’s what it means to have loads of money, I’ll pass.’

‘You can’t blame him for wanting to keep his child safe,’ said her mother, and shook her head in wonder. ‘I’m still amazed that he’s the man who turned up on our doorstep in the snow all those years ago. You were very taken with him at the time!’

‘You must have been too, to volunteer full board for a few days,’ Hester retorted.

‘I liked him, yes,’ said Moira, and smiled wickedly. ‘But I wasn’t moonstruck like you, darling.’

‘I’ve been reading up on him,’ said Robert, the peacemaker. ‘He’s one of the new hedge fund breed. He made a packet with an asset management firm he set up with a partner, but eventually sold off his share in the firm to “pursue other interests”, but these weren’t specified.’

Hester nodded. ‘I heard that much from Angus Duff, my journalist chum. Of course I didn’t know if the CC Jones he researched was our man, but I somehow had this gut feeling that he might be.’

Moira eyed her narrowly. ‘Was that why you were so keen to apply?’

‘Of course not. I replied to a box number. It was only when John Austin told me the name of his employer that I had this wild idea that Mr CC Jones might just possibly be our mystery man. But even then my only reason for applying was to earn some extra money before I go to the Rutherfords in October.’ Hester smiled in satisfaction. ‘While I’m living in Albany Square I’ll spend very little, which will do wonders for my rainy day fund.’

‘How about time off?’ asked Robert.

‘Every Sunday, the occasional Saturday, and some evenings when the big white chief is at home.’

‘You sound as though you’re not so enamoured with him this time round,’ said her mother.

‘His looks still pack the same punch for me, I admit, but I was rather put off when I found he wasn’t willing to trust me with a key to the house,’ said Hester tartly. ‘He also got a bit personal about my social life.’

‘Understandable, with someone as attractive as you,’ said Robert.

She smiled at him affectionately. ‘But I assured him there would be no gentleman callers—’

‘Surely you didn’t say that!’ exclaimed Moira, rolling her eyes. ‘You’re not an Edwardian parlourmaid, girl!’

‘For a moment he made me feel like one,’ admitted Hester, eyes kindling.

‘What’s he like?’ asked Robert curiously.

‘Tall, dark and formidable, with hard black eyes that pin you down.’

‘Are you sure you want to work for him?’ demanded Moira.

‘Don’t worry, Mother, I’m sure I can play Jane Eyre to his Rochester for six weeks, whether I like him or not,’ Hester assured her, then grinned. ‘And I know he doesn’t have a mad wife in the attic because that’s where I sleep.’

Robert drove Hester to the house in Albany Square just before eight thirty on her first day and not only insisted on carrying her luggage up the steps to the front door, but on waiting with her until Sam Cooper appeared.

‘Good morning, Sam,’ said Hester, smiling. ‘This is my stepfather, Robert Marshall.’

Sam held out a hand to Robert. ‘Sam Cooper, sir.’

Robert gave him a straight look as he took it, then smiled, obviously satisfied with what he saw. ‘Glad to meet you. I’m sure I leave Hester in good hands.’ He kissed her, reminded her to ring her mother later, and went back down to the car, waving as he drove off.

‘Your stepdad’s obviously fond of you,’ commented Sam as he took the suitcases inside.

‘He is, luckily for me,’ said Hester affectionately. ‘He’s never had children of his own and tends to be protective where I’m concerned.’

Sam nodded in approval. ‘Sounds like a good relationship. I’ll just take this lot up to your room. Connah and Lowri stayed with Connah’s mother over the weekend and they’re not back yet, so you’ve got time to settle in before they arrive for lunch.’

‘Talking of lunch, will you put this in the refrigerator for me?’ Hester handed him a package. ‘Or am I required to cook something hot?’

‘Just soup and sandwiches, and Connah told me to stock you up for a cold meal tonight for supper.’ Sam grinned. ‘No need for a frontal assault on the cooker until tomorrow.’

‘That’s a relief! I brought a cold roast chicken just in case, but I can use some of that for sandwiches. After I’ve unpacked will you show me where everything’s kept?’

‘I’ll give you a guided tour through the cupboards later,’ promised Sam, and took her luggage upstairs.

Hester followed him, relieved that Sam Cooper seemed to like her. She unpacked rapidly and put her belongings away, then went downstairs to the kitchen. With Sam’s guidance, she explored the cupboards and found them well stocked with everything she could possibly need.

‘Has Connah lived here long?’ she asked.

‘No. The house was only finished properly a few weeks before we moved in. There was a hell of a lot to do. It dates from about eighteen-hundred and because it’s a listed building it couldn’t be hurried. Connah’s main place is a penthouse flat in London but he’s got business interests in this area, so when this house came on the market he snapped it up. Tomato is Lowri’s favourite,’ he added, as Hester surveyed the ranks of soup tins.

‘Thank you. By the way, were there many other applicants for my job?’

‘Three.’

But Connah had chosen her.

Sam answered her question before she asked it. ‘Apparently the others were older and obviously set in their ways. Connah wanted a companion for Lowri, not a starchy, no-nonsense nanny.’

Hester began making sandwiches with the speed and efficiency of long practice. ‘But officially I’m a housekeeper, not a nanny, remember.’

‘Lowri will be glad of someone your age for company, whatever the job description,’ Sam assured her. ‘Normally she spends the holidays with her grandma at Bryn Derwen, but now Alice is married it’s lonely there for her.’ He munched appreciatively. ‘These are first class.’

‘I hope I haven’t made them too soon.’

He shook his head. ‘Connah said midday, so that’s when he’ll be here—’ He broke off as his phone rang. ‘Told you,’ he said, checking the caller ID. ‘Yes, Boss.’ After a brief exchange, he disconnected. ‘ETA twelve noon, Hester, and Lowri wants lunch in the garden. I’ll help you take it out.’

Feeling far more nervous than before her interview with Connah, Hester put the soup to heat and prepared a tray.

‘Lay for three,’ said Sam. ‘Connah expects you to join them for lunch.’

‘Oh, right.’ Hester hastily added a third setting. ‘What does Lowri drink?’

‘Fizzy stuff if allowed, milk or juice if not.’

‘There wasn’t time to make a pudding. Will ice cream do? Or fruit, maybe?’

Sam smiled reassuringly. ‘Ask when you see her. Don’t worry, Hester. She’s a nice kid.’

Lowri’s resemblance to her father was only slight. She showed promise of height like Connah’s and her mouth was a smaller version of his, but her long straight hair was shades lighter and her eyes a striking cornflower blue.

‘Hello,’ she said, holding out her hand politely.

Hester took the hand. ‘Nice to meet you.’

The bright eyes regarded Hester with frank curiosity. ‘Daddy says you’re going to look after us during the holidays. I thought you’d be like Mrs Powell, Grandma’s housekeeper, but you’re really young.’

Connah gave his daughter a warning look. ‘Mind your manners, young lady. Remember what Grandma said. We must make Hester’s stay here as pleasant as possible.’

‘And I have to behave myself,’ said Lowri, resigned, and gave him a smile so brimming with mischief that he laughed and gave her a hug.

‘Hard work, I know, but you can do it.’

‘Of course I can,’ she said loftily, and beamed at Sam as he came into the kitchen. ‘Did you bring my rucksack from the car?’

‘It’s in your room with the rest of your stuff.’

‘Thanks, Sam.’ She looked at Hester hopefully. ‘I’m starving. Is it time for lunch soon?’

‘Right away. Sam’s already taken the tray into the garden, so if you go ahead I’ll bring the food out.’

‘You’ll join us, of course,’ said Connah courteously.

‘Thank you.’ Hester poured hot soup into a thermal jug, took the covered platter of sandwiches from the refrigerator and followed him into the garden.

Lowri polished off a bowl of soup with relish, despite the heat of the day, but Connah kept to sandwiches.

‘Excellent chicken,’ he commented. ‘From the local delicatessen?’

Hester shook her head. ‘I cooked it at home alongside my mother’s Sunday roast. I wasn’t sure what would be required for lunch today, so I made sure I had something ready.’

‘You must let me reimburse you,’ said Connah promptly.

‘If you wish.’ Hester smiled at Lowri. ‘I asked Sam what you liked, so I put cheese and crispy bacon bits in some and just plain old ham in others. You can tell me what else you like as we go along.’

Lowri nodded, downing a sandwich at top speed. ‘Yummy,’ she said indistinctly, then shot a sparkling look at Hester. ‘Though almost anything would be after school food.’

‘Try the chicken, cariad,’ advised Connah.

She made a face. ‘They do that a lot in school.’

‘Not like this,’ he assured her, and with a martyred look Lowri took a minuscule bite.

Hester felt absurdly gratified when the blue eyes lit up.

‘Wow! This is nothing like rubber school chicken. I love the stuffing.’

‘How is your grandma?’ asked Hester.

The blue eyes shadowed. ‘She was very tired.’

‘But getting stronger slowly,’ Connah assured her.

Lowri gave her father a worried look. ‘She doesn’t look stronger. I didn’t know she needed a nurse to look after her.’

‘I insisted on hiring one for a while. At Grandma’s age it takes time to get over surgery,’ he told her. ‘Don’t worry. She’ll soon pick up now she’s beginning to eat normally again.’

‘I hope so. Will she be well enough for us to have Christmas at Bryn Derwen?’

‘Good Lord, yes.’ He ruffled her hair. ‘There’s an entire term at school to get through before then.’

Lowri smiled as Sam approached with a coffee tray and a jug of orange juice. ‘Is that for me?’

‘Yes. Have you finished your lunch?’ he demanded.

She smiled smugly at the empty platter. ‘Every crumb.’

‘No sarnies left for me?’ he teased, then relented as she looked stricken. ‘Only joking, pet. I ate mine before you arrived.’

‘Did you have some with chicken?’ she asked eagerly.

‘I certainly did.’ Sam put the tray down and bowed in Hester’s direction. ‘Best I’ve ever tasted.’

Connah finished his coffee and got up to follow Sam into the house. ‘Thank you for lunch, Hester. Be good, Lowri; I’ll see you ladies at dinner.’

Lowri heaved a sigh as she watched him go. ‘Daddy’s always so busy,’ she said disconsolately. ‘And he’s got to go to London tomorrow. He said it’s urgent or he wouldn’t.’

‘We’ll have to think of things to do while he’s away,’ said Hester, pouring more juice.

‘Thank you.’ Lowri drank some of it, eyeing Hester over the glass. ‘But won’t you be too busy housekeeping?’

‘No,’ said Hester firmly. ‘With Sam’s help, it won’t take long. The rest of the time I’ll spend with you.’

Lowri gave her a very adult look. ‘Will you tell me the truth?’

Help, thought Hester. ‘I’ll try. What do you want to know?’

‘Are you really a housekeeper, and not some kind of nanny?’

‘Hey, do I look like Mary Poppins?’ Hester demanded, resorting to indignation to avoid a direct lie.

‘No. But you don’t look like a housekeeper either.’ Lowri giggled, then sighed gustily. ‘Anyway, Mary Poppins had two children to look after, and I’m only one. I’d just love to have a baby sister—even a baby brother would do.’

‘Maybe that will happen one day.’

‘I don’t think so,’ Lowri said forlornly, then brightened. ‘But I’ve made lots of friends in school.’

‘That’s good. Your father says you really like it there.’

‘I don’t like all the lessons, but otherwise it’s great. Some girls get homesick, but I don’t.’

Because you don’t have a mother, thought Hester with compassion. ‘Right, I must get these things indoors. Would you carry the jug, please?’

Once the kitchen was tidy, Hester said it was time to unpack.

Lowri made a face. ‘The trunk will be a mess. I’m rubbish at packing.’

‘Then let’s attack it right away. You can tell me where to put everything.’

‘I don’t really know. I’ve only been here once, and that wasn’t to sleep,’ said Lowri. ‘I usually go back to Grandma’s for school holidays, but last half-term I went to stay with Chloe Martin. It was brilliant. She’s got two brothers and a little sister and her mother’s very nice.’

‘Is her father nice too?’ asked Hester as they went upstairs together.

‘Oh, yes, but I didn’t see him much. He’s in the police. A deputy something.’

No wonder Lowri was allowed to stay there. ‘Deputy Chief Constable?’

‘That’s right.’ The child scowled at the trunk beside her bed. ‘I just hate this part.’ She looked guilty as Hester raised the lid. ‘I’ve got some clean things in my backpack, but it’s all got a bit jumbled in here.’ She sighed. ‘If you were Mary Poppins you could make everything fly into the drawers.’

‘Since I’m not, you can hang the things up from your backpack and I’ll take this lot down to be washed. Your blazer and skirt must go to the dry cleaners.’ Hester cast an assessing eye at the tall, slender child. ‘But I think you need new ones. You’ve grown out of these.’

‘Yes!’ Lowri punched the air in triumph. ‘How soon can we go shopping? I want new jeans, lots of tops, trainers, a miniskirt like Chloe’s—’

‘Hold on,’ said Hester, laughing. ‘I need a chat with your father first.’

Hester loaded the washing machine then suggested they take a stroll in Victoria Park, but, with Connah’s instructions fresh in her mind, she asked Sam to drive them there.

‘I’ll wait here, Hester,’ he said as he parked near the entrance gates. He took a paperback thriller from the glove compartment. ‘I’m well prepared.’

‘Are you sure about this, Sam?’ asked Hester.

‘If you mean is it OK with the boss, yes. Just press my button and I’ll come after you at the double if you need me. Not,’ he added, looking round the peaceful, sunlit park, ‘that I think you will.’

‘I don’t either.’ She smiled wryly. ‘But I’d rather not break any rules on my first day.’

Hester’s previous charges had all been toddlers with limited conversation and it was a refreshing change to listen to Lowri talk about her friends in school and the boy from the farm near her grandmother’s home.

‘I used to go there to buy eggs with Alice—she was my nanny when I was little. Owen’s twelve, but he’s only a bit taller than me,’ she said with satisfaction. ‘He’s nice. He helps on the farm after school and his father pays him wages. I just get pocket money.’ Lowri looked at Hester hopefully. ‘I’ve got some left. I could treat you to an ice cream from the park café. May I?’

‘I don’t see why not. I’ll have a vanilla cone, please.’

Lowri’s long legs covered the short distance to the café at top speed.

‘Thank you,’ said Hester, accepting her ice cream. ‘Do you want to walk or sit while we eat these?’

‘Walk, please!’ Lowri cast Hester a glance as she licked. ‘Do you live here in the town?’

‘When I’m not working in other people’s houses, yes. I have a flat all to myself at my stepfather’s home.’

‘One of my friends has a stepfather and she doesn’t like him.’

‘How sad for her! I’m lucky. Robert’s a darling. He had my flat redecorated just for me. If your father agrees,’ Hester added, ‘I could take you to see it one day, if you like.’

Lowri’s eyes widened. ‘Go to your house? Could I?’

‘We’ll ask your father this evening. If he gives permission, I’ll get my mother to make cakes. She’s a great cook.’

‘I hope Daddy says yes,’ said Lowri wistfully. ‘I never go to other people’s houses, except to play with Owen sometimes.’

‘You stayed with your friend Chloe,’ Hester reminded her.

‘Only because Grandma was too ill to have me for half-term.’

As they strolled back to the car, Hester hoped she hadn’t raised hopes that Connah Carey Jones would dash. But he’d not only met her mother, he had good reason to be grateful to her. His daughter would come to no harm in the Marshall household.

As soon as they got back, Hester provided Lowri with milk and biscuits, then took a tea tray up to the study.

Connah looked up at her in surprise. ‘Hester! Sam could have done this.’

‘I’m supposed to be the housekeeper,’ she reminded him. ‘Lowri chose the biscuits, so please eat one or two.’

He stared down at the plate, bemused. ‘Oh. Right. Thank you.’

‘If you can spare a few minutes, I’d like to talk to you later,’ she informed him.

‘Problems?’ he said sharply.

‘None at all, so far. But I need instructions. You’re obviously busy right now, so perhaps you’ll let me know when it’s convenient.’ She smiled politely and went from the room, closing the door behind her.

She found Lowri glued to a cooking programme on the kitchen television, and Sam got up to go, eyeing Hester with something like diffidence. ‘I eat my dinner downstairs on my own in peace, by the way.’

‘Then I’ll make a plate up for you. Any dislikes?’

‘You serve it, I’ll eat it,’ he assured her. ‘Thanks, that would be great, Hester. Connah eats at seven when Lowri’s with him, so I’ll collect mine a few minutes beforehand, if that suits.’

‘Of course. I’ll ring down when it’s ready.’

Lowri tore her eyes away from the television when he’d gone. ‘This programme’s making me hungry.’

‘Then let’s see what’s on the menu for dinner,’ said Hester and went off to the giant refrigerator to find that Sam had ordered every conceivable kind of food necessary to serve a cold supper.

‘Can we have more of your chicken?’ said Lowri eagerly.

‘We certainly can. I’ll lay the dining room table.’

‘Can’t we eat here?’

Hester shook her head. ‘I’m sure your father would prefer the dining room.’ At least she hoped he would, then, like Sam, she could relax with her own meal in peace.

‘I’ll ask him!’ Lowri shot out of the room before Hester could stop her and went running from the kitchen to make for the study.

Hester thought about following her to apologise, then shrugged. If Connah disapproved he could tell her in private later. She collected some potatoes and had scraped several by the time Lowri came back, tongue between her teeth as she concentrated on the tray she was carrying.

‘Daddy said he only uses the dining room for visitors, and would you please put supper in here for the three of us.’

So that was another question answered. ‘Thank you, Lowri. And before we eat we must have a bath and change our clothes.’ Sometimes one just had to be nanny. ‘But first I’ll finish these potatoes, then wash some salad greens and boil some eggs. I’ll show you how to devil them, if you like.’

Lowri nodded eagerly. ‘Chloe’s mother let us help her in the kitchen and make scones and things, but Mrs Powell does Grandma’s cooking and she hates mess, so I don’t go in the kitchen much in Bryn Derwen.’

‘We’ll do some baking some time, if you like,’ offered Hester. ‘And if you make a mess, you clean it up. Deal?’

‘Deal!’ said Lowri, beaming.

Sam had departed, with grateful thanks for his appetising meal, and Hester was decanting buttered, herb-scattered potatoes into a serving dish when Connah came into the kitchen in jeans and open-necked shirt, his hair still damp from a shower. And looked so much more like the man who’d taken her breath ten years ago that Hester’s pulse went into overdrive as the scent of warm, clean male skin stood every hormone she possessed to attention.

‘You look nice, Daddy,’ said Lowri, running to him.

‘Thank you, cariad, so do you.’ He gave her a hug, smiling at Hester over the shining dark head of his child. ‘Good evening.’ He cast an eye over the dishes on the table. ‘Tempting display.’

Get a grip, she ordered herself fiercely. ‘Thank you. Lowri helped prepare it.’ She smiled as the child launched into the list of things she’d done for the meal, including laying the table and devilling the eggs.

‘You mash the yolks with butter and pepper sauce, Daddy,’ she informed him. ‘They’re yummy.’

‘I’m sure they are. And such a splendid feast deserves some wine,’ Connah told her. ‘Would you fetch three wineglasses from the cupboard over there? You can have lemonade in yours, and Hester and I will drink some New Zealand white.’

She certainly knew exactly where she stood with Connah Carey Jones, thought Hester as they sat down to the meal. But thank God he had no idea that she’d ever carried a torch for him—and still did, heaven help her.

‘Hester said I can do some baking with her some time,’ said Lowri, as she helped herself to potatoes.

‘Brave Hester,’ her father said dryly.

‘Oh, it’s all right, Daddy,’ Lowri assured him. ‘If I make a mess, Hester said I just clear it up afterwards.’

Connah smiled across at Hester with respect. ‘An excellent policy.’

Lowri chattered nineteen to the dozen while they ate, but even so Hester found it hard to relax in the company of her new employer, who might still have the same effect on her hormones, but was nevertheless very different from the man she’d romanticised in her teenage dreams. However courteous and polite he might be, these days there was a remote, untouchable quality about Connah Carey Jones that only warmed when he was interacting with his daughter. As a result, Hester ate sparingly and, though she enjoyed the intense fruit flavour of the wine, refused a second glass when Connah offered it, and could see he approved.

‘Tomorrow I’ll make a pudding,’ she said, as she began clearing away their empty plates. ‘But tonight it’s a choice of fruit or cheese.’

‘I think Lowri’s full, for once in her life,’ said Connah, ‘and I’ll forgo the cheese in favour of coffee.’

‘Certainly. I’ll bring a tray up to you.’

‘Better still, I’ll wait while you make the coffee, then take it up myself,’ said Connah firmly.

Hester thanked him and switched on the coffee-maker, glad that it was a make she was familiar with, since she had an audience for the process.

‘When the coffee’s ready, Lowri, we’ll leave Hester in peace for a while,’ said Connah. ‘How about a game of chess?’

She nodded fervently. ‘Can you play chess, Hester?’

‘I can, but sadly I’m out of practice.’ She turned to smile at the child. ‘You can bring me up to speed on a rainy day some time.’

‘Incidentally, Hester,’ said Connah, ‘I like Lowri to be in bed by nine normally, but she can have an extension tonight. Put a glass of milk on the tray, then she’ll be ready for bed when you come to fetch her.’

‘Hester made me drink milk at teatime. Do I have to drink it again?’ complained Lowri.

He ruffled her hair. ‘Yes, you do.’

Hester heaved a sigh of relief when they’d gone, envying Sam his solitary dinner. It was a draining experience to spend time in Connah’s company without betraying by the flicker of an eyelash how much it affected her. She glanced at the clock, found she had almost an hour’s grace, and got to work. When the kitchen was tidy, Hester went up to her room to make repairs to her face, then sat down in the buttoned velvet armchair by the window to do absolutely nothing for a few minutes, well aware that at seventeen she would have been on cloud nine at the mere thought of living in the same house as the man of her dreams. Especially a house like this one. Neither of her previous jobs had provided her with such appealing private quarters.

Unlike Lowri’s, which had pink flowers trailing down the wallpaper and a hammock suspended over the bed to house the soft toys she’d brought with her, Hester’s room had cinnamon walls and carpet and white curtains and bedcover, all of it brand-new, including a writing desk and a combination television and DVD player. Everything was bound to be new, of course, if the house had only just been redecorated, or restored, or whatever. Doing up a listed house of this age had to be a huge undertaking. At the mere thought of the permits required, Hester yawned widely, wishing she could just crawl into the tempting brass bed. With a sigh, she got up, tucked her white shirt into her narrow black skirt, then went downstairs to knock on the study door.

Lowri opened it, smiling all over her face. ‘I’m beating Daddy,’ she said with triumph, pulling Hester over to the desk.

Connah looked up from the chessboard with a wry smile. ‘You’ve snatched me from the jaws of defeat, Hester.’

‘You haven’t lost yet,’ Lowri comforted him. ‘We can go on with the game when you get back and maybe you’ll win in the end.’

She obviously thought this so unlikely that Connah laughed. ‘Off to bed with you, champ. Give me a kiss.’

Lowri threw her arms round his neck and he pulled her on to his knee to kiss her.

‘Goodnight, Daddy.’

‘Goodnight, cariad, sleep well.’ He stood up and set her on her feet. ‘I’ll be off early in the morning, Hester, so if you need to speak to me, see Lowri settled then come back down.’

CHAPTER THREE

WHEN Hester went downstairs again Connah motioned her to one of the sofas facing each other across the fireplace.

‘Did Lowri settle down happily?’

‘Yes. She was tired enough to welcome going to bed.’

‘It’s been a long day for her,’ agreed Connah and sat opposite, eyeing her closely. ‘So, Hester, Lowri seems to have taken to you. Do you think you’ll enjoy spending time with her?’

‘I will, very much. She’s a delightful child—remarkably adult in some ways, yet still a little girl in others.’ Hester smiled. ‘Up to now I’ve worked with under-fives, so it’s quite a revelation to be with someone of Lowri’s age. There was one sticky moment, though,’ she added. ‘She asked me point-blank if I was a nanny.’

He raised an eyebrow. ‘And how did you answer?’

‘To avoid the direct lie, I asked—very indignantly—if I looked like Mary Poppins.’ Hester gave him a straight look. ‘But if she brings it up again I prefer not to lie.’

‘She probably won’t. It’s just that Alice—her former nanny—was never required to cook meals.’ He paused. ‘Thank you again for dinner. I normally eat out or have it sent in. But I don’t expect you to cook for all of us on a regular basis.’

‘I have no problem with that. I like cooking. I’m no cordon bleu chef, but my mother’s a very good cook and taught me well. And Lowri likes helping in the kitchen so it’s a good way of keeping her occupied.’

‘And will do her in good stead when she has to fend for herself one day. Thank you, Hester. I’ll adjust your salary, of course.’ He eyed her expectantly. ‘So what did you want to talk about?’

‘First on the list, clothes. Before I take Lowri shopping, I need a clear idea of what you want—and don’t want—for her.’

Connah looked taken aback. ‘I thought you’d know more about that than me.’

Hester smiled. ‘For starters, she wants jeans, tops and trainers and—I warn you—a miniskirt like Chloe’s.’

He laughed. ‘Then buy her one. She’ll look cute in it.’ He gave her an impersonal, assessing look. ‘Judging by your taste in clothes, she’s in good hands.’

Hester felt a warm sensation inside at his comment on her appearance. ‘Thank you. The list is pretty extensive. When I unpacked her trunk I found that Lowri’s outgrown practically everything, including her uniform.’

Connah got up to go over to the desk. ‘I order that through the school. I’ll give you the number and you can get on to that right away. They add it to the bill for fees.’ He came back with a thick roll of notes. ‘For shopping here in town I’d rather you used cash, Hester.’

‘As you wish. I’ll keep a list of what I spend.’ She paused. ‘Talking of clothes, I dressed soberly today, for obvious reasons. But for walks and picnics and so on I’d be more comfortable in something casual, if you’re happy with that.’

‘Wear what you like,’ he said, surprised. ‘In fact, the less you dress like a nanny the better.’

‘Thank you.’ She looked at him in appeal. ‘Now I have a favour to ask. Could I have your permission to take Lowri home to see my mother one day? When I broached the subject, Lowri was very enthusiastic.’

For a moment Hester was sure that he was going to refuse point-blank. Then he smiled wearily. ‘I must seem like an ogre to you, keeping my child shut away from the world.’

‘I’m sure you have good reason.’

‘I do. But Lowri would enjoy a visit to your home. I remember your mother very well.’ His eyes softened. ‘Is she up to entertaining a lively ten-year-old?’

‘She’ll just love it. So will Robert, my stepfather. You can check with Sam about him, if you like. They met when Robert insisted on delivering me here this morning.’

‘I already have. Your family was cleared when John ran the security check on you.’ Connah got up to cross to a drinks tray. ‘Have a nightcap before you go up, Hester.’

‘I won’t, thank you.’ She got up, battening down her resentment. ‘I’ll look in on Lowri, then take myself to bed.’

‘In that case, I’ll say goodnight.’ He walked with her to the door. ‘I won’t see you in the morning, but if you need to speak to me at any time while I’m away, Sam will know where to find me.’

‘Thank you. Goodnight.’

‘Goodnight, Hester.’

She forced herself to walk slowly upstairs instead of running up to burn off some of her annoyance. Connah Carey Jones might be paying her well for her services but he was getting good value for every penny. She was an experienced, highly qualified nanny, who could also cook and keep house. And, as the icing on the cake, her family had unknowingly passed John Austin’s security check with flying colours. It was the unknowing part that really hacked her off, no matter what her hormones felt about him.

Lowri was fast asleep. Hester drew the covers higher and went to her own room to ring her mother to report on her first day in the Carey Jones household. Moira was full of eager questions, which Hester answered in detail before mentioning the proposed visit with Lowri. This received such an enthusiastic response that Hester promised to bring the child round for tea as soon as possible.

‘We’ve got some shopping to do first, Ma. Lowri needs clothes, and I must have a session at the supermarket.’

‘Come on Wednesday afternoon, then. I’ll bake.’

‘I told Lowri you would!’

Hester woke next morning at six as usual, and got up to shower before Lowri surfaced. Leaving the sleeping child to the luxury of a lie-in, Hester went silently downstairs to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea, and almost turned tail and went out again when she found Connah there before her, drinking coffee, dressed ready to leave and looking so much the embodiment of every dream she’d ever had that Hester was struck dumb for a moment.

‘Good morning, Hester,’ he said, surprised. ‘You’re an early riser.’

She pulled herself together, irritated by the effect he had on her. It was too much to cope with at this time of day. ‘Good morning. Babies and toddlers wake early, so it’s a habit I can’t break. Lowri is still asleep, so I left her in peace for a while.’

He gave her one of his piercingly direct looks. ‘Actually I’m pleased to have caught you before leaving. Last night I could tell that you were unhappy about having your family investigated, Hester, but where Lowri is concerned you must appreciate that I can’t take risks.’

‘And now you know that my stepfather is a recently retired headmaster and my mother the daughter of a clergyman, you’ll be happy to leave Lowri in my care,’ she said without inflection, and moved past him to fill the kettle.

‘From your point of view, I was sure of that the moment I saw you with John at the Chesterton,’ he said, surprising her.

She swung round in surprise. ‘You were there when he interviewed me?’

‘Beforehand, not during. I sat outside in the lounge behind a newspaper.’ He shrugged. ‘I was beginning to despair by the time you arrived. The other three might have been suitable carers for small babies, I suppose, but much too old to be a companion for Lowri.’

‘So my age was your main reason for employing me?’

‘It was part of it, yes.’ He gave her a sudden disarming smile. ‘But watching you talk to John as he saw you out, I knew Lowri would take to you. And, to be candid, I’m sure the others would have marched off in high dudgeon if asked to pose as my housekeeper.’

‘But you thought I’d take it in my stride?’

‘I think you take most things in your stride, Hester.’

She smiled a little. ‘After years of looking after other people’s children, I should have the knack by now.’

Connah smiled back as he put his empty cup in the sink. ‘Am I forgiven for the security check?’

When he smiled like that she could forgive him anything. ‘I expected one for myself as a matter of course. But no one’s ever checked up on my family before.’

‘Will you do me a great favour?’ he asked, surprising her.

‘If I can,’ she said cautiously.

‘I assume that your mother knows I’m the man who came knocking on her door in the snow all those years ago?’

‘Of course. I rushed home to tell her after the first interview—’ Hester halted. ‘By the way, if you saw me at the Chesterton, may I ask why you interviewed me twice?’

‘The first time was to make sure that my first impression was right, and you were exactly what I was looking for. But I had to wait for the security check before I could call you back to offer you the job.’

‘I see.’ She held the look steadily. ‘So what favour do you need?’

‘Have you told your family I had them investigated?’

‘Certainly not.’

‘Good. In that case, could you keep it to yourself? Your stepfather would probably just be furious, but your mother would be hurt. I don’t want that any more than you do, Hester.’

‘Then I won’t tell her.’ She glanced at the clock. ‘Can I cook you some breakfast?’

‘Coals of fire?’ Connah smiled crookedly. ‘It’s a tempting thought, but no, thanks. I must be on my way. If you need to speak to me while I’m away, ring me.’

‘I hope I won’t.’

‘I know you do,’ he said, and left her to her tea.

‘Good morning,’ said Sam, coming into the kitchen a few minutes later. ‘Did you see the boss before he left?’

‘Yes, I did. Good morning, Sam.’ She finished her tea. ‘There’s more in the pot if you want. I’d better check on Lowri. She was out for the count when I got up.’

Hester smiled wryly as she went up to Lowri. The job had an unexpected benefit. Three flights of stairs would do wonders for her personal fitness.

Lowri was still out for the count. Hester eyed the sleeping face for a moment, then scribbled a note to ask Lowri to come down for breakfast when she woke. With the radio for company, Hester had ironed half the contents of the trunk by the time the yawning child finally trailed into the kitchen in her dressing gown.

‘Good morning,’ said Hester, smiling. ‘How about scrambled eggs?’

Lowri nodded sleepily. ‘Yes, please.’ She slid into a chair at the table, watching as Hester folded the ironing board. ‘Has Daddy gone?’

‘Yes, he left very early.’

‘Do you know when he’s coming back?’

‘He didn’t say.’ Hester poured orange juice into Lowri’s glass. ‘But cheer up. He said yes to a visit to my mother and Robert.’

Lowri’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. ‘When? Today?’

‘No, tomorrow for tea. Today we go shopping for clothes. Then we have some lunch and shop for food. How’s that for a programme?’

‘At last!’ said Lowri when Hester emerged from her own room later in a navy cotton shirt and white denim skirt. ‘You look nice. Can I buzz Sam now and say we’re ready to go?’

The morning was tiring but very entertaining. Let loose in a shopping mall packed with chain stores full of clothes that sent her into raptures, Lowri looked through every last bit of merchandise in each shop they went into, it seemed to Hester, before she made her final choices. But though Connah had handed over a generous sum of money, Hester firmly steered her charge past shops that sold expensive designer clothes.

‘You’ll be tired of them or have grown out of them, long before you get your money’s worth,’ she said practically. ‘And with those long legs everything will look good on you, anyway. With shoes it’s different, no economising there.’

‘Trainers?’ said Lowri hopefully.

‘Of course. And something less sporty too.’

‘Not school shoes!’

‘No. At least not yet. We leave those until the end of the holiday.’

They loaded their packages on to a patient Sam, then made for a café to wait while he stowed everything in the car.

Not sure of the protocol, Hester was relieved to hear that Sam had always lunched with Lowri and Alice during shopping trips near Bryn Derwen.

‘But Alice is married now, to Owen’s father,’ said Lowri as she downed her drink thirstily. ‘Owen’s mother died when he was little, and his grandma brought him up, just like me. But she’s got arthritis now, so Mr Griffiths married Alice.’

‘That’s nice for Owen,’ said Hester.

Lowri nodded sagely. ‘Alice used to take me to the farm a lot, so Owen’s known her for ages. He thinks she’s cool. It’s a very good arrangement, Grandma says.’

Not least for Mr Griffiths, thought Hester, and looked up with a smile as Sam came in to join them.

‘Good,’ said Lowri. ‘Let’s eat!’

When Hester finally got to bed that night she stretched out with a sigh of relief, confident that she’d made a reasonable start with Lowri. There’d been an awkward moment at suppertime when the child had wanted Sam to stay and eat his lasagna in the kitchen with them, but he’d refused, saying he liked to read the paper while he ate his dinner and, in any case, he couldn’t leave the monitors that long.

‘You leave them when you come out with us,’ Lowri had pointed out mutinously, but he told her that was different and he had to get going or his dinner would be cold.

It was different, Hester could have told Lowri, because when he was out with them, Sam had Lowri under his watchful eye all the time. Here in the house, his job was to keep unwanted visitors away for the same reason. But Hester also had an idea that Sam refused to cross a line he saw as clearly defined. Connah thought a great deal of Sam Cooper, it was obvious, but the relationship on both sides was still very much employer and valued employee. And, since Connah had elected to dine in the kitchen when he was at home, it would have been awkward if Lowri had expected Sam to join them.

We’d have made an ill-assorted quartet, thought Hester wryly. In her former job, the question of eating with her employers had never arisen. They were both successful actors with working hours that varied according to the film or television series they were involved in. It was Hester who’d made the children’s supper. The three-year-old Herrick twins, Sebastian and Viola, were engaging children Hester had been very fond of. But when their parents won lead roles in an American television series, nothing they could say would persuade Hester to accompany the family to Los Angeles.

Hester sighed as she stared through the window at the stars. After a job in a theatrical household, her next post would be very different. George Rutherford, her new employer, owned a very successful haulage firm. His wife Sarah was still helping him run it, seven months into her first pregnancy at the age of forty-one, and had every intention of going back to work after the birth, leaving Hester very literally holding the baby.

But, before all that, Hester reminded herself, she had six weeks in Connah Carey Jones’s home, which was not only a dream come true on one level, but a very pleasant way of earning some money before she moved on to pastures new. One of the downsides to her job was parting with her charges when the time came. She sighed in the darkness. She’d known Lowri for only a very short time, but she already knew that it would be no easier to part with her after six weeks than it had been with the other children after several years. And this time there would also be the painful wrench of parting with Lowri’s father.

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