Kelly's Man (10 page)

They had almost finished eating when the head waiter came to their table with a question. She had noticed that the waiter was quick and intelligent, ceaselessly alert to whatever happened in the dining-room. Now he wanted to know something pertaining to seating arrangements for an outdoor lunch planned for the convention. Normally, Kelly realised, he would have taken his problem either to George or to Mary. In their absence he spoke to Nicholas.

She listened quietly as the two men talked. She was not concerned with a lunch which would take place on a day when she would no longer be at the hotel. But she was interested in Nicholas's handling of the problem. All she knew of the man was that he was a farmer. His normal contact with Great Peaks Lodge was in the role of a friend. And yet he approached the problem with a quick insight and perception. Kelly could see from the waiter's expression that he was satisfied with the solution.

As she listened, Kelly saw a new side of the man revealed. With Kelly herself he was mocking, arrogant, outrageous; with Mary he had been unexpectedly gentle. Now she saw that he was decisive and clear-thinking, that he could give authority with a quiet ease and with the knowledge that he would be obeyed. Unaccountably it gave her an odd pleasure to see this different facet of his personality.

A little wryly Kelly wondered if it was only she herself who experienced his ruthlessness. Mary would not believe it of him. As for Serena, she would know Nicholas only as charming and handsome—and an expert lover. A small knife of pain twisted in her chest.

She pushed her chair from the table and stood up. 'I think I'll make a start on the linen,' she said abruptly as Nicholas momentarily turned his head. Without waiting to hear his reply she walked from the room.

F
OR
the next hour Kelly was very busy. She had often travelled with her parents, and had thus spent much time in hotels. Fresh linen, well-served meals, helpfulness where it was required, all these were comforts she had taken for granted. For the first time she grasped the work and organisation that went on behind the scenes, and her respect for Mary grew. Even when she was in an advanced stage of pregnancy Mary's routine was long and arduous.

By the time she had finished with the linen Kelly's back was stiff from the unaccustomed bending. It was close in the room, and she felt the need of fresh air, so she went outside. Nicholas was nowhere to be seen. He had made no mention of further duties, but she knew already that she would be needed in the kitchen to supervise lunch. Until then she could sit down and enjoy the view of the mountains.

The verandah was almost deserted at this time of the day. The engineers were closeted in the convention room, and the regular holidaymakers were out enjoying the mountain trails or sunbathing beside the pool. Gratefully Kelly sat down beneath a red and white striped umbrella, closed her eyes and took long breaths of the fragrant air.

She had been outside no more than twenty minutes when she heard the clamour of men's voices. The engineers had stopped for a break. Some walked a little way through the garden, but most settled themselves on the verandah and ordered drinks.

'Kelly.' She looked up to see Andrew Lang smiling down at her. 'May I join you?'

She smiled back, gesturing to a chair. 'I wish you would.'

He sat down. 'What will you have?' he asked, as he beckoned to a waiter.

'Something very cool.'

Brown eyes studied her appraisingly. 'That sounded heartfelt. Been working hard?'

'I've been pretty busy.'

'I looked for you when I went into the dining- room, about seven-thirty.'

'I was at the desk.' Kelly lifted her face to the sun, enjoying the warmth and the freshness after the time spent in the linen-room. 'I'd put in an hour by then.'

'Van Mijden is really extracting his pound of flesh.' Andrew's voice had hardened. 'It seems he takes pleasure in overworking you.'

'I'm just doing the jobs that Mary would be doing.' Even as she said it, Kelly wondered why she should be defending Nicholas.

'Perhaps. But I think Van Mijden gets pleasure out of bossing you.'

Caught by the inflection in his tone, Kelly looked at him. There was anger in the brown eyes, indignation in the set of the lips. Anger on her behalf, she realised, and was warmed by it.

Last night she had thought Andrew the nicest man she had met in a long while, and today the view was reinforced. There was a calmness in him which contrasted vividly with Gary's constant excitement. It was the excitement, and the fun which accompanied it, which had appealed to Kelly. For Gary had come into her life at a time when her mother was ill, and when Kelly had had to act as hostess at innumerable business functions where the men were all too preoccupied with their careers to be concerned with anything else. They had flattered her, yes, had showered her with attention, but she had been conscious always that they saw her as an inviting stepping-stone on the ladder to success.

Andrew was very different from Gary. Kelly realised that his air of calmness and steadiness was appealing. She felt a pang of envy for the girl who would one day be his wife. Not for a moment did it occur to her that she could be that girl.

If Andrew was different from Gary, Kelly had already noticed at their first meeting that he was different from Nicholas. The two men were more or less of an age, and both gave the impression of being intelligent and alert and successful in their fields.

But Andrew, gentle and refined, had nothing of Nicholas's taut masculinity, his air of strength and power and sensual virility. He had none of the physical impact which Nicholas possessed in such great measure. It came to Kelly that though she liked Andrew very much, the dizzying tension with which she reacted to Nicholas was totally absent.A little crossly she wondered why she had made the comparison. There was no sense in it, no fairness. Yet even while her mind insisted that Andrew was superior to Nicholas in all the ways that counted, a stubborn voice that was born of the senses told her that in a comparison it was Andrew who was the loser.

She was glad when the waiter came with the drinks. She did not like the drift her thoughts were taking. There could be no happiness in it. For even if she was attracted to Nicholas—a fact which the analytical part of her mind vigorously rejected— there could be no future in such an attraction. She was already engaged to be married to another man. But overshadowing even that detail was the fact that Nicholas despised and disliked her so intensely that nothing she could do would change his views even if it was what she wanted.

And she did
not
want it, she told herself firmly.

She took a long sip of the lemonade, then she said, 'Tell me about some of the places where you've worked.'

He seemed pleased. 'You're really interested?'

'Oh yes.' Her eagerness was genuine. 'I've travelled too—mainly with my parents. But the lonely places were not on our route.'

For a
_v
while he talked, telling her of life in Central Africa where he had worked for the greatest length of time. The region came alive in his telling, and Kelly was a fascinated audience. At length he paused, and when he spoke again his voice had changed. 'Is it some quirk of fate,' he observed, 'that when one meets the girl of one's dreams she's either married or engaged?'

Kelly caught her breath at the unexpectedness of the words. There was no mistaking the look in the steady brown eyes, the inflection in his tone. She met his gaze a moment without speaking, feeling warmed and a little moved. But she could not say so, not unless she wanted more complications in her life, and there were enough of those already.

'Fate
is
strange,' she managed, as gently as she could. And then, thinking to change the subject before awkwardness could set in between herself and this very nice man, she asked, 'Are you enjoying the convention?'

He hesitated just a moment before answering. When he said, 'Very much,' his expression was as pleasant before, but Kelly could hear the note of aloofness, and she was sorry.

'How long will it last?'

'About a week. There've been a lot of new developments in the field.'

And do you always come here?' A little of the aloofness was vanishing and she was glad. Whatever Andrew's feelings he was too civilised a man to let a grudge show.

'This is the first time.' He turned his eyes to the mountains, blinking a little at the glare. 'It's very beautiful here, isn't it? It gives the affair a slight holiday feeling.' And then, turning back to her, 'Sorry that I let my disappointment show just now, Kelly. I know you are engaged. But will you go walking with me when I have a few hours?'

'I'd love that,' she said honestly. 'But I expect Mary back some time today, and then it's back to Durban for me.'

There was a sudden hardness in Andrew's eyes.'Perhaps I have no right to say this, but I don't understand how your fiance could let you come back here alone.'

'It's really quite simple.' Kelly spoke as steadily as she was able, for the call with Gary was still fresh enough in her mind to be painful. It occurred to her that she was being called on to defend him more and more.

'He had business in Durban.' Kelly saw the expression in Andrew's face. If anything, it had hardened. It was obvious that he knew she was not telling the truth, had in fact known it all along. A little shakily, she said. 'Please, Andrew, can't we leave it at that?'

He recognised her plea for understanding, and his expression softened. 'All right, then. I can't pretend to believe Gary Sloan deserves you, but I won't refer to him again.'

Impulsively she put a hand on his arm. 'You are nice, Andrew.'

She felt his arm stiffen beneath her hand, and immediately regretted the gesture. She was about to withdraw her hand when he took it, making the movement impossible without being rude.

'Nice?' There was an odd note m his tone. 'I think I would prefer any other adjective but that one. The word "nice" coming from you makes me sound a little fatherly.'

'That's not true,' Kelly protested, and even as she said it she had a mental picture of Nicholas Van Mijden, and knew that 'nice' was the one word she would never use to describe him.

'Prove it.' The grip on her hand tightened. 'I'll give the convention a miss until after lunch. Let's go for that walk now.'

It did not occur to Kelly that any agreement on her part would be seen as encouragement. Though he did not hide the fact that he was attracted to her, Andrew knew that she was engaged. She really did like him very much, and the thought of a complete break from her chores was welcome, as was the thought of being out of Nicholas's domineering manner.

'I'd love to go for a walk,' she smiled.

'Forgetting your duties, Miss Stanwick?' drawled a familiar voice from behind.

Kelly spun round, cursing the swift colour that coursed through her cheeks as she withdrew her hand from Andrew's. Nicholas was looking down at her, his eyes glinting mockingly at her flushed embarrassment.

'I've finished my duties,' Kelly said jerkily.

'You have not.' His voice was smooth. 'You'll come with me now.'

'I'm going for a walk with Mr Lang.'

'I'm afraid not. Come, Kelly. You're running late as it is.'

There was a small explosion of anger beside her as Andrew Lang jumped to his feet. 'This is absurd !' he exclaimed. 'You've been hard on Miss Stanwick from the beginning.'

Nicholas was unperturbed. 'From the touching scene I witnessed a few moments ago I gather she's lost no time in eliciting your sympathy.'

'That's not true! She hasn't complained. Nevertheless I'm not blind to what's been happening.'

Andrew's pleasant face was white with anger. 'I gather you know who you're dealing with?'

'Of course.' Nicholas's voice was bland, soft and sleek and dangerous. 'I told you that before—Kelly Stanwick, the daughter of tycoon Robert Stanwick.' Contempt sparked in the grey eyes. 'In my book, Mr Lang, the idle pampered of this world don't merit more consideration than anyone else.'

Kelly glanced from one man to the other— Nicholas, cool and haughty and contemptuous, Andrew, white and tense, his hands clenched into fists. She was reminded of yesterday's scene when she had wondered whether Andrew would try to hit Nicholas.

Hastily she said, 'Mr Van Mijden is right. I do have duties.'

'Only in so far as Mr Van Mijden'—a taut glance at Nicholas—'sees fit to impose them.'

'I want to do them.' Kelly battled to keep the tension from her own voice. 'I promised Mary I would.'

'If that's what you want, Kelly,' he said at length.

'I do.' She threw him a smile. 'I'll see you before I leave, Andrew.'

Very slowly Andrew's hands unclenched. The anger was still in his face, but he was making a visible effort to regain his control. 'Of course,' he said, a little formally, and then glancing at the engineers returning from the garden, 'I see the others are going back inside.'

As he turned away he looked deliberately at Nicholas, and Kelly was glad to see that though he had given in to him there was no hint of servility in his expression. He looked back at Kelly. 'I'll say goodbye to you later—alone.'

'Did that petty display of arrogance make you feel superior?' she hissed at Nicholas when they were alone.

The gaze that flicked the small flushed face was disdainful. 'I don't need gimmicks to bolster my ego, Kelly.'

She stared at him, hating him, while knowing that what he said was true. Yet something drove her on. There was the need to pierce his armour, to find a way of hurting him. 'You can't take it that anyone with sensitivity should enjoy my company,' she accused. 'It doesn't fit in with your idea of the way you'd like to see me treated.'

'You flatter yourself if you think you know my thoughts,' he observed sarcastically. 'It didn't take you long to find a replacement for Gary Sloan, did it?'

'I told you yesterday that Andrew is not a replacement! ' Kelly's voice was low and stiff.

A mirthless laugh. 'From the way you were holding hands it certainly seemed so. But then I shouldn't be surprised.'