Kelly's Man (9 page)

And with that thought, quite involuntarily, came another. Had Nicholas ever been in love? Did the woman exist who could pierce the armour of his arrogant self-sufficiency? Serena de Jager perhaps? Certainly the woman was beautiful, even if Kelly found her appearance too cold to be. appealing. When Serena was married to Nicholas, would he ever subject her to the cruelty and detachment which he had meted out to Kelly? Or would he love her and cherish her and be a source of strength to which she could turn in times of distress?

For Nicholas possessed that strength. His unpleasantness did not blind Kelly to the fact that a woman who was loved by him would live in a haven of comfort and security. Serena de Jager would have that haven. A pain throbbed in Kelly's temple. It was a moment before she suspected the cause of the pain, Aghast, she stared at herself in the mirror. It was not possible that she could be jealous!

When she had showered, she dried herself with a roughness that was unnecessary. It was almost as if the physical action could rid her of an appalling flash of self-knowledge. Nicholas Van Mijden meant nothing to her, less than nothing.

Yet when she was dressed, she could not help being glad that the leather belt of her pleated skirt emphasised the trimness of a small waist, and that the deep emerald of her blouse emphasised the colour of her eyes.

Nicholas was waiting for her in the garden. Kelly stood in the doorway for a long moment. He had not seen her yet, for he stood with his back to the cottage, and from the tilt of his head it appeared that he was looking over the stream into the mountains.

He stood very still, one hand hooked in the belt of his trousers, his legs slightly apart. Yet even now, when he was relaxed, his body held a sense of taut virility which seemed to be with him at all times. It came to Kelly that if she had never met anyone as arrogant as Nicholas Van Mijden, neither had she encountered a man who was quite as compellingly masculine.

As if he knew she was watching him, he turned and came towards her. His eyes subjected her to a slow scrutiny, missing no detail of her appearance; the feminine curves shown to their most appealing advantage in the well-cut skirt and blouse, the eyes that were wide and luminous with the turmoil of emotions that she could not control, the cheeks that were soft and a little flushed. His scrutiny was deliberate, and with a surge of resentment Kelly wondered if he was comparing her to his glamorous companion of the previous evening.

The unnerving autocratic stance provoked a sauciness which was alien to her. 'Well, do I pass inspection?'

'Certainly.' There was a flash of teeth, strong and very white against the deep tan of his face. 'You're an attractive female.'

'Do you think so?' The question shot out provocatively.

'If you want me to prove it to you again, we can try it later.'

Grey eyes glittered wickedly at the warmth that stained her cheeks. 'Take a sweater, Kelly. The early mornings are cold.'

As she walked beside Nicholas to the main building of the hotel she kept her eyes concealed beneath long dark lashes. Absurdly the small interchange had given a lift to her feelings. Why this should be so was something she did not care to analyse too deeply. It was enough that she was filled with an exhilaration which thrilled her even while it disturbed her. It was alarming how just a few words from this man, an inflection of the voice, a certain shading in the dark intelligent eyes, could affect her. But it was important that he should not know it, for if he did, his power over her would be complete.

The sun was just rising. The tops of the mountains were shrouded in mist, and the forested slopes were a mass of greyness. The grass was wet underfoot, and the air rang with bird-song.

Already, after just a few days in the Drakensberg, Kelly was beginning to understand how the character of the mountains altered throughout the day. The distant slopes could be grey and brooding, or purpled with mystery, or blue with the haze of distance. Always they were fascinating. The escarpment gave off a sense of completeness, of eternity, which could bring peace to a troubled mind, and relief to frenzied senses.

Kelly stole a quick sideways glance at the man striding by her side. How little she knew of him I Just that he had a farm nearby. But she had seen him at the mountains, had sensed his oneness with his surroundings. It was evident that he loved the Drankensberg, that he could think of no other place which he would want to call home.

Already there was activity in the hotel. Kitchen staff hurried about their chores. A waiter walked past with trays of early-morning coffee which he was taking to the rondavels. Nicholas unlocked the door of the office and switched on the light. The desk-clerk began his shift at nine, he told Kelly. Until then she would be on duty. Guests would be checking out at any time now, some would even be leaving before breakfast. Briefly, matter-of-facdy, he told her what she must do. Taking it for granted that she understood his instructions and would follow them, he left the office.

For a while Kelly was very busy. There was more to do than she had realised. Once, during a lull, she thought of Mary. Not for the first time she realised quite how hard the other woman worked. She was in the last stages of pregnancy, yet she filled the duties of a few people cheerfully and without complaint. More than ever Kelly understood the hardship George's accident had caused. She understood too that by filling in for Mary she was helping the other woman in a way that no gift of money could have done.

Just before nine o'clock the desk clerk arrived. Nicholas walked in behind him. He told Kelly that she could leave the office now and that she should join him for breakfast. Kelly put down her pen, and stood up. She realised that she was hungry.

She was about to leave the office when the telephone rang and the desk clerk, who answered it, called her back. 'It's for you, Miss Stanwick.'

'Kelly? What the hell is happening?' Gary's voice came through the line, loud and angry. 'I've been worried!'

'Gary!' Kelly was instantly remorseful. 'I should have phoned...I'm sorry.'

'Why are you still in the Drakensberg?'

'It's a long story.' Kelly paused and looked meaningfully at Nicholas. He was leaning against the desk now, one long leg crossed elegantly before the other. At her glance an eyebrow lifted sardonically. It was evident that he was not going to leave her to talk in privacy.

'Kelly!' Gary called impatiently.

'I'm here. Gary, I'm helping out at the hotel.'

'What!' He was incredulous. 'I understood you'd be giving the Andersons some money.'

'Well, yes ... But Gary, Mary Anderson needed to be with George. He'd had to have an operation.'

'What the hell has that to do with you?'

'I'm taking her place here.'

'Now listen, Kelly.' Gary's voice was loud and clear, and from Nicholas's expression it was apparent that he could hear every word. 'You're making yourself a martyr.'

'We were to blame for what happened.' Her knuckles were white, and she was holding the receiver with unnecessary tightness. 'If it hadn't been for us, George wouldn't have had the accident.'

'Then it would have happened another time. He's running a hotel, isn't he? Listen, Kelly, you shouldn't have gone back in the first place. But this ... These people have a damn nerve expecting you to work for them.'

'They don't expect it.' Kelly's voice was very low, very controlled. She wondered if either Nicholas or Gary understood the effort it cost her to maintain an outward appearance of calm. 'Nevertheless it seemed the right thing to do.'

There was a short silence, then Gary demanded, 'When will Mary be back?'

'Some time today, I believe.'

'And then you'll come straight on to Durban?'

'Yes, of course.' She was horrified at the hollowness in her tone.

'I'm missing you, honey.' The anger had left Gary's voice suddenly to be replaced by the eager boyishness which had once seemed so appealing.

'I'm missing you too,' Kelly forced herself to say, and wondered if Nicholas knew quite how difficult he was making it for her to give the correct responses.

'Hurry back, honey. There's going to be one hell of a party on Saturday. You don't want to miss it.'

'I'll be there, 'Bye, Gary.' She put down the phone and saw that her hands were trembling. She stood very still for a long moment, her face turned away from Nicholas. Only when she felt she had control over herself did she turn. 'We can go now,' she said tonelessly, suppressing her anger in the presence of the desk clerk who might otherwise have made too much of the incident to the rest of the staff.

Only when they were alone did she turn on Nicholas. 'Did it occur to you that I might want to talk in private?'

'It occurred to me,' he said without expression.

'Then why didn't you do the honourable thing and leave me alone?'

'I found the conversation interesting,' came the outrageous reply.Kelly looked at him in stunned disbelief. And then she realised that she should not be shocked. Nothing Nicholas had done until now had shown any consideration for her as a person. 'No doubt you enjoyed it,' she flung at him bitterly.

'Immensely.' The grey eyes gleamed with malice. 'It was most illuminating.'

Anyone else would have been apologetic or embarrassed, but not Nicholas. The wicked gleam in his eyes indicated a complete lack of remorse for the invasion of her privacy. She could do nothing to improve his manners, Kelly knew, but she could show her displeasure.

At the door of the dining-room she stopped. 'I don't think I'll have breakfast after all.'

'I think you will,' said Nicholas, very pleasantly.

'No. I'll probably see you around a little later.'

'Really?'

Lulled by his pleasantness, Kelly was unprepared for the hand which went to her wrist, encircling it in a grip of iron.

'Nicholas...' Her head jerked round, and she stared up at him. Her skin tingled beneath the lean fingers, and she wondered if he could feel the pulse that raced at her wrist.

'Breakfast, Kelly.'

'I. I'm really not very hungry.'

'You'll eat all the same.' It was a command, uncompromising and not meant to be flaunted. 'There's work to do, and you'll be tired out before the day is half over if you haven't had some food to sustain you.'

'Don't you understand?' she whispered. 'It makes me ill just to think of eating with you.'

His eyes hardened, and she saw the tightening of his jaw. 'Keep the histrionics for your boy-friend. They don't impress me in the least. Come along, Kelly. The waiters want to get finished.'

'Do you always get your own way?' she asked bitterly, when she was seated opposite him. The mobile lips curved mockingly. 'Often.' 'And do you use your caveman tactics on Serena de Jager?' She did not know what made her ask the question, but having asked it she was dismayed to find that the answer was important.

'Serena?' The lazy smile was intended to torment. 'I have no need to use tactics with Serena.'

'I suppose she jumps into bed with you at the mere beckoning of a finger.' Later Kelly was to wonder why she said what she did. But for the moment there was only an irresistible impulse to press on with her questions. Dimly she knew that the answers would have the power to hurt.

The grin on Nicholas's face deepened. A satisfied glitter appeared in the dark eyes. 'You're jealous?' he drawled.

'Jealous?' She spat the word at him angrily. 'My God, you're not only the most horrible man I ever met, but also the most conceited!' She gave a short laugh, and was horrified to hear the tiny sob at the back of her throat. 'Serena can have you. I wouldn't want to sleep with you if you were the last man on earth!'

'No?' An enigmatic gaze played on her face. It lingered for a moment on eyes that were wide and green and sparkling with anger and defiance. Then it went to the cheeks that were flushed with emotion, to lips that parted to show small white teeth. 'Do you really know what you want, Kelly?' he drawled slowly.

For a moment green eyes met grey ones. Only a moment. Even now, confused and angry as she was, Kelly could not sustain the unnerving perceptiveness of that gaze. She dropped her eyes, and, taking up a knife, began to butter a slice of toast with quick jerky movements.

How dared Nicholas take every opportunity he could to humiliate her! How dared he make an insinuation that was surely the most outrageous she had ever heard. When she could trust her voice she said, 'Yes, I do know what I want. I want to leave Great Peaks Lodge and join my fiancé. And more than that, I want to be sure that I never see you again—ever.' Briefly she raised her eyes. 'I can't wait for Mary to get back.'

She braced herself for another sarcastic onslaught, but incredibly it did not come. Instead she heard him chuckle, that low unnerving sound which could send the blood racing through her veins with its sensuousness. Involuntarily a quiver shot through her. She hated this man who sat so calmly opposite her. It must be hatred she felt for him, for the only other emotion of comparable intensity was love, and she knew it could not be that.

Yet even while she hated Nicholas, she could not deny her awareness of him. Unbidden came the memory of last night's lovemaking, and the recollection of her own unexpected responses. Now, while she tried to bite into her toast with a semblance of composure, she wished that she could push from her consciousness the need to feel his arms around her once more.

He had asked her if she was jealous of Serena and she had denied it. Honesty with herself brought a flash of self-knowledge, and with it the realisation that she had not told the truth. Yet she had meant every word when she had said that she could not wait for Mary's return. For Kelly's own peace of mind that girl could not reach Great Peaks Lodge soon enough.

In a sense it was a relief when Nicholas began to tell her what she should do after breakfast. As he explained the allocation of fresh linen for rooms just vacated, his tone was impersonal. If only they could keep the relationship on a business level, Kelly thought, then perhaps she could get through the rest of the day until Mary's return and go back to Durban with some measure of her usual equanimity restored.