Part Time Marriage (4 page)

`It seemed the better way of saving his face when he asked me to go out with him.' Noah Peverelle gave her a look as if to say the sophisticated image she was trying for had slipped a mile and he had just glimpsed her softer centre. `For my sins,' she went on, not liking that he had observed her softer side, `he told my mother I was going steady.'

`She must have been pleased.'

Sarcastic devil! Again, though, Elexa felt an urge to laugh.Most odd. All this stress must be making her light-headed. `My mother phoned me at six this morning wanting to know more about it.'

'It's getting you down?"

'You could say that.' `Why not marry one of these men and be done with it?' Peverelle demanded.

Nothing like being told he'd rather drink burning oil than marry her himself, Elexa thought sniffily. And went on to think, Well, who asked you? But she more or less had.'Because they would want to be emotionally involved.'

`And you don't?"

'All I want is time free of my mother being on the phone every five minutes. All I want is to be left alone to get on with the career I love. Don't get me wrong, I love my family, love my mother dearly, and I'd do anything for her but...'

`But marry some man on a permanent basis?"

'That's about it,' she had to agree, and looked steadily at the grey-eyed man across from her.

As she stared at Noah Peverelle, so he scrutinised her. She would have dearly liked to have known what was going through his mind, but guessed he would only let her know what he wanted her to know.

But, when she was thinking that he was probably considering he had wasted enough time and was about to leave, he surprised her by asking, `How do you feel about children?'Oh, help, was he really, seriouslyconsidering ... ? Had she seriously proposed what she had to this cold, unsmiling man? She wanted to swallow, but wouldn't, but, since he seemed such a forthright person, she gave his question serious thought, and answered honestly, `Up until the day I heard you talking about having a son, I hadn't given children a thought-having them, that is. The furtherance of my career is important to me, as I mentioned. But, on thinking about children, I've realised that, while marriage has never featured in my plans, ultimately I shouldn't like to miss out and never have a child.'

She didn't know what she expected him to say to that. But discovered that he was clearly a most decisive man when, getting to his feet he informed her, 'I'm away from home for the rest of this week. Presumably your mother isn't too far away. What time shall I pick you up on Saturday?'

Elexa wasn't sure her jaw didn't drop. 'You're-you're coming to dinner with me at my parents' on Saturday?' she questioned, only just holding down a gasp of shock. Decisive, had she said?

'I'm not yet ready to be engaged to you we need to discuss this more thoroughly first, and I'm already running late for another appointment. But I don't mind being your '`steady" in the meantime.'

`Don't do me any favours!' she snapped huffily.

Noah Peverelle looked arrogantly down at her. `We're in the territory of mutual favours here!' he rapped.

`So call for me at six-thirty!' she flared, and felt as if she'd just been poleaxed when, with nothing more than a curt nod, Noah Peverelle strode from her apartment.

How long she sat there, stunned that Noah Peverelle had actually been inside her flat, had asked her a few short and to the point questions, and had then gone on to keep an appointment, Elexa had no idea.

But slowly, as she got herself into more of one piece, it began to dawn on her that with Peverelle's talk of mutual favours it rather looked-future discussions going well-as if they could be on the way to him marrying her, and to her giving him the son he wanted. Oh, heck. Ice encased her southernmost extremities but, knowing that her mother was probably sitting by the phone, waiting for her to ring, this was no time to start getting cold feet. He, Peverelle, when all was said and done, had not been the one to approach her with the idea. Rather it had been she who had made the first approach.

Nevertheless, there were several occasions before Saturday arrived when Elexa came within an ace of contacting Noah Peverelle and telling him to forget the whole idea. Two things were against that, however. One was that he was away from home for the rest of the week-she didn't think he'd appreciate her phoning his office and leaving any kind of `Would-you-tell-Mr-Peverelle-I've-decided-not-to-have-his- baby?' type of message. The very big other was that her mother was so excited about actually meeting her steady boyfriend she was never off the phone.

Worse, having been more or less forced to give her his name, her father too had been on the phone. Was her steady boyfriend the Noah Peverelle? Apparently her businessman father, who daily kept up to date with business news, knew all about what went on in big business, seemed as eager as her mother to meet him.

As, too, did Aunt Celia and Uncle Kenneth want to meet him. Aunt Celia had rung saying how delighted she was to hear her news. `We're not engaged, or anythinglike that!' Elexa had told her hurriedly.

`No, but I know you, you wouldn't be taking him home to meet your parents unless you were serious about him.'

As far as Elexa could remember, she hadn't had any choice. Her mother had decreed `dinner' and, while Elexa might have wriggled out of it, the lofty Peverelle- no doubt wanting to see what sort of stock she came from-had agreed, without being asked, to go to her parents' home with her.

At that point she came close to contacting his office and leaving a message to the effect that Saturday's arrangements had been cancelled. She objected strongly to him giving her parents the once-over. Though since, on reflection that was what her parents were doing, giving him the once-over to see if he was suitable for their only child, Elexa realised she hadn't gott very much to complain about.

The only relief Elexa found from the tangle her private life seemed to be in was at her office. But even there she wasn't left in peace to do the job she so loved.

`I didn't see you at all yesterday,' Jamie Hodges interrupted her day to complain.

`I had several meetings-was it something specific?' she enquired, feeling pretty certain that she knew what was coming. `I've got two tickets for the theatre on Saturday. I wondered if you were free?' he began eagerly.

'I'm not,' she replied, and knew she was as soft as Peverelle no doubt thought her because she couldn't tell Jamie more bluntly that he was wasting his time. She did not have the same problem in telling Des Reynolds to leave her alone, however.

`How's the most gorgeous woman ever to grace the portals of Colman and Fisher?' he leered, perching himself on a corner of her desk.

`Save it for your wife, Des. I'm up to my ears in-'

`Very beautiful ears, if I may...'

`I swear somebody turns a key and winds you up every morning.' She had to laugh. `Clear off, Des, there's a good lad.' He went, and she supposed he would probably not change very much even if she did tell him she had a steady boyfriend. Jamie Hodges, now he was a different matter. Elexa was halfway through rehearsing how she would tell Jamie that she was going out with someone she was going to marry when she stopped dead, her stomach churning. Apart from the fact he was a long way from agreeing yet, how could she contemplate marrying Peverelle? She didn't even like him! The thought of actually going to bed with the cold unfeeling brute was impossible.

Again Elexa was ready to pick up the phone and leave a message with his office. Her hand actually went to the phone-she pulled it back. Hang on just a minute! Wasn't that exactly what she wanted-a no-commitment kind of commitment?

By the time she returned to her flat that evening Elexa had been through again and again everything she wanted, and what she was going to have to do to get it. She had heard today the manager's job that had been rumoured, was definitely going to be announced shortly. It wasn't a senior manager's job-that would be some years away-but it was a job she wanted. Without false modesty, Elexa felt she was good enough to get it. She worked now in a high stress area-and loved it. But she knew there would be more pressure attached to the new job; she wouldn't need any extra in the shape of her family trying to push her into marriage.

So, the answer seemed obvious. Go through a marriage ceremony with Peverelle, get `the other business' over and done with, and get back to what she was good at.

Her phone rang; she jumped.Her mother?Or-him? Why him? Probably because she had thought so frequently of making a phone call to Peverelle. Was he making that phone call to her? How dared he? Feeling slightly miffed-that phone call was her prerogativeshe picked up the phone and said a firm, `Hello,' and discovered it wasn't him at all, but was her mother's other sister.

`I've only just heard about you and your man-friend,' her aunt Helen trilled. `Now, you'll be sure to bring him toRory' s wedding, won't you? If you'll give me his address I'll be sure he gets an invitation.'

'I-er...' Oh, Lord. `We'll look forward to it-um-thank you very much, Aunty,' Elexa replied-what else could she have said? 'Erdon'tbother with a written invite.' She hadn't a clue about Peverelle's address.

`You'll be sure to tell him how welcome he is-how we're all dying to meet him?'

`I'll tell him,' Elexa assured her, and came off the phone sighing. Heavens above, the way the family were carrying on you'd think that she had never had a boyfriend and that Peverelle was her last chance!

By Saturday morning Elexa had convinced herself that she was taking a right and proper course of action. It was an unusual arrangement, of course. She accepted that. But whenall this initial trauma was done and dusted and-subject to her and Peverelle agreeing on everything-then he would have the promise of an heir, and she would have the promise of some space to concentrate on what she so enjoyed: a career without constant family pressure. Ayear, that was all she craved. To think, in a year's time, she could have that allimportant junior manager's job! And from there-who knew? The possibilities were limitless.

By six o'clock that evening, however, Elexawas having to firmly remind herself of all the reasons for why she was taking this course of action. When the outer door buzzer sounded a half an hour later she was feeling so all over the place that she could barely remember one good reason.

She saw no point in going to the intercom to ask who was there. It would be Peverelle. She hesitated. What if he had come in person to say he had thought matters over and had decided he neither wanted to act as her `steady' that evening, nor marry her either?

Well, he knew what he could do, she fumed furiously. But her fury was instantly doused when she thought of her mother, her father too, waiting to meet Noah Peverelle. Oh, heavens, she'd never hear the last of it if Peverelle had called in person to tell her `hello' and `goodbye' .

Suddenly realising that nerves about this whole business were getting to her, Elexa made herself think more positively.Why would he come to say that he thought it a rotten idea? If they went through with it he would be getting the son he wanted. He must know by now that if he wanted some woman who wasn't out to take him to the cleaners financially, she-Alexandra Aston-was that woman.

Knowing from previous experience that he would not ring twice, Elexa picked up her bag and left her flat. Which must mean, she considered as she went down the stairs, that she herself was ready to carry this notion a little bit further..In any event, how could she now tell her mother-not to mention her aunts that she had made up having a steady boyfriend? Oh, crumbs, another thought suddenly struck her: her mother would never forgive her if she had to pass on to her sisters, Celia and Helen, that she had a daughter who told whopping howlers!

`You needn't have rushed,' Noah Peverelle greeted her sarcastically when she at last opened the door to him.

Elexa felt inwardly agitated enough without his help, and felt very much like telling him to go find his own dinner. But memory of her mother, Aunt Celia and Aunt Helen, was recent. `Okay, so I'll make more of an effort,' she conceded.

His grunt showed her how much he cared. `My car's this way,' he stated. He hadn't thought better of it, then? He was still considering her 'proposition'? He touched her elbow briefly in the direction he wanted her to go, though had manners enough, she noted, to walk with her rather than go striding ahead and leaving her to trail behind. `Where are we making for?' he asked, once they were inside his Jaguar and he had the motor purring. `Got enough petrol for Berkshire?'

It was the last thing that was said in the car for quite some while. But the nearer they got to her parents' home, the more Elexa started to become all stewed up inside.

Until at last she just had to explode, `This is all wrong!'

He was cool, was Peverelle; she had to give him that. If he heard the edge of panic in her voice he gave no sign. Nor, when the least she thought he might have done was to pull over and stop the car, did he do anything of the sort, but, his tone even, he enquired, `What's wrong about it?"

'I don't know you! You don't know me!' burst from her.`How on earth are my parents going to believe that we're an-an item?"

'Point taken,' he replied, still in that same even, unflustered way. He glanced briefly at her, but his stern expression in no way lightened when he informed her, 'I'm thirty-seven. Your friend Lois will have told you what work I do. I have a house in London and propose ultimately, perhaps when my workload lessens, to buy a place somewhere in the country.' That would please her mother. All too clearly it was pointless having a country home now, when, by the sound of it, he had no free time to spend there. `My parents are both living in Sussex and I have a sister, Sarah, divorced and with her own home. What do I need to know about you?' He ended as if that was all he believed she needed to know-and sounded as though he wasn't too bothered whether she told him anything about herself or not.

`Have you ever been married?' Since they had got started on this, she was suddenly not ready to risk tripping up on some unexpected nugget of information he might have chosen to keep to himself.