Even so it was impossible for her to eat much, and when she sat down she made sure it was as far away from Dominic as possible. If she hadn’t been so tense and on edge, she might almost have been amused at Sue’s role reversal. Where in the past her friend had always been eager to bring her to the attention of any unattached males she invited round, today she was behaving like the very strictest kind of duenna, protectively making sure that Dominic was never allowed to come so much as within speaking distance of her.
He seemed to have lost weight, and despite his tan, he did not look well. Her heart ached for him and yet at the same time she was conscious of a terrible feeling of hopelessness.
What should have been a pleasantly relaxed lunch was a nightmare of strain and anguish. As soon as she safely could she stood up and pinned a bright smile to her lips.
Anticipating her, Sue frowned and exclaimed, ‘You’re not going so soon, are you?’ The glare she directed towards Dominic’s stiff back made it plain that she knew where the blame for this lay, and unwillingly Kate looked at him too.
Dressed in jeans and a thin short-sleeved cotton shirt, he looked more human… more vulnerable than when she had seen him before. The jeans hugged his legs and thighs, but were slightly loose on the waist, the shirt taut over the defensively hunched contours of his back. She wanted to go up to him and wrap her arms protectively around him, to ease away his pain, but how could she when she herself was the cause of it?
He turned round, unexpectedly catching her looking at him, and his eyes darkened, making desire tremble to life inside her. If only she could just give in to that aching, melting flare of need, but at twenty-seven one could not blot out the realities of life so easily.
‘Oh, Kate, must you really leave?’ Vera asked regretfully.
Out of the corner of her eye Kate saw Dominic’s mouth twist, his voice so harsh that it shivered painfully through her too vulnerable skin as he interrupted curtly, ‘No doubt she has a date with her estate agent friend…’
‘A date?’ Sue ignored Dominic to turn a pleased face towards her friend. ‘Kate, and you never said! Where’s he taking you?’
Not knowing what on earth she could say without telling a lie, Kate hesitated, and then into the silence as devastatingly shocking to the senses as hearing an unexpected gun go off she heard Dominic sa
ying sotto voce, ‘About as far as the nearest bed, I should imagine.’
Kate knew that the taunt was meant only for her, but Sue was standing so close to her, she heard it too, and temper ignited in her eyes as she looked from Kate’s white face to Dominic’s implacable one.
Sensing an imminent explosion, Kate took hold of her arm, squeezing it warningly as she said, ‘Come with me to the car.’
She could sense that Sue was torn, but John, Vera and Ian were all engrossed in conversation and unwillingly Sue allowed herself to be drawn away, giving vent to her feelings only once they were safely out of earshot of the others.
‘That man really is the end!’ she exploded angrily. ‘Honestly, Kate…’
‘Forget it.’ Kate managed to smile, ‘I don’t even have a date with Martin Allwood.’
‘Martin Allwood?’ asked Sue, diverted. ‘I know him. Very up-and-coming, isn’t he, and very attractive? How did you get to meet him?’
‘He came to assess the house. You know I’m putting it up for sale. Dominic brought my car back and saw us both at an upstairs window.’ Kate pulled a wry face. ‘And of course he immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion.’
‘Mmm… it seems to me that that gentleman has a history of jumping to wrong conclusions, especially where you’re concerned.’
Sue stood in the drive until Kate’s car had disappeared, and then made her way back to her remaining guests.
‘Kate got off safely, did she?’ her husband asked, sliding a fond arm round her waist. ‘That old banger of hers isn’t very reliable…’
‘I know, she’s planning to replace it just as soon as the house is sold.’
He saw that his wife’s eyes were not on him, but on the back of the man walking down their garden.
‘Forget it, love,’ he advised softly, following her thoughts.
‘But, John, he was so nasty to her… Kate’s had enough to endure. It makes my blood boil to hear him sniping at her like that!’
‘Yes, I know, but there’s nothing we can do about it, love.’
John might think that, but she certainly didn’t, Sue thought, watching Dominic disappearing through the arch in the rose hedge which led to the old-fashioned orchard.
Slipping away from her husband, and using Vera and Ian to decoy him with their plans for The Grange, she followed Dominic down to the orchard.
He was leaning against the trunk of a plum tree, hands in the pockets of his jeans as he stared at the ground. His smile for her was polite, but wary. He was an exceedingly attractive man, Sue thought dispassionately, but she preferred her John every day of the week.
A very fierce loyalty to her family and friends was one of the cornerstones of Sue’s personality, coupled with a deep-rooted sense of fair play which in her youth had led her into more than one turbulent situation. She could never bear to see anyone being done down unfairly, and least of all her dearest friend. When she thought of the life Kate had endured with Ricky! The light of battle glittered in her eyes as she took a step towards her victim.