“If it was your intention to go about startling all the young ladies, you can consider you’ve accomplished your objective, sir.”
“My Dear Miss Bennett—if I startled you, it was because you were hoping I would happen to come along at this precise moment to catch you in, shall we say, flagrante delicto? so you could be pretend to be startled.”
“Oh my, Mr. Darcy. Rumors of your monumental ego combined with your insufferable arrogance have been greatly understated. Isn’t it a good thing you’re in love with yourself since it’s probable no one else would ever be able to love you quite so well.”
More laughter rumbled out of him, the deep, rich male kind.
Suddenly Rainey heard clapping. “Well done, you two. Jane Austen is alive and doing just fine at Crag’s Head.”
Rainey looked to the right and caught sight of Diane. “She wrote one of the great romances, don’t you think, Ms. Wylie?”
“She wrote several. I found Persuasion her most compelling.”
The mention of that particular title sounded cryptic and introduced a different mood into the tenor of the morning. Rainey could tell Payne was equally affected.
Persuasion was what was needed to get her to that clinic.
“I understand we were all going to have breakfast when you arrived. Excuse me and I’ll be right down.” She tore herself from the window, unwilling to put herself through the agony of watching him greet his fiancée.
/>
Yesterday he’d worked with Rainey all afternoon and into the early evening. The rapport between them had been uncanny. She couldn’t believe how well things had gone, what a remarkable teacher he was.
Being with him, she’d been unaware of time passing. It had almost killed her when seven-thirty rolled around and he’d excused himself to go pick up Diane for dinner. At some point in the evening Rainey knew he would inform his fiancée he’d hired Rainey to come to work for him.
Since Rainey hadn’t seen him until he’d been walking along the surf moments ago, it was anyone’s guess how Diane had reacted to his news.
Judging by her unexpected appearance on the path just now, his plan seemed to be working to some degree. She’d plunged right into the thick of things, staking her claim in front of Rainey.
His fiancée had a lot of demons to fight besides her fear that another woman was interested in her fiancé. The last thing Rainey wanted to do was hurt her. All she could do was follow Payne’s lead and hope it caused the kind of reaction that would force Diane to get past her psychological block.
Rainey pulled clothes from the closet and drawers. The temperature had dropped to the low seventies prompting her to dress in a pair of white pleated trousers and a yellow cotton pullover.
With a good brushing of her hair and an application of coral lipstick, there was nothing more to do but join them. She left the bedroom not knowing quite what to expect, but realizing that Diane was waiting for her.
The dining room off the study had its own glorious view of the ocean. Payne and Diane had already started to eat.
His gaze flicked to Rainey’s. So much vital masculinity for breakfast made her heart race. “Help yourself to anything you want at the buffet.”
“Thank you.”
It looked like the housekeeper had outdone herself. Rainey poured herself some orange juice, then went for the sausage and eggs, her favorite breakfast.
“Come and sit down.”
Said the spider to the fly?
The other woman’s smile was benign enough. Yet Rainey did her bidding with a prickling awareness that Diane had been geared for a confrontation since Payne had dropped his bombshell.
“How did you sleep, Ms. Bennett?”
Payne covered Diane’s hand. “Since we’re all going to be seeing a lot of each other from now on, let’s get on a first name basis.”
Fearing she might choke on her juice, Rainey put the glass back down. “To be honest, I was so excited to be right here on the water, I stayed awake most of the night. It’s quite heavenly.”
“No other woman apart from Mrs. Myers has ever slept at Crag’s Head before.”
His fiancée had just fired her first salvo.