Lynne Graham - Dangerous Passions

All the same, she didn’t deny to herself that the circumstances had changed. Now that Tom knew that Philip had not been his father, he might want to discuss it with Ben. She just hoped Ben would remember his promises to her.

Saturday passed slowly. Maggie phoned in the afternoon to assure herself that her guest had arrived home safely the night before, and Jaime took the opportunity to offer a belated vote of thanks for the evening.

‘Sorry if I was a bit offhand,’ she murmured, accepting that Maggie’s part in the proceedings had been innocent enough. ‘Um—you must come here next time.’

Maggie agreed, and after a brief discussion of the evening Jaime managed to get off the phone without saying anything incriminating. But, it hadn’t been easy pretending she and Ben had parted on friendly terms. Particularly as Maggie thought she had been instrumental in bringing them together. If she only knew, thought Jaime bitterly, marching along the hall and into the kitchen. If it weren’t for Tom, she would have told her exactly what kind of man Ben was.

Tom came in as Jaime was slamming saucepans on to the drainer, and, putting down his squash kit, he regarded her worriedly. ‘Did—er—did Uncle Ben phone?’ he asked, his tone a mixture of dismay and anticipation, and Jaime gave him an ugly look.

‘No,’ she said, taking a certain amount of malicious pleasure from the disappointment that crossed his face as she dashed his hopes. ‘And don’t leave those dirty things there. The clothes basket is upstairs.’

Tom picked up his kit again. ‘So, what’s wrong?’ he exclaimed. ‘You were all right when I went out.’

‘I’m all right now,’ said Jaime shortly. Then, as compunction set in, she added, ‘I’m just not in the best of moods, that’s all. Don’t mind me. I’ll feel better when I’ve had a bath and something to eat. Beefburgers OK?’

Tom still looked doubtful, but he was not about to argue. ‘Yes, fine,’ he agreed, hovering uncertainly in the hall doorway. ‘Er—no one came, while I was out, did they? Like—like Angie, for example?’

‘No one came and no one called,’ his mother assured him in controlled tones. ‘Oh—except for Mrs Haines. She called.’ She paused. ‘Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll go for my bath.’

The phone rang again when Jaime was in the bath. Perfect, she thought grimly, when Tom answered it and called that it was Uncle Ben—for him. All day she had been expecting Ben to ring, and he hadn’t. But, as soon as she was unavailable, he did. Dammit, it was as if he had extra-sensory perception.

So, she wasn’t really surprised when, a few minutes later, Tom came tapping at the bathroom door. ‘Mum!’ he called. ‘Uncle Ben wants to know if I can go and spend the day with him tomorrow.’ He hesitated, and when she made no immediate answer he appended, ‘Is that all right with you, Mum? Mum, is it?’

No, it’s not, Jaime responded savagely, but only to herself. Turning Tom against her would solve nothing. ‘I—suppose so,’ she conceded, hearing the grudging note in her voice that she wasn’t quite able to disguise. ‘Tell him I’ll drop you off in the morning. There’s no need for him to come and fetch you.’

‘Well, he says he will,’ Tom protested, but Jaime was adamant.

‘I’ll take you,’ she insisted, her voice rising in spite of herself. ‘You’ve got your own way, Tom, so don’t push it.’

‘Oh, all right.’ Now that he had her permission, Tom was not above allowing his real feelings to show. ‘I’ll tell him you’re curious to see where he lives, shall I? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you wanted to take a look around.’

‘Don’t you dare,’ shouted Jaime angrily, but Tom was already bounding down the stairs again. The only reassurance she had was that he was laughing.

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