Lee Wilkinson - From Mistresses To Wives?

Jessica did so, wishing they could be on their way right now. The more she saw of Henry Prescott, the harder it was going to be to stop herself from telling him just what she thought of his underhand tactics. It was high time somebody did!

She went through the day with tongue held firmly in check—as much for Esther’s sake as Zac’s. Her marriage had taken place in an era when the man was still regarded as totalitarian head of the house. She’d probably never gone against him, and would no doubt find it upsetting if some other woman did.

The barbecue was some relief. Jessica and Zac shared the cooking, helped along by glasses of wine, while the older couple reclined on loungers on the wide patio.

Sheltered from the wind, it was wonderfully warm, the views superb. If things had been different, Jessica could have enjoyed spending further weekends down here. As it was, if they did come again it would be purely for show.

They left after lunch on the Sunday. Relieved though she was to be free of the constant temptation to tell Henry Prescott what she thought of his tactics, Jessica viewed their return to the mews cottage without enthusiasm. Zac would be going in to the office tomorrow, leaving her to do…what? She could get rid of Barbara and tackle the housework herself, but that was hardly going to tax her resources. She wasn’t cut out to be a stay-at-home wife.

‘I’m going to start looking for a job,’ she stated after several miles had gone by. ‘I’d go crazy cooped up in the house all day!’

‘It’s hardly a prison,’ Zac returned drily. ‘You’ve the whole city on the doorstep! An open cheque-book too, if that’s what’s bothering you.’

‘I don’t want your money!’ Her tone was abrupt. ‘I’d rather earn my own.’

‘You know Grandfather’s views on working wives,’ he said after a moment.

Jessica gave him a stinging sideways glance. ‘I realise you’d do just about anything to stay in his good books, but there’s a limit to how far I’m prepared to go. If you’re worried about his reaction, he doesn’t have to know.’

‘You mean lie about it.’

‘Only by omission.’

‘That’s splitting hairs.’

‘It’s maintaining the illusion,’ she retaliated. ‘The one you created to keep him sweet.’

A muscle jerked suddenly along the firm jawline. ‘I didn’t notice you putting up all that much resistance to the idea.’

She kept a cool tone with difficulty. ‘I don’t suppose I’m the first to allow principle to be overcome by lust. You’re a hard man to resist, Zac.’

‘Sure.’ His mouth had twisted. ‘Lucky we still have that much to keep us going. Assuming you weren’t putting on an act last night, that is?’

Jessica rode the hurt. ‘You know I wasn’t.’

‘I don’t know anything,’ he said. ‘Women have a distinct advantage when it comes to sex. They don’t have to prove arousal physically.’

‘Why on earth would I bother pretending to enjoy it if I didn’t?’ she demanded. ‘Like you said, it’s the one thing we have. As long as it lasts, at any rate.’

Zac kept his gaze on the road ahead, his expression impassive. ‘You see an end in sight?’

Swallowing on the lump in her throat, Jessica gave a brief shrug. ‘Not yet, but you know what they say about the first flush.’

‘Then we’d better make the most of it,’ he said.

There was no further mention of the job business, but Jessica had no intention of giving up on it. Obviously, Zac wasn’t going to find her anything, so she would fend for herself.

IT DIDN’T prove easy. Well thought of though she’d been in her previous job, her qualifications and experience fell somewhat short of requirements in London it seemed. After being accustomed to working for one man, the thought of general clerking held little appeal. The alternative was to find something completely different.

A part-time position advertised at a Kensington food store was too good an opportunity to miss. Working ten till four, five days a week, there was no need for Zac to know anything about it.

Jessica started on checkout, finding the work repetitive but not unendurable, the other staff friendly. The salary was no big deal, but it at least gave her some sense of independence.

Zac accepted her excuse that she’d been out shopping without question when he mentioned trying to get in touch a couple of times. He didn’t say why he’d wanted to speak to her, and Jessica hesitated to ask. Relations between them were strained enough as it was. Largely due to her, she had to admit. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t come to terms with the fact that she wouldn’t be here at all in normal circumstances.

She did her best to appear properly grateful when he presented her with a mobile for use in emergencies, making a mental note to get rid of the one she’d had for years and rarely bothered with. It would have to be switched off when she was at work, of course, so she could only hope he wouldn’t have cause to try contacting her during those hours.

The only place the barriers dropped completely was in bed. When Zac made love to her, nothing else existed. His unflagging desire was the one thing that kept her going. It couldn’t last, of course. Not to the same degree. One of these nights he would plead tiredness after a long day, and the end would have begun.

Only too well aware of what Leonie’s opinion would be, she made no mention of the job to her either, making out, when asked, that she was content to hang fire for a while on the matter. Her cousin was pretty busy with her own concerns, as it happened, leaving little opportunity for getting together. She brought Greg with her the one time she came to dinner at the mews, though still denying any serious involvement.

‘I’m just not cut out for marriage,’ she said in the kitchen where the two of them were making coffee while the men talked. ‘Maybe I’ll change my mind when I’m old and lonely, but in the meantime I’m happy the way I am—beholden to nobody.

‘It certainly suits you though,’ she added with a smiling glance. ‘The look of a woman fully and frequently satisfied. Not that I’d expect any less of Zac, of course.’

Jessica let the comment pass, knowing there was no malice in the teasing. She still found it difficult to think about Leonie and Zac together in any intimate sense, but there was no point in getting upset about it. She was the one he made love to these days. The only one—or she’d better be!

The weekend they spent in Edinburgh with Isabel proved a great deal more enjoyable than she anticipated. The family consisted of a brother and wife, along with two married children who both lived within a few miles of the city with families of their own. Asked when they might consider taking the step themselves, Zac took it on himself to answer for them both with a smile and a shrug, giving the impression that they were already trying.

‘I’m not having a baby just to please your grandfather!’ Jessica stated when they were alone.

‘I’m not asking you to,’ Zac returned levelly. ‘If we started a family, it would be because we both of us wanted it.’

Unlikely, then, Jessica reflected, stifling the pang. Children belonged in a proper, balanced relationship based on love and commitment, not an arrangement like theirs that could end any time.

‘Sarah must be getting close now,’ she said. ‘Brady would have let you know, wouldn’t he?’

‘You can bet on it.’ Zac’s tone was dry. ‘He insisted on knowing the sex as soon as it was possible. If it had proved to be a girl, he’d have gone up in flames! Sons are de rigueur in his eyes.’

Looking at him through the dressing table mirror as he slid cuff links into place, Jessica felt the usual stirring in the pit of her stomach, the wave of heat building swiftly from that central core. From the top of his well-groomed dark head to the tip of his hand-made shoes, he was pure masculinity. She wanted him desperately—any way she could have him, and for as long as she could have him.