Susanne James - The Master of Highbridge Manor

The Lamb was about a five-minute drive from the school, and the restaurant was just nicely crowded as, presently, Ria and her new employer sat at a corner table by the window enjoying their meal. She looked across at him as she put down her knife.

‘That cheese platter was just perfect,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’

He leaned back and picked up his pint of lager. ‘Yes, the food is generally pretty good here,’ he said, ‘and the atmosphere is always relaxed and congenial. It seems to have become the school’s “local” over the years. Some of the staff drop in for a drink now and then, and our older pupils, too, have been known to enjoy chilling out after exams.’ He watched as Ria drank the last of the sparkling water she’d ordered, noting the way her slender fingers curled around the stem of the glass, admiring the unassuming elegance of her every move. She looked up then and saw him studying her, and almost at once her cool cheeks warmed visibly.

‘So,’ she said lightly, ‘term begins next Wednesday—a week from today?’

‘It does,’ he replied. ‘But the boys will be returning on Monday—or some on Tuesday.’ He paused. ‘I expect you’d like to do the same?’

‘Tuesday would be very convenient for me,’ Ria said.

‘Helen will be at school permanently from Monday. She’ll give you your keys, show you the ropes.’

‘Does Helen live in?’ Ria asked.

‘No, she has a cottage just walking distance from school. She lives there with her elderly mother,’ he replied briefly.

‘She seems very…competent,’ Ria said.

He replied quickly, ‘She is certainly that. I think we’re all a bit afraid of her.’

Ria smiled, but said nothing. She could never imagine Jasper Trent being afraid of anyone—or anything.

‘And do you live permanently “above the shop”?’ Ria asked innocently, hoping that she wasn’t being inquisitive—but wanting to know, just the same.

‘I occupy my own flat during most of term time,’ he replied casually, ‘but it’s not my permanent home.’ He paused before going on, ‘I am merely acting Head of school, in any case,’ he added shortly.

Ria looked across, really surprised at that. ‘Oh?’ she said curiously.

‘My brother is the permanent Head, but he decided he’d like a bit of time off, so I agreed to step into his shoes for a few months and allow him some space.’ The strong mouth lifted wryly in one corner as he went on, ‘But, unfortunately, while he was on a skiing trip he had a bad accident, resulting in various complications, so the anticipated few months will have become a full school year.’ He cleared his throat. ‘But he takes up the reins again in September.’

Ria couldn’t help feeling confused. Jasper Trent had seemed to her to be the perfect headmaster, determined and authoritative, and apparently entrenched in the school’s life. She decided to go one step further.

‘So…where do you normally live, then?’ she asked.

‘Somerset,’ he said briefly. ‘Not so far away that I can’t make fairly regular flying visits for a day or so when I feel like it.’

Yes, but what did he do in Somerset? Ria wondered—but didn’t have the courage to enquire, and neither spoke for a few moments after that.

‘You said you were “homeless” at the moment,’ Jasper said casually.

‘Well, that’s not exactly true,’ she said. ‘My family home is in north London, but I’ve hardly ever lived there, not really. Though, naturally, I was sometimes there in the school holidays. But the house is often empty because my father works for the Foreign Office, and he and my stepmother are frequently away. So, until two months ago, I shared a flat with a girl friend, but her plans have changed so we didn’t renew the lease and I feel in a bit of a vacuum at the moment.’ She smiled. ‘Luckily for me, the friend in Salisbury insisted I stay with her until I take off in September—but now, of course, thanks to Highbridge Manor, I shall have somewhere of my very own for a while.’

He’d been watching her closely as she spoke, loving the changing expressions flickering across her heart-shaped face, and every instinct he possessed warned him not to get carried away, not to be overly affected by this beautiful, warm and appealing woman. But Jasper Trent’s more sensible instincts were heavily outnumbered by his hormones, and he was having difficulty keeping his eyes off her.

Pushing back his chair slightly, he glanced across. ‘Let’s order coffee, shall we? I could do with one.’ Almost before she could agree or not, he’d got up and gone over to the bar. Ria watched him speaking briefly to the bartender. Jasper Trent was so outstandingly handsome, she thought—there must surely be a woman on the scene? How could he possibly avoid it? Yet nothing he’d said indicated that there was. It had all been very first person singular. Then her expression darkened briefly. He was probably—no, obviously —a man who enjoyed relationships with no ties. That must be it. With his physical attributes, he could pick from any bunch he happened to be with, enjoy the moment and pass on to the next. Then she bit her lip. Stop it, she told herself fiercely, stop putting the poor bloke in the compartment of your own choice. You know nothing of his personal life at all. Stop making things up.

In a few moments he returned to the table with a tray holding two mugs of coffee, plus a bowl of sugar and a small jug of cream, and she glanced up at him as he set the things down.

‘You must have guessed how I like my coffee,’ she murmured, helping herself to the sugar before letting a generous slick of cream dribble over the back of her spoon.

‘Well, I knew you probably wouldn’t like it the way I do,’ he said easily, picking up his own black unsweetened coffee. ‘And, since I don’t know your particular tastes, I thought I’d cover all possibilities.’

She smiled now as she put the mug to her lips. ‘And you got it just right,’ she said.

His black eyes softened as he continued gazing at her. And he wasn’t alone in his fascination. He’d been only too aware of the lingering glances in her direction from other males in the restaurant—and the man behind the bar, who knew the residents of Highbridge Manor very well, had been blunt enough to enquire who she was. ‘New girl on the block?’ he’d asked suggestively, raising his eyes in appreciation. And Jasper had fielded the question casually, as if he was surprised at the enquiry. ‘Oh, yes, but very temporary—she’s sort of passing through,’ he’d said, turning away with the drinks.

Presently, glancing at his watch, Jasper said, ‘I’m sorry to rush you but I’m interviewing a part-time games assistant at three o’clock…’

Ria immediately got to her feet. ‘Of course, and I should be getting along,’ she said. ‘I told Hannah that I’d be back long before this.’ She bent to pick up her bag. ‘It’s her birthday today,’ she added, ‘and we’re going out somewhere later to celebrate.’ She looked up at Jasper as he stood aside to let her go past. ‘It’ll be a double celebration,’ she added, ‘because I’ve got a job with a home attached.’

Much later, after he’d finished what he had to do, Jasper shut down his computer, then picked up his jacket from the back of the chair. It had been a good day, he thought, all the important details connected with the start of his last term successfully completed. The young games assistant he’d appointed seemed able and enthusiastic, and it had been a great relief to have found someone to fill the temporary post in the English department. He paused for a moment before leaving the room, a slight frown creasing his brow. He hoped he’d done the right thing, engaging Ria Davidson…It wasn’t anything to do with her ability in her subject, of course, and he knew only too well that his pupils would fall for her at first sight—but would she be able to keep them in their place? Keep law and order in the classroom? Yet something told him that she’d cope well enough and, anyway, he’d make damned sure the boys wouldn’t take advantage of her. He had a daunting reputation for looking in briefly—unexpectedly—while classes were in progress, to check up on general discipline, and nothing ever escaped his notice. He took pleasure in running a tight ship, so it would be in his own interests to steer Miss Davidson through any troubled waters for the short time she’d be at the school.