Sally Wentworth - Marriage By Arrangement

His arrogant assumption that she was the kind of person who would take advantage of such a situation brought an immediate spurt of anger. Red was only amazed that he hadn’t accused her of pushing Felicia down the stairs as part of some deep-laid plan to bring all this about.

Not bothering to hide her feelings, she said with as much sarcasm as he had shown earlier, ‘And what are you—the office boy?’

Linus had his cup to his mouth, taking a drink, but was so surprised that the liquid went down the wrong way, making him cough. Recovering, he eyed her narrowly. ‘Not quite.’ His mouth was so grim that Red thought that he was going to have another go at her, but he said, ‘I’m not going to allow you to look after Felicia.’

‘Isn’t that up to her?’

‘She needs a trained nurse, not a bumbling amateur.’

‘Felicia doesn’t seem to think so. She’s afraid of being bossed around and losing her independence.’

‘It will only be for a couple of months.’

Putting her head on one side, Red gave him a contemplative look. ‘Don’t you love your mother?’

‘That goes without saying,’ Linus answered shortly.

‘Not necessarily. But if you do then why don’t you let her live her own life? Why do you want her to be miserable?’

‘She won’t be,’ he answered curtly. ‘She only wants you because she knows she’ll be able to do as she likes—which will be far too much and too soon. She needs plenty of rest with her leg up so that her ankle can heal properly. With you she won’t get that; with a trained nurse she will.’

‘And the fact that a nurse wouldn’t have any acting ambitions doesn’t come into it, I suppose?’

‘Possibly,’ he admitted with a grim laugh.

Red finished her cake and licked the cream from her lips with the tip of her tongue, as delicately as a cat. She stood up. ‘Will you excuse me for a few minutes?’

Going into the lobby of the hotel, she found the public phone booth and dialled the number that Felicia had given her, then waited while the phone trolley was wheeled to the invalid’s bedside. ‘It’s Red. I’ve been thinking about your offer and I’ve decided to accept.’

Felicia exclaimed with pleasure and they arranged for Red to move in the next day.

Strolling back into the lounge, Red went up to the table where Linus was waiting, but she didn’t sit down again. ‘I’ve got to shoot through. Thanks for the coffee.’

He looked amused at the colloquialism but then frowned as he got to his feet. ‘Look, I’m grateful that you found Felicia, and for your concern. I’m sure she’ll repay you by giving you some free lessons, but you must understand that—’

‘Sure, I understand,’ Red cut in, again angry that he should think that she wanted some kind of reward. ‘Tell me: that’s your experience of women, is it—that they’re all out for what they can get?’

His face hardened. ‘Would-be actresses tend to get obsessive—and desperate. You’d be surprised at the things they do, the lengths they go to to get themselves noticed.’ He laughed shortly. ‘But no, I’m sure it wouldn’t surprise you; you’re sure to know it all already.’

Red smiled. ‘You know something? You really sound as if you have a chip on your shoulder about actresses. What happened? Did one of them throw you over for some other boyfriend?’

The question was both personal and rude, making his eyes narrow. But that was all; his face gave nothing away, and his voice was silky as he said, ‘That’s the third time today you’ve called me a boy. I assure you I’m not.’

Red felt a small flutter of awareness but firmly ignored it. Boy or man, physically attractive as he was, Linus Hunt wasn’t the type she went for.

She gave him a sweet smile and said, ‘Well, one thing’s for sure: you sure as hell don’t know any Australian girls.’ And with that she turned and walked away with a long-legged stride, leaving him looking after her with a puzzled frown.

Red wasn’t working at the bistro that evening, so she spent the time in packing and trying to explain to Jenny why she was doing this when she didn’t really know herself. It wasn’t just sympathy and liking for Felicia, that was for sure; in some ways Red thought that she would probably be better off with a nurse.

Originally she had intended to turn down the offer, but Linus’s arrogance had sent her, angry and defiant, headlong in the other direction. So now she was committed, and whether she would live to regret her hasty decision was yet to be seen. Although Red doubted it; she seldom regretted any decisions she took in her life; even though some turned out to be wrong they were always interesting.

The next morning she took a cab to the house and let herself in, first ringing the doorbell to make sure that Linus wasn’t there. But he must have spent the night at his own place, wherever that was.

After some argument from Jenny, they had decided to let an out-of-work actress they knew have Red’s room in the flat for two months at a low rent. Which was OK, but meant that Red had had to bring all her stuff with her. And she didn’t travel light; she’d bought a load of irresistible clothes since she’d been in London.

She spent some time downstairs before lugging her cases up to the guest room she’d used before. There were some of Linus’s clothes in the wardrobe and dresser, so she put them into a suitcase that was also in the wardrobe.

Afterwards Red set about unpacking, and was still at the task when she heard the front door open and Felicia’s and Linus’s voices in the hall. Girding up her loins to face him—if women actually had loins—Red ran down the stairs to meet them.

The thunder-cloud frown on Linus’s face told her exactly what he thought of the situation, but Red ignored him; Felicia was on crutches and looked tired and strained from the journey. Deftly Red helped her off with her coat, saying, ‘If you’ll make yourself comfortable in the sitting room, I’ll get you a coffee.’

She didn’t try to help Felicia physically and didn’t fuss, instead going straight into the kitchen, but she noticed that Linus put a strong hand under Felicia’s elbow. A few minutes later he followed her into the kitchen.

‘I thought I told you I didn’t want you here,’ he said furiously. ‘When I got to the hospital with the nurse I’d engaged Felicia refused point-blank to have anything to do with her—because you’d gone behind my back and accepted her offer.’

‘I was pushed into it,’ Red admitted, pouring milk into a jug.

‘“Pushed into it”? What do you mean? Who by?’

‘By you, of course. I felt so sorry for Felicia, being bossed around by you, that I decided she didn’t need a nurse to boss her around as well. So I called her yesterday—from the hotel where we were having coffee,’ she added, enjoying herself.

Linus’s face set like granite. ‘I suppose you think you’re very clever’

She gave him a look but merely said, ‘What happened to the nurse?’

‘I had to let her go—for now. But I’m quite sure she’ll be back when Felicia realises how inadequate you are,’ he said nastily.

Picking up the tray, Red gave a small smile as she carried it through to the sitting room, Linus following her closely.

‘Linus, I won’t have you bullying Red,’ Felicia said querulously. ‘Leave her alone.’

‘That’s OK; I’m tough enough to fight my own battles,’ Red said calmly.

‘Thick-skinned more like,’ Linus cut in as he sat in a chair near the ornate fire-surround.

‘Possibly,’ she admitted, putting just a dash of cream into a cup of coffee and handing it to Felicia.

‘You know how I like it,’ the older woman said in surprise.