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'Joe's an architect,' Carlton said in explanation as he followed Katie into the room, shutting the door behind him before walking across to a well-stocked drinks cabinet in one corner. 'Doing very well for himself, too.'
'You should have told me.' He turned round at Katie's quiet voice, meeting her eyes as he gave a small shrug.
'Probably.' He eyed her expressionlessly.
'I could have said something wrong, offended him.'
'I knew you wouldn't,' he said simply.
'No, you didn't.' She flushed slightly but kept to her point. 'People can say all sorts of silly things when they're surprised.'
'And you were surprised, weren't you?' he said flatly as he flung his black leather jacket on to a chair. He was wearing a thick sweater teamed with black denim jeans and the result made her nerve-endings quiver as he walked over to stand just in front of her, lifting her chin with the tip of a finger as he looked down into the greeny brown of her eyes. 'In spite of knowing nothing about me there are a whole host of preconceptions in there, aren't there?' He tapped the side of her head gently as he turned away. 'What would you like to drink?'
'Anything—white wine if you have it,' she said absently. 'Does Joe live here with you?'
'Uh-huh.' He passed her a glass of wine before speaking again. 'The same accident that killed my parents left him paralysed from the waist down at the age of thirteen,' he said quietly, meeting the shock in her eyes with an expressionless face. 'I was abroad at the time, bumming around Europe with a group of friends.' He waved to the big leather sofa behind her. 'Have a seat.'
'Thank you.' She moved to a big easy-chair to one side of the huge fireplace in which a log fire crackled and sparked, holding out a hand to the blaze as she sat down, as though she were cold. She wasn't, but the thought of sharing a sofa with him was definitely out of the question. 'You're a little older than him, then?'
'Ten years.' If he had noticed the manoeuvre he didn't comment on it. 'Joe's twenty-six.' So that made Carlton thirty-six, she thought quickly as she nodded at him, taking a long sip of wine as she did so. 'Once all the legal technicalities were sorted we bought this place and had it adapted for Joe, although he spent a good deal of his time in a special school in the early years.' The smoky grey eyes held hers hard. 'Learning what he could and couldn't do with people much like you, I suspect.'
'I'm sorry, Carlton.' She stared back at him as she nerved herself to make the apology. 'What I said in the car would have been right out of order whether there had been a Joe or not. It was cruel and stupid.'
'Yes, it was.' He walked back to the sofa with his own drink and sat down without taking his eyes off her face. 'The more so because I suspect you aren't usually like that. What is it about me that hits such a nerve, Katie?' he asked impassively. 'I don't think I've ever had anyone take such a violent dislike to me before and I'm curious to know why.' There was no emotion in his voice beyond faint interest but she was beginning to feel that he let very little of the real Carlton Reef show and wasn't fooled by the calm exterior.
'We just got off on the wrong foot, that's all,' she prevaricated quickly as she let her eyes drop from his. 'So Joe's an architect, then?' she continued, desperately searching for a change of conversation. 'He's done very well.'
Tour A levels and an excellent degree at Cambridge; Carlton said quietly, unable to keep a note of pride out of his voice. 'He started a business with a friend of his when neither of them could get a job and it's going like a bomb now; he's hardly able to keep up with the amount of work They're thinking of taking on a third colleague soon.'
'That's good.' She didn't know what to say. She had never felt so out of her depth in her life. The Carlton she had built up in her mind over the last few days, the harsh, uncaring, worldly philanderer, was metamorphosing in front of her eyes and she didn't like it; she didn't like it at all. It had been far easier to hate him when all was black and white; suddenly the amount of grey was more than a little disturbing.
But nothing has really changed, she told herself silently as she took another swallow of wine. He might be good to his brother but even the most selfish of men have the odd Achilles' heel; it doesn't mean anything in the overall run of things.
Suddenly the desire to leave, to get out of his presence and just run and run, was overwhelming and she bit her lip hard as she fought for control. No reason to panic, she told herself firmly; no reason at all.
The relief on her face was transparent a moment or so later when Joseph opened the door and wheeled himself in, and as she turned from smiling at him she caught Carlton's eye and saw that his face was icy. 'Steak and salad OK?' the younger man asked cheerfully as he took the beer Carlton held out to him. 'You've sent Maisie into something of a spin.'
'Maisie?' Katie asked him enquiringly.
'Our chief cook and bottle-washer,' Joseph said, with a wicked grin. 'We had a succession of live-in helps before Maisie turned up but Carlton was never satisfied with any of them. Mind you—' he turned from Katie and nodded at his brother's impassive face before grinning at her again '—when you see Maisie you'll understand why Carlton let this one stay.' He made an outline of the female figure with his hands, 'Real good to look at, eh, Carlton? As well as being the best little housekeeper this side of the Thames,' he added cheekily.
'Maisie is good at her job, that's all, Joe,' Carlton said with a slight bite to his voice. 'As you very well know. Now drink your beer and stop casting aspersions on the girl's character.'
Katie was surprised at how quickly the next half-hour sped by as she talked and laughed with Joseph, Carlton joining in the conversation once or twice but sitting slightly back from them as he surveyed them through cool, narrowed eyes.
She couldn't really take Joseph seriously—he was the original clown with a slightly childish sense of humour that nevertheless appealed—but he was exactly what she needed to relax. It amazed her that in spite of all he had gone through there wasn't a trace of bitterness or regret in anything he said, and in fact he seemed to have a confidence that was unshakeable coupled with an unswerving belief in his own fortitude.
She wondered how much of this positive mental attitude was down to Carlton and suspected that it was quite a lot. There was no doubt that the two brothers were exceptionally close but then that was only to be expected in the circumstances, she told herself as she watched Carlton raise sardonic black eyebrows in silent amusement at something Joseph had just said.
When Maisie tapped on the drawing-room door to call them through to lunch Katie saw exactly what Joseph had meant as Carlton called her in to meet her. The girl was stunningly attractive, with huge liquid brown eyes and a long fall of sleek black hair almost to her waist. She smiled timidly at Katie and scuttled away after the briefest exchange of pleasantries, and Carlton smiled ruefully as they walked through to the dining-room just across the hall.
'She's very shy,' he said in a soft undertone as they followed Joseph, who was teasing Maisie about something as they entered the room, 'but she has one of the sweetest natures I've come across.'
Katie nodded and smiled even as a sudden dart of something gripped her heart So he was attracted to the girl, she thought slowly as she sat down in the chair indicated Well, it was only to be expected and absolutely nothing to do with her.
The room was exquisitely furnished in the same traditional style as the drawing-room, with heavy velvet drapes at the large full-length windows and expensive Persian carpets on the floor. This room was at the back of the house and the window overlooked a wide sweep of lawned garden, trimmed with large bushes and trees that had taken on a Christmas-card prettiness under their mantle of snow.
The meal went well, largely due to Joseph's irrepressible banter, and it was only as they were finishing coffee that Katie thought to check the time.
