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‘May I speak with her, please?’
‘Not before I do.’ Her father turned toward her. ‘Caitlin, your Mr Hartley has come all the way from Sydney to tell me I should go back home. What do you think?’
Caitlin wished she could toss David Hartley to the furthermost reaches of the world. She didn’t want to see him again. Yet for some extraordinary reason he appeared to be having more effect on her father than she had managed so far. It would be stupid of her to look a gift horse in the mouth at this juncture. She rose to her feet to add her weight to David’s opinion.
‘I t
hink he could be right, Dad. There has to be a better solution than this.’
‘Your mother has certainly been a wonderful woman,’ her father mused, ‘except when she’s in a temper.’
Caitlin had never seen her father in such a state of nervous vacillation in his life. She knew he hated heated arguments. Did anything to avoid them. When he was forced to endure them, he did so in stoic silence. He never raised his voice to anyone. Quite clearly the prospect of facing her mother, who was bound to give him a terrible tongue-lashing, had little appeal.
‘Maybe I should go home,’ he said, wavering over the idea.
‘Would you like me to talk to Mum first?’ Caitlin suggested. ‘Smooth things over. After all, she won’t want to cancel the party.’
Caitlin crossed her fingers behind her back, desperately hoping the party wasn’t already cancelled.
Her father’s face reflected quiet rebellion. ‘I’m not going to say I’m sorry!’
‘I don’t have the same reluctance,’ David said. ‘I want to tell Caitlin I’m sorry for everything that’s happened.’
Caitlin couldn’t hold back her surprise. She wasn’t at all confident how sincere David was, but it was the first time he had ever so much as inferred that he could be fallible. ‘David...’ His name tripped off her tongue, directly acknowledging his presence for the first time.
‘It’s not your fault,’ her father told him, somewhat surprised.
‘Wouldn’t you agree we need to get together?’ David asked, equally surprised.
Caitlin was astounded. Had she somehow jolted David into a reappraisal of himself and his attitudes? Not only had he dropped his precious business to follow her, he was now proposing to get thoroughly mixed up with her family.
On the other hand, he had no idea of what was really happening, so the proposed need for togetherness could be the product of a very confused mind.
‘That could be very noisy,’ her father warned, ‘and messy. I like Caitlin’s idea better. Her mother might listen to what she says. Settle down a bit.’
‘I’ll go with Caitlin,’ David said decisively. ‘That will give us time to talk over the essentials. Form a new deal. Whatever support Caitlin needs, I’ll be at her side.’
Caitlin almost choked. David might not have fully grasped what was going on, but he was seizing an advantage for himself with his usual breathtaking speed.
‘Decent of you,’ her father said reflectively. He eyed David up and down. ‘I’m glad my daughter works for you, Mr Hartley.’
‘Dad, I don’t work for him any longer,’ Caitlin was driven to protest. ‘In fact I don’t like him one little...’
‘Caitlin and I have had a little misunderstanding,’ David cut in. ‘It’s all my fault. I intend to change some of my ways, adopt new attitudes.’
‘Well, I’ll be blowed,’ her father remarked.
‘It’s too late,’ Caitlin cried. ‘I don’t believe him!’ she added wildly, but it was a tantalising thought, a seductive thought. She found herself weaken-ing fast.
‘Well, you’ll have time to talk on your way in to Wyong,’ her father said obligingly to David, then turned back to Caitlin. ‘I’ll wait here until you let me know how your mother feels. That’s pretty crucial!’
Caitlin reined in the spate of turbulent emotion. Why confuse the issue for her father? If David was playing games, she might as well stay on the team, at least until she had reached her goal.
‘I’ll see you later, Dad,’ she said, moving forward to press a kiss on her father’s cheek.
She gave David a don’t-touch-me glare as she stepped outside the room. He fell into step beside her as the door of the unit clicked shut behind them.
‘What happened to the Germans?’ she asked, keeping her gaze trained on the car park. David’s eyes could be dynamite when he wanted her.
