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“You know what people will say when they find out he’s living there, don’t you?” he said to me. “They’re bound to think that there’s something going on. And of course they’re bound to feel sorry for Charlie. And I suppose you can’t blame her…he’s an attractive man.”’ Vanessa lifted her eyebrows. ‘Attractive—I ask you! Men can be so blind, can’t they? But then Adam, poor dear, would be the last person to recognise Oliver’s very male appeal—’
Growing steadily angrier as she listened to Vanessa, Charlotte cut through her monologue to demand curtly, ‘Just why have you come here, Vanessa?’
‘Why? Well, to warn you of course, darling. Look, I know how you must feel, how tempted you must be to ignore the facts and allow yourself to imagine… Well, you wouldn’t be human, would you, if you hadn’t imagined just what Oliver would be like in bed? But as your friend… Well, think about it, darling,’ she purred, ignoring the grim silence emanating from her ‘friend’. ‘What on earth could a man like Oliver really see in a woman like you? I mean, let’s be realistic…how many men have there been in your life since your engagement was broken?’ She paused delicately, like a cat toying with an injured mouse, Charlotte reflected tiredly.
All at once she had had more than enough.
‘Vanessa, I’m not sure what you’re trying to imply, but I should tell you now that Oliver Tennant is moving in here as a temporary lodger and nothing more. He means nothing to me other than a source of some additional income to help with the running expenses of this house while I decide what to do with it. If people choose to think differently, well, there is very little I can do about it. However, I am sure that those people who know me as well as you do will realise as you have done the implausibility of there being any relationship between us which is not strictly business.’
‘Ah, yes, that’s another thing I felt I ought to warn you about,’ Vanessa pounced. ‘My dear, have you thought why Oliver has chosen to come and live here with you? Why, you heard me offering him our guest room rent-free. Think about it, my dear. What possible advantage could there be to his staying here? In the business sense, of course.’
‘What is it you’re trying to say, Vanessa?’ Charlotte demanded frigidly.
Vanessa pouted.
‘Surely you can guess? Oliver is your business rival—what better way for him to completely undermine your business than by moving in here with you and, well…pretending that he is attracted to you? I just thought I ought to warn you,’ she added virtuously. ‘And so did Adam. I mean, I suppose in time you’d have realised the truth for yourself, but of course by then it might be far too late. We women can be such fools where our hearts are concerned, can’t we?’
If she didn’t get rid of Vanessa soon she was either going to scream or be sick, Charlotte recognised. She had never been so angry in her life. How dared Vanessa walk in and suggest…? Did she really think she was so stupid, so desperate, that she would allow herself to be deceived in the way Vanessa was suggesting? She had far too much sense.
Or had she? That kiss this evening—a gesture of pity, of compassion, from a man who had unexpectedly shown her that he had awareness of the feelings of others, that had broken down the barriers she had put up against his sex. Or had it had an ulterior, far less altruistic motive?
Could she have been mistaken about his motives? Surely not? That unguarded comment of hers about her lack of sexual appeal hadn’t been something he could have known she was going to say. Even so, an extra burden of anxiety had been added to the ones she already carried.
She had no illusions about Oliver’s determination to establish his agency here. He had claimed that there was room for both of them, and so there was, but she had suspected all along that a man with his drive would never be satisfied with merely a share of the market. Hitherto, though, she had assumed that the competition between them would be conducted on a strictly business footing.
Now Vanessa had succeeded in sowing fresh doubts in her mind. Was his decision to come and live here all part of a carefully planned campaign? Had he, on hearing that she was looking for a lodger, deliberately decided to turn that fact to his own use?
Did he intend to deceive her into believing that something more than a business relationship could be established between them? Did he intend, once having won her confidence, to use her vulnerability to him to destroy her completely?
Charlotte shivered a little and Vanessa’s sharp eyes noticed the betraying gesture. She smiled to herself and stood up. ‘Naturally, as your friend, I had to warn you. I mean, people aren’t stupid, are they? Everyone will soon start putting two and two together—especially the men.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘You know what they can be like. Before you know where you are, they’ll be sniggering about you behind your back, making crude jokes. If I were you I shouldn’t waste a moment in telling Oliver that you’ve changed your mind,’ she added carefully. ‘After all, he’ll soon find somewhere else to live.’
Immediately Charlotte realised the real purpose of Vanessa’s visit. Smiling evenly, she said sweetly, ‘You never give up, do you, Vanessa? But I’m afraid it’s too late. You see, Oliver and I have already signed a tenancy agreement. I can’t change my mind. However, I do appreciate your concern. Not that it was necessary,’ she added carelessly. ‘I’m not as gullible as you seem to think.’
She was still seething with bitterness and resentment long after she had got rid of Vanessa. Her poisoned words had done their work well, dripping venom into Charlotte’s thoughts, making her question just what had motivated Oliver to be so nice to her…to kiss her.
If only Vanessa had known how Charlotte really felt about accepting Oliver as her lodger, and that it was her interference and advice that had made it impossible for Charlotte to draw back from the agreement with him!
That knowledge brought Charlotte a small measure of comfort as she reflected grimly on the less pleasant aspects of Vanessa’s visit. Even knowing that Vanessa had deliberately been trying to wound her didn’t lessen her own feeling of inner disquiet.
She was already far too vulnerable to Oliver, far too aware of him. That kiss… But no, she had told herself she wasn’t going to think about it, to dwell on it…that she was sensibly going to put it out of her mind and forget about it completely.
* * *
However, that was easier said than done. In the morning she was still brooding over Vanessa’s nastiness, and Sheila, watching her frown, asked her quietly, ‘Is something wrong?’
‘No,’ Charlotte lied automatically, and then admitted, ‘Yes…there is. Vanessa called round yesterday and had another go at trying to persuade me not to take on Oliver as a lodger.’ She pulled a face. ‘Oh, she pretended it was concern for me that prompted her visit. She was full of “Adam says” and “Adam agrees with me”. She went on and on about the danger of people gossiping. You can imagine the sort of thing.’
‘Yes, I can,’ Sheila agreed, and then said disparagingly, ‘That woman is such a bitch. She’s jealous of you, of course.’
Charlotte stared at her. ’Vanessa, jealous of me? Oh, come on. She despises me. And, let’s be honest, what do I have that she could possibly envy? Her own sex may realise what she’s really like, but men are always taken in by that sugary appearance.’ Charlotte made another face. ‘She’s attractive, she’s got a wonderful husband, two healthy children, a lovely home.’
‘Yes, and we all know which of those is the most important to her,’ Sheila said shrewdly. ‘Vanessa is an avaricious woman. Wealth, social position, possessions—those are what matter to her. Those and having her vanity constantly stroked by some admiring male. But she’s not getting any younger, and women like her have only one asset to use as a trade-off for what they want from life. I dare say Adam is devoted to her, but without him she’d have nothing. She’s like a bloodsucker sinking her claws into a man stupid enough to love her and wealthy enough to provide her with all the things she wants, but if she ever loses that man… That’s why she envies you, Charlotte—because you’re not vulnerable the way she is. You’re independent, you have your own career, your own home.’
‘But I’m alone,’ Charlotte said fiercely, not realising what she was giving away. ‘Vanessa has a husband…children.’
‘Whom she’d dump in a second if a wealthier man than Adam ever came along and offered her marriage and access to his bank account. She resents you and tries to put you down because inwardly she knows you’r
e worth ten of her. And as for people gossiping about you and Oliver—that’s a ludicrous suggestion.’
