AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Barney. Oh, darling boy.’ She was off the sofa, kneeling on the rug with her arms round him, her face wet with sudden uncontrollable tears.
She looked over his head at Andre lounging in the doorway, his face inscrutable. ‘Oh—how did you find him?’
‘He was never lost.’ He paused. ‘Or did you believe I would leave him in England?’
‘But surely there are rules and regulations about taking dogs abroad. Vaccinations—paperwork—stuff like that.’
‘Already completed by my father. I had only to change the dates of Barney’s collection and flight.’
‘He flew?’
‘Bien sûr. There are companies that specialise in such arrangements.’
‘I didn’t know.’ She bent and put her cheek against the golden head. ‘I—I thought I’d never see him again. You could have told me.’
He shrugged. ‘Or you could have asked. Alors, it was Marguerite who told me of your distress at your mother’s ultimatum. Not you.’
She flushed. ‘My mother has never liked dogs. And I didn’t think you’d care.’
‘You have much to learn,’ he said flatly. His gaze travelled from the sofa to the dead fire. ‘You have been asleep?’
‘Well, yes.’ She got to her feet. ‘Perhaps Madame was right and I did need a rest after all.’
There was an odd silence, then he said quietly, ‘She is rarely wrong.’ He clicked his fingers and Barney went to him, tail like a metronome, pushing his head against the long jeans-clad legs just as he’d always done with Andrew, forcing Ginny to bite her lip hard.
She said, ‘I don’t know how to thank you for this.’
He said softly, ‘Vraiment? Yet I can think of many ways, each more pleasurable than the last.’
Her flush deepened. She said unevenly, ‘You don’t make being here any easier for me with remarks like that.’
‘And when you are my wife,’ he said, ‘will you expect me still to guard my tongue, or shall I be allowed to tell you that I want you and how I intend to please you in bed?’
There was a note in his voice that made her breath catch in her throat and sent an unwelcome trembling sensation rippling across her nerve endings.
Hastily, she pulled herself together. ‘You may be certain this marriage will happen,’ she said curtly, ‘but I’m not.’
‘C’est ce que nous verrons,’ he said, and smiled at her. ‘That, ma mie, remains to be seen.’ He turned and went out, Barney padding beside him.
She followed them both to the kitchen. Barney’s feeding bowl and water dish were in the scullery area, but his basket was by the hearth and he went straight to it and sat looking round him.
She said, ‘He’s had quite a traumatic time. A plane trip and now finding himself in strange surroundings.’
‘But not with strangers.’ Andre bent to fondle Barney’s ears—a gesture she remembered. ‘And the girl who accompanied him said he was a born traveller.’
‘All the same,’ Ginny went on quickly, ‘I think I’d better stay quietly here this evening. Help him settle down.’
He said blandly, ‘There is no need for that, ma mie. He too is one of the family now and will dine with us.’
Damn, thought Ginny, who hadn’t seen that coming. I can’t say I’m tired, having slept most of the afternoon, and if I complain of a headache, he’ll probably have a whole cupboard full of painkillers.
So it looks as if I’ll just have to make the best of this dinner en famille, even though I’d rather be a hundred miles away and still travelling. Not stopping until I reach some place where life will be simple again.
And knew with a pang that achieving her ambition would not be as easy as it sounded.
* * *
Ginny rarely bothered with cosmetics but, she told herself, on this occasion she needed all the help she could get, especially as the most respectable garment she possessed was the grey skirt she’d worn for Andrew’s funeral, teamed this time with a paler grey scoop-necked sweater.
Not exactly gala gear, but better than the taupe dress, she thought ruefully, as she applied a touch of blusher to her face and emphasised her eyes with silvery shadow and a soft grey pencil. Her only lipstick was a neutral shade between pink and beige, but it would have to do.
After a swift spray of scent, she gave herself a last, critical glance in the mirror and went downstairs.
Jules was sitting at the kitchen table and he looked across at her with open surprise, then across at Andre, his lips forming into a silent whistle. Andre merely grinned back at him.
One of those male bonding moments that women love so much, thought Ginny, biting her lip and wondering if her neckline wasn’t a little too scooped.
