A Man To Marry

She doubted very much ever worried this man, certainly not being accepted. For one thing, she was sure his obvious wealth usually assured him a smooth—and comfortable!—passage wherever he chose to go. And, for another, it didn’t look as if it would bother him too much if it didn’t!

‘Do you have work in the area?’ Kate asked politely, much more the capable of the two of them when it came to dealing with the parents, which was why Cat usually left the lead to her in interviews like this.

‘Not exactly.’ Once again his answer was designed to tell them as little about himself as possible.

As Cat had guessed all too easily a short time ago, Caleb Reynolds was not a man who liked, or wanted, to talk about himself. She was sure he had only told her what he had earlier because in the circumstances he’d felt he had to.

But he obviously didn’t have too much of an idea about village life, because what Lilley Stewart, at the post office and general store, didn’t know about any of the local residents usually wasn’t worth anything! And, as the newest inhabitant, Caleb Reynolds was sure to be the favourite topic of conversation for several weeks. Whether they were interested or not, anyone who went into the post office for so much as a stamp in the next few weeks would be told what little Lilley already knew about him, and pumped for any information they might have that she didn’t!

With Caleb’s young son in their care five mornings a week, Kate and Cat would definitely be in the line of fire. Village life certainly had its disadvantages as well as its advantages!

‘I’m really of very little interest,’ Caleb drawled as he seemed to half guess her thoughts. ‘Although I believe you’ve had your share of public figures living in the village.’ He smartly turned the conversation away from himself.

A fact that didn’t go unnoticed by Cat. He really didn’t want to talk about himself, did he? Although she couldn’t say she was exactly happy with the direction the conversation had taken now…

‘At least, you did,’ Caleb added drily, when neither she nor Kate made any response to his initial comment.

‘Oh, you must mean Toby Westward,’ Cat dismissed lightly. ‘Our colourful—literally!—local artist. He was just here for lunch, actually.’ She was starting to be defensive now, had been feeling that way since Caleb Reynolds had asked if either of them was married. What was wrong with society today if two women couldn’t live and work together without creating gossip and speculation?

‘Was he?’ Caleb Reynolds acknowledged without interest. ‘Actually, I was referring to Katherine Maitland. In fact, I believe she actually lived in this house at one time.’

If he had tossed a bomb amongst them he couldn’t have sent stronger shock waves through the room, both Kate and Cat staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.

‘Where on earth did you hear that?’ Kate was finally the one to gasp, Cat still staring at Caleb as the prey must stare at the snake—just before it strikes the fatal blow.

He shrugged. ‘The woman at the post office mentioned it to me yesterday when I went in to pick up supplies,’ he responded, his mouth twisting into a wry smile. ‘A bit of local colour! I believe she did mention Toby Westward, too,’ he finished.

Obviously Toby held no interest for him whatsoever! But Katherine Maitland did…

‘No doubt you’re on her list of ‘local colour’ too now,’ Cat put in hardly. ‘And I believe you may be right about Katherine Maitland once having owned this house; I seem to recall it being mentioned when we first looked at the place with a view to buying.’ She deliberately didn’t look at Kate as she spoke.

‘Although she can’t have lived here for years. Way before our time.’ She silently congratulated herself on having dealt with the situation so calmly.

‘Very much so,’ Caleb Reynolds accepted. ‘Although you will obviously have heard of her?’ He raised dark brows.

‘Of course.’ Kate was the one to take over their side of the conversation this time. ‘She was one of the most famous opera singers of her day. But surely she must be dead by now?’ she queried flippantly. ‘She must be ancient!’

His mouth twisted again. ‘Early seventies at a guess,’ he said. ‘Hardly ancient. I actually saw her perform once, shortly before she retired,’ he continued huskily. ‘It’s something I’ve never forgotten. She didn’t only have the most amazing voice, she had something else, a charisma that was electric!’

‘But—’ Cat broke off, breathing deeply. ‘You must have been very young?’ She kept her voice light.

‘Not so young,’ he returned. ‘Although it must be about twenty-five years since she retired after a family tragedy. You—’

‘Oh, look,’ Kate cut in softly. ‘We’ve bored poor Adam into falling asleep!’ she said warmly, standing up to cross the room to where the little boy lay back against the cushion behind him, his lashes long and thick as they rested against his cheeks in repose, Kate reaching out to gently smooth the silky hair from his brow.

‘He still takes the occasional nap in the afternoon,’ his father excused, abruptly standing up. ‘I’m quite happy for Adam to start here in the morning, if you are,’ he stated arrogantly. ‘Unless the two of you would like time to discuss it first?’ he questioned, that defensive wall back in place.

Cat glanced across at Kate, knowing they didn’t need to talk about it. The father could be a problem, but she knew they both thought Adam was adorable! ‘If you think Adam will stay with us?’ She looked at him enquiringly.

‘He seems quite comfortable with you.’ He still sounded surprised by this fact. ‘Although we won’t know whether or not he will stay with you until we try it,’ he added harshly.

Cat had a feeling that it would be good for both father and son to have a break from each other for a few hours. Adam would benefit from being with other children, and it couldn’t have been easy for his father to be constantly in demand over the last six months.

‘As you say,’ she nodded. ‘We won’t know until we try.’

Caleb looked at her from beneath dark brows for several long seconds, but said nothing more before gently lifting Adam and carrying him out to his car.

‘Phew!’ Cat muttered once they were back inside the house, collapsing back into one of the armchairs.

‘Ditto!’ Kate dropped down into the chair opposite, absently stroking their cat as it jumped up onto her knee.

‘Adam is adorable,’ Cat acknowledged, head back, eyes closed. ‘But the father!’ She shook her head. ‘Arrogant. Cold. So—’

‘He loves Adam,’ Kate pointed out wearily, obviously having felt the strain of their meeting as much as Cat had.

‘He’s trouble, Kate; I can feel it!’ She grimaced. ‘But Adam…’ She thought back to that tousle-haired little boy, to the trauma he had suffered that had rendered him speechless. They could help him, she felt sure of it, sensed they had already made a breakthrough when Adam had gone off with Kate, something his father had admitted he hadn’t done for the last six months. She relayed to Kate what Caleb had told her in Kate’s absence earlier. ‘I’m willing to overlook the father if we can be of help to Adam,’ she pronounced finally.

‘We can try,’ Kate said slowly. ‘Ignoring the father, I mean. I have a feeling not too many people manage to ignore Caleb Reynolds!’

So did Cat.

Which could, ultimately, be a problem for them. For all of them.

Only time would tell.

Cat stood up decisively. ‘Let’s go and make another pot of tea and take it through to Kitty.’ She was determined to dispel the mood of gloom that had fallen over them since meeting Mr Reynolds. After all, they only thought Caleb Reynolds might be more trouble than looking after his son was worth. He might never mention a particular subject again…

And, if he did, they would deal with the problem when—and if—it became necessary…

CHAPTER TWO

‘WHO on earth can that be?’ Kate sighed impatiently as the doorbell could be heard ringing as they were about to go outside into the garden. ‘Not Toby again!’

Cat smiled at her sympathetically. At the end of a long day, the children all safely returned to their parents, their own leisurely evening meal over and the clearing away completed, they liked nothing better than to relax in the privacy of their garden, making the most of the lighter nights, this evening being a particularly warm one.

The walled garden had offered two positive things when they’d first come to view the house: a safe place for the children to come outside and play in the daytime and complete privacy for themselves in the evenings and at weekends. This evening Kate had obviously been looking forward to a couple of hours’ relaxation, either with a good book, or just in gentle, meaningless conversation.

‘It’s all right,’ Cat assured her brightly. ‘You go ahead and I’ll join you in a few minutes. When I’ve got rid of Toby!’ she amended ruefully, as convinced as Kate that he had to be their unexpected visitor.

They both liked Toby, found him amusing company, but just lately he had taken to calling in on them uninvited, and too much of a good thing was just that—too much!

‘It’s you he’s come to see, anyway,’ Kate teased. ‘I’m far too bossy for him!’

Cat pushed back her tousled red curls, shaking her head. ‘Then he obviously hasn’t taken note of my fiery Irish temper! I’ll be five minutes behind you—max!’ she promised determinedly. It had been a long day for her too, and the last thing she felt like doing was fending off Toby’s obvious advances—especially as she was sure it was just a game to him.

Kate laughed softly, glowingly lovely, her hair loose about her shoulders. ‘I admire your optimism!’

Cat returned her smile before going in answer to the second ringing of the doorbell. The only positive thing about Toby’s impromptu visit this evening was that he had arrived after dinner; usually he contrived to arrive right at a mealtime, and expected to be fed!

‘The answer is no, Toby, so I’ll save you…’ Cat’s voice trailed off in embarrassed surprise as she opened the door fully and found not Toby standing on the doorstep but Caleb Reynolds!

A completely different Caleb Reynolds from yesterday, she noted, the short-sleeved open-necked blue shirt much more informal than the suit he had worn then, as were the faded denims. Somehow the casualness of his appearance made him seem younger, much less forbidding…

‘Mr Reynolds,’ she greeted awkwardly, wearing a striped sleeveless tee shirt and faded denims herself. Well, they hadn’t been expecting company…

‘And not Toby,’ he conceded drily, grey gaze lightly mocking. ‘Although, as you were saying a very firm no to him, perhaps it’s as well!’ He quirked dark, mocking brows.

Cat felt the warmth in her cheeks as she looked up at him; at only just five feet in height herself, this man towered over her. ‘Sorry about that.’ She grimaced. ‘Toby is very nice—’

‘But?’ Caleb Reynolds prompted.

‘But’ nothing she was about to regale this man with! Toby could be a pest at times, but he was also a friend, and she had no intention of discussing him behind his back with a virtual stranger. ‘What can I do for you, Mr Reynolds?’ she said briskly; he had seemed more than happy when he’d arrived to pick Adam up at twelve-thirty and found his young son sitting quietly in a corner with Kate doing a jigsaw puzzle. ‘There’s been no adverse reaction from Adam this evening concerning his morning at playschool, has there?’ She frowned concernedly.

‘Not so far, no,’ he said thankfully. ‘Hopefully there won’t be one. The thing that bothered me the most about it was getting him to stay in the first place.’

But that had been achieved quite effectively when Kate had taken Adam by the hand and offered to show him again the swings and slides he had been so interested in yesterday…

‘I was actually going to telephone you this evening,’ Caleb Reynolds continued, looking a little grim. ‘But the daughter of the woman I’ve rented the cottage from offered to babysit Adam this evening, and as he’s fast asleep— She seems quite reliable,’ he added distractedly. ‘And Adam doesn’t usually wake up once he’s asleep, so I—’

‘Jane is very reliable,’ Cat assured him, taking pity on him; it must be as difficult for him to leave Adam after what had happened as it was for Adam to leave him! ‘She helps out at the playschool part-time during the school holidays. She’s taking her A levels.’ And now, Cat realised self-disgustedly, she was the one babbling.

It was just that Caleb Reynolds was the last person she had expected to see when she’d opened the door. Although she had a feeling Kate would have handled the situation better than she was; tact and diplomacy were not her fortes!

‘Would you mind if I came in for a few minutes?’ Caleb enquired. ‘I won’t take up too much of your time,’ he said bluntly as Cat looked at him blankly. ‘I’m sure, like myself, you have other things to do this evening.’

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to invite him in, she just wasn’t sure it was convenient at the moment. They had all been going out into the garden, and— ‘Please, do come in,’ Cat invited stiltedly, thinking fast. ‘I—I believe Kate is taking a bath,’ she added hurriedly, believing no such thing! ‘I’ll just go and war—tell her that you’re here—’

‘That won’t be necessary.’ He had followed her through into the same room as yesterday. ‘Unless you feel in need of the moral support?’ he commented derisively, his presence in this utterly feminine room with its chintz curtains and covers once again malely dominating.

Cat bristled indignantly at his mocking tone. Arrogant, patronising—! Her sympathy for him of a few minutes ago completely evaporated. ‘Not in the least,’ she dismissed scathingly.

Besides, she could imagine Kate right this minute, in the most secluded part of the garden, relaxing on a lounger, Kitty at her side. No, she wasn’t about to disturb either of them; she could deal with Caleb Reynolds quite well on her own!

‘Please sit down,’ she invited tersely, waiting for him to do so but maintaining her own standing position beside the unlit fireplace. ‘And if it isn’t a problem with Adam that brought you here, then what can we do to help you, Mr Reynolds?’ she asked warily. Because this man, with his arrogant disdain, didn’t give her the impression he was in the habit of paying social calls just for the sake of it!

He looked at her consideringly for several long seconds, the silence stretching awkwardly between them. ‘Miss Rourke—or perhaps I can call you Cat?’ he drawled, seeming amused by her continued formality.

And no doubt he was amused, Cat inwardly acknowledged, but she would bet that if she stepped even one inch over what he considered the line to intrusion into his private life, rather than the polite interest she had shown so far, he would step on it—and her!—very quickly.

‘Please do,’ she accepted distantly.

‘And I’m Caleb.’

How cosy! And yet she knew that it wasn’t. She would take a guess on this man squashing her like a bug if she got in his way! But what way did he want to go…?

‘That still doesn’t tell me what I can do to help you,’ she reminded him. ‘If there is no problem with Adam—’

‘I’ve already told you there isn’t—Cat,’ he returned evenly, that arctic gaze easily capturing and holding hers. ‘Adam—for all that I spent the best part of the morning pacing up and down worrying in case he needed me!—seems to have enjoyed his morning here. In fact, I think, if anything, he found the afternoon with just the two of us quite boring. It’s always the way with children, isn’t it?’ He grimaced. ‘We get the grey hairs, and they just grow bigger and stronger!’

Cat relaxed slightly at the paternal image of this man pacing up and down in worry over his son. It brought back to her the fact that no matter how arrogant and patronising she found him he did love his son. It was there in his intonation when he spoke of Adam.

‘I had never really thought of it in quite that way,’ she smiled. ‘But yes, I suppose they do. But you really have no need to worry any further about Adam while he’s here; the other children didn’t seem to mind at all that he didn’t actually speak to them. In fact, they seem to have a sort of telepathy with each other at this age!’ Considering the trauma Adam had suffered just six months ago, although he had stayed quite close to Cat and Kate during the morning, he had also, to their delight, played with the other children.

‘So I’ve noticed,’ Caleb agreed. ‘My sister has a little girl of two, and she and Adam have no trouble communicating with each other at all.’

Slowly Cat was learning more about this man, though it was like getting blood from a stone! But she still had a feeling that was more than most people could get out of him. She knew he had been married, that his wife had died, that he had a sister, and a niece. It was probably more than he knew about her, Cat conceded. And that was the way it was going to stay!

Although she couldn’t help wondering why, with family obviously living somewhere close—Adam was able to play with his cousin—Caleb Reynolds had chosen to move to this area at all…? Unless his sister lived around here too? But if that was the case why rent a cottage? Why not just stay with his sister? There was still a lot about Caleb Reynolds they didn’t know!

‘I actually came here this evening,’ he said softly, ‘to ask you and Kate if I could look around your house.’

He had lulled her into a false sense of security by talking about Adam, and then—pow!—he’d hit her with what he was really here for!

Cat stared at him, green eyes wide. ‘I thought you were happy with our facilities when I showed you round this morning?’ She frowned. ‘I can assure you that we are inspected on a regular basis, and—’

‘I don’t want to look around the playschool again, Cat,’ Caleb cut in mildly. ‘As you say, I’ve already seen it, and I have no doubt that it passes inspection. It’s actually the rest of the house I’m interested in seeing.’

‘Why?’ Cat blurted out rudely, too startled for politeness.

‘Because it’s one of the oldest houses in the area and I have an interest in old houses?’ he suggested drily, dark brows raised at her bluntness.

She met his gaze unblinkingly. ‘And?’

He shrugged. ‘Does there have to be an and?’

She nodded abruptly. ‘I think so, yes!’

Why on earth did he want to look around this particular house? Admittedly it was almost one hundred and fifty years old, had originally been the manor house of the area, surrounded by farmland that was worked by the tenants of the cottages in the village. But the squire’s family had moved out of the area years ago, the farmland bought up by neighbouring farmers, and the village itself had expanded and grown, so that the nearest dwelling was now only a quarter of a mile away. In fact, it was the cottage this man was currently renting!

Again Caleb gave her that steady, steely-eyed look. But if he thought he was going to unnerve her he was mistaken; as a parent she would treat him with the same politeness she did all their other clients, but as someone wanting to invade the privacy of their home—! The same rules didn’t apply in that situation. So Cat met that level gaze with an intensity of her own.

‘Okay,’ Caleb Reynolds finally murmured, shrugging his shoulders, ‘you’ve guessed my secret.’ A charming smile accompanied this statement.

A smile that Cat had no intention of responding to, that put her even more on her guard instead. Charm was not something she particularly associated with this man, so it had to be there now for a reason…

‘There is more than just a mild curiosity on my part,’ he conceded grudgingly. ‘You see—’

‘Cat, what on earth is keeping you this long?’ Kate called impatiently as she could be heard walking down the hallway. ‘Really, Toby, it’s been a hard day, and—’ Kate was as surprised to see Caleb Reynolds sitting in the room with Cat as Cat had been earlier when she’d opened the door to him. ‘Mr Reynolds…?’ she greeted in a puzzled voice.

‘Miss Brady,’ he returned formally, having stood up at her entrance. ‘Although your friend and I have decided to dispense with formality and stick to first names,’ he added, once again with that charming smile.

If one were in the mood to be charmed—which Cat certainly wasn’t! Besides, that smile didn’t quite reach the hardness of those icy grey eyes…

‘Really?’ Kate gave Cat a sideways glance, obviously as confused as Cat had been by his presence here.

Although Cat was no longer as confused as she had been initially. If he thought she had forgotten his ‘secret’, he was mistaken!

‘Did you enjoy your bath, Kate?’ he enquired solicitously, his gaze mocking now.

Cat could easily guess the reason for his mockery, on two counts. Firstly, the pieces of grass that were both on the back of Kate’s top and entangled in her hair clearly showed she hadn’t been anywhere near the bath in the last few minutes. And, secondly, Kate’s blankly uncomprehending expression said she didn’t have a clue what he was talking about!

Cat had originally used the excuse of Kate being in the bath because she hadn’t wanted Caleb to suggest joining them in the garden. But Kate’s slightly dishevelled, obviously post-garden appearance simply made a liar out of her.

‘My mistake, I’m afraid,’ Cat put in sweetly, her expression deliberately bland. ‘I thought you had gone to have a bath, but obviously you haven’t finished in the garden yet,’ she said pointedly.

Kate gave her a frowning look before turning to Caleb. ‘Gardens take up such a lot of one’s time, don’t they?’ she said conversationally, her words neither confirming nor belying Cat’s statement. ‘As you’re going to find out while you’re at Rose Cottage. Unless you have someone coming in to take care of it for you?’

Cat knew that Jane’s mother always did the cleaning at the cottage, and with Adam taken care of as well five mornings a week she couldn’t help wondering what Caleb was going to find to do with his time if he passed the gardening on to someone else too. Besides coming here when he felt like it and making a nuisance of himself, that was! One male dropping in unannounced was bad enough; two was intolerable!

‘Actually, no,’ Caleb answered Kate lightly. ‘It was the fact that the cottage had such a large garden that appealed to me. We live in an apartment in London, and the doctors seemed to think that a complete change of scenery might be of benefit to Adam.’

‘So he’s going to do the gardening?’ Cat put in, with only a light veil over her sarcasm.

It was a veil that didn’t fool Caleb for a moment, and he looked at her consideringly for several seconds. ‘You don’t like me very much, do you, Cat?’ he finally murmured thoughtfully.

Like him—she didn’t even know him! But the habit he had of speaking his mind was a little unnerving, yes. Kept between the two of them, it wasn’t a problem, but with Kate present—Kate who now looked very uncomfortable with the turn the conversation had taken—it was a completely different matter.

‘Kate’s the diplomat in this partnership, Caleb,’ Cat returned ruefully. ‘I have better success dealing with children.’

‘As opposed to men?’ he returned softly.

‘As opposed to anyone!’ Cat snapped back, eyes flashing deeply green.

Give me a break, Kate, her expression silently pleaded with her friend; this man gave as good as he got—if not better!

‘You were about to explain your interest in seeing around this house?’ she prompted their visitor, deliberately not looking at Kate now as she heard her friend’s indrawn breath, but hoping that her friend now understood her own defensive attitude towards this man.

Caleb looked perfectly relaxed, seemingly unaware of the underlying tension in the room. ‘It’s quite simple, really,’ he replied. ‘I’m interested in this house because my great-great-grandfather was its architect.’

The two women couldn’t have felt—or looked!—more stunned if he had told them his ancestor had been Jack the Ripper!