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He glanced at her, his eyebrows rising, but merely said, ‘I’ll use this room. Good night—er—what did you say your name was?’
‘Red. Red McGee.’
His eyebrows rose yet again. ‘That’s what I thought you said. Good night.’
She gave him a look, said, ‘Good night,’ in a cool tone, and went back to the guest room.
This time she didn’t fall asleep so quickly. Quite naturally, she was thinking about Linus Hunt. He seemed so different tonight. But maybe he was the kind of man who went on really drunken binges for a few days and was then able to stay off the booze for a few weeks, until the craving drove him back on the bottle.
She wasn’t unfamiliar with the type; there had been a few men who’d worked on her father’s sheep station who’d been like that. Although they hadn’t worked for him long once he’d found out. He’d been fair, though—given them a warning after the first time and only got rid of them after the second bout.
She realised that she would have to revise her first impression of Linus. He was obviously well trained, creeping up the stairs like that and going to sleep in the guest room so as not to disturb Felicia’s sleep.
That must have been why the guest bed was made up—all ready for him. Although, thinking about it, Red decided that if she had been in Felicia St Aubyn’s place she wouldn’t in the least have minded being wakened by a man like Linus. Because, physically, he certainty was quite a man, for all his faults.
Red gave a sigh, feeling like a frustrated schoolgirl, and wondered if Linus was lying awake thinking about her. Then she laughed at herself for being so stupid; the only definite thing about Linus was that he wasn’t interested in anyone but Felicia. Because that was where the money was? Red stirred uneasily, somehow unhappy with the thought.
At eight Red woke, showered and put on the clothes she’d been wearing yesterday: black jeans, a moss-green sweater and a black belt over it round her twenty-two-inch waist. Luckily she always carried make-up with her in her cavernous bag, so she was able to do her face and brush her long hair into its usual mass of crimped waves around her head. Looking at herself critically in the full-length mirror, she decided that she looked pretty good in the circumstances.
Downstairs in the kitchen she started to prepare breakfast, turning on the radio to a pop programme and whistling along to the tunes. Twenty minutes later Linus came into the room.
‘Hi!’ Red greeted him cheerfully. ‘How do you like your eggs?’
‘In the hen.’ He turned off the radio and frowned. ‘Are you always this bright in the mornings?’
‘What’s wrong with being bright?’ She watched as he went to the fridge and took out a bottle of fresh orange juice. He was wearing different, more casual clothes this morning. ‘Didn’t you sleep very well?’
‘No.’ Linus hesitated, then said, ‘I was thinking about Felicia.’
‘She asked me to take her in some things.’
‘I’ll do that.’
‘I’d like to go too. I promised her I would,’ Red said firmly.
Linus glanced at her as he poured the juice, then shrugged. ‘All right.’
Red sat down at the table to eat her breakfast of cereal followed by scrambled eggs and toast, but all Linus had was the orange juice and coffee. He made the coffee, completely at home in the kitchen, knowing where to find everything he needed.
Curiosity overcoming her, Red said offhandedly, ‘This is a really nice house. It must cost the earth to rent.’
His grey eyes settled on her for a moment. ‘Felicia doesn’t rent it; she owns the place. It was left to her by her husband,’ he said shortly.
‘Oh, she’s a widow, then?’ Linus nodded without speaking. Annoyed by his reticence, Red decided to goad him and so went on, ‘Women on their own like that must have to be so careful—not to be taken advantage of, I mean. There are lots of unscrupulous men who’d happily live off older, richer women.’
His eyes again met hers, and she thought that his mouth tightened a little, but Linus didn’t rise to the bait. Instead he set down his empty cup and said in a sardonic tone, ‘If you’re quite sure you’ve had enough, we’d better get the things Felicia asked for.’
He came up to Felicia’s room with her and found a weekend case in which Red carefully put two or three nightdresses, a lacy kind of bed-jacket, and the stuff out of the bathroom that she thought the invalid might need. Linus wasn’t so much at home in the bathroom opening off Felicia’s room; when Red asked him which lotions she ought to take, he didn’t know. ‘Take them all,’ he said impatiently.
Linus called a taxi, and by the time Red had collected her jacket and bag it was at the door. It was another dull grey London day; the streets were crowded with traffic and it took a while to get to the hospital.
Linus drummed his fingers on his knee, and it was plain that he needed to see Felicia and assess her injuries for himself. When they reached the hospital he sprang out, thrusting money into the driver’s hand and striding through the entrance without waiting for Red. She caught him up inside. ‘Which ward?’ he said impatiently.
‘Queen’s. It’s on the second floor.’
They went up in the lift and Red led the way down the corridor, but once in the ward their way was blocked by a buxom senior nurse who looked as if the frown she was wearing was etched into her face. ‘Visiting time is from two till eight,’ she said shortly.
‘We’ve come to see Mrs St Aubyn. She was brought in as an accident case last night.’
‘We’ve brought some things for her,’ Red added.
‘I’ll give them to her. Come again this afternoon.’
‘I’m very worried about her and I insist on seeing her now,’ Linus said stubbornly, his face and voice sharp, determined not to take any denial.
Looking at him, the nurse knew that she’d met her match, but still said belligerently, ‘Only close family members are allowed to come out of visiting hours.’
‘I couldn’t be any closer,’ Linus said shortly. ‘She’s my mother.’
The nurse heard Red’s involuntary gasp of surprise and raised her eyebrows. ‘Your name?’
‘Linus Hunt. My mother married twice,’ he added, before the woman could point out the difference in surnames.
Grudgingly, the nurse said, ‘Very well, you can see her for a few minutes. She’s down there on the right.’ Linus started down the ward and Red went to follow, but the nurse said in a voice of evident disbelief, ‘And who are you—her daughter?’
Taken aback, Red said, ‘Well, no, I...’
At the same time Linus said, ‘Yes,’ adding smoothly as her voice petered off, ‘She’s Mrs St Aubyn’s daughter-in-law—my wife.’ And, taking Red’s arm, he strode down the ward.
Red giggled as the nurse stared after them. ‘Nice one. That was a great idea, to say you were her son. She’d never have let you in if you’d admitted you were only a boyfriend.’
Linus stopped and swung round to give her an incredulous look. ‘What did you say?’
‘That you...’ Her voice dried as Red stared up at his amazed face in dawning realisation. ‘You—you mean you really are her son?’ she gasped.
His jaw hardened; his eyes shrivelled her. ‘Of course I am.’
Turning, he strode on ahead, leaving Red to gaze after him. She laughed in incredulous amazement, and suddenly the sun came bursting through the windows and it was a gorgeous day.
CHAPTER TWO
LINUS strode into the sectioned-off part of the ward where his mother lay, and Red tactfully waited outside for several minutes. She guessed that their meeting would be emotional, especially on Felicia St Aubyn’s part, and didn’t want to intrude. Not only that, she was glad of a few minutes alone in which to reassess her opinion of Linus—an opinion that, with just a few words, had been turned completely upside down.
So he wasn’t a toy boy after all. Red felt strangely pleased about that, and wondered if her first impression of him as a drunk might also have been wrong. He seemed so self-confident today, so completely in control that the first image she’d had of Linus was almost impossible to recognise as the same man. But they were one and the same, which made him something of an enigma—and Red’s big failing had always been her inability to contain her avid curiosity.
When she judged it would be OK to join them, she walked into the side-ward and was pleased to see that Mrs St Aubyn was sitting up and smiling, her hand held in her son’s. She let go when she saw Red and beckoned her over. ‘Linus, find a chair for Red,’ she ordered, and held out her hand for Red to take.
‘How are you feeling, Mrs St Aubyn?’
‘Much better, thank you. And so pleased to see you.’
Linus placed a chair on the other side of the bed for her and Red sat down.
‘Linus tells me you gave each other quite a fright last night.’
‘I’m afraid I threw a vase at him. I’m sorry about that.’
‘Nonsense. I’ve often felt like throwing things at him,’ his mother lied fondly.
‘Oh, I didn’t mean I was sorry for throwing it—just for breaking the vase.’
‘Thank you so much,’ Linus said sardonically.
Mrs St Aubyn glanced at them both with some amusement. ‘It was very kind of you to spend the night at the house. I really appreciate it,’ she said to Red.
‘It was no trouble. Will you be able to go home soon?’ she asked, to change the subject.
‘The doctor hasn’t been round yet, but I feel so much better that I’m sure it will be very soon. Perhaps even today,’ she added hopefully.
‘You had a nasty fall and you’re not leaving until you’re fully recovered,’ Linus stated categorically.
Recognising the masterful edge in his voice, Red and Mrs St Aubyn exchanged a glance and each gave the briefest of knowing smiles, both of them aware that the invalid was going to be out of that hospital just as fast as she could, whether Linus objected or not.
‘I’ve brought the things you wanted,’ Red told her.
‘Oh, that’s marvellous. I can’t wait to change out of this horrid nightdress.’
‘It certainly isn’t your usual style,’ Linus said with a grin.
The senior nurse came bustling up to them. ‘The doctors are beginning their rounds. We can’t have visitors here now.’
Linus gave her a frowning look, but leaned forward to kiss Mrs St Aubyn on the cheek. ‘We’ll leave you, then, Felicia. I’ll come back this afternoon.’
‘Goodbye, darling.’
‘Goodbye, Mrs St Aubyn. I’m glad you’re feeling better.’
‘Oh, please, my dear, call me Felicia, won’t you? And will you come back and see me this afternoon too?’
‘Well, I...’ Red gave Linus an uncertain glance, but he looked away, deliberately unhelpful.
‘Please do. There’s something I’d like you to do for me, but there isn’t time to discuss it now.’
‘In that case, I’ll certainly come.’
‘Thank you, my dear.’
The nurse shepherded them out, almost physically pushing them in her anxiety to be rid of them.
‘That officious, domineering female,’ Linus fumed when they were outside the hospital. ‘Give that kind of woman an inch of power and they think they own not only the hospital and the patients but you as well.’
‘I imagine men are much the same, if not worse,’ Red pointed out tartly.
Linus glanced at her, then gave a crooked grin. ‘I’m sure you’re right, but somehow it seems much worse when it’s a woman.’
‘Only because you’re a man.’
‘Of course,’ he said smoothly, and held up an arm to a cruising taxi. ‘Where are you going now?’
‘Oh, Home, I suppose. In Fulham,’ she explained.
‘Give the driver the address.’ She did so and got in the cab, but Linus didn’t join her, instead asking the cabbie what the fare would be and passing over some notes. Leaning in the open door, he said, ‘I suppose Felicia has your telephone number?’ Red nodded, but he didn’t immediately draw back, instead giving her a speculative look before saying, ‘Did you really think I was Felicia’s boyfriend?’
Red pushed her hair off her face and, brazening it out, said, ‘Of course not. I knew who you were all the time.’
But Linus didn’t believe her. Giving her a look, he said with sardonic over-politeness, ‘Well, goodbye, then—and thanks once again for all your help.’ Then he shut the door and the taxi immediately pulled away.
When Red looked back Linus was already calling up another cab.
Apart from once again telling Jenny about last night’s adventure there wasn’t much to do back at the flat. Jenny was keenly interested, but Red found herself playing down the part that Linus had played in it, merely saying that Felicia’s son had turned up and had gone with her to the hospital.
‘What’s he like?’ Jenny enquired.
Red shrugged. ‘OK, I suppose. Quite tall.’
Jenny lost interest, as Red had hoped she would, and went on to chat about the bistro. After lunch Red showered, got Jenny to do her hair in its usual mass of crimped, pre-Raphaelite waves, and changed into clean jeans and sweater.
She was about to leave for the hospital when last night’s date rang and she had to spend some time on the phone, placating him and promising to go out with him on her next free evening. Finally managing to get away, Red made a detour to a flower stall to buy a large bunch of daisies for Felicia, then had to wait ages for a bus, so it was almost three when she arrived at the hospital.
Linus was already there, leaning forward in his seat and speaking vehemently, while Felicia had a stubborn set to her mouth. Their voices weren’t raised, but Red got the distinct impression that they were arguing.
She coughed, making Linus glance round at her. Frowning, he sat back. Felicia, wearing her own nightdress and lace bed-jacket, her face made-up and looking elegant even in those harsh surroundings, smiled a welcome, making up for his silence. ‘Are those for me? How perfectly lovely. Linus, go and find a vase.’
‘A nurse will get one later.’ He finally gave Red a reluctant nod of greeting.
‘But they’ll wilt in this heat. Go and find one now, please.’
He didn’t seem at all willing to go, and Red would have offered to get one herself except that she caught a definite message not to from Felicia. So she went round the bed and sat in the spare chair. Still frowning, Linus got to his feet and went in search of a vase.
As soon as he was out of earshot Felicia leaned forward and said in a lowered voice, ‘Please stay until after Linus leaves; I want to talk to you.’
‘All right,’ Red agreed at once, full of curiosity. Raising her tone to a normal level, she said, ‘Has your doctor told you when you can go home yet?’
‘Yes; he said tomorrow.’
‘That’s wonderful!’ Red exclaimed just as Linus returned.
‘Yes, isn’t it? They only kept me in because I hit my head, but the X-ray showed that I haven’t fractured my skull and the concussion has cleared up, so they want me out of the way to make room for someone who’s really ill.’
