Marriage By Arrangement

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‘Felicia doesn’t seem to think so. She’s afraid of being bossed around and losing her independence.’

‘It will only be for a couple of months.’

Putting her head on one side, Red gave him a contemplative look. ‘Don’t you love your mother?’

‘That goes without saying,’ Linus answered shortly.

‘Not necessarily. But if you do then why don’t you let her live her own life? Why do you want her to be miserable?’

‘She won’t be,’ he answered curtly. ‘She only wants you because she knows she’ll be able to do as she likes—which will be far too much and too soon. She needs plenty of rest with her leg up so that her ankle can heal properly. With you she won’t get that; with a trained nurse she will.’

‘And the fact that a nurse wouldn’t have any acting ambitions doesn’t come into it, I suppose?’

‘Possibly,’ he admitted with a grim laugh.

Red finished her cake and licked the cream from her lips with the tip of her tongue, as delicately as a cat. She stood up. ‘Will you excuse me for a few minutes?’

Going into the lobby of the hotel, she found the public phone booth and dialled the number that Felicia had given her, then waited while the phone trolley was wheeled to the invalid’s bedside. ‘It’s Red. I’ve been thinking about your offer and I’ve decided to accept.’

Felicia exclaimed with pleasure and they arranged for Red to move in the next day.

Strolling back into the lounge, Red went up to the table where Linus was waiting, but she didn’t sit down again. ‘I’ve got to shoot through. Thanks for the coffee.’

He looked amused at the colloquialism but then frowned as he got to his feet. ‘Look, I’m grateful that you found Felicia, and for your concern. I’m sure she’ll repay you by giving you some free lessons, but you must understand that—’

‘Sure, I understand,’ Red cut in, again angry that he should think that she wanted some kind of reward. ‘Tell me: that’s your experience of women, is it—that they’re all out for what they can get?’

His face hardened. ‘Would-be actresses tend to get obsessive—and desperate. You’d be surprised at the things they do, the lengths they go to to get themselves noticed.’ He laughed shortly. ‘But no, I’m sure it wouldn’t surprise you; you’re sure to know it all already.’

Red smiled. ‘You know something? You really sound as if you have a chip on your shoulder about actresses. What happened? Did one of them throw you over for some other boyfriend?’

The question was both personal and rude, making his eyes narrow. But that was all; his face gave nothing away, and his voice was silky as he said, ‘That’s the third time today you’ve called me a boy. I assure you I’m not.’

Red felt a small flutter of awareness but firmly ignored it. Boy or man, physically attractive as he was, Linus Hunt wasn’t the type she went for.

She gave him a sweet smile and said, ‘Well, one thing’s for sure: you sure as hell don’t know any Australian girls.’ And with that she turned and walked away with a long-legged stride, leaving him looking after her with a puzzled frown.

Red wasn’t working at the bistro that evening, so she spent the time in packing and trying to explain to Jenny why she was doing this when she didn’t really know herself. It wasn’t just sympathy and liking for Felicia, that was for sure; in some ways Red thought that she would probably be better off with a nurse.

Originally she had intended to turn down the offer, but Linus’s arrogance had sent her, angry and defiant, headlong in the other direction. So now she was committed, and whether she would live to regret her hasty decision was yet to be seen. Although Red doubted it; she seldom regretted any decisions she took in her life; even though some turned out to be wrong they were always interesting.

The next morning she took a cab to the house and let herself in, first ringing the doorbell to make sure that Linus wasn’t there. But he must have spent the night at his own place, wherever that was.

After some argument from Jenny, they had decided to let an out-of-work actress they knew have Red’s room in the flat for two months at a low rent. Which was OK, but meant that Red had had to bring all her stuff with her. And she didn’t travel light; she’d bought a load of irresistible clothes since she’d been in London.

She spent some time downstairs before lugging her cases up to the guest room she’d used before. There were some of Linus’s clothes in the wardrobe and dresser, so she put them into a suitcase that was also in the wardrobe.

Afterwards Red set about unpacking, and was still at the task when she heard the front door open and Felicia’s and Linus’s voices in the hall. Girding up her loins to face him—if women actually had loins—Red ran down the stairs to meet them.

The thunder-cloud frown on Linus’s face told her exactly what he thought of the situation, but Red ignored him; Felicia was on crutches and looked tired and strained from the journey. Deftly Red helped her off with her coat, saying, ‘If you’ll make yourself comfortable in the sitting room, I’ll get you a coffee.’

She didn’t try to help Felicia physically and didn’t fuss, instead going straight into the kitchen, but she noticed that Linus put a strong hand under Felicia’s elbow. A few minutes later he followed her into the kitchen.

‘I thought I told you I didn’t want you here,’ he said furiously. ‘When I got to the hospital with the nurse I’d engaged Felicia refused point-blank to have anything to do with her—because you’d gone behind my back and accepted her offer.’

‘I was pushed into it,’ Red admitted, pouring milk into a jug.

‘“Pushed into it”? What do you mean? Who by?’

‘By you, of course. I felt so sorry for Felicia, being bossed around by you, that I decided she didn’t need a nurse to boss her around as well. So I called her yesterday—from the hotel where we were having coffee,’ she added, enjoying herself.

Linus’s face set like granite. ‘I suppose you think you’re very clever’

She gave him a look but merely said, ‘What happened to the nurse?’

‘I had to let her go—for now. But I’m quite sure she’ll be back when Felicia realises how inadequate you are,’ he said nastily.

Picking up the tray, Red gave a small smile as she carried it through to the sitting room, Linus following her closely.

‘Linus, I won’t have you bullying Red,’ Felicia said querulously. ‘Leave her alone.’

‘That’s OK; I’m tough enough to fight my own battles,’ Red said calmly.

‘Thick-skinned more like,’ Linus cut in as he sat in a chair near the ornate fire-surround.

‘Possibly,’ she admitted, putting just a dash of cream into a cup of coffee and handing it to Felicia.

‘You know how I like it,’ the older woman said in surprise.

‘I’ve watched you make it during my lessons.’

‘You’re very observant,’ Felicia said with gratitude.

Red had brought three cups; she poured one for herself and then sat down. If Linus wanted one he could help himself; she wasn’t his servant. Recognising this small defiance for what it was, Linus gave a grim smile as he rose to pour himself a cup.

For his mother’s sake, he controlled his anger, while Felicia chatted to Red, saying that they must make out a shopping list and let her students know that she wouldn’t be available for a couple of days.

‘You need to rest for longer than that,’ Linus cut in, adding, ‘Please, Mother, promise me that you’ll take at least a week off.’

‘Oh dear, if you call me Mother, you must be serious. I’ll see.’

Linus looked as if he was about to argue, then closed his mouth firmly.

Red got to her feet, putting her cup on the tray and taking Felicia’s from her. ‘Have you practised going up and down stairs with your crutches yet? Maybe it might be an idea to try now while Linus is here, so that he can supply some muscle if you need it.’

‘Catch me if I fall, you mean.’ Felicia smiled. ‘Yes, I suppose it might be an idea; they wheeled me out to the taxi in a wheelchair at the hospital. I felt perfectly ridiculous!’

But she let Linus help her up from the chair and, though she tried to hide it, was obviously quite glad to have him there while she made her slow way up the stairs using only one crutch and the banister rail. Red followed with the other crutch and the small case that Felicia had brought home with her.

‘Where are all the rugs?’ Linus asked, glancing at the landing and then down at the hall.

‘I was afraid Felicia might trip on them so I moved them out of the way.’

Linus’s eyebrows rose a little but he merely gave a brief nod.

Climbing the stairs had exhausted her, and Felicia made only a token protest when Red said, ‘How about a rest till lunchtime?’

She got to her room under her own steam but then was glad to let Red help her undress and get into bed. Red closed the curtains against the morning sunlight and went out, quietly closing the door behind her.

Linus was pacing the hall downstairs. Turning, he walked into the kitchen so that their voices wouldn’t carry upstairs. ‘She’s worn out,’ he said roughly.

‘I’m not surprised, if you’ve been arguing with her all morning.’

He gave her a glare, but said, ‘When she wouldn’t have the nurse I tried to get her to go into a convalescent home for a while, but she wouldn’t have that either. I know she’ll try and do too much too soon. I want you to call each of her students and tell them that she won’t be available for at least a couple of weeks.’

‘I already did.’

‘What?’

‘Well, I told them she wouldn’t be available for a week at least. I didn’t think she’d let me get away with two weeks.’

A glint of surprised approval came into his grey eyes for a moment, but his voice was still curt when he said, ‘Have you any nursing experience?’

‘I haven’t had any training, if that’s what you mean. But I helped to look after my mother when she was ill.’

‘How long for?’

She dug her fingers into her palms, not wanting to remember that terrible time when her mother had fought so hard against the cancer that had eventually killed her, and managed to say matter-of-factly, ‘Several months’