Free I'll Get By by Janet Woods Page B

hair was a draggle of rats tails. She smiled ruefully as she shed water all over the kitchen floor. ‘It’s nice to meet you before we go dancing together at the weekend.’
    Rennie smiled at Esmé. ‘You look rather wet, Mrs Thornton.’
    ‘I am rather. I must go upstairs and change.’
    ‘And I must go too. I hadn’t realized how late it was.’
    ‘Must you, when we’ve only just met? Unless you have a prior engagement, stay for dinner. We’ve bought enough sausages haven’t we, Meggie?’
    Rennie protested. ‘It’s tempting . . . but you haven’t had time to cater for a guest.’
    Aunt Es won the argument with her killer smile. ‘Nonsense, I won’t hear of it. It’s bangers and mash day, with lashings of onion gravy on top, and there’s always plenty.’
    ‘That will be followed by one of Meggie’s delicious apple crumbles and custard, I hope,’ Leo said, shamelessly ingratiating as he got his order in for a pudding.
    Rennie grinned at that, ‘It sounds more tempting by the second. May I use your telephone?’
    ‘Of course you may. I’ll leave you with Leo to sort it out,’ Esmé said, drifting off in the direction of the stairs. ‘I’ll change into something dry, and then come down and give you a hand, Meggie.’
    ‘Are you quite sure?’
    Meggie laughed. ‘Not another word, Rennie. I bought some lovely fresh runner beans at the Southend market, and some carrots.’
    Leo raised an eyebrow. ‘Southend?’
    ‘Rennie took me there for lunch today. He needed some fresh air.’
    ‘It’s a long way to go for it, but there’s plenty of that at Southend,’ Leo said.
    ‘He didn’t really give me the option of saying no.’
    Leo laughed. ‘Well done, Rennie. Let’s leave the kitchen to the women and go and catch up on the news. We’ll crack open a bottle of wine while I give you the third degree. Since I hold the position of guardian while Meggie is in London, I don’t want to disappoint her.’
    The thought mortified Meggie. ‘I’ll never speak to you again if you do. Besides which, apple crumble will be off the menu . . . and for ever.’
    ‘Now that’s what I call a punishment.’
    Rennie chuckled when she said. ‘Honestly, Leo, you must be the most convincing liar on earth. And to think I actually believed you.’
    ‘You take everyone at face value. In fact, your lack of guile is quite refreshing. Don’t worry, love, I won’t embarrass you.’
    The two men disappeared towards the hall, where Rainard had a short conversation on the telephone with someone. She couldn’t help but overhear some of it in the space created when the door opened to allow Aunt Es through, and it closing behind her.
    ‘I’m sorry, Pam, my sweet, but I’m dining with a client.’
    Meggie wondered who Pam was.
    Her aunt had changed into navy slacks and a lacy pink twinset with pearl buttons. Her hair was drying into its natural curls as she reached for an apron from the hook behind the door, and tied it around her. As she began to scrape the carrots she said, ‘Rennie Stone seems rather nice. Did you have a good time today?’
    ‘Oh . . . rather. At first I thought we were going to argue over the telephone because he thought I was being rude and I thought he was being just as rude. When I told him to apologize, he didn’t. And then . . . just when I was about to go to market he turned up on the doorstep with that bunch of violets in his hand – don’t they smell heavenly? He said he was sorry he’d upset me. I had to go to lunch with him then, else it would have been horribly embarrassing and too cruel leaving him standing there on the doorstep with a bunch of flowers in his hand.’
    Aunt Es smiled. ‘Good job you had your best dress and make-up on then.’
    ‘Yes . . . it was rather. I invited him in because the house looked a bit menacing in the storm and gave me a bit of a shivery feeling, and I didn’t want to go in by myself.’
    ‘I know the feeling. I hate going inside by myself now, have