Free Deception by Margaret Pargeter Page B

collapsed, was lying helpless
somewhere with no one to help him?
    She was just, about to
go and search for him, without regard for his possible annoyance, when he came
in, fol lowed by old Martha. Jamie was
already tucking in and she suddenly remembered she hadn't asked Logan
where he usually took his breakfast. She had set him a place here without
thinking, and she hated to think that she had risked his displeasure yet again.
    Her feelings were
mixed when he assured her that the kitchen did well enough. 'I've long since
given up being a gentleman,' he replied dryly. 'I only use the dining-room when
I have guests.'
    'Wouldn't you like
your dinner served there?' She wasn't sure why she pursued the subject. 'I
mean, there's Jamie ...'          
    As
she slowed to an uncertain halt, he smiled without humour.
'You mean I should be setting him an example? Is this what
you're trying tactfully to say, Miss Andrews?'
    'Well,
as he doesn't have anyone else!' she exclaimed, then stopped
abruptly, as his eyes narrowed.
    'So,'
he said with deceptive softness, looking around the table, 'someone's been
busy?'
    'I
told her,' Martha confessed unrepentantly, from her stool
near the fire, where Thea was to learn she always sat until
Logan had finished his meal. 'She asked and I told her.'
    'Oh,
please ...' Thea found her face going scarlet with guilt
as she stared at them all, 'I didn't mean to pry or seem curious...'
    'But
you were about the master's wife,' Martha cut in craftily, 'and you'd liked to
have known a lot more than ...'
    'Enough!'
Logan snapped, his patience reaching its limits. 'I'll see you
later, Miss Andrews. If you have any thing more to ask, then kindly ask me.'
    Thea
moved towards the cooker, not realising what she was doing. When he
spoke like that he shook her pro foundly, no use
pretending he didn't. Whenever he looked at her the strangest
sensations came over her, sensations as sweet as they were
savage. She would have the chance, when he saw her at ten,
to refuse the job she had hoped he was going to offer. Much
better to take the opportunity and go. To go before she got in any deeper!
    His
health and temper might not be good this morning, but
there seemed little wrong with his appetite. She noticed, as
he accepted a plate of kippers, grilled to perfection, that he
had finished all his porridge. As she carefully sugared a huge
cup of hot, strong tea before placing it before him, she
frowned. He was right, of course; she shouldn't have mentioned
his wife to anyone, but he could have made allowances for her, as a
stranger. And she hadn't really asked out of idle
curiosity. It had been prompted more from concern. As she passed
him hot toast and marmalade, her eyes met his, her own
full of unconscious pleading, but she found nothing even
remotely encouraging in his black, shuttered stare.
    At
ten she went, as he had instructed, to the library. In her
hands she carried two mugs of coffee. She had meant to set
a tray, but had been so busy there hadn't been time. It wasn't that she
particularly wanted any coffee herself, but it might be something to
look at, and to do with her hands during the forthcoming interview.
    Logan
was already there, standing with his back to the empty hearth.
Thea wished she had thought of lighting a fire. Without one the
room was cold and sombre in ap pearance. There were two
easy chairs, but the bookshelves which lined the walls
were almost empty, while the carpets and curtains were quite threadbare.
    Putting
down the mugs she carried on a low table, Thea glanced slowly around. Why, when
her mother had given the impression that the Murrays of Drumlarig
were fairly affluent, was Logan Murray living like a man without a penny
to his name? There seemed only one answer, that Logan's wife had
spent all his money. Perhaps this was why he was being so careful
now. It was a shame, though, that Jamie had to be the one to suffer.
    The
slight shiver she gave was misconstrued. 'Are you cold, Miss