Free Promise to Obey by Stella Whitelaw Page B

‘I shall have to wash your hair.’
    ‘Please don’t tug my hair.’
    ‘I’ll try not to, poppet. Hold this little towel over your eyes.’
    Lucas appeared in the doorway, tousled and leaning on the doorway, as if he didn’t have the strength to hold himself up. Jessica wanted to soothe away the fatigue, wipe away the pain, let him fall sleep in her arms. She shook away the devastating thoughts, wishing her emotions would calm down. They were burning her up. He was not her responsibility.
    ‘So you’ve had an afternoon on Worthing beach? Some people are lucky,’ he said laconically. ‘Some people have to work, day and night.’
    ‘I was working,’ said Jessica.
    ‘We had a picnic tea on the beach and we didn’t even have plates!’ said Lily, who thought this was the best part. ‘We ate out of a box!’
    ‘How civilized,’ said Lucas, raising his dark eyebrows. ‘It could catch on, eating out of boxes. No washing up.’
    ‘As long as you bring them home,’ said Jessica.
    Lucas agreed. ‘Did you bring your litter home, Lily?’
    ‘We did.’
    But Lily’s attention had already wandered elsewhere. ‘Are you going to have your supper with Willdo, Daddy? She will look after you, when she has put on some clothes. She will make herself look very nice, in a frock.’
    Jessica was still in her cut-off denim shorts and vest top. They were indeed skimpy and clung damply to her soft curves. Lucas could see the shape of her breasts and he could not wrench his gaze away. They were too enticing, so deliciously feminine, made to be touched and explored.
    And those long tanned legs were asking to be stroked. Lucas moved away with barely concealed impatience, the tension between them rising. ‘Supper sharp at eight, Jessica, is that all right?’ he said curtly. ‘And Lily is right. Put some clothes on.You look positively indecent.’
    Jessica gave him an ironic, distant stare. ‘Most medics are used to half-clad women. It goes with the job.’
    ‘I do faces, not bodies,’ he said.
    Jessica went to an extreme. She made sure every inch was covered. She put on a baggy cotton jersey and black trousers and a waistcoat and scarf. Her slip-on black shoes completed the camouflage. She combed her fringe well over her eyes and brushed her hair onto her shoulders.
    ‘The only part of me showing is my nose,’ she said as she went into the dining room. Supper was waiting on the hot trays.
    ‘Quite a nice nose,’ he said, without looking at her. ‘I could do a bob or a tuck but you don’t need it. Mrs Harris has left us a beef casserole with lots of vegetables. It’s very hot and smells delicious. Would you like some wine? I’ve managed to open the bottle this time.’
    ‘It’s the practice you need.’
    ‘I’ll remember that and keep practising.’
    Jessica took a small helping of the casserole, avoiding the tasty chunks of dark meat. But she had plenty of vegetables, broccoli, French beans, carrots, mashed potatoes. There was home-made blackcurrant cheesecake afterwards.
    ‘I see that you are avoiding the beef,’ said Lucas. ‘Is there a reason?’
    ‘I don’t much like eating animals. Not exactly a vegetarian, but near. I occasionally eat fish, but mainly because I think fish have a chance to get away.’
    ‘Not in fish farms.’
    ‘I know,’ said Jessica, realizing this was merely polite conversation . He was not really interested in what she said. He was so self-contained, a passionate introvert. ‘It’s getting all too complicated these days. I won’t know what to eat.’
    Lucas was almost too tired to eat. He pushed away his plate. ‘Do you mind if I tell you about today? I had a little girl in this morning, her name’s Maggie. She was attacked by three Rottweilers. They tore at her face and broke her jaw in threeplaces. She’s a mess, but alive.’
    Jessica caught her breath at the horror of it. ‘Poor little thing. How dreadful. Is she going to be all right? What did you do?’
    ‘For the