Free A Man To Tame - Rachel Lindsay (Roberta Leigh) by Rachel Lindsay

since.'
    'He doesn't appear to mind.'
    ‘What man would!
He's a great one for the ladies —- at least he was till Felicity came on the
scene. Since then he's stopped playing the field.'
    ‘Now he's just playing hard to
get?'
    'Can you blame him? When you've
been married once you don't lightly go into it again without making sure you're
doing the right thing.'
    ‘Did you know Mr
Howard's wife?' she asked.
    'She died before I joined him; She was killed in a hunting accident when Janey was four.'
    I’m surprised he hasn't married
before now.'
    ‘Why should he? His mother manages
his home, so why should he take on the problem of a wife when he can have all
the pleasures without the encumbrances?' Dermot's eyes twinkled. 'I would have
thought that you of all women, wouldn't advocate
marriage.'
    'It's still the best basis on which
to build a relationship. Most people need to feel the comfort of a legal tie.'
    ‘Would you?'
    'I'm not sure. It's something I can
only answer when I fall in love and apply the question to a particular man.'
    'A very logical reply,' he said so
seriously that she knew he was teasing. 'Are you always so pontifical?'
    'Only when I'm on
my guard.' Her eyes twinkled. 'You
don't expect roe to relax with any of Mr Howard's
personnel, do you ?'
    ‘What a cruel thing to say!' Dermot
reproached her. 'I was hoping you regarded me as a friend.' He leaned across
the table.
'I'd like
to be your friend, Kate. As I said the other day,
you're the best thing that's happened to me in years,'
    ‘You don't know me,' she objected.
    ‘Women aren't the only ones with
intuition!’
    He stood up to go, and following
him, Kate had another chance to see Joshua Howard and the woman with whom he
was lunching, for he signalled them to go over to
him.
    'I'm glad to see Dermot has persuaded
you
to
sample the delights of Pierre's cooking,' Joshua Howard greeted
her as she came within earshot.
    Kate gave him a cool smile and kept
it in place as he introduced her to the woman who sat opposite to him. Felicity Davis. The name had a familiar ring, though she
could not place it, and had no time to ponder on it, for the girl was asking
her how she liked living in Llanduff. Seen at close
range, she was far more striking than at a distance, but her beauty was spoilt
by a static quality that, to Kate at least, indicated hardness. Her eyes were
light blue and contrasted well with her tanned slop, and ebony hair. Sitting
down she yet gave the suggestion of tallness, her carriage erect, her arms long and slim and heavily braceleted.
An elegant and confident woman of the world, Kate concluded, and felt her own
lack of height and sophistication.
    ‘You look far too young to be a
doctor,’ Felicity Davis remarked.
    That won't be a deterrent in ten
years' time,' Kate said easily.
    That's true. Fair-haired women
don't age, do they? They generally get more muted.'
    Kate was taken aback by the lack of
subtlety far the comment, though the look on Felicity's face indicated she was
not aware of having been tactless. This suggested a lack of sensitivity which
made Kate decide that Joshua Howard could have met his match in this
dynamic-looking creature. Glancing at Dermot to see how long he would be, her
eyes met Joshua Howard's. There was derision in them and she found it difficult
not to return it with one of dislike. The man was insufferable f He was the one
who had come barging uninvited into her home, yet he had made her feel as
though
she
had been in the wrong. It was a relief when she heard Dermot
making his goodbyes and then turn to guide her from
the restaurant.
    'Well,’ he said as they walked
towards the town centre’ ‘What bets are you prepared to lay
against the marriage?'
    'None,' she said promptly. ‘Miss
Davis is the sort of person who gets what she wants.'
    'So is Mr
Howard. The trouble is I'm not sure if he knows what he wants.' They reached a
furnishing store and Dermot paused to look in the window. There's a nice chair,’
he