Free The Man in Possession by Hilda Pressley Page B

following day Andy knocked on the door of the houseboat to tell her that Mr. Leighton was waiting for her at the front of the house. The boy insisted on carrying her small case and putting it in the boot of the car. Roger opened the door at the passenger side for her without getting out and they set off towards Norwich.
    ‘I ’ m picking up another pa s senger, ’ he told her. ‘Somebody who works in the oil company. ’
    ‘Going all the way, you mean? ’
    He nodded. ‘Hope you don ’ t mind. ’
    ‘Of course not. But would you rather I sat in the back? Then you ’ ll be able to talk .’
    But he shook his head. ‘It doesn ’ t matter. Stay where you are .’
    He stopped outside a hotel just inside the city boundary and disappeared into the revolving doors.
    Julia did not know whether she was glad or sorry that they were to have the company of another man, but on the whole she thought it just as well. Roger Leighton could be stimulating company, as she had learned, but something had happened since that night they had had dinner together, and at present he wasn ’ t very communicative at all.
    He seemed to be gone for quite a long time, and she feared they would be in trouble for parking over the limit if he did not come soon. But at last he appeared. Greatly to her surprise he was accompanied by a woman—she had taken it for granted that it would be a man. Roger opened one of the rear doors and thrust a case on to the back seat, then helped the woman in. Julia caught a glimpse of someone fashionably dressed and with a certain air . The whiff of an elusive perfume came faintly to her nostrils as the woman took her seat. As Roger went round to the other side of the car Julia turned to smile at her, but involuntarily her eyes widened in surprise.
    It was the woman whose face he had drawn while doodling and in the photograph she had picked up from the floor of the house.

 
    CHAPTER FOUR
    Roger slammed the car door behind him, then half turned in his seat.
    ‘Julia, this is Miss Celia Palmer. Celia—Miss Barclay, my deputy. ’
    Julia smiled and was about to make some friendly remark, but the other girl took a swift look at her and spoke to Roger.
    ‘ Your deputy? Really, darling— ’
    Roger pulled the self-starter. ‘Yes, my deputy, Celia ,’ he muttered over his shoulder. ‘ And don ’ t call me darling. ’
    ‘All right, dar—Roger, just as you say, ’ came the answer.
    The car slid away from the kerb. Julia stole a sideways glance at Roger ’ s face, but it was a mask. Like many men, he was adept at hiding his feelings. Julia was in no doubt whatever that Celia Palmer was more than merely ‘somebody who works in the oil company ’ . They had once been engaged, she was sure of it. Obviously, the other girl had been so in the habit of calling him darling, she still did so automatically, and though Roger might be angry with her, he must still be in love with her, otherwise why draw her face without realizing he was doing so, and why did he still carry her photograph? Julia also recalled Roger ’ s frequent absences from the boatyard in the past few days. He had been seeing Celia, of course.
    But now the silence in the car was both unnatural and uncomfortable. Julia could stand it no longer, and feeling it was up to her to try to ease the strain, she turned to speak to the other girl.
    ‘Have you been staying in Norwich long, Miss Palmer? ’
    Celia ’ s blue eyes widened, almost as though Julia were committing an impertinence by speaking to her.
    ‘Just a few days, ’ she answered coolly.
    ‘ And have you enjoyed it? Julia was nothing if not persevering.
    There was a pause. For a minute or two Julia thought Celia was not going to reply at all. But then she said, in a grumbling tone:
    ‘It ’ s just about the dreariest place I ’ ve ever visited in my whole life. And your weather— ’
    This, apparently, had been too disgusting for words. Julia ’ s lips curved in