A Deal To Mend Their Marriage. Michelle Douglas

perfectly comfortable where I am.’

      Which was as far away from her and her world as he could get at this current moment. ‘Fine. And this second alternative of yours?’

      ‘You go to your employer in the morning and explain that the snuffbox is missing.’

      And lose her job? Lose her professional reputation and the respect of everyone in her industry? Through no fault of her own? No, thank you! Besides, if the police investigation—and she had no doubt that there would be one—traced the snuffbox back to Barbara...

      She shuddered and abruptly cut off that thought.

      ‘I can see you’re even less enthused about that option.’

      She hated the tone of voice he used. She hated his irksome sense of superiority. She hated the opinion he had of her.

      That last thought made her blink.

      ‘So, will you get us an invitation to the Sedgewicks’?’

      She gave a stiff nod. ‘Yes.’

      ‘Good girl.’

      ‘Don’t patronise me.’

      ‘And it’ll be best,’ he continued, as if she hadn’t spoken, ‘if Barbara doesn’t find out that we’re planning to be there.’

      ‘Hmm...awkward...’

      He raised an eyebrow.

      ‘But doable,’ she mumbled. She folded her arms and glared at him. ‘You do know we’ll have to share a room at Lady Sedgewick’s?’

      Everyone would take it for granted that they were sleeping together.

      He gave a low laugh. ‘Afraid you won’t be able to resist me, Caro?’

      Yes! ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

      ‘Or are you afraid I won’t be able to control myself?’

      ‘If you can’t,’ she returned tartly, ‘then I suggest you rethink your plans to remarry.’

      ‘Never.’

      A black pit opened up in her chest. The sooner Jack was out of her life for good, the better.

      She flinched when he ran a finger down her cheek. ‘Never fear, sweet pea. While your charms are many and manifold, they were never worth the price I paid.’

      She flinched again at his words, and when she next looked up he was gone.

      ‘Right. A weekend in the country. Very jolly.’

      She closed the window and locked it. And then, for the first time ever, she drew the curtains.

      * * *

      ‘Was it difficult to swing the invitation?’

      ‘Not at all.’

      It was early Saturday morning and she was sitting beside Jack in his hired luxury saloon car. It all felt so right and normal she had to keep reminding herself that it was neither of those things. Far from it. She still didn’t know how they were going to negotiate sharing a bedroom. She kept pushing the thought from her mind—there was no point endlessly worrying about it—but it kept popping back again.

      ‘Tell me how you managed it.’

      So she told him how on Thursday she’d ‘just happened’ to bump into her old schoolfriend Olivia Sedgewick at a place she knew Olivia favoured for lunch, and they’d ended up dining together.

      The house party in Kent had come up in their idle chitchat, and Caro had confided her concerns that this would be Barbara’s first social engagement since Roland had died. A bit later she’d mentioned meeting up with Jack again after all these years, and how the spark was still there but they were wanting to keep a low profile in London in case things didn’t work out.