‘Interesting man,’ she told Ragtag as she looked for a comfortable spot for him in one of the stalls. ‘Oh, I know you didn’t like him,’ she smiled, ‘but then he didn’t seem too keen on you either. Ah, here we are,’ she had found a stall full of fresh-smelling hay. ‘Now you settle down here,’ she instructed. ‘And I’ll bring you some food down soon. And just between you and me, Ragtag,’ she said in a whisper, ‘I don’t think the haughty Mr Grant Montgomery liked me either!’
It had been there from the beginning, an antagonism that was not of her making, almost as if he suspected her motives for being here. Oh, how she wished that cottage had been ready for her when she arrived, or that she had known of the delay and could have come a couple of days later. In the meantime she would have to make the best of it.
‘I’ll be back soon,’ she absently assured the dog, and went back into the house to seek out the butler.
The bedroom they had given her was as elegantly furnished as the rest of the house, the carpet cream and fluffy, the deep pink bedspread and velvet curtains at the windows matching perfectly, the furniture a light pine.
Her suitcase had already been placed on the ottoman at the bottom of the double bed, with her canvases propped against it, reminding her of her reason for being here. Tomorrow she would be able to start work, that would compensate for all the difficulties she had so far encountered.
She was just putting on her clean clothing after her bath when Mandy Montgomery walked into the room unnanounced. Ryan hastily straightened her tee-shirt over her breasts, smoothing it over her denims. If Mandy had hoped to unnerve her she had failed. After sharing a dormitory with five other girls, Diana being one of them, she had become used to a lack of privacy, and was completely lacking in inhibitions about her body.
Nevertheless, she faced the other girl challengingly, knowing the intrusion had been a deliberately rude one. ‘Yes?’ she enquired coolly.
‘You’re wanted on the telephone—–’
‘Mark?’ Her expression brightened, and she forgot her antagonism.
‘Of course,’ Mandy taunted. ‘You can use the telephone in the drawing-room.’
Ryan didn’t wait to hear any more, but ran down the stairs to pick up the telephone. ‘Mark!’ she greeted him with breathless relief.
‘Who else?’ he said cheerfully. ‘How’s it going?’
‘Well, I had to walk from the station, the house is enormous, my cottage isn’t ready, I have—–’
‘Hey, slow down, slow down!’ he laughed. ‘I heard all about that from Mandy. I also heard you had some strange-looking animal with you. I’m sure you were alone when Diana and I saw you off this morning,’ he teased.
Mandy hadn’t wasted much time relating her unusual arrival. ‘You almost saw me off,’ she reminded him. ‘You arrived just as the train was pulling out of the station. As for the dog, he’s adopted me,’ she dismissed. ‘Mark, your brother has very kindly invited me to stay in the house until the cottage is ready, but—–’
‘Have you seen the studio yet?’ he interrupted.
She frowned. ‘No.’
‘Get Mandy to show it to you. I guarantee you won’t want to leave then.’
‘I don’t want to leave now. I just feel—uncomfortable, with your family.’ That was the understatement of the year!
‘What did you think of Grant?’
‘Think of him?’ she returned guardedly.
Mark chuckled softly. ‘Handsome devil, isn’t he?’
‘Very handsome,’ she acknowledged stiffly.
‘I thought you’d like him,’ he mocked.
‘Who said anything about liking him?’ she snapped, knowing that she was, foolishly, blushing. ‘I just admitted he was handsome, that doesn’t mean I like him.’
‘Of course not,’ Mark replied blandly. ‘And how about Mandy, what do you think of her?’
‘She’s very pretty.’
‘Isn’t she?’ The smile could be heard in his voice as he guessed at her evasion. ‘She’s also very sweet under the bitchiness.’
‘I’m not sure I’ll get that far,’ Ryan said dryly.
‘You will,’ he laughed. ‘Could you put her on for a few minutes? I want to talk to her.’
Much to Ryan’s embarrassment she found Mandy Montgomery standing in the open doorway when she turned, giving every impression of having been there for some time. How much of the conversation had she listened to? She hoped not the part where she had admitted that Grant was handsome!
‘He wants to talk to you,’ she held out the receiver to the other girl.
Mandy strolled over, in no hurry. ‘Thanks,’ and she instantly turned her back on Ryan.
So much for getting past the bitchiness! She wasn’t even sure she wanted to.
‘I’m not your servant!’ Mandy was telling her brother angrily. ‘All right,’ she agreed finally. ‘But Grant isn’t too happy about the way you deceived him. You know exactly what I mean. It isn’t funny, Mark, Grant is furious about it.’
It didn’t need two guesses what Grant Montgomery was ‘furious’ about. He had been expecting a man, and instead she had turned up. She was always having the same trouble with her name, although this time she was inclined to believe, as Grant did, that Mark had done it on purpose. It was the sort of thing he would find funny. Obviously his brother didn’t share his sense of humour. She wasn’t sure she did in this case either. It had certainly got her off to a bad start with the other two members of the Montgomery family.
Mandy had rung off now, and turned to her with that insolent stare. ‘Mark wants me to show you the studio.’
She blushed. ‘If you’d rather not, I’m sure I could find it on my own.’
Dark eyebrows rose in a facsimile of her eldest brother. ‘I doubt if Grant would welcome you wandering about the house on your own,’ she drawled.
Ryan’s mouth tightened at the other girl’s insulting tone. ‘I don’t think your family silver would look right in my flat,’ she snapped.
Mandy smiled, at once looking younger. ‘So you can stand up for yourself if you have to. That could come in useful in this house.’ She led the way up the stairs, with Ryan walking at her side. ‘Don’t be fooled by Grant’s mild manner of earlier, he can be a swine at times.’
If his rudeness to her and condescension to Ragtag had been his mild manner, then he must indeed be a swine at his worst! ‘I’ll remember that,’ she said coolly.
‘I should,’ Mandy advised softly. ‘When Grant has one of his boils the whole household knows about it.’
‘Then let’s hope that he doesn’t “boil” while I’m in the house!’
‘I wouldn’t count on it,’ the other girl said dryly. ‘It happens pretty regularly. Here’s the studio,’ she flung open double doors at the top of the last flight of stairs, standing aside for Ryan to enter.
As Ryan walked inside she forgot all about Mandy’s snobbishness, Grant’s arrogance, Mark’s disregard for anything but his own plans, and her face lit up as she took in the perfection of the studio. Mark certainly hadn’t exaggerated.
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