A Trial Marriage. Anne Mather

      She half hoped she would see Jake as she took Minstrel out of the hotel, but of course she didn’t. The only person she encountered was Carl Yates, and on impulse she did something she would never have done otherwise. She deliberately attracted his attention, and when he came to join her she said:

      ‘Is your offer still open for this evening, Mr Yates?’

      ‘Carl,’ he averred. Then: ‘You know it is.’

      ‘Good.’ Rachel’s lips found smiling a difficult task. ‘What time shall we leave?’

      Carl inclined his head towards her. ‘Seven? Seven-thirty?’

      ‘We’d better make it seven-thirty,’ she said, remembering Della’s hair. ‘I’ll meet you here, shall I?’

      Carl nodded. ‘I’ll look forward to it.’

      Rachel kept her smile in place, and strolled away, with what she hoped was casual assurance, towards the doors, but once outside the cold air against her hot face brought a flush of anxiety to her cheeks. She hoped Carl wouldn’t think she was forward. She had never done anything like this before. Somehow, since meeting Jake Allan, she had done a lot of things she had never done before.