‘You mean Monday?’
Deciding to strike while the iron was hot, he told her, ‘I mean now.’
Sounding a little startled, she echoed, ‘Now?’
‘As I told you, when I begin a new book I prefer to leave London and work in comparative isolation. I was planning to go today. Seeing that you’re free to start at once, it would be more convenient if you travelled with me.’
‘Very well.’
‘If my chauffeur takes you home, how long will you need to get organized and pack enough clothes for…shall we say…up to a month? Then we’ll both be free to reassess the situation.’
‘Half an hour at the most.’
‘Excellent.
‘By the time you get down to the lobby, the car will be outside, waiting. The car will drop you home and when you’ve had time to pack, I’ll pick you up myself.’
‘Thank you.’
Feeling as though she had been caught up and swept along by a tidal wave, she got to her feet and prepared to leave.
Wondering if he’d done the right thing, or if he’d allowed his subconscious feelings to hurry him into something he might regret, Michael rose to accompany her. If he found he had made a mistake he could always pay her for the month but get rid of her straight away.
Once again picking up the vibes, and not altogether at ease, Jenny headed for the door. Though at five feet seven inches she was tall for a woman, he was a good head taller, with a mature width of shoulder, and for once in her life she felt dwarfed, towered over.
As he opened the door the butler appeared as if by magic to escort her to the lift.
‘I’ll call for you in approximately an hour, depending on the traffic,’ her new boss reminded her.
‘I’ll be ready,’ she promised.
She had moved to join the manservant when a thought struck her, and, turning to Michael Denver, she began, ‘Oh, by the way, where are we—?’
At the same instant the phone on his desk rang, and with a murmured, ‘Excuse me,’ he turned to answer it.
Oh, well, Jenny thought resignedly, she could find out exactly where they were going when he came to pick her up.
The Saturday morning traffic proved to be relatively light, and the drive back to her Bayswater flat was over quite quickly.
As good as her word, some half an hour after the chauffeur had dropped her Jenny’s case was neatly packed with easy-care, mix-and-match stuff, and she was ready and waiting.
Smiling to herself, thinking of her flatmate’s excitement when she read it, Jenny began to scrawl a hasty note.
Got the job, subject to a month’s trial period. Will be starting immediately. Being whisked off to what I presume is his house in the country to begin work on his latest book.
Will be in touch. Jenny.
PS. The man himself is nothing like either of us pictured. He’s quite young and not bad-looking, but rather cold and unapproachable, so he might not be pleasant to work for.
She had just finished writing when, glancing out of the window, she saw a large black four-wheel drive with tinted windows draw up by the kerb. It seemed somewhat out of place in London, but no doubt it would have its uses in the country.
Picking up her case and shoulder bag, her coat over her arm, she brushed aside the niggling doubt that she was doing the right thing, and hurried out.
The air was still cold, but the sun was now shining brightly from a clear, duck-egg-blue sky, and reflecting in the car’s gleaming paintwork.
As she walked across the pavement Michael Denver opened the car door and jumped out, and she felt the same strange impact she’d felt on first seeing him.
‘Good timing,’ he congratulated her as he came round to take her case, before opening the car door.
By the time she had climbed in and fastened her seat belt he had stowed her case and was sliding behind the wheel once more.
While he skilfully threaded his way through the traffic, she stayed silent and tried to relax, but she was very conscious of him and could only manage, at the most, an appearance of tranquillity.
It wasn’t until they had reached the suburbs and were heading out of London that she broached the question that had been at the back of her mind. ‘By the way, Mr Denver—’
‘I’d prefer to be on first-name terms,’ he broke in coolly, ‘if that’s all right with you?’
She had expected him to retain the formality of surnames, at least for the time being, and, startled, she answered, ‘Oh, yes… Quite all right…’
‘Michael,’ he prompted.
It seemed somehow momentous to be using his given name, and it took a second or two to pluck up enough courage to say, ‘Michael.’
‘And you’re Jennifer?’
‘Yes. But I usually get called Jenny.’
‘Then Jenny it is. A nice old-fashioned name of Celtic origin,’ he added. ‘Now, you were about to ask me something?’
‘Oh, yes… I still don’t know where we’re going. I presume you have a house somewhere in the country?’
‘Yes, it’s called Slinterwood.’ His tone of voice holding an undercurrent of something she couldn’t quite pin down, he added with apparent casualness, ‘You know the Island of Mirren?’
‘Of course.’ Her voice held a little quiver of excitement. ‘It’s just down the coast from where my great-grandmother used to live.’
‘Have you ever visited it?’
‘I went once.’
‘How long ago?’
‘I was eighteen at the time. It was a short while before I moved to London.’
‘You went to see Mirren Castle?’
‘Yes. In those days it was open to the public at certain times.’
‘What did you think of it?’
‘I didn’t see a great deal,’ she admitted. ‘I’d gone on the spur of the moment, quite late one afternoon, and I’d chosen the wrong day, which meant I couldn’t go inside.
‘But what I did see of the place was absolutely wonderful and I’ve never forgotten it. I had hoped to go back one day and see more of it.’
‘And did you?’ he pressed.
She shook her head. ‘Things change, and by the time I had a chance it was too late. I heard that Mirren’s new owner had closed the castle to the public and made it clear that visitors to the island were no longer welcome.’
‘So you’ve never been back?’
‘No.’
‘Well, as you say, things change. But there’s nothing to stop them changing again.’
She was wondering about that rather cryptic remark when he pursued, ‘Did you ever find out who the new owner was?’
She shook her head. ‘No. But I believe the island stayed in the hands of the same family. It was just a different policy in force.’
‘A policy that caused you great disappointment?’
‘Well, yes… Though I can’t say I really blamed the new owner.’
In answer to her companion’s questioning glance, she admitted, ‘If it was mine, I wouldn’t want