Impetuous Masquerade Page 19

  He looked up at her as she set the tray across him, and with loving tenderness, placed a kiss at the corner of her mouth. She felt numb when those blue eyes encountered the cloudy mauve of hers, and her trembling apprehension communicated itself to him.

  ‘Is something wrong?’ he asked, staying her with his hand loosely about her arm. ‘Val? Why are you so nervous? Did I frighten you? I didn’t mean to.’

  He couldn’t see. All the strength went out of her in an enervating stream, and it was all she could do to remain standing. ‘I—I expect I’m still a bit weak,’ she got out, giving a shaky laugh. ‘That was quite a tumble I took, wasn’t it?’

  ‘You’re sure you’re okay?’ His concern for her made her feel doubly guilty. Not only had she been poking about in things that did not concern her, she had also suspected him of keeping his improvement a secret from the people who cared about him.

  ‘I’m—I’m fine,’ she conceded huskily. ‘And relieved to see that you’re so much better. I—Jared told me you had had a temperature.’

  ‘It was nothing.’ Glyn released her with a grimace. ‘Just over-excitement, I guess.’

  ‘Over-excitement?’

  ‘Going riding, having visitors,’ declared Glyn, applying himself to identifying the various items on the tray. ‘And the shock of you falling off, I guess. That really shook me up.’

  ‘I made a fool of myself, didn’t I?’ murmured Rhia, moving away from the bed. ‘Well, I’ll go and let you get on with your breakfast. It’s a bit of a misty morning, so I don’t think we’ll be going riding today.’

  Glyn let her go, promising to join her downstairs after he was dressed. ‘Ben’s lent me an electric razor for the time being,’ he said. ‘It’s not as efficient as a blade, but it’ll do.’

  Rhia smiled, realised he couldn’t see her, and said: ‘I’ll see you downstairs, then,’ and left him, closing the door behind her with an overwhelming feeling of relief.

  To her surprise, Lisa was up and dressed when she went downstairs. The older woman was looking her age this morning, Rhia thought, and then reflected ruefully that she probably looked Lisa’s age, too. Lisa was dressed for going out, in a slim-fitting pants suit made of dark blue wool, her make-up flawless in spite of the lines that were furrowing her brow.

  ‘Good morning,’ she greeted the younger girl, with unusual affability. ‘Is Glyn awake? Maria told me you’d taken up his tray.’

  ‘He is now,’ agreed Rhia regretfully, prepared to meet her half way. ‘I’m afraid I woke him.’

  Lisa stilled suddenly. ‘Did he say anything?’

  ‘What about?’ Rhia shrugged. ‘He seems much better.’

  ‘Ah,’ Lisa seemed to relax. ‘That’s good. Even so,’ she went on, ‘I think he should take it easy for a few days.’

  ‘Oh, so do I.’ Rhia was quick to agree with her. ‘Riding’s definitely out, for the time being.’ She paused, colouring. ‘I—I suppose Jared told you I had a fall.’

  ‘I’m afraid so.’ Lisa actually smiled. ‘It was what I was afraid of. I did try to warn you.’

  ‘Yes.’ Rhia acknowledged this with a faint answering smile, but she was pretty sure Lisa’s fears had not been for her.

  ‘Anyway,’ Lisa moved her shoulders in a dismissing gesture, ‘you seem quite recovered this morning. And as you haven’t been off the ranch since you arrived, I wondered if you’d like to drive with me into Moose Bay.’

  Rhia was taken aback. Even this cordial, and entirely unexpected, conversation had not prepared her for such an invitation, and she didn’t know what to say. ‘I—but what about Glyn?’ she ventured, glancing up the stairs. ‘He’s getting up later. I’d have to ask him.’

  ‘All right.’ Lisa was agreeable. ‘I don’t think he’ll object. He’s had your undivided attention since you arrived, hasn’t he?’

  Rhia could feel the warm colour sweeping up her face again, so she turned away. ‘I’ll go and tell him,’ she muttered, making for the stairs, and wished she felt more enthusiastic about accepting Lisa’s company.

  Glyn was still lingering over his breakfast, and he seemed a little put out when she knocked at his door and entered without waiting. ‘Hey, where’s the fire?’ he exclaimed, when she burst into the room, and it wasn’t until she and Lisa were driving away from the ranch house that Rhia realised he had spoken before she had. Of course it could have meant nothing. He might even have perceived the scent of her perfume, and recognised its owner. But it was disconcerting to realise she was not completely convinced.

  The morning was grey and dismal, and Rhia had put on warm woollen slacks, that tied at the ankle, and a chunky orange sweater. Overall, she was wearing the beige suede coat she had brought for special occasions, the sheepskin jacket that would have served still bearing the marks of her fall in the ravine.

  Lisa had put on a pair of stout boots over her slacks, and Rhia had shown a little surprise. Surely they were not necessary for shopping in Moose Bay, but perhaps Glyn’s mother knew better than she did.

  It had been dark the night they drove home from the airport, so Rhia was interested to see her surroundings in daylight. But the cloying mist obscured all but their immediate surroundings, and she was glad of the warmth of the station wagon’s heater to stave off the chills of the damp atmosphere.

  ‘Why did you decide to come to Canada, Rhia?’ Lisa asked abruptly, as they turned left on to a rough highway, and Rhia was startled.

  ‘Why?’ she echoed. ‘You know why. To help Glyn. To help him get his sight back.’

  ‘But Jared told me you had refused to consider it. Only the day before Glyn announced that you were coming, I was told that you wouldn’t go against your fiancé’s wishes.’

  Rhia sighed. ‘I don’t have a fiancé, Mrs Frazer. Simon and I—well, we were friends, it’s true. But so far as I was concerned, there was no commitment.’

  ‘You say “were”. Are you not friends any more?’

  Rhia bit her lower lip. ‘Simon couldn’t see this my way. We—we decided to give each other a breathing space.’

  ‘I see.’ Lisa’s features were intent on the road ahead, but Rhia had the distinct feeling that her thoughts were not on her driving. ‘And who changed your mind?’ she asked now. ‘Glyn? Or Jared?’

  Rhia caught her breath. ‘Why, Glyn, of course.’

  ‘Of course?’ Lisa sounded sceptical. ‘Somehow you don’t convince me, Rhia.’

  Rhia turned her head to look at her. This was more like the Lisa she was used to. The hostile adversary, who had shown her venom on more than one occasion. ‘I don’t think it matters, Mrs Frazer,’ she responded. ‘My being here has served its purpose.’ She paused, and then deciding Lisa ought to be told her suspicions, she said recklessly: ‘I found a magazine in Glyn’s room this morning. It was under his bed. I—I think—at least, I believe that—he might be regaining his vision.’

  To her astonishment, Lisa showed no surprise at this news. ‘Oh, yes,’ she remarked carelessly, ‘he told me. He’s been gradually regaining his sight over the last three days. Ever since you fell off your horse, in fact.’

  ‘Ever since I—but why didn’t he tell me?’ Rhia was both delighted and disappointed. ‘Oh,’ she pressed her palms against her cheeks, ‘thank God! I was beginning to believe it was never going to happen.’

  ‘He didn’t want you to know,’ declared Lisa curtly, and then, as Rhia looked stricken, she added: ‘Oh, not because he wanted to hurt you. No. He simply wanted to be sure before he said anything.’

  Rhia shook her head. ‘I can hardly believe it! Oh, that’s wonderful! Wonderful! I can’t wait to see him.’

  Lisa’s lips tightened. ‘Can’t you? Even though you know this means your presence here is now superfluous?’

  ‘That doesn’t matter.’ Rhia stared at her. ‘But—but if Glyn can see, he must already know—’

  ‘—that you’re not Val?’ Lisa’s lips curled. ‘Yes, he does. But apparently he’s known that all along.’

>   Rhia gasped. ‘But how? My hair—’

  She put her hand up to touch the curly wig, but Lisa shook her head. ‘Nothing so simple, I’m afraid. Your—er—friend Simon Travis—he told him.’

  Rhia’s lips parted. ‘Simon?’

  ‘That’s right.’ Lisa felt about in the locker in front of her and brought out a pack of cigarettes, placing one between her lips. ‘He went to the hospital before we left England. Jared and I knew nothing about it, of course, but he was obviously determined to stop you any way he could.’

  ‘Oh, Simon!’ Rhia clasped her hands tightly together as she imagined the harm he could have done. If Jared had found out, he would have killed him, and she was amazed that Glyn could have taken the news without any evident reaction.

  ‘Apparently Glyn had had his suspicions before that,’ Lisa went on, applying the automatic lighter to the end of her cigarette. ‘He knew your sister so well, you see. And I suppose there are differences only a—lover would know.’

  ‘Then why didn’t he tell me?’

  ‘I don’t know. Perhaps he felt you and your sister had made a fool of him, and this was his opportunity to make a fool of you.’

  Rhia flushed. ‘Perhaps. Only it wasn’t like that.’

  ‘Well…’ Lisa’s smile was not pleasant, ‘now you know. What are you going to do about it?’

  ‘What am I going to do about it?’ Rhia was confused. ‘I’m afraid I—’

  ‘I mean, will you now pack up and return to England?’

  ‘Return to England?’ Rhia despised herself for blankly repeating everything Lisa said, but she felt too dazed at the moment to think coherently.

  ‘Of course,’ Lisa continued. ‘There’s nothing for you to stay here for now, is there?’

  ‘I suppose not.’ Rhia shook her head. ‘Does—does Glyn want me to leave?’

  ‘Glyn?’ Lisa made a sound of impatience. ‘What has Glyn to do with it? It’s your decision.’

  Rhia frowned. ‘I’ll have to talk to him.’

  ‘And give him some sob-story?’ demanded Lisa brittley.

  ‘Sob-story? No—’

  ‘You know perfectly well, Glyn will expect you to stay on until the end of your holiday,’ Lisa retorted. ‘Another two weeks, at least!’

  Rhia lifted her shoulders. ‘If he wants me to—’

  ‘But I don’t want you to, Rhia,’ Lisa told her harshly. ‘And Jared doesn’t want you to. You’ve become an—embarrassment to him. To both of us.’

  Rhia’s face flamed. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’

  ‘Oh, I think you do.’ Lisa snorted. ‘Do you think I haven’t noticed the way you look at him, the way you hang on his every word? It’s—it’s disgusting! And he’s too polite to tell you what a fool you’re making of yourself!’

  ‘That’s not true!’

  ‘It is true.’ Lisa slowed at the junction of two roads and turned on to the narrower track. ‘My dear girl, Jared is a man, and if anything is made sufficiently easy, he’s going to take what’s offered. Do you get my meaning?’

  Rhia felt sick. ‘You’re wrong—’

  ‘No, I’m not wrong. When he came to my room last night, I could smell you on him. I wanted to throw up!’

  Rhia wanted to throw up, too. That Jared could go straight from her bed to Lisa’s made her feel ill, and turning her head away, she closed her eyes.

  Nausea kept her silent as the station wagon began a bumpy climb, and she was scarcely aware of the twists and turns they were taking as pain and humiliation blinded her to all else. Lisa was jealous, she thought tautly, of course, she was, and with good reason. If she and Jared were going to be married, she had every right to object if he indulged in extraneous relationships. And she, Rhia, had known of his commitment to his sister-in-law, right from the beginning. She had no excuses for the way she had behaved, and it was a point in Lisa’s favour that she had chosen to talk it out with her privately, instead of embarrassing her in front of the whole family.

  The station wagon stopped, and Rhia took a deep breath before turning her head. ‘Mrs Frazer,’ she began, realising that the only honourable thing to do was offer to leave immediately, and then broke off in surprise when she found she was alone in the vehicle. In those seconds when she had been torturing herself with guilt and humiliation, Lisa had thrust open the door and got out, and Rhia’s stomach plunged at the possibility that Lisa might be desperate enough to do herself some injury.

  ‘Mrs Frazer!’ A mild sense of panic gripped her, as she looked all about her, and could see no one. Where on earth were they? With the mist swirling all about the car, it was impossible to make out much at all, except that the ground all about them seemed grey, and rock-strewn. She certainly didn’t remember coming this way the night they drove back from the airport, but it could be another way into the town. Unless—Her heart skipped a beat. Unless Lisa had come this way deliberately, because she intended doing something desperate.

  ‘Mrs Frazer!’

  Rhia opened her door and got out. The air was icy, and although the wind was not strong enough to clear the mist, it cut through her clothes like a knife.

  ‘Mrs Frazer!’ she called again, staring all about her, and expelled her breath uncertainly as her own voice swept back to her in an echo.

  If only it wasn’t so misty, she thought frustratedly. If only she could see where she was. There was no sign of habitation at all, so Lisa couldn’t have sought refuge in some lonely farmhouse, but obviously she had left the car for some reason, and Rhia could not just sit patiently waiting for her to come back. If anything happened to Lisa, she would never forgive herself, and while Jared might bear equal responsibility, she had to do something.

  ‘Mrs Frazer! Lisa!’

  Again, only the echo answered her, and thrusting her hands into the pockets of her coat she walked a short way down the track away from the car. The surface of the road was hard for walking, and she sought the scrubby verge, which at least was softer to her feet. She should have worn thicker shoes, she thought, or boots—

  The thought had scarcely entered her head when she clearly heard the engine of the station wagon start up. It was difficult to see the car through the mist, but evidently someone had got inside, and relief enveloped her in a wave of weakness. Lisa was not lost or desperate. She must have left the vehicle to answer some unexpected call of nature, a contingency Rhia had not even considered in connection with Glyn’s mother.

  With a humorous grimace, she turned to make her way back to the car, but as she did so, she realised the sound of the engine was retreating, not getting nearer. Heavens, she thought, in consternation, Lisa must have imagined she had gone the other way. Her beige coat must have melted into the mist, and she could not see her.

  Then she released her breath weakly. Of course, once she discovered her mistake, Lisa would come back. Like her, she would know her companion couldn’t have strayed far from the car—so why hadn’t Lisa answered when she heard Rhia calling?

  Pushing this disquieting thought aside, Rhia paused to take a deep breath. There was no point in upsetting herself unnecessarily. Lisa would come back. She had to come back. What possible reason could she have for abandoning her out here?

  The answer came back equally quickly: Lisa hated her, she was jealous of her, she wanted her to leave Moose Falls. And belatedly, Rhia remembered the sound she thought she had heard from her sitting room the night before, the sound Jared had dismissed so contemptuously. What if she had heard a door close? What if it had been Lisa? It was not difficult to imagine the effect their behaviour would have had on Lisa’s highly-strung emotions.

  Rhia hunched her shoulders, and started walking again. This was all supposition, she told herself severely. Lisa might not like her, she might be jealous of her, but abandoning her out here, miles from anywhere, and in these temperatures—surely that was nothing short of criminal. She was trying to frighten her, that was all. She was playing a rather unpleasant game. But once she got tired of tormenting h
er, Lisa would come back and find her.

  Or would she? a small voice taunted her. Yes, she told herself fiercely. Yes, she would come. Lisa might be reckless, but she was not without conscience. Leaving her here had been done in a fit of pique, a moment’s rashness, that she would soon regret. And yet, as she tried to console herself with these assurances, Rhia remembered the boots Lisa had been wearing when they left Moose Falls, the heavy boots, that she had thought so unsuitable for walking in town. But entirely suitable for climbing over rocks and boulders, and hiding out of sight…

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  JARED was in the hall, when Lisa arrived back at Moose Falls. He was lounging on one of the squashy couches, scanning the morning’s newspaper, and he thought she looked somewhat taken aback to see him there at this hour of the morning.

  ‘Why, Jared!’ she exclaimed. ‘I thought you’d left for Calgary. Didn’t you say that was where you were going yesterday evening?’

  ‘Did I?’ Jared put the newspaper aside and got to his feet. ‘I said a lot of things last night, Lisa. You let me do most of the talking.’

  Lisa moved her shoulders indifferently. ‘Oh, well, I must have got it wrong. I’ll just go up—’

  ‘Wait a minute.’ Jared stepped between her and the stairs. ‘Why didn’t you tell me about Glyn?’

  ‘Glyn?’ Lisa drew a deep breath. ‘I don’t know—’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me his sight was coming back? He asked you to.’

  ‘Oh, darling…’ Lisa moved her head impatiently, ‘I didn’t want to raise your hopes unnecessarily. You know how these things can be.’

  ‘No, I don’t know. Enlighten.’ Jared was brusque. ‘It seems to me you kept that information to yourself deliberately to spite me.’

  ‘Oh, Jared…’ Lisa put up a hand to touch his cheek, but he flinched away from her touch, and her expression hardened. ‘Jared, stop looking at me as if you despised me. I’ve told you, I did it in your best interests.’

  ‘And not because of what I told you about my feelings for Rhia?’

  Lisa’s lips tightened. ‘No.’