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Roddy laughed, taking the tray out of her hands and pouring himself a cup of tea. ‘He doesn’t even know I was asked to leave,’ he informed her calmly, ‘let alone why.’
‘He doesn’t?’ She almost sighed her relief. Maybe if Roddy Meyers was no more eager than she was to have their past meeting made public knowledge they could keep the scandal to themselves.
‘No,’ he bit into a piece of buttered toast, ‘I just told him I’d been discharged.’
‘And he believed you?’
‘He had no reason not to. So now you’re working for my brother?’ He eyed her speculatively.
‘No, I’m not, I’m just helping out. And now I know you’re here I don’t intend helping out any longer,’ she told him angrily. ‘I’m leaving, and right now!’
He moved in front of the doorway to stop her exit, his hands on her upper arms. ‘Don’t be like that, Megan. You’ve been against me from the first—why don’t you like me?’
She wished she knew that herself. ‘Maybe you try too hard,’ she evaded. ‘Whatever the reason, I want you to take your hands off me.’
‘Oh, come on, Megan, I still want to go out with you,’ he said coaxingly. ‘And now there’s no patient/nurse relationship to stop us we can—–’
‘I don’t remember that stopping you before!’
‘No, well—–’ he smiled, ‘you’re beautiful, very desirable. You can’t blame a man for being persistent.’
‘That persistent I can,’ she said indignantly. ‘I should hate you for what you did to me.’
‘But you don’t,’ he murmured softly, his gaze fixed on her parted lips. ‘Oh, Megan, I—–’
‘Roddy, are you going to get up to—–’ the voice trailed off as the man came to stand in the open doorway, his brown-eyed gaze levelled on them as they stood close together.
Megan wrenched away from Roddy Meyers’ embrace to face Jeff Robbins, and the censure in those deep brown eyes made her squirm with embarrassment. She had wanted to see him again, had intended making sure she did, but not when she was in Roddy Meyers’ arms.
‘I see yu’re already awake, Roddy,’ Jeff Robbins drawled, his gaze flickering over Megan almost insolently before passing back to Roddy. ‘And being entertained too, by the look of things.’
The younger man gri
‘I am not the new maid!’ Megan denied vehemently.
‘No, she isn’t,’ Jeff Robbins agreed. ‘Miss Finch is deputising for her mother,’ he explained abruptly.
‘I was just trying to persuade Megan to go out for a drive with me this afternoon,’ Roddy lied, knowing he had her trapped.
‘Really?’ Again brown eyes raked over her. ‘And did you manage to persuade her?’
‘She’s a bit hard to pin down to anything definite,’ Roddy gri
‘Don’t we all?’ Jeff drawled.
All humour left Roddy’s face. ‘Have you been after her too?’ he queried resentfully.
‘No one has been “after” me!’ Megan cut in on their conversation, wishing Roddy Meyers would shut up, and that she could persuade Jeff Robbins that this situation wasn’t like it looked. But he didn’t look any more ready to believe her than they had at the hospital two days ago.
‘Haven’t they?’ Jeff asked, eyes narrowed.
‘No! I—–’
‘Hey, Rome, I think she’s embarrassed,’ Roddy mused.
Rome? This was Jerome Towers? But it couldn’t be—could it? But what other explanation could there be for him to be walking about the house? The estate manager would have no need to do that. Why hadn’t he told her this morning who he was? No wonder he hadn’t known about the tractor he was supposed to mend!
Why hadn’t he corrected her mistake? Had he enjoyed listening to her make a fool of herself? The reason he had changed his mind about taking her out became obvious; he would hardly want to date someone who was working as kitchen help in his own house. Everything the old Squire had ever said about this man suddenly seemed true—he was a pompous snob.
He was still watching her with narrowed eyes, obviously knowing of her surprise. ‘Maybe you should get some clothes on, then she wouldn’t feel that way.’
‘Megan’s used to seeing men without their clothes on,’ his brother dismissed.
Jerome Towers’ contempt seemed to increase. ‘Is she now?’ he grated.
‘Of course she is—she’s a nurse, isn’t she?’
‘How do you know that? Did you know Megan before today?’ Jerome queried suspiciously.
‘She was on my ward, weren’t you, love?’ Roddy looked at her for confirmation.
Megan blushed, the look in her eyes willing him not to reveal any more about their previous meeting. ‘Yes,’ she nodded, her gaze still on Roddy.
‘Before she was ill, of course?’ Jerome Towers enquired coolly. ‘If she had you for a patient, Roddy, I can quite understand her not being strong enough to carry on,’ he added mockingly.
Roddy looked at Megan with amusement. ‘I didn’t realise.… I wondered why you suddenly disappeared,’ he taunted.
Megan gave him a resentful glare. ‘Well, now you know,’ she snapped.
‘Yes,’ he gri
‘Shouldn’t you be getting back to the kitchen, Miss Finch?’ Jerome Towers asked harshly. ‘I’m sure Freda could do with your help.’
Colour flooded her cheeks at his intended rebuke. ‘Yes, of course. If you’ll excuse me.’
‘Gladly,’ he drawled.
‘Megan?’ Roddy Meyers stopped her at the door. ‘Can I take it that our drive is on for this afternoon?’
Her eyes flashed. ‘You—–’
‘Maybe then you could tell me about your illness,’ he added mockingly.
Megan gave Jerome Towers a sharp look, biting her lip as she read the contempt in his gaze. What gave him the right to be so high and mighty? ‘Yes, all right,’ she agreed to Roddy’s blackmail—for that surely was what it was. But she would tell him a few home truths this afternoon! ‘What time?’ She couldn’t look at either of them in her anger, but stared down at her hands.
‘About two-thirty?’
‘Okay. I’ll meet you downstairs.’ She didn’t want her mother and Brian getting to know of the meeting, especially Brian. If he found out their co
‘I’ll pick you up at your home,’ he insisted.
‘No! No,’ she said less sharply, knowing that Roddy could be deliberately troublemaking if he knew how much she wanted to keep him away from her home. ‘I’ll enjoy the walk over.’
‘All right,’ he shrugged. ‘She knows her own mind,’ he told his brother laughingly.
Jerome Towers’ expression remained grim. ‘So I’ve noticed.’
Megan shot him a resentful glare before leaving the room, ru
‘Miss Finch!’ Jerome Towers stood at her side as she reached the bottom step.
It took all her courage to turn and face him, to face the disapproval that she knew would be in his face. Why should he be so disapproving? He was the one who had lied and deceived her. She felt an absolute fool now when she thought of the way she had acted with him, the things she had said. And she had let him kiss her! No!—she had let Jeff Robbins kiss her, not this arrogant stranger.
‘Yes, Mr Towers?’ she asked in a stilted voice, looking steadily into those censorious brown eyes.
‘Freda said you took Roddy’s breakfast up fifteen minutes ago,’ he said curtly.
Whatever she had been expecting him to say it hadn’t been this. She frowned her puzzlement. ‘Yes?’
‘If you are to continue deputising for your mother until she is well enough to return I would advise you not to spend too much time in my brother’s bedroom, no matter what your relationship may have been with him before you came here.’
Megan gasped. ‘What has Roddy been saying?’
‘He’s hardly had time to say anything,’ Jerome Towers said dryly. ‘But your own response points to my assumption being a correct one. And the other staff will draw their own conclusions if you take fifteen minutes to deliver his breakfast every morning.’