She waited until the coffee was made before saying anything. ’So who is he, Mum?’

‘Good heavens,’ countered Thea, a shade too brightly. ‘You’re the one who sold him the flowers, sweetheart. Surely you know who he is. Or did he run off without paying and you’re desperate to track him down?’

‘I know who he is. I wanted to know if you did.’ Thea laughed. ‘Well of course I do, darling! His name is Oliver and he’s madly in love with me.’

‘I meant do you know exactly who he is?’ Janey paused and sipped her coffee. ‘But it’s pretty obvious now that you do. For goodness sake, Mum, whatever do you think you’re doing?

What’s going on?’

‘I don’t know why you’re making such a fuss,’ said Thea crossly. ‘There’s absolutely nothing to get dramatic about. OK, so his name is Oliver Cassidy and he just happens to be the father of the photographer Maxine’s working for. Is that so terrible? Am I committing some hideous crime?’

‘You tell me.’ Janey, inwardly amazed at her ability to remain calm, sat back and crossed her legs. ‘Were you the one who came up with the idea of abducting his grandchildren?’

‘Of course I wasn’t. And there’s no need to make it sound like some kind of kidnapping,’

Thea countered. ‘He wanted to see them; he knew Guy would kick up all kinds of a fuss if he asked his permission, so he waited until he was away. Those children had a splendid afternoon, Oliver did what he came to Cornwall to do and nobody came to any harm.’

‘So you do know all about it,’ said Janey accusingly.

‘Maxine nearly lost her job as a result of that little escapade. And did dear Oliver tell you how he came to be estranged from his son? Did he explain exactly why Guy would have kicked up such a fuss?’

‘It was all a misunderstanding.’ Thea dismissed it with an airy gesture. ‘Oliver realizes now that he made a mistake, but it’s only gone on as long as it has because Guy overreacted. All families have disagreements, unfortunately. Oliver was unlucky enough to have his turned into some ridiculous, long-running feud. Darling, he was heartbroken about it! Seeing those dear little children, even if it was only for a few hours, did him all the good in the world.’

‘It wouldn’t have, if Guy had found out about it. He would have called the police.’

If there was one thing Thea couldn’t bear, it was being criticized by her own children. ‘And you’re on his side of course,’ she countered irritably. ‘Despite knowing nothing about what really happened. Just because he no doubt has a pretty face.’

Janey, determined not to rise to the bait, gritted her teeth. ‘But it’s OK for you to defend his father, just because he’s mad about you and stinking rich? Mum, what he did was wrong!’

‘Oh Janey, don’t get your knickers in a twist.’ Thea banged her coffee mug down on the table. ‘What happened wasn’t tragic. The real tragedy is Guy Cassidy’s pig-headed refusal to let bygones be bygones, because the children are the ones who suffer. All Oliver was trying to do was make it up to them.’

‘Really?’ Janey remained unimpressed. ‘And what’s he planning to do for an encore?

Whisk them out of the country for a few months?’

This was ridiculous. Thea’s expression softened. ‘Oliver would never do anything like that.

He’s a wonderful man, darling.’

Janey, who had thought Bruno was wonderful, replied unforgivingly, ‘I’m sure he is. As long as he’s getting his own way.’

There was a long silence. Finally, Thea said, ‘All right, so what happens now? What are you going to do for an encore?’

Janey, having already considered the options, shrugged. ‘You mean am I going to tell Guy?

I don’t know, Mum. The thing is, can you be sure his father isn’t, in some obscure way, just using you? I’m serious,’ she went on, when Thea started to smile. ‘It’s all highly coincidental, after all. You’re Maxine’s mother, and Maxine looks after Josh and Ella. How do you know he hasn’t hatched some sinister plan?’

‘Dear me.’ Her mother shook her head and gave her an indulgent look. ‘And ‘I thought Maxine was the drama queen of the family. Janey, take it from someone old enough to know.

There’s nothing even remotely sinister about Oliver Cassidy, and there are no ulterior motives on his part. He loves me, and I love him. I’m sorry if that doesn’t meet with the approval of Maxine’s employer but as far as I’m concerned, my private life is none of his business anyway.

And if you feel you have to tell him, then do it, though personally I can’t see the point. From what I hear, hugs and smiles and forgiveness-all-round is pretty much off the cards, so all you’d be doing would be stirring it up again for no useful reason. Still,’ she concluded with a take-it-or-leave-it gesture, ‘Those are just my thoughts. As I said, it’s entirely up to you.’

Janey was now more undecided than ever. What her mother had said made sense. Keeping quiet, on the other hand, meant assuming responsibility for the secret. And it also meant not telling Maxine, who would be sure to tell Guy herself. If anything should ever go wrong, she thought with unease, she would be at least partly to blame.

But Oliver Cassidy had seemed charming, and imprinted in her mind was the expression on his face as he’d written the brief message to accompany Thea’s flowers.

‘How do you know he loves you?’ she asked, gazing into her mother’s dark eyes.

‘I’ve had nearly thirty years to learn from my mistakes in that field,’ Thea replied simply.

‘This time it’s the real thing. Trust me, darling. When it happens like this, you do know ...’

In that case, thought Janey as memories of Alan and Bruno flooded back, why don’t I?

Torrential rain the next day meant an early wrap for the fashion shoot Guy had been working on in the Cotswolds. Home by four-thirty, he found Janey on the phone in the kitchen, the receiver tucked under her chin whilst she mashed parsnips with one hand and stirred a pan of gravy with the other. Her blond hair was loosely pinned up and the violet sweatshirt she wore over white jeans was slipping off one shoulder. Her cheeks, pink from the heat of the oven, turned pinker still when she realized he was back.

‘Oh, I didn’t hear you come in. Dinner won’t be ready for another hour yet ... but there’s tons of hot water if you’d like a bath.’

Maxine, on the other end of the phone, groaned. ‘Uh oh, enter the dragon. Don’t tell him it’s me.’

‘Who are you talking to?’ said Guy, his tone deceptively mild.

‘Nobody.’ Janey’s innocent expression was foiled by the tell-tale deepening flush. ‘A friend.’

‘Did anyone ever tell you you’re a hopeless liar?’With a brief smile he crossed the kitchen, took the phone from her and said, ‘Hello, Maxine.’

‘Oh God.’ In London, Maxine sighed. ‘Are you still mad at me?’

‘What do you think?’

‘You’re still mad,’ she said penitently. ‘And I know that what I did was wrong, but you just didn’t understand how important this job is to me. I’m sorry Guy, but I really was desperate ..

‘Hmmm.’ Glancing across at Janey, who was frenziedly tackling the parsnips and trying to look as if she wasn’t listening, he drawled, ‘Lucky for you you’ve got an understanding sister. I hope you appreciate the favour she’s done you.’

‘I do, I do.’ Maxine’s tone was fervent. Much to her relief, the expected bawling-out hadn’t happened. Not yet, anyway. Deciding to chance it, she added, ‘And aren’t you glad she’s there, too? She’s so much better at cooking than I am.’

‘She could hardly be any worse.’

‘And Josh and Ella think she’s terrific!’

‘Carry on like this and you’ll end up talking yourself out of a job. Or was that what you had in mind?’ he enquired evenly. ‘If you’ve landed the lead in some dazzling West End production, Maxine, I’d rather you told me now.’

‘Oh, but I haven’t! And I really don’t want to leave, Guy. I like working for you.’

‘But?’ he prompted, when it became apparent that Maxine hadn’t the courage to say the word herself.

She crossed her fingers, hard. ‘But we aren’t going to finish shooting until Saturday, so I won’t be able to get back before Sunday morning’ The words came out in an apologetic rush.

‘I’ve already asked Janey and she doesn’t mind a bit, but is that OK with you?’

If he was ever going to blow his top, it would happen now. As the silence lengthened, Maxine realized she was holding her breath.

‘Why,’ drawled Guy finally, ‘do I feel like a schoolboy who’s just found out the summer holidays are carrying on for an extra week?’

Was he furious?’ asked Cindy, who was wallowing in the jacuzzi. It was nice having Maxine as a temporary house-guest whilst her husband was abroad; it was almost like being single again, sharing a flat and gossiping until three in the morning over bottles of wine, about men.

‘He wasn’t furious at all.’ Maxine, perching on the edge of the bath, looked distinctly put out. ‘He was delighted.’

‘Isn’t that what you wanted?’

‘There’s a difference between agreeing to let me stay and being delighted,’ said Maxine moodily. ‘It would be nice to feel a little bit missed. From the sound of it, they’re having a whale of a time down there without me.’

‘Who knows?’ said Cindy, holding out her glass for a top-up. ‘Maybe something’s going on between them. They could be having a rip-roaring affair.’

‘Janey and Guy?’ Maxine laughed. ‘Now I know you’ve had too much to drink.’

‘I don’t see why it’s so funny. You told me he’d taken her to a party the other week,’ Cindy reminded her. ‘And he’s pretty irresistible, after all. Are you seriously telling me your sister would turn down the opportunity of a fling with Guy Cassidy?’

‘I’m telling you that I spent a good couple of months trying to persuade him to have a fling with me,’ said Maxine, tossing back her long blond hair and admiring her reflection in the full-length mirror. ‘And it didn’t bloody work. Boasting aside, darling, if he can ignore an offer like that, he’s hardly likely to be interested in Janey.’

Chapter 34

The phone rang again whilst Guy was taking a shower. Janey, picking it up, recognized titian-haired Charlotte’s voice at once. She could almost smell the perfume, too, oozing down the line at her from St Ives.

‘He’s upstairs in the shower,’ she told Charlotte, who had asked to speak to Guy in deeply husky tones. ‘Can I take a message?’

‘That isn’t Maxine.’ Huskiness gave way to suspicion. ‘Who am I speaking to?’

For a moment, Janey was tempted. Then, deciding that that would be cruel, she said,

‘Maxine’s taken a few days off. I’m just here looking after the children whilst she’s away.’

Charlotte, however, sounded unconvinced. ‘And you are ...?’

‘Janey. Maxine’s sister.’ She wondered whether an apology might be expected, for having been the cause of Charlotte’s abandonment at Bruno’s party. But she hadn’t dragged Guy away; if anything, he had dragged her.

‘Oh. Right.’ Thankfully, Charlotte didn’t mention it either. She sounded unflatteringly relieved, though, tohear that she wasn’t facing Serena-standard competition. ‘Well in that case, maybe you could ask Guy to call me back.’

Will do.’ Josh had crept barefoot into the kitchen behind her. Janey watched his reflected image in the window as he surreptitiously reached for the biscuit tin. ‘No more Jaffa cakes.’

Startled, Charlotte said, ‘I beg your pardon?’

‘Sorry, I was speaking to somebody else.’

‘How did you know I was there?’ Josh protested. ‘I didn’t make any noise.’

‘I heard the Jaffa cakes screaming for help.’

‘Good Lord.’ Charlotte sounded amused. ‘Look, whilst you’re there, would you happen to know whether or not Guy has anything on tonight?’

‘Nothing at all at the moment,’ said Janey. ‘He’s in the shower.’

‘I mean any plans.’

‘I don’t think so. He told me I could go out for the evening if I wanted, so he must be staying in.’

‘Oh. And where are you going, somewhere nice?’

The CIA had nothing on Charlotte. Smiling to herself, Janey replied, ‘I don’t have any plans either. I’ll probably just stay here.’

‘That sounds nice.’ Charlotte sounded immeasurably cheered by the news. ‘OK then, if you could just ask Guy to ring me back as soon as he’s out of the shower. You won’t forget now, will you?’

‘Oh hell.’ Guy looked bored. ‘That means she’s going to invite me round for dinner.’

‘Stop eating, then,’ scolded Janey, because he’d already helped himself to three sausages and she hadn’t even dished up yet.

‘But I don’t want to go. No, I can’t face it.’ He shook his head. ‘She’ll float around in some kind of negligée and try to get me drunk so I won’t be able to drive home. When she phones back, say I’ve gone out.’