Cryssie got into the car and shut the door, looking up at him through the open window. ‘I’ll do my best,’ she said slowly. ‘It may be difficult, but I’ll try and manage it somehow…’ Then, with a brief nod of her head, she looked away, suddenly anxious at the coldness of his request, but knowing that of course she would do exactly as instructed!
CHAPTER TEN
CRYSSIE couldn’t help feeling a warm glow of contentment. While she had to admit that she’d really enjoyed every minute of her time spent with the Hunters, it was Milo’s obvious delight which had pleased her the most. Together with the undeniable fact that she couldn’t help liking the wretched Mr Jeremy Hunter!
When they got home, she was surprised to find that Polly had gone out. A note on the kitchen table announced that the girl had taken herself off into town for a couple of hours. Cryssie was just tucking Milo up for the night when Polly returned.
‘Hi, Poll! Where have you been? The shops are long shut. I was getting worried!’ Cryssie teased.
‘Oh…just wandering around town for a bit,’ Polly remarked casually, going over to the bed to give her son a kiss. ‘Did you have a good time?’
Cryssie gave her a brief outline of their day, with Milo chipping in enthusiastically, and presently the two women went downstairs.
As soon as they were alone Polly suddenly burst into a flood of hysterical tears, slipping down onto the floor and covering her face with her hands. Full of alarm, Cryssie crouched down beside her to hold her tightly. ‘Whatever is the matter, Polly?’ she said desperately. ‘What…what on earth is it?’
Between gasps and sobs Polly poured her heart out to Cryssie, who could only sit there in a state of unbelievable shock as she listened. It was difficult to take everything in, to make sense of it, but eventually a cold rush of apprehension flooded her body. What sort of reaction was this going to get in certain quarters?
She let Polly go over and over everything for a solid hour, before she finally felt able to go and make some tea for them both, while promising her sister that somehow she would make things right. As she stood waiting for the kettle to boil Cryssie couldn’t believe that such a happy day could end so disastrously. She buried her face in her hands. Once again, it had all landed in her lap!
As Jed had instructed, Cryssie arranged to take Thursday afternoon off. Thankfully, Rose had readily accepted Cryssie’s excuse of a personal appointment with her bank, and soon she was once more sitting next to her employer on the way to London, feeling depressed and anxious.
The predicament that Polly had presented them with was proving to be an almost unbearable burden to her, and Cryssie knew that it would change everything. Obviously it would mean the end of her association with the Hunter dynasty. That was a foregone conclusion. She shuddered as she recalled Sunday evening and Polly’s histrionics. She hadn’t managed to get much sleep since. But she’d decided that today would be the ideal opportunity to draw everything to a conclusion. Whatever the very important business reasons Jed had for insisting they have this time together, nothing was more important than what she had to say to him.
They arrived at the flat by mid-afternoon. ‘Make us a cup of tea,’ Jed said casually, glancing at some mail that had been left on the table. ‘You know where everything is.’
Obediently Cryssie went into the kitchen and quickly found everything she needed, filling two mugs and taking them inside.
Jed was standing by the window, his hands in his pockets, and as Cryssie handed him his tea she was struck by the expression on his rugged features. There was obviously something very important that they had to go through, she thought.
He put his tea down without tasting it, and said flatly, ‘I want us to have a serious discussion.’ He was choosing his words carefully. ‘I want a more…shall we say—established agreement than we have at present,’ he began, and Cryssie frowned. She didn’t know what he was driving at—but anyway it didn’t matter now.
He came across to stand close to her, forcing her to look up at him. ‘I want you to link yourself more…personally…with me,’ he said slowly, and when she continued to look mystified, he went on, ‘I’m talking about marriage, Cryssie. And don’t look like that! Are you so blind that the thought has never crossed your mind? Most women would have thought of it by now!’
Cryssie was staggered—and she almost did! She put her tea down and steadied herself against the back of the sofa.
‘I’ll spell it out for you,’ he went on. ‘I’ve been thinking about it for some time, and I believe it would be the perfect solution for both of us—mutually convenient in every way. Don’t you get it? I want you when I want you, not just between the hours of nine and five. I need your good sense, your loyalty, your perceptiveness, your dedication. If we live together under the same roof it’ll make things run more smoothly, more efficiently. I’ll have everything I need—and you’ll have everything you’ll ever want or need for the rest of your life.’