‘Well?’ he said in such a hard, clipped voice that Milly did an indiscreet double-take.
‘Adam,’ Roz said shakily, ‘please, you must believe me, I warned, her not to do anything rash. I only ever knew about it accidentally in the first place, although I could see she had something on her mind. But the night before last she broke down and told me. And so I …’
‘Gave her your famous advice?’
‘No! I tried to give her the opposite advice, actually. But she kept pointing out that I’d only been nineteen and that I barely knew you. Then,’ Roz took as breath, ‘she asked me to speak to you about it. I said she should, but she said she couldn’t pluck up the courage. That’s when I said I would so long as she didn’t do anything rash in the meantime. I swear that’s how it was. Something must have happened yesterday …’ She broke off abruptly. And looked at Milly. ‘That phone call …?‘
‘Yes,’ Milly said slowly. ‘Now I wonder …’ She broke off to explain to Adam, then added, ‘The more I think about it the surer I am that phone call sparked this off. She was quiet yesterday, Roz. And then she said she was so tired, but she did nothing all day really. While you were away she just.…‘
‘And where the hell were you? Adam shot at Roz.
She flushed at his tone. ‘At the doctor’s,’ she said steadily.
‘So who the devil do you think rang her and upset her ?’ he demanded.
Roz lifted her shoulders helplessly. ‘I can only guess. Perhaps Lucia’s found out now—Nicky did say you and Lucia were the only two who didn’t know.’
‘Do you mean to tell me the whole family has known about this and not bothered to enlighten me?” he demanded with quiet fury. ‘And that you, knowing. this was on the cards, made no move to alert anyone, ‘Roz?’
‘I’m. trying to make you understand I didn’t know she was going to do this. And l was going to tell you. I just didn’t… have a chance.’
‘But you had her here with you, you knew she was in a state—you must know by now how volatile Nicky is! My dear; Roz, even if only subconsciously I think she must have gained some encouragement from you. Perhaps even supplied you with that ulterior motive last night,’ he said with irony. ‘Were you worried that you might have set something in motion that could be a little hard to explain?’ he finished between his teeth.
Roz stood as still as a statue, while Milly looked as if she wished she could disappear into a hole in the ground, but it was obvious Adam couldn’t care less, because he said then, ‘Well, just for the record, let’s hear what you would do if you were in my shoes, Roz?’
Roz licked her lips and discovered she was angry. If I were you, Adam, I’d put the ad she wants in the paper right away. ‘And when she comes back I’d let them get engaged. I don’t know whether marriage would work out for them or if he’s the right one for Nicky, but personally I think she could do a lot worse, and I don’t really think it’s a crime to marry your second cousin. But apart from that l think you could trust Richard to behave sensibly—he told her he wouldn’t marry her without the family’s approval, and I think you’ll find he will be just as stunned as the rest of us are that she’s done this. So if I were you, Adam, that’s what I’d do. Tell them you don’t object to them being engaged and if in,’ she shrugged, ‘a year they still feel the same way, then you will discuss marriage. I don’t see how else you can handle Nicky, and anyway, not all young marriages fail, although I agree they’d be wise to wait.’
‘I … actually I agree with Roz,’ Milly said awkwardly.
Adam was silent and his dark eyes held Roz’s blue gaze captive. But she didn’t flinch, just returned his stare calmly, her lips set and something saying inside her head, make what you will of that, Adam Milroy!
He did. ‘I don’t suppose I could have expected anything else from you, Roz.’
Something snapped inside her. ‘Nor I from you!’ And she turned and ran from the room, just as the phone started to ring.
‘She ran upstairs to her bedroom and closed the door, then leant back against it panting with anger. frustration and battling a tidal wave of tears. I can’t stand much more, she thought. I do … I do hate him after all. And the time’s come to do something about it!
She went over to her dressing room and heaving down a suitcase from the top shelf, dragged it over to the bed. Then she pulled open her bureau drawers and indiscriminately gathered a cloud of underwear into her arms.