Jay was saying that he had been impotent? Claire stared at him, totally unable to comprehend such an eventuality; to her, he seemed such a physical man. Her eyes widened and she looked at him, unable to hide her thoughts.
You don't believe me?' He laughed again, this time properly. Thanks for the vote of confidence, but believe me, it's true. Even now … ' he shrugged powerful shoulders and said lazily, suffice it to say that you need never worry that any brief flings I might have will damage our marriage. It's too important to me for me to risk it in any way.'
She did believe him, but she also wondered how on earth he had ever confused the obvious physical infatuation he had for his ex-wife with love. His own description of his feelings had been so lacking in that emotion that Claire had been both shocked and saddened by the emotional paucity of their relationship.
I … I think it's time I went to bed.'
He glanced at his watch. Mmm, me too. Oh, by the way … the cottage … '
The insurance didn't cover the damage,' Claire told him baldly.
No, I guessed that, but something will have to be done about it. Leave it with me, will you?'
CHAPTER SIX
RIGHT EVERYTHING'S arranged. We get married on Thursday in Bath. I've booked us into a hotel for a couple of days-that should give us enough time to get the girls and you re-equipped and to do a little bit of sightseeing.' He put down the briefcase he had brought from the car and opened it, the fabric of his suit jacket stretching taut across his back. Perhaps it was because the only other man she had ever lived with had been her father that she was so constantly aware of, and caught off guard by, the essential maleness of him. Perhaps she had lived too long in the softer world of women, and it was that which made her so conscious of the hardness of his muscled body.
Here you are; I brought these back for you to browse through,' He handed her a pile of glossy leaflets. We don't have a design department as such, but if you feel you want to engage an interior designer … '
Claire shook her head decisively. Whitegates was going to be her home, and besides, she was looking forward to the challenge of re-planning it herself.
Well, just as long as you don't start worrying about keeping costs down,' Jay warned her. He grimaced faintly and looked round the kitchen. While you're at it, how about doing something in here … something … '
Warner?' Claire supplied dryly.
Mmm. And Claire, don't forget you're going to need to adapt some of the bedrooms into guest suites, complete with en suite baths.'
Claire laughed. It sounds more like I'm going to be running a hotel than a home!'
Mmm, talking of which … This is the hotel I've booked us into in Bath. I've organised a suite with three bedrooms-the girls can share. It's just on the outskirts of the town and has its own leisure complex, complete with swimming pool. Can Lucy swim?'
Yes. Can Heather?'
Yes.'
NEWS OF THEIR IMPENDING marriage had spread through the village grapevine faster than an epidemic in a slum, and Claire had got used to being stopped in the street and discreetly pumped for more information. Overall, she gained the impression that the village thoroughly approved.
It is such a nice arrangement,' Mrs Vickers innocently told her. The village apparently did not approve of such modern things as living together', and she gathered that Jay's ex-wife had not been particularly popular. Indeed, no one seemed to know much about her at all, other than the fact that she had run off with another man, leaving her small daughter behind.
Naturally, both little girls were wildly excited, anticipating the dual treat of the wedding plus the visit to Bath. Jay proposed that they leave after breakfast on the Wednesday morning, which would give Claire plenty of time to get all her shopping done before the Thursday afternoon ceremony.
A backlog of work at the factory kept him late there most evenings, although he always tried to get back in time to read the girls a story. Heather was slowly starting to relax with him, and once or twice Claire even thought she saw a glimmer of anticipation in the little girl's eyes when he walked through the back door. And Lucy was uninhibitedly in favour of the marriage. Jay was her hero, and she worshipped him with an unashamed adoration.
Already it was November. Christmas loomed on the horizon, and unless she wanted the house to be in a total state of uproar over the Christmas holiday she would have to get a move on with her plans for the house, Claire realised as she picked up the brochures Jay had brought for her.
After supper jay disappeared into his study, and Claire curled up on the leather couch, her feet tucked up underneath her as she browsed through the leaflets. There was a range of Victorian reproduction sanitaryware, which she thought was bound to impress the Americans, and she put the details on one side, turning to concentrate on the photographs of various types of reproduction plasterwork.
The large drawing room would lend itself very nicely to that sort of embellishment, and although not strictly Georgian, the house was old enough, the rooms high-ceilinged enough to take that sort of decorative detail. The thought struck her that she could probably get some sort of inspiration as to how to use the mouldings to best effect by studying photographs of original Adam-style rooms.
Jay had pointed out to her that although several firms manufactured similar products, they prided themselves on genuinely making an effort to reproduce even the finest detail of the original plasterwork, just as modern furniture makers were now using the original pattern books of men such as Chippendale and Hepplewhite, so that they could reproduce furniture which was comparable in quality and workmanship with the original. There was nothing either cheap or tacky about their products, Jay had told Claire, and the methods they used to make them reflected as far as possible the workmanship which had gone into the originals.
It seemed to Claire, as she studied the photographs of various mock room-settings, that both the drawing-room and dining-room could become showpieces for Jay's products, while the panelling cold surely be an attractive addition to Jay's study?
As she worked through the literature, she made various notes, jotting down ideas that occurred to her for new colour schemes. Here in the sitting-room she had set her heart on a comfortable country house atmosphere with deeply cushioned settees in modern chintz, and colour-washed walls. A pretty, soft golden yellow perhaps … something warm and sunny. She wanted a room that people could be at leisure in. Somewhere where the girls could play, and Jay could relax.
She glanced at the clock, stunned to see that it was almost half past eleven. It was time she went to bed. She tidied up the papers, and then got up, yawning.
As she took her coffee cup to the kitchen she saw that there was still a light on in the study. On impulse she knocked briefly and opened the door.
Jay was sitting behind his desk, his tie loose and the top buttons of his shirt unfastened. His hair looked as though he had been pushing his fingers through it.
Hello, still up?'
Mmm. I got rather involved in my room planning. I'm going to bed now, though. Do you fancy a cup of coffee?'
Yes, please. I've got quite a lot to do yet; I could do with something to keep me awake. Did you come to any conclusions-about how we could use our products?'
Oh, yes, I've got loads of ideas … while we're in Bath I'll have to look round at fabric shops, that sort of thing. What is worrying me, though, is finding someone to install it properly.'
Oh, we've got our own team to do that. We don't take the risk of having it installed by anyone else. I'll take you down to the factory while we're in Bath and you can meet them.' He frowned suddenly and picked up his pen, fiddling with it.
It was an unusual gesture for him. He was normally so very decisive and assured.
What is it?' Claire asked.
I was just thinking. If you're re-planning the bedrooms, it might be an idea for us to have interconnecting ones-I don't want any of our male guests getting the wrong idea.'
He meant that he didn't want his male pride hurt by others knowing that they didn't have a sexual relationship, Claire surmised, but she realised she was wrong when he said harshly, I don't want a repeat performance of what happened with Susie, Claire. I don't intend to lose you as well. If we have rooms at the opposite end of the house, you're bound to get some opportunist who's going to think that sexually you're as available as Susie was. Neither of us wants that.'
She felt uncomfortably guilty when she realised that his concern had been as much for her as for himself. Every day, it seemed she learned more about him, and the more she learned, the more she wondered how on earth Susie could have not loved him. Surely, if a woman could love a man it must be this one: he was caring and kind, attractive, considerate-and strong enough to lean on if one was the leaning type.