‘Could be. That house and will story could be a complete fabrication. I wonder if Hugh has actually seen this will for himself.’
‘He’s not a complete fool, James.’
‘Or even a partial one,’ the man himself said drily as he put the three glasses of beer on the table then sat down in his chair. ‘Kathryn signed a foolproof pre-nup yesterday.’
Russell tried to read something in Hugh’s face, but failed. One of Hugh’s many talents was as a poker player. The only clue Russell had was Hugh’s sudden loss of form on the golf course. It was extremely difficult to play good golf when one was emotionally or physically distracted.
Russell suddenly remembered Hugh telling him at James’s wedding last year that there was a woman he fancied who wouldn’t come across.
Could that woman be his PA?
It wouldn’t be the first time that a boss had become enamoured of his secretary. The two were thrown together a lot, after all.
‘Is Kathryn beautiful?’ he suddenly asked his friend.
Hugh took a long swallow of beer before answering. He knew his friends would give him the third degree over this. Knew they would be shocked, and then worried if he admitted to a sexual relationship with Kathryn.
That’s why he’d delayed telling them till today. And why he’d decided to lie to them.
‘Not in a strictly traditional sense,’ he replied.
‘Attractive, though.’
‘Yes. Quite attractive.’
‘Blonde?’
‘No. Brunette.’
Russell frowned. Hugh was being cagey all right. Which wasn’t like him. He decided to play the devil’s advocate. ‘You do realise your marriage won’t be legal if you don’t consummate it.’
There was a definite flicker in Hugh’s eyes.
‘How will anyone know if we did or not? Kathryn’s no virgin. I don’t know what you’re so worried about. I’m just helping her out.’
‘I thought you didn’t like her,’ James piped up.
‘She can be irritating,’ Hugh admitted. ‘She has a tendency to be bossy and controlling. But she’s a good person. And she’s been badly done by with this stupid will. And an even stupider fiancé. Well, ex-fiancé now. Look, the one thing I haven’t mentioned so far is that I feel personally responsible for the break-up of her engagement.’
‘How come?’ Russell asked, suspicion in his voice.
‘Remember I had a board meeting last Thursday afternoon? Anyway, Kathryn’s fiancé was supposed to take her out to dinner that night but, at the last moment, he let her down. So I took her to dinner. By way of a thank-you for all her hard work.’
James and Russell exchanged knowing looks.
‘It wasn’t like that,’ Hugh snapped. ‘It was a perfectly innocent dinner. But her fiancé was the jealous type. Unfortunately, I drove Kathryn home. After he saw her get out of my car he apparently went crazy, called her vile names and hit her.’
‘Charming,’ James said with a curl of his top lip. He despised men who hit women.
‘She’s better off without him,’ Hugh said. ‘Not, however, better off without her friend’s house. It’s difficult to explain why without revealing rather sensitive and very confidential information. Let me just say that she—’
‘Where did you take her to dinner?’ Russell broke in abruptly.
‘What? What has that got to do with anything?’
‘Just curious.’
‘Neptune’s.’
‘Aah ’ Russell knew Hugh’s modus operandi with women he fancied. The first place he ever took them was Neptune’s.
Hugh saw the speculation in Russell’s eyes. But speculation was not knowledge.
‘I gather you two think this marriage is a foolish step on my part,’ he said. ‘Please be assured that I know what I’m doing. When you meet Kathryn for yourself, you’ll soon see that I haven’t become the target of some conniving fortune-hunter.’
‘I hope you’ve got your stories off pat when the Press find out,’ James warned.
‘They shouldn’t find out, not unless one of you blab.’
‘We won’t. We won’t even tell our wives. But what about Reverend What’s-his-name?’
‘I donate thousands to the Reverend Price’s halfway house every year. Trust me. He won’t breathe a word.’