hope we'll see each other soon. Will you be at Bellewoodplain this weekend?”
“Unfortunately, no. When I understood you were the doctor coming to examine the manuscript John found, it was already too late to change my plans. I'm going to France for the summer.”
Kate was surprised to see her blush. “I'm going hiking with a friend of mine. Like me, he's an Englishman studying in Italy and that's where we met.”
“Sounds marvelous,” Kate said, “I hope you have a great time.”
“Thank you. I'll be in touch when I come back.”
Kate returned to the apartment in the afternoon and to her surprise found Margaret at home.
“I decided to leave work early so I would have time to rest and get ready for my date with Jorge. How did you spend the day?”
“It was a good day. Aside from visiting my friend Leonora and seeing a new exhibit at the Tate, I met Rebecca Camedon this morning and had tea in her apartment. She lives up the street, only a few buildings away.”
“Does her brother live with her?” Margaret asked interestedly.
“No. He has his own place in Belgravia.”
Margaret looked at her with a faint grin on her face. “It's probably a stunning apartment.”
Kate began to feel ill at ease. Aside from being her best friend, Margaret was very reliable and discreet. There was no reason she couldn't tell her about the dinner planned for this evening. “By the way,” she said, “Matthew invited me to dinner tonight and I accepted on condition that he takes me back to Oxford afterwards.”
“Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you that he called me about a quarter of an hour ago and said he would pick you up at eight. Apparently your phone was shut off the whole afternoon.”
Kate felt relieved she had confided in Margaret on her own initiative. It would have been awkward for Margaret to pass on that message if Kate had not disclosed her plans.
“What do you plan to wear?”
“I don't know. I hadn't thought about it. The truth is, I don't have anything to wear,” she sighed. “My dress is still at the cleaners and I didn't bring anything else that would be suitable for dining with a lord.”
“Don’t worry. My wardrobe is at your disposal. You can return the ensemble when we next see each other. I can't let you go to dinner feeling glum. Besides, I want you to keep the dress you wore last night.”
“You're very generous, but I can't accept a gift like that.”
“The issue is not open to discussion. The dress suits you a thousand times more than it does me. It looks as though it was made to order for you and you'll be doing me a great favor if you allow me to compensate you in some small way for the damage I caused your dress.”
After a weak argument Kate gave in, knowing her protests would be in vain. At a quarter to seven Margaret was ready to greet Jorge. When he arrived she left Kate with a hug and a kiss, making her promise she would call after the weekend in Bellewoodplain and tell her all the news.
After she left Kate returned the elegant suit Margaret had given her to its place in the closet. She had no intention of going out of her way to find favor in Matthew's eyes. Perhaps when he saw her tonight he would understand they had no chance together. They lived in different worlds. The impecunious young lecturer could have no place in the life of a rich, powerful lord.
No, she would not borrow her friend's expensive clothes any more. Matthew would have to face the real Kate Evans and not the glamorous woman he had met at an Oxford concert and at a ball hosted by barons. She remembered his jaded voice as he said to John in the restaurant: 'it was hard to distinguish much of her behind those shapeless clothes and that ridiculous hat. I can't see myself being even remotely interested in her'. At the time his words fell on her indifferent ears but now she felt enraged. She would not get dressed up for him. She couldn't help
“Unfortunately, no. When I understood you were the doctor coming to examine the manuscript John found, it was already too late to change my plans. I'm going to France for the summer.”
Kate was surprised to see her blush. “I'm going hiking with a friend of mine. Like me, he's an Englishman studying in Italy and that's where we met.”
“Sounds marvelous,” Kate said, “I hope you have a great time.”
“Thank you. I'll be in touch when I come back.”
Kate returned to the apartment in the afternoon and to her surprise found Margaret at home.
“I decided to leave work early so I would have time to rest and get ready for my date with Jorge. How did you spend the day?”
“It was a good day. Aside from visiting my friend Leonora and seeing a new exhibit at the Tate, I met Rebecca Camedon this morning and had tea in her apartment. She lives up the street, only a few buildings away.”
“Does her brother live with her?” Margaret asked interestedly.
“No. He has his own place in Belgravia.”
Margaret looked at her with a faint grin on her face. “It's probably a stunning apartment.”
Kate began to feel ill at ease. Aside from being her best friend, Margaret was very reliable and discreet. There was no reason she couldn't tell her about the dinner planned for this evening. “By the way,” she said, “Matthew invited me to dinner tonight and I accepted on condition that he takes me back to Oxford afterwards.”
“Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you that he called me about a quarter of an hour ago and said he would pick you up at eight. Apparently your phone was shut off the whole afternoon.”
Kate felt relieved she had confided in Margaret on her own initiative. It would have been awkward for Margaret to pass on that message if Kate had not disclosed her plans.
“What do you plan to wear?”
“I don't know. I hadn't thought about it. The truth is, I don't have anything to wear,” she sighed. “My dress is still at the cleaners and I didn't bring anything else that would be suitable for dining with a lord.”
“Don’t worry. My wardrobe is at your disposal. You can return the ensemble when we next see each other. I can't let you go to dinner feeling glum. Besides, I want you to keep the dress you wore last night.”
“You're very generous, but I can't accept a gift like that.”
“The issue is not open to discussion. The dress suits you a thousand times more than it does me. It looks as though it was made to order for you and you'll be doing me a great favor if you allow me to compensate you in some small way for the damage I caused your dress.”
After a weak argument Kate gave in, knowing her protests would be in vain. At a quarter to seven Margaret was ready to greet Jorge. When he arrived she left Kate with a hug and a kiss, making her promise she would call after the weekend in Bellewoodplain and tell her all the news.
After she left Kate returned the elegant suit Margaret had given her to its place in the closet. She had no intention of going out of her way to find favor in Matthew's eyes. Perhaps when he saw her tonight he would understand they had no chance together. They lived in different worlds. The impecunious young lecturer could have no place in the life of a rich, powerful lord.
No, she would not borrow her friend's expensive clothes any more. Matthew would have to face the real Kate Evans and not the glamorous woman he had met at an Oxford concert and at a ball hosted by barons. She remembered his jaded voice as he said to John in the restaurant: 'it was hard to distinguish much of her behind those shapeless clothes and that ridiculous hat. I can't see myself being even remotely interested in her'. At the time his words fell on her indifferent ears but now she felt enraged. She would not get dressed up for him. She couldn't help
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