convinced her she could be the loser. He was astute enough to figure out her tactics, and brutal enough to sweep her out of the hotel without breakfast. As she had already been cheated out of dinner last night, she was hungrier than usual.
On inspiration, instead of the rolls and preserves that would have sufficed, she ordered a full English breakfast, and took pleasure in the fact that David occupied the time while it was being cooked by drumming his fingers on the table.
She overdid the ordering, because such a huge breakfast did not meet with her stomachâs approval, and had to struggle gamely through two eggs, bacon, sausages, and two saucer-large slices of fried tomato, while he looked on with an âI-should-say-that-evens-the-scoreâ smirk on his mouth.
It was a small consolation that they had the breakfast table to themselves. The other places had been cleared away, so presumably Ginny and Bob had already eaten.
David had made no mention of Ginny going with them and so Petrina was surprised to see the tall, skinny blond installed in the Land Rover that was waiting for them at the front of the hotel.
This morning Ginny wore pale sand-colored trousers and a checked cotton overshirt that, because of its fine material and aided by Ginnyâs omission to fasten the buttons, all but the one in line with her bra, revealed more than it concealed although, with her statistics, there wasnât all that much to reveal. It was difficult to pinpoint what made Ginny attractive. Her looks didnât fit into any of the accepted categories. She wasnât aloof and elegant, and she wasnât romantically pretty. Her keynote was more subtle and less easy to define. Her vitality would play an important part, and that enviable air of self-assurance. Though Petrina didnât think that Ginny was as assured as she tried to make out.
She hoped her own choice, a casual shirtwaist dress that had looked fine in her bedroom mirror, would pass muster. It was in soft companion colors of blues and greens, shading from one to the other with no definite pattern. She had left the top two buttons fashionably open to reveal her throat. She fingered the third button absentmindedly, caught Davidâs wicked glance, and thought better of it.
In lieu of apology for keeping her waiting, David told Ginny she looked very spruce. Ginnyâs beaming smile forgave him, and, to her dismay, Petrina found she had to avert her eyes. She knew she was being unreasonable and foolish about this, and furthermore it was unworthy of her, but she was jealous of the camaraderie David and Ginny shared. She told herself sternly that she should be grateful her husband had found such a loyal and seemingly efficient secretary to back him up in his difficult job, and she was sure now that there was nothing between them, but still she envied the bond they shared, a. bond that she and David might never have.
This brought a strange thought to mind. Ginny was on the spot. She was a likeable person and extremely easy going. She had proved this by not objecting to being the butt of Bobâs humor when theyâd shared a breakfast table. And, in its own way, her boyish sex appeal was quite fetching. If David had needed to produce a decoy to allay Geoffrey Hylandâs suspicions and so safeguard his job, why hadnât he chosen Ginny?
A tiny frown etched itself between her fine brows at a possible conclusion to be drawn from this. Perhaps it was harder to find a loyal secretary than it was to find a wife. Any presentable young woman would fit this latter role, whereas a secretary of Ginnyâs worth might be difficult to come by. Petrina was sorry she had ever even considered the question.
Chapter Six
The road followed a confusing, winding course, in keeping with her thoughts. She was certain she hadnât been just any woman in Davidâs arms a short while ago. It had been special to her, and she had been so sure it had been special to
On inspiration, instead of the rolls and preserves that would have sufficed, she ordered a full English breakfast, and took pleasure in the fact that David occupied the time while it was being cooked by drumming his fingers on the table.
She overdid the ordering, because such a huge breakfast did not meet with her stomachâs approval, and had to struggle gamely through two eggs, bacon, sausages, and two saucer-large slices of fried tomato, while he looked on with an âI-should-say-that-evens-the-scoreâ smirk on his mouth.
It was a small consolation that they had the breakfast table to themselves. The other places had been cleared away, so presumably Ginny and Bob had already eaten.
David had made no mention of Ginny going with them and so Petrina was surprised to see the tall, skinny blond installed in the Land Rover that was waiting for them at the front of the hotel.
This morning Ginny wore pale sand-colored trousers and a checked cotton overshirt that, because of its fine material and aided by Ginnyâs omission to fasten the buttons, all but the one in line with her bra, revealed more than it concealed although, with her statistics, there wasnât all that much to reveal. It was difficult to pinpoint what made Ginny attractive. Her looks didnât fit into any of the accepted categories. She wasnât aloof and elegant, and she wasnât romantically pretty. Her keynote was more subtle and less easy to define. Her vitality would play an important part, and that enviable air of self-assurance. Though Petrina didnât think that Ginny was as assured as she tried to make out.
She hoped her own choice, a casual shirtwaist dress that had looked fine in her bedroom mirror, would pass muster. It was in soft companion colors of blues and greens, shading from one to the other with no definite pattern. She had left the top two buttons fashionably open to reveal her throat. She fingered the third button absentmindedly, caught Davidâs wicked glance, and thought better of it.
In lieu of apology for keeping her waiting, David told Ginny she looked very spruce. Ginnyâs beaming smile forgave him, and, to her dismay, Petrina found she had to avert her eyes. She knew she was being unreasonable and foolish about this, and furthermore it was unworthy of her, but she was jealous of the camaraderie David and Ginny shared. She told herself sternly that she should be grateful her husband had found such a loyal and seemingly efficient secretary to back him up in his difficult job, and she was sure now that there was nothing between them, but still she envied the bond they shared, a. bond that she and David might never have.
This brought a strange thought to mind. Ginny was on the spot. She was a likeable person and extremely easy going. She had proved this by not objecting to being the butt of Bobâs humor when theyâd shared a breakfast table. And, in its own way, her boyish sex appeal was quite fetching. If David had needed to produce a decoy to allay Geoffrey Hylandâs suspicions and so safeguard his job, why hadnât he chosen Ginny?
A tiny frown etched itself between her fine brows at a possible conclusion to be drawn from this. Perhaps it was harder to find a loyal secretary than it was to find a wife. Any presentable young woman would fit this latter role, whereas a secretary of Ginnyâs worth might be difficult to come by. Petrina was sorry she had ever even considered the question.
Chapter Six
The road followed a confusing, winding course, in keeping with her thoughts. She was certain she hadnât been just any woman in Davidâs arms a short while ago. It had been special to her, and she had been so sure it had been special to
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