Mistress at a Price by Sara Craven

suppress a tiny pang of disappointment that he ’ d fallen into the red rose cliché trap. And he was also assuming that she ’ d automatically be free on Thursday.

    Which I am, she thought, but that ’ s not the point.

    Because he ’ d not offered her any way to communicate with him in turn, she realised. So she would have to choose whether to arrive meekly at the rendezvous — and she didn ’ t do meek — or to stand him up, which she guessed would sever any connection between them for ever.

    Well, I don ’ t have to decide at once, she told herself as she arranged her flowers, and carried them back into the living room.

    But in her heart she already knew what her decision would be, and she threw her head back and laughed with jubilant anticipation.

    It seemed, of course, as if Thursday would never come. During the days, Cat was positive and dynamic, throwing herself into her work with renewed energy, her expectations carrying her along. But her nights were very different. She slept fitfully, her dreams wild and disturbing with an undercurrent of sensuality that often woke her, her body on fire, and a moan of sheer yearning on her lips.

    ‘ Mignonette, eh? ’ said Dorita, the company ’ s restaurant guru, responding to Cat ’ s studiedly casual query. She whistled. ‘ It must be a heavy date, Cat, because it ’ s the top place for couples right now. ’ She observed Cat ’ s flushed face with benevolent interest. ‘ Going there tonight? ’

    Cat shook her head. ‘ Tomorrow. ’

    Tonight, she thought ruefully, was her twosome with her mother at the Savoy — something she would have happily foregone.

    But Vanessa greeted her with a radiant smile and champagne cocktails.

    ‘ Darling. ’ She kissed Cat on both cheeks, then stood back to scrutinise her plain grey shift dress with its matching jacket. She nodded. ‘ You look wonderful, ’ she approved.

    ‘ And so do you, ’ Cat returned with total sincerity, returning her embrace. Her mother seemed to have shed years since the weekend. The almost palpable tensions had disappeared, and she had that magical look of being lit with inner happiness that had been missing for so long.

    If this was Gil ’ s doing then Cat could only be grateful, in spite of her reservations about him.

    Or did she simply recognise it because she shared it?

    ‘ I went down to see Susan yesterday, ’ Vanessa said when they were seated at their table, with their first course of seafood ravioli in front of them. ‘ She ’ s planning to sell the house and move to France when everything ’ s settled. ’

    Cat put down her fork, her eyes widening. ‘ She ’ s really divorcing Uncle Robert? That ’ s rather quick, isn ’ t it? ’

    Vanessa shrugged. ‘ She says that when it ’ s over, it ’ s over, and she doesn ’ t want to waste a moment of the rest of her life. She taught French before her marriage, and has always wanted a place there, only Robert wouldn ’ t consider it. ’

    Cat shook her head. ‘ I had no idea. ’

    ‘ Obviously there ’ s more than one actress in the family, ’ Vanessa said drily, and applied herself to her food.

    ‘ But won ’ t she be lonely? ’ Cat persisted.

    ‘ I wouldn ’ t think so for a minute, ’ her mother said with a touch of asperity. ‘ She ’ s still a very attractive woman. Once she ’ s got Robert out of her system I can see her having a whale of a time. ’

    Cat raised her eyebrows. ‘ With you, no doubt, acting as her mentor? ’ she suggested.

    Vanessa laughed. ‘ Not I, darling. At long last I ’ m planning to settle down for good, and I refuse to be distracted from that. ’ She gave Cat a long look. ‘ Well — I didn ’ t expect you to turn cartwheels in the Savoy, but I thought you ’ d be a little pleased to hear I was aiming for respectability. ’

    With Gil , Cat thought, aghast. With a muscle-bound toyboy? Oh, God , is this what she wants to tell me? Why she brought me here tonight