wouldn't be here!'
Georgina's heightened colour and obvious distress was an answer in itself. She saw the baffled expression on Stuart's face and wished the ground would open and swallow her up before she was forced to hear William's rejoinder. Would he admit that she was only his wife as second best?
'Jennifer has the looks, Georgina the character,' William said steadily.
'I wish more people thought that way,' Miss Campbell approved 'But there, most people waste their time spoiling the beautiful while we plainer mortals have to make do with the crumbs. Mrs. Ayres is lucky to have found a perceptive man who doesn't think beauty is everything—'
'Am I so ugly?' Georgina burst out.
'Not in my book!' Stuart replied promptly. 'Some kinds of beauty are extraordinarily dull, and you would never be that! Give me warmth and generosity any time!' He bowed with a play-acting formality to Georgina, his hand on his heart. 'You're my ideal woman, Mrs. Ayres. Call on me any time!'
She made him a curtsey. 'Thank you, Mr. Duffield, I'll bear it in mind.'
'You'll do nothing of the sort!' William's anger was as unexpected as it was forceful. 'Shall we change the subject before one of us says something we'll regret? Perhaps you, Miss Campbell, would be good enough to show my wife round the bungalow. You stay here, Celine. I want to talk to you!'
Celine smiled sunnily up at him. 'I want to go with Georgie! Stuart isn't the only one who likes her —I like her too. She won't make me do things I don't want to do!'
'I shouldn't be too sure of that,' William retorted.
Georgina held her head high. 'My husband thinks I'm a bully too,' she said to no one in particular. 'I think it's because I succeeded in giving him a black eye not long ago. You can still see the remains of it if you look carefully.'
It was Stuart who laughed. 'A nice plush one! What a girl!'
William grinned reluctantly. 'She won't do it again. We have better things to do nowadays.'
What a pity he didn't mean it, Georgina thought, and wondered why it should hurt so much that he didn't. She smothered a sigh and turned to Miss Campbell, whose look of pure hatred caught her unawares. Why? she wondered. Why should Miss Campbell dislike her with such intensity?
'Come this way, Mrs. Ayres,' the older woman bade her. 'We've prepared the master suite for you and your husband. It looks over the garden with the tea gardens in the distance. I hope you'll like it.'
Georgina was astonished by the magnificence of the house. To call such a dwelling a bungalow seemed to her to verge on the ridiculous. Each of the bedrooms she glanced into was spacious and beautifully fitted out, but the master suite was out of this world. There were two bedrooms, one feminine and flouncy, the other decorated with a more masculine restraint, joined together by a bathroom full of solid, Edwardian equipment such as she had never seen before.
'The water doesn't often get hot,' Miss Campbell sniffed, 'and, as you can see, the roof leaks, but I suppose one can't expect anything else so far from civilisation. Seeing that you're practically on your honeymoon, I don't suppose you'll notice our inconveniences, but I'm used to something better, I can tell you. I've given up a great deal to stay with Celine, poor child! I knew her father very well, but I suppose Mr. Ayres will have told you all about that?'
Georgina frowned. 'No, he hasn't said much. What a lovely place this is! What about Celine's father?'
'I was called his housekeeper, but of course, I was much more than that. It was a tragedy when he died.'
'It must have been.' Georgina sat down on the edge of the bed. 'Did you know Celine's mother?' she asked.
Miss Campbell went a mottled red. 'That bitch? Celine takes after her. She hadn't a moral to her name!'
Georgina froze her with a look. 'Nevertheless, she was married to Celine's father and you—were not.'
'If you care to put it that way. He was well rid of her!'
Georgina looked down at her
Georgina's heightened colour and obvious distress was an answer in itself. She saw the baffled expression on Stuart's face and wished the ground would open and swallow her up before she was forced to hear William's rejoinder. Would he admit that she was only his wife as second best?
'Jennifer has the looks, Georgina the character,' William said steadily.
'I wish more people thought that way,' Miss Campbell approved 'But there, most people waste their time spoiling the beautiful while we plainer mortals have to make do with the crumbs. Mrs. Ayres is lucky to have found a perceptive man who doesn't think beauty is everything—'
'Am I so ugly?' Georgina burst out.
'Not in my book!' Stuart replied promptly. 'Some kinds of beauty are extraordinarily dull, and you would never be that! Give me warmth and generosity any time!' He bowed with a play-acting formality to Georgina, his hand on his heart. 'You're my ideal woman, Mrs. Ayres. Call on me any time!'
She made him a curtsey. 'Thank you, Mr. Duffield, I'll bear it in mind.'
'You'll do nothing of the sort!' William's anger was as unexpected as it was forceful. 'Shall we change the subject before one of us says something we'll regret? Perhaps you, Miss Campbell, would be good enough to show my wife round the bungalow. You stay here, Celine. I want to talk to you!'
Celine smiled sunnily up at him. 'I want to go with Georgie! Stuart isn't the only one who likes her —I like her too. She won't make me do things I don't want to do!'
'I shouldn't be too sure of that,' William retorted.
Georgina held her head high. 'My husband thinks I'm a bully too,' she said to no one in particular. 'I think it's because I succeeded in giving him a black eye not long ago. You can still see the remains of it if you look carefully.'
It was Stuart who laughed. 'A nice plush one! What a girl!'
William grinned reluctantly. 'She won't do it again. We have better things to do nowadays.'
What a pity he didn't mean it, Georgina thought, and wondered why it should hurt so much that he didn't. She smothered a sigh and turned to Miss Campbell, whose look of pure hatred caught her unawares. Why? she wondered. Why should Miss Campbell dislike her with such intensity?
'Come this way, Mrs. Ayres,' the older woman bade her. 'We've prepared the master suite for you and your husband. It looks over the garden with the tea gardens in the distance. I hope you'll like it.'
Georgina was astonished by the magnificence of the house. To call such a dwelling a bungalow seemed to her to verge on the ridiculous. Each of the bedrooms she glanced into was spacious and beautifully fitted out, but the master suite was out of this world. There were two bedrooms, one feminine and flouncy, the other decorated with a more masculine restraint, joined together by a bathroom full of solid, Edwardian equipment such as she had never seen before.
'The water doesn't often get hot,' Miss Campbell sniffed, 'and, as you can see, the roof leaks, but I suppose one can't expect anything else so far from civilisation. Seeing that you're practically on your honeymoon, I don't suppose you'll notice our inconveniences, but I'm used to something better, I can tell you. I've given up a great deal to stay with Celine, poor child! I knew her father very well, but I suppose Mr. Ayres will have told you all about that?'
Georgina frowned. 'No, he hasn't said much. What a lovely place this is! What about Celine's father?'
'I was called his housekeeper, but of course, I was much more than that. It was a tragedy when he died.'
'It must have been.' Georgina sat down on the edge of the bed. 'Did you know Celine's mother?' she asked.
Miss Campbell went a mottled red. 'That bitch? Celine takes after her. She hadn't a moral to her name!'
Georgina froze her with a look. 'Nevertheless, she was married to Celine's father and you—were not.'
'If you care to put it that way. He was well rid of her!'
Georgina looked down at her
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