A Country Affair Read Online Free PDF Page A

not half, and he and I get on really well.”
    “And that just about sums him up.”
    “Eh!”
    In bed, Kate let her mind wander to Scott. She honestly could not imagine
him
wanting an early night because he had an interview on Friday. He’d be far more likely to be living it up somewhere—preferably, she speculated, with Kate Howard in tow. Then, blotting out that enthralling idea, came the memory of the warning that she’d had from Joy about taking him with a pinch of salt.

Chapter
2
    S aturday morning dawned cloudy but dry, for which Joy heaved a sigh of relief. It was still only six o’clock, so she lay down to snatch ten more minutes of peace before she got up. Her list of things to check was by the telephone downstairs and she resisted the idea of dashing down to take yet another look at it. Open Afternoons were no joke for the staff, at least not for her. The younger ones seemed to take them in their stride, but for her the smooth running of them entailed meticulous planning and, frankly, she had enough on her plate with the practice opening in a new building without the clients galloping about all over the place, though she knew she would enjoy it when it all started to happen. She turned over to find herself the only oxccupant of the bed. That particular discovery did not augur well for the rest of the day.
    Joy sat up, drew up her knees, wrapped her arms around them and thought. Where could he have gone? So early too. Please, Duncan, please. Not today. But he would if he wanted. Nothing could stop him, not pleas, or cajoling, or shouting, or complaining—and certainly not begging. She smiled grimly when she thought what she did every day of her life, namely stand by her man. Would it be better if he didn’t go to the Open Afternoon at all? No one would miss him, for Duncan was no conversationalist. No, she’d not remind him. Just go off as if it were an ordinary day and she was going to work. Which in part she was, as emergencies had to be dealt with by someone; one couldn’t leave an animal in pain simply because they all wanted to have fun. Mungo and she would be on duty.
    The very mention of his name could still melt her bones. They’d known each other for more than twenty years; she’d been his first receptionist when he set up for himself, and she’d stayed with him through all the ups and downs of his life. The worst had been when his darling Janie had been killed in that ferry disaster. After that, for almost two years he’d lived on automatic pilot, unapproachable, silent, detached; but she’d put up with all that and just when she thought her moment had come, he’d arrived out of the blue one afternoon with his new bride in tow: Miriam. Joy’s pain and shock had been so great that she felt as though Miriam herself had taken dozens of knives and forced them straight through her heart. But she’d kept answering the phone, counting money, making out receipts, helping clients and making appointments as though having one’s heart torn asunder was an everyday occurrence and not to be permitted to hinder one’s devotion to duty.
    The devil of it was that this Miriam was the nicest, kindest, loveliest, gentlest being any man could hope to have as a wife, or any woman hope to have as a friend; and that was exactly what Miriam had determined on, that she and Joy should be friends. Strange thing was, considering Joy’s devastating disappointment, it wasn’t difficult to be Mungo’s wife’s friend. After fifteen years Miriam still considered Joy her great friend, not suspecting for a moment how Joy felt about Mungo. Joy knew that even now Miriam would be up and about, getting the desserts and the savories she’d made for the lunch buffet out of the freezer, checking her lists of things to do and all for Joy’s sake, not for the sake of the practice.
    Thinking about Miriam didn’t solve the problem of Duncan. Where the blazes was he? It was always the same when he was in the midst of one of