Susanne James – The Master of Highbridge Manor (страница 3)

‘By the way,’ he said, glancing down at her, ‘we always use Christian names at school—other than in the children’s hearing. I’m Jasper. Which I expect you already know.’

Ria returned his glance. ‘And, as you already know, I’m Ria,’ she said lightly.

As they walked along in comparative silence, Jasper Trent sighed inwardly. He had expected to be confronted by a mature, no-nonsense woman this morning, not this perfect example of desirable womanhood.

Suddenly, he was desperate to get away from here and hand the baton back to his brother—and resume his own profession. When Carl had asked this unexpected favour of him, he’d tried to come up with all sorts of reasons to refuse—one of which was that he doubted that he would really fit in here. Carl was such an outstanding headmaster that he, Jasper, would surely turn out to be a very pale imitation—even if it was to be a temporary arrangement. But eventually his sense of fair play had made him agree. It was Carl who’d been the dutiful son, after all—he deserved some quality time for himself. Because, although Jasper’s Cambridge science degree had more than qualified him to teach, and to take a full part in the running of the school, he’d always declared his intention to do other things—to the huge disappointment of his father, who had expected both his sons to fall in line. To the older man, tradition was all. But then, as Jasper had pointed out on more than one occasion, every family had a black sheep, a rebel, and he was quite happy to fill that vacancy.

And now, watching the two from her window as they disappeared from her view, Helen Brown pursed her lips thoughtfully, then shrugged. Well, be it on his own head, she thought.

CHAPTER TWO

AS SHE sat beside him, her hands clasped in her lap, Ria couldn’t help comparing the car she was sitting in with its owner—long, sleek and powerful. She glanced up at him, noticing for the first time—now that she was close to him—a faint but discernible mark running from the corner of his left eye and ending just short of his lip. He’d obviously been in an accident of some sort, she thought briefly, but nature had done a very good repair job because the scar did nothing at all to detract from his impossibly good looks. In fact, it seemed to add to his rugged appeal—an appeal which might even have hinted at cruelty…though Ria discounted that possibility straight away. Nothing about Jasper Trent, so far, suggested unkindness, or harshness. Anyway, she’d find out soon enough what he was really like—though she somehow didn’t think their paths would cross much during the working day, sensing that he probably enjoyed a typically isolated position in his rather austere headmaster’s room.

Being in the company of yet another handsome man made Ria’s thoughts turn briefly to Seth…Would she ever be able to banish him entirely from her mind? she asked herself. But how could she easily rub out that time when her heart had been ripped from her? As if it was some minor incident that could be forgotten? And was the man sitting beside her another one just like him—was he, too, utterly self-confident, utterly self-assured, delighting in his powerful masculinity? Did Jasper Trent see only his own life and hopes and dreams—with scant concern for anyone else’s?

She turned her attention to the scenery unfolding all around them and took a deep breath. She had no doubt that Jasper Trent had been in perfect charge of his school for a good number of years, running it with impeccable authority. But what did he do in his private life? she wondered. To her, he didn’t look the marrying kind with a clutch of kids at home, so how would he spend his time, what did he do in order to relax? Ria scolded herself. What he did or didn’t do was no concern of hers.

He glanced across at her briefly. ‘You’ll have noticed the car parking area when we picked mine up just now,’ he said. ‘You might even be lucky enough to nab one of the garages sometimes.’

Ria smiled. ‘Oh, my car has never been used to the dignity of being garaged,’ she said. ‘Anyway, I’ll be selling it in a few months’ time when I head off.’ She paused. ‘And, who knows…I may not come back at all. I may find that the grass really is greener away from England.’

‘There’s only one way to find out about that,’ he said levelly, keeping his eyes on the road ahead.

‘It’ll do me good to put my toe into alien waters and see if I can cope with the unknown without going to pieces,’ Ria said. She wasn’t going to admit that she was already rather dreading the moment of departure, that sometimes she wished she’d never planned it at all. But she’d talked for hours and hours with friends who’d done exciting things, been to exciting places, and she’d boxed herself into a corner she couldn’t escape from. And everyone was egging her on all the time—to change her mind now would be pathetic.

The Lamb was about a five-minute drive from the school, and the restaurant was just nicely crowded as, presently, Ria and her new employer sat at a corner table by the window enjoying their meal. She looked across at him as she put down her knife.

‘That cheese platter was just perfect,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’

He leaned back and picked up his pint of lager. ‘Yes, the food is generally pretty good here,’ he said, ‘and the atmosphere is always relaxed and congenial. It seems to have become the school’s “local” over the years. Some of the staff drop in for a drink now and then, and our older pupils, too, have been known to enjoy chilling out after exams.’ He watched as Ria drank the last of the sparkling water she’d ordered, noting the way her slender fingers curled around the stem of the glass, admiring the unassuming elegance of her every move. She looked up then and saw him studying her, and almost at once her cool cheeks warmed visibly.

‘So,’ she said lightly, ‘term begins next Wednesday—a week from today?’

‘It does,’ he replied. ‘But the boys will be returning on Monday—or some on Tuesday.’ He paused. ‘I expect you’d like to do the same?’

‘Tuesday would be very convenient for me,’ Ria said.

‘Helen will be at school permanently from Monday. She’ll give you your keys, show you the ropes.’

‘Does Helen live in?’ Ria asked.

‘No, she has a cottage just walking distance from school. She lives there with her elderly mother,’ he replied briefly.

‘She seems very…competent,’ Ria said.

He replied quickly, ‘She is certainly that. I think we’re all a bit afraid of her.’

Ria smiled, but said nothing. She could never imagine Jasper Trent being afraid of anyone—or anything.

‘And do you live permanently “above the shop”?’ Ria asked innocently, hoping that she wasn’t being inquisitive—but wanting to know, just the same.

‘I occupy my own flat during most of term time,’ he replied casually, ‘but it’s not my permanent home.’ He paused before going on, ‘I am merely acting Head of school, in any case,’ he added shortly.

Ria looked across, really surprised at that. ‘Oh?’ she said curiously.

‘My brother is the permanent Head, but he decided he’d like a bit of time off, so I agreed to step into his shoes for a few months and allow him some space.’ The strong mouth lifted wryly in one corner as he went on, ‘But, unfortunately, while he was on a skiing trip he had a bad accident, resulting in various complications, so the anticipated few months will have become a full school year.’ He cleared his throat. ‘But he takes up the reins again in September.’

Ria couldn’t help feeling confused. Jasper Trent had seemed to her to be the perfect headmaster, determined and authoritative, and apparently entrenched in the school’s life. She decided to go one step further.

‘So…where do you normally live, then?’ she asked.

‘Somerset,’ he said briefly. ‘Not so far away that I can’t make fairly regular flying visits for a day or so when I feel like it.’

Yes, but what did he do in Somerset? Ria wondered—but didn’t have the courage to enquire, and neither spoke for a few moments after that.

‘You said you were “homeless” at the moment,’ Jasper said casually.

‘Well, that’s not exactly true,’ she said. ‘My family home is in north London, but I’ve hardly ever lived there, not really. Though, naturally, I was sometimes there in the school holidays. But the house is often empty because my father works for the Foreign Office, and he and my stepmother are frequently away. So, until two months ago, I shared a flat with a girl friend, but her plans have changed so we didn’t renew the lease and I feel in a bit of a vacuum at the moment.’ She smiled. ‘Luckily for me, the friend in Salisbury insisted I stay with her until I take off in September—but now, of course, thanks to Highbridge Manor, I shall have somewhere of my very own for a while.’

He’d been watching her closely as she spoke, loving the changing expressions flickering across her heart-shaped face, and every instinct he possessed warned him not to get carried away, not to be overly affected by this beautiful, warm and appealing woman. But Jasper Trent’s more sensible instincts were heavily outnumbered by his hormones, and he was having difficulty keeping his eyes off her.