‘Yes,’ he said again, turning to fill a glass with whisky.
Kelly eyed him coldly. ‘Isn’t it a little early in the day for that?’
Grey eyes raked over her. ‘Do you care?’
She shrugged. ‘Not particularly.’
His mouth twisted tauntingly. ‘I thought not,’ he swallowed half the liquid in one gulp. ‘What the hell’s got into you?’ he rasped. ‘Losing the baby was traumatic—’
‘I’m glad you realise it.’ Her voice was harsh.
Jordan gave her an angry look. ‘I’m not completely insensitive. But I don’t expect this to have changed you out of all recognition.’
Kelly idly picked up one of the cut-glass vases that adorned the alcove, admiring its cool beauty with icy detachment. ‘Things like that have a way of making one grow up in a hurry. After all, Jordan, I’m not a child any longer,’ she scorned.
‘I wouldn’t call eighteen old. And I always liked your youthful enthusiasm for everything.’
‘Appealed to your jaded senses, did it?’ she taunted.
‘You see?’ he snapped impatiently, swinging her round to face him and knocking the vase out of her hand in the process. It shattered at their feet. ‘Oh hell,’ he swore, ‘now look what you’ve done!’
‘What I’ve done?’ she looked at him with accusing eyes, that vase a particular favourite with her. ‘You’re the one who had to use brute force—as usual,’ she sneered. ‘Take your hands off me, you—you—’
‘Yes?’ His narrowed eyes levelled on her mouth.
Kelly could tell he was going to kiss her and she jerked back, regretting her impulse as she saw the mockery in his eyes. ‘Just don’t touch me! I hate to be touched.’
‘That’s not the way I remember it.’
She blushed at his implication, remembering the nights when she had almost begged for his possession of her. Memories of other nights spent in his arms, of his lithe muscular body working a familiar magic on her, made her glare her dislike of him. ‘Forget the way you remember it. I don’t want—’
‘Here we are, then,’ Mrs McLeod bustled in with the tea things, beaming happily at the two of them. ‘Oh dear,’ she spotted the shattered vase, ‘did you have an accident?’
‘It slipped out of my wife’s hands,’ Jordan said smoothly.
Kelly compressed her lips to hold back her angry retort. After all, what he said was the truth, but it had only happened because of him. His touching her had been provocation enough for her to drop the vase.
‘Never mind,’ the housekeeper picked up the pieces. ‘It’s only glass.’
r />
Kelly could see Jordan’s mouth twitch at the understatement. It had been a very valuable vase, one she had been very fond of, and although Jordan didn’t share her enthusiasm he could appreciate its value.
She sat down in front of the tea-tray. ‘Milk or lemon?’ she enquired coldly of her husband.
‘Milk,’ he drawled slowly. ‘There’s enough sharpness in this room already.’
Kelly glared at him, conscious of Mrs McLeod still picking up the broken glass. ‘Sugar?’ she asked with exaggerated politeness.
‘No, thanks.’ He sat down, his long legs stretched out in front of him. ‘But you have some—you need the energy,’ he added tauntingly.
She knew he hadn’t meant that at all, and her mouth tightened angrily. ‘How kind of you to think of my health. Isn’t he a considerate husband, Mrs McLeod?’
‘Well, of course he is.’ The housekeeper finally stood up. ‘We’ve all been very worried about you, Mr Lord most of all.’
‘But you had no need to be worrried,’ Kelly smiled warmly at the other woman. ‘I’m young and resilient.’
‘Of course you are. But I was telling Mr Lord he should take you away for a holiday, get you away from here and into the sunshine.’