t down to dinner together. She had ascertained that, if Marcus was eating in, he normally had his evening meal about eight o’clock to eight-thirty, and so, on the basis of this, she had decided that a light snack at around half-past four would keep the girls going until they all had their evening meal.
They greeted this announcement with expressions of pleasure.
‘We always used to eat together, but Isobel said she hated having dinner with two grubby schoolgirls and so Mrs Nesbitt changed everything round.’
‘Yes, and if we’re not having dinner until half-past eight, that means that we’ve still got time to go riding or play tennis and do our homework,’ Sara chimed in.
‘I haven’t said anything to Marcus yet,’ Maggie warned them. ‘He might not approve, and if he doesn’t…’ As she spoke, she was setting a tray with a pot of tea and some of the scones she had made that afternoon.
‘I thought Marcus might appreciate something to eat,’ she said lightly to Susie, gesturing towards the tray. ‘Why don’t you take this in to him?’
She had her back to the window, and at first didn’t realise why Susie suddenly said in tones of deep disgust, ‘Oh, no,’ and then Isobel walked into the kitchen, giving them all a very disdainful look.
She was wearing a tight-fitting linen dress which showed off her curves to perfection, and as she glanced at it Maggie thought wryly that no receptionist’s salary had ever paid for that particular garment. It shrieked Knightsbridge, as did all of Isobel’s very glossy appearance. She was wearing a heavy, cloying scent which made Sara wrinkle her nose and grimace.
‘Still here?’ she commented rudely to Maggie. ‘I should have thought you’d have had enough of the country by now.’
Susie, whose cheeks had started to flush the moment Isobel walked into the kitchen, said angrily, ‘Maggie’s not going back to London. She’s going to stay here to look after us.’
In the brief space of time it took Isobel to recover from the shock of Susie’s announcement and to swing round and glare at Maggie with open dislike, Maggie realised that Marcus had obviously not conveyed to Isobel the information that she was going to stay.
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Isobel said to Susie, her voice suddenly much sharper and shriller. Her mouth hardened as Susie turned away from her, deliberately ignoring her comment.
Half-way towards the kitchen door, Isobel suddenly turned and swung round on one elegant and high heel to say commandingly to Maggie, ‘Bring some coffee to the study, would you?’
It was on the tip of Maggie’s tongue to refuse, and then, as though she was half expecting her to do so, Isobel added mockingly, ‘After all, if you are taking over as housekeeper here, it will be one of your duties, won’t it?’
As the kitchen door closed behind her, Maggie seethed. Housekeeper, indeed. If Isobel thought for one moment that she was going to be able to order her around, then she was going to have an awful shock coming.
She saw the look Susie and Sara exchanged and, not wanting to make the situation between Isobel and the two girls even worse than it already was, she suggested calmly, ‘Once you two have finished eating, why don’t you go outside and get some fresh air before you start your homework?’
‘You’re not going to make coffee for her, are you?’ Susie demanded in tones of deep disgust as she saw that Maggie indeed was.
‘Isobel is a guest in this house, and moreover she is Marcus’s fiancée,’ Maggie pointed out, fighting to keep her voice under control and not betray her real feelings. ‘I was just making tea for Marcus anyway,’ she added soothingly.
‘Well, I think she’s got a cheek, speaking to you like that,’ Susie told her, plainly in no mood to be placated, ‘and Marcus would be furious if he knew. He’s always telling us that you should be polite to everyone.’
‘Mmm, well, I think you’ll find that men in love rarely appreciate having the object of that love criticised by others,’ Maggie pointed out warningly to her, but Susie wasn’t really listening. Instead she was frowning, as though deep in thought.
‘You know, I know they’re getting married and that they must be in love, but, well they just don’t act like people in love, somehow.’
‘I don’t expect they do in public,’ Maggie agreed, shooing both girls out of the kitchen while she poured the coffee.
It wasn’t very far from the kitchen to the study, but nevertheless she had to stand outside the door and take a deep breath, counting slowly to ten, before she felt calm enough to knock on it and push it firmly inwards.
Marcus was standing by the window with his back to her. Isobel was standing in front of the fire looking furiously angry, whether at Marcus or at her interruption, Maggie had no way of knowing.
She almost stumbled as she put the tray down, and Marcus wheeled round, concentrating an icy look of dislike on her. Maggie couldn’t get out of the room fast enough. She didn’t know quite what she had been dreading when she’d hesitated outside the door. Perhaps it had been the thought of finding the engaged couple locked in a passionate embrace that had made her feel sick with dread.
Certainly she had not anticipated the angry tension which had greeted her, and she wondered if Isobel had yet discovered that, when Marcus had made his mind up about something, no amount of sulking or persuasion could get him to change it.
She was just on her way to the kitchen garden to check on the progress that the men had made when Isobel came hurrying out of the house. The other girl came flying towards her, flags of temper flying in her otherwise pale face.
‘This is all your fault,’ she announced without preamble. ‘Until you came back on the scene poking your nose in where it isn’t wanted, Marcus was quite happy with the idea of sending the girls off to boarding-school. But now…’ She took a deep breath and glared furiously at Maggie. ‘Of course I’m not deceived. I know exactly why you’re doing this.’
Maggie felt the earth lurch uncomfortably beneath her feet, a horrible faintness washing over her as she felt the blood drain down her body.
Surely Isobel hadn’t realised already? How on earth had she betrayed herself? The other woman must be far more perceptive than she realised, unless…unless Marcus himself… She shook like somebody with a palsy.