As Charlotte turned round, Vanessa said aggressively to her, ‘You can’t possibly be serious about this, Charlotte. I mean, think of what people will say. An unmarried woman…an unmarried man…living together.’ She gave an acid laugh. ‘Of course, I don’t suppose for a moment that anyone will believe Oliver is interested in you, his reputation will be safe enough, but people are bound to wonder about you…to speculate. You’ll be in a very vulnerable position, a woman of your age.’
Charlotte wasn’t sure what prompted the blinding anger that overwhelmed her, or what hurt her the most. Vanessa’s insinuation that Oliver couldn’t possibly be interested in her only underlined her own views, after all… perhaps it was the fact that she was voicing it, and so cuttingly, in front of Oliver himself. An Oliver who was oddly silent.
Carried along on a powerful surge of anger, Charlotte heard herself saying acidly, ‘I’m sure you’re exaggerating, Vanessa, and that no one will give the fact that Oliver is lodging with me a second thought. At least, no one with any common sense. It seems a very sensible arrangement to me. Oliver needs a place to live, and to be quite frank I could do with some temporary help with the running expenses of the house while I decide whether to keep it or sell it.’
‘Keep it? It’s a family house,’ Vanessa told her shortly. ‘What on earth would you do with it? After all, it’s not as though you’re likely to marry…not at your age.’
Seething with anger, Charlotte turned away from her, and was then shocked into immobility as unbelievably she heard Oliver saying coolly, ‘You’re rather behind the times, you know, Vanessa. In London very few women contemplate marriage these days until they’re well established in their careers and into their early thirties. The days when a woman’s sole aim in life was to secure a husband are long gone. It’s we men these days who are having to do the chasing and persuading.’
Vanessa stared at him, obviously taken aback by his criticism, and then rallied to say coquettishly, ‘Oh, come on, Oliver, don’t try to tell me that you’ve ever had to chase any woman.’
He had rescued her, Charlotte recognised in surprise. He had quite deliberately stepped in and rescued her from Vanessa’s malice.
His behaviour confused her, and left her feeling even more vulnerable and unsure of herself. Why had he done it? Because he felt sorry for her? Because it was in his own interests in view of the fact that he wanted to lodge with her? Or because he had genuinely believed what he had said?
Angry with herself for letting her thoughts wander, she said curtly to Vanessa, ‘What exactly did you want, Vanessa?’
‘Oh, I saw that Oliver was here and I came in to remind him that he promised to come round and value our house,’ Vanessa told her carelessly.
Stunned by her rudeness, Charlotte swallowed her anger and said as pleasantly as she could, ‘Well, as the two of you obviously have business to discuss, I’ll leave you to it.’
However, as she turned to walk away, Oliver stopped her. The sensation of his hand resting lightly on her arm was like a small electric shock. As she reacted automatically to it, her eyes widening as she turned towards him, he said evenly, ‘This is neither the time nor the place for such a discussion, Vanessa. If you’d care to ring me at my office…’ And then, giving her a dismissive nod, he said to Charlotte, ‘I’ve brought a copy of the prospective tenancy agreement round for you to look at. You’ll want your solicitor to go over it, of course, but if you could spare me five minutes to discuss it with you…’
Over his shoulder Charlotte watched as Vanessa gaped at his back like a stranded fish. She would not have been human if she hadn’t relished Vanessa’s discomfort a little, she told herself as she saw the hard, angry colour darken the other woman’s face, suddenly making her look far less attractive and much, much older.
However, it was only after the door had slammed after Vanessa that she realised too late that she had virtually committed herself to agreeing to Oliver Tennant’s becoming her lodger. She opened her mouth to tell him that there had been a misunderstanding and that there was no way she was going to allow him to set a single foot inside her home, when she suddenly realised that, if she did so, Vanessa would undoubtedly assume that she had changed her mind because of what she had said.
The thought of anyone thinking that she placed the slightest bit of importance on Vanessa’s ridiculous suggestions about her reputation was so revolting that the words of denial remained locked in her throat.