Page 146 of Wife After Wife

He set off for Caitlyn’s Ladbroke Grove address. He felt young again, heading off in his sports car to pick up a gorgeous blonde for an evening of softly lit romance, followed by...

As he paused at a set of traffic lights, engine purring, Harry wondered how this would go. It had been so long—almost two years. There had been no one since Janette.

His head was telling him:Take it slow. She’s a flirtatious girl of questionable morals, and—let’s be honest here—she’s likely more interested in your millions than in your conversation.

But his heart—and body—were telling him to throw caution to the winds. Carpe diem, as Caitlyn had said. Outwardly she was sassy, self-confident, in control. But behind all that he thought he’d seen something of a little girl lost. Unexpectedly, Caitlyn had touched his heart.

•••

An hour and a half later, they were driving through the sleepy Oxfordshire village of Great Milton, then pulling up outside the Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, all mellow, sun-warmed brick and tall chimneys.

“This do you?” said Harry, switching off the engine. Immediately the quiet of the English countryside settled over them, broken only by the trill of a skylark somewhere high above.

“Oh my gosh. When you said dinner... I’m not sure my table manners are up to this. At mymanoirit was pretty much use your fingers or something fished out of the sink.”

“Then it will be my pleasure to instruct you in which fork to use for your French-foraged field mushrooms.”

He’d booked them a suite, and a table in the Michelin-starred restaurant for seven thirty. That was two hours away.

•••

“I’d better hang up my clothes,” said Caitlyn. “I can’t look crumpled in one of England’s poshest restaurants. I still can’t believe you brought me here!”

He watched her exploring the room, opening cupboards and the minibar, exclaiming at the fruit and chocolates. As they’d left London behind, the girl-about-town had given way to a young person on an adventure. She was so appealing, her hair in a high ponytail, her trim body dressed in a pink shirt and white jeans.

She looked out at the gardens. “It’s so pretty! Shall we take a walk outside?”

He hesitated for a moment. Watching her had stirred him. But he’d waited all this time. What was another half hour or so?

Caitlyn linked her arm through Harry’s as they strolled past a bed of delphiniums. “Aren’t they beautiful?” she said. “I’ve never lived anywhere with a flower garden.”

The calm of the countryside after the buzz of London was soothing. Harry felt himself unwinding, relaxing. They turned a corner and found themselves in a secluded walled garden. Caitlyn stopped and pulled Harry toward her.

“I don’t want you to think I expect—”

“Sh,” she said. “I know you’re a gentleman, Harry.”

He moved closer, then stopped. “Caitlyn, I don’t think this is the sort of place that encourages snogging in the public areas.”

“Then we’d better go in, hadn’t we?”

•••

It wasn’t terribly successful. Harry was out of practice, and his leg twinged when he put weight on it. Noticing his discomfort, Caitlyn moved so she was on top, but in spite of her breathing his name as she closed her eyes, he doubted she’d found the experience satisfying.

He said as much, as they lay beneath the canopy of the four-poster.

“Can I be honest with you, Harry?”

“Oh dear. Are you about to give me one of those ‘could try harder’ reports?”

“No. I wanted to tell you... there have been quite a few men. I grew up in a place where they believed in free love. That basically meant themen were free to do whatever they wanted to the women. And that wasn’t just the grown-up ones.”

Harry had been stroking her hair. Released from its ponytail, it was soft, like silk. His hand stopped.

“So you see, my early experiences of men weren’t great. Actually, my later ones haven’t been great either. Mostly horrible, actually. Now it takes me a lot to trust someone. But I think I trust you, Harry. You’re a decent bloke, I can tell.”

She looked up at him, her eyes searching his. “Thing is, I know I go on about sexual freedom, but quite honestly I’m not that fussed. I’ve had so many bad experiences, a lot of the time I actually dread it, you know? So it’s no big deal if your performance is below par sometimes. Quite often I’d rather just have a cuddle.”