Julie felt a wave of sympathy sweep over her just looking at him, and she turned stormy eyes on his father.
Who was this man? This Rhys Llewellyn? Had he no compa.s.sion?
William took a step forward. "Why-why can"t we have someone-someone young?" he gasped painfully. "Someone I can talk to. Those-those other women, they"re-they"re old!"
"Thank you. They"re younger than I am," retorted his father dryly.
"William, I explained to you before. It"s necessary that we have someone suitable." Then he looked back at Julie. "Why would a girl like you want to bury herself in the wilds of Cambria?"
CHAPTER TWO.
JULIE took a few seconds to absorb what he had said, and then she made an involuntary gesture. "The-the wilds of Camb- bria?" She was confused, and disconcerted. < p="">
She spoke the last word very faintly, and the man nodded with finality. "Yes, Miss Wood, Wales. Where else?"
Where indeed? "I-I-" Julie looked helplessly towards William, and intercepting her gaze the man"s eyes narrowed comprehendingly.
"Ah!" he said, folding his arms across his broad chest. "I gather my son told you something else."
Julie was trying to think. Should she have suspected? The names - Rhys - Llewellyn - William, even. Should they have warned her? But why? These people could have lived anywhere. But obviously they didn"t. This put an entirely different light on the situation. Would she even have considered the job if she had thought she was going to be asked to live in Wales? She knew nothing about the country. She had never been there and her impressions were of a wild and mountainous countryside, swept by rain and winds from the west...
Realising that they were both waiting for her to speak, she made an effort to behave normally. After all, William had never actually said where she might expect to live, except that the minimum of summer clothing would hardly do for Wales in winter.
"I-er-I"m surprised, that"s all," she managed, shrugging her slim shoulders. "I mean-well, you don"t sound Welsh," she finished lamely.
"Don"t we?" A dark eyebrow quirked upward. "And our names are terribly Anglo-Saxon, of course."
"Llewellyn could have been an ancestral name."
"So it could. Perhaps I should have slipped in a couple of "Look yous"
and the odd "Indeed to goodness", hmm?"
"Don"t make fun of me!"
"It was my fault, Da," cried William, pushing his horn-rimmed spectacles further up his thin nose. "I told her she-" - "You didn"t tell me anything!" Julie a.s.serted sharply, her eyes Sashing. "You didn"t mention the location at all."
William"s rueful grimace was grateful. "Thanks," he muttered gruffly, and she smiled sympathetically at him.
The corners of his father"s mouth drew down. "What exactly did my son tell you, Miss Wood?"
Julie sighed, trying to remember. "I-not a lot. He asked the questions."
"And you were not sufficiently curious to ask questions yourself?"
"I-I-if you must know, I never expected to get an interview."
"Oh? Why hot?"
Julie moved her shoulders helplessly. "Jobs like this are not thick on the ground."
"Jobs like what, Miss Wood?"
"Oh, stop pretending you don"t understand what I"m trying to say! The advertis.e.m.e.nt sounded-fascinating, as I"m sure you realised.
Anyone would jump at the chance!"
"Would they?" The man frowned. "It might interest you to know, Miss Wood, that out of twenty-seven applications, only two who met our requirements were prepared to accept the conditions of employment."
Julie"s brow furrowed. "Only two?"
"Only two."
"But-" She glanced again at William. Had he lied about the salary, as well? "I-I thought the conditions of employment sounded quite-generous."
"A thousand a year, and your keep. Living in a -remote coastal district of Wales. Without friends or contemporaries. It"s not everyone"s idea of generosity."
Julie caught her breath. One thousand a year - not two. And Wales - not the Bahamas. She might have known there was a catch somewhere.
She looked at William, and met his sheepish stare. He had good reason to look like that, she thought impatiently. Without his intervention, she would not be here. Nor would she be having this heated argument with a man whose att.i.tude no longer seemed so unreasonable.
"Well, Miss Wood? You are now in possession of all the facts. Do you still want to be considered for the post?"
Julie gasped. "Am I being considered?"
"As you seem to regard me as some kind of monster,, and William as an innocent babe in arms, I find myself inclined to disillusion you, Miss Wood."
"What do you mean?"
"I am not without experience of women, Miss Wood. I"m fully aware that my son must have painted a vastly different picture of the circ.u.mstances of this appointment than I have done. No doubt he tempted you : with luxurious working conditions-a lucrative salary." His lips twisted. "I am not in the market for gold-diggers of that kind, Miss Wood."
Juliet lips parted indignantly. The fact that he was nearer the truth than even he might imagine did not matter. How dared he cla.s.sify her on the strength of past experience?
"You haven"t even told me what the work is yet," she retorted, not really knowing why she was going on with this. How could she even consider leaving her home and family, her friends, to go and live in some cold and lonely outpost in Wales, being paid a salary that was less than she was earning now?
"My father"s going to write a book!" exclaimed William eagerly, but was silenced by the look his father gave him. Nevertheless, Julie took it up.
"Is that true? Are you going to write a book, Mx. Llewellyn?"
The man"s expression hardened. "And if I am?"
Julie lifted her shoulders in an eloquent little gesture. After months of typing legal doc.u.ments, the idea of being involved in creative writing sounded inviting indeed.
"Am I to take it that in spite of all the disadvantages of the post, and I warn you there are many, you still want to be considered for the job?"
Llewellyn sounded bored by the whole proceeding, and she knew he was willing her to refuse. But something, some perverse desire to thwart this man who thought he knew all about girls like her, made her loath to back down. It was like admitting defeat. Of course, everyone would think she was mad, should the remote possibility of her being accepted occur. She could just imagine what Laura and her mother would say. And Mark, too. But it was an opportunity to escape from the future her mother was inexorably planning for her.
Perhaps if she could convince her mother that she was determined to lead ha: own life, she would leave her alone. Mrs. Wood might even sell die house and go and live with Aunt Margaret in Southend as she wanted to do.
Taking a deep breath, she nodded her head and said: "Yes, Mr.
Llewellyn, I think I should like to be considered."
"Hey-terrific!" William pressed balled fists together, but his father looked less enthusiastic.
"You realise you can"t expect the modern conveniences you are used to, Miss Wood?" he commented dourly, pacing stifflyto the tall windows of the lounge. "The nearest town is fifteen miles away, and we have no television-"
"Oh, stop trying to put her off, Da!" exclaimed William fiercely, getting angry again. "Just because she"s young and attractive! Just because I like her! Why shouldn"t I have someone of my own age to talk to? You do!"
His father turned to face him, thick lashes narrowing eyes darkened by some emotion Julie could not identify. "William, if you had stayed in any one of the schools I selected for you, you"d have had dozens of people of your own age to talk to!" he stated grimly.
"Oh, yes." William"s tone was bitter. "You"d have liked that, wouldn"t you? You never wanted me, did you? You"ve made that transparently clear. And of course, Nerys doesn"t want me either, does she? I get in the way. You don"t give her enough attention when I"m around. Have you thought what she would say if you took someone like Miss Wood back to Devil"s Mount?"
"That"s enough, William!" His father"s features were harsh with dislike. "A boy of your age should be in school!"
"School!"" William"s lips curled. "I hate schools!"
"Obviously, since you"ve succeeded in having yourself thrown out of three of them!"
Julie was beginning to feel uncomfortable again. This was a family quarrel, and she could see the telltale signs of breath- lessness invading William"s face again.
"If-if the interview is over-" she began awkwardly, but William turned to her beseechingly, reaching out a hand to stay her.
" Don"t go! Please, Miss Wood, don"t go! If you do, my father will appoint one of those other women, I know he will!" His breathing had quickened alarmingly, and he took great strangled gulps of air as he strove to go on speaking. "Your- your qualific-qualifications are .
as good as either of the others." He turned to face his father. "Why can"t we have- have her?"
Julie felt the boy"s groping fingers fasten round her arm, and was filled with a half fearful sense of inevitability. Perceptively, she guessed that his father abhorred this show of weakness, but as William continued to gasp for breath beside her, desperation made her protest: "Is there nothing you can do for him?"
Rhys Llewellyn thrust his hands into the pockets of his pants, tautening the cloth across the powerful muscles of his thighs. Julie"s eyes were drawn to him against her will. Something about this man disturbed her, adding to the conviction she could feel stirring inside her that she ought not to get involved with this family. What did she know of them, after all? What wealthy man, but an eccentric one, would live in the wilds of rural Wales? How could she be sure who they really were? What proof had she of their ident.i.ty? None. And yet, unwillingly, she was involved, whether she liked it or not.
Involved, because of a boy who had brought her here under false pretences, and who now revealed himself as more vulnerable than she was.
"I should explain that my son suffers from nervous asthma," Rhys Llewellyn said flatly, "but he is perfectly capable of inducing an attack should the situation warrant it."
Julie stared at him in disgust. "What a foul thing to suggest!"
"But honest," he retorted coldly. "My G.o.d, do you think I haven"t seen this happen before? In fifteen years, I"ve had a few enlightening experiences with my son, and I can a.s.sure you his present condition is not unique!"
"You"re-you"re inhuman!" Julie tore her eyes away from him to stare unhappily at the boy. "How can you stand there and dismiss your own son so callously? Haven"t you ever thought that he might have these attacks because of you?"
Rhys Llewellyn"s next words did not bear repet.i.tion as he strode across the room and dragged William away from her. Putting his hands on his son"s shoulders, he stared down at the boy intently, as though willing him to calm himself.
"All right, all right, William," he said through clenched teeth. "Miss Wood shall have the job, if she still wants it. But don"t think you"ve fooled me-not for one minute." He released the boy so suddenly that he almost fell and turned back to Julie. "Well?"
He was much closer now, the dark eyes intent and intimidating.
Julie"s throat felt constricted, and her palms were moist. "I-well, what?" she faltered.
"Do you want the job or don"t you?"
Julie moved awkwardly from one foot to the other, aware of the height and breadth of him, uneasily aware that if she committed herself to the boy she was committing herself to him too. "I-well, I have to discuss it with-with my family," she ventured.
Rhys Llewellyn"s expression grew contemptuous. "I see. So your protestations on William"s behalf were not as vehement as you would have me believe!"
"That"s not true!" Julie"s eyes shifted to the boy, noticing how tensely he was waiting for her reply. But already his breathing was easier.
How could she risk upsetting him again? She spread her hands.
"What do you expect me to say?" she implored.
"Say you"ll take the job," answered William urgently. "Please!"
Rhys Llewellyn was watching her equally closely, and when she"
looked up into his dark Celtic features she was not surprised to see the scornful twist to his mouth.
"Well, Miss Wood?" he mocked.
Julie, combed her fingers through the straight curtain of her hair.
"I-I-"
"You have no choice, do you?" he asked sardonically. "A powerful weapon, you must agree."
"It"s not like that," she cried, looking away from him.
"Isn"t it?" He didn"t sound convinced. "Very well, Miss Wood. Are you accepting the post?"
Julie looked down at her hands, then at William, and finally at Rhys Llewellyn once more. "I-yes. Yes. But I have to give notice at my present place of employment."
"Which is?"
"A solicitor"s office. Hollister, Barnes and Hollister."
"That means nothing to me." Rhys Llewellyn was taking a notepad out of his back pocket. "Okay," he wrote something down, "this is my address. If you cable us the date and time of your arrival, I"ll arrange for you to be met at Fishguard. How much notice will you have to give?"
"Two weeks-I think."
"Two weeks!" William sounded dismayed. "Can"t you make it one?"