Lovelink Read online

  “Doesn’t it scare you? Put you off running the business,” Jan asked, watching her fixedly.

  “Good Lord, no. They’ll have to think of something a bit more intimidating than this if they want me out of Brookleigh. I’m from York, remember. We don’t scare easy up there.”

  Vicky was about to suggest a cup of coffee in the café opposite when the locksmith looked up and said, “Well, there you are, Miss. Job’s done. You can start work now.”

  The phone was ringing impatiently as they entered the reception area. Jan rushed to answer it as Vicky wrote out a cheque for the locksmith.

  “It’s for you, Vicky—Natalie Reynolds,” Jan called.

  As she signed her name with her usual flourish on the bottom of the cheque, Vicky asked, “Can you take a message?”

  “Tried that, chief. She wants to speak to you, personally.”

  Sighing, she thanked the locksmith one last time and then asked Jan to transfer the call into her office.

  “Good morning, Natalie. How can I help you?”

  For the next five minute, Natalie Reynolds ranted and raved as she poured out a list of complaints against the men Vicky had introduced her to in the last couple of weeks.

  “None of them are suitable, especially the last man, Brian Jacobs,” she finished in her thick, guttural accent.

  Vicky cringed. Brian Jacobs! Had she really matched Natalie Reynolds with him? She couldn’t have chosen a more unlikely couple if she’s tried. What was the matter with her lately?

  “I’m very sorry…”

  “Please make me a date with another man. Any man.”

  With that Natalie Reynolds hung up.

  “What a morning!” she said to Jan, who’d just reappeared carrying two cups of lifesaving coffee.

  Replacing the receiver, Vicky took a few minutes to explain Natalie’s call to Jan, finishing with the comment, “I wonder what goes wrong. Natalie’s never asked out on a second date with any of the men we’ve introduced her to.”

  “No, it doesn’t even sound as if Brian Jacobs asked her out again. I wonder if it isn’t something she does to upset them, rather than the other way around.”

  “You might have a point there, Jan. I think I’ll call on Brian Jacobs on my way home. See if he can’t give me any pointers.”

  “Honestly, Vicky. Fancy matching Brian and Natalie.” Jan left the office, giggling.

  After she’d finished her coffee, Vicky phoned Brian Jacobs and arranged to meet him that evening at the newsagents where he worked. It was only when she replaced the receiver that Vicky realised something. She hadn’t matched Brian and Natalie—it had been Jan. Extracting Natalie’s file confirmed it.

  Her first instinct was to tell Jan but then thought it better not to. It could prove embarrassing. After all, everyone makes mistakes, she thought and Jan was usually extremely reliable.

  Later that afternoon Vicky was working in her office, frantically trying to catch up on work after the morning’s fiasco when Jan poked her head around the door and said, “There’s someone here to see you.”

  Vicky looked up and frowning asked, “Who is it? I haven’t any appointments for another hour.”

  She checked her wristwatch in case the afternoon had gone quicker than she realised.

  “No, she hasn’t an appointment. It’s Caroline Foster.”

  Vicky dropped her pen on to the sheaf of papers in front of her and said, smiling, “Show her in then, please, Jan.”

  Although she was busy, Caroline was someone she didn’t mind interrupting her busy schedule for. She wasn’t certain she’d have been so delighted to have received a visit from Caroline’s brother though. After today’s events what she really didn’t want or need was another confrontation with Mr. Marcus Foster.

  “Good afternoon, Vicky. I won’t delay you for long,” Caroline said, walking quickly into the office.

  Wearing white jeans and a pale blue shirt, she looked very pretty and Vicky was pleased to note, the picture of health.

  Perching on the end of Vicky’s desk, she said, “I was going to phone you this evening but, as I was passing, I thought I might as well drop in and ask you.”

  “I’m very glad you did. What can I do for you?” Vicky smiled.

  “Are you doing anything Saturday evening?”

  Vicky knew the answer to that. It was the same every evening.

  “Nothing. Why?”

  “Well, we’re having a party at Nuneton. That’s why I’m in town organising last minute details. There’s a buffet followed by dancing afterwards. It should be good fun. Please say you’ll come. I’ll enjoy it so much more if I know you’ll be there for me to talk to.”

  “I…I’m not sure, Caroline. I won’t know anyone.”

  “Marcus’ll be there and it’ll be a good opportunity for you to meet some of our friends. Oh, please say you’ll come.”

  Caroline sounded so earnest and Vicky really couldn’t think of an excuse, not with her sitting there. She had to admit it had been ages since she’d been out anywhere. She’d like to accept. Maybe an evening out might be what she needed right now to banish the blues. Especially after today’s events.

  “I’d love to come. Thank you for inviting me.”

  Caroline grinned. “Great. I know you’ll enjoy it. It’s a good excuse to dress up. Marcus’ll be pleased to see you again.”

  Vicky felt a blush creeping across her face as Caroline stood up.

  “I’ll even come and pick you up at the cottage. It’ll be no trouble. I’m collecting some people from Churchton so I can call in for you on my way back. Then you won’t have to walk in alone.”

  She’d really covered everything, Vicky thought as she watched the door close behind her. She felt a wave of affection towards the young girl.

  Later, as she drove over to see Brian Jacobs, Vicky couldn’t concentrate on anything except the invitation to Nuneton. Uppermost was the realisation she would see Marcus again. This caused a mixture of emotions to rage within her. On the one hand, the idea pleased her. In fact, she was surprised at just how very much she was looking forward to seeing him again. It was ridiculous, she inwardly scolded herself. There wasn’t any point in her feeling like this towards him. Not now she knew he was involved with Lucinda.

  Echoing in her mind was Caroline’s last comment. She’d said that Marcus would enjoy seeing her again. Had it just been something for her to say or did she mean it? He’d definitely not shown Vicky any signs to make her believe that it could be possible. She remembered her past meetings with Marcus and felt apprehension rise within her. He could be so cold and brooding towards her, stirring an anger inside her she found difficult to control. Did she really want to spend an evening battling verbally with him once more?

  Well, there was no way of refusing the invitation now. Not without hurting Caroline’s feelings, she conceded as she parked outside the newsagents where Brian Jacobs worked.

  Chasing around after existing clients seemed to be all she did these days, she thought. At this rate, she’d have no time to spend with new clients.

  Pushing open the newsagent’s door, she entered the shop. A middle-aged woman was restocking the cigarette shelf and Brian Jacobs was busy straightening the evening papers. When he heard the bell jangling over the doorway, he looked up.

  “Good evening, Vicky,” he said, with a welcoming smile.

  Once more, Vicky was reminded of how unlikely a couple he and Natalie made. He was balding and slightly built, almost birdlike. Vicky thought he looked older than his forty-two years. But where they differed so greatly was that there was none of Natalie’s abrasiveness in Brian’s personality.

  Turning to the woman assistant, he said, “Nora, do you mind holding the fort here for a bit while I have a chat with Miss Lewis?”

  The woman shook her head.

  “Take a
s long as you need. I doubt if it’ll be busy.”

  He led Vicky behind the counter through to a small room at the back of the shop.

  “I hope this isn’t inconvenient, Brian, but I won’t keep you long. Like I said on the phone earlier, I just want a quick word with you,” Vicky said, following him.

  “No problem. Please make yourself comfortable. This is my rest room,” he explained, showing her into a small, cosy room which was extremely tidy.

  Vicky was surprised. She’d always found men to be dreadfully untidy—especially Peter.

  “Can I get you a cup of anything, Miss Lewis?”

  “Thank you, Brian, but no. I’d like to get straight to the point. I’m a little…concerned about Natalie Reynolds and I wondered if you might be able to help me.”

  At the mention of the woman’s name, Brian sank down onto the settee opposite her.

  “I thought you might be coming to see me about that. Dreadful scene. Very embarrassing.” He mopped his forehead with a large, white handkerchief.

  “Can you tell me what happened, Brian?”

  He nodded. “I thought, first of all, it was my fault. I wondered if it wasn’t something I might have said or done that encouraged her. You see, I haven’t had that much to do with women. I don’t know their ways. I lived here above the shop with my mother for years and then when she died, it wasn’t easy for me to go out and make friends. That’s when I joined the agency. I didn’t want to say anything really. Lovelink has always been of very good service to me in the past and I’ve met some lovely ladies but Mrs. Reynolds…” He sighed.

  Vicky watched as his pale cheeks turned crimson.

  “She was rather…eager.”

  “Eager?” she asked. “I need to know exactly what happened, Brian. In case she’s matched with the wrong person again.”

  He sighed and then said, “I took her out for a meal in that nice restaurant in Bromley Street and immediately she asked me how soon it would be before we could be married.”

  “Married? What, straight away like that?”

  He nodded. “She made a dreadful fuss when I told her it was out of the question. I can’t say that it isn’t what I’d want eventually but I’d like to get to know the lady properly and for them to get to know me. I know it sounds daft at my age but I wanted…”

  Vicky sat forward and laid a hand on his arm. “What did you want?”

  “I wanted…romance.”

  “Well, of course you did. That’s not daft. Everyone wants that. What’s wrong with her? I thought she was a bit pushy when I interviewed her but I put that down to honesty. Most of our clients want to marry but they don’t usually admit to it. Fear of putting off future partners, I guess.”

  “I suppose they all act like that where she comes from.”

  “Where does she come from?” Vicky asked, hoping to allay her curiosity, once and for all.

  “Didn’t you know? Russia.”

  She was surprised. It was obvious Natalie was of European origin but she hadn’t thought of Russia. She’d always appeared a little strange and Vicky had worried that there might be more behind her behaviour than just eccentricity, always on the lookout for other possible suspects responsible for the trouble at Lovelink. Now she was certain Natalie was up to something. But what was it?

  Apologising to Brian and making a firm promise to sort out the problem of Natalie, she left.

  Vicky spent most of the time leading up to Saturday evening mentally running through her wardrobe, searching for something eminently suitable for her to wear. She’d choose the peach taffeta, then discard it in favour of the red jersey dress. Finally, she decided, it was the ideal opportunity to check out the boutiques in Churchton and a perfect excuse to treat herself to something new.

  She took a rare afternoon off and drove over to Churchton. She felt a tingle of excitement and realised she’d forgotten just how much she enjoyed shopping for clothes. It had been ages since she’d splashed out on anything. She smiled, ready for an afternoon of indulgence.

  Vicky was surprised to find that Churchton was actually rather well stocked with both good stores and dozens of suitable boutiques. She found lots of dresses she wanted to buy but eventually settled on a plain, black, velvet dress cut daringly low in the front with a side split travelling the length of her long legs.

  “It looks wonderful on you, madam,” the sales girl enthused.

  “You don’t think it’s a little…”

  “Oh no. You’ve got the perfect figure for it and the colour compliments your auburn hair beautifully.”

  Vicky smiled. She’d fallen in love with the dress the moment she’d set eyes on it in the shop window. She didn’t have much black in her wardrobe. Peter didn’t like the colour so she’d always avoided dark clothes in the past. If she bought the dress she knew she’d be in some small way defying the past and Peter. It wasn’t quite the sort of thing she was used to buying but then she’d never been invited to a function quite like this before. She was certain there’d be dozens of women in a similar style at the party. After all, the horse-racing world was noted for its glamorous figures. Even she knew that much. No, she decided, the dress was perfect. And just at the back of her mind was the thought that in a dress like this she’d be able to give Lucinda Dayton a run for her money.

  She left the boutique and went over to a nearby café for a cup of tea. Sitting at a window seat, with her purchase carefully stowed beside her, she studied the ever-changing street scene.

  It was then that she saw him!

  No, it couldn’t be, she thought. Utterly flustered she looked quickly away and then when she dared to glance up again he’d disappeared, deep into the crowd of busy shoppers.

  Vicky felt shaken. She’d thought she’d recognised the tall, fair man in the crowd. There’d been something terribly familiar in the angle he held his head, his stride. But she’d only seen him for a second. Didn’t it just go to prove that the eye played tricks on the mind? No, it wasn’t possible that Peter was here in Churchton.

  By the time Saturday evening arrived, Vicky had all but convinced herself that it couldn’t have been Peter she’d seen in Churchton. He was hundreds of miles away in York. She concentrated instead on pampering herself, getting ready for the evening at Nuneton House.

  With her auburn hair cascading over her shoulders, it partly hid the fact that the dress was backless, showing off her honey gold tan to perfection. She lightly made up her face, drawing emphasis to the green of her eyes. With a final spray of her favourite perfume, Vicky surveyed the overall effect in the mirror. She smiled. For once, even she was pleased with her appearance.

  Caroline drew up outside the cottage promptly.

  “Vicky, you look terrific!” she said as they met on the driveway.

  Noting the pale pink dress her friend was wearing Vicky said, “Thank you, Caroline. So do you.”

  Rolling her eyes, she said quietly to Vicky, “You wouldn’t believe all that’s happened to Marcus and me today. How we got back here in time for the party tonight I’ll never know.”

  “Why, what happened?”

  “Early this morning I went to the races with Marcus. He said it would be the best thing for me to be miles away from Nuneton today. Everything was ready for tonight and if I was here I’d only fuss. It was a great idea until the Land Rover broke down on the motorway and took hours to be fixed. We only got back an hour ago.”

  “God, how awful,” Vicky agreed as Caroline introduced her to the couple in the back of the car who she’d already collected in Churchton.

  They were Joseph and Sheila Parker who had a part share in one of the thoroughbreds Marcus trained. They were a pleasant, jovial couple and the four of them chatted happily until they reached Nuneton.

  The driveway at Nuneton was full of cars. It was noisy with shouted greetings and car doors slamming. Vicky was
pleased to note that she’d chosen just the right dress for the occasion after seeing all the designer dresses the ladies were wearing.

  Everyone was congregating in the main dining room and Nuneton was bubbling with activity. Caroline handed Vicky a glass of champagne and then, apologising, said, “Sorry but I’ll have to circulate. You’ll be all right with Joe and Sheila?”

  “Of course, I’ll be fine.”

  Sipping her wine, Vicky was conscious of only half listening to Sheila’s conversation. Her eyes were busy scanning the crowd for a glimpse of Marcus. When finally she saw him, so tall his head was above the others in the crowd, she felt her breath catch in her throat, always amazed at the power of his attraction. He caught her eye and winked. She smiled back, ridiculously pleased that he’d noticed her.

  Returning, Caroline updated Vicky on the gossip concerning the guests, making sure to introduce them first so Vicky would know exactly who was involved with whom.

  Then suddenly Lucinda was at their side, looking stunning in a cream, tightly fitting dress, embroidered with a sprinkling of silver sequins. She looked beautiful and extremely glamorous.

  Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes as she breathed, “Caroline. How lovely to see you? Don’t you look…nice.”

  Vicky saw the glint of anger in Caroline’s eyes, once more reminded uncannily of her likeness to Marcus.

  “Thank you, Lucinda. I’ve always liked you, too, in that dress.”

  Vicky was surprised. She hadn’t thought Caroline would be capable of retaliating so successfully. However Lucinda ignored the comment and fixing Vicky with her cold smile, said, “I don’t think we’ve been introduced.”

  “I’m Vicky Lewis,” she said, holding out her hand in greeting.

  “Oh yes,” she scoffed. “You run that dating agency. What’s it called, Wallflowers or something?”

  “Lovelink. Were you interested in joining?”

  Lucinda laughed and then excusing herself, said to Caroline, “Marvellous sense of humour. I must go and find that brother of yours. Have fun.”