Time Fuse. PENNY JORDAN
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in all manner of fascinating cases I am sure. How did you get to hear about the job? I didn’t think Gerald intended to advertise it until later in the year. He suffered a slight heart attack just before Christmas you know and Mary, his wife, and I prevailed upon him with my son’s assistance to get himself some more help at the office.’
Was she being subjected to a subtle investigation Selina wondered? But no, she was being unduly suspicious. Even if Piers Gresham had confided to his mother his suspicions of her, it was taking coincidence too far to believe that the older woman had come to this luncheon partly purely to question her.
‘The Judge mentioned it,’ Selina said truthfully. ‘He knows of my fascination with that side of the law, and he thought it might be an ideal position for me.’ What she couldn’t say was the heart-searching she had endured just after the Judge had dropped his bombshell. Here it was, being dropped right into her lap; just the sort of opportunity she had dreamed about as an adolescent. The chance to meet and get to know her father. However, her own strong moral code had made her question the wisdom of trying for the job. If her identity was discovered it would lead to unpleasantness; working for her father was probably only likely to cause heartache to herself as well.
She had long ago abandoned her childhood fantasies of a loving, caring father, and yet the reality of working for him, knowing that he was sublimely indifferent to her existence might be more than she could cope with. In the end, though, the temptation had proved too great, and she had not been able to resist.
‘I’m sorry.’ Selina came out of her reverie to realise that her company had been saying something, and that she was now regarding her with a faintly quizzical expression. ‘I’m sorry,’ she apologised again, colouring faintly. ‘I’m afraid, I didn’t…’
‘I was just remarking that Harry Frobisher is looking over this way rather a lot. Do you know him?’
Harold Frobisher was a young solicitor whose father had been a friend of the Judge’s. Selina didn’t particularly like him. He was a slick, sharp young man who was overfond of touching her when she would have preferred him not to.
‘Slightly.’ Her response was guarded and again Dulcie Gresham smiled. ‘I quite agree,’ she said lightly. ‘Not a particularly attractive young man. Do you have a boyfriend, Selina? I may call you Selina, mayn’t I?’
‘Please do. No…not at the moment.’
‘Very wise. A pretty girl like you should take her time before deciding to settle down.’
Selina saw the Seatons making their way towards them and smiled warmly, unaware that Dulcie Gresham was watching her until she said in a thoughtful voice. ‘Do you know, Selina, you remind me of someone, but I cannot for the life of me think who it is.’
Selina was glad that she was looking away, otherwise she might have betrayed herself completely. Cold fingers of fear clutched at her heart. Dear God, don’t let her realise the truth, she prayed… She couldn’t bear to be revealed here, publicly, before the Seatons whom she respected and liked so much, as the daughter of the woman who had caused so great a scandal in their small circle.
For once fate seemed to be on her side. The Seatons reached them, Susan hugging her warmly while the Judge kissed Dulcie’s cheek.
‘I can see that you’ve introduced yourselves to each other. I take it that Piers couldn’t make it, Dulcie?’ Susan released Selina to question her friend.
‘Other commitments I’m afraid,’ Dulcie confirmed. ‘But he does send his apologies and he will be calling to collect me later. An urgent brief that needed studying.’
‘Yes, it will be the Mountford case,’ the Judge interrupted. ‘I heard they wanted him for that. Unusual for him to take on a divorce though, isn’t it?’
‘He and John Mountford were at school together, and there’s rather a lot of money at stake as well as his two children. Divorce is the least appealing side of the law isn’t it?’ Dulcie said to Selina. ‘When he was first training for the bar Piers worked for a firm of divorce lawyers. In many ways I blame that period for the cynicism I see in him now. You’ve met my son, Selina?’
‘Yes, briefly.’ She wouldn’t have said anything more, but the Judge overheard them and laughed. ‘I should say so, Dulcie, I was privileged to witness her giving that son of yours a most definite put-down.’ He went on to quickly explain what had happened, making the small incident seem far more dramatic than it had actually been. ‘I warned her that Piers wouldn’t take too kindly to her rebuff,’ he concluded smiling at Selina.
‘Henry, you’re embarrassing Selina,’ Susan Seaton told her husband chidingly.’ He was using a little of his court room licence there, Dulcie, I’m afraid,’ she told her friend. ‘All Selina did was refuse Piers’ invitation to dance. After all he was with another girl at the time,’ she added.
‘Yes, I’m afraid my son is inclined to behave rather cavalierly when the mood takes him. A result of losing his father at a very impressionable age. Fortunately my brother stepped in before too much damage was done, but Piers had inherited more than his fair share of the Harvey pig-headedness. Gerald has at least learned to temper his a little, although it’s still there, witness the battle we had to get him to employ an assistant. I shudder to think what would happen if he and Piers ever really clashed.’
As the Seaton’s maid appeared at that moment to announce lunch the conversation came to a close. Selina found to her dismay that she was seated next to Harry; and moreover that he was intent on making himself as obnoxious as possible.
‘How about letting me take you out to dinner tonight?’ he invited when she had removed his hand from her knee for the third time. ‘I know this little place…’
‘Thank you, but I already have a date.’ It was Selina’s stock-in-trade lie, which she had found far more effective than an outright refusal.
‘Have you indeed?’ Interest sharpened the dark eyes. ‘Well, well and I thought you were quite the little hermit. Anyone I know?’ The question was asked casually, but Selina felt his tension. Ever since she had first been introduced to him two years ago Harry had been trying to persuade her to go out with him. Although she didn’t have much contact with the other secretaries and staff who worked for men in the close-knit circle of which the Judge was a part, she had heard various rumours that Harry considered himself something of a Don Juan.
Unlike Piers Gresham he did not possess that aura of intense masculine sexuality which she found so frightening, and because of it he was much easier to deal with. Even so she was relieved when the end of the meal released her from his company.
‘Harry proving rather over-amorous?’ Dulcie Gresham asked sympathetically joining Selina over by one of the windows. ‘That young man really does lack manner I’m afraid.’
‘He’ll soon weary of the chase,’ the Judge comforted Selina. ‘He lacks staying power—unlike some I could name,’ he added to Dulcie with a chuckle. ‘Now I couldn’t see that son of yours letting anything stop him getting something he wanted.’
‘Umm…’ A little to Selina’s surprise, her response was not totally approving. ‘I’m afraid that Piers still has to learn to temper his judgments with compassion, and I think one or two set-backs might just hasten that process. Although in many ways his determination is an asset, in others it isn’t. It gives him the power to overcome those who are weaker than him too easily—not always a good thing.’
The Seatons excused themselves to chat to their other guests and as though sensing Selina’s surprise, Dulcie Gresham said humorously, ‘Did you expect me to be a totally doting mother? Well, in many ways I am, but my love for him doesn’t blind me entirely to Piers’ faults. I don’t know if you’re aware of it or not, but my brother suffered a most appalling scandal when he was younger. Piers was eight at the time and adored my brother.’ A frown touched Dulcie Gresham’s expertly made up face. ‘It didn’t help that Piers had been involved in the scandal—whether by accident or design I do not know—in that the woman