Love Read Free Page B

that she hadn’t bolted it overnight. What a change from London and the chains and safety bolts. She followed Humphrey into the garden. Although it was January, they had obviously not had a hard frost down here and there were still a few hardy purple and white rock daisies. The roar of the surf competed with the chattering of the starlings who were fighting over a clump of ground ivy berries.
    The cottage stood square in its garden of just over an acre facing down towards the sea. The gate at the front of the garden opened on to the path leading down to the beach. The garden was hidd en from its neighbours by tall Escalonia hedges and two rows of very productive apple trees at the back sheltered the cottage from the road. The white-gated driveway wound down from the road to the garage at the side of the cottage. The cottage itself was late eighteenth century but had been expanded and improved many times. Her grandmother’s light and spacious studio was above the garage.
    Karen watched as Humphrey chased off the greedy starlings and then, feeling the chill of the morning despite the pale winter sunlight she wrapped her gown closer around her slender waist and hurried back into the cosy kitchen. Suddenly the thought of fresh hot coffee was terribly tempting and she set about grinding some of the coffee beans from the fridge. Soon the kitchen was filled with the heady aroma of fresh perked coffee and farmhouse bread toasting under the grill. Karen opened a jar of blackberry jam neatly identified with her grandmother’s hand-painted label.
    She was halfway through her third slice of buttery toast when there was a knock at the back door. Probably Mrs Pengelly she thought, hastily running her hand through her uncombed hair as she opened the door.
    “Oh, hello...” she realised that the figure before her was certainly not Mrs Pengelly. Not unless Mrs Pengelly had turned overnight into a very tall, very good-looking man. At the same time she also realised that her pink candlewick dressing gown had seen better days and had a large blob of blackberry jam clinging to her right breast. Humphrey saved the day by rushing around the side of the house barking furiously and launching himself at the man’s trouser leg. Karen realised that Humphrey was not attacking this man, but greeting him rapturously. She also realised that she knew who he was.
    “ Humphrey! No!” she shouted, lunging for the little dog.
    “ Humphrey, down!” said the man firmly and calmly.
    Humphrey immediately sat down, his tail still wagging defiantly and thumping the ground behind him.
    “I’m awfully sorry,” stammered Karen. She felt strangely shy of this new grown-up Adam. “I hope he hasn’t muddied your trousers.”
    “Do n’t worry. Humphrey and I are old friends and what’s a little mud between friends. I’m Adam Chancellor from next door and you’re quite obviously Karen. I just wanted to check and see that you had arrived safely and hadn’t fallen into Mrs Pengelly’s clutches.”
    “ Yes. I mean no. I mean yes and no.” Karen took a closer look at her visitor and neighbour; at least six foot two, the same shock of dark curly hair, a pair of very bright intelligent blue eyes, and a firm mouth. If anything he was better looking than he’d been at twenty one. She realised that he was giving her a fairly assessing look himself.
    “ If you don’t need anything, I won’t keep you. You’ve obviously just got up. Good-bye Humphrey.”
    Karen ushered Humphrey into the cottage and closed the door. Should she have offered him some coffee, she wondered. She felt vaguely irritated by his casual allusion to her state of dress. "Obviously just got up", indeed! He was as dismissive as he’d always been. This time though she wasn’t going to fall for his arrogant good looks. But she had to admit to herself that he was a very attractive man and his off-hand manner piqued her interest. She looked at herself in the little mirror and laughed. What a