A New Dream, Maggie Ford [books to read romance txt] 📗

but for the faint muffled conversation of the other customers.

The waiter poured their coffee and offered sandwiches and cakes from a silver stand. Julia pointed to the ham and he picked some up with silver tongs and placed them on her plate for her, before doing the same for Chester.

As the waiter departed, Chester leaned forward with his elbows on the white damask tablecloth, his laced fingers supporting his chin, his blue eyes searching hers.

‘Now, tell me about yourself, my dear, what have you been doing?’

It sounded as if he was ready to quiz her. When she said nothing, merely sipping her coffee, he straightened up.

‘Then I shall tell you about myself,’ he stated, also sipping from his coffee and pulling an appreciative face at the coffee’s mellow taste before replacing the cup in its saucer and sitting back in his chair. His face was serious, almost sad.

‘First I really must say how sorry I was that things didn’t turn out as we’d planned.’

Julia made no reply.

‘I wanted so much to explain,’ he went on. ‘But circumstances got in the way. I had so many long arguments with my parents but I couldn’t bring them round to my way of thinking, no matter what I said. Indeed I became quite a rebel.’

Not rebellious enough, it seemed, thought Julia, but said nothing and he continued.

‘I got near to falling out with them completely, but you can’t do that with families. In the end I had to capitulate and see their side of things.’

Julia found her voice. ‘And what was their side of things?’

He grinned wryly and took a sip of his coffee, reaching for another sandwich to leave it on his plate untouched beside those already there.

‘I suppose like all families of their standing, they looked to me, their only child, to make a good marriage, keep up the family name, you know the sort of thing. You remember my telling you that I was on the point of coming into my inheritance?’

Yes, she remembered – a very substantial one that would have seen their marriage off to a wonderful start. She had to admit she had been just as eager to enjoy it as he was.

‘It was to be mine on my twenty-fifth birthday, two weeks after our engagement dinner with our families, you remember?’

Julia nodded silently.

‘It was that which my father held over my head,’ he went on, ‘when things went… well… I won’t go into painful details.’

No, don’t go into painful details, her mind cried. Didn’t he realize how painful it was having it all brought back to her?

‘I wanted so much to find you,’ he was saying. ‘To tell you it wasn’t me, it was… well, circumstances. I wasn’t strong enough or equipped enough to fight my parents. I suppose I was weak. I don’t know. But we’d have been left without a penny. I didn’t want that to happen. Not to you.’

‘But it did,’ she burst out at last, unable to contain herself. Her raised tone caused those at other tables to glance towards her. ‘It happened anyway. And I was left on my own, trying to cope,’ she added, lowering her voice.

‘I know. I was to blame. I should have come after you. I wanted to, so much. But I couldn’t go against my family, I love them. My father threatened to disown me if I came after you, and I know him – he would have done. And I was selfish enough not to go against him or my inheritance. I’m sorry.’

Gone was the youthful smile, the debonair confidence; she had never seen him look so remorseful, so sad. She found herself trying to imagine a young man, an only son, lost under the onslaught of determined, ambitious parents, who had raised him and cared for him, and wanted only the best for him. And what good would it have done him or her had he come after her with nothing to support them – and she with a distraught mother and three younger siblings hanging on to her skirts?

Suddenly she wanted to comfort him. She reached across the table and took his hands in hers. ‘Tell me how you’ve been since,’ she said, if only to see him brighten a little. ‘Did you ever marry?’

He seemed to have recovered a little, though no smile lightened the now serious expression. ‘Yes. Eighteen months later. Someone my parents thought suitable.’ His voice held the ring of scorn as he spoke this last word. ‘She was very pretty and she came of a good family, just what they were looking for, you see. It lasted three years. I’m going through a divorce just now. Decree absolute should be in a month or so.’

He gave a quietly ironic chuckle. ‘I don’t live with my parents now. I’ve a flat here in London. I don’t see them. They go their way, I go mine. Now isn’t that a laugh? We could have married, you and I, and cocked a snook at them if only I’d been stronger. It’s odd, isn’t it, now you are the one with the money. My inheritance is all but gone. I tried starting a business but couldn’t make a go of it. My wife loved spending and when my money gave out she went back to Mummy and Daddy, who see me as a failure. Now, isn’t that ironic? My family saw yours as a failure because things went wrong for you – talk about chickens coming home to roost!’

His tone had become monotonic, and Julia listened, mesmerized. As his voice fell away she came back to herself.

‘Look, let’s leave here,’ she said briskly. ‘Let’s take a walk in Green Park then I must be back before one o’clock. My partner and I always have our lunch together.’

She still had not mentioned Simon’s name. She wondered why not.

They drank their coffee and waited impatiently for the bill. Their waiter looked mildly surprised at the untouched sandwiches and cakes but well pleased at the