A Suitable Groom. Liz Fielding

business meeting, she would have known he was the most dangerous man in the room, and up close, in full colour, Mr Fergus Kavanagh looked a great deal more impressive than his fuzzy newspaper photograph had suggested.

      When he’d appeared in the doorway of the dining car she’d almost lost her nerve, unexpectedly daunted by the power that seemed to emanate from him; it was an unfamiliar feeling. She was used to being the one in control.

      But now all she had to do was say “yes” and they would be conspirators. It would be them against the meddling matchmakers, and who could ever doubt that they would win?

      The idea gave her the kind of buzz she got from a real business deal, the kind involving millions of pounds, and suddenly she wanted to laugh out loud. ‘I say we have a deal, Mr Kavanagh,’ she said.

      ‘Fergus,’ he said, offering her his strong, long-boned hand to seal the bargain. ‘It had better be Fergus, don’t you think?’ Mischief sparked unexpectedly in the depths of those dark, still eyes. ‘If we’re to convince your mother, and anyone else who’s interested, that we are lovers.’

      Veronica felt her cheeks heat up. It was one thing making plans in her head. Quite another to look a perfect stranger in the face while he said the word out loud. Lovers. Of course, that was what she had intended her mother to believe and he knew it. They were, after all, a little mature just to be holding hands.

      ‘Veronica,’ she said quickly, rather than reply to his question, but as she accepted his hand she wished she hadn’t thought of them holding hands in quite that way.

      The tingle of awareness as skin touched skin, as his fingers closed about hers, was no figment of her imagination; there was an undeniable flare of excitement, of risk even, rare enough to trigger all kinds of built-in alarm systems. Not that they were necessary, she reminded herself. This was nothing more than a little mutual aid.

      ‘Veronica,’ he repeated.

      ‘Or Ronnie, if you prefer.’

      ‘Ronnie?’

      ‘It’s a nickname left over from school.’ From the look on his face she should have abandoned it there, along with her gym slip and hockey stick.

      ‘My sisters call me Gussie—when they think I can’t hear them,’ he admitted.

      ‘Do they?’ Her eyes widened. ‘It doesn’t suit you.’

      ‘No more than Ronnie suits you.’

      ‘Oh.’ She had the feeling that something less formal would have been more appropriate if they had been lovers, but could not quite bring herself to say so. ‘Well, most people find my name rather a mouthful and try to shorten it.’

      ‘That’s no reason to make it easy for them. Veronica suits you. It’s a lovely name.’

      She stared at him for a moment, unable to quite decipher his tone of voice. Was that a compliment? His face gave nothing away. She suspected that it never would … unless he wanted it to. She looked up, grateful for the interruption, as the steward approached with the bill for breakfast, quickly putting some money on the plate in order to forestall Kavanagh’s offer to pay for hers.

      Having hijacked him, she knew she should offer to pay for both of them, but he would certainly refuse to allow her to do that, and she had no wish to cause any unnecessary awkwardness between them. It was beginning to occur to her that the possibilities for that were already legion. Instead, she looked out of the window at the bleak concrete retaining walls that lined the last mile or so of the track into London. ‘We’re nearly there.’

      ‘Where are you going? If we’re heading in the same direction, we could share a taxi.’

      She turned back to face him. ‘I’m staying with a friend near Sloane Square. Just off the King’s Road.’

      ‘Is she going to the wedding, too?’

      ‘Well, yes—’

      ‘Then it might be a good idea if she sees us together,’ Fergus said. ‘What’s her name?’

      ‘Suzie Broughton, but I thought you had an urgent appointment with your tailor.’

      ‘He’ll wait.’ Irritating his tailor was a small price to pay for the enjoyment of this highly original woman’s company for a few more minutes. ‘As a matter of interest, what would you have done if I hadn’t been about to pick up a morning suit?’

      ‘Nothing.’ She smiled as his eyebrows rose in surprise. ‘I’m sure you’re more than capable of renting one without any help from me. If not, you wouldn’t be the man for the job.’

      There was no answer to that. Or, at least, not one that immediately leapt to mind. Instead, he stood up and took his overnight bag from the rack. ‘Is this yours?’ he asked, turning to the Vuitton case. Without waiting for an answer, he lifted it down and stood it alongside his, remaining on his feet as the train slid into the station. ‘You know, it has occurred to me that we should spend a little time getting our stories straight. Where we met—that sort of thing. It wouldn’t do to contradict one another. If your mother is the least bit suspicious—’

      ‘Why should she be?’ She stood up, easing her lovely legs from beneath the table. She was tall, five-ten at least, and her dark, pencil-slim skirt stopped a long way short of her knees. She slid her arms into a matching jacket that skimmed her hips and stopped a few inches short of the hem of her skirt.

      ‘She sounds like the type of woman who takes a keen interest in your affairs,’ he said, more to distract himself from her legs than for any genuine concern that they would be found out.

      Veronica grinned. ‘If you mean nosy, Fergus, just say so. You won’t be far from the truth.’ He simply smiled, deep creases adding character and warmth to his face, but he had a point. The potential for disaster suddenly seemed endless, and she looked up at him. ‘Are you quite sure you want to go ahead with this?’ she asked. ‘I should warn you that she’s a hard woman to fool, and I’d really hate to cause you any embarrassment.’

      ‘Don’t worry about it, Veronica. I’ve brought up two younger sisters; I’m impossible to embarrass. Besides, I am at least as eager for your aid as you are for mine, possibly more so. If you knew Dora and Poppy, you’d understand why,’ he added feelingly. ‘Why don’t we take time out for coffee and I’ll tell you all about them?’ She didn’t exactly leap at the offer, Fergus noticed. ‘Or perhaps you’re too busy this morning?’

      Veronica was old enough to recognise when she was being offered an escape route. Fergus Kavanagh looked every inch a gentleman, and clearly he had the instincts of the breed. Her hesitation was unworthy of him. Unworthy of her. ‘I’d love to, but once I’ve dropped my things off at Suzie’s I have to get to the hairdresser’s.’

      He felt the desperate urge to say something absolutely crass, such as her hair was perfect already, but he restrained himself. If the lady believed she needed a hairdresser, he was well aware that nothing on earth would convince her otherwise. Instead, he smiled reassuringly. ‘It’s not a problem. We’ll simply parry all awkward questions with an enigmatic smile.’

      ‘I don’t think that will work on my mother.’

      ‘You’d be surprised. If she quizzes me, just follow my lead.’ She looked doubtful. ‘It’ll be fine.’ She was rocked against him as the train came to a standstill, and as Fergus held her arm briefly to steady her, her scent seemed to steal over him. Sophisticated, cool, distinctively floral. He searched his memory in an attempt to place the flower, but for the moment it eluded him … ‘Just fine,’ he repeated.

      ‘If you say so. It’s a little late to exchange detailed biographies, although maybe we should have a mutual exchange of faxes before your sister’s wedding?’ she offered.

      Putting a stop to any suggestion that they might meet and get their stories straight in the meantime?

      Maybe.

      But he didn’t argue.