Oh, great!

Kate knew an immediate-and selfish-feeling of frustration. But she couldn't help wishing that the old man hadn't chosen today of all days to be ill. She sighed impatiently. What was wrong with her? No one chose to be ill. It just happened.

'Something wrong?'

Alex was watching her closely, and Kate made a pretence of folding her scarf and putting it on her desk. But her mind was buzzing with the realisation that she would have to ask him if she wanted to take part of the morning off.

'Not really,' she said now, stopping short of taking off her jacket. 'Um-I hope he'll be feeling better soon.'

'Don't we all?' But Alex's green eyes had narrowed. 'Until then, you'll have to put up with me, I'm afraid.'

Kate forced a polite smile, and turned away to put her bag in the desk drawer. It was only when she straightened that she was reminded that she was wearing a short skirt this morning. She'd dressed more formally than usual to go and see Joanne's headmaster and her careless action had exposed a provocative length of thigh.

The urge to try and pull down the hem of her skirt was almost irresistible, even though her long legs were encased in warm black tights. Then she met his sensual gaze, and she was fairly sure that he knew what she was thinking. Her skin p.r.i.c.kled with an awareness she didn't want to admit.

'Did you talk to Joanne?'

His question was so at odds with the way he'd been looking at her that for a moment Kate couldn't think what he meant. But then the audacity of his enquiry hit her, arousing a sense of outrage she was able to channel into keeping her unwelcome attraction to him at bay.

'I-whether or not I spoke to my daughter is hardly relevant, Mr Kellerman,' she declared stiffly.

'And if she turns up here again I'd be grateful if you'd remind her that this is my place of work.'

Alex's dark brows arched. 'In other words, mind my own business,' he remarked tightly. 'Okay.

If that's what you want. I wouldn't like to be accused of attempting to corrupt a minor as well as everything else.'

Kate sighed. 'I'm not accusing you of attempting to corrupt her.'

'No?' He raked one hand through his overlong hair. 'It sounded like it tome.'

'Well, I wasn't.' She took a breath. 'It's just-complicated, that's all.' Then, deciding that it might as well be now as later, she said, 'As a matter of fact, I was going to ask Mr Guthrie if I could have a couple of hours off this morning. I-I have to go to Lady Montford, you see.'

'I a.s.sume you mean Joanne's school?'

Kate gripped the edge of her desk. 'That's right. I have to see her head teacher.'

Alex grimaced. 'Well, I must say you have a h.e.l.l of a way of asking for a favour,' he remarked dryly. 'And at the risk of being accused of interfering again, is there anything I can do?'

Kate's shoulders sagged. 'I don't think so, thank you.' But it was kind of him to ask. She swallowed. 'My appointment's at ten o'clock. Would it be all right if I left about half-past nine?'

Alex frowned. 'If you think that will give you sufficient time.' He paused. 'I suppose Joanne is going with you?'

Kate looked up. 'What makes you think she's not in school?'

Alex lifted his shoulders. 'Call it intuition,' he responded flatly. He ma.s.saged the back of his neck with a weary hand. 'You can go whenever you want.'

'Thanks.' But Kate still regarded him warily. 'Um-what exactly did Joanne say to you?'

'Do you expect me to betray a lady's confidence?' he mocked her gently, his hand falling to his side. 'Besides, it isn't-relevant-is it?'

Kate slumped. 'She told you, didn't she?'

'What?' He gave her an innocent look and she wanted to scream.

'Why-why she wanted to see me!' she exclaimed at last, gazing at him frustratedly. 'Why I have to see her head teacher this morning.' She groaned. 'That's why you told me to go easy on her.

G.o.d, you must think I'm such a fool!'

'I don't think you're a fool, Kate.' He abandoned his stance beside the door into the manager's office and came further into the room. 'As a matter of fact I have nothing but admiration for you.

You're doing a great job. It can't have been easy bringing up a child on your own.'

'No.' Kate blew out breath. 'No, it hasn't been,' she conceded ruefully, trying not to feel threatened because he was now standing just an arm's length away. But in black jeans and a dark green corded jacket he was disturbingly familiar. It was odd how in such a short time she had come to know his appearance so well.

'That's what I thought.'

There were waistline pockets in his jeans and now he hooked his thumbs inside them, drawing her attention to the powerful thighs they enhanced. Reminded her, too, of his s.e.xuality, and the not unimpressive bulge against his zip.

G.o.d!

She was horrified at where her thoughts were leading her. She had to remember that he was the man she had come here to investigate. She must be crazy to be entertaining any ideas about his masculinity when his relationship to the missing woman was still in doubt.

'Would you like to talk about it?'

She realised suddenly that he'd misinterpreted her silence. He'd a.s.sumed she was still worrying about Joanne when her daughter's problems had been far from her thoughts. She wondered what he'd say if she told him she'd been speculating about his s.e.xual preferences. He was a sensual man; there had to be some woman in his life.

'Talk about what?' she asked now, buying a little time, and a look of resignation crossed his face.

'What indeed?' he countered quietly, turning back towards Mr Guthrie's office. 'Let me know when you're leaving. I'll have all calls switched through to me.'

'No-wait-' Kate went after him, stopping herself just short of grabbing his arm. 'That is, I'll tell you what happens when I get back.' She bit her lip. 'If you're interested.'

'I am,' he agreed gently. 'Good luck.'

When the door closed behind him, she filled her lungs completely for the first time since he'd come into her office. What was there about him, she wondered, that put every nerve in her body on red alert? When she was near him, she was conscious of herself in a way she'd never experienced before. No wonder Alicia had been infatuated with him-if she had, she amended swiftly. It was far too easy to jump to the wrong conclusions where he was concerned.

Deciding there wasn't much point in starting anything until she got back, Kate decided to take him upon his offer and make an early start. With a bit of luck, she should be back by eleven o'clock, and she'd make sure she caught up on all her correspondence before she went home.

But, as she wrapped her scarf around her neck again, she knew she was being rather optimistic.

She had no idea how long the interview with Mr Coulthard might take, and the thought that Joanne could end up with a suspension from school, or worse, filled her with apprehension.

Lifting her bag out of the drawer again, she crossed to the door leading into Mr Guthrie's office.

Tapping lightly on the panels, she waited until Alex answered before putting her head around the door. 'I'm leaving now,' she said, when he looked up from the stock book. 'I've switched the phones through to you. Is that okay?'

'Okay.'

Alex nodded, and Kate closed the door again and started for the door. So far, so good, she thought, trying to be optimistic. All she had to do now was pick up Joanne, which would give her plenty of time to cope with the morning traffic.

The old Vauxhall looked more shabby than usual beside the Range Rover. Alex's vehicle might need a wash, but even dirty it possessed a powerful appeal. Much like its owner, reflected Kate as she slid behind the wheel of her own car. Her lips twitched. Not that she was in any position to judge.

Nevertheless, as she turned the key in the ignition, she had to admit that the night's growth of beard on his jaw this morning had suited him. He'd obviously left the house in a hurry after learning that Mr Guthrie wasn't going to be in that day. The car hiccupped, but didn't start, and she stifled an expletive. She had to stop thinking about Alex Kellerman so personally and concentrate on why she was here.

She tried to start the car again, but once again it refused to respond to her efforts. And, no matter how she tried to coax it into action, the engine simply wouldn't fire. 'Oh, great,' she muttered irritably. This was all she needed. She would have to go and call a taxi now and hope that one could get here in time.

She'd attracted the attention of a couple of the hands who worked at the stables, but before one of them could come and offer his help the office door opened and Alex himself came out. At once, the other men reverted to what they'd been doing, and Kate thrust open her door and got out of the car as her employer strolled across the yard.

'I won't ask if you're having problems, because I can see you are,' he remarked without sarcasm.

'What's wrong? Have you flooded the carburettor, or what?'

'You tell me,' muttered Kate frustratedly. 'I just know it won't start.'

'Let me try.' Alex got into the car and flicked the ignition. But although the engine turned over a couple of times it remained obstinately uncooperative. 'I think it may be flooded,' he said at last, getting out again. 'Would you like me to get my mechanic to take a look at it? In the meantime, I could give you a lift into town.'

Kate thought ruefully of the letter she'd read that morning. If she'd kept up to date with the car's maintenance, this might never have happened. 'Um-well, if you could give me a lift to the taxi rank at the bus station, I'd be grateful,' she acknowledged weakly. 'But I'll get the garage where it's serviced to come and collect the car.'

Alex shrugged. 'If you like.' He paused. 'But it's possible they'd have a wasted journey. If it is flooded, it will start again once the petrol's had time to evaporate, you know.'

Kate hesitated. There was no doubt that she could do without another bill if it wasn't necessary.

'Well-if your mechanic doesn't mind,' she murmured awkwardly, wondering what her father would have done in a case like this.

But, of course, her father would never have got himself into a situation like this, she conceded, after Alex had closed the office door and unlocked the Range Rover so that she could get in. He'd never have become involved with someone he was investigating, let alone got himself into a position where he was indebted to the man himself.

'Right.' Alex climbed into the vehicle beside her, and she was instantly aware of how much she wanted to believe he was innocent of the charge she was investigating. In the confined s.p.a.ce of the car, she couldn't help inhaling the clean male scent of his body, the piney scent of his aftershave lingering so pleasantly on his skin that she almost started when he spoke again. 'Do you want to remind me of your address?'

'My address?'

'I a.s.sume you want to collect your daughter before going to the school?'

'Well, yes.' Kate swallowed. 'But there's no need for you to take us. If you'll drop me at the taxi rank, I can take it from there.'

Alex gave her a sidelong glance as he reversed the powerful motor, and she wondered what he was thinking. But she could hardly explain that her apparent lack of grat.i.tude was due to the fact that she didn't want him to see exactly where she lived. She'd had to give her address, of course, when she'd applied for the job at the stables, but she'd hoped he'd never have occasion to notice it himself.

'I'll take you to the school,' he said now, and she decided not to argue with him. After all, at least twenty other families lived in the block of flats where she and her family lived. Unless he checked, he'd never know there wasn't a Hughes among them. That there was a Ross could surely mean nothing to him.

'Well-if you don't mind,' she murmured as they accelerated towards the gates.

'If I had, I wouldn't have offered,' he remarked sardonically. 'What's the matter? Are you afraid your boyfriend will find out I've been chauffeuring you around?'

'I don't have a boyfriend,' retorted Kate, without thinking, and she scolded herself for the lack of professionalism she'd displayed. If she wasn't careful, he'd trick her into revealing what she was really doing at the stables, and her nails dug into her palms at the prospect of what that would mean.

'Why not?' he asked, and she looked at him blankly. 'Why don't you have a boyfriend?' he amplified mildly, and she hurriedly looked away.

'I don't have time for men,' she said at last, staring out of the window. 'And I live in Milner Court. That's off Marlborough Road.'

'Okay.' Alex absorbed the information. Then, as if this was some game he liked to play, he said, 'Joanne's father must have hurt you very badly. Didn't you say she was little more than a baby when he died?'

Kate heaved a sigh, wishing she'd never confided in him. 'It was a long time ago,' she said dismissively. She clenched her fists. 'I suppose I could say the same about you,' she added, deciding he could hardly object if she answered in kind.

He was silent for a few moments, and she half thought he wasn't going to respond to her challenge. His expression had darkened, and his long fingers had tightened on the wheel. But then, with a shrug of his shoulders, he seemed to come to a decision. 'I hardly think my situation qualifies, do you?'

Kate took the opportunity he was offering. 'Why not?' she asked innocently, and he glanced her way, his thick lashes shadowing the expression in his eyes.

'What woman would trust herself with me after what I've been accused of?' he enquired dryly.

'Oh, no, Mrs Hughes, I'm in no doubt as to what most of your s.e.x would think of me.'

'Well, I think you're exaggerating,' declared Kate swiftly, and a look of wry amus.e.m.e.nt crossed his face.

'And I think you're being charitable,' he countered. 'Let's talk about your daughter. That's a safer topic, don't you think?'

Kate shifted a little restlessly in her seat. She might never have another chance to talk to him like this. 'I'm sure there are plenty of women who'd like to get to know you,' she persisted. 'Who'd jump at the chance to visit Jamaica Hill.'

Alex expelled a resigned breath. 'Really?'

'Yes, really.'

'Why? So that they could say they'd seen the spot where the dastardly deed took place?'

'No.' Kate sensed that despite his mockery it still hurt him to talk about it, but she told herself she mustn't feel sorry for him. 'Are you telling me you haven't brought any other women to-to the house since your wife died?'

Alex's eyes narrowed. 'I don't think that's anything to do with you, Mrs Hughes,' he responded harshly. 'Are you sure you're not working for someone else as well as me?'

Kate went cold. 'I don't know what you mean.'

'I mean my father-in-law, Mrs Hughes. Perhaps he can't get the answers he wants from my staff, so he's sent you.'

Kate gasped. 'I don't even know your father-in-law, Mr Kellerman,' she protested, glad she could be honest. 'And I can a.s.sure you, I'm not working for him.'

'Well, good.' His lips twisted. 'I believe you. I guess I'm just not good at answering questions any more.'

Kate managed to hide the relief she was feeling. For a moment there, she'd thought he'd guessed why she'd taken the job. But in his position she supposed he had to be careful what he said, and to whom. The case of how his wife had died was considered closed, but if any further evidence was forthcoming she supposed it could be opened again...

CHAPTER SIX.

IT WASafter twelve o'clock by the time they got back to Jamaica Hill.