That Man Next Door Read online

  "The sea looks an awful long way off from here," Kim remarked as they walked down the centre path towards the cliff, and George nodded.

  "It's a big drop from the cliff edge here, that's why the building's set well back," he explained, and laughed. "I used this spot for a book once," he added. "A body hurled

  over the cliff to the beach below — very dramatic." Kim shuddered. "What a ghastly idea," she complained, "and on such a lovely night too !"

  He put an arm round her and hugged her tightly to him, kissing her forehead lightly, looking far more suited to a love story than a gruesome crime writer. George, Kim thought, was very definitely deceptive as far as appearances went. "I'm sorry, darling," he told her, "it's far more of a moonlight and roses setting, isn't it?"

  "Definitely," she agreed. "Bodies over cliffs are definitely out of character."

  "And I said I felt all romancy," he remembered, laughing softly as he halted them in the shadow of a headily scented mock orange.

  "George —" she had only time to begin her protest before his mouth came down over hers, gently but firmly, and held her for so long that she felt herself breathless when at last he released her. "George — George, you promised to — to behave yourself if we came outside, remember?"

  "So I did," he laughed. "That's what comes of writing fiction, darling, no respect for the truth."

  "George —" Again he silenced her, but this time she managed to move her head and pushed at him vainly.

  "Sssh !" He put a finger to her lips, his head half-turned towards the brightly lit building behind him. "Someone's coming."

  "But we —"

  "Shush," he warned again, his head still turned. "Perhaps they'll go away."

  "For heaven's sake, George, stop acting as if we're —" He was looking at her, one brow raised, a grin on his face that had a mischievous look in the moonlight.

  "Well, aren't we?" he asked softly, and a moment later frowned as voices reached them from not too far away.

  "Oh bother it, they're coming this way."

  "Well, it doesn't matter, does it ?" Kim asked, a little impatiently. "There's plenty of garden, after all."

  He looked down at her, his eyes looking incredibly dark in the silvery light, and she met his gaze uneasily. "I don't want company — except you," he told her, and bent his head to kiss her again.

  It was partly the fact that she knew someone else was embarrassingly near and partly because she felt George was having things too much his own way that made her protest, and she pushed against him with both hands until she could free her mouth. "George, please don't!"

  "Kim?" The voice was only too familiar and far closer than she had expected and it took Kim only a second to recognise the tall, unmistakable figure of James Fleming, taller by far than his blonde companion, although she was several inches taller than Kim.

  The light grey eyes were distinguishable even in this uncertain light, and they settled unerringly on Kim, half-hidden by the blossom tree and by George. "Hello, James." It was George who answered him, Kim being too embarrassed still at being recognised.

  The light eyes still stayed on Kim and she felt bound to speak to him, even if only to free herself of his interest. "Hello," she murmured.

  "Having fun?" The implication was obvious, and Kim flushed at it, glaring at the tall shadowy figure.

  "I — I —" She got no further, for George took over the conversation again, with an aplomb that told of long practice.

  "We were having fun," he told James, his intention obvious, so that Kim felt she could have curled up on the spot, and hated the way he challenged James to stay any longer.

  "I see." Something still seemed to hold him, when it would have been far more prudent to have left. "Kim, are you — all right?"

  "Of course she's all right," George told him impatiently, and support came inevitably from his cousin, who had watched so far with a rather sneering smile on her face that pitied Kim's apparent inability to cope with the situation.

  "For heaven's sake, darling," she told James, "surely Miss Anders is capable of handling George — after all, she works for him."

  It was a statement meant to remind Kim of her place and the brittle voice drawled insolently, as she kept one hand curled possessively round James Fleming's arm. Kim, who until now had only judged her from a distance, disliked her intensely, and not just for her malice.

  "I don't think you've met, have you?" George asked blithely. "Despite you flitting in and out, Eve. This is Kim Anders, my very delightful secretary and girl Friday. Kim darling, my cousin, Eve Mellors."

  Kim took the long slim hand, proffered almost reluctantly it seemed, and studied the other girl as well as she was able in the conditions. There was a cool hardness about the hand-clasp as there was about the voice, and she knew that she was being studied in her turn with eyes that were far from friendly.

  "What do you think of Woodmouth's night life?" James asked, and Kim shook her head.

  "I don't really know yet," she told him. "We've had dinner here and danced a little, it seems very nice."

  The opinion obviously amused Eve Mellors and her thin mouth curled into a smile of disdain. "I don't suppose Miss Anders is really much of a judge of night life, darling," she told him. "After all, I don't imagine a secretary's salary runs to night club prices very often, does it, Miss Anders?

  Unless," she added before Kim could answer, "she goes in company with her boss, of course."

  "Not very often, Miss Mellors." Kim had the feeling that she had forestalled some remark from James Fleming, but she had no desire to hear the sympathy she saw in his eyes put into words. She swallowed hard„ feeling her throat constricted as she realised how accurate George's estimation of his cousin's character had been.

  "Puss, puss!" George's voice was sharp despite the laugh that accompanied the jibe. "Your claws are showing, Eve darling."

  "Nonsense," Eve Mellors retorted, obviously resenting the jibe. "I merely stated an obvious fact and Miss Anders agreed with me. There's a lot involved in going out to places like this, you know. Being a man you wouldn't realise. If you want to go night-clubbing with your employees, George, you should pay them more. Suitable clothes can be very expensive, you know." A cool gaze surveyed Kim's simple dress meaningly and Kim flushed, glad of the semi-darkness to hide her colour.

  "Well, that dress certainly looks well enough," James remarked quietly. "I noticed you inside earlier on, Kim, and that shade of blue is definitely very flattering."

  "Thank you." Kim was undecided who was most surprised by the compliment, herself or George; either way it was George who answered.

  "Kim always looks gorgeous," he claimed extravagantly, and kissed her ear, "that's why I'm so potty about her, isn't it, darling?"

  Kim merely lowered her lashes over her eyes and smiled uneasily, wishing he need not sound so proprietorial. "I think we'd better be going," James suggested. "We did promise to call in on the Maceys, Eve, if you remember. Shall we go?"

  "Of course, James, if you're ready." She complied so willingly and with a meekness so out of character that Kim was reminded of George's statement earlier, that Eve had set her heart on being Mrs. James Fleming. Only a woman determined to win at any cost would be prepared to efface her normal character as Eve Mellors did, and her compliance, in Kim's eyes, gave her an odd sort of pathos.

  Kim watched them walk off into the lights, thoughtfully. "See what I mean about little Evie having to watch her p's and q's?" George remarked with a grin. "She'll hate you for that little interlude, darling."

  "I hope not," Kim mused, not altogether sure whether she minded or not how Eve Mellors felt about her.

  George eyed her silently for a moment. "I didn't know you were on quite such chatty terms with James that he called you Kim," he said at last, and Kim shrugged.

  "Neither did I," she retorted. "He's always very formally called me Miss Anders before."

  "Hmm." George shook his head. "That's another score against you on Eve's
card," he told her.

  "Well, your cousin has no reason to worry about me," Kim told him shortly. "Although she seems to have made up her mind to dislike me from the word go."

  "Naturally. You're a very pretty girl and therefore come under the heading of competition."

  "That," Kim told him firmly, glad of the dim light to hide her colour, "is something she has absolutely no need to even think about."

  "You go on feeling as sure as that about it," George encouraged, "and both Eve and I will be quite happy." He drew her back into his arms. "Which," she added softly, "brings me back to more important matters."

  It was quite late when George brought her home and Kim wondered how much speculating Aunt Bess would be do-

  ing as she listened for her arrival. "I shall be too sleepy for work tomorrow," she told George, her voice kept to barely above a whisper because they were standing in the porch and she did not want them to be overheard.

  "Not to worry," George told her, "I'll have a word with your boss."

  Kim glanced at her watch. "Just the same I'd better go if I want to get to bed before breakfast time," she told him, "it's after one."

  He put his hands either side of her head, against the brick wall of the porch, standing so close to her she could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheeks. He looked as romantic as ever in the dim light and she wondered if she ever would fall in love with him and make Aunt Bess's wish come true.

  "I'm sorry you caught some of Eve's venom," he told her. "I warned you what she was like, now you know."

  "Now I know," Kim agreed wryly. "But if you and Fay dislike her so much why do you have her to stay with you?"

  He sighed, deeply and dramatically. "It's Hobson's choice, darling. Our granddaddy, bless his old heart, left the house to all three of us, Eve, Fay and me, the idea being that it should be sold and the money divided. I decided that instead of selling it I'd like to live in it. I always liked the old place and it's an ideal spot for me to work. Fay likes it too and we offered to buy Eve's share from her. The only snag was that when she heard James was moving down here with the new offices, she decided to keep her share in it too. So whenever she's down here keeping an eye on James, we have to put up with her, or sell Linwood, and I don't want to do that. I'm a stubborn devil when it suits me."

  Kim laughed softly. "I can imagine," she told him, "but it does seem a shame. You and Fay would have been so

  much happier on your own."

  "Much," he agreed, "but short of marrying Eve off to poor old James, I don't see what we can do about it."

  "Maybe 'poor old James' wouldn't mind too much," Kim speculated. "He seemed to have the situation firmly under control, and I imagine he usually has — in his own interests."

  "Oh, it's all right now," George allowed, "but marriage well —" He shook his head, a frown between his brows. "No-o, I wouldn't wish cousin Evie on to my worst enemy, and James isn't that." He leaned nearer still, his voice dropping into a lower register. "But never mind James and his problems," he told her, "let's talk about you." He kissed her lightly on her mouth. "You know I could fall madly in love with you, Kimball Anders, do you realise that?"

  "If you say so," Kim smiled, her eyes bright and teasing. "But I'd like to know how often you've said that before. Using the appropriate name, of course," she added hastily, and laughed softly at his indignant expression.

  "Pussy !" he scolded softly, and pulled her into his arms, his mouth hard and demanding so that Kim stirred in protest thinking, completely irrelevantly, of a pair of light grey eyes looking at her in sympathy.

  CHAPTER IV

  KIM enjoyed her work with George and it was far less demanding than any job she had had before. There was a happy-go-lucky atmosphere in the house when there was only Fay and George there, and most days Kim took her mid-morning coffee with them.

  She had become good friends with Fay and never ceased to wonder at the difference in temperament between George and his placid, down-to-earth sister. His almost bohemian way of life must have been quite maddening to Fay at times, and yet she never or very seldom lost patience with him.

  Only twice had Eve Mellors been there when Kim had been in for coffee and she had made it very plain each time that she considered such familiarity undesirable. Since it was her house as much as her two cousins', Kim felt rather uncomfortable about it, but George would not hear of any other arrangement.

  "Don't worry about it," he told her, dismissing her protests with an airy hand. "If Fay and I ask you to have coffee with us, Eve has no say in the matter. She can lump it if she doesn't like it." The take-it-or-leave-it attitude was typical of George and could scarcely have affected him as much as it did Kim, but she saw nothing for it but to comply with his wishes.

  "And she doesn't like it," Kim told him. "After all, George, it is her house as well and if she objects to the hired help getting above their station, I suppose she's entitled to say so."

  "Not in my hearing she isn't," George insisted stubbornly. "And stop referring to yourself as the hired help or I'll make you marry me just to teach you and Eve a lesson ! I like having my own way and I won't be crossed by a couple of females even if one of them is my girl-friend."

  "Your —" Kim began, smiling in spite of herself.

  "My girl-friend," he insisted. "Just because you pound a typewriter on my behalf it doesn't alter anything You are, whether you like it or not, Kim, so there."

  "You are stubborn," Kim laughed. George was an unfailing tonic and she was laughing unrestrainedly when they went into the sitting-room for coffee. Her heart sank a moment later when she saw that not only Eve Mellors was there but James Fleming as well, and she would have turned back had it not been for George's fingers holding on to her arm relentlessly, making retreat impossible.

  "Come on, you two," Fay called out as they came in. "We were just talking about the race next week."

  George looked at his cousin and her companion and grinned amiably. "Quite a party, isn't it?" he said. "We only need a man for Fay and we could have our own orgy."

  Kim felt an inane desire to giggle at the outrageous statement, but Eve glared at him balefully. "It isn't an orgy, George, no matter what ideas you may have."

  "Me ?" He looked incredibly innocent, as only he could, and Kim did not miss the look of amusement in James Fleming's eyes. Apparently he did not share Eve's dislike of her cousin's joke.

  "We were talking about the race," Fay insisted gently, handing coffee to Kim who sat beside George on the settee.

  "Is it already ?" George asked. "When, for heaven's sake?"

  "Next week," Fay informed him. "You know quite well

  it's always the second week in September, George."

  "Ah, so I do," George agreed, and looked across at

  James. "I suppose you're putting that roaring juggernaut of yours in again, James ?"

  "Of course," James nodded. "I wouldn't miss it for anything " He looked across at Kim, the grey eyes just friendly but nevertheless disconcerting enough to Kim to make her lower her own gaze. "Are you interested in boats, Kim ?"

  Kim shook her head uncertainly, conscious of Eve Mellors' eyes on her and wondering again why he should be using her christian name so easily. "I've never had a great deal to do with boats, I'm afraid," she confessed, "but I must admit I like to see sailing boats, especially on a sunny day. They look so beautiful and tranquil somehow."

  "I don't mean sail-boats," he told her, "but motor-boats, very high speed racing boats."

  Kim shook her head, more certainly this time. "Oh no, I know nothing about them at all, I'm afraid, though I've often thought it must be very exhilarating going at such speeds on the open sea."

  "It's a wonderful sensation!" The light eyes gleamed almost fanatically when he thought of it, and Kim, chancing a look at him, wondered whether Eve Mellors shared his enthusiasm.

  "You'll have to watch James doing his stuff next week," George told her with a grin, "it's quite exciting." He furrowed his brow for a
moment in thought. "I have a vague idea," he mused, "that I've arranged to go to the Headland to watch. I usually do."

  "Don't you race?" she asked, and George pulled a wry face while Fay and James made no secret of their amusement.

  "Go on, laugh," he reproached his sister. "I'm not breaking my neck for five minutes' glory, not for anybody !"

  "It's a sort of local Derby in a way," Fay explained for Kim's benefit. "Only very fast racing boats are used and

  it's skill more than anything else that counts, so it can be very exciting. A lot of people from along the coast, Woodmouth, Dimsea and Paxeter, take part, but last year James beat them all — he was marvellous."

  Kim looked at the tanned face, now looking slightly discomfited after Fay's unstinted praise. "You must have a very good boat to beat the locals," Kim told him, and he looked up at her, obviously puzzled.

  "I'm not up against the locals," he told her, "I am a local. That's why we brought the new offices down here from London. It's my home ground, you might say."

  "Oh, I see." She saw the curl of derision on Eve Mellors' thin lips and flushed. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know much about you, Mr. Fleming, although we've been close neighbours for the last month or so." It was meant, in some oblique way, to put the blonde woman in her place, but she doubted if it would appear that way.

  James himself made no comment, but she thought he sensed her intention, for there was an unholy gleam in his eyes when he looked at her. "I hope you'll be interested enough to witness my next five minutes' glory," he told her, quoting George. "I intend to win this year as well."

  "Of course you will, darling," Eve Mellors drawled in her cool voice. "I'm putting all my money on you, so you'd better not let me down."

  He acknowledged her confidence in him with a brief smile, then looked again at Kim. "You will watch, won't you?" he asked, as if it mattered, and Kim nodded almost without thinking, only too well aware of Eve Mellors' sharp eyes watching her with a malice that chilled her.