Read Online The Man in Possession by Hilda Pressley - Free Book Online

’ s not much to tell. ’
    He gave her an amused, admonishing look. ‘Come now, I ’ m sure you can do better than th a t. You ’ ll have me thinking you have a shady past. You ’ re not a native of Norfolk, anyhow, are you? ’ he prompted.
    It was silly to be so reticent about herself. There was no need to talk about David if she did not wish to. And so she told him about her parents and the Kentish fruit farm.
    ‘ It must be very lovely, especially in the spring, ’ he commented.
    ‘Oh, it is. It ’ s really beautiful. I love it. ’
    ‘Then why— ’
    It was inevitable, and she could not really understand her reluctance to speak of David.
    ‘ Why did I come to Norfolk? I met David— Mr. Hargreaves ’ son. We became friendly and I came for a holiday. Then we—I decided to stay. ’
    ‘ You and he—? ’ he queried hesitantly.
    ‘We became engaged. ’
    ‘Oh. Oh, I ’ m so rr y. I shouldn ’ t have asked. Do forgive me. It must have been—terrible for you. ’
    Suddenly she felt her food would choke her, yet at the same time she told herself it was ridiculous to feel this way. She could not understand herself, except that, while not actually still grieving for David, the gap left in her life was greater than she had even realized.
    ‘Tell me what you think of the wine, ’ Roger said in a quiet voice.
    She took a sip and forced a smile. ‘ It ’ s very good. ’
    She drank a little more and found she could continue the meal better.
    ‘ How long since you went home? ’ Roger Leighton asked her, after a minute or two.
    ‘Christmas. ’
    ‘Why don ’ t you go again ? Take a little holiday while the work on the office is being done. I imagine you won ’ t want to go when things get busy. ’
    She smiled genuinely at that. ‘How nicely you put it, ’ she told him. ‘But I can ’ t very well go now. You ’ ve only just come. ’
    ‘The place won ’ t fall apart because you ’ re not here, ’ he told her.
    ‘I suppose not. Perhaps I could go for a long weekend, ’ she suggested.
    ‘It ’ s entirely up to you. I just thought you needed a change. ’
    ‘You ’ re very kind. ’
    He looked as though he might deny it, but a waitress came to clear away their empty plates and serve the second course. Julia noticed that Max and his friend had now taken their places at one of the tables. Roger saw them too, and gave Julia a questioning look.
    ‘ You don ’ t seem to mind. ’
    ‘ Why should I? ’
    He smiled. ‘ That ’ s answer enough. You don ’ t look exactly heartbroken. And I ’ m glad. I wouldn ’ t have said he was your type at all. ’
    ‘That ’ s interesting, ’ she answered. ‘ What makes you say so—and what sort of man do you think is my type? ’
    He thought for a moment. ‘ The answer to the first question can be very brief. It ’ s a sort of instinct I have that a man like that could never make you happy. One thing being a director of Melloid has taught me is to judge character from the look of a person. I ’ ve met so many in the course of business. ’
    ‘ Aren ’ t you ever mistaken? ’
    He shook his head. ‘ Very rarely. A person you can trust looks straight at you. ’
    But she was not so easily convinced. ‘ But wouldn ’ t that be one of the tricks of a con man—to look you straight in the eye while planning to do you down? ’
    ‘ Oh yes. But there are other things. A confidence man is generally too smooth, agrees with you too readily, never gets annoyed. A person you can trust has depth. ’
    Julia shook her head swiftly. ‘ But you can ’ t tell just by looking at a person whether he has depth or not. ’
    ‘You can, in a way. There ’ s a certain look in the eyes, in the set of the jaw, in a man ’ s—or woman ’ s—whole expression. ’
    Julia had to concede that he could be right. Hadn ’ t she come to some conclusions about Roger himself from across the auction room? It was true she had not been able to put her assessment of him to