Hot Pursuit by Anne Mather Read Free Book Online Page B

doesn’t know yet,’ said Matt, wondering how he could have been so reckless as to say such a thing. Now he would have to ring Emma and explain the situation to her.
    â€˜Obviously not.’
    Gloria sniffed, but to Matt’s relief Rosie had seen him and she came barrelling out of the gate towards them.
    â€˜Daddy! Daddy!’ she squealed, flinging herself into his arms. ‘You came! You came!’
    â€˜I said I would, didn’t I?’ said Matt, swinging her round. He grinned. ‘Have you had a good day?’
    â€˜Quite good—’
    â€˜Your daddy’s had a better one,’ put in Gloria maliciously, before Matt could perceive her intent and deflect it. ‘He’s found someone to look after you, Rosemary. Isn’t that nice? I expect she’ll be coming to meet you tomorrow.’
    Rosie’s eyes grew round. ‘Is that true, Daddy? Has the agency sent you someone else?’
    â€˜Not exactly.’ Matt could have strangled Gloria as she stood there enjoying his discomfort. Clearly she thought he was making the whole thing up and she wanted him to have to admit it. Casting her a malevolent look, he ushered Rosie away towards the Range Rover. ‘I’ll tell you all about it as we gohome,’ he promised, flicking the key fob to unlock the vehicle. ‘Okay?’
    â€˜But you have found a new nanny, haven’t you, Daddy?’ Rosie asked, clambering, with his assistance, into the front seat. ‘You weren’t just saying that?’
    Matt reflected again how adult Rosie was at times. He had no idea what he was going to say to her. He couldn’t lie to his daughter, but equally he had to come up with a reasonable explanation of who Sara was and why she was staying at the house.
    If she was still there when he got back, he acknowledged. She could have taken the keys he’d left on the counter in the kitchen and made another attempt to start her car. Once she found it was operable, she was a free agent. Whatever he thought, she’d have no reason to stay.
    He sighed, fitting his keys into the ignition, and Rosie gave him a troubled look. ‘What’s wrong, Daddy?’ she asked shrewdly. She hesitated. ‘Is it because you haven’t found a nanny? Did you just say that because you don’t like Mrs Armstrong? ’Cos that’s all right. I don’t like Rupert and Nigel either.’
    Rupert and Nigel! Matt raised his eyes heavenward for a moment. Nobody but Gloria Armstrong would have called those two imps of Satan Rupert and Nigel . Rosie was always telling him some story or other about what they’d got up to in the classroom, about how Mrs Sanders was forever sending them to the head teacher for extra discipline.
    But grumbling about the Armstrongs wasn’t going to help him now. Choosing his words with care, he said, ‘A young woman did come to see me today. Not from the agency,’ he added quickly, holding up a hand to prevent Rosie from interrupting. ‘She’s a visitor. Her car broke down at the bottom of the road and she came to ask if she could use the phone.’
    Rosie’s face dropped. ‘So she’s not a nanny?’
    â€˜No.’ Matt shook his head. ‘But she is going to stay with us, at least until tomorrow. So I want you to be especially nice to her.’
    Rosie sniffed. ‘So who is she? Why is she staying with us?’
    â€˜I’ve just explained,’ said Matt patiently. ‘Her car broke down and—she can’t get it fixed until tomorrow.’ May God forgive him the lie. ‘She’s nice. I think you’ll like her.’
    â€˜What’s her name?’
    â€˜Sara. Sara Victor. What do you think?’
    Rosie shrugged, and Matt thought at first that she was going to reserve her opinion until she’d met their visitor. But he was wrong. His daughter was simply considering her options.
    â€˜Perhaps she’ll want to