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well appointed as any luxury hotel, the piece, de resistance being a fourposter bed covered in the same flowery fabric as the curtains. The en-suite bathroom also contained three different bottles of expensive scent, a hairdryer and a telephone in arm's reach of the sunken bath. Caroline was not at all surprised to find slightly perfumed soapy water running out of the gold-plated taps. Guests had no need to even trouble themselves about washing in anything as mundane as a bar of soap!
    After changing into a long black skirt and white satin shirtwaister blouse, she made her way down to the drawing-room where the rest of the party were gathered for pre-dinner drinks. She accepted the tomato juice that Matt poured for her, and seated herself on a wing chair.
    'That's a bit unsociable,' Helen remarked, noticing Caroline had no alcohol added to her drink.
    'Caroline only likes champagne,' Matt explained.
    'Expensive taste, Caroline,' Helen commented.
    'Not if one has rich boy-friends,' Caroline said sweetly.
    'Caroline's never been short of those,' Mark interposed hastily.
    'Did you two go out for long?' Matt asked.
    'They were nearly engaged,' Helen informed him, then looked at Caroline. 'I've never been told why you broke up. Mark is very discreet about his past affairs.'
    'It was never an affair,' Caroline said firmly. 'We were only friends.'
    'You don't need to worry, darling,' Mark said to his fiancée. 'Caroline was always a career girl.'
    Caroline longed to deny it, but diplomatically said nothing. She glanced at Matt, and saw he was frowning. She wondered if he was jealous, and hoped he was.
    'Let's have dinner,' he said, pulling Caroline to her feet.
    They ate an excellent meal, served by the housekeeper's daughter, Grace, who with her mother, Mrs Gordon, was the only resident staff kept at the house, extra help coming in on a daily basis. Fortunately most of the conversation centred round the forthcoming trip to France, and Caroline learned that Helen would be joining them too.
    'She can't bear to let me out of her sight,' Mark joked, 'but if she'd only set the date for our wedding she wouldn't have to worry about my running off with someone else!'
    'Nonsense,' Helen replied shortly. 'Who's heard of an errant fiancé? It's only when they become husbands that one starts to worry!'
    'See what I'm up against,' said Mark, looking at Matt.
    'It's not my fault,' Matt said. 'I keep telling her to marry you, but she thinks I'm incapable of managing without her.'
    'Then find a replacement for her,' Mark suggested.
    'I'm working on it.'
    Helen snorted. 'Most of the women you go around with wouldn't have the faintest idea of how to manage you.'
    'You're a treasure,' Matt agreed. 'But your obligation is to Mark.'
    'Here, here!' chided Mark. 'So what about naming the day, Helen?'
    'I'll think about it,' she replied, and pushed back her chair. 'Let's have coffee in the drawing-room.'
    No sooner were they settled when Matt put on some tapes, and the melodious voice of Ella Fitzgerald soon persuaded them to dance. Matt held Caroline firmly round the waist as he guided her round the room.
    'You do something to me,' he said, echoing the words of the song, but she knew what he was referring to. She saw Helen watching them and pulled slightly away. There was something in the girl's cold glances that disquietened her, spoiling what could otherwise have been a perfect evening.
    'I hope you don't mind if I have an early night?' she asked.
    'I do. But if it means you'll be fighting fit tomorrow ...' His lips nibbled her ear. 'I never like to take advantage of a woman unless she's in prime condition!'
    'I get the impression you're not particular what lambs you lead to the slaughter!'
    'How wrong you are—I choose them with great care. So don't count sheep before you fall asleep tonight!'
    Caroline was still chuckling as she prepared for bed, though Matt's comment confirmed her opinion that he was still too much in command of his emotions to let