Part 19 (1/2)

'P'haps he forgot,' Nell replied, leaning against the doorframe and placing a hand on her jutting hip. She was still smiling. 'Shouldn't think he'd be long though, not if he knew you were comin'.'

'I hope not. He really does need his exercises.'

'I'm sure he does. I'm Nell, by the way. I often look in on Thom just to see how he's gettin' on.

Sometimes I bring him groceries, sometimes somethin' else...' Her voice trailed away.

'Do you know where he's got to?' Katy glanced down at her wrist.w.a.tch, noting that she, herself, had arrived just a little late and that now it was more than ten minutes after the appointed time.

*Why don't you bring yourself inside and wait? His car is still here, so he's prob'ly only gone for a short walk.'

Without hesitation, Katy moved towards the doorway and Nell stepped aside, allowing her to pa.s.s.

Nell closed

the front door behind them, barely taking her eyes off the therapist as Katy wandered across the room to stop at the kitchen table.

'What lovely flowers,' the therapist said as she placed the sports bag on the floor and fingered the bright, speckled petals. 'Orchids, aren't they?' She glanced back at Nell, who nodded.

'Early Purple, they're called,' said Nell. 'Orchis mascula. Common Male Orchid. I grow them myself.'

As Katy studied the orchids, noticing that the ten-inch stalks were still attached to their fleshy tubers, she failed to see the sudden gleam in Nell's dark eyes. The therapist wrinkled her nose.

'Can't say I like the smell too much, though,' she said. She turned towards the other woman. 'Have you known Thom long?' she asked, as if merely making polite conversation.

Nell, who had an instinct for such things, immediately knew it was not a casual question. The b.i.t.c.h has taken a fancy to him, she thought. And why not? Thom is a good-looking man, quite a catch for any woman who doesn't mind an invalid for a lover. Nell was surprisingly annoyed at the idea. 'No, not long,' she replied evenly, moving in closer to the therapist. 'I'm a trained nurse and Thom's friend, Hugo Bleeth, pays me to keep an eye on him.'

'Hugo Bleeth. Isn't he the owner of the big mansion, what's it called - Bracken?'

'Castle Bracken. No, his father, Sir Russell, owns the place and all the land around it.'

'How wonderful. I haven't seen much of the estate, but what I have seen looks brilliant. Are the house and grounds open to the public?'

*What makes you ask that?' Nell's response was unexpectedly sharp.

Taken aback, Katy replied: 'No reason. It's just that so many country houses and their estates are open to the public

nowadays. The money from tourists helps keep these places viable.'

Nell caught herself and smiled back sweetly. So, a nosy b.i.t.c.h too. Has a thing for Thom Kindred and wants to know other people's business as well. Attractive, though. In fact, the more you look, the more attractive she becomes. Thom might easily go for someone like this, 'specially when she is helpin' him get his health back. Nurse and patient kind of thing, and I know all about that. Nell felt a mixture of emotions - it was she, Nell, who wanted Thom Kindred's undivided attention today, especially as she had already begun her plan (her gaze went to the flowers lying on the kitchen table). And there was something else, another emotion to vie with the others. It was attraction. Attraction for this girl.

The grey tracksuit trousers may have been a little baggy, but they did not disguise the impressive length of the legs inside them. And the tight T-s.h.i.+rt showed off the unharnessed b.r.e.a.s.t.s wonderfully. Why, the coolness of the kitchen had even encouraged the nipples beneath the yellow cotton to present themselves. Unless, of course, this Katy was also attracted to Nell...

'I was jus' goin' to prepare the flowers as a surprise for Thom when you arrived. Thought they might brighten up the place. Would you like to help me?'

Nell's voice was low, almost smoky in its huskiness.

Katy felt ill at ease. There was something weird about this woman and she was like no other nurse she had ever met. Darkly attractive, with the kind of overtly s.e.xy looks many men went for. For a moment she wondered about Thom Kindred and this woman. Was there something going on between them? Was it more than just nurse and patient? Thom was single, his health was swiftly returning, he lived alone in this cottage, so who could blame him if such a voluptuous female with stunningly dusky eyes and a ravis.h.i.+ng smile turned him on? Her figure was good - no, her

figure was great - and her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were plainly ample beneath the low-cut blouse, the middle line of cleavage ... Katy checked herself, not fully understanding the disquiet she was feeling, the tension that was developing between herself and this woman. For the sake of distraction, Katy said: 'Yes, fine. What would you like me to do?'

Irrationally, the question hung in the air between them for a couple of beats.

'Help me strip the tubers from the stalks first. I can use the paste from the tubers as a remedy for all sorts of things.'

Oh, Katy thought, so she's also some kind of herbalist as well as a nurse. Well, alternative medicines were the thing nowadays and there was no reason they couldn't work alongside the more conventional kind.

'Sure,' she said, going towards the table again (she realized that she had unconsciously moved a few steps away from the other woman as they talked). She picked up several orchids by their stems, noticing the dust that fell from them as she did so. 'What shall I do with them?'

Take them over to the sink,' Nell instructed, 'and find a good sharp knife from the drawer. Cut the tubers from the stalks, then slice them. I'll find a pot to mash the remains in.'

Katy did as she was told, separating four orchids from the bunch and taking them over to the draining board beside the sink. She laid them down, disliking their smell intensely, and rummaged in one of the drawers for a sharp knife. While Nell looked through overhead cupboards for a suitable receptacle, Katy sliced into the first tuber, severing it from its stalk with one easy cut.

'Here,' Nell said as she placed an earthenware bowl in the sink. This'll do as a mortar. A big soup spoon can be a pestle. I should've brought a mortar and pestle with me, but I came out in a rush.' In fact, Nell had had no intention of bringing such implements, for the more fingers that

came in touch with the tubers - those fingers originally were meant to be Thom's, but what the h.e.l.l? This might be even more fun. It had been a long time, after all - and the mushy substance that came from them, the more effective the result. Nell moistened her lips with her tongue as she handed the small bowl to Katy, who had opened the same drawer again and brought out a heavy ladling spoon.

Will this do?' asked Katy, holding the spoon aloft.

'Ideal/ replied Nell with a nod of her head. Her eyes held Katy's for a second.

What is with her? Katy wondered. Those glances of hers, glances that took in Katy's b.r.e.a.s.t.s and hips - what was her agenda?

'Slice them,' the dark-haired, dark-eyed woman told her.

'Sorry?'

The tubers. Slice and dice. I'll get the other orchids.'

Katy mentally shrugged. Nell could have done this herself. She, Katy, was a physiotherapist, not ahorticulturalist. And anyway, it seemed a shame to spoil such beautiful flowers, with their creamy petals and purplish spotted centres. Their scent wasn't too endearing, but the orchids themselves would make a wonderful centrepiece for the table. Urgh! The tubers had mushy insides. Her fingers were becoming sticky with it. Weren't these out of season? Katy thought she had read somewhere that they bloomed in spring and early summer, but these appeared to be at their best. Maybe Nell had her own greenhouse and green fingers to go with it. She, herself, had never come across this variety before. Hmn. The pulp was almost... well, almost sensual.

She continued to mash the cuttings and slices with their oozy pulp. There was a strange pressure in her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.