The Bobbin Girls Read Online Free

them at every turn. It seemed correct for a man to bid goodnight to his wife, so he did so. Now he turned to go, his eagerness to quit the suffocating sweetness of the room making him momentarily forget what had occupied his thoughts all evening, and been the cause of his neglect. Turning abruptly he saw her cringe away from him. Even now, after all these years, it had the power to infuriate.
    Never, in all their married life together, had she welcomed him with anything approaching desire. He might have been willing to show more consideration towards her had she made the smallest effort to please him.
    He could not deny that she carried out her wifely duties without protest, when called upon to do so. But he was a man who demanded passion, for God’s sake, not duty. Yet she had the effrontery to complain about his lack of sensitivity! Olivia should consider herself fortunate he preferred not to risk a scandal by taking a mistress, which would do neither of them any good. In his younger days he’d once had a fling of sorts, but it had caused as many problems as it had solved. But had he the time or inclination for dalliance, he could still have any woman he chose. He thought of himself as a well set-up sort of chap, not overweight, with a fine head of dark brown hair, good teeth, and rather splendid patrician features. Yet apparently he repelled his own wife.
    But what did she have to complain of? She had money and status, a cook, a governess for her child, the use of a motor to take her to coffee mornings, charity functions and whatever committee she was currently serving upon. He made very sure that her diary was kept full. What more could she require? James liked an ordered life, and had always made certain that he attained one. If that meant supervising his wife and son more than they might wish, that was something they must both learn to tolerate. Which thought brought to mind the real purpose of his visit. ‘I saw that child this evening - Alena Townsen.’
    ‘Oh?’ Olivia closed her book and showed interest for the first time. ‘She is hardly a child, very nearly a young woman.’
    ‘So I noticed. She was with Robert. They were swimming together in the tarn. Naked.’
    ‘Oh, dear.’
    He stared at her. ‘Is that all you have to say. "Oh, dear"?’
    ‘They are young, and very fond of each other. They’ve grown up together, so I don’t see a little nakedness as a sin.’
    ‘You’ve been too soft with both of them.’
    ‘A person needs love. It is an essential part of life.’ She looked him directly in the eye as she said this. How was it she could always twist every conversation to his disadvantage? If she was not openly criticising him for having offended yet another of their over-sensitive neighbours - as if it were possible to make money without treading on someone’s toes from time to time - she was regarding him in silent, condemnatory reproach. He was never sure which he hated most.
    True, the folk who lived in this village were practical and hard-working with a natural feel for the woodlands and the wildlife that lived within it. But their country ways, superstitions and slow acceptance of change were constant sources of irritation to him. James Hollinthwaite prided himself on being a far-seeing man; one poised to exploit the future, if he didn’t have one foot
    in it already. The last thing he needed was a difficult wife or disobedient son.
    ‘You’d best speak to the boy. We don’t want any - accidents.’  
    She gave a half-smile but said no more, and fury shot through him, hot and fierce. Drat the woman! Why must she always give the impression of being superior? As if she knew something he didn’t, or understood people better than he did, which couldn’t be the case. In point of fact, he was more in control than she could ever imagine. But then, he had always been willing to do what must be done.
    ‘It’s time we settled that boy’s future. Come to my study tomorrow at ten.’ Having