‘Like him!’ Holly stared at her incredulously. ‘It’s nothing to do with liking – the man is old enough to be my father, older even than you, I wouldn’t mind betting.’

‘Even so, you were rather rude leaving so abruptly,’ her mother said gently.

‘Good! I hope it made him realise I’m not good wife material then,’ Holly answered rebelliously.

‘Unfortunately it didn’t. In fact he remarked that he found you quite charming, and so your grandfather asked if he might like to call again next week to see you.’

Holly groaned aloud. ‘Well in that case I shall just have to be honest with him and tell him that there’s no chance of me ever marrying him.’

‘B-but your grandfather … He’s going to be very angry with you if you do that. He’s even saying that if you don’t go along with his wishes on this, he’ll turn you out onto the streets.’

‘So be it.’ Holly swiped the remainder of her tears away on the sleeve of her dress. Of one thing she was sure: she would sooner be homeless and sleep in shop doorways than ever be tied to Walter Dolby!

Chapter One

‘How dare you be so rude in front of our guest!’ Gilbert Mason scolded at breakfast the next morning.

‘I’m sure she didn’t mean to be, she just had a headache and—’

‘Shut up!’ One glare from her father silenced Holly’s mother immediately but whereas Emma was shaking with nerves, Holly appeared calm.

‘I wasn’t aware that I was being rude,’ she answered, spreading marmalade on a slice of toast. ‘I merely felt unwell and wished to retire early.’

‘Hmm!’ Her grandfather forked a juicy sausage and bit into it before asking, ‘So what did you think of Walter? He’s a good man.’

‘I’m sure he is but I certainly have no intentions of marrying him,’ Holly stated firmly.

Her grandfather almost choked on the mouthful of food he was eating before shouting, ‘What do you mean? You haven’t even given the chap a chance.’

‘I don’t need to.’ Unlike her mother, Holly refused to be cowed. ‘He’s far too old for me for a start and I don’t want the responsibility of a ready-made family just yet.’

Controlling his temper with an obvious effort her grandfather laid down his knife and fork and rose from his chair, towering over her. ‘Well, perhaps it’s a bit soon for you to make the decision just yet. He’ll be coming to dinner again on Saturday and maybe this time you can make a little more of an effort.’

Holly pursed her lips and stared mutinously back at him before he turned and stormed from the room, slamming the door behind him.

‘Oh dear, what are we going to do?’ Her mother was crying now and dabbing at her eyes with a scrap of lace handkerchief. She knew how stubborn her daughter could be when she made up her mind about something and could see no easy solution to the situation they found themselves in.