The Secret Mother

The Secret Mother
Lee Wilkinson

NANNY WANTED Job: To look after three-year-old Caitlin - cute and cuddly, she's in need of lots of tender loving care and mothering… . Special Qualifications: Matthew is looking for one nanny in particular - Caroline Smith. He's a man with a mission and will stop at nothing to get his own way.So what is he looking for - a nanny, a mother, or is it perhaps a wife? Live-in or daily? Live-in. A nanny who will be there day and night - if required. Length of stay: Forever - marriage perhaps… Please enclose a resume.

“Yes, I’d like to go as soon as possible in case Caitlin—” (#uda3f69b3-ae67-50a1-a320-882851afac65)Letter to Reader (#u9a777b82-8d0c-5797-9b78-db7c2b477220)About the Author (#ud911b719-0119-5562-91d0-22ae33495eac)Title Page (#ua84dd90f-7ecd-5300-91fe-ecbdd4a62579)CHAPTER ONE (#u43ec07c3-98c2-541f-8be4-0a52c632e2b5)CHAPTER TWO (#u7add6218-d7f2-53ee-923e-6d2b1ab5017f)CHAPTER THREE (#u5415a69d-a60d-5714-979f-83137b9a4c6f)CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

“Yes, I’d like to go as soon as possible in case Caitlin—”

“Caitlin will be fine,” Matt broke in. Witch a little edge to his voice, he added, “You sound concerned enough to be her mother rather than just her nanny.”

It seemed his mood had swung back to wanting to hurt, rather than comfort. “As her nanny, I’m paid to be concerned.”

“You’re paid to give satisfaction—jobwise, that is. Though last night you were eminently successful in other fields,” he added sardonically, and watched the heated color rise into Caroline’s cheeks.

Biting her tongue, she held in check the angry retort she wanted to make. It would do no good to start a fight....

Dear Reader,

A perfect nanny can be tough to find, but once you’ve found her you’ll love and treasure her forever. She’s someone who’ll not only look after the kids but could also be that loving mom they never knew. Or sometimes she’s a he and is the daddy they are wishing for.

Here at Harlequin Presents we’ve put together a compelling new series, NANNY WANTED!, in which some of our most popular authors create nannies whose talents extend way beyond taking care of the children! Each story will excite and delight you and make you wonder how any family could be complete without a nineties nanny.

Remember—Nanny knows best when it comes to falling in love!

The Editors

Lee Wilkinson is a gifted storyteller whose

dramatic stories are full of twists and turns and

will keep you guessing to the very end. Look out next month for: The Love-Child by Kathryn Ross (#1938)

The Secret Mother

Lee Wilkinson

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

CHAPTER ONE

FROM the window of her small sitting-room, adjoining the nursery, Caroline watched the snow falling on Morningside Heights. Soft, feathery flakes, swirling from a night sky, piled up against the glass and wrapped the trees in a white shroud.

All at once she shivered.

Snow always made her remember. Brought back the past with cruel clarity. But as the years went by surely the hurt would grow less, the emotional scars heal as the physical ones had?

The mirror no longer showed any sign of them, and even her sensitive fingertips could find no trace. True, she still looked hollow-cheeked, older than her years, but ironically, with her remodelled face, she was almost beautiful now, whereas before she bad been merely attractive.

A tap at the door broke into Caroline’s thoughts.

‘I hope I’m not disturbing you?’ Lois Amesbury, her employer, was always scrupulously polite, as well as being pleasant and friendly. ‘Only I thought you should know things are finally settled. My husband needs to take up his post at Burbeck Hospital before the new year, so we’ll be moving to California during the Christmas break...’

Their decision to move back to the west coast had been mentioned and discussed previously, but Caroline had tried not to think about it.

It was more than two years since the Amesburys had taken a chance, after hearing a little of her story, and employed the quiet, sad-eyed woman to be nanny to their twin girls, now three years old.

She was established here, secure, and, if not happy, she was at least relatively content. The move meant an upheaval, a parting Caroline had been dreading.

‘I’ll miss New York,’ Lois went on, taking the chair opposite, ‘but I’m looking forward to practising law in Oakland, and we’ll be virtually next door to my folks. Mom can’t wait to take charge of the children...’

Children that had helped to fill Caroline’s empty arms and empty heart.

‘Though I have a sneaking suspicion she’ll spoil them rotten—’ Suddenly glimpsing the desolation the younger woman was trying hard to hide, Lois broke off abruptly.

After a moment she went on with a practical air, ‘What I really came to tell you was, this afternoon Sally Danvers rang me at the office to ask if you would be looking for another situation. She knows of a wealthy businessman who needs a reliable nanny and is willing to pay top rates.

‘There’s one child, a girl of about the same age as my two. Her father is either a widower or a divorcé; I’m not sure which. Not that it matters... The little girl’s grandmother had been taking care of her, but a few months ago the old lady died quite suddenly.

‘I gather the nanny who took over then couldn’t win the child’s confidence. The poor little mite didn’t like her, and preferred to stay with the housekeeper. When her father discovered how things were he asked the woman to leave, so he needs someone trustworthy who can start immediately. He’ll be home tomorrow morning if you would like time off to go and see him.’

‘Oh, but I can’t start immediately...’

Lois, dark-haired and elegant, waved away the protest. ‘I cleared my office desk today and I’ll be at home until we move, so if you decide to take the job, I’m sure I can manage. You’ve been an absolute godsend, and I’m very grateful. That’s why I’d like to see you happily settled before we leave.

‘The man’s name is Matthew Carran. He lives in the Baltimore building on Fifth Avenue. I’ve written the address and the telephone number on here...’

She passed over a folded sheet of paper.

‘Well, I guess I’d better hurry. We’ve tickets for a concert at the Octagon Hall, if the snow’s not too bad...’

But, though Caroline had automatically accepted the piece of paper, she’d heard nothing since the name Matthew Carran.

Shock had made the blood drum in her ears and brought a hovering darkness that threatened to swamp her. As the door closed behind her employer she swayed forward and put her head between her knees.

After a moment or two the faintness passed and she sat upright. Talk about the irony of fate! It was almost unbelievable that the man who needed a nanny so urgently should be the one man she couldn’t possibly work for.

Or was it the same man? The address was different.

Yes, it had to be. Matthew was a fairly common name, but Carran wasn’t, and in a way the rest fitted... The last time she had heard, his stepmother had been looking after his baby daughter and he’d been about to get married. But now it seemed he was either widowed or divorced, and with the death of his stepmother the child was left to the care of a nanny.

With a sudden feeling of anguish, Caroline recalled Lois Amesbury saying, ‘I gather the nanny who took over then couldn’t win the child’s confidence. The poor little mite didn’t like her.’

Closing her eyes tightly, oval nails biting into her palms, Caroline fought the urge to weep. If only her own circumstances had been different, but in a matter of weeks she would have no home and no job, so there was nothing she could do.

Or was there? Matthew wouldn’t recognise the name Caroline Smith. When she had known him she had called herself Kate Hunter. And there wasn’t much chance of him recognising her.

Though, after this length of time, she should have been used to the metamorphosis, it still occasionally came as a shock to catch sight of a strange woman looking back at her from the mirror.

At twenty-two she had been a good eighteen pounds heavier, and had worn her hair short and blonde and curly. Now it was long and straight, back to its natural ash-brown.