An Old Enchantment
Amanda Browning

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ONE

IT HAD been a long drive, particularly for someone who was not yet one hundred per cent fit. Maxi Ambro was tired and more than a little nervous, unprepared for the wave of emotion which rose to block her throat as she halted the car and stared at the lovely old house. Long, elegant fingers curled around the steering-wheel as moisture deepened the navy blue of her eyes. Lord, how she had missed this place, the people in it.

She loved them all, but she had hurt them badly more than once in her twenty-seven years—the last time not without cost to herself. At the memory, the face which had launched a thousand ranges of make-up and perfume, with its dramatically stunning bone-structure, teasing eyes and sensually promising lips, froze into an alien sternness.

Time was supposed to be the healer, and seven years was a long time. Plenty of water had flowed under the bridge since then. Enough, surely, to cleanse the past? A tremulous laugh betrayed her uncertainty. She hoped so, because she was coming home to try and sort out the mess she had made.

As she was about to put the white GTI into gear and continue up to the house, her ear caught the unmistakable roar of an engine coming up behind her. In horror she realised that her precipitate stop had virtually blocked the driveway, and the advancing driver had no idea because his view was limited by the vast spread of rhododendron bushes. Even had she not frozen, there would have been no time to move. At the speed the car was going, it was upon her in seconds, and then Maxi could only admire the skill with which the driver avoided what had seemed an inevitable collision, steering his Porsche through the small gap that was left between her and the shrubbery, and back on to the path with a squealing spray of grit.

Coming out of her daze, Maxi followed more circumspectly, parking behind the now motionless vehicle. The car might have been motionless, but the driver most certainly wasn’t. He climbed out with the precise movements of a man in the grip of a violent rage. Maxi let out a gasp. He certainly was a magnificent brute, and she’d seen enough men in her time to be a good judge. Over six feet tall, he was broad of shoulder and narrow of hip, each muscle outlined by the clinging cut of his jeans and the silk shirt, which revealed tanned forearms beneath rolled-up sleeves and a hint of dark hair at the open collar. She placed him in his thirties, a living, breathing powerhouse of male sexuality—which right that moment was bearing down on her with the express purpose of putting the silly little woman firmly in her place!

Aware she had been at fault, Maxi sought to appease. Dragging a hand through her ebony hair, she formed her features into their most winning smile and climbed out to meet him.

‘That had to be the slickest piece of manoeuvring I’ve ever seen,’ she began, even as her eyes took in the fact that anger in no way lessened the handsome lines of his face. It wouldn’t be a soft face; there was too much strength in it, too much certainty that this man knew exactly who and what he was, and didn’t have to prove anything to anyone. Except, perhaps, herself, she realised, catching the glint in those flashing grey eyes.

He stopped a hair’s breadth away, towering over her, though she was by no means small herself, measuring five feet ten in her bare feet. His chest heaved as he drew in a deep breath. ‘So, you think that was slick, do you? Care to give me your impression of this?’ he growled fiercely, and, before she had time to do more than blink, he had caught her around the waist, sat down on one of the ornamental urns which bracketed the steps, and pulled her towards him. Before she knew what was happening his mouth had descended on hers.

Her struggle for freedom availed her not at all. He held her easily without breaking sweat, and released her just as easily, setting her on her feet and watching her sweep the hair out of tearful, angry eyes with evident satisfaction.

‘Well? Nothing to say?’ he mused sardonically.

Nothing to say! So many words were battling for freedom that they choked her! In the end, those that did break free made her cringe in their aftermath, so trite were they. ‘How dare you?’

Attractive lips curved in a sneer. ‘The typical spoilt brat. Be thankful you weren’t a man. I felt like punching you out. What the hell did you think you were playing at? Don’t you know better than to block the road like that?’

Maxi forgot her own admission of guilt. As far as she was concerned, he had forfeited an apology by his caveman tactics! ‘Don’t you know better than to drive around at that speed when you can’t see what’s up ahead?’

With animal grace, he rose to his feet, thumbs hooking into the belt loops of his jeans. ‘This happens to be a private road.’

‘Then why were you on it?’ she shot back swiftly.

Straight black brows lifted. ‘Not that it’s any of your business, but I was invited. Were you?’

A small frown cut into her brow. Invited to what? Was her mother throwing a party? Of all the bad timing! Yet what did it matter that she hadn’t been invited? This man clearly didn’t know who she was, and she was under no obligation to explain her unannounced arrival to him.

‘It just so happens that I don’t need an invitation,’ she declared with a degree of certainty she was actually far from feeling.

‘Is that so?’ he murmured, and studied her thoughtfully. When he laughed, it was an unpleasant sound that set out to unnerve her. ‘Doubtless it’s more comfortable to think that way when you know you’d never get one.’

The assurance inherent in his statement rattled her nerves. ‘Just what is that supposed to mean?’ she asked shortly, hearing her own tremulousness quite clearly.

Bracing his feet apart, her tormentor crossed his arms and eyed her in icy amusement. ‘You don’t remember me, do you?’

Startled, she stared up at him. Should she know him? His features were striking, and she was pretty certain she would have remembered them had they ever met. Yet there was an indefinable something which eluded her attempts to grasp it. She shook her head. No, if their paths had crossed it must have been at one of the innumerable functions she attended. People, especially men, were often inclined to claim friendship from what had been no more than a polite exchange of pleasantries. However, it wasn’t unknown for a man to feel slighted that she’d failed to recognise him. She knew the signs of a bruised male ego well, and his unpleasantness was undoubtedly due to it. Although she wouldn’t have thought a man this attractive would be in that class, she put on a professional smile and prepared to pour oil on troubled waters.

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause offence. In my line of business I meet so many people its hard to keep track of names and faces. I’m sure we must have had a very pleasant conversation, and perhaps we can talk it over later, but—’

‘Devereaux.’

His interruption halted her mid-flow, and she blinked up at him in surprise. ‘I beg your pardon?’

His smile was icy. ‘There’s no need. Just spare me the bored socialite bit.’

Completely thrown, she could only continue to gawp at him. ‘W-what...?’

‘Devereaux is my name. Kerr Devereaux,’ he went on hardly, his Christian name sounding like the everyday ‘car’. ‘There’s no need to tell me who you are—we have long memories around here. I recognised you at once. Maxi Ambro, the advertiser’s dream. Well, let me tell you something, Maxi, you picked one hell of a time to do your prodigal daughter act. Why don’t you do everyone a great big favour and go back where you came from?’

Maxi went cold to her heart. If a complete stranger felt this way about her, what would the reaction of her family be? Automatically she stiffened her spine in preparation for the confrontation that was coming. Whatever happened, she wouldn’t let this man make her turn tail and run.

‘You’re right, Mr Devereaux, I don’t remember you. But even if I did, you don’t have the right to send me away. Only my family can do that,’ she told him icily.

‘You’d give them the satisfaction of telling you to your face?’ Kerr Devereaux studied her stiff figure once more. ‘You’ve got guts.’

If she hadn’t had, the past seven years would never have been. ‘Isn’t there a local school of thought who consider it’s what I deserve?’ she retorted cynically, allowing a small careless smile to curl her lips.

He didn’t like her reaction, that was for sure. ‘There is, and I’m a founder member of it.’

Maxi laughed. She could have bet money on that. So, he didn’t think she was suitably repentant? Hadn’t paid all her dues? He knew nothing, nor ever would. Nor would he ever see her crawl. ‘Don’t tell me, you’re the local Pooh-Bah, are you? Self-appointed, naturally.’

‘For someone with a brain the size of a pea, you spout a fine line in sarcasm,’ he sniped, straightening.

Her teeth snapped together audibly. ‘You’re not so bad in the insult line yourself,’ she riposted, and caught the flash of his teeth as his smile broadened.

‘Well, honey, I tell you, I just look at you and I’m inspired,’ he drawled, raking a hand through hair that glinted blue-black in the late afternoon sunlight.

Maxi’s patience was becoming dangerously thin. She had been nervous enough without this. Stranger or not, his barbs found their mark. ‘Just who are you, Mr Devereaux?’

‘So it’s true what they say—out of sight, out of mind,’ he mocked.

That was the last straw. ‘Oh, I’ve had enough of this stupid cat-and-mouse game!’ she declared, and, turning, reached into the back of her car for her case and handbag.

Kerr Devereaux eyed the former in acid amusement. ‘A suitcase? I hope you weren’t planning on a long stay; you may be disappointed. Or has fame gone to your head? Didn’t it occur to you that you might not be wanted?’

Lifting her case, she threw him a glare. ‘Mr Devereaux, you are, without doubt, the most obnoxious man it’s ever been my misfortune to meet! You clearly don’t want my company, so let me relieve you of it!’ It was a good line to end on, and with a falsely sweet smile she strode away. Or tried to. Unfortunately her second step brought her on to her left leg. Pain shot through her hip, and with a cry of alarm, she felt it go under her.

Before she could touch the ground though, strong hands caught her under her arms and yanked her upright again. ‘What happened?’

The impartial concern in his voice brought colour to her pale cheeks. How stupid to have forgotten her weakened hip! Now she had him to thank for not landing in an undignified heap on the ground. Why did fate have to be so unkind? Pulling free of his hold, she gritted her teeth.

‘It must have been a stone. I’m OK now.’ Mentally keeping her fingers crossed, she tested her weight on the injured leg and breathed in sharply as it protested.

‘Some stone,’ Kerr observed drily, slipping a hand around her waist and taking her weight.

‘I don’t need your help,’ Maxi protested, to no avail. ‘I can manage!’ This as he relieved her forcibly of her case.

Grey eyes lanced into her. ‘You can manage to crawl. Is that what you want?’

He knew the answer as well as she did. She’d rather die! ‘No,’ she gritted out.

Now his eyes danced as he fended off her daggers. ‘And they tell me you were such an angelic child. Who’d have thought you’d turn out to be such a bitch?’

Lord, he made her blood boil. ‘Haven’t you heard that if you can’t say something nice about somebody, don’t say anything at all?’ she sniped witheringly.

‘There are exceptions to every rule,’ he shot back swiftly. ‘How’s the leg now?’

Swerved from her intention of lobbing a pithy reply, Maxi tested her weight instead. This time there was no shaft of pain, just the well-known dull ache. ‘It’s much better,’ she said, looking up, and added grudgingly, ‘Thanks.’

He watched her take a few experimental, limping steps. ‘So, what happened to your leg?’

Rubbing at the aching joint, Maxi sighed. ‘I was in an accident a couple of months ago. The brakes failed on my car.’

Kerr’s frown of concern was genuine. ‘This one?’ His finger jabbed at the white convertible.

‘Hardly,’ Maxi admitted with a wry laugh. ‘That was a write-off. I was lucky I just hurt my leg.’ Something of an understatement, when it had been broken in several places. ‘I had to get this automatic because I still can’t put too much strain on my leg. As you may have noticed. It plays up when I’ve been sitting or standing too long.’

‘You’re lucky it wasn’t your face,’ he observed, and her smile faded.

‘Wasn’t I?’ she agreed, unaware that her too composed features revealed more than they concealed. All she did know was that nothing happened without a purpose. It had been a kind of short, sharp shock, making her take stock of her life and where she wanted it to go. But before she could go on, the past had to be laid to rest.

Which brought her back sharply to the present. ‘Where is everybody?’ she thought to ask rather belatedly.

‘Out on the terrace, I should imagine,’ Kerr Devereaux offered, setting her case and handbag aside. ‘You’d better leave those here for now. We can go round the side.’

‘You seem to be pretty familiar with the house. And you still haven’t explained who you are,’ Maxi challenged as he took her by the arm and steered her around the building.

‘I’m familiar with it because I’m a frequent visitor here. As for who I am...’ His voice took on an odd inflexion. ‘You’ll find out any minute now. I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes when the flak starts flying,’ he added cryptically, and said no more.

Maxi’s shoes beat a staccato tattoo on the stone flags as she walked beside him, mind seething with question, but as they came round to the back of the house she stopped wondering who he was and concentrated instead on the group of people on the terrace. If it was a party, then it was a very small one. As yet, none of the four had heard their approach, and she was given a few seconds’ grace to study the three members of her family. Her heart contracted. Her father looked so much older. His hair had turned grey and there were deep lines on his intelligent face. Beside him, her mother looked very little altered, save for two wings of grey at her temples.

Maxi didn’t recognise the good-looking young man who stood with his arm around her sister’s shoulder. Fliss had matured in the last seven years, turning into the beauty she had always promised to be. She was smiling up at the man, and the look in her eyes said it all. So did the look in his. They were in love, and Maxi suddenly felt like bursting into tears. Tears of mingled sadness and joy, because this was what she had one day hoped to see.

However, there was no more time for thought, because their approach had been detected. Four smiling faces turned their way, and three smiles faded instantly. The shocked silence that fell hit Maxi like a blow, even though she had been expecting a strong reaction. It seemed from a very long way away that she heard Kerr Devereaux speaking.

‘Sorry I’m late, everyone, but I found a visitor on your doorstep.’

If he had said he’d found an unexploded bomb, she doubted if the shock to her family could have been greater. Their reaction to that shock varied greatly. Sir John Ambro, after remaining frozen, pointedly turned his back and walked into the house without another word. It was a slap in the face that Maxi had expected years ago, but not now, and she caught her breath sharply. As she watched, her mother ran a distracted hand through her hair and turned anxious eyes on her youngest daughter. As well she might, for Fliss had gone rigid, her whole expression one of utter revulsion.

‘What are you doing here?’ she demanded coldly.

‘Now, Felicity, darling, that’s no way to talk,’ Lady Ambro reproved, albeit in a shaken tone, watching the once happy gathering disintegrating around her.

Fliss banged down the glass she had been holding. ‘Of course it is. If she’s back, it can only be to cause trouble! Why else would she pick today of all days?’

‘Hush, darling,’ her mother said again, and turned to her other daughter, fixing a shaky smile to her lips. ‘Maxine, you’ve given us all such a surprise.’

Maxi could feel herself begin trembling badly, as much from tiredness as pure reaction to her reception. She knew Kerr Devereaux must feel it too, for he still had hold of her arm. Although she would rather it were anyone else, she welcomed the tightening of his hold in grudging support. ‘I would have telephoned to let you know I was coming, but—’

‘You knew you’d have been told not to bother,’ Fliss interrupted scornfully, and not without a certain amount of truth. ‘Oh, why couldn’t you have just stayed away for good?’

It was a question that reduced everyone to silence. Almost, that was.

‘Would somebody mind telling me what’s going on? I thought this was supposed to be a celebration?’ the young man at Fliss’s side asked in bewilderment.

Fliss, her lips trembling, turned her face into his shoulder. ‘It was, until she arrived.’

Still patently all at sea, he placed a protective arm about her, staring at Maxi. ‘But who is she? She looks familiar. Do I know you?’ This last was a direct question that Kerr Devereaux chose to answer.

‘It seems to me that introductions are in order. Believe it or not, Andy, this is the very same Maxi Ambro you were at school with. Maxi, meet Dr Andrew Devereaux, my little brother and,’ here he consulted the gold watch on his wrist, ‘as of fifteen minutes ago, your future brother-in-law.’

It seemed it was destined to be a day of shocks, for as Maxi stared at the man who as a boy, she now recalled, had bedevilled her early school days, he was gaping at her. Her fame, it seemed, had gone before her.

‘So you’re...’

‘The black sheep of the family,’ Maxi finished for him, finding defence in attack.

To her surprise he shook his head and smiled broadly. ‘Actually I was about to say that you’re the famous model we see everywhere. I never connected the name with the terror I knew in school,’ Andy declared, and reached out his hand. ‘Pleased to meet you.’

One out of five wasn’t bad, Maxi thought wryly, shaking his hand. Yet she wondered. Could he really be that genuine? Could he really not know who and what she was, what she had done?

‘She’s changed a lot,’ Kerr observed drily, releasing Maxi to go and greet his brother’s fiancée.

‘I’ll say!’ Andy declared with an infectiously boyish grin, to which Maxi couldn’t help responding with a laugh, and Fliss with a wailing cry as she tore herself away from Kerr and fled indoors. ‘Fliss?’ Andy called to her departing back. ‘Darling, what’s wrong?’ When he received no answer, he turned to his brother for elucidation.

Kerr obliged with withering scorn. ‘Andy, for a doctor, you can sometimes be a totally insensitive clod. Maxi is Fliss’s sister. Her only sister.’

Maxi’s smile was instantly wiped away, and, even though her shoulders wanted to sag tiredly, she braced them into something worthy of an army recruit. If there was any advantage to be gained by getting in first, she was determined to take it.

‘Andy, what your brother can’t wait to tell you is that I’m the one who stole Fliss’s other fiancé from her, virtually on the eve of the wedding.’

CHAPTER TWO

THERE followed another of those fateful silences, which seemed to drag on until Maxi’s nerves were at screaming pitch. She was very much aware of her mother’s anxiety and Kerr’s amusement. What she didn’t expect was Andy’s matter-of-fact question.

‘Do you make a habit of stealing other women’s men?’

Taken by surprise, she gave a delighted laugh before uttering an amused denial. ‘No!’

‘I’m glad to hear it,’ he replied soothingly, ignoring his brother’s snort of disgust. ‘Now, wouldn’t you be better sitting down? You appear to be in some discomfort.’ An observation which immediately made her the cynosure of all eyes as, with his help, she hobbled to the nearest chair and sank on to it gratefully.

‘Why, Maxine, you’re limping!’ Lady Ambro declared in concern, and Maxi, who hadn’t wanted to call undue attention to her injury, hastily reassured her.

‘It’s nothing to worry about, Mother, just the lingering results of an accident I had a few months ago.’

‘Were you prescribed pain-killers?’ In the blink of an eye, Andy had donned his doctor’s mantle.

‘I have some in my bag,’ Maxi confirmed, looking around for it before she remembered Kerr had left it with her case.

He was ahead of her, a wintry smile curving his lips. ‘I’ll go and get it for you. Andy, I suggest you stop fussing over Maxi and go and see what’s happening to Fliss.’ It was a gentle enough nudge, but Maxi heard the steel behind it. He didn’t want his brother within a country mile of her.

Andy took it at face value. ‘You’re right, I should have followed her. But I could see Maxi was in pain, and I was distracted.’

An unfortunate admission at which Kerr’s expression became grim. ‘Well, by all accounts, Maxi always was a distracting little devil. However, you can safely leave her to our tender mercies and go take care of my future sister-in-law.’

Although Andy grinned, he must have picked up something in his brother’s tone, because the smile didn’t reach his eyes. ‘Big brother has spoken. I’ll see you later, Maxi. You will be staying, won’t you? We’re going out to dinner tonight, and there’s a party tomorrow. All the family are invited.’

Though she couldn’t explain why, Maxi automatically glanced at Kerr. There was absolutely nothing to be read in his face, and that was telling enough. He wanted her to refuse. He wanted her gone, but a perverse devil wouldn’t let her make it that easy. It had taken a lot to come here, knowing how she might be received, and he certainly had no authority to insist she go. Therefore she sent Andy one of her famous smiles. ‘I’d be delighted to join you,’ she agreed, and watched him hurry away, aware of the contained anger of the man at her side.

‘Well, you certainly know how to break up a party,’ he said shortly, and it didn’t take much for Maxi to mentally add on the rider, As well as marriages. ‘I’ll go and get your bag.’

‘Bring it to the rose bedroom, Kerr. Maxine needs to rest,’ her mother called after his retreating back.

Maxi sighed. It hadn’t been an auspicious start. Her father had turned his back on her, Fliss had departed in tears, and Kerr Devereaux had disliked her on sight. Strangely enough, if the first two had served to undermine some of her confidence, the latter had had the reverse effect. He was the only one who had no right to judge her, yet he had and was at pains to let her know it. Which was a very big mistake on his part, because now more than ever she was determined to stay.

Pushing herself to her feet, she smiled wryly at her mother. ‘He’s blunt to the point of rudeness, isn’t he? He wants me to go, and he has a point. Was it a mistake to come? Would you rather I left, too?’ Mr Holier-than-thou Devereaux couldn’t chase her off, but she’d go if it was what her mother wanted.

However, Lady Ambro shook her head adamantly. ‘By no means! I know it gave me a shock to see you, Maxine, but that was because I’d more or less convinced myself I wouldn’t see you again.’ With a watery laugh, she hugged her daughter to her. ‘I’m glad I was wrong. I missed you when you cut yourself off so completely.’

Swallowing back tears, Maxi found her voice. ‘After what happened, I thought it was for the best.’

Holding her at arm’s length, her mother sighed. ‘I understood that, but when you went to the trouble of writing to tell me of your divorce I thought you’d surely visit.’

Maxi shrugged helplessly. It was hard to explain when there was so much she couldn’t say. ‘At first I wouldn’t, and then, later, I couldn’t. I’m afraid I was a coward. I knew I’d hurt you all, but although I wanted to come home, I couldn’t face the thought of being turned away,’ she admitted honestly.

Her mother clucked her tongue sadly, not denying the truth of the statement. ‘What made you change your mind?’

Automatically Maxi rubbed her thigh. ‘The accident. It made me realise how precarious life is. Had it been worse, I might never have had the chance to come back and say how sorry I was. It was time to stop being so cowardly. So I made the decision, and here I am.’

Linking her arm through her daughter’s, Lady Ambro shook her head chidingly. ‘You, a coward, Maxine? But you were never one to back away from a fight! Nor have I ever known you to fail to do what you knew to be right, whatever the cost,’ she declared in surprise. ‘That’s why you came today, and that’s why I won’t let you go again so easily. Yes, you hurt us, but you’re still my daughter, and I love you.’

‘Oh, Mother, you make it sound so easy, but you know it isn’t going to be,’ Maxi exclaimed with a shaky laugh.

‘Of course it isn’t, but you were already prepared for that, weren’t you? Both Felicity and your father will come round in time,’ she pronounced positively, leading them slowly into the house to where the graciously curved staircase swept upwards to the second floor.

About to mount it, footsteps behind them made them halt and turn around. It was Kerr with her luggage.

‘I’ll look after Maxi, Bernice. There’s no need for you to struggle upstairs just to show her her room.’

Maxi’s heart gave a severe jolt at that, but there wasn’t time to refuse, because her mother was already releasing her.

Lady Ambro sent him a warm smile. ‘That’s kind of you, Kerr. As a matter of fact, I would like to go and find John. We’ll have a talk later, darling,’ she promised, smiling at her daughter.

There was nothing Maxi could do but put a brave face on it, and allow Kerr to take her arm in an altogether different sort of hold. She had the uncanny feeling he was debating the possible repercussions if he tossed her down the stairs! It wasn’t a comfortable sensation, and she tried to defuse it. ‘Why didn’t you want Mother to go upstairs?’ she charged curtly, and received a scornful glance.

‘Had you bothered to keep in some sort of contact, you might know your mother suffers from arthritis. It’s playing her up today, although she’d be the last to admit it.’

He had the damnable knack of hitting her where it hurt most, reminding her just how little she knew about her family now. She was left grinding her teeth in impotent rage as they reached the landing and turned down the corridor. If she was silent, Kerr was disposed to be chatty.

‘You realise your father was very hurt by what you did, don’t you, Maxi? Your whole family were. He couldn’t get over the disgrace of knowing a daughter of his could cause such a scandal. The consequence, as you saw for yourself, was that he swore he would never speak to you again.’

Maxi halted abruptly, sending him a killing look. ‘I realise you don’t like me, but there’s no reason to sound so pleased about it!’ she muttered, using anger to mask her hurt. God, he was enjoying himself!

His mouth twisted mockingly. ‘I’m surprised it bothers you. You are, after all, a totally selfish, amoral little bitch. However, this isn’t meant as a condemnation, merely filling you in on a few things. You see, I’m afraid his anger didn’t stop there.’

Maxi lurched from one breathtaking insult to another like a piece of disintegrating flotsam. Finally she rallied with a determination never to let him see just what damage he was causing. ‘If you mean he had my name expunged from the family bible, I’d pretty much worked that out for myself!’ she retorted with an edged smile, which told him to do his worst but not to expect blood because she was impervious to his cuts.

Eyes gleaming, he took up the challenge. ‘Did he? I wasn’t aware of it, but it doesn’t surprise me.’ Going to a door along the corridor, he pushed it open. ‘The rose bedroom,’ he introduced, standing back to allow her to enter, his whole attitude one of anticipation.

Maxi stepped forward before comprehension struck her. She was only grateful he couldn’t see her face when she realised the rose bedroom had once been her own. She halted in the doorway, aware that more than the name had been altered. It was a beautiful room, but nothing remained of the former occupant. Not only had the décor changed, but so had every stick of furniture.

‘He had it done straight away. There was no stopping him.’

Her heart squeezed painfully at the realisation of just how hard her father had tried to wipe away the memory of her. It made no difference that she had known how much she would be hurting those she left behind; she had never expected to see the result of it. But she had, courtesy of Kerr Devereaux. She could never hate her father for what he had done, but she could and did experience a great welling of hatred towards the man who waited silently behind her.

Walking inside, she carefully composed her features before facing him. ‘You know, you missed your calling,’ she declared conversationally, as if she found him amusing. ‘I imagine you would have been a whiz as a torturer. You get such pleasure from your work!’

‘Marriage to Ellis wasn’t all you expected it to be, was it?’ he said by way of an answer, following her inside and closing the door.

Maxi gasped, then simply had to laugh at his sheer effrontery. She could never remember anyone speaking to her like this in her whole life! She stared at him in awful fascination. ‘Doubtless it won’t astound you to hear it was no bed of roses?’ she queried wryly. She had, after all, gone into her marriage with her eyes fully open, and it had lived down to her expectations of it. ‘A piece of news which will cheer Fliss up no end!’

‘Not nearly as much as to know that you’ve gone,’ he rejoined instantly, and once again she was forced to laugh.

‘She certainly has a champion in you, doesn’t she? Are you sure you’re not the teeniest bit in love with her yourself?’ she taunted, and had the satisfaction of seeing him breathe in sharply for a change.

Kerr’s wrath spanned the space between them in a flash. ‘That’s about the level of remark I’d expect from a woman who’d steal her sister’s fiancé.’

Maxi went to the window, brushing aside the net, feigning an interest in the view. ‘As you’ve assumed you can say what you like to me, I’ve taken the same option myself. If you begin to find it irritating, you can always stop,’ she advised, letting the curtain drop and turning to lean casually against the frame.

‘I take it from that remark that you’re staying, then?’ he observed caustically.

Clearly he wasn’t about to take the hint and put up his weapons, and she found his continued animosity very wearing on her nerves, not to mention her temper. ‘It would seem so,’ she replied with a bland smile.

Grey eyes narrowed. ‘What have you come for, Maxi?’

This time she raised both eyebrows in mocking rebuke. ‘Surely that’s my business, and my family’s?’

He shifted his weight, and the act of slipping his hands into his pockets drew her eyes to his legs and the way the material stretched across powerful thighs. To her chagrin, deep inside, the feminine core of her twisted in instant response. Defensively she averted her eyes, annoyed that a reaction she hadn’t experienced for so long should have been brought about by him. It also left her with a much more rapid pulse, and she desperately hoped she hadn’t betrayed herself in any way. It appeared not.

‘You’re forgetting that, as of today, our families are linked,’ Kerr reminded her unnecessarily, coming a step closer.

It produced an unnerving reaction in her, making her suddenly feel as if she was being hemmed in, and that there was very little air in the room. She was forced to turn away, making quite a performance of opening a window, thus giving herself time to recompose her features. ‘All right, I’ll rephrase the question. Why do you think I’ve come?’

He didn’t hesitate. ‘To cause trouble.’

Her laugh was brittle even to her own ears, revealing just how much her response had shaken her. ‘Thanks for the vote of confidence! Is it so impossible to imagine that I’ve simply come to see my family?’

‘Frankly, yes. You’ve already proved yourself to be a calculating woman when you stole your sister’s fiancé. And don’t pretend you couldn’t help yourself. You knew what you were doing, every step of the way,’ Kerr insisted derisively.

If she had any explaining to do, it most certainly wasn’t to this overbearing stranger! Her chin rose an inch. ‘You’re absolutely right! I wanted to take him from her, so I did!’

Kerr shook his head slowly, eyes registering a boundless contempt. ‘You’ve no remorse, have you?’

Her lashes dropped, shielding her thoughts. ‘None. What else would you expect? I will never, ever, be sorry that I took him away,’ she added for good measure, knowing that, in his blindness, he would never think she could be sorry for anything else. Besides, her statement was true.

‘And you want me to believe you haven’t come to cause trouble?’ he sneered, and Maxi clenched her hands into angry fists.

‘Actually, I don’t expect you to believe anything. What you do or don’t think is totally immaterial to me.’

He took a threatening step towards her, finger stabbing out to emphasise his words. ‘Maybe so, but remember this, I’m not about to let you start another scandal. So if you’ve got it in mind to have yourself a little fun at other people’s expense, do yourself a favour and forget it. Try anything, and I promise you’ll live to regret it.’

Arms akimbo, she squared up to him. ‘Just what do you think I’m going to do? Didn’t you hear me tell your brother I don’t make a habit of taking other women’s men?’ she charged.

‘Women have a habit of saying one thing and doing another,’ Kerr pointed out tersely, and Maxi sent him a withering look.

‘You’re saying men don’t? I know someone who’d give you one hell of an argument!’ She’d spent a lifetime with him, the summer of their brief marriage. Colin Ellis had had one unbreakable rule: never tell the truth unless it was unavoidable.

Kerr seemed unimpressed. ‘Let’s just say I’d be more inclined to believe a man than a woman.’

A statement that explained a lot. ‘What happened? Did a woman let you down? With your attitude, I can’t say I blame her!’ Maxi jeered.

There was a fleeting instant when he looked positively murderous, then it was gone just as quickly, leaving her wondering if she’d imagined it. ‘You’d like that to be true, wouldn’t you? However, before you get into your stride, it’s only fair to tell you you’re barking up the wrong tree,’ Kerr denied smoothly.

Maxi raised her eyebrows sceptically. ‘Really? I don’t believe you. You see, I’m more inclined to believe a woman than a man.’

He smiled, but without a trace of humour. It more closely resembled devilish delight. ‘Personal experience?’

She pulled a face. ‘There’s nothing like it.’

Reaching out a hand, Kerr trailed a finger along the curve of her cheek. ‘Poor Maxi. From pampered pet to the school of hard knocks. Why do I find it so hard to feel sorry for you?’ he derided.

Feeling bombarded from two very diverse directions, Maxi jerked her head away from a touch which had seemed to scorch her flesh. ‘The very last thing I’d want from you is your pity! Now, if you wouldn’t mind leaving, I’d like to rest.’

Much to her relieved surprise, he turned on his heel without argument, only pausing at the door to let off his parting shot. ‘I’ll go for now, but I’ll be watching every move you make until you leave,’ he warned, and went out.

A fact Maxi didn’t doubt for one minute. She only began to relax when the door closed behind him, acknowledging with a shiver how tense the atmosphere in the room had been. His animosity was almost a palpable thing, leaving her in little doubt of his feelings. She didn’t like to be so deeply disliked, especially by someone who didn’t know her, but, as her feelings virtually mirrored his, this time she didn’t care. Kerr Devereaux could go to hell with her compliments!

Sighing, she slipped out of her suit and went into the bathroom to wash away the grime of travel. By the time she returned, feeling much more comfortable, she found a tray of tea had been sent up. Finding her pain-killers, she swallowed one before fluffing up the pillow and stretching out on top of the bed, sipping at the reviving brew. As the ache slowly faded, her thoughts drifted to the last time she had sat in this room. She had been about to make the most momentous decision of her life, and one from which she was still feeling the repercussions.

Even after seven years she couldn’t think of Colin Ellis without having to repress a shudder. She had met him at a charity function hosted by the fashion industry. With her modelling career just reaching the dizzy heights, she had found it quite flattering to receive the attention of such a handsome man, and the younger son of an earl to boot. She had dated him for several weeks, gradually becoming aware that he was obsessed by her. She had found that frightening and unhealthy, added to which she hadn’t liked the people he called friends, and had begun to suspect he dabbled in drugs and other things she wouldn’t give the time of day to. She had broken off the relationship with relief.

Only it hadn’t ended there. He had refused to take no for an answer, badgering her day after day, until she’d seriously considered going to the police. But then he had stopped—just like that. She hadn’t heard from him again. Which was why she had had no idea of the shock in store for her when she went home to Dorset for her sister Fliss’s eighteenth birthday. Then the reason for his absence became obvious, because Colin had been at her home, and, furthermore, was engaged to her sister!

It had been the beginning of a nightmare. When she had tackled Colin, he had been only too happy to tell her he didn’t want Fliss but had used her to get to Maxi, the woman he really wanted to marry. Maxi, he had said, could stop the marriage any time, by agreeing to take her place. If not... He had gone on to detail exactly what he had in mind for Fliss, and a wedding ring hadn’t been part of it. Also, should she repeat the conversation, he would deny everything. The choice was hers.

Feeling trapped, she had first gone to her father, but her efforts to make him see the truth and refuse the marriage had failed because, since she was unable to support her claim, her statement that Colin wanted her not Fliss had merely sounded like the ranting of a jealous woman. With very little time, Maxi had hired a private detective to check Colin out. That report had revealed he had once or twice shown signs of a violent temper, was suspected of taking drugs, and was rumoured to carve a notch on his bedpost for every new conquest.

Her worst fears realised, Maxi had done her best to persuade Fliss to break off with him, but Fliss had absolutely refused to believe anything against him. Colin wasn’t like that. Maxi was only jealous because she, Fliss, had taken away one of her admirers. The argument that had followed was destructive, and Fliss’s wilfulness shocked Maxi. She had never realised quite how jealous and inferior her sister had felt. Maxi had never been vain of her beauty, nor of the way men had always run after her, but it had been salt in the wound for Fliss. Now, having at last put one over on her sister, Fliss had been determined not to lose her victory.

When a discreet visit to the police had failed, because there was nothing they could do, no charge they could bring, she had seen only one thing to do. She had to stop the marriage, and there was only one sure way of doing it and making sure that Fliss fell out of love with Colin at the same time. With no help to be gained from outside, she had had to rely on herself. Her sister’s happiness meant more to her than her own, and, though she knew Fliss would hate her for what she was about to do, she had hoped that in time she would come to understand and forgive her.

So she had set out deliberately to lure Colin away. He had responded to her flirting and teasing with alacrity, because he understood what it meant. Maxi felt nothing but disgust for him, but had discovered an unsuspected talent for acting. To universal condemnation, she had refused to stop, although pretty soon she was the talk of the neighbourhood. She had steeled herself to ignore Fliss’s tears, her father’s angry disapproval and her mother’s anxiety and confusion. The only way was to carry on regardless, even though it had broken her heart to see the way she was hurting the people she loved best in the world.

Unfortunately, her plan had had two parts, one to get Colin away from Fliss, then to free herself. The first part had worked easily, but not the second. Colin had refused to let her out of his sight until she married him. She had thought of running away, but he had told her the threat to her sister hadn’t vanished, and wouldn’t until the wedding. She had known herself to be trapped, but she hadn’t knuckled under, even though less than a week after her sister’s eighteenth birthday the pair of them had gone to America together and were married.

Maxi shuddered and drained the last drops of now cold tea from her cup. Some marriages were made in heaven, but hers had not been, and it had proved impossible to walk away unscathed from that kind of marriage. The scars might not show, but they were there, and she had vowed to herself that she would rather spend the rest of her life alone than ever risk adding to them.

One thing alone cheered her: she might be scarred, but she had had her victory too. More than that, the proof of how right she had been to do what she had was in this engagement. Fliss had achieved the happiness she had always wanted for her. And that put a smile on her lips as she closed her eyes.

CHAPTER THREE

AT SEVEN-THIRTY that evening, Maxi descended to the ground floor and made her way to the lounge. She had dressed with care out of sheer habit, although the prospect of the evening to come would have made her don any armour she possessed. All she had was her make-up and the manufactured smile that any good model soon learnt to project. Fortunately clothes were never a problem. Unprepared as she was for the celebration, it was still second nature to pack at least one good dress in her case.

There was a certain unintentional amusement in the fact that the said dress happened to be scarlet. Freud would probably have had a field day, but the truth was that it was her latest buy. The fitted bodice needed no straps and clung lovingly to a bust that was a little fuller than was usual in a model. The skirt was full, ending a couple of inches above her knees. Around her neck she wore a simple gold rope and on her feet were moderate stilettos in the same shade of red.

Feeling that she at least looked ready for anything, she braced herself to meet the family. Walking through the door, however, she found only one person there, and that a most unwelcome one. Kerr turned from the painting he had been studying and ran a lazy eye over her. Normally that would have irritated her, but his appearance was such a surprise that she found herself doing the same.

Tonight he was dressed formally in a black dinner suit, complete with bow-tie and cummerbund. The change was startling, as her senses registered instantly. The raw power he had exhibited in casual dress was now leashed, and all the more potent for it. This man is dangerous, was the message her brain received. Not in any life-threatening way—this went deeper, to the core of her, by far more subversive means, and, as if recognising a potentially superior foe, her defences rose instantly.

‘Are we to assume you’re playing the scarlet woman tonight?’ Kerr enquired sardonically, raising his eyes to hers, and there it was again, that infinitesimal moment of pure rage. Instantly masked, it was replaced by a gleam that raised the fine hairs on her flesh, causing her to shiver.

Not liking at all the wilful way her senses were reacting to him in spite of her volition, she produced an insouciant smile. ‘Why not? Everyone will be thinking it, so why disappoint the public?’ she quipped, turning away from him and wandering to the open terrace doors, because once again she was suddenly finding it necessary to have air. Nerves, she told herself irritably, and faced him again. ‘What are you doing here?’

He grinned. ‘The way you say that, I get the impression I’m not wanted. But you know what they say—you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your relations.’

Maxi widened her eyes. ‘But we aren’t related,’ she pointed out with a certain satisfaction—something she knew he’d noted by the way his grey eyes gleamed.

‘Yet,’ he reminded her succinctly, and indicated the tray of drinks on the sideboard. ‘Can I get you something?’

Deciding she’d feel more comfortable if her hands had something to do, Maxi nodded. ‘I’ll have a Baileys, thanks.’

Pouring her one, and a whisky for himself, he came to join her. ‘You don’t have to watch your diet?’

‘Thankfully not.’ Taking the glass, she couldn’t help but touch him, and felt a frisson of electricity shimmer up her arm. She only just managed to hold back a gasp of pure shock. It was peculiar how the silence which fell then made her tense up, although it was barely measurable. Feeling unnaturally gauche, she knew she had to break it, and hastily cleared her throat. ‘I’ve been trying to remember Andy at school, but I can’t.’

Of course, she had to look at him then, and there was a faint smile hovering about his lips, almost as if he knew exactly how she had been feeling—a realisation calculated to bring warmth to her cheeks, although she refused to look away.

‘That’s not surprising. He wasn’t the handsome devil he is now. He had glasses in those days, a jacket that was too big for him, and permanently grazed knees.’

His description brought his brother to life so clearly that Maxi gave a gurgling laugh. ‘Now I remember. He used to call me “Beanpole”, and I used to hit him.’

Kerr’s smile was wiped from his face. ‘So he told me. He remembered you all right. Apparently he had quite a crush on you at one time,’ he said flatly.

Maxi sobered instantly. ‘Don’t blame me for that. All children have crushes. Even you.’

‘I’ll admit to a certain salacious interest in my old gym mistress. She was a large lady, as I recall. But as I got older, my tastes changed. In fact, I tend towards women closer to my own height—like you,’ he finished softly, and took malicious delight in the way her colour fluctuated wildly.

‘You’re joking!’ The thought made her stomach lurch painfully, but not, she was ashamed to admit, from fear.

‘As it happens, I’m not. But don’t worry, I also feel a need to respect the women I take out, so you fail on at least one count.’ He waited until he was sure the hit had gone home before continuing. ‘No, what worries me right now is the thought that there might be some lingering embers of the crush he felt for you, just waiting to be rekindled.’

She gaped at him incredulously. ‘Don’t be silly; he’s engaged to Fliss!’

The way his attractive mouth broadened into a wide, knowing smile should have warned her of what was coming. ‘Why, Grandma, what a short memory you have! So was Colin Ellis, wasn’t he?’

Her head went back, and her lips parted in a tiny gasp of anger, whilst at the same time it surprised her that she actually felt hurt. ‘That was different,’ she protested hardly.

His look was sceptical. ‘Oh? In what way?’

And there, of course, he had her. Even if, for some obscure reason, she should want to explain herself to him, it still had to come after Fliss and her parents. They had the right to hear what she had to say first, if anyone did. Her eyes glittered, signalling her impotent anger, then she shrugged. ‘It just was, that’s all. I give you my word I have no designs on your brother.’

Kerr sighed elaborately. ‘Unfortunately, darling, your word really isn’t worth a brass farthing.’

That had her temper rising again, and her eyes flashed her dislike. ‘What do you want me to do? Have a document typed up and sign it in blood?’ she scoffed, and could have hit him when he appeared to consider it. Then he laughed.

‘It has certain merits, and, being a lawyer, I could get it done easily enough, but I have the feeling you’d simply claim you signed it under duress.’

‘My God, you certainly know how to hit below the belt, Kerr Devereaux. When I give my word, I never go back on it,’ Maxi declared forcefully, only to see that mocking smile reappear.

‘Don’t I remember a part of the marriage service where you promise to stick by your husband for better or worse?’

He was a devil! No wonder he was a lawyer; he’d run rings around witnesses and enjoy watching them squirm! Her teeth gnashed together. ‘That was different, and you know it!’

‘The same different as before, or is that a different different?’ he mocked back.

Maxi was so angry she could feel herself shaking. ‘Oh, for a gun or a knife!’ she exclaimed in fury.

Kerr, although he claimed to dislike her, still found her endlessly amusing. ‘Fortunately for me, they’re just like policemen—never around when you want one.’

That should have sent her temperature off the scale completely, but the odd effect of his quip was to calm her down, and she eyed him in reluctant amusement. ‘However have you managed to live so long?’

This time his laughter was genuine. ‘Just lucky, I guess. Ah, here come the others.’

Maxi quirked an eyebrow. ‘Like the cavalry, always in the nick of time?’ she bantered back, and caught a gleam of appreciation in his eyes as they turned to the door.

It was her parents who entered, her mother looking very fetching in a violet silk two-piece, and her father, in dinner dress, looking quite dapper for his age. Almost twenty years older than his wife, he was now in his seventies, but still strikingly handsome. Until fairly recently he had had his own law firm. Maxi recalled that Kerr had said he was a lawyer, and it occurred to her to wonder if he might not have taken it over.

A fact her father confirmed as he greeted the younger man. ‘Hello, Kerr, how’s the old firm doing these days?’ he asked as they shook hands.

‘Managing to live up to your high standards, I think, John,’ he replied before turning to kiss her mother on the cheek. ‘You look lovely, Bernice. You’re going to cut quite a swath through the club tonight.’

Lady Ambro laughed delightedly. ‘Flattery will get you everywhere, you dreadful tease!’ She had already noted her elder daughter’s presence but now she remarked upon it. ‘Maxine, what a gorgeous dress. You look beautiful. Don’t you think so, John?’ she appealed to her husband.

Maxi found herself holding her breath as her father was obliged to turn to her. He looked grim and forbidding, without forgiveness. When the silence dragged on, she swallowed to moisten a dry, tight throat.

‘Hello, Father,’ she greeted huskily. ‘You’re looking well,’ she added, hoping against hope to see a chink form in his reserve.

His expression didn’t change for a moment, neither did he speak. The only sound he made was a guttural grunt as he turned back to Kerr. ‘Young man, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about...’

Maxi didn’t hear any more; it faded away as sudden tears welled behind her eyes, and she pressed her lips together in a struggle to hold them back. Throat tight, she swung away, knowing it was what she had expected, but hurting all the same. After a moment her breathing eased, and she sipped at the remains of her drink, finding it soothing. Only then did she become aware that her mother had joined her.

‘I’m sorry, Maxine,’ she apologised. ‘I should have known better than to think I could bludgeon him into talking.’

Maxi looked round and smiled, only a slight pallor showing that anything had been amiss. ‘Don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten that Father always did see things as black or white, no grey. Mother, are you sure you want me with you tonight? People are bound to talk.’

‘They would talk even more if it was known you were here but hadn’t been invited. No, dear, this is by far the best way,’ her mother decided, and smiled across the room to where Fliss and Andy had arrived.

Maxi eyed her sister ruefully. ‘Fliss won’t like it.’

Lady Ambro patted her daughter’s hand. ‘Perhaps not, but she’s old enough now to do what’s right. Family should stick together, and any disagreements should be kept strictly at home.’

Andy was crossing the room towards them, towing a patently reluctant Fliss with him. Kissing his future mother-in-law, he grinned infectiously at Maxi. ‘Hi, there, Beanpole,’ he teased.

With a scowl, Maxi wagged a fist at him. ‘Call me that again, Buster, and I’ll find some ants and put them down your shirt the way I did last time!’ she threatened.

Andy threw up his hands. ‘Pax. I couldn’t stand it. My skin crawled for weeks after that little stunt of yours, Maxi.’

She laughed. ‘Well, it served you right. I was always sensitive about my height.’

‘I don’t know why, all the boys thought you were great. Legs right up to your—’

‘Yes, well, never mind about that!’ Maxi cut him off abruptly, glancing sideways at her sister and seeing the gleam of anger in Fliss’s eyes. Not directed at her fiancé, it should be noted, but at Maxi. Nor was she the sole audience. Kerr was watching too, and he was far from amused. She recalled what he had said, and, although she still didn’t believe it, it caused a niggling doubt to surface, especially in light of what Andy had said.

Diplomatically changing the subject, she smiled at her sister. ‘That’s a great dress, Fliss. Yellow suits you.’

Fliss refused the friendly gesture. ‘Naturally. You aren’t the only one with style and good taste, you know,’ she said acidly.

Smile becoming fixed, Maxi bit down hard on her tongue, determined not to give the sort of retort that remark demanded. ‘I never thought I was,’ she replied quietly.

‘Unfortunately, her good manners seem to have gone begging,’ Andy interposed sharply, causing Fliss to gasp faintly and stare up at him in surprise at the rebuke.

For a moment the pair of them looked about to explode angrily, then Lady Ambro’s gentle voice broke in. ‘Now then, I won’t have any arguments tonight. Besides, we really should be going. Maxine, I’m sure you won’t mind going with Kerr. Felicity and Andrew will be in our car, John.’

Having organised everybody to her satisfaction, and averted a row very neatly, Lady Ambro led the way out. The rest of them followed meekly behind. However, once settled into their respective cars, and on their way, Kerr was anything but meek.

‘What the hell were you doing? Andy’s never spoken to Fliss like that before,’ he challenged brusquely.

Having been on the receiving end practically all day, Maxi was in no mood to compromise. ‘Then perhaps it’s about time he did. There’s no excuse for sheer bad manners.’

Kerr spared her a glance from his strict attention to the road. ‘You don’t think she has cause?’

Maxi expelled an angry breath. ‘Once, perhaps, but not now. Not after seven years and when she’s just become engaged to another man,’ she was at pains to point out.

‘All right, I concede that,’ he admitted reluctantly. ‘But it would certainly help if you didn’t take every opportunity to flirt with my brother!’ he charged next.

Her chin dropped at the sheer injustice of that. ‘Of all the...! It obviously escaped your notice, but I was not, repeat not, flirting with Andy.’

A muscle tensed in his jaw. ‘Well, it certainly looked like it from where I was standing.’

‘Then I suggest that first thing tomorrow you make an appointment with your optician. You clearly need glasses!’ Maxi spat back, keeping her eyes rigidly on the road ahead. The next instant she was flinging her hands out to brace herself against the dashboard as he brought the car to an abrupt halt.

Another car roared by them, horn blaring, lights flashing, and Maxi turned appalled eyes to where Kerr sat, fingers tight on the wheel. Almost as if, had they not been, they would have been around her neck.

‘Are you crazy? We could have had an accident!’

‘I was crazy not to have sent you packing the instant I saw you!’ he grated back at her, the look in his eyes making her sit as far away from him as she could. A manoeuvre that he viewed cynically. ‘Yes, you’re right to be worried. As for my needing glasses, a man doesn’t need twenty-twenty vision to know what sort of woman you are. Trouble, with a capital T.’

Maxi shook her head incredulously. ‘You are crazy. If you really knew anything about me at all, you’d know I avoid trouble like the plague,’ she informed him in all seriousness. Her marriage had given her enough of that to last a lifetime.

‘If that was really true, then why are you here? Because nothing but trouble can come from it, and you know it. It’s already started. I know the signs, don’t forget. I saw how you worked last time.’

Now that revelation came as a real shock, and her eyes widened. ‘You were there?’ she frowned, trying to pierce the fog of time. ‘I don’t remember you.’ He was not the sort of man she would have forgotten, of that she was sure.

‘Oh, I was there all right, but you wouldn’t have seen me, you were too involved in luring Colin Ellis into your grasp.’ His eyes seemed to be looking beyond her, into the past, and didn’t like what they saw. ‘You were something to see. Everyone could have sworn butter wouldn’t melt in your mouth, but were we ever wrong! You came on so hot the air seemed to sizzle around you. The poor fool didn’t stand a chance, and neither did Fliss. Unfortunately the fun soon wears off for you, doesn’t it? How long were you married—six months? Nine? It couldn’t have been more than a year. I don’t suppose he felt he could come back to Fliss after that, not that she’d have had him. That really doesn’t matter. The point is this: I won’t have you playing those sort of games with Andy. He loves Fliss, but she isn’t an exotic flower like you. Like any man, he could be tempted away by the promise of your heady perfume and bright colours, without realising how swiftly they fade and rot away, leaving him with nothing except regrets. You could do it, as easy as blinking, but I’m warning you—don’t.’

Maxi had listened to his diatribe in a frozen silence. At the time, she had forced herself not to think of the impression she was giving. Her aim had been to salve Fliss’s pride by leaving her with someone to hate. Now, to realise that many had seen her as a bitch in heat appalled her, making nausea rise in her throat until she had to swallow it back.

Even though she knew it would do no good, she had to deny it. ‘I’m not like that.’

Unmoved, Kerr put the car in gear. ‘I wasn’t blind then, any more than I am now.’

Behind her eyes, her head began to throb, and she raised a hand to her temple. He was turning a visit that had always been hard in prospect into purgatory. Well, she didn’t have to put up with it. ‘If this is the way you feel, why don’t you just take me home?’ she stated in a frigid voice.

In reply Kerr increased speed. ‘No way. You inflicted this on us, and you’re damned well going to see it through to the bitter end.’

It was the knowledge that he wanted to see her wounded which roused her to fight back. ‘You’re a bastard.’

He laughed hollowly. ‘They say it takes one to know one!’

Maxi subsided then, sinking back into her seat, feeling rather more upset than she had expected. It was one thing to imagine what people must have thought, and quite another to actually know. Yet even with hindsight, she knew she wouldn’t have acted any differently. Sighing softly, she thought it was just as well she had broad shoulders and a philosophical disposition. Having played her part deliberately, she couldn’t really blame anyone for thinking she was the kind of woman who greedily took what she wanted. Despite what anyone thought, she had done nothing she was ashamed of, and she wasn’t going to be forced to hang her head in shame. She’d kept her chin up even if it did invite certain people to take a swipe at it!

In that fighting spirit she climbed from the car when they arrived at the country club. It was busy, being Friday night, but Maxi was used to such crowds and being in the spotlight. She slipped easily into the smoothly polite façde she usually kept for society occasions. It wasn’t the face her real friends saw, but she rather doubted she had many of those here tonight. Kerr kept a firm hand on her arm as he escorted her inside, and she had to admire the aplomb with which he made introductions.

In a country community, where everybody knew everyone else, her fame had gone before her. Their entrance caused quite a stir, and Maxi couldn’t help but be amused when the use of her name by Kerr was much like dropping a bomb. The reverberation spread to all corners in seconds. Her lips took on a cynical curve. Those fortunate enough to be here would be dining out on the story for weeks, she thought, and, glancing round to see just how Kerr was taking it, was surprised to see an almost identical look on his face. A laugh bubbled up, and received an answering grin, and, feeling much more kindly disposed towards him, she sailed on. Smiling, she replied politely to any questions asked of her, kept moving on and let the rest pass by.

‘You handled that very well,’ Kerr complemented, much to her surprise.

Feeling a small glow of warmth in her stomach, she looked at him curiously. What an enigma he was, haranguing her one minute, complimenting the next. ‘Thank you, so did you. Considering your well advertised inclination is to side with them, rather than me, I expected to be thrown to the wolves.’

With a hand on her elbow Kerr steered her through to the dining-room. ‘That’s where you’re wrong. I abhor gossip. It’s very often malicious and can hurt the innocent. If someone has something to say, then they should have the guts to say it to your face.’

A tiny smile lifted the corners of her mouth. At least he practised what he preached, if the way he spoke to her was anything to go by. ‘When you say things like that, Kerr Devereaux, I think I could even get to like you,’ she declared in amusement.

‘There’s no need to go that far,’ he retorted ironically, making her laugh.

‘I did say could,’ she qualified, and turned her attention to the table where the rest of the family sat waiting. Sinking on to the seat Kerr held out for her, she smiled an apology. ‘Sorry we kept you. I thought I’d forgotten something, and Kerr was just about to turn round when I found it. He wasn’t best pleased.’ As the lie tripped easily off her tongue, she caught his eye, and although he inclined his head in thanks she knew he was wondering if she always found it so easy to lie.

But she didn’t let that dampen her spirits now that she had found a reason to quite like him. However, it did occur to her in passing that he had been responsible for some of the biggest emotional swings of her life to date, but there wasn’t time to ponder why he should have had such an effect on her in such a short time.

They ordered their meal and ate it in reasonable good humour. Maxi deliberately took a back seat. This was Fliss’s and Andy’s night, and she had no intention of spoiling it by a careless remark. Neither, it seemed, did Fliss. Either Lady Ambro had spoken to her in the car, or she had decided to put a brave face on it herself. An onlooker, and there were plenty of those that night, would have said that nothing was wrong.

Afterwards there was dancing, with music supplied by a live band. The newly engaged couple rose at once, followed by Kerr, who graciously swept her mother on to the floor. That left Maxi alone with her father. It saddened her when an uneasy silence settled on them. When she glanced across at him, he was staring down fixedly into his glass of brandy. She decided then and there that the whole situation was ridiculous.

‘It’s all right, Father, you aren’t required to make polite conversation,’ she told him with gentle mockery, because she loved him, and didn’t want to hurt him any more than she already had. He looked up quickly. ‘But if you can bear to listen for a minute, there is something I want to say. Not everything is the way it seems. Sometimes people do wrong things for the best of motives.’

Sir John’s eyes, very much like her own, lanced into her. ‘Are you saying that’s what you did?’ he demanded gruffly.

With a sigh, Maxi reached across the table and placed her hand on his, relieved that he didn’t immediately pull away. ‘I’m saying you might care to think about it. Perhaps even give me the benefit of the doubt instead of condemning me unheard.’

After what seemed aeons, his answer was to ease away from her with another of his speaking grunts. At least, she thought, as the music changed and the dancers returned, he hadn’t walked away. Maxi glanced up to see Andy turning to her, clearly intending to ask her to dance. Before he could do so, though, a large male hand clasped hers and drew her to her feet. Even as a protest was leaving her lips, Kerr had drawn her on to the dance floor and into his arms.

‘Well, really! You might have asked me if I wanted to dance with you,’ she protested rather feebly, because something strange was happening to her insides. She was aware of several things all at once. That the arms which held her were strong yet gentle. That his chest was solid and somehow sheltering. And that her stomach was fluttering nearly as madly as her heart! From a distance she heard Kerr answer, although his breath brushed her ear and sent a tingle down her spine.

‘I wasn’t going to give you the chance to refuse me. Besides, Andy was about to ask you to dance, and I couldn’t be sure you’d say no.’

Instantly her heart settled down into an angry thud and her stomach felt like lead. ‘Thanks a lot!’ He certainly knew how to make a girl feel good!

‘If I was wrong, I apologise,’ he murmured mockingly. ‘Was I?’

She tipped her head up to send him an icy smile. ‘You’ll never know now, will you?’ And neither would she.

For a while they continued to dance in silence. Maxi had to admit that he moved well. Their bodies seemed to fit together as if they had been made just for that purpose, and it was an unconscious action on her part which had her relaxing against him. Her eyes closed, and she began to softly hum along with the music. It was nice being in his arms like this. No, if she was honest with herself, it was more than just nice. It felt right. Which probably meant she’d had just a little too much to drink, she decided mockingly. Either that, or she was going crazy. She didn’t like the man, and the feeling was mutual. So why was it she wasn’t fighting to get out of his arms? Just too tired, she lied to herself, with a wry smile.

‘Comfortable?’ Kerr’s husky voice broke into her thoughts.

‘Very. You have a very nice body. Everything’s in the right place,’ she muttered sleepily, and beneath her cheek, his chest rose as he took a deep breath.

‘Thank you. You have a very nice body too, and every delectable inch of it seems to be in the right place,’ Kerr replied, voice shaking with laughter.

Maxi’s eyes shot open as she suddenly became aware that she had spoken her thoughts out loud. Hot colour washed into her cheeks. Good lord, she couldn’t have... Her head shot up. ‘I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,’ she denied swiftly.

Even in the subdued light, it was possible to see that his grey eyes were dancing. ‘What a pity.’

‘Kerr!’ Alarm raced through her as she realised he was flirting with her, and she had responded with a tingle of excitement. Hastily she pushed herself a little away from him. She wasn’t just crazy, she was insane! It brought a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘consorting with the enemy’. If she had given him the impression she was open to offers, she’d have to squash it immediately. ‘I meant that we seemed to fit together very well,’ she said repressively, before realising that only made it worse. ‘Oh, hell!’

Kerr was openly laughing at her. ‘This is a mighty strange phenomenon. An apparently sophisticated woman tying herself in knots. Why all the lather?’

‘It’s you,’ she charged, feeling an utter fool. ‘You twist all my words round so that I’m afraid to say anything in case you misinterpret it. You must be a whiz in the courtroom,’ she added resentfully.

He pulled her back into his arms. ‘Will it make you feel better if I admit I was surprised to find I enjoy dancing with you, too?’

Her heart jolted. It did and it didn’t. There was something just a little scary in finding there were things about her he liked. She definitely felt safer with a blanket dislike. He was an impossible man! So why was she meekly making herself comfortable again? Was there a streak of insanity in the family? That seemed to be the only answer, because she was also experiencing a strange feeling of déjà vu, as if she had been here before, and that was impossible.

‘Did I see you talking to your father?’

Whether deliberate or not, with his words the mood changed, and she frowned. ‘What a talented man you are. You can dance with my mother and still watch me at the same time!’ Unfortunately, she only managed to sound peevish, and, annoyed at herself, her next bid to move away was more determined. However he was far stronger than her, and she was forced to subside or make a scene.

Kerr clucked his tongue. ‘You have the quickest temper. The dance was already over, and I only asked because of what Bernice said earlier.’

Pulling a face, she looked up, and, quite without her volition, her eyes filled with tears. ‘Damn, I think I’m going to cry.’

With the swift action she was becoming used to, he steered her from the dance-floor and out into the garden. Away from prying eyes, he pressed a pristine handkerchief into her hand. Maxi promptly blew her nose and blinked back the moisture.

‘Sorry about that.’ She gave him a self-conscious smile. ‘I hate causing a scene.’

Standing between her and the building with his hands in his trouser pockets, he raised his brows. ‘That’s a good one.’

She stiffened, aware that she had been foolish to let her guard drop. ‘Don’t start, Kerr. We were getting along fine.’

‘Temporarily. You surely don’t expect it to last,’ he contested.

Expect reasonable behaviour from this man? She wasn’t that foolish. ‘I may be cabbage-looking, but I’m not green. This is just an island of calm in a sea of storms,’ she declared airily.

‘Very poetic.’

‘Don’t sneer, it really doesn’t become you,’ she reproved coolly.

Kerr looked dubious. ‘You’ve become a judge of that, have you, in just a few hours?’

She shrugged. ‘Why not? You judge me.’

‘Ah, but I made my mind up a long time ago,’ he disagreed softly.

That had been made patently obvious. ‘And it would never occur to you to change it?’ She couldn’t hide her bitterness.

Taking his hands from his pockets, he stepped closer to examine her face. ‘Not without good reason. Not when I know...all that I know. Are you feeling better now?’

It was a moot point. ‘I’m not about to blubber all over you, if that’s what you mean.’

The light caught the flash of his teeth as he grinned. ‘You certainly sound better. We’ll go back, before they begin to wonder what we’re up to.’ Taking her arm, he headed towards the door.

Maxi gave a final sniff, ‘What’s to wonder about? There could be only two reasons for us being out in the garden. The first would have them in stitches. They’ve probably plumped for murder.’

Kerr halted in the doorway and when she automatically tipped her head up in silent query, he caught her chin with his fingers. ‘Why is it so impossible to imagine I might want to get my hands on you for the first reason?’ he queried dulcetly, and, before she could guess his intent, he brought his mouth down on hers.

CHAPTER FOUR

MAXI could still feel that kiss as she prepared for bed. It had been the merest brush of his mouth over hers, but the effect had been astonishing, like being hit by lightning. Her lips had tingled as if they were frozen, yet burned with heat, and every single thought had rushed out of her head. Yet in the midst of it, she had had the strangest feeling of stepping back in time. As if those lips were known to her—and she was sure it wasn’t just a reaction to that punishing kiss earlier. But just as she was on the point of understanding, the contact had been broken, leaving her stranded in space.

When, a second later, Kerr had escorted her to the table, she had still been bemused. She must have functioned, though, because she couldn’t remember anyone looking at her oddly, and she knew she had spoken, but for the life of her she couldn’t recall a word she’d said. Not for those first five minutes. She hadn’t danced with Kerr again, but she hadn’t refused Andy when he’d asked her to. Not from any sense of defiance, but because, with everyone keeping an eye on them, it would have looked odd if she hadn’t.

Unfortunately Fliss hadn’t liked it one bit, and showed a regrettably childish inclination to sulk. The evening had broken up soon after that. Kerr had driven her home without comment, accepting her mother’s offer of a nightcap when they reached the house. Maxi had refused one herself, choosing instead to say goodnight and go to her room.

Now she slipped out of her dress and reached for the silk robe she had draped across the foot of the bed when she unpacked earlier. Cleaning off her make-up, she heard footsteps mount the stairs, doors open and close, and then gradually the house grew quiet. She was in the act of brushing her hair when she heard a soft tap on her door. Almost she thought she had imagined it, until it came again and she swivelled on the dressing stool.

‘Come in,’ she invited cautiously, not really surprised to see her sister slip inside and close the door behind her. Fliss was still in the same yellow dress, and had clearly only been waiting for the others to go to bed before paying this visit.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.