“I have a proposal to put to you.”

His hands slid under the lapels of her jacket, pushing them apart, while the gray eyes made a slow, lingering survey of the swell of her rounded breasts under the clinging camisole.

Chay said softly, “You’ve grown up beautifully, Adie.”

“Don’t call me that. And don’t handle me, either,” Adrien added, her voice quivering. “You bought a house. I was not included in the price.”

“It occurs to me that this house lacks something. It needs a mistress,” he said softly. “And so do I. And you, my sweet Adrien, are the perfect candidate.”

There are times in a man’s life…

when only seduction will settle old scores!

Pick up our exciting series of revenge-based

romances—they’re red-hot,

so get ready to be singed!

The Marriage Debt

by

Daphne Clair

On Sale in September #2347

Available only from

Harlequin Presents

Mistress On Loan
Sara Craven

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 ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

Endpage

CHAPTER ONE

IT WAS the time of day that Adrien loved best—those quiet, early-morning hours when she had the house completely to herself. Before the painters arrived, and the joiners and plasterers, and work began again to restore Wildhurst Grange to its former glory.

She liked to move slowly from room to room, opening shutters and flinging back the drapes from the newly curtained windows to admit the pale late-summer sun. Letting herself move forward in her imagination to the time when she and Piers would be married, and living here, and she would no longer be simply the interior designer but the mistress of the house. And Piers’s wife.

That was the best part of all, and the thought always made her slightly breathless—as if she could hardly believe her own luck, the way her life had fallen so sweetly into place.

Because there was a wonderful symmetry about it all. About the way they’d met at Wildhurst all those years before, when he’d come to her rescue when she was in trouble, and then how the house had brought them back together, when Piers had inherited the neglected property from his late uncle, Angus Stretton, and needed a designer to help plan the restoration.

And soon, she thought, it would be finished, and theirs to share as man and wife. Bringing the chain of events full circle.

Her only regret was that Piers wasn’t there to watch the regeneration of his future home, but was working in Portugal.

‘I’m sorry too, my darling,’ he’d murmured as he held her on their last evening together. ‘But it has to be done. Quite apart from all the work it needs, the Grange won’t be a cheap proposition to run, and I have to make sure the money’s there, that we don’t have to scrimp and make do with second best. I want you to have everything.’

‘But I don’t need everything,’ Adrien had protested, slightly troubled. ‘And we could start slowly—just doing up the rooms we’re going to use.’

But Piers wouldn’t hear of that. He wanted the whole house finished—‘so that we’re not living with workmen and out of boxes for the next ten years, my sweet.’

He had a point, Adrien supposed, with a sigh. And she wrote to him every week, sending a concise progress report, including colour charts and fabric samples, while he telephoned and sent e-mails and faxes.

But it wasn’t the same as having him there.

‘Once the company’s established, I won’t leave you again, I promise,’ he’d whispered. ‘And just think what a marvellous showcase the Grange will make for your talents,’ he’d added cajolingly. ‘Business will boom when we start entertaining.’

Adrien had laughed and hugged him, but inwardly she was determined that the Grange would be first and foremost their home—their private sanctuary.

In any case, she wasn’t sure she could cope with a boom, she thought wryly. Before she’d met Piers again, and fallen in love, and become involved with the restoration project, her business had already been thriving.

It was basically a two-woman operation—herself, as designer, and Zelda March, who was a local girl and a brilliant seamstress. A to Z Design hadn’t lacked for work since it had opened its doors.

Although it certainly wasn’t what she’d had in mind when she’d completed her training, she admitted. Coming back to the quiet country town where she’d been brought up hadn’t been part of the plan at all. But her mother’s sudden death three years ago had caused her to rethink her future completely.

Adrien, rushing down from London, had had to face the fact that she was now alone in the world. But she’d also inherited Listow Cottage, and some money from her mother’s life insurance, which had given her a measure of independence for the first time.

Her life, she had realised bleakly, could change. But she hadn’t seen how until she’d run into Zelda at the funeral.

It had been a long time since they’d seen each other. They’d been in the same year at school, but not on the same track. Zelda had been the local wild child, always in trouble with the authorities for smoking, under-age drinking and hanging round with boys. In her final year she’d amazed everyone by winning the Home Economics prize with a baby’s wooden cradle, which she’d trimmed with handmade curtains and a beautiful embroidered quilt, as well as making a complete set of baby clothes.

Before she was seventeen she was pregnant by a local garage mechanic, and their hasty marriage had been followed by an even speedier divorce.

Adrien had been surprised to see her in the congregation at the church, and, on impulse, had invited her back to the cottage.

‘I thought the world of your mum,’ Zelda confided, when the other mourners had departed. She looked sadly round the sitting room. ‘It was only a couple of months ago that I made these loose covers and curtains for her.’

On the surface, Zelda didn’t seem to have changed much. The dark spiky hair was still much in evidence, and so was the nose stud. But as they talked Adrien sensed a new, quiet maturity about her. A strength to the set of her thin shoulders that impressed Adrien. And the workmanship on the soft furnishings was superb.

‘Do you work freelance?’ Adrien questioned.

Zelda shook her head. ‘I wish. I do customer orders for Beasley and Co in Enderton, but the pay’s rock-bottom. I’ve tried doing some work at home, but I’m back living with Mum and Dad and the kids, and there just isn’t room. Not with Smudge too.’

‘Smudge?’

‘That’s what I call my son. His real name’s Kevin, like his father, but I don’t want to be reminded.’

‘I suppose not.’ Adrien bit her lip. ‘It seems a shame that you can’t work for yourself. You’re really good.’

‘There’s no chance of that.’ Zelda shrugged. ‘Dad goes mad when the sewing machine comes out. And he’s not too thrilled to have Smudge around anyway, so I try not to rock the boat.’

It was only a brief exchange, but it stuck in Adrien’s mind.

During the days that followed, she set about working out a business plan. There was undoubtedly a gap in the market. Beasley’s were no real competition, and there was no one else within miles who could offer a complete interior design service. She could pinpoint all the genuine craftsmen in the area to use as sub-contractors, and with Zelda to cover the soft furnishing side…

Premises might be a problem, she realised. Until she took a good look at the cottage. It wasn’t large, and it needed modernisation, but around its rear courtyard there were old stables and outbuildings, unused for years and ripe for conversion. There was space for workrooms, an office, and a self-contained flat.

‘Are you serious about this?’ Zelda asked huskily when Adrien finally put the plan in front of her. ‘Really serious? Because it sounds too good to be true.’

‘I mean every word,’ Adrien assured her. ‘And the flat will have two bedrooms, so there’ll be plenty of room for you and Smudge,’ she added, knowing that they were currently sharing one small room with bunk beds.

‘A place of our own,’ Zelda whispered. ‘It’s like a dream. I keep waiting for someone to pinch me, and wake me up.’

The dream rapidly became a nightmare while the building work was being done. It threw up all kinds of unforeseen problems, and cost far more than anticipated. Adrien remortgaged the cottage, and raised a bank loan on the strength of her plan, while Zelda, overwhelmed at finding herself a partner, insisted on contributing the small settlement she’d received from her ex-husband.

Their faith in themselves seemed justified, she had to admit. The enquiries came in steadily from day one, and they had to rent some temporary work-space to cope with the demand. Soon they’d been in their new premises for nearly two years, and were already employing extra help with the sewing.

‘Maybe we shouldn’t have downsized,’ Adrien joked. ‘Perhaps we should have looked to expand, and put in a bid for the Grange instead.’

‘Except that the Grange isn’t for sale,’ Zelda said, frowning over some fabric catalogues. ‘What a shame—a lovely house like that, just standing empty.’

‘Yes,’ Adrien sighed. ‘When I was a child I used to go there all the time, while my father played chess with Mr Stretton.’

‘What did you do?’

Adrien shrugged. ‘Oh—read books from his library, played in the garden.’

‘All by yourself?’

Adrien hesitated, hearing faint alarm bells ring in her mind. ‘Not all the time,’ she returned. ‘Mr Stretton’s nephew, Piers, was there sometimes. His mother had married someone Mr Stretton disapproved of—a Brazilian—and there’d been a big row. But I suppose Mr Stretton had eventually to accept the fact that Piers was going to be his heir, and invite him to stay, although he’d still have nothing to do with his brother-in-law,’ she added, frowning. ‘My parents said he really hated him. Called him “a thoroughly bad lot”.’

‘Families.’ Zelda wrinkled her nose. ‘Do you think Mr Stretton will ever come back?’

‘I shouldn’t think so. He moved to Spain for the climate, and seems settled there.’ Adrien sighed again. ‘I couldn’t believe it. The Grange has been in his family for years. And he’d just got to know Piers properly, too.’

‘Perhaps he thought he was a bad lot as well.’

‘He couldn’t have done.’ Adrien drew a stormy breath. ‘He’s one of the kindest people I ever met. Saved me from pneumonia—or hypothermia, or worse.’

Zelda put the catalogue down. ‘How?’

Adrien bit her lip. ‘Oh, there was a treehouse in the wood at the back of the house. I climbed up there once when I was about nine and got stuck, and he found me. But I’d been there for hours, and I was frozen and sick with fright. I’m hopeless on ladders to this day.

‘But that’s not all,’ she added. ‘When I was eighteen, Mr Stretton gave a party for me at the Grange, and he presented me with a garnet pendant, very old and very pretty. During the party it was stolen, and Piers—found it. But it was dreadful. It ruined my birthday. And he was so sweet and understanding.’

‘Well, let’s hear it for Piers—the hero of the hour,’ Zelda said drily. ‘What happened to him?’

‘Oh, it was shortly afterwards that Mr Stretton closed up the house and went to live in Spain. I guess Piers went back to Brazil.’

‘Shame,’ said Zelda. ‘By the way, who pinched the pendant?’

‘One of the servants,’ Adrien said shortly. ‘No one important.’

Piers would be thirty-two now, she found herself thinking. And so would the other one. The one whose name she wouldn’t speak. The one who’d caused all the nightmares…

Well, all that was in the past, and the past couldn’t hurt her. Firmly, she slammed the gate of memory shut again, regretting that she’d allowed it to open even fractionally.

It was only ten days later that news came that Angus Stretton had died at his villa in Spain, and would be buried out there.

The vicar, however, decided to hold a memorial service at the parish church, and, to Adrien’s astonishment, Piers arrived to attend it.

It was assumed locally that, having done his duty, he’d simply put the place on the market and get on with his life elsewhere.

But how wrong we were, Adrien thought—smiling to herself as she walked down the long corridor which led to the master suite.

He came—we saw each other again—and suddenly everything was different and wonderful.

She opened the door and stepped into the main bedroom. It was a large room, with doors leading to its own dressing room and a bathroom, both of them completely remodelled.

There was no furniture yet in the bedroom, which smelled of fresh paint and newly papered walls, now the colour of thick cream. The floor had been sanded and polished, and a square of deep green carpet laid.

Adrien couldn’t help wishing that Piers had kept some of his uncle’s furniture. Much of it was old, and she suspected valuable, and it had suited its surroundings.

But he’d insisted on a clean sweep. And since then, of course, she’d found the bed.

She’d discovered it at a country sale, lying in pieces in an outbuilding. A genuine four-poster bed, needing a lot of restoration work, admittedly, but she’d got it cheaply and handed it over to Fred Derwent, who specialised in such things and who’d received it with a delight bordering on reverence.

Soon, Adrien thought dreamily, it would be installed—the centrepiece of the room—and of their marriage.

And Zelda had unearthed some fabulous fabric, incorporating a heavily stylised pattern in blue, green and gold, from which she was making the hangings for the bed and the windows.

Three months from now, she thought, I’ll be sleeping in that bed with Piers.

Happy colour rose to her face, and she laughed softly to herself.

She would still keep this morning tryst with the house, however. Only she’d wear the peignoir in ivory silk and lace that she’d bought on her last trip to London instead of the jade towelling robe which had seen better days, she thought, giving it a disparaging look.

And her dark auburn hair would be cascading over her shoulders instead of hauled up into an untidy topknot.

She would save this room until last, as she’d always done. Keeping it special. And once the new window curtains were pulled back, and she’d looked out over the wide lawns at the rear of the house, she’d go over to the bed and kiss Piers awake. And he would draw her down into the shadowed softness, back into his arms.

So far it was only a fantasy that stirred her blood and brought her senses to trembling life. But very soon now it would be reality.

She walked slowly to the window and looked out at the view she’d come to love.

And stopped, gasping, her hand flying to her mouth.

A man was standing in the middle of the expanse of grass, looking up at the house. A man dressed all in black, with an overcoat hanging from his shoulders like a cloak and early mist coiling round his legs, giving him an air of unreality, as if he’d come from another age and been caught in a time slip.

He was so still that for a moment she thought he wasn’t human at all, but a statue that someone had placed there during the night as some kind of bizarre joke.

But then she saw the breeze lift the skirts of the coat and ruffle the dark blond hair, and realised that, whatever else, she was confronted by flesh and blood.

She thought, But not Piers, and her heart plummeted, shock replaced by disappointment. Piers wasn’t quite as tall as the figure below, and his hair was raven-dark. And yet—just for a second—she’d experienced this curious sense of familiarity.

Who is he? she asked herself. And what is he doing here?

The Grange had its share of visitors, most of them driven by curiosity to see how the work was progressing. But they didn’t come at sunrise, and usually they asked first.

Adrien swallowed. A visitor who came unannounced this early in the day had to be an intruder. Someone who was up to no good. A potential burglar casing the place? she wondered frantically. She’d heard of empty houses being stripped to the bone, their fixtures and fittings carried off. And downstairs there was a brand-new kitchen, as well as Angus Stretton’s library, its walls still lined with books.

She said fiercely under her breath, ‘But this house isn’t empty. And you’re not taking anything.’

She turned and ran to the door, tearing along the corridor to the wide oak staircase, launching herself downwards.

The drawing room was also at the rear of the house, to take advantage of the view, and French windows led on to the terrace. She ran towards them, grabbing the keys from the pocket of her robe.

It was the stark chill of the stone flags under her bare feet that startled her into awareness of what she was doing. She hesitated, staring around her, scanning the now-deserted lawn, recognising that the black-clad intruder was nowhere to be seen.

And at the same time she heard in the distance the sound of a departing car. He must, she thought, have parked at the side of the house, where he wouldn’t be seen. But how had he known that?

Adrien realised she was holding her breath, and released it, gulping as common sense belatedly intervened.

What on earth did she think she was doing? she asked herself. Charging down here like a maniac, with only a bunch of keys for protection. Quite apart from wearing nothing except an elderly robe. Hardly confrontation gear, she acknowledged, tightening the belt protectively round her slim waist. And just as well the stranger had disappeared.

But why the hell hadn’t she stayed in the house and used her mobile phone to call for assistance? How could she possibly have taken such a stupid risk?

After all, he could have been violent, and she might have ended up badly injured, or worse.

He must have assumed she wasn’t alone, or else he’d have stood his ground.

Because he’d known she was there. She was convinced of it. Certain that he’d seen her, somehow, standing in the window. And that his dark figure had stiffened.

But that’s crazy, she thought, beginning to shake inwardly at the realisation of her narrow escape. He couldn’t possibly have picked me out from that distance. I’d have simply been another shadow inside the house.

And I couldn’t have noticed such a detail either. I’m letting my imagination run away with me.

She straightened her shoulders and stepped back into the drawing room.

It was over, she reassured herself, and nothing had happened. But she would play safe and report the incident to the local police station, although there wasn’t much they could do without a detailed description of a car number.

He’d invaded her privacy, she thought, as she trailed back upstairs to shower and dress. Spoiled that first golden hour of her day. Made her feel edgy and ill at ease, as if a storm was brewing.

Oh, pull yourself together, she adjured herself impatiently. You’re reacting like a spoiled child. And you’ll have tomorrow and all the days to come to treasure, so you’re hardly deprived.

And he was probably some poor soul who’d been driving all night and had turned in at the wrong gate through tiredness.

She gave a small, fierce nod, and turned on the shower.

She dressed for action, in a tee shirt under a pair of denim dungarees, and secured her hair at the nape of her neck with an elastic band.

Over a breakfast of toast and coffee, she reviewed what the workmen would be doing when they arrived, making notes on her clipboard as she ate.

There was some tiling to complete round the new Aga in the kitchen, and plumbing to install in the laundry room. They’d converted the old flower room into a downstairs cloakroom, and if the plaster was dry that could be painted. The panelling in the dining room was finished, but the ceiling needed another coat of emulsion.

Most of the bedrooms were finished, apart from the one with the camp bed that she was occupying at the front of the house.

She decided she would make a start on that, peeling off the layers of old wallpaper with the steam stripper. It was a messy process, but she enjoyed it.

Remembering how immaculately the house had been kept in Mr Stretton’s time, Adrien could have wept when Piers had taken her back there to see what needed to be done. The plaster had been flaking, and there had been damp patches on some upstairs ceilings. In addition, her practised nose had warned her that dry rot was present.

‘My God,’ Piers had muttered. ‘It might be easier just to pull the place down.’

‘No.’ She’d squeezed his hand. ‘We’ll make it beautiful again. You’ll see.’

And she’d been as good as her word, she reflected, with satisfaction. The Grange was looking pretty wonderful already. Most of the work that was left was cosmetic—adding finishing touches—so that the final bills should be relatively modest.

At least compared with the last batch that she’d just paid, she remembered, shuddering.

She was making good progress with the steam stripper when it occurred to her that her small workforce was un-characteristically late. She finished the section she was working on, then unclipped her mobile from the belt of her jeans.

But before she could dial it rang, making her jump and swear under her breath.

She said crisply, ‘A to Z Design. Good morning.’

‘Is that Miss Lander?’ It was the boss of the building firm she was using. ‘It’s Gordon Arnold here.’

She gave a sigh of relief. ‘I was just about to call you, Gordon. No one’s turned up yet. Is there some reason?’

‘You could say that.’ His voice was slow and deliberate. ‘We’ve had a bit of a problem.’

Not another vehicle breakdown, Adrien thought with a faint irritation. Gordon should get himself a van that worked.

She said briskly, ‘Well, try to get it sorted quickly. There’s still plenty to do here.’

‘That’s it, you see, Miss Lander.’ He sounded odd, embarrassed. ‘We did the work, and you paid us for it, same as always. Except this time the bank sent the cheques back.’

Adrien was very still for a moment. This was a room that caught the early sun, yet she felt suddenly deathly cold.

Rallying herself, she said, ‘There must be some mistake.’

‘That’s exactly what I said.’ He sounded almost eager. ‘A mistake. So I got on to the bank, but they wouldn’t talk to me. Said I had to refer to you.’

Adrien groaned. ‘I’ll get on to them myself,’ she said. ‘It’ll probably be a computer error,’ she added confidently.

‘Dare say it will,’ he said. ‘Generally is. I’ll leave it with you, then, Miss Lander. Only, we can’t really do any more work until we know we’re going to be paid, and there’s other jobs waiting.’

‘Yes, of course,’ she said. ‘I’ll have it put right by this afternoon, Gordon. Cheers.’

But she didn’t feel very cheery as she switched off the phone and put it back on her belt.

Something had gone badly wrong, she thought, as she went to her room to retrieve her bag and, because she was still feeling cold, a jacket.

It was a mistake. It had to be. Yet somehow she kept getting an image of that dark, silent figure standing unmoving in front of the house, like some symbol of ill omen.

Don’t be silly, Adie, she reproved herself, using the childish version of her name she’d coined when she was small. Just go to the bank and get it sorted.

It was a simple enough system that she and Piers had devised. He’d opened an account at a local bank, with a chequebook in her name, and each month she sent him an itemised account of her spending and he deposited sufficient funds to cover it.

‘You’re too trusting,’ she’d told him.

‘I love you,’ he’d returned. ‘Love can’t trust too much.’

For the past four months the system had worked like a charm. But this time, when some of the heaviest bills had to be paid, a hiccup had developed.

I suppose it had to happen eventually, Adrien thought, as she set her Jeep in motion. Nothing’s perfect, especially when it’s automated. But why did it have to be this month?

The bank was busy, but as Adrien waited at the enquiry desk she had the curious feeling that people were watching her. That a couple of the cashiers had exchanged glances as she walked in.

They probably realise they’ve screwed up in a big way and are wondering how to apologise, she decided, with an inward shrug.

The enquiry clerk looked nonplussed when she saw her. ‘Oh—Miss Lander. The manager has been trying to contact you at home, but we only got your answer-machine.’

‘That’s right.’ Adrien’s brows lifted in slight hauteur. My God, she thought, she sounds almost accusing. ‘I’m staying at the Grange so that I can oversee the final stages.’ If it’s any business of yours.

‘Oh—that explains it. Will you take a seat for a few moments? Mr Davidson needs to talk to you urgently.’

Adrien was glad to sit down, because her legs were trembling suddenly and her stomach was quaking.

Because those were not phrases that indicated grovelling on the bank’s part. On the contrary…

She wished that she’d taken the trouble to change, to put on a skirt and blouse, or even a dress, some heels, and some make-up. Because she had the oddest feeling she was going to need all the help she could get. She was also aware that in her present gear she looked about sixteen.

‘Miss Lander?’ Mr Davidson was standing beside her. ‘Come into the interview room, won’t you?’ His smile was pallid and his gaze slid away. A very different reaction from his enthusiasm when the account was being set up.

She wished, not for the first time, that Piers had used her own bank, where she was a known and valued customer.

While he closed the door, Adrien took the chair he indicated. ‘Mr Davidson, I understand you’ve returned some of my cheques.’

‘I’ve had no choice, Miss Lander. There are no funds to meet them.’

Her throat tightened, and her heart began to pound. She heard herself say with unbelievable calmness, ‘Then payment must have been delayed for some reason. Perhaps you could give me a little leeway here, while I contact my fiancé.’

‘I’m afraid not, Miss Lander. You see, we’ve been notified that no further deposits will be made. Did Mr Mendoza not warn you of his intentions?’

‘No more deposits?’ Her lips felt numb. ‘But that’s impossible.’

‘I fear not.’ He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. ‘I have some other bad news which I must pass on to you. I have just learned that Mr Mendoza is no longer the owner of Wildhurst Grange. That he has sold it to a property development company.’

There was a strange buzzing in Adrien’s ears. The room seemed to be swimming round her.

She said hoarsely, ‘No—it’s not true. It can’t be. He—he wouldn’t do that. Not without telling me—discussing it…’

‘I’m afraid it is perfectly true. I have the head of the company in my office now, and…Miss Lander—where are you going?’

The metal handle slipped in her damp grip, but she wrenched the door open and ran out.

The door to the manager’s office had been left slightly ajar. She pushed it wide and went in, knowing what she was going to see. Fearing it…

A man was standing by the window. He was tall, and dressed in beautifully cut black Italian trousers and a matching rollneck sweater in fine wool. The long overcoat had been discarded, and was lying across a chair. His dark blond hair, expertly layered, reached the collar of his sweater. His face was lean, with a beak of a nose and strongly marked mouth and chin. The eyes that met hers across the room were as grey as a northern sea, and about as warm.

And at the edge of one cheekbone there was a small triangular scar.

Adrien recognised that scar, because she’d put it there. She’d been just nine years old, and she had been cold, hungry, and hysterical. Because he’d deliberately left her on a flimsy platform in a tall tree for hours. To punish her. To make her think that she’d be left there for ever. That she’d die there.

So she’d picked up a stone, and flung it at him. He’d gasped and thrown back his head, but it had hit him, and she had seen a small trickle of blood on his face and been glad, because she’d hated him. She’d wanted to hurt him.

He’d looked at her then with those cold grey eyes just as he was looking at her now. With contempt and a kind of icy arrogance. And without pity.

She’d been frightened then, and she was frightened now. Too scared to speak or to run. Although she was no longer a child. Or an eighteen-year-old whose birthday had been ruined by theft and betrayal.

All these years she’d blotted him out of her memory, even though the legacy of those traumatic days was still with her. Haunting her each time she had to climb a ladder or stand on a chair, and found herself assailed by nausea and giddiness. Piercing her when she opened her jewellery drawer and saw the empty velvet box which had once held the garnet pendant.

But she’d managed to convince herself that she would never see him again. That she could bury the past.

And that he would have done the same.

But she was wrong, because here he was.

And once again she was stranded and terrified, with no means of escape.

CHAPTER TWO

‘IT’S been a long time, Adrien.’ His voice had deepened, but she would have recognised that husky timbre anywhere.

She would not—not—allow herself to go to pieces in front of him. Not again. Not for a third time.

Instead she lifted her chin defiantly. ‘My God.’ She kept her tone just this side of insolence. ‘It’s the Haddon boy.’

‘No,’ he said. ‘Not any longer. I’ve become the Haddon man. A distinction I advise you to observe.’

‘A threat,’ she said. ‘But then you were always good at them.’

‘And an accusation,’ he said. ‘For which you had a positive genius. Even when you were in pigtails. And later.’ The grey eyes made a leisurely and nerve-jangling inspection of her. ‘You haven’t changed a great deal—over the intervening years.’

Her throat tightened. ‘I’m afraid I can’t say the same for you. I would never have known you.’

He laughed softly. ‘Are you quite sure about that, Adie? Wasn’t there just a glimmer of recognition this morning when you were staring down at me from your ivory tower?’

His use of her childhood name grated. As did the confirmation of her earlier suspicion that he’d known she was there.

She said shortly, ‘You were the last person in the world I ever expected to see again. And you didn’t hang around to introduce yourself.’

‘No,’ he said. ‘I had business elsewhere. And besides, I knew we’d be meeting again very soon. I didn’t want to anticipate such a pleasurable moment. The first, I hope, of so many more to come,’ he added silkily.

She bit her lip. ‘So—what are you doing here? Why have you come back? I don’t understand…’

‘You’re not required to.’ His smile chafed her nerve-endings. ‘Perhaps I just wanted to surprise you.’

He looked past her as Mr Davidson peered anxiously into the room.

‘Is everything all right, Mr Haddon?’

‘Everything’s fine, thanks.’ The sudden switch to power and charm made Adrien reel inwardly. ‘Could you give us five minutes? Miss Lander and I would like to renew our old acquaintance.’

‘Yes—yes—of course.’ Mr Davidson began to back out of the room.

She wanted to cry out, Don’t go. Don’t leave me with him. But she couldn’t allow herself to betray such weakness.

Instead, she stood in silence and watched the door close. Shutting her in with him. Her enemy.

‘How very deferential of him,’ she threw into the sudden silence. ‘I’m surprised he didn’t call you sir.’

‘He probably will—given time. I’m about to become a very important customer at this bank.’

‘Does he know you were the housekeeper’s son?’ She cringed inwardly at the crudity of the query. Despised herself for voicing it too. Because she’d liked Mrs Haddon, who’d always been warm and kind to her on Adrien’s visits to the Grange with her father.

She had a sudden memory of the well-scrubbed kitchen table, being allowed to scrape the remains of the cake mixture from the bowl. And being given fresh-baked cookies, with her initial picked out in chocolate chips.

‘I’ve no idea.’ His voice was calm. ‘But it would make no difference. Because money talks—and it has a louder voice than your outdated notions of snobbery.’

Faint colour rose in her face, but she stood her ground. ‘Then you’ve come up in the world. How odd.’

His brows lifted. ‘I’ve worked hard. I’ve found it pays off. And I intend to go on working so I can have what I want in life.’

‘Wildhurst Grange, for instance?’

‘Among other things, yes.’

‘Well, I don’t believe it,’ she said. ‘Piers would never sell his inheritance—and especially not to you.’

‘Piers would sell his own grandmother to get out of the kind of mess he’s in.’

She said thickly, ‘How dare you say that? After the way you’ve behaved. You always hated him—you were always jealous…’

‘I had no reason to like him.’ The grey eyes glittered at her. ‘But I wasn’t jealous. He had nothing that I wanted—not then.’

‘And now you want the Grange. So you’ve stolen it from him—somehow.’ She lifted her chin contemptuously. ‘Well—once a thief, always a thief.’

‘What a depressingly commonplace mind you’ve developed, Adie,’ he drawled. ‘It must be through associating with Mr Mendoza. But I’m sure you’ll recover.’

‘I don’t have to,’ she said. ‘Or did you think I’d dump Piers because he doesn’t have the Grange any more?’ She moistened her dry lips with the tip of her tongue. ‘If so, you’re wrong. Because that was never the attraction. Piers and I are going to be together, no matter what’s gone wrong. As soon as I get home I’m going to call him and…’

‘Well, make sure you get the time zones right.’ He looked at his watch. ‘It’s probably the middle of the night in Brazil. And you wouldn’t want to disturb him on his honeymoon.’

The sudden silence in the room was almost tangible. Adrien could feel it beating against her eardrums, constricting her heart.

She looked at him numbly. He seemed to have retreated to a great distance, his dark figure swimming in front of her. Swimming…

‘Sit down.’ His voice was suddenly incisive, authoritative. ‘Put your head between your knees and breathe deeply.’

She obeyed for no better reason than her legs no longer seemed capable of supporting her.

When the dizziness had passed, and she could speak again, she said, ‘You’re lying.’

He said slowly, ‘No, it’s true. He’d been seeing this girl out in Portugal, and made her pregnant. Her father is Brazilian, and powerful, and insisted on marriage. And Brazil was a safer option for him than London or Lisbon.’

He paused. ‘Will you believe, Adrien, that it gives me no pleasure to tell you?’

‘No.’ She raised her head to glare at him. ‘I don’t believe it. You’ve waited a long time for your revenge, Chay Haddon. Waited to punish me for having you sent away all those years ago. I just wish with all my heart that you’d gone to jail instead.’

‘Only to jail?’ he came back at her mockingly. ‘I was certain hell would be the preferred destination.’

‘Hell’s too good for you.’ She pushed back a strand of hair that had escaped its confinement and got to her feet, swaying slightly as she fought off the last remnants of dizziness.

‘Be careful.’ He went to take her arm, and she recoiled.

‘Don’t touch me,’ she said hoarsely. ‘Don’t ever dare to touch me.’

‘A threat, an accusation, and now a challenge.’ He was actually smiling. ‘What a pity I have neither the time nor the inclination to take you up on it. At present,’ he added silkily. ‘I gather you’re terminating our reunion. May I ask where you’re going?’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I’m going to find Piers and talk to him. Show you up for the liar and cheat that you are.’

‘I wouldn’t have so much to say about cheating.’ There was a note of grimness in his voice. ‘Not when you owe money all over the area. And don’t even think of going to Brazil, Adie, always supposing you could find the fare. I’m sure your creditors wouldn’t like it, quite apart from Piers’s wife.’

He opened the door and held it for her. ‘I’ll see you around.’

To answer, Not if I see you first, would have been simply childish rudeness. Instead Adrien did not even glance at him as she walked out of the office.

She heard Mr Davidson saying, ‘Miss Lander—Miss Lander, I need to talk to you,’ but she ignored him too, breaking into a run as she headed for the door of the bank.

She could only think of Piers, and the necessity to contact him. To disprove the monstrous things that Chay Haddon had been saying. Nothing else mattered, or could be allowed to matter.

The next hour was a nightmare. She tried faxing Piers in Portugal, but found his outlet had been closed down and that the same thing applied to his e-mail address. The telephone line she’d always used seemed to be disconnected.

Panic was closing her throat and making her fingers clumsy as she pressed the buttons on her receiver, trying every number he’d ever given her.

Eventually someone answered—a man speaking Portuguese. She asked haltingly for Piers, and heard him say something in a muffled voice, as if he’d covered the phone with his hand, which was followed by a burst of laughter, as if other people in the room were responding to his remark. To a joke that her query had triggered.

Adrien found she had bitten her lip so hard she could taste blood.

When he spoke to her directly, he made her understand in fractured English that Piers had gone to Brazil and would not be coming back. Nor could he tell her where she could contact him.

Amid another shout of laughter, he added, ‘Good luck.’

She put the receiver back on its stand and stared into space, aware that her heart was thudding erratically against her ribcage.

However unacceptable she might find it, it seemed that Chay Haddon had been speaking the truth after all. That Piers had indeed sold him the Grange, and vanished.

She could feel pain ready to explode inside her, but she dammed it back. She could not deal with her personal anguish and betrayal now, because there were other overriding considerations.

Thanks to Piers, she was now in debt for thousands of pounds, over and above her mortgage and bank loan. All over the area there were people who would soon be demanding their money, and she had no means of paying them.

She looked around her at the pleasant sitting room, with its familiar furniture and ornaments. They’d always been part of her life, but soon all of them could be lost for ever, along with the cottage, and the business.

She was without illusions about what she could be facing. Bankruptcy was staring her in the face, and it would touch everyone around her too. Zelda and Smudge could end up homeless. And there were the women in the workroom as well, who thought they were in secure employment and had taken on extra obligations as a result.

And all because she’d fallen in love.

A sob rose in her throat.

She’d trusted Piers and he’d defaulted, crudely and cruelly. Her name was on the empty account and the chequebook, and she was responsible. She had no contract or written guarantees. Nothing that could support her in law, even if Piers could be found.

He’d arranged it that way, quite deliberately, and because she loved him she’d agreed. And her naivety could cost her everything.

And it wasn’t as if she hadn’t been warned. Zelda had been openly unhappy about taking on such a big project that would absorb all Adrien’s time and energy.

‘People aren’t going to wait while you sort out the Grange,’ she’d argued. ‘They’ll go elsewhere. Tell people we’re never available. And word soon gets round. We shouldn’t put all our eggs in one basket like this.’

But she’d wanted to be totally involved in the Grange’s restoration, she thought achingly, because it was going to be her home, and she didn’t want anyone else imposing their ideas. Intruding on the idyll she was creating.

Moving like an automaton, she went through to the kitchen, filled the kettle and set it on the stove to boil. She needed some strong black coffee to clear her head while she made a list. She needed to know the entire extent of her obligations and also what work A to Z had in the pipeline.

She would also have to go back and face Mr Davidson, as well as her own bank manager. Try and arrange an overdraft facility or a further loan. And then work her way out of trouble.

She swallowed, aware that she had a hard furrow to plough.

But she had to start somewhere. See if she could pull some of the irons out of the fire before Zelda and the others got to hear the rumours that would already be flying…

They depend on me, and I can’t let them down, she thought, catching her breath convulsively. I can’t…

She fetched a notepad and a pencil and began to write.

In spite of her brave front, backed up by business suit and briefcase, all her worst fears had been confirmed by mid-afternoon.

Her own bank manager, while sympathetic, had told her that her borrowing limit was already fully extended, and he couldn’t agree another loan. And Mr Davidson had sighed heavily, looking down his nose, and had asked how she proposed to pay off her present unauthorised overdraft.

Even more dauntingly, both of them had recommended her to consult an insolvency expert ‘without delay’.

She had also been reminded that, as the Grange now belonged to Haddon Developments, she was in effect squatting, and should remove her personal effects immediately and hand over her keys to Mr Haddon’s lawyers, Frencham and Co, in the High Street.

So there was no reprieve, Adrien thought as she climbed wearily back into her Jeep. And the execution would take place as scheduled. She was shaking inwardly, and her facial muscles ached from the effort of hanging on to her self-control.

In a few short hours she had been transformed from a girl happily in charge of her own life, with a successful business and a future with the man she loved, into some kind of grotesque puppet, capable of movement only when someone else jerked the strings.

And the worst part of it all—the realisation that flayed her skin and made her stomach quiver with nausea—was that Chay Haddon was the one holding the strings.

And each time she’d encountered him he’d brought trauma with him, she thought shivering.

What in the world could have brought him back? That was what she couldn’t understand. Because his own memories of the Grange could hardly be happy ones. The housekeeper’s son, she thought, who’d been sent off to boarding school for marooning her in a tree, then banished from the house for ever for stealing her garnet pendant.

Was he seeking some kind of posthumous revenge on Angus Stretton, who’d been responsible for exiling him from the house and had also, in the aftermath, sacked his mother, who’d given such quiet and faithful service for so many years.

If so, there was a real sickness there, she thought, wrapping her arms protectively around her body.

But it was a comprehensive and sweeping retribution that he was exacting. Piers had lost his inheritance, and she—she was facing financial ruin.

As he was already well aware, she realised, recalling his jibe about her creditors. He knew exactly what he was doing. The thief had returned as a robber baron, and this time he’d stolen her whole life.

She wanted to run and hide. Seek some dark corner where no one would ever find her. But she couldn’t do that. She had to be strong—to stand her ground and fight back with whatever weapons she could get.

But first she had to say farewell to the Grange. She still couldn’t deal with the more personal loss, although she’d have to do so soon. She’d have to admit that Piers had deserted her and married someone else. Endure the inevitable gossip and speculation. Local people were kind, but only human, and her downfall would be sensational stuff. Plus, there would be resentment from those who’d worked on the Grange, and were owed money as a result.

When businesses went bust there was often a knock-on effect, and the local economy couldn’t afford it, she thought worriedly.

Gordon and his sub-contractors would be the main victims.

I’ll pay them back somehow, she vowed silently. Even it takes the rest of my life.

A life that stretched before her as bleak and empty as a desert—and, she realised, with a pang, just as dangerous.

The Grange looked beautiful in the late-afternoon sun, the mellow brickwork glowing.

Adrien swallowed past the sudden constriction in her throat and drove round to the side of the house.

To her limitless relief, there were no other vehicles around.

Don’t look too closely at anything, she adjured herself, as she left the Jeep. You can’t afford to be emotional. Not yet. Just grab your things and get out while the going’s good.

Usually when she walked across the wide entrance hall, and up the sweep of oak staircase, she felt all the pride of ownership glowing inside her. Today she couldn’t even afford a glimmer of satisfaction in a job well done.

Because Chay Haddon wasn’t just getting a house. He was getting all the heart and soul that she’d poured into it. All the love.

And she was only sorry she couldn’t tear it down, brick by brick, with her bare hands, and leave him with a pile of rubble.

Instead she was the one with the handful of dust—and the nightmares.

She walked slowly to the side door and stood for a moment, trying to control her flurried breathing. She had the key in her hand, so what was she waiting for?

She needed to go in—to get the whole thing over and done with—then be on her way. For the last time.

Gagging suddenly, she turned and ran, stumbling in her haste. She by-passed the lawn, where Chay Haddon had stood that morning, opting for the gravelled path which led to what had once been the enclosed kitchen garden but which now resembled a jungle on a bad day.

She closed her mind to the plans she’d made to transform this riot of weeds into a thriving vegetable plot again and kept running, until she reached the gate at the far end, and the area of woodland beyond it.

It was so long since she’d been here. She’d deliberately shunned this part of the grounds for sixteen years. But now, in the face of the greatest crisis of her life, she needed to confront that old childhood fear and defeat it.

She was looking for the only oak tree—an ancient, massive specimen, with room in its spreading branches for a whole terrace of treehouses.

‘So where does he go all day?’ Down the years, Piers’s voice returned to haunt her. ‘The housekeeper’s son. Where does he hide himself? Do you know?’

And she, eager to please this glamorous dark-haired boy, paying his first visit to his uncle, had said, ‘Yes—I’ll show you.’ At the same time knowing, guiltily, that she shouldn’t. That it was not her secret to share.

Now, for a moment, staring up into the branches, she thought she’d picked the wrong tree. She’d been convinced that time would roll back, and she’d find herself, just nine years old, in shorts and tee shirt, her hair in the plaits she’d hated, looking up longingly at the wooden platform that had been Chay’s hidden place.

An elderly ladder had been propped against the lower trunk, and after that you’d climbed up through the branches until you reached the treehouse.

It had had a roof of sorts, and three walls constructed out of timber oddments, but to Adrien it had been a magic place—a castle, a palace, a cave where anything could happen.

She had known, because he’d let her look through his binoculars, that Chay went there to watch birds mostly, but sometimes he’d come to read or just think. He’d kept books up there, and a sketchpad, and a tin of biscuits.

She’d asked once, ‘Isn’t it funny—being all on your own here?’

He’d looked at her thoughtfully, not smiling. ‘It’s good to be alone sometimes. You need to be comfortable in your own company before you can be happy with other people.’

Adrien hadn’t been sure what he meant, and her face must have shown it, because he’d laughed suddenly, and reached out, tugging gently at a plait.

‘Is it so awful, Adie—the thought of having no one to talk to?’

‘I’d hate it,’ she’d said, shivering as a breeze stirred the leaves and made them sigh. ‘I’d be frightened. Up here by myself.’

I actually told him that, she thought. I put the weapon in his hand and he used it against me. Used it to punish me. Unforgettably. Unforgivably.

There was no ladder there now, or platform, no flapping roof. No trace of the little girl who’d knelt there, crying, for all that endless time, convinced she’d been deserted and forgotten.

It was just—a tree.

His voice reached her quietly. ‘It’s been gone a long time, Adie. Angus had the gardener dismantle it and put it on a bonfire. I had to watch it burn.’

She spun round, her hand flying to her mouth. ‘What are you doing here?’ She’d had no inkling of his approach until he spoke.

‘You have a short memory,’ he said. ‘I own the place now—remember?’ He looked her over, absorbing the dark grey linen suit and the white silk camisole beneath it. ‘What happened to this morning’s Pollyanna?’

She said shortly, ‘Pollyanna grew up—fast. And I meant how did you know where I’d be? Because I never come here.’

‘Your Jeep was there,’ he said. ‘But the doors were still locked. I—obeyed an instinct.’

She supposed she had done the same thing, and it irked her. She lifted her chin. ‘I’m—trespassing. I apologise. I came to clear out my stuff.’

He glanced round, brows raised. ‘You’ve been camping in the wood?’ he enquired. ‘How enterprising.’

‘No,’ she said. ‘It’s in the house. I—I’ll go and fetch it—if that’s all right.’

He shrugged. ‘Be my guest.’

She offered him a frozen smile. ‘I think that’s carrying hospitality too far.’

‘As it happens,’ he said slowly, ‘you’ve already been under my roof for nearly a week.’

She swallowed, forcing her legs to move, walking back down the track. ‘The sale went through that long ago? And I wasn’t told? Oh, but I suppose it all happened in Portugal.’

‘No,’ he said. ‘I was in London, and so was Piers. He came over to sign the necessary papers before leaving for Brazil.’

For a moment she couldn’t speak. She certainly couldn’t move as she digested this latest blow.

Piers had been in England, she thought with anguish, and she hadn’t known. He’d been here, and he hadn’t warned her. She wanted to sink to her knees and howl her misery to the sky.

Chay watched her. He said, ‘Obviously he didn’t make contact.’

It was a statement, not a question. But then, he’d been able to observe her shock and desperation at close quarters earlier that day. He knew how brutal the deception had been.

Adrien straightened her shoulders and set off again. She said coolly, ‘That’s understandable. After all, I might have taken it badly—learning I’d been jilted as well as saddled with a mountain of debt. Far better to let me find out once he was at a safe distance. I suppose Brazil could be considered a safe distance. Besides, he knew what fun you’d have, breaking the news to me in person.’

His mouth twisted. ‘You have a weird idea of what I find enjoyable. But I’ll say this for you, Adie, you’re not a whinger.’

‘Give me time,’ she tossed back over her shoulder. ‘I’m planning a whinge of cosmic proportions. Would you like to buy a ticket? It seems I need every penny I can get. And you don’t have to follow me,’ she added with aggression. ‘I’m not planning to rob the place.’

‘Don’t be paranoid,’ he said. ‘We just happen to be going in the same direction.’

‘No,’ she said forcefully. ‘No, we don’t. Not now, not ever. Could you wait somewhere, please, while I collect my things? Then I’ll be out of your face.’

‘Sorry.’ He shook his head. ‘I want to look over the Grange—see what’s been done and what’s left to do.’

‘I have the whole thing on computer,’ she said. ‘I’ll send you a print-out.’

‘It might be useful.’ He was walking beside her now. The track was narrow, and it was difficult to avoid contact with him. ‘But I’d prefer a guided tour and a detailed breakdown of the renovations process from the person responsible. You.’

She halted, lips parting in a gasp of outrage. She’d transformed the Grange for Piers and herself. Her hopes and dreams were woven intimately into the fabric of each room. Too intimately to share with an interloper. She felt as if he’d asked her to strip naked.

She said jerkily, ‘I have a better idea. Hire another design team and let them fill in the missing pieces. Although you could probably sell it as it stands, if you want a fast profit.’

He gave her a hooded look. ‘What makes you think I’m going to sell?’

My accountant, she thought. She’d telephoned him earlier—asked, trying to sound casual, what he knew about Haddon Developments.

Chay, she’d learned, was a mover and shaker. ‘His speciality,’ Mark had told her, ‘is identifying major building projects that have run into financial difficulties, buying them for bottom dollar, then selling them on after completion for megabucks. He’s good at it. Why are you asking?’

‘Oh,’ she’d said. ‘Someone was mentioning his name, that’s all.’

Mark had laughed. ‘Friend or foe?’ he’d enquired. ‘Word has it he’s a good man to have on your side, but a bad one to cross. Generally he doesn’t arouse lukewarm opinions.’

She’d said lightly, ‘Thanks for the warning.’ Adding silently, It’s only sixteen years too late.

Now, she looked back at her adversary. ‘Because that’s what you do. You move in, clean up, and move on.’

‘Not always,’ he said. ‘And not this time. Because I’m going to live here.’

‘But you can’t.’ The words escaped before she could stop them.

‘Why not?’

‘You already have somewhere to live.’ Mark again. ‘You have a flat in a converted warehouse by the Thames, and a farmhouse in Suffolk.’

‘You’ve really done your homework,’ he said appreciatively. ‘When interior design palls, you could always apply to MI5.’

She shrugged. ‘Local boy makes good. That’s always news. Even if it’s the housekeeper’s son.’

‘Especially when it’s the housekeeper’s son,’ he said mockingly.

She glared at him, and walked on. When he spoke again his voice was quiet, ‘I was sorry to hear about your parents, Adie. I know how close you all were.’

She said tightly, ‘Clearly I’m not the only one to do homework.’ And they completed the rest of the walk back to the house in silence.

Outside the side door, Adrien paused and drew a deep breath. ‘If you want to make your inspection in privacy, I can come back another day for my things.’

‘No,’ he said. ‘Get them now. That is, if you’re sure you won’t come round with me.’

‘I’m certain.’

‘Don’t you want to boast of your achievements?’

She shrugged. ‘I don’t feel particularly triumphant. Anyway, you’re the expert,’ she added with edge. ‘I don’t need to point out a thing.’

‘You used to like company.’

‘That,’ she said, ‘would depend on the company. I’ll see myself out when I’ve finished.’

Once inside, she headed for the stairs, and the room she’d been using. She hadn’t brought much, and her travel bag was soon packed. She was just rolling up the sleeping bag she’d been using when Chay appeared in the doorway.

‘So you chose this room?’ He looked round, brows raised quizzically as he took in the narrow camp bed. ‘I’d have thought the master bedroom was the appropriate place for the mistress. Don’t you find this a little cramped for passion? Or did Piers like you to keep still?’

Her face flamed. ‘You bastard. You know nothing about it—nothing. Piers and I were engaged.’

His glance skimmed her bare left hand. ‘Really? Well, at least you don’t have to send the ring back for—er, recycling.’

There was a silence, then she said huskily, ‘That was an unforgivable thing to say.’

‘Yes,’ he said. ‘But so much between us, my sweet, has been unforgivable. And unforgiven.’

She snatched up the travel bag and walked towards the door which he was still blocking.

She said, ‘Will you let me pass, please?’

‘In a moment. I have a proposal to put to you.’

My God, Adrien thought. He’s going to ask me to finish the house.

Naturally, she would refuse. It would break her heart to go on working here, with all the might-have-beens. Yet—if she agreed—she could charge him a fee that would enable her to start paying her creditors. Could she really afford to turn down such a chance?

She said discouragingly, ‘Well?’

Before she could guess what he was going to do, or take evasive action, his hands had slid under the lapels of her jacket, pushing them apart, while the grey eyes made a slow, lingering survey of the swell of her rounded breasts under the clinging camisole.

He said softly, ‘Very well. Quite exquisite, in fact. You’ve grown up beautifully, Adie.’

‘Don’t call me that.’ Shaken to the core by the sudden unprovoked intimacy, she pulled away, horrified to realise that behind their silken barrier her nipples were hardening in swift, shamed excitement.

‘And don’t handle me either,’ she added, her voice quivering. ‘You have no right…’

His mouth twisted unrepentantly. ‘Not even the droit de seigneur?’

‘You bought a house,’ she said. ‘I was not included in the price. Now, let me past.’

‘Only because Piers didn’t think of it.’ His voice was reflective, and he made no attempt to move. ‘But as you’ve raised the subject, Adrien, what value do you put on your services?’

She said slowly, hardly daring to hope, ‘Are you offering to pay for the work I’ve done?’

‘That would rather depend,’ he drawled. ‘You see, it occurs to me that this house lacks something. And so do I.’

She drew a deep breath. ‘You mean that it isn’t quite finished. But it wouldn’t take much…’

‘No,’ he said. ‘That isn’t what I mean at all.’

‘Then what?’ she asked defensively, hating the way his grey gaze held hers, yet somehow unable to look away. Or walk away.

‘It needs a mistress,’ he said softly. ‘And so do I. And you, my sweet Adrien, are the perfect candidate. So, maybe we can do a deal. What do you say?’

CHAPTER THREE

SHE said thickly, ‘Is this some kind of sick joke?’

‘Do you see me laughing?’

No, she thought, swallowing. The grey eyes meeting hers in challenge were cool, direct—even insolent. The firm mouth was equally unsmiling. No—it seemed he was shockingly—incredibly—serious.

‘So you’re just adding insult to injury.’ She tried to laugh, but the sound choked in her throat. ‘Time hasn’t mellowed you, Chay. You’re still a bastard.’

He smiled. “‘Now, gods, stand up for bastards!’” he quoted softly. ‘However, I see myself more as a white knight riding to your rescue.’

‘Very chivalrous.’ Her voice bit.

‘No,’ he said. ‘I’m a businessman. You claim to be a businesswoman, and you’re in financial trouble. I’m offering you a lifeline.’ His gaze touched her parted lips and travelled down to her breasts. ‘A very personal loan,’ he added softly.

Adrien bit her lip. She said savagely, ‘Mr Davidson needs to learn some discretion.’

‘Mr Davidson didn’t tell me a thing.’ Chay propped a shoulder against the doorframe. ‘He didn’t have to. I could sense the shock waves as soon as I arrived. And when I was here earlier today, a plasterer and an electrician turned up waving major bills which had been refused payment. I’d make an educated guess that they’re just the tip of the iceberg. That you’re facing serious trouble.’

Adrien lifted her chin. ‘And if I am,’ she said curtly, ‘I’ll manage. I can survive without your particular brand of knight errantry.’

‘Then I wish you luck,’ Chay said silkily. ‘But I hope you’re not counting on a bank draft arriving from Brazil. You’d do better to rely on the National Lottery.’

‘You utter swine,’ she said unevenly. ‘You’ve got everything you’ve wanted, haven’t you? How you must be enjoying your moment of triumph.’

‘I’ve had to wait long enough,’ he said. ‘But they say that revenge is a dish best eaten cold.’

‘I hope it poisons you,’ she flung at him. ‘Now let me out of here.’

He straightened. Moved out of the doorway. ‘You’re not a prisoner,’ he pointed out mildly.

‘No,’ she said. ‘Nor do I intend to be, either.’

‘Do you imagine I’m going to keep you chained up like some sort of sex slave?’ He had the gall to sound amused. ‘What a vivid imagination you have, darling.’

‘Don’t you dare laugh at me.’ Her voice shook. ‘You can’t pretend what you’re suggesting is a normal arrangement.’

‘On the contrary, very little in your life would change.’ He sounded the soul of reason, she thought incredulously.

‘After all, you’re already living here,’ he went on.

‘That,’ she said swiftly, ‘was just a temporary convenience.’

‘Which would become a permanent one.’ The return was incisive. ‘But you’d have your debts paid, plus a free hand to finish the house exactly as you want, and staff to manage it for you. You’d go on running your business quite independently. And when I have guests you’d act as my hostess.’

‘And that’s all there is to it?’ Adrien enquired ironically.

‘No,’ he said equably. ‘My work takes me abroad a great deal. I’d expect you to accompany me sometimes. But not always.’ He paused. ‘I take it your passport’s in order?’

‘Of course,’ she said, staring at him. ‘And this conversation is totally surreal.’

‘Before commencing any project I like to establish the ground rules,’ he said silkily. ‘When I’m away, you’ll be free to come and go as you please. Entertain your own friends. Live your life.’

‘It sounds too good to be true,’ she said. ‘Which of course it is. Because when these business trips were over, you’d come back.’

‘Naturally.’ He was smiling faintly.

‘Expecting precisely what?’

‘You’re no longer a child, Adrien.’ There was a sudden harshness in his voice. ‘Or a romantic teenager, dreaming of first love. I’d expect you to fulfil your side of the deal.’

‘Just the idea,’ she said, ‘makes me physically sick.’

‘Once,’ he said slowly, ‘you didn’t feel like that.’

‘What do you mean?’ She stiffened defensively.

‘It was your birthday,’ he said. ‘You were eighteen, and you looked as if someone had lit stars behind your eyes. I wished you many happy returns of the day, and you came flying across the room and offered me your mouth to kiss. Or had you forgotten?’

There was a brief, loaded pause. Then, ‘A moment of weakness,’ she said. ‘And a long time ago.’

‘Ah,’ he said softly. ‘So you do remember?’

His glance brushed her mouth in overt reminiscence, and she felt her skin warm suddenly.

She said between her teeth, ‘And before I discovered what a treacherous, money-grabbing sneak-thief you really were.’

‘Ouch,’ Chay said thoughtfully. ‘Well, at least neither of us will be embarking on this liaison with any illusions about each other. That bodes well for our future, don’t you think?’

‘You don’t want to know what I think. And, thanks to you, I don’t have a future.’

‘How do you reason that?’

She spread her hands, then realised there was an element of weakness in the gesture and let them fall to her sides instead.

‘You say I could live my life, but that’s rubbish. What kind of existence would I have, living here as your kept woman? Who the hell would want to know me under those circumstances?’

‘Get real,’ he said wearily. ‘You’re not some Victorian virgin, ruined by the wicked squire. What difference will it make to anyone?’

‘It will make a hell of a difference to me,’ she threw back at him.

‘You didn’t mind selling yourself to Piers Mendoza.’ The casual contempt in his voice cut through the uneasy turmoil of emotion within her, bringing only swift, searing anger burning to the surface.

She said, ‘Bastard,’ and her hand came up to slap him across the face.

But his fingers caught her wrist, not gently, before the blow could reach its target.

‘I see time hasn’t soothed that temper of yours,’ he remarked with a touch of grimness as he released her. ‘Keep the fires damped down, Adrien, and don’t trade on your gender. It won’t work.’

She rubbed her wrist, staring at him with resentful eyes. ‘I thought that was exactly what you wanted me to do.’

‘Perhaps,’ he said. ‘But on my terms, not yours.’

‘Which I’m not prepared to meet. So, buy someone else to share your bed. Because I’m telling you to go to hell,’ she added fiercely.

He shrugged, unperturbed. ‘That’s your privilege, Adie. Go off—explore what other avenues you like. But don’t be surprised if they all lead back to me.’

‘I’m sure you’d like to think so,’ she said. ‘But if I have to degrade myself, I’d prefer to do it in my own way.’

‘As you wish.’ He paused. ‘My offer stands, but it has a time limit. So, if you decide to change your mind, don’t wait too long to tell me. I can be reached at the King’s Arms.’

‘Slumming at a hotel, Mr Haddon?’ Adrien asked with contempt. ‘I thought the new lord of the manor would have taken immediate possession.’

His glance went past her to the camp bed, standing forlorn and solitary beneath the window. His brows lifted mockingly. ‘On that, darling? I prefer comfort—and room to manoeuvre.’ He watched sudden colour invade her face, and laughed softly. ‘I’ll be waiting for your call.’

She lifted her chin. ‘Don’t hold your breath,’ she advised scornfully, and walked past him, out of the room.

He said, ‘You’ll be back.’

‘Never.’

‘If only,’ he continued, ‘to collect this bag you’ve packed with such care.’

Adrien swung round, mortified, to find he was holding it, his mouth curved in amusement.

‘Here,’ he said. ‘Catch.’ And tossed it to her.

She clutched it inelegantly, caught off-balance in more ways than one, then gave him one last fulminating look before turning and heading for the stairs.

Walk, she told herself savagely, as she descended to the hall. Don’t run. Don’t let him think for one minute that he’s got to you—even marginally.

But for all her bravado she was shaking when she got into the Jeep. She sat gripping the steering wheel until her hands ached, fighting for her self-control.

She thought, There must be something I can do. Oh, God, there just has to be…

Somehow she had to find a way out—a way of escape. But her immediate priority was to start the engine and get away. The last thing she wanted was to give Chay the satisfaction of finding her, sitting there as if she’d been turned to stone.

She drove home with immense care, using every atom of concentration she possessed. Not relaxing until she found herself turning the Jeep into the parking area at the rear of Listow Cottage. As she switched off the engine a small group of women came out of the workroom and walked past her, laughing and talking. When they spotted her, they gave a friendly wave.

And one day soon I’m going to have to tell them that they’re out of work, Adrien thought, feeling sick as she lifted a hand in response. As she climbed out wearily, a football bounced towards her, with Smudge running behind it. His small, rather pale face was alive with excitement.

‘Adie—Adie, guess what? We’re getting a puppy. Mum says we can go and choose it this weekend.’

Adrien paused, forcing her cold lips into a semblance of a smile. ‘Well—that’s terrific,’ she said, trying to ignore the sudden hollow feeling inside her.

Zelda had hesitantly asked a couple of weeks before if Adrien would mind her acquiring a dog.

‘Smudge would really love one,’ she’d said wistfully. ‘And so would I. Dad would never let me have a pet of any kind when I was little.’

‘I think it’s a great idea,’ Adrien had immediately approved. ‘Have you any idea about breeds?’

Zelda laughed. ‘I guess it’ll be strictly a Heinz,’ she’d said cheerfully. ‘They’ve got a couple of litters at the animal sanctuary that’ll be ready soon.’

I’ll have to talk to Zelda straightaway, Adrien thought now, her heart sinking. Warn her that she may not be able to stay on here. That the whole place could be repossessed.

Zelda’s door was standing ajar, so Adrien tapped and peeped round it, scenting the aroma of freshly ground coffee. Zelda was chopping vegetables at the table, but she looked up with a welcoming grin.

‘Hi, stranger. I saw Smudge nail you. It is still all right about the puppy?’

She waved Adrien to a chair, set a couple of mugs on the table, and checked the percolator.

It was an incredibly warm and welcoming kitchen, Adrien thought, looking round. Zelda had chosen rich earth tones to complement the stone-flagged floor, and homely pine units. Smudge’s paintings occupied places of honour on the terracotta walls, and several of them, Adrien saw with a pang, featured dogs.

Zelda had changed her own image too. The dark hair was now cut sleekly to her head, and she was wearing the black leggings and tunic that comprised her working gear. She looked sophisticated and relaxed, Adrien thought, a young woman in control of herself and her environment. But what would happen to her new-won confidence if she had to go back to the crowded family house and her father’s unceasing complaints and strictures?

And how would Smudge cope? He’d been a quiet, almost withdrawn little boy when Adrien had first met him. A child who’d never had his own space. Who’d not been allowed to play in the garden in case he damaged the prize-winning begonias that his grandfather exhibited with such pride at the local flower show. A kid whose every word and action had been subject to restriction.

‘Are you OK?’ Zelda was staring at her. ‘You’re very quiet.’

Adrien smiled constrainedly. ‘I’ve got a lot on my mind.’

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