Red Rose For Love

by Carole Mortimer

  She looked out of the window, her nose high in the air. 'I'm not sure I should tell you, your ego is big enough already.'

  'Then pander to it,' he teased.

  'I'll think about it,' she told him primly.

  Heathrow was as noisy as usual, planes landing every few minutes, the terminals full of people arriving and others trying to depart, the latter not always easy at this busy airport.

  Eve frowned as they waited for the others to come through Customs, their plane having arrived twenty minutes earlier. 'Are you sure this won't all be too much for your sister? You remember how tired Aunt Sophy was when they arrived yesterday, and she isn't pregnant.'

  ‘No,' Bart grinned. 'But she is over sixty. Here they come now!' He strode forward, Eve's hand held firmly in his as he took her with him.

  Derek and Judy appeared first, closely followed by another couple, a couple in their mid-thirties, the man tall and dark, the woman equally tall; but her hair was silky and blonde, her slender body showing the advanced state of her pregnancy. The woman turned from laughing up at her husband, and her beautiful face was instantly recognisable to Eve. The woman was Helen Prentiss, although the man at her side wasn't Carl. Bart walked straight over to the other woman, kissing her affectionately on the cheek.

  Eve at once felt sick. This woman, the woman who knew so much about her past, was Bart's sister.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  EVE stared as if in a daze, a hundred thoughts buzzing through her mind at the same time, and none of them making any sense, all of them disjointed. Helen Prentiss was now Helen Halstead. Carl had said she had a powerful family, but he hadn't mentioned that her family consisted of Bart. And now Helen was going to expose her to Bart, to tell him that his ex-brother-in-law had been the other man in her life.

  'Eve,' Bart pulled her to his side, 'this is my sister Helen and her husband David,' he introduced. 'This is Eve Meredith,' he told them proudly. 'My fiancee.'

  'Only until this afternoon, you lucky devil.' David slapped him on the back, his accent distinctly American.

  'It's a real pleasure to meet you, Eve,' and he kissed her soundly on the cheek. At any other time Eve would probably have liked him. He was a lot like Bart to look at, tall and dark, very handsome, with a confidence that went with extreme wealth and success. But at this moment she was too tensed-up to appreciate his easy charm, just waiting for the moment when his wife told Bart about her. Helen was looking at her now, her eyes no longer the dull, cold blue Eve remembered. This second marriage was obviously making her ecstatically happy. Why didn't she just tell everyone that they had met before? Why didn't she say something?

  'Helen?’ Bart prompted impatiently, obviously aware of his sister's lengthy silence too, frowning darkly at her. Helen looked up at him. 'Sorry, Bart,' she said softly.

  'I was just so overwhelmed by your choice of bride.'

  Eve bit her bottom lip painfully to stop it trembling, closing her eyes as she waited for the words that would wreck the happiness she had found this last week.

  'She's beautiful, Bart,' Helen continued. 'Too beautiful and sweet for a rake like you,' she teased. 'Welcome to the family, Eve,' and she hugged her, kissing her warmly on the cheek.

  Eve blinked up at the other woman, too dazed to make any reply. Beautiful and sweet, Helen had called her. She searched the other woman's face as she turned to laughingly hug her brother. Didn't Helen remember her? It appeared not, by her spontaneous welcome. But she would one day; she had to. She turned to welcome Derek and Judy, aware that her smile was fixed, her happiness hanging by a tenacious thread.

  'I'm really happy for you,' Derek hugged her.

  'Me too,' Judy added.

  'Not as happy as I am.' Bart's arm came possessively about her shoulders. Helen laughed. 'No one could be as happy as you are. I've never seen you like this before,' she added gently. His arm tightened. 'I'd never met Eve before.'

  'Love certainly agrees with you,' his brother-in-law told him. 'Shall we all get out of this crush? Helen, are you okay?'

  She did look a little pale. 'I'm just tired,' she smiled.

  'One of Maisie's delicious lunches, a little nap, and I'll be just fine.' She put a hand through the crook of her husband's arm. 'I wouldn't miss seeing Bart get married for anything. I always remember he claimed he would never get caught in that trap.' She wrinkled her nose teasingly at her brother. 'What do you say now, Bart?'

  He had got them all safely out of the airport terminal and into the limousine by this time. 'Once I'd met Eve,' he turned to smile at her, 'I walked right inside and locked the door behind me.'

  If Eve was quiet on the drive the other five passengers in the car made up for it, all seeming to talk at once. She was just glad to rest her head back against the leather upholstery and be ignored. What was she going to do? How could she marry Bart knowing that one day his sister might remember that she was the girl she had once tried to buy out of her husband's life?

  By the time they reached Bart's house she had a headache that made her temples throb, almost blinding her. She had been wanting to cry for the last hour, had known that the wedding everyone had been happily discussing would never take place. She couldn't marry Bart, not knowing her happiness could be ripped from her at any time.

  'Are you all right, darling?' Bart frowned as they entered the house. 'You're looking very pale.'

  'Nerves,' she dismissed. 'I—I'll just go into the lounge and say hello to Aunt Sophy and Uncle George, and then I—

  I think I'll go and rest for a while.' She gave him a jerky smile. 'I haven't been sleeping too well lately.'

  He squeezed her hand. 'By all means rest, my love. The rest of the—day is going to be tiring.'

  She knew he meant to tease, and yet she couldn't meet his humour, hastily excusing herself to go and talk to her aunt and uncle. They had arrived back from Egypt the day before, and would be leaving for Norfolk straight after the wedding—the wedding that wasn't going to be.

  By the time she finally reached her room her throat ached from the effort of holding back the tears. Once in her room they were allowed to flow freely, her despair so deep she couldn't seem to stop crying once she had started. This morning she had been so happy, looking forward to spending the rest of her life with Bart, and now she had only long, endless years without him in front of her.

  She didn't hear the light knock on the door, or know that Helen Halstead had entered the room, until the other woman sat down on the bed beside her.

  Eve spun round, hastily rubbing the tears from her face. 'What do you want?' she demanded in a choked voice. 'I—I thought I might rest before the wedding,' she invented, feeling as if she would never rest again. Helen's expression softened. 'You have nothing to fear from me, Eve,' she told her gently. Eve sat up, licking the tears from her top lip. 'I—I don't know what you mean.' She gave a bright meaningless smile. 'Shouldn't you be resting too?'

  'I will be, in a moment. I wanted to come and talk to you first.' Helen stood up to pace the room, the deep blue maternity dress the colour of her eyes. 'I'll admit that when I first knew Bart was to marry you it was a bit of a shock to me.'

  She knew! This woman already remembered exactly who she was. 'You didn't act shocked--'

  'Not at the airport, Eve. I'm not talking about there. Bart told me over the telephone who he was marrying. I've never forgotten you----'

  'I don't suppose you have,' Eve choked bitterly.

  Helen shook her head. 'Not for the reason you mean. I've never forgotten what Carl did to you.1 Her mouth twisted. 'I'd always known he was cruel, but what he did to you-----! That I could never forgive. And he thought a few roses could make up for doing that,' she added with disgust. Eve was deathly white. 'You—you know about——'

  'Oh yes,' Helen gave a harsh laugh. 'Carl boasted of it to me. When I met you at the apartment I could see how upset you were, how shocked, and you were covered in bruises. When I asked Carl about it he thought it very amusing to tell me exactly what he'd
done to you.'

  'Oh no!' Eve buried her face in her hands.

  Helen gently touched her arm. 'I told you he was cruel. He thought it would bother me. It did, but not in the way he expected. That day I took the children and left him. For years I'd put up with his behaviour, the humiliation of his other women, the way he used to get drunk and—Well, he was just an obnoxious human being. And knowing what he'd done to you gave me the courage to leave him. I felt so sorry for you, wanted to help you, but when I got back to the apartment you'd already gone. When Bart told me he was marrying someone called Eve Meredith I could hardly believe the coincidence. His description of you more or Jess confirmed my belief that you were the same Eve Meredith.'

  'I'm sorry. I—I had no idea that you and Bart--------I can't marry him now.' 'Why can't you?' Helen demanded to know. 'He loves you---'

  'Now,' Eve nodded. 'But not when he knows. Oh, he knows there was someone else, but not—but not----'

  Helen's gaze was probing. 'You don't intend marrying Bart, do you?'

  She shook her head. 'I can't.' She looked up with tear-wet eyes. 'I love him, but I can't marry him.'

  'You can,' Helen said firmly. 'He loves you so much. I've never seen Bart so happy. He's completely different—

  carefree, boyish, and so proud of you.' She gave a tearful smile. 'I never thought I'd see my brother like that.'

  Eve drew in a ragged breath. 'Will you help him when I—when I've gone? He won't understand, and— Tell him the truth for me.' She shivered. 'I couldn't bear for him to come after me and then have to let him go again.'

  'You're making a mistake, Eve. Bart isn't like that.'

  'Carl was his brother-in-law! Eve cried.

  'Yes,' Helen agreed heavily. 'All right, Eve, have it your own way. And I'll explain to Bart. I'll do that for you at least. I just wish----'Thank you, Helen,' Eve said shakily. 'I'd like to pack now.'

  That wasn't so easy when she was crying as if her heart would break. And it felt as if it had. When Bart came bursting into the room she almost fainted, the room seeming to sway dizzily for several seconds.

  'Eve!' His arms came protectively about her, holding her firmly against him. 'Oh God, Eve!' he groaned into her throat. 'You aren't leaving me. You can't!'

  'Helen----'

  'Yes, she told me.'

  'She shouldn't have told you yet. When I'd gone----'

  'I'd have throttled her if she'd waited until then. And she knew it. I know it all, Eve, and none of it makes the slightest bit of difference to the way I love you. If Carl were alive——'

  'He's dead?' she gasped.

  Bart nodded. 'About a year ago, in a road accident. He died the way he lived, violently. I had no idea of the life Helen led with him until she left him. Helen had always been too proud to let anyone know what a disaster her marriage to him was. God, now I know why you hated my roses,' he groaned. 'I sent red roses because to me they've always meant love, true love. To you they meant a reminder of the violence Carl showed you. When you're my wife-—'

  'You can't still want to marry me,' she protested.

  'I'm going to marry you.'

  "No-----'

  'Yes! And maybe in about fifty years I'll be able to give you red roses to show how much I love you.'

  Tears filled her eyes, tears of happiness this time. 'I'll never destroy red roses from you again,' she choked. 'Oh, Bart, I love you!' She flung her arms about his neck, hugging him to her.

  'I love you too. Just remember dial, and the promise you made me, the next time you get the crazy idea of leaving me. I'd follow you, Eve,' he added deeply, 'and I'd find you, wherever you were. We have something special, darling, something that will never be destroyed. Do you believe-me?'

  'Yes,' she breathed huskily. 'Oh yes!'

  And when she took the single red rose Bart handed her before they went before the registrar to make their marriage vows she knew that she did believe. Bart had given her his heart, and he would never take it back.