by Margaret Way
Miranda couldn’t prevent a sick moan. “Burn in hell? She’s my mother, Corin! I feel more pity for her than anger or a thirst for revenge.” She went to stand in front of one of Zara’s shimmering landscapes, hoping it would calm her. “Do you see anything of her in me?” she turned to ask.
The anguish in her beautiful sparkling eyes made Corin move with swift, unleashed power. He pulled her into a long kiss. Not gentle. A kiss of craving that contained a high degree of emotional frustration. “No, no, a thousand times no! I refuse to allow you to distance yourself from me with these worries,” he muttered, his mouth still pressed against hers. “Leila erased you from her life. You must do the same to her. I have such need for you, Miranda. Can’t you feel it? I can’t stand to be apart. I want to bind you to me in marriage.”
Marriage?
Shock left her momentarily speechless. For a minute she thought she was weightless. Ready to take wing. She all but lost her breath. Hot blood rushed to her face. She felt wildly elated, astonished, wanting to follow wherever he went yet fearful of the consequences. She put trembling fingers to his lips. “Corin, no!” she whispered, as though their futures were already in jeopardy. “You must think of the fall-out!” His was no ordinary family. Dalton Rylance was an industrial giant. Corin was his son and heir. Her heart was beating so fast she might have been running…running…running.
But Corin wanted to marry her! She wanted to give herself up to the ecstasy, but terror stripped it back.
“Do you love me or don’t you?” He gripped her shoulders, very much the dominant male.
She heard the hard challenge in his tone. She took a deep breath. “You know I love you. It’s just that I can’t keep seem to keep up with all the shocks! I’m thrilled out of my mind you want to marry me. I’m honoured. But you must see better than I how talk of marriage right now might affect Leila? When it comes to you, I don’t think she’s quite sane.”
“Ah, to hell with Leila!” he cried, near violently. “She might go after what she wants, but so do I. I want you.”
“You have no doubts?” It was almost impossible to centre herself, so high was she soaring.
“None whatsoever!”
“When we know Leila is the enemy? One who will stop at nothing? She made her position very plain to me. If she is to suffer any consequences, she’ll make sure we all do. She could hurt the people I love as a way of hurting me. There could be public scandal. A huge rift in the family. And what of your standing in Rylance Metals? Could that be undermined? We’re dealing with a woman who would lie and lie and lie. The most outrageous lies are often believed. I believed all my life my grandparents were my parents.”
A wave of anger for what had been done to all of them swept him. “Your grandparents were good people, doing everything they could to protect you. You had a happy, stable childhood. It shows. You might consider I’d suffer much more if I heeded your concerns about Leila. If secrets are to come out, let them. Hold them up to the light of day. There’s nothing and no one who could make me give you up.”
She felt like weeping at the depth of emotion in his face, in his voice. Love from Corin, when her mother was spitting hate. “Maybe it’s best if I go home.”
“Well, yes, I want you home,” he confirmed strongly. “But of course Leila has the greatest chance of tracking our every movement there. Not that I care. We have to deal with her sooner or later. She might be crazy mad, but not mad enough to risk having her story come out. Dad isn’t a man to privately let alone publicly humiliate. Leila could well get more than she bargained for.”
“Would you like to unmask her?” She lifted her eyes to him, loving him with all her heart, but knowing Leila had caused a shift in the landscape.
“Yes,” he said with certainty. “But I want you more than I could ever want to bring Leila unstuck. It’s as Zara and I have told you. We abide by your decision. The fact that Leila is your mother is irremediable. We can’t change it. We can work around it. She’s not a fool. She’s got very used to being rich. The houses, the clothes, the jewellery, the travel.”
“So we lie to your father?” She broke gently away. She couldn’t think clearly with his arms around her. “You want me to live a lie? I suppose I have to. I can imagine the effect on him if I told the truth. It could destroy their marriage!”
“Forgive me if I don’t think it a tragedy,” Corin said caustically, fuelled by frustration. He wanted Miranda desperately, yet knew she was withholding some part of herself. “You can’t have it both ways, Miranda. You can’t protect your mother and not suffer some harm to yourself.”
“But think what a huge target I’d make if we suddenly announced our engagement.” Her turquoise eyes dominated her small face. “Think of it. You’re a Rylance. Dalton Rylance’s heir. The press would want to know everything about me. They’d send some hotshot reporter to check on me and my background.”
He had given that situation plenty of consideration. If Leila overnight suddenly revealed she had been triumphantly reunited with her long-lost daughter, all hell would break loose.
“Corin, you must listen.” Her eyes had been truly opened to her mother. She was chillingly self-centred.
He lifted a quelling hand. “Let me work it out, Miranda. There has to be a resolution. You don’t want your mother brought to account. So be it. The press side of it can be handled. We have people whose job is to take care of that. No one has unearthed any story on Leila, for a start. Very likely my father saw to that. Any story can be killed if enough influence is brought to bear. My father is a very powerful man. You really don’t know how powerful. He’s an industrial giant. God knows what fairy tale Leila told him, but if he didn’t entirely swallow it he certainly took care of it. I’ll take care of this.”
He gave her a little space of time, then he went to her, drawing her into his arms. “I think I’d die without you.” He bent to kiss her, the touch of his mouth exquisitely tender.
She felt its imprint right through her body. He kissed her under the chin, along her neck, making every pulse jump and her eyes glisten with tears.
“Do you believe, as I do, there’s only one person for us in life, Miranda?” He laid a tender hand on her breast. “One person out there for us to find. Some never manage it, no matter how hard they search for their soul mate. The blessed do. That’s how I feel about you. You’re my one person. We can and will marry. And no one will be allowed to stand in our way.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE Peninsula Beijing was his father’s five-star hotel of choice when in the great city on business. It boasted everything he wanted. Understated elegance, top-notch amenities and an English-speaking staff. To keep Leila happy there was a luxury shopping arcade where she could spend his money to her heart’s content. His father never set a limit on her.
Queensland’s vast mineral resources and its mining boom had earned mining magnates like his father enormous wealth. Dalton Rylance’s total preoccupation was making money. Huge profits for Rylance Metals. Corin had been arguing strongly for some time now for the industry to tackle other issues that needed to be acted on. Like promoting a higher standard of living for their mining communities for a start. God knew, enough money was being generated. He had been speaking on an off to other members of the board, taking the issue right to them, and been gratified to learn they weren’t turning a deaf ear like his father. Such a high level of prosperity demanded the big players like Rylance address problems within the industry. When his day came—hopefully before then—that would certainly be the case.
China was a monolith. A great power and a most highly valued trading partner. Their negotiations with one of its leading corporations had spun out for several additional days. There were difficulties, always difficulties, trying to arrange a “marriage”, but finally they had an outcome that both parties could agree on. A significant mining investment in Rylance Bauxite would be made. A decision that had brought a hugely satisfied smile to his father’s handsome face.
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“Great idea of yours, son, learning Mandarin like our PM,” he said proudly, punching Corin’s shoulder. “By the way, Lee wants to take us in his private plane to the Anhui Provence. We haven’t been there. The landscape is supposed to be magnificent—lots of scenic wonders Leila might enjoy. Great men were born in the province, I understand, and it’s famous for its arts and crafts—that sort of thing. I’d like you to come. Liang wants you along as well. He’s formed a very high regard for you.”
“And me for him,” Corin said sincerely. “I’ll think about it, Dad.”
“Do,” Rylance urged. “Regular flights shuttle around, of course, but Lee loves piloting his own plane. He knows the whole province like the back of his hand. I’d like us all to enjoy it—and his hospitality.”
Leila carried her burning rage with her to the ancient city. It was a rage that she had never experienced before. She had watched Corin sidestep any number of the suitable young women that inhabited his privileged circle. She had used to congratulate herself on how she had helped see them off. Now everything had changed.
Miranda had entered their lives. Miranda—her own daughter. The turn of events defied belief. She suddenly saw Corin, the object of her long-held sexual desire, being taken away from her. Her infatuation for him had never diminished. It had only grown stronger over the years. Corin had matured into the whole man: brilliant, stunning good looks, charm, impressing everyone who came his way. She hated the way she felt sometimes. Hated it. It was like being held in bondage. The very fact she was dealing with her own daughter demanded she show mercy, but she had to be a monster, because she couldn’t manage a flicker. It was Miranda who had captured Corin’s attention. Miranda who had come between her and her fatal obsession. Miranda needed punishing.
For some little time now she had felt Dalton’s desire for her lessening. It had been years, after all. She counted on maintaining her beauty unimpaired until at least forty-two, forty-three. There were so many aids. But youth, unmatchable youth, never to be regained, was on her daughter’s side. Miranda was exquisitely pretty. How ridiculous, then, was her ambition to become a doctor? That lofty profession was very much part of Jason’s family.
There—she’d thought it. Jason! She had hardly given him a thought in twenty years, until that shocking night in London when she had turned around to see him reincarnated in his daughter. There were, after all, genes. It was to be expected. Miranda was so much like him, and his sister Roslyn. The resemblance was amazing. It had struck her dumb with fear.
Leila forced herself to take several deep breaths. Dalton was full of this trip to the Anhui Province. She was expected to go. They did everything together. And Dalton wanted Corin to accompany them. In many ways, Dalton idolised his son. He was enormously proud of him. When the time came Dalton was convinced Rylance Metals would be in safe hands.
Leila made a snap decision. She pivoted on her stiletto heels, going to the door of the suite. Dalton had gone for drinks with a couple of his American cronies, also in Beijing on business. With any luck at all Corin might still be in his room. Only one way to find out. Pay him a visit.
Corin answered the light tap on the door, only to find Leila, of all people, hovering with every appearance of nervousness. That was a first.
“Dad’s not here, Leila,” he told her briskly. “That’s if you’ve come to find him and not corner me? He’s having a drink with Hank Gardner and his business partner.”
“I know.” She expelled a quick breath. “May I come in?”
Corin’s smile was faintly twisted. “What? Aid and abet a designing woman? I’m sorry, Leila, I’m just about to go out. What is it you want, anyway?”
“It’s about Miranda,” she said, actress that she was, managing to force tears into her eyes. “I may have deserted her, but I do care about her, you know.”
“Yeah, right! Give me a break, Leila!” Corin continued to mock, his sexual presence so strong, so exciting, she wanted to throw herself at him, be gathered up in his arms. His youth—he was not yet thirty—his devastating good looks and the enormous energy that radiated off him only underscored the fact her husband was ageing.
“Please, please, just let me inside for a moment,” she pleaded. “We have to talk. Really it’s for the best.” She managed to push past him, hurrying into the room, where she settled herself in an armchair, pressing down on its sides because her hands were shaking so much. This was her last-ditch stand. “Are you serious about my daughter?”
“Your daughter?” Corin scoffed. “That’s right—so she is. You’ve been a great mother, Leila. All that money you sent to help out. Well, listen, and listen up well. I’m madly, deeply and irrevocably in love with Miranda. I intend to marry her.”
Leila reacted as if he had shot a deadly arrow that had hit its mark. “You can’t”. A look of extreme pain crossed her face. Real pain. He hadn’t known she was capable of it. “I won’t allow it.”
“How can you possibly stop it?” He gave her a long, challenging look.
“I’ll go to Dalton,” she said, throwing up her burnished head. “I’ll confess my past.”
“What? Version Two? He might well ask how many versions there are. I know you enjoy your power over him, Leila, but do you really believe you can sell him another sob story?”
Leila glanced about wildly. “I know how to handle your father, Corin. Miranda may look like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, but she’s a born schemer. She went after you like I went after your father. She freely admitted it to me. Proud of it, actually. We’re two of a kind, you see.”
“Quite sure of that, are you?” Corin remained standing, looking down at her with a vestige of Miranda’s pity.
“She wants ten million to go away,” Leila announced with great intensity. “That’s sterling, would you believe? I told her I couldn’t possibly put my hands on an amount like that. She then started to talk increments. She was relishing her power over me, her own mother. She said she would go to Dalton and give him the true story. How I abandoned her and my parents. Left them to rear her. No word from me. Ever. I told her in return for the money she would have to give you up completely. I have to be able to trust her, you see.”
“Takes one sinner to know another,” he mocked.
“True.” Leila’s face brightened. “She’s quite the little con-woman.”
“Is she, now?” Corin gave her a hard stare. “Leila, I’m worth a great deal more than ten million in any currency. Wouldn’t she do better sticking with me?”
“But she doesn’t love you, my dear!” Leila’s voice rose, verging on hysteria. The room was swimming before her eyes. “She told me. She used you. She’s been planning her revenge all these years. She wants to ruin me. Surely you realise that? You have to trust me, Corin. I care too much about you to see you get hurt. You would have no future with Miranda. It wouldn’t take you long to see her in a different light. She would repulse you. No, don’t shake your head. You should have been there when she was talking to me. It was a revelation. She enjoyed seeing me suffer.”
And there it was, he thought. What he hadn’t considered. Leila was suffering as she had made others suffer. He could almost find it in his heart to feel sorry for her. Only there was his mother. And Zara. And her attack on Miranda. “Leila, the last thing Miranda wants is to see you suffer,” he said, his expression grave. “You’re far too self-centred, too self-absorbed to see that. Miranda is a creature of the light. She’s beautiful, tender, capable of giving great joy. I’m going to marry her. You need to accept that.”
But Leila couldn’t accept it. She had allowed her obsession to grow and flourish. “I never will!” She shot to her feet, her tortured expression showing the full depth of her futile passion.
“Leila, you know you have to drop this matter,” Corin said urgently. “For your own sake. I’ve seen Dad turn on people. It’s like watching a guillotine come down. You must get over this stupid infatuation, whatever it is. I am not and never have been attrac
ted to you. What we have to do now is get a handle on the whole situation. Miranda refuses to see your life destroyed. You’re her mother. Your mother continued to care deeply about you to her dying day. Miranda is respecting her grandmother’s wishes as well. She must have been a fine woman, your mother. She brought Miranda up beautifully.”
“But you’ve got entirely the wrong idea of Miranda!” Leila cried fiercely, not to be swayed. “Revenge has dominated her life. I’ll tell you this, Corin, and mark my words— I’ll break up my own marriage before I let you marry Miranda.” Her golden-brown eyes glittered with real tears. “You won’t come out well over this. We both know your father’s temper. The way it bubbles up in him, then explodes. He won’t let his plans for you go by the board. He has his mind set on that Atwood girl. He would never accept Miranda. You could be doing yourself and your career great damage.”
Corin shook his head. “I don’t think so. But that’s a risk I’m prepared to take. Nothing in this world will stop me. I love Miranda. I honour and respect her. I loved her from the moment I laid eyes on her. Which you should know was nearly four years ago. Miranda could have gone to my father then. She didn’t. She came to me. She wants to be a doctor. She will be a doctor. She has what it takes. As for me, I’ll be very happy to have a doctor in the family. You should know I’m going to track down her father’s family. It’s up to Miranda, of course, if she wants to make contact.”
Leila’s face turned ashen. “You fool! Men are such fools!” She rose, then stalked past him, head up, her bronze eyes filled with anger and loathing. “You may not believe me yet, Corin, but my daughter is playing you for all she’s worth. It happens. I should know. I played your father.”