The Blackmailed Bride

by Kim Lawrence

  Once Sarah recovered from the shock of hearing anyone speak to Javier so daringly, she let out an appreciative chuckle.

  `Kate's definitely got your number, Javier,' she told him.

  His brilliant eyes flashed. `Now you're scaring me,' he asserted sardonically.

  I'm not, Kate thought tearing her eyes free from the hypnotic glow of his, but she was scaring herself badly!

  She had no legitimate reason to wonder what it would be like to play this part for real, to conjecture on what it might feel like to actually be the loved, cherished bride Sarah thought she was. Besides, being loved by a man like Javier would he a nightmare.

  A girl would have a heck of job retaining any individual identity; he would be an overwhelming and demanding lover who would not be content to fit himself in around her busy career. It would be quite a dilemma for an independent career girl to find herself in love with a man like that ... luckily for her, her contractual obligation stopped short of that requirement!

  She congratulated herself on her impregnable heart and felt queasy.

  `Now, Kate, come and tell me everything,' Sarah sug­gested in a deeply alarming, cosy-girls-together sort of voice as she tried to draw Kate slightly apart from the men folk-a manoeuvre which Kate resisted stubbornly. `Serge's been about as informative as a rock,' she contin­ued, shooting her husband a look of affectionate exasper­ation. `So how long have you two actually known one an­other?

  'Not long.'

  Kate's evasive reply seemed to seemed to appeal to the other woman's deeply sentimental nature; her round kitten­ish eyes softened.

  `Time's not a factor when you meet the right person, is it?' she sighed soulfully. `Where are you going to live? Don't worry about the language thing, Kate... I couldn't speak Spanish when I came here, but I'm fluent now... aren't I, Serge?

  'You are indeed, querida,' he agreed smoothly. `I hate to interrupt, but the padre will be waiting...' `All right, I can take a hint.'

  'Only when it's broad,' Kate was amazed to hear her sober-looking mate drily quip.

  `Very funny... So I talk a lot,' Sarah admitted. `But at least let her open the parcel. No, it's for you, not him,' Sarah insisted with a secretive smile when Kate went to hand the parcel to Javier `Open it now,' she coaxed.

  Kate shrugged and handed Javier her sweet-smelling bouquet instead. If she hadn't been so distracted she'd have laughed at the sight of him standing there staring at the flowers as if they were about to bite him.

  `I can't accept this!' She gasped when a cobwebby lace mantilla was finally revealed; it was exquisite and clearly very old. Shaking her head she pushed it towards the other girl who held up her hands.

  `It's not really mine.' She glanced towards Javier. `I was just borrowing it. Javier let me use it on my wedding day. It was his mother's; you should wear it, Kate.'

  `I..' How to explain to a hopeless romantic who was clearly under the impression she was witnessing a love match, that she was the last person in the world Javier would want to see wearing a family heirloom?

  Javier solved her dilemma by taking the lace veil from her hands. He tilted her chin up towards him and arranged the delicate folds carefully over her bright hair.

  `She looks so beautiful!' said Sarah. Her enthusiastic clapping stilled abruptly as she remembered the sleeping baby. An anxious look revealed he was still soundly sleep­ing.

  `Very beautiful,' Javier agreed softly, putting the flowers back into her trembling hands.

  Kate's lashes lifted as, lips parted slightly, she looked directly into his eyes-major mistake! Even knowing his performance was for Sarah's sake, she couldn't halt the rippling progress of the spasm that contracted all the fine muscles across her abdomen. She snatched her eyes away, her breathing all askew.

  Oh, help! she thought, trying to smother the prickles of sexual excitement that coursed through her sensitised body as she saw the church door swing open. I can't do this!

  Against all expectation a sense of deep calm descended on Kate as she entered the tiny church. Perhaps she was af­fected by the atmosphere of cool and quiet? Perhaps she had accepted her fate? But whatever the reason, when the time came she made her responses in a clear composed voice interrupted only by the fretful whimpers of Raul. Kate was hardly aware of the off stage distractions so to­tally focused was she on the ceremony and the man beside her. If anything it was Javier who looked unexpectedly tense, perhaps he was worried that she'd wimp out at the last minute?

  She'd expected to feel as if she was taking part in travesty, a cruel parody of what should be one of the most important events in a woman's life, but when Javier lifted her veil it felt natural and right to kiss him back.

  Back out in the sunshine, on the arm of her husband­ husband!-the reality of her situation kicked in and her head literally spun.

  She found it almost impossible to concentrate when an embarrassed Sarah apologised profusely for Raul. `He needs to be fed, don't you darling?' she cooed, taking the baby from her husband. `Does anyone mind if I find a quiet corner...?'

  Her husband looked at her anxiously. `You can manage, mi esposa?' he asked.

  'You can do many things quite beautifully, darling, but produce milk isn't one of them.'

  At any other time the sight of big beefy Serge blushing would have afforded Kate considerable amusement, but at that moment all her efforts were concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. The physical and emotional demands of the last two days were finally catching up with her.

  'I think I need to sit down!' she gasped faintly.

  Javier took one look at her ghostly pallor and immedi­ately scooped her up into his arms as if she were a child. 'Por Dios!' he exclaimed as Kate's head fell limply against his shoulder.

  Javier cursed quietly under his breath. A man famed for his legendary cool, he wasn't accustomed to finding his wits flying out the window in moments of crisis, but for several seconds his mind was a total blank. What if this was some sort of delayed reaction to the head injury...? Much more likely it was a reaction to being forced into a marriage that was repugnant to her, he thought grimly.

  `This is so stupid.'

  Javier watched as her blue-veined eyelids fluttered, as if it took all her effort to lift them.

  `Perhaps I should have eaten breakfast,' she murmured vaguely.

  `There's no perhaps about it!' he thundered, relieved that the blue tinge around her lips had lessened. `I hope you are not one those foolish women who starve themselves,' he added suspiciously.

  Lifting her head from its resting place on his shoulder took all her effort. `Do I look like one?' she asked, gloom­ily contrasting her own generous proportions with Sarah's delicate ethereal build.

  `You look...' he began in a goaded voice, only to break off abruptly, his expression that of a man who'd just suf­fered a body blow. `Like a ghost,' he finished hoarsely.

  `Take her to the house, Javier. A lie-down in the cool will help. Sarah has prepared a small supper; we thought you might like...'

  `I'm not sure, but thank you, Serge. If only I'd tried to get the car all the way up here.'

  `Leave her with me, Javier, while you get the car,' Serge urged after thoughtfully scrutinising his friend's tense, strained expression.

  Javier was extremely reluctant, but he was finally per­suaded to relinquish his burden who by now was proclaim­ing herself quite capable of walking to the car under her own steam.

  `You will stay with her, Serge?

  'I won't let her out of my sight for a second,' his friend soothed.

  `This is silly!' Kate protested as she was placed beside Serge on the stone bench. `I was light-headed for a minute, that's all.'

  `You will do as I ask!' Javier announced imperiously.

  `Dream on,' Kate muttered under her breath.

  His brows arched. `You said something, querida?' `Nothing you'd like.'

  `I never doubted it,' he gritted back with a glittering -smile before he strode off. Kate watched until he
disap­peared from view; when he did a long tremulous sigh es­caped her lips.

  `You care for him... ?'

  Kate jumped at the amazed accusation voiced by the man beside her. `Pardon?'

  Serge calmly repeated his observation.

  Kate, furiously ducking and diving from the truth, found it hard to meet his level dark gaze. `I don't know him; how can I care for him'?' She laughed at the absurdity of the notion. 'Javier married me so that he can take control of the company. And if you didn't know that, I'm in big trou­ble. He'll probably accuse me of industrial espionage, this time!' she predicted wryly.

  `Is that what he told you...? That he was worried about his inheritance.' Serge shook his head and looked amused. `I take it you've never met Felipe.'

  `We don't exactly move in the same circles.' Kate was puzzled by Serge's peculiar reaction to her shocking expla­nation.

  `If you'd ever seen Felipe with Javier you would know that he'd never disinherit him; it just isn't an option,' he stated positively.

  `They've argued,' Kate explained. `He wants Javier to marry some girl...'

  Serge dismissed this with a shrug. `Sure, they clash oc­casionally, it's inevitable. They are both strong-willed, but Felipe adores Javier. Did you know he brought him up after his mother's death?'

  Something in his tone caught Kate's attention; she was good at picking up the things people didn't say. `How did she die?'

  `She took an overdose, Javier was only ten at the time, he found her.'

  `How awful!' Kate gasped, sickened by the horrifying thought of a ten-year-old child carrying that image around in his head for the rest of his life. Her tender heart ached; poor Javier. `Is his father dead, too?'

  Serge shook his head. `No. He was overcome with guilt after his wife's death; she adored him you see, but ...he was a womaniser and not a very discreet one. He drifted for some years. I believe he lives on a ranch the family owns in Venezuela these days, but he keeps a very low profile. He left Javier with Felipe; to all intents and pur­poses Felipe is the only father he remembers.'

  `But I don't u-understand...' Kate stammered, absorbing the implications of Javier's tragic family history. `Why would he marry me if what you say is true? If he knows his grandfather won't disinherit him?'

  `I'm sure he had his reasons.'

  This clearly was enough for him, but not for Kate, whose head was spinning.

  'He lied to me!' she wailed.

  `Maybe!, but I think he.. .cares for you.'

  Good God, the man had clearly been infected by his wife's terminal sentimentality. `Cares for me? Are you mad? You know how we met-all of forty-eight hours ago. He doesn't even like me!' she cried.

  Serge responded with an infuriatingly enigmatic smile. `I loved Sarah the moment I saw her.'

  `So did Javier, and much good it did him!' Kate retorted recklessly. `Oh, God!' she gasped, clapping her hand over her mouth. `I didn't mean ...I'm s-so sorry...' she stam­mered.

  `It's all right, you are not telling me anything I didn't already know.'

  Good God, had they discussed it? Now that was a mind­boggling proposition.

  `And you don't mind... ?'

  This man had to be a very unusual Spanish male if he didn't mind another man lusting after his wife, and to Kate he appeared to have the full complement of possessive traits.

  `It doesn't worry you?' No matter how much you trusted a friend, wouldn't there always be a nagging doubt? `What should I worry about, Kate?'

  Kate shook her head; she could hardly ask him if he wasn't worried that, despite his lofty ideals, one day Javier might succumb to temptation and make a move; having experienced Javier's skills on the kissing front, Kate could imagine that even a happily married woman might be hard put to resist.

  `Sarah has always been unaware of the strength of Javier's feelings and I'd like to stay that way. I know he will never mention it to her...' He looked at Kate expec­tantly.

  `I won't say a word,' she promised.

  `Good. Let me tell you a story, and perhaps you'll un­derstand why Javier will always be welcome in my house. When Sarah was young she contracted a disease, a pelvic inflammatory condition she contracted from a lover.'

  `Chlamydia.'

  `You have heard of it; I hadn't when she told me,' he admitted. `It left her unable to conceive naturally, you see, and she was afraid that I would reject her,' he recalled with an incredulous smile that wrung Kate's heart. To her way of thinking, Sarah was an extremely fortunate individual to inspire that sort of love-in not just one man but two!

  `I am not a wealthy man,' Serge continued.

  Which begged the question of how he became a close friend of Javier.

  `And NF treatment is not cheap. We scraped together enough money,' he explained. `But our expectations were frankly unrealistic and when we were not successful it hit Sarah hard; she became very depressed.' Kate could see that thinking of these dark days clearly affected him deeply.

  `But you have Raul now.'

  His dark eyes flashed. `Yes, we have Raul-thanks to Javier.'

  Kate swallowed her impatience and a desire to shake the information out of him as he lapsed once more into a re­flective silence.

  Finally she was unable to contain her curiosity.

  'Javier helped somehow...?' she prompted.

  He nodded. 'Javier arranged for us to spend some time with her family in England, and after Sarah was feeling better he arranged for us to see one of the leading infertility experts in England. The doctor was frank about our chances. Because of Sarah's previous eating disorder as well, the odds were not on our side. After much soul­ searching we decided to go ahead with the treatment; it helped enormously that Sarah had the support of her family this time, and Raul was the result.'

  Kate was stunned by this extraordinary tale of altruism, made all the more so by the fact that if Javier had wanted Sarah all he'd needed to do was stand by and do nothing while her marriage had disintegrated under the strain.

  God, what a frustratingly complex person he was. Clearly there was a hell of a lot more to Javier Montero than your average macho male. Knowing all this didn't alter the fact that her main qualification as a prospective wife had been the fact she didn't love him! It was some­thing she had better remember the next time she felt in­clined to argue with him.

  It was just as well there was very little traffic because Javier had effectively blocked the road with his car, Kate was in the middle of pointing out the inconsiderate nature of such behaviour when Sarah appeared breathlessly at their side.

  `Oh, Kate, are you all right?' she cried.

  `I'm totally fine,' Kate responded. `Don't let the fact I'm being hauled about like a sack of potatoes fool you; Javier wouldn't let me walk,' she explained, treating him to an exasperated scowl.

  `Are you sure? Serge said you fainted.' A flash of in­spiration flickered across her face. `Gosh, you're not preg­nant, are you?

  'P-pregnant...? No, I'm definitely not!' she returned, not daring to look at Javier.

  The petite blonde's face fell. `That's a pity. It would be nice if there wasn't too big a gap between Raul and your first baby.'

  Kate could hardly believe it when Javier added in a pro­vocative husky undertone that made her tummy muscles quiver, `Not yet, anyway, but she did take a drink from the spring on the way here, didn't you, querida?'

  Kate shot him a look that she hoped made clear he'd better quit all that sexy querida nonsense, or else. `It was hot and dusty,' she defended.

  Sarah looked sympathetic. `Don't tease, Javier, can't you see you're embarrassing the girl?' she remonstrated. `I hope I haven't offended you, Kate,' she worried. `It was just you had the quiet ceremony and I thought maybe...?

  'We had to get married?' Kate responded bluntly. `Well, we didn't, but...' No matter how hard she racked her brains she couldn't think of a single halfway plausible explanation for the hole in a corner nature of the ceremony.

  Unexpectedly Javier came to her rescue.
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  `My grandfather is not well, Sarah. It wouldn't have been fair to put him through the strain of an elaborate wedding, but we couldn't wait,' he explained, giving a very authentic impression of an eager lover. `Could we, querida?' he purred.

  On the receiving end of a caressing look that reduced her to a quivering wreck, Kate nodded numbly.

  `Oh I'm so sorry about your grandfather, Javier. I didn't know.'

  Javier brushed aside her embarrassed apologies. `I'm sorry Kate's not well enough to come to supper ...a raincheck?'

  `Definitely,' Sarah beamed.

  CHAPTER TEN

  UNLIKE the suite at the resort, this one had two very large bedrooms. Kate didn't have any possessions to put in the one allocated to her, but she soon discovered that Javier had anticipated this. A comprehensive array of clothes in her size, all with expensive' designer labels she coveted, were hanging up in the walk-in wardrobe and more were neatly folded on the shelves. As she fingered the fine silk of a matching set of bra and minuscule pants, she tried not to think about how he knew her bra size!

  Still a bit sleepy-eyed and grouchy after her nap in the car, she entered the sitting room carrying a bar of soap which was the same herbal-scented brand she preferred to use-no coincidence, she was sure.

  `How did you know...?

  'Meticulous research,' Javier explained languidly as he took a sip from the glass of whisky he was nursing. The ice chinked as he saluted her with it. `A shower might refresh you...' His eyes slid over her cream dress and ended up on her bare toes before making the return journey to her face. `Or would you like some food brought up?'

  In other words, I look like a dish rag!

  `A bar of soap I can live with,' she gritted unsmilingly. 'But I can't accept clothes from you.'

  `Millions of pounds you can accept but a few clothes you can't? I'm sure there's some logic in there somewhere, but I must admit it escapes me momentarily.'

  `That's not the same thing and you know it!'

  `You do need to dress for the part; as my wife you will be expected to project a certain image.'