by Lucy Gordon
‘Would you like some more tea?’ he asked tersely.
‘Thank you, yes.’
Ferdy leaned close to Meryl’s ear. ‘Where did you get that accent?’
‘From TV,’ she informed him in her normal voice.
As breakfast was coming to an end Sarah played what should have been her master card. ‘Miss Winters, we all owe you an apology. What my brother did was disgraceful. We both feel that, don’t we, Jarvis?’
‘Disgraceful,’ Jarvis echoed.
Meryl couldn’t resist. ‘Really?’ Her voice suggested unplumbed depths of innocence. ‘Whatever did he do?’
Sarah stared, wrong-footed. ‘Why, he-you mean, you don’t know-?’
For a moment an appalling vista of explanations opened up before them all. Jarvis glanced from one woman to the other and his lips twitched, but he kept his own counsel.
‘Of course she does,’ Ferdy grinned. ‘It’s all right, sis. I’ve made my peace. Meryl’s a very forgiving lady.’
‘For your sake, I hope so.’ Sarah made a partial recovery and addressed Meryl. ‘You must be very annoyed at having wasted your time.’
‘Who says I’ve wasted it? I’ve never been in these parts before, and I’m going to have a fine time looking around.’
‘We’ve got to recover the car,’ Ferdy pointed out.
‘And then I have to explain myself to the hire company,’ Meryl said.
‘I wonder how you’ll do that,’ Jarvis murmured.
‘With great difficulty,’ she came back at him. ‘They’ll probably say something about silly women. I’ll just have to put up with it.’
She was looking directly at him, and suddenly a grin broke over his face. It was a young, hilarious grin, inviting her to share his amusement. It hinted at the man he might have been if care hadn’t bowed him down too early, and seemed mysteriously to be linked with every other aspect of Larne that was subtly creeping into her heart.
‘Well, I’m sure we’re all grateful for your forbearance,’ Sarah declared, taking charge again. ‘It can’t have made a pleasant welcome for you, but I’m afraid you fell foul of the Larne family motto-Let invaders tremble.’
‘Is that what I am?’ Meryl asked hilariously. ‘Me? In that case, perhaps I should move into a hotel.’
It was a bluff. Hell would freeze over before she left a place that was proving more interesting by the minute. She was still watching Jarvis, feeling something start to sing inside her.
He pulled himself together with an effort. ‘I hope you’ll feel able to accept my hospitality as long as you need it.’
‘Why, how nice of you to ask! And so unexpected. I do hope I’m not putting you out.’
‘Not at all,’ Jarvis assured her.
She knew he’d understood her bluff, but was too much of an English gentleman to call it. The first round to her. As she prepared to go he rose to his feet with old-world courtesy, and Meryl could have sworn she surprised a look of reluctant appreciation in his eyes.
Ferdy was a charming companion, even if she did know he had an axe to grind. He conveyed her to the shore in his little boat, powered by an outboard motor, tied it up and led her to where he’d parked his car.
Once they’d driven along the coast to Whitby, locating her own vehicle was no problem. Everyone knew of the red sports car that had appeared as the water fell, trapped between some rocks, and vanished as the water rose again. It was a simple matter to arrange for a local firm to rescue it at the next low tide.
‘In the meantime, all my clothes are down there with it,’ she sighed.
An afternoon in the local shops took care of that. To Meryl, used to having everything made for her, it came as an eye-opener how much she liked the chic, sexy garments she found in this little place.
‘I’d have had to pay ten times as much for this in New York,’ she said, parading before Ferdy in a deep red woollen dress. ‘And I love it.’
She’d meant to buy only the bare essentials until she could get back into Benedict’s care, but she came away loaded with parcels. By that time the day was advanced and she called the castle to let Hannah know she wouldn’t be there for a meal. Then Ferdy took her to dinner and they had a long talk.
Late in the evening he ferried her across the water, carried her bags to the door, kissed her cheek, and went away, whistling. Hannah met her with the news that she’d left out ‘a little snack’ in the Library.
The Library lights were off except for one standard lamp and the fire. She chose a chair by the hearth, sitting cautiously lest the fragile brocade be further damaged. It was here Jarvis found her a few minutes later, followed by his dogs. He set down a bottle of wine and two glasses on a low table, and dropped to his knees to build up the fire. In his old darned trousers, and a shirt open at the throat, he seemed to glow with the fire, a healthy, vibrant countryman who’d spent his day in the open.
When he’d finished arranging logs he remained sitting on the floor, filling the glasses with wine.
‘Did you find your car?’ he asked.
‘Yes, but it’s wedged between some rocks and it’s going to take a crane to lift it out. They’ll do it tomorrow. In the meantime I had to buy some new things. I shall be glad to get out of this suit.’
‘It must be difficult wearing the same clothes two days running,’ he agreed.
‘Oh, stop that! We did all our fighting last night. Quit treating me like an enemy you had to repel.’
Not an enemy, but a danger, he thought. The greatest danger Larne had ever faced. The next moment she did something even more threatening.
‘Look, I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘This was all my fault-well, no, part of it was Ferdy’s fault. Anyway, it wasn’t yours. I suppose it was a bit much to descend without warning and expect you to cope.’
That nettled him. ‘I can cope with whatever gets thrown at me.’
‘Really? Most people say I’m too much for anyone to cope with.’
‘You flatter yourself,’ he said ironically.
‘That’s unkind when I’ve apologised.’
He grinned reluctantly. ‘You know how to cut the ground out from under a man’s feet.’ Whatever he’d expected, it wasn’t an apology.
Meryl uncovered the snack, which turned out to be chicken and salad and trifle. The dogs promptly gave her their full attention.
‘What are their names?’
‘Rusty and Jacko. They’re pests. I don’t know why I bother to keep them.’
‘Because you’re crazy about them,’ Meryl said.
He grunted. ‘Yes, that must be it.’
Rusty had been watching her carefully. Suddenly he dived for the plate and seized the chicken piece up in his mouth before she could stop him.
‘No,’ she cried in horror, terrified of the chicken bones that could splinter and choke him. ‘Give it to me. Bad dog.’
A tug of war ensued with neither side winning. At last, with the determination of despair, Meryl thrust her fingers right into his mouth. ‘Give it to me.’ Rusty made a sound that wasn’t exactly a growl, more like a soft rumble of protest. ‘Give it to me. Ouch!’
With a huge effort she managed to retrieve the chicken and blew on her fingers where Rusty’s protest had caught them.
‘Did he bite you?’ Jarvis asked, frowning.
‘No, just a little nip, and he didn’t mean it. Didn’t even break the skin.’
‘Let me see.’ He took her slender hand between his big strong ones and studied it closely. At last he gave a grunt of satisfaction and returned it to her. ‘You’re lucky. They’re the gentlest dogs alive, but even I wouldn’t put my hand in their mouths when they’re eating.’
‘I suppose it was stupid, but I once saw a dog choke to death on splintered chicken bones, and it’s something I never want to see again.’
‘When was that?’
‘When I was a little girl. I had a spaniel called Potts that I was crazy about. Nobody ever warned me about chicken, so I fed him some and he
died right there in my arms.’
‘What about your parents?’
‘My mom was dead by then.’
‘Your father?’
‘Well, Dad was kind of busy. When he did come home, we didn’t talk about Potts. In fact-’ She fell silent.
‘What?’ Jarvis asked.
‘I’ve just remembered-Dad came in one evening and went straight to his study to work. He said, “I hope that dog of your hasn’t been in here again.” But Potts had been dead for three weeks. He’d just forgotten.’
‘Maybe he didn’t know-if he was away a lot-’
‘He was home when it happened. When I cried he’d said, “Daddy’ll buy you another dog”, and I threw a terrible tantrum because there could never be another dog and he didn’t understand. Whatever it was, he thought you could always “buy another”.’
Jarvis was watching her face, noticing its softer lines in the firelight. ‘Did you remind him that Potts was dead?’ he asked at last.
Meryl shrugged. ‘No chance. He was gone before I could answer.’ She turned to the dogs and crooned lovingly, ‘You stupid, stupid creatures!’ She fondled their heads and kissed them. ‘They’re getting grey. How old are they?’
‘Ten. I had their sire, and his before him.’
‘Then don’t you have any of their offspring lined up to take their place?’
He shrugged. ‘As you say, some dogs can’t be replaced.’
He refilled her glass and they sipped wine together for a moment, neither wanting to break the silence.
Her hair was damp from sea spray and she pulled it down about her shoulders to dry by the fire. It was very long and black and-he had to admit-very beautiful.
Eyes like jade, hair of ebony…
He shut the thought off, impatient with himself for even remembering the legend and the stone inscription. But it was hard not to remember it when Hannah was doing her best to remind him.
And not only Hannah. Somehow the news had spread to his estate on the mainland, and wherever he’d gone today he’d received eager, enquiring looks from his tenants and employees.
Meryl was looking at the portrait over the fire. ‘Who’s that?’
‘My grandfather. He was an army general.’
‘He looks like he’d have been fun to know.’
‘His men didn’t find him fun. He was a terror.’
‘But I’m not a man,’ Meryl pointed out. ‘I’ll bet he was a devil with women. You can see it in his eyes.’
Jarvis was about to protest at this superficial character reading when he recalled Ferdy saying, ‘He was a terrible man for the women,’ on the very day they’d first discussed Meryl Winters, and agreed that the general would have sent her away-but only after tumbling her in the hay.
Now Jarvis wished he hadn’t thought of that, because if ever a woman was made to be tumbled it was this one.
Lord Larne could take his pleasure wherever it pleased him. Over the centuries some Larnes had pleased themselves more than others. The present holder had an innate reserve and caution that made him pass up most of his chances, although he had far more than his title going for him. He had the well set up looks of a man in his prime, and a powerful masculine vitality that made women study him with interest. Just occasionally there was something else to mark him out as General Larne’s grandson, a look of the devil, a hint that if he let down his guard…
But he never did. He couldn’t afford to.
And with this woman, above all, he couldn’t afford to. For a moment he knew something like regret, but he silenced it. He had to keep his head.
CHAPTER FOUR
M ERYL yawned and stretched, leaning back against the chair, then relaxing in an attitude of languid grace. ‘Sarah not here?’ she asked innocently.
‘No, she went home earlier.’
‘That’s a relief,’ she murmured. ‘I’m so afraid of her.’
He gave a crack of laughter. ‘I reckon you can take care of yourself OK.’
‘Reckon I can.’
‘Sarah’s an old friend, and very protective of Larne and its ways. I’m afraid she sees you as an invader.’
Meryl tossed a little grenade at him. ‘No more than you do.’
He winced. ‘Let’s forget that. Little though you might believe it, Larne also has a tradition of hospitality.’
‘Always assuming that you can tell the difference between guests and invaders.’
‘That can be a problem. The castle was built to ward off invasion. The threat was from the north. There was a whole string of castles constructed along the north coast, and Larne was one of them.’
‘But why was it built out in the sea?’
‘It wasn’t. In those days this was part of the land, but it’s been eroded.’
‘You ought to fortify that causeway,’ Meryl mused, ‘before it vanishes altogether.’
‘Yes,’ he said in a voice that was suddenly distant.
She gave him a puzzled look, then illumination dawned. ‘Did I just become an invader again?’
He groaned at himself. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Well, it wasn’t much of an invasion if you had to rescue me from drowning,’ Meryl pointed out. Suddenly she began to laugh.
‘What is it?’
‘I was just thinking of what I must have looked like,’ she choked. ‘Coming to storm the castle and having to be rescued like a drowned rat.’
She lay back and crowed with laughter while he regarded her, fascinated. There was a glow about her that seemed to fill the room, and warmed it more than any fire. For a moment he shed caution and simply delighted in her.
‘Perhaps you should have just left me in the sea,’ Meryl said at last. ‘Then you’d have been quite safe.’
‘I doubt it,’ he said wryly. ‘You’d simply have risen from your watery grave to haunt me.’
‘Probably would,’ she agreed. ‘Serve you right. Anyway, I think I’ll risk being repelled again. Aren’t there organisations that could help you-give grants to preserve the heritage?’
‘Yes, there are, but the kind of money I’d need is beyond them.’ He made a gesture to dismiss the subject, then said, with meaning, ‘I hope Ferdy entertained you well today.’
‘Sure, he’s great. He took me to eat in this little restaurant near the ruined abbey, and pointed out the place where Bram Stoker wrote Dracula. No kidding. Tomorrow he’s going to show me the churchyard, and all the places where it really happened.’
‘It didn’t really happen. It’s fiction.’
‘I know that. But you know what I mean.’
‘Yes, I do. You see England as a kind of glorified theme park. Dracula on the one hand and a medieval castle on the other. What else did you talk about?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You know perfectly well what I mean,’ he said, growing distant again. ‘Do I have any secrets left or did Ferdy reveal them all?’
In truth, he had virtually no secrets left. Ferdy was a blabbermouth, but a kindly blabbermouth who’d wanted to do the best for his friend.
‘None of it is Jarvis’s fault,’ he’d confided to Meryl. ‘His father and grandfather both spent money like water, and left Jarvis to clear up the mess. He can’t. It’s too big for one man. But he won’t say a word in criticism of them, even while he’s being slowly crushed to death.’
But Meryl knew better than to repeat any of this.
‘He told me you’re in a bad way,’ she said cautiously, ‘but I knew that already. How much would it take to repair this place and install central heating?’
‘God knows! I never let myself think about it. But there’s more than the castle. There’s a whole estate out there, going deep inland: farmers who are my tenants and need help. There are a dozen schemes I could use to help them if I could afford to.’
‘Then it looks like I’m your best hope. So why are you so much “agin” me?’
‘Because you’re an invader,’ he snapped before he could stop himself. Then,
‘I’m sorry. That was rude.’
‘It was honest. I don’t mind that.’
‘Then I’ll give you another reason. You’re living in a dream world. You have no idea how much this would really cost.’
She shrugged. ‘A few million, I suppose. Pounds, sterling.’
‘And you can afford that?’ he asked ironically.
‘I can once I’m married.’
‘And suppose, when you’ve paid my “price”, you turn out not to have enough money left for yourself?’
Meryl smiled with sheer amusement. It was the smile of a rich woman and it reminded Jarvis that she’d said he ‘couldn’t afford’ to turn her down.
‘You let me worry about that,’ she said. ‘I know how much I’m worth and it’s enough to take care of you and Benedict.’
‘Benedict?’
‘Benedict Steen. He’s a friend of mine in New York. He designs haute couture clothes, and I plan to invest in his business to put him at the top, where he belongs.’
Jarvis stared at her. ‘And is that going to take much?’
‘Ten million,’ she said serenely.
‘Pounds?’
‘Dollars.’
With an abrupt movement Jarvis rose and went to his desk, keeping his face averted so that she shouldn’t see the sudden feeling of revulsion that had swept him. He’d known she was wealthy. Now he understood that she had enough money to march in, take over Larne and change everything to suit herself. Her invasion would be impossible to resist-unless he resisted now.
‘You’ve got it all worked out neatly,’ he said. ‘Too neatly. You haven’t thought it through.’
‘I know what I can afford.’
As though that was the only consideration, he thought savagely.
‘I’m sure you do,’ he said. ‘But you don’t know what you can’t afford.’
She shrugged, lulled into incautiousness by the wine and a feeling of well-being. ‘I’ve never found that yet.’
‘Well, you’ve found it now,’ he grated.
She shook herself awake. ‘I didn’t mean-’
‘I know what you meant. If you’ve finished your supper I’ll escort you upstairs.’
She sighed but didn’t try to argue further. Together they gathered up her parcels and left the Library, heading for the stairs.