by Lucy Gordon
‘Wake up!’
‘Eh? What?’ She opened her eyes to find Jarvis’s face very near and his hands on her shoulders, shaking her.
‘Wake up!’ he said gently. ‘Mrs Helms wants to close.’
‘Have I been asleep?’
‘For ages.’
‘I didn’t snore, did I?’
He smiled. ‘No, you didn’t snore. I promise. But you talk in your sleep.’
‘What did I say?’ she demanded suspiciously.
‘I couldn’t follow most of it. Something about destiny.’
She didn’t want to move. She just wanted to stay here, with her mouth dangerously close to his, trying to understand the look in his eyes.
Except that she already did understand it. She’d seen that look before in men’s eyes. And she’d laughed and teased them, kissed them if she was in the mood or sent them away unkissed, knowing they’d be back next day.
But this man was different. His strength of will was as great as her own, and his pride even stronger. She held her breath, knowing that he was fighting temptation, willing him to lose the battle.
‘Mike says the car’s ready,’ Mrs Helms said, barging in noisily.
They pulled quickly apart, each stunned by the shock, struggling for a foothold in this new, strange world.
‘I’ll go up and get my things,’ Meryl muttered, not quite knowing what she said.
She came down a few minutes later to find Jarvis gone and Mrs Helms waiting by the door. She tried to pay her, but Jarvis had settled the entire bill, which she felt was high-handed of him. She wandered over to the direction of the garage, thankful that the rain had stopped.
‘I’ve patched it up,’ Mike declared. ‘But it’s time to have this thing put painlessly to sleep. Drive carefully.’
It had gone midnight as they drove home. A brilliant moon had come out, bathing the countryside in silver. By now Meryl was getting used to the way everything changed from magic to danger and back to magic again. But still the awesome beauty made her hold her breath.
‘I tried to pay the landlady-’ she began.
‘You had no right to. It was for me to settle the bill.’
‘Maybe for the meal, but my room-’
‘You wouldn’t have needed it if you hadn’t been helping me push the car.’
‘But you didn’t want me on this trip anyway, and I think it was for me to pay.’
‘I disagree.’
‘But you-’ She choked off the words, You can’t afford it.
‘Don’t say it,’ he advised.
‘I wasn’t going to.’
‘Yes, you were, and it would have got you dumped by the roadside. This is exactly why I want you out of my hair.’
The brief moment of understanding had gone. He was on guard against her again, and doubly so because of his moment of weakness.
‘Look-’ she tried again.
‘The subject is closed.’
‘No way!’
‘The subject is closed.’
‘Why? Because Lord Larne says so? You’ve got a nerve.’
His answer was to slam on the brakes and look at her with meaning. He’d do it, too, she thought. The rotten swine would dump her out here.
‘Have you got anything else to say?’ he asked dangerously.
‘Just one thing. After what you did to those brakes it would serve you right if you couldn’t start this thing again.’
He didn’t risk answering that, but started up without trouble. Which only went to prove, she thought crossly, that the devil looked after his own.
CHAPTER SIX
A T LAST the shore came into view, the causeway forming a silver ribbon across the water to where the castle reared up against the night sky. She wondered if she was looking at it for the last time.
There was a strange car parked at the entrance, and Hannah came bustling to meet them as they entered.
‘There’s a man called Blackham been waiting for you for hours,’ she told Jarvis. ‘He says he’s not going away until he sees you.’
‘That’s right,’ said a voice over her shoulder. ‘I promised my client that you wouldn’t escape me.’
He was a scrawny individual with an unhealthy colour, somewhere in his fifties. Just the sight of him was enough to make Meryl’s skin crawl.
From his tone, Jarvis evidently shared her distaste. ‘I’m not trying to escape you, Mr Blackham.’
‘Oh, yeah? These figures say differently.’ He waved some sheets of paper. ‘Pay up. My client’s getting impatient.’
Meryl glided silently into the shadows, hoping Jarvis would be less aware of her. How it must gall him to have this scene witnessed!
‘Your client and I had an agreement-’ Jarvis began.
‘He’s changed his mind,’ Blackham snapped. ‘He wants his money now, or he’s prepared to start legal action.’
‘You know I can’t produce that sum at a moment’s notice,’ Jarvis raged. ‘Do you think I don’t know what’s behind this? His “legal action” can topple me into bankruptcy.’
‘That’s nothing to do with me-’
‘The hell it isn’t! Your client would love to bring me down, then move in and buy Larne on the cheap. And it’s not just him, is it? There’s a consortium all ready and waiting, licking their lips-’
Meryl was standing by the door and sensed Hannah slipping in behind her to mutter in her ear, ‘Mr Steen called to say “Larry knows everything, and is on the warpath”.’
‘When was this?’
‘Hours ago.’
‘Then he might be heading this way,’ Meryl breathed in horror.
Decision time. No more games. But for Jarvis it wasn’t a game. His world was crumbling around him and only she could stop it happening. In ten minutes it would be too late.
She had the strangest feeling of watching the scene from the sidelines. Somebody-it must have been herself-strode forward and whisked the papers from Blackham’s hands, giving a brittle laugh to indicate how trivial this situation was.
‘How much?’ she asked, scanning the papers. ‘Good heavens, as little as that?’
‘If you call twenty thousand “little”-’ Blackham snapped.
‘My dear man,’ Meryl said as haughtily as she could manage, ‘it’s nothing to me.’
That’ll confirm his worst suspicions, said the inner voice.
But there was a time to be restrained, and a time to be over the top. And this situation demanded over the top with a vengeance.
‘I’ve heard about you-’ Blackham began.
‘Then you know that I spend this kind of money on a dress.’ She took out her cheque book and scribbled. ‘Now, go away and stop bothering me.’
He made a last effort. ‘A cheque’s no use. It can be bounced.’
She turned on him a look of such amazement that he retreated.
‘No cheque of mine has ever bounced,’ she declared, blithely editing out certain incidents that had been entirely Larry’s fault. ‘But if you want a money order I’ll call the bank manager right now.’
‘And he’ll get out of bed?’ Blackham sneered. ‘Best friends, are you?’
‘Since eleven o’clock this morning,’ she confirmed sweetly.
There was something about her total confidence that made him back down. Muttering, ‘Give it here, then,’ he snatched the cheque and strode to the door. There he turned and surveyed them sardonically.
‘There are several like me due in the next few days,’ he said. ‘I hope the rumours of your marriage are true.’
Beside her Meryl was aware of Jarvis clenching his fists, controlling himself with an effort.
‘Get out,’ he growled.
When they were alone he spoke to her, sounding as though the words were torn out of him. ‘Thank you.’
‘Well, it’s only what I owe you after nearly plunging you into disaster.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You said it yourself, there’s a consortium waiting to bring
you down over a minor debt. Why do you think they moved in right now?’
He nodded. ‘Because you’re here.’
‘Right. They were afraid I could save you, so they moved in fast. If you’d gone down tonight, it would have been my fault for coming here. Don’t you see, Jarvis? Now I have to marry you, whether I want to or not.’
‘Well, don’t sound so damned tragic about it,’ he snapped.
‘You’d better say yes before they pounce again.’
‘I’ll pay you back every penny,’ Jarvis said furiously.
‘What with?’ A little imp was driving her, forcing her to make this happen. She didn’t ask herself why. She didn’t need to.
‘I can give you what you want,’ she reminded him. ‘This place, on a sound financial footing. And you can give me what I want.’
He gave a bark of ironic laughter. ‘Benedict Steen.’
‘My freedom. My independence.’ With a beating heart she waited for him to speak.
‘It seems I have no choice,’ he said at last.
How angry his eyes were! He hated being cornered. He hated the way she’d rescued him by flaunting her wealth. He almost hated her.
‘I’ve had more ardent proposals,’ she observed wryly.
‘You offered me a business deal and that’s what I’m accepting. After our wedding you’ll take possession of your inheritance, and Larne estate will get your dowry. And then you’ll go back to your real life in New York.’
‘Eventually. It wouldn’t do your dignity much good if I rushed away next morning, would it?’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘Aw, c’mon!’ Meryl said mischievously. ‘The great Lord of Larne, with his droit de seigneur and heaven knows what else-and the day after the wedding his bride takes flight. You’d never live it down. All right, I’ll give you a practical reason. If I dash off so fast it will give Larry a weapon to try and get it annulled. Besides, I need to be here to oversee the final paperwork.’
‘And then you’ll leave?’
‘If you still want me to. You might have changed your mind.’
‘Don’t count on it. I’m doing my duty. Nothing more.’
‘You’re such a romantic,’ she complained.
He had a horrible feeling that he was being churlish. Tonight he’d looked into the precipice and she’d pulled him back, saving not just himself but the whole of Larne and everyone who lived and worked there. For that she deserved better than what he’d offered so far.
‘I want to say-’ he began, smiling as best he could.
‘Do you have a telephone I can use? I’m not sure if my mobile works across the Atlantic.’
‘There’s one in your room, on the window seat, just hidden behind the curtain.’
‘Thanks. I’ll say goodnight, then.’
‘Goodnight.’
After such a long day he’d expected to sleep at once, but he was in turmoil. When he’d given up all hope of rest he threw back the sheet and pulled on a robe. There was only one person he wanted to talk to now, because only she would understand his feeling of moving through a parallel universe.
Meryl was still in Lady Larne’s apartment, which connected to his own by a narrow corridor, whose stone floor and walls were icy. He shivered and pulled his robe more tightly around him, glad of the light he could see under her door. But as he raised his hand to knock he was halted by the sound of her voice.
‘So it’s all settled,’ she was saying to somebody. ‘You’ll have the money as soon as I can fix it. When can you get over here?’
There was a pause then she laughed softly in a way Jarvis had never heard before.
‘I’m longing to see you. Oh, Benedict, we have so many plans to make.’
Jarvis went quietly back to bed.
Meryl was up with the lark next morning. Benedict had managed to tell her roughly when Larry had left, so she knew he wouldn’t be here until the afternoon, which gave her time for what she had in mind. Seth, one of the elderly workers, ferried her across the water.
‘Don’t worry about collecting me,’ she told him. ‘I’ll drive back at low tide.’
She did so, streaming across the causeway in a vehicle that brought everyone to the castle windows. Jarvis watched her arrive, unable to tear his eyes from the top of the range four-wheel-drive off-roader that could only be bought for a price that made him giddy to think of.
‘More practical than my last one,’ she said as she jumped down to find him waiting by the door. ‘This one is so strong and stable that I reckon you could almost drive it over at high tide.’
‘You’ve made a very good choice,’ he agreed gravely.
‘Would you check the paperwork for me?’ She handed him some papers and went inside. He followed, frowning, walking more and more slowly until at last he joined her in the library.
‘These papers-are in my name,’ he said uncertainly.
‘Yes.’ She faced him, but he seemed too stunned to say more. ‘It’s like this,’ she said at last. ‘You’ve got me ticketed as a vulgarian with more money than sense, prone to flashing her ill-gotten gains around and deluding herself that disgusting money can buy everything.’ She pressed the car keys into his hand and closed his fingers over them, enfolding him a moment between her two hands. ‘So, I thought I’d prove you right.’
He reddened, hearing his prejudices in her mouth. But then he met her eyes and read in them something that told him she was afraid of a rebuff. Beneath the quips she was vulnerable in a way he hadn’t suspected.
‘Don’t be absurd,’ he said shakily. ‘I never thought-it’s perfect. It’s exactly the vehicle for this part of the world. When I drive around the estate-that is, when we-’
‘We is better,’ she agreed. ‘Call it my wedding gift.’
His hand moved against hers. ‘In that case-thank you. You couldn’t have chosen better.’
It astonished him to see the colour come flooding into her cheeks, almost as though this woman, who could buy her own way, minded what he thought.
He was confused. The mixture of horror and relief from the night before was still with him, along with a gratitude that was genuine enough, although he had trouble with the words. All his life, finding the words had been the problem.
He’d recognised the element of play-acting in the way she’d demolished Blackham, yet it still filled him with dread. He owed her, and if she wanted to collect it would be hard for him to refuse, even those things he still instinctively wanted to protect from her.
Then he remembered that he would repay her by freeing her to love another man: Benedict, whom she’d called at the first chance, and to whom she’d whispered sweetly of the plans they would make.
Fine. Nothing could be better.
‘Shall we celebrate with a drive?’ he suggested politely.
‘Love to, but better not now. I should be here when Larry arrives. He’s my trustee.’
‘Ah, yes, the one whose guns you hope to spike by marrying me. Is he as annoyed as you hoped?’
‘Don’t know. Haven’t spoken to him. But he’s on his way. I’d counted on a bit more time, but Larry went rampaging round to see Benedict and dragged everything out of him.’
‘So Benedict knew you were coming here?’
Meryl chuckled. ‘He drove me to the airport. It was even his idea that I should advertise-in a sort of way.’ She was too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice the tightening of Jarvis’s expression.
‘Oh, blow Larry!’ she sighed. ‘Why did he have to come here now? Never mind! I can always hide behind you.’
‘What?’
Her stare was an innocent as a baby’s. ‘You’re my future husband. It’s your job to protect me.’
‘I should like to see the man you couldn’t defeat single-handed,’ he said emphatically.
‘Does that include you?’
‘If you think your money defeats me-’
‘I wasn’t talking about money, as you know full well-your lord
ship.’
‘We’ve made an arrangement for our mutual benefit,’ he said slowly. ‘But you haven’t got the better of me. And you never will.’
She laughed directly up into his face. ‘Wanna bet?’
‘I never bet on a certainty.’
‘Depends which side this certainty is on,’ she mused.
‘Spare me the pretence. You think you know which side it’s on.’
‘Just as you think that you know. I wonder which of us is right.’
‘We won’t be married long enough to find out,’ he said, wishing her breath didn’t fan his face in such a tantalising fashion. ‘And stop playing games with me, Miss Winters.’
‘If we’re going to be married, couldn’t you call me Meryl?’
He barely heard. He was watching her face, made more enchanting than ever by the mischief that danced over it. A stray lock of hair had fallen over her forehead and he almost raised his hand to brush it away, but then he stayed himself, alarmed. How could he have forgotten the need for caution?
‘Meryl,’ he agreed.
‘You make that sound more formal than Miss Winters,’ she complained.
‘I’m always formal with my business partners. It works better that way.’
He didn’t intend to smile back at her, but her own smile compelled him. For a moment her sophistication had slipped and she was a cheeky little girl, teasing him. At last he gave up the effort not to smile. He would resist her another time.
A sound from the door made them both look around. Sarah stood there, her face tense.
‘I’ll see you later,’ Meryl said softly, and slipped away.
Sarah came forward and searched Jarvis’s face. ‘Tell me it isn’t true,’ she said. ‘Ferdy told me, but I couldn’t believe you’d stoop to such a thing.’
Jarvis tried not to let her see how this embarrassed him. Sarah was an old and dear friend who had his best interests at heart.
‘Does the whole world know?’ he demanded. ‘What should I do? Go bankrupt and take everyone down with me? I’ve been given a chance to save us all.’
‘But at such a price-’
‘It’s a formality, nothing more. Meryl and I each gain what we want. When the dust has settled we get a discreet divorce and never see each other again.’