'I don't think,' he grinned at her ruefully. 'I know I'm going to miss not having you here.'
There was something in those hazel eyes; something she had not seen there before, and she found it flattering as well as disturbing.
'You will let me see the portrait before you exhibit it, won't you?' she changed the subject quickly.
'I won't exhibit it without letting you see it first, nor will I exhibit it without your husband's permission.'
'You don't need permission from Anton,' she stated indignantly.
Alex smiled indulgently, but remained adamant. 'I think it would perhaps be advisable to get his permission.'
'Do as you please,' she sighed at length, and suddenly the shrill peal of the doorbell quivered along her nerves, filling her with an acute sense of danger. 'Alex?'
He looked down at her hand clutching his arm, and covered it briefly with his strong, artistic fingers. 'Take it easy.'
The doorbell pealed again—impatiently this time—and Alex crossed the room to answer it. Anton, formidable and frightening, filled the doorway, and Laura's heart lurched with sickening fear as their eyes met across the space dividing them.
'I've come to collect my wife,' he stated harshly, barely acknowledging Alex as he strode past him in Laura's direction, and suddenly she transgressed beyond the point of fear to a peak of anger which seemed to shake through her like a volcanic eruption.
'I'm not a package in some lost property department which has to be collected, Anton,' she said in a voice that was shaking with the force of her emotions. 'I came here on my own, and I shall leave that way when it suits me.'
'You're coming with me now!' he thundered at her, his dominating presence making the room shrivel in size, but Laura refused to be intimidated.
'You have a nerve coming here and ordering me about like this!' she snapped.
'I think you'd better do as your husband suggests, Laura, and go with him,' Alex spoke for the first time, and Anton turned on him with barely concealed savageness.
'That's sensible advice, Muir,' he said through clenched teeth. 'You might as well know that at this moment I'd like nothing better than to knock your teeth in!'
'Anton!' Laura cried out at once, ashamed as well as angered that he should behave in this manner towards a man who had treated her with nothing but kindness and respect.
'Get your coat,' Anton snapped. 'You're leaving.'
She could almost feel his body vibrating with anger, and one look at the taut, hard line of his jaw made her realise that she would be tempting fate to continue defying him.
She picked up her coat and handbag, and barely had time to apologise to Alex before cruel fingers bit into her arm, and ushered her out to the lift.
What happened afterwards was close to a nightmare. Anton followed her all the way to Bellavista in his Jaguar, travelling so close behind her that she could almost feel him breathing fire down her neck. Her hands were shaking, and twice she stalled the car. On the second occasion, however, Anton climbed out of his Jaguar and strode across to her with quick, angry strides. He jerked open the door at her side, and his fury washed over her like a merciless storm battering the vulnerable coast, and it left her considerably more shaken than before.
Perilously close to tears, she took refuge in anger, and when she finally drove through Bellavista's gates with Anton hot on her trail, she felt more than ready to face him once more.
In the absolute privacy of their bedroom, Laura observed Anton a little warily while he took off his jacket, removed his tie, and undid the top button of his shirt as if it choked him. His movements were jerky with suppressed violence, and despite the angry bitterness churning through her, she had to admire his magnificent physique, and the proud tilt of his head above the broad, powerful shoulders.
The atmosphere was electrifyingly tense between them when he finally turned on her and demanded harshly, 'Just what did you mean by disobeying my orders?'
'Just what did you mean by barging into Alex's flat and behaving as though I were an errant schoolgirl indulging in an illicit love affair?' she countered angrily.
His nostrils flared. 'I warn you, Laura…'
'Don't threaten me!' she almost shouted at him, her eyes dark and mutinous. 'I've taken about as much as I can stand from you. Circumstances forced us into this hateful marriage, but that's no reason why you should have treated me as abominably as you have.'
'My God, haven't I given you enough?' he demanded with harsh cynicism. 'I gave you my name, my home, and all the comforts a man in my position could offer the woman he married. What more do you want?'
She clenched her hands at her sides in an effort to stop them from shaking. 'There are other things a woman needs besides that.'
'Such as what, for instance?' Those steely eyes raked her from head to foot with an insulting arrogance which stung deeply. 'Don't tell me that the amount I've been depositing into your banking account isn't enough, or that you haven't derived any satisfaction from my lovemaking.'
'Money and sex!' she spat out the words in disgust. 'Is that all you can think of?'
His hand shot out and grasped her wrist, jerking her up against him so that the full fury of his eyes burned down into hers. 'If I find out that you've been seeing that man again, Laura, then I won't be held responsible for my actions.'
'You can't choose my friends for me,' she argued, ignoring the danger signals which flashed persistently through her brain.
Anton's mouth thinned into an ominous line. 'I will not have people suggesting that my wife has a lover tucked away behind my back!'
'What are you afraid of, Anton? That they may suspect you're impotent?' The words were out before she could prevent them, and when she saw his harsh features darken with the most terrible fury, she knew she had gone too far. 'I'm sorry, Anton,' she said shakily. 'I—I shouldn't have said that.'
'No, you shouldn't have,' he ground out the words through a tightly clenched jaw, 'but now you're going to pay for it!'
There was one sure way that he could punish her, and when the rasping sound of her zip reached her ears she knew exactly what he intended doing to her.
'Anton, I beg of you—don't!' she cried hoarsely, but her pleas were futile, and so were her efforts to fight him off while he divested her of her clothes.
Blinded by tears and a stabbing pain at her temples, she was too exhausted to deter him eventually when he carried her across to the bed and dropped her unceremoniously on to it.
'Let's see who's impotent, shall we?' his voice sliced through her, then he flung himself down beside her, and her lips were crushed into submission beneath that cruel, hard mouth.
In his anger Anton showed her no mercy. Not even when his passion had been aroused did he relent, and she was forced to endure his violence until he lay physically spent beside her.
Laura felt bruised and beaten, but, more than that, she felt humiliated and degraded. There was the taste of gall in her mouth, and an aching despair in her heart while she watched him get up and dress himself. What kind of man was he? she wondered, barely able to conceal the pain in her eyes when he turned to face her. Did he possess no soul, no heart that she could have reached with her own?
His face was an impenetrable mask as he stood looking down at her; a mask carved out of granite the same as his heart, she thought as she searched futilely for the slightest sign of humanity.
'Contrary to what you may think,' he said thickly, his voice shattering the turbulent silence as if he had probed her mind, 'I don't enjoy taking a woman by force, or in anger. To say that I was driven to it is no excuse either. I despise men who lack such obvious control, and if it gives you any satisfaction, then you may as well know that I despise myself more than you ever could at this moment.'
Laura drew a shuddering, faintly incredulous breath, and called out his name, but he had picked up his discarded jacket, and was gone before she could say anything further.
She had never heard him speak like that before,
and it troubled her, but as the days passed and lengthened into a week, she found herself unable to penetrate the barrier of cold indifference which he erected between them whenever they met, and through it all there was the agony of expecting to be told at any moment that he wanted to end their marriage.
One evening, at the dinner table, Sally ventured to ask if they had quarrelled with each other, only to be told sharply by Anton to mind her own business. Afterwards, Sally had lapsed into a brooding silence which merely added to Laura's problems. Children were quick to sense an atmosphere in the home, and Sally, more than anyone else, needed to be protected from it. Laura shuddered at the thought of how Sally would react to the news that the two people she loved most were separating.
'Sally will just have to learn to adapt herself to circumstances,' Gina stated firmly when Laura confided in her the following morning. 'I never thought Anton would allow Camilla to get her claws into him again,' Gina added distastefully, 'and it just goes to show that even the cleverest men are not above behaving like fools where a woman like that is concerned.'
'Gina… about that evening when you came to dinner…' Laura began, but Gina gestured her to silence.
'Forget it, my dear,' she smiled, then her glance became thoughtful. 'Have you seen the morning papers?'
'No,' Laura shook her head warily. 'Anton must have taken them to the office with him.'
'Avron Enterprises has been sold,' Gina supplied the information which shook Laura's foundations considerably. 'The name of the buyer is being withheld until all the necessary papers have been drawn up.'
Laura was not certain how this would affect her, but she felt dismally sure that she would not have long to wait to find out.
That same evening after dinner, Anton surprised Laura by following her into the living-room, but he sat reading his newspaper in stony silence in front of the log fire while she tried desperately to concentrate .on a magazine. Outside it continued to rain steadily, as it had done since early that afternoon, and the cold dampness of that winter night made her draw closer to the fire.
'How much longer?' she wondered distractedly. 'How much longer do I have to wait for Anton to tell me of his intention to marry Camilla?'
The doorbell chimed unexpectedly, interrupting her thoughts, and moments later Eddie appeared in the living-room door. 'A Mr Muir to see you, Mr Anton.'
Laura looked up with a start and glanced in swift fear at her husband, but his face remained expressionless as he said: 'Send him in.'
Eddie disappeared, and seconds later Alex entered the living-room carrying a large, carefully wrapped package in his hands.
'Good evening,' he smiled with a cheerfulness Laura wished she could match as she and Anton rose to their feet simultaneously.
'To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?' Anton asked with thinly veiled sarcasm, but Alex remained unconcerned.
'I need your permission to exhibit this portrait of Laura at the National Art Gallery tomorrow,' he explained, gesturing to the large object in his hands.
There was a brief, tense silence before Anton said abruptly, 'I shall have to see it first.'
'Certainly,' Alex agreed, placing the portrait on a low table against the wall and removing the canvas wrapping with great tare. 'Behold!' he said at last with a certain amount of drama as he removed the final covering. 'You're witnessing the unveiling of a masterpiece.'
Laura drew an audible breath as she found herself staring at the portrait of herself seated on the rocks at Gordon's Bay with her honey-brown hair blowing free behind her. It was a magnificent work of art, she realised at once, but she stared at her image as if she were seeing herself for the first time; a serene stranger with a tender yet faintly provocative smile hovering about the soft curve of her mouth. The most striking part, however, was the deep blue eyes. Heavily fringed with dark lashes, they looked out across the turbulent sea with a mysterious mixture of sadness and longing, and quite suddenly Laura could not bear to look at it for a moment longer. It felt as if her soul had been stripped bare to be placed there on canvas for the world to see. It was shattering—terrifying—and she dared not imagine what Anton must be thinking.
'What do you think, Mr DeVere?' Alex unsuspectingly echoed her thoughts, and she glanced fearfully at Anton, but she saw only his austere profile, and that angry nerve pulsing in his cheek. 'Do I have your permission to exhibit this portrait of your wife?' Alex asked.
Anton's unfathomable glance captured Laura's for several breathtaking seconds before he turned to Alex and said roughly, 'It would be an injustice not to exhibit it.'
'I knew you'd feel that way,' Alex smiled with satisfaction, glancing at Laura, who had not spoken since his arrival. 'You haven't given your opinion, Laura.'
'Alex, I—I don't know what to say,' she began lamely.
'It's magnificent, but—' She saw him raise his eyebrows questioningly and added almost accusingly, 'You made me look beautiful.'
'No,' Alex shook his head. 'I painted you the way God created you. It's the true image no mirror will ever produce for you, for no one is ever capable of seeing themselves as they really are.'
'How much do you want for the portrait?'
Laura sucked her breath in sharply and stared incredulously at Anton as Alex said quite distinctly, 'It's not for sale, Mr DeVere.'
'You're throwing away a fortune,' Anton accused angrily. 'I'm insisting that you name your price, and whatever it is, I'll pay it.'
Was she hearing correctly? Laura wondered confusedly. Was Anton actually offering to buy that portrait of herself?
'This portrait is not mine to sell, Mr DeVere,' Alex insisted calmly, and Laura glanced sharply at the tall, lanky artist. She had the most alarming suspicion that she was about to be exposed, and she tried frantically to catch Alex's eye, but he kept his glance resolutely fixed on Anton. 'This portrait is my gift to Laura,' he continued, 'and she will eventually give it to the man she loves.'
Laura wished suddenly that the floor would open up beneath her, but nothing of the sort happened, and she stood there, petrified, and terrifyingly aware of the dark fury on every line of Anton's face.
'I presume you're referring to yourself when you speak of the man she loves?' Anton demanded harshly, and Laura shrank inwardly from this nightmare situation.
Was Alex trying to destroy her? He knew she loved Anton. Did he intend to make her suffer the most painful humiliation of all by divulging the secret she had entrusted to him? 'Oh, God! Please! Please!' she prayed silently, her palms cold and clammy as she clenched them at her sides.
'I was not referring to myself,' Alex replied in a totally undisturbed manner, but his eyes glittered with that peculiar, alertness she had noticed so often before. 'I admit I would give anything for that to be so,' he added, 'but Laura's heart belongs elsewhere, and I must join the ranks of those who admire from afar.' Laura felt as if her mind was in the grip of a vice which was being tightened mercilessly as she watched Alex wrap the portrait meticulously before he turned to face her with a smile which was oddly reassuring under the circumstances. 'You shall have this portrait, Laura, as soon as my exhibition closes, and you will naturally receive an invitation for two to attend the opening tomorrow.' He paused, smiled again, then picked up the portrait and left with a brief, 'Goodnight.'
CHAPTER TEN
A stony silence followed Alex's departure; a silence which lingered on until they heard his car going down the drive, and only then did Anton stir.
'If it's not Alex Muir,' he said in that dangerously quiet voice she knew so well, 'then who is this man you're supposed to be in love with?'
'Alex is m-mistaken,' she stammered. 'There's no one.'
'You're lying to me, Laura.'
'No, no!' she denied anxiously, backing away as he approached her.
'Then who do you want to give that portrait to?'
'No one,' she cried, her temples drumming until it felt as though she would go mad. 'I don't want to give it to anyone!'
&
nbsp; 'Dammit, Laura, I demand to know the truth!' Anton thundered at her, his face distorted with the fury that raged through him as he lunged at her.
'No, no, stay away from me!' she begged desperately, stumbling in her effort to escape him, but steely fingers snaked about her arm, and she was dragged up against him until his eyes, like blue flames, burned down into hers with a probing intensity which frightened her.
'Tell me!' he demanded through his teeth. 'Who is this man?'
'I can't tell you,' she cried almost hysterically, her eyes wide and dark in her ashen face. 'Please… I can't.'
A terrible look came into his eyes, and fear such as she had never known before shook through her when he said gratingly, 'So you admit that there is someone.'
'No!' she screamed hoarsely, then something seemed to snap in her mind, and, with an unexpected burst of strength which she had not known she possessed, she broke free of him and fled, shouting, 'Leave me alone, I can't stand much more of this!'
'Laura, come back here!' he commanded sharply, but she had already darted through the front door and out into the dark, rainy night as if the devil himself was after her.
She was soaked to the skin in seconds, and chilled to the marrow, but she paused only once in the blind urgency of her flight to sum up the situation. She had a choice; the treacherous mountain ahead of her. She heard his harsh, commanding voice call out to her, and chose the mountain like a frightened animal.
'Oh, God, let me die!' she begged in an anguished voice. 'Just let me die!'
She was stumbling over rocks and protruding roots, frantically following the steep path for what seemed an eternity until she found her way barricaded by a wire fence. A few feet below her she could hear Anton approaching. He shouted a warning, but she was deaf to everything except the mad desire to escape the humiliation of having to face him with the truth.
The barbed wire ripped at her hands when she climbed over it into the prohibited area and, with her breath rasping painfully in her throat, she continued her flight, only vaguely aware that the ground had levelled out beneath her feet.
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