Romance of a Lifetime

by Carole Mortimer

  Beth knew the other girl slightly, but she had been away at school when Beth had first joined her father in London, had then gone on to finishing school for a year, and so the two of them had never really had a chance to become friends. And now they never would! At best Brenda would dislike her for trying to interfere, at worst the other girl would hate her for ultimately proving to be correct about Martin.

  To say the younger girl was disconcerted at seeing Beth and her mother talking to Martin would be an understatement; she looked absolutely stunned. And Beth could only guess at the stories Martin had related to her about their marriage.

  ‘Brenda,’ she greeted smoothly. ‘What a beautiful dress,’ she said with sincerity.

  ‘Thank you.’ Brenda eyed her suspiciously, obviously wary of her motive for being so friendly. ‘It’s the same colour as—it’s one of my favourite colours,’ she hastily amended, her cheeks red.

  Beth guessed the young girl had chosen to wear the figure-hugging green gown because it matched the colour of the emerald in her engagement ring. She had noticed the engagement ring almost within seconds of the younger girl joining them; her own engagement ring had also had an emerald as its central stone.

  Martin couldn’t even be original in that, had probably told Brenda that the green of the emerald matched the flecks of green in her brown eyes! He had told Beth the emerald in her ring matched the colour of her eyes too…

  Her mouth tightened as she turned to Martin. ‘I was about to ask you how Chloe is.’ She met his furious gaze challengingly. ‘But of course it’s rude of me to talk of people Brenda doesn’t know. Or have you met Chloe?’ She looked innocently at the younger girl.

  Brenda looked puzzled. ‘No, I—um—I don’t think so.’ She looked completely blank at the mention of the other woman’s name.

  Beth didn’t doubt that she hadn’t!

  She gave Martin a saccharin-sweet smile. ‘You must ask Martin to introduce the two of you,’ she told Brenda. ‘Or perhaps I could—’

  ‘Brenda, I think we should go and say hello to the Daniels,’ Martin cut in forcefully, his gaze glacial as it swept over Beth. ‘I trust you’ll excuse us?’

  ‘Never,’ Katherine answered him hardly. ‘But do go and say hello to the Daniels, by all means,’ she added dismissively, her expression contemptuous.

  ‘Who is Chloe?’ Brenda could be heard asking in a whisper as the other couple moved away.

  ‘I would love to hear his answer,’ Beth remarked drily to her mother, taking the opportunity now they were alone to look around the room for Marcus.

  He was now in conversation with Barbara, although he was looking straight at Beth!

  She nodded acknowledgement of him, her cheeks becoming flushed as he excused himself to cross the room towards her.

  ‘So would I—’

  ‘Mummy, someone is coming to join us,’ she hastily cut into her mother’s reply. ‘Whatever you do, don’t talk about Martin!’

  Her mother looked surprised. ‘But—’

  ‘Hello, Marcus,’ Beth greeted softly as he stood in front of her. ‘This is something of a surprise.’ That had to be the biggest understatement…!

  ‘Next week seemed too far away,’ he answered softly, his gaze resting briefly on her lips.

  But it was enough to make her feel as if his lips had gently touched hers! She couldn’t believe the effect this man had on her.

  ‘You said a party,’ he continued huskily. ‘So I made it my business to find out which party. I took a chance on your coming alone,’ he added with a curious look at her mother.

  Beth had given up wondering how this man attained the information that he did; just learning to accept that he did was easier than fighting against him!

  ‘This is my mother, Katherine Palmer. Mummy, Marcus Craven.’ She didn’t add any more about him because she didn’t know any more. Only that he kept following her, and she wasn’t going to tell her mother that!

  The two shook hands. ‘Of Craven Properties?’ Katherine said curiously.

  It wasn’t surprising to Beth that her mother should have at least heard of him and she hadn’t; it was her mother’s world, and she was very knowledgeable about it.

  ‘Palmer Industries?’ Marcus returned brittly.

  ‘No,’ Katherine smiled, not in the least perturbed that he should have made such a mistake; she was used to it. ‘You’re talking of my husband there. I’m in the clothing business.’

  That was a huge understatement of the successful business her mother ran!

  ‘You and your husband aren’t in business together?’ Marcus had turned on all of his charm now, his teeth very white against the darkness of his skin as he smiled down at Beth’s mother.

  ‘Don’t tell me you’re the old-fashioned type of man who doesn’t believe in a woman having a business of her own?’ Katherine taunted, not at all insulted by his assumption.

  Marcus shrugged. ‘Charles Palmer is a well-known businessman.’

  Katherine smiled. ‘I’m quite well-known myself in my own field. The last thing in the world I would want is to be successful because of who I’m married to.’

  ‘And how about you, Beth?’ Marcus turned to her with a speed that took her slightly off guard. ‘Have you found success because of who your parents are?’

  She frowned at what seemed to be an unwarranted attack. ‘It depends what you mean by “success”,’ she answered slowly, wondering what she had said to cause that narrowing of his eyes.

  But as quickly as that harshness in his manner seemed to have occurred it was brushed off again, Marcus once more his charming self as he smiled at them. ‘Of course,’ he dismissed. ‘I should have realised who you are immediately.’ He was talking to her mother again now. ‘The similarity between the two of you is unmistakable.’

  Katherine glowed at the compliment. ‘I don’t know how the two of you know each other, but I’m glad you do,’ she grinned. ‘My ego can stand hours of this!’

  Marcus raised dark brows. ‘Beth and I met in Italy.’

  Katherine turned to her, her expression clearly saying, This was the ‘interesting man’ she had met in Italy?

  Beth gave a barely perceptible shrug of her shoulders. What could she possibly have told her mother about a man like Marcus Craven without her mother jumping to all the wrong conclusions?

  As she was probably going to do now!

  And she knew her mother well enough to realise that she wouldn’t rest now until she was told everything that had happened in Italy.

  ‘Verona?’ her mother queried lightly—too lightly!

  ‘And Venice,’ Marcus nodded.

  Katherine gave Beth a wide-eyed accusing stare before turning back to Marcus. ‘What a coincidence that your schedules should have crossed in that way, not once, but twice,’ she mocked.

  ‘Not at all,’ Marcus drawled smoothly. ‘I don’t believe in that type of coincidence.’

  He was virtually admitting to her mother that he had followed her round Italy; didn’t he realise the assumptions her mother would make from that?

  ‘Or coincidences like tonight,’ Katherine teased.

  ‘I’ve already explained that’s the last thing tonight is. Now, can I get you two ladies a drink?’ he offered politely—just as if he hadn’t given her mother enough information to have her questioning Beth half the night!

  ‘I think I need one,’ Katherine said drily.

  ‘Beth?’

  ‘Just wine for me, thank you,’ she accepted heavily, knowing by the sardonic twist to his lips that he was well aware of what he had just done; weren’t mothers the same the whole world over?

  ‘Beth—’

  ‘Not now, Mummy,’ she quickly fended her off once Marcus had gone to get their drinks. ‘I’m not here to discuss Marcus,’ she reminded grimly.

  ‘Why not?’ Her mother gave a dreamy smile. ‘He’s the most interesting man I’ve met in years.’

  ‘I told you he was,’ Beth replied vaguely, searching t
he room once again for Martin and Brenda. At least they hadn’t left while she and her mother had been talking to Marcus; they were among a group of people on the far side of the room, although Brenda kept giving her surreptitious glances. Poor Brenda, she obviously sensed Beth was a danger, in some way, to the happiness she had so recently attained.

  Beth’s mother waved her hand about dismissively.

  ‘But you didn’t tell me all the other things about him,’ she sighed reproachfully. ‘The man is a walking—well, he’s damned attractive,’ she amended impatiently.

  ‘That’s all too obvious.’ Beth still watched Martin and Brenda. For all that Martin looked his usual controlled self he also kept giving her occasional glances, as if he was still worried in case she should cause a scene.

  ‘You think he’s attractive, don’t you?’ her mother prompted enthusiastically.

  ‘He’s—interesting,’ she conceded again. ‘Mummy…’ she sighed at her mother’s disappointed expression. ‘I have to deal with the more immediate problem of Martin before I can even start to think about—well, about anyone else.’

  ‘Oh, damn Martin,’ her mother scowled. ‘It’s time you started to think of yourself a little.’

  ‘Maybe after I’ve helped Brenda,’ she said.

  ‘In the meantime you’re going to let a man like Marcus Craven get away!’

  ‘Get away from what?’ she repeated incredulously. ‘I hardly know the man, Mummy.’

  ‘But he obviously wants to get to know you a lot better, and—’

  ‘Here we are, ladies.’ Marcus handed them their glasses of wine, and Beth shot him a sharp look, wondering how much of their conversation he had heard. Not too much, she hoped! ‘To a brighter future,’ he toasted, his gaze fixed steadily on Beth.

  Her mother looked very pleased by this turn of events, smug even, and Beth knew she was going to have trouble with her after this evening. If not before…

  ‘Would you both excuse me for a moment?’ She was going to have to run the risk of leaving her mother alone with Marcus for a few minutes while she attempted to talk to Martin and Brenda again. ‘There’s someone I have to see,’ she explained, ignoring her mother’s impatient glare, making her way over to where the other couple stood. ‘Martin,’ she drawled, feeling no satisfaction when Brenda visibly tensed at his side.

  Martin’s fingers tightened on Brenda’s arm, causing her to gasp a little.

  ‘Nick, Mandy,’ Beth greeted the man and woman who had been talking to the other couple. ‘How are you both?’

  ‘Very well,’ Nick replied abruptly. He was a business associate of Beth’s father. ‘Darling, we must go and talk to Sheila,’ he added smoothly to his wife. ‘Nice to have seen you again, Beth.’ He nodded a curt dismissal.

  She felt sure it was no such thing, left in no doubt about how most of her father’s and Martin’s friends felt about her after the marriage break-up; she had suddenly become socially unacceptable to the majority of them. It was just lucky that Barbara and Alec Trent were more her mother’s friends than theirs.

  Martin gave a sigh of barely repressed anger. ‘What do you want now, Beth?’ he rasped between gritted teeth. ‘You’re making this all very unpleasant for Brenda. Our relationship is over; can’t you just accept that?’

  The damned nerve of the man, trying to give the impression she still wanted him!

  ‘With heartfelt thanks for my lucky escape.’ She nodded grimly. ‘I didn’t actually want to talk to you at all, Martin,’ she told him dismissively. ‘I wanted to ask Brenda out for coffee one day. I’m sure we have a lot to talk about.’

  ‘Stay away from Brenda,’ he warned harshly.

  ‘I’m sure Brenda is perfectly capable of answering for herself,’ she told him pointedly, looking at Brenda as she spoke. ‘Unless you already have her so cowed that she can’t speak for herself?’

  ‘Of course I can speak for myself,’ Brenda rose indignantly to the challenge. ‘And I really can’t see that we have anything to say to each other, Beth. You were married to Martin, it didn’t work out, and now we’re going to have a life together. You have to let go, you can’t go on humiliating yourself in this way. I realise you didn’t want the divorce—’

  ‘Oh, I wanted the divorce,’ Beth scorned. ‘I just don’t like the way it was achieved.’

  ‘Then you shouldn’t have betrayed… Oh, this is so silly,’ Brenda said irritably. ‘Martin and I are in love, we’re going to be married, and you’ll just have to accept that.’

  Beth gave a regretful sigh. ‘I wish I could, but I know—’

  ‘Your moment’s up.’ Marcus suddenly appeared at Beth’s side, looking at them all with raised eyebrows as they seemed struck dumb by his interruption of what had been an intensely personal conversation. ‘Am I interrupting something?’ he finally drawled mockingly.

  Beth was the first to recover, shooting her mother a pleading look, only to have her shrug regretfully at having been unable to stop Marcus joining them.

  ‘Not at all.’ Beth turned back to Marcus. ‘There are always so many people one must talk to at parties, aren’t there?’ she excused.

  He gave a nod of his head. ‘Aren’t you going to introduce us?’ He looked pointedly at Martin and Brenda.

  God, that was the last thing Beth wanted to do! But she didn’t really have any other choice now that he was standing here. How to go about it without making things extremely awkward, that was the thing.

  ‘Marcus, this is Brenda Carlisle and her fiancé Martin Bra—er—Palmer.’ She winced as she had to amend Martin’s surname to the one he had chosen to take rather than the one he had been born with. ‘Martin, Brenda, this is Marcus Craven.’

  The two men shook hands. ‘Craven,’ Martin acknowledged abruptly.

  ‘Palmer,’ Marcus returned, giving Beth a curious look. ‘Any relation?’

  She moistened dry lips. ‘Er—’

  ‘None whatsoever,’ Martin put in grimly, turning to Brenda. ‘We really should be going, darling.’

  Brenda gave him a loving smile before turning to Marcus. ‘Nice to have met you. Beth…’ Her voice cooled noticeably.

  ‘I’ll call you,’ Beth hastily told the younger girl before they could leave.

  Martin turned back sharply. ‘Brenda is going to be busy with the arrangements for the wedding over the next few weeks,’ he rasped warningly.

  ‘Not too busy for a girlish chat over a cup of coffee, surely?’ Beth persisted derisively.

  Martin drew in a furious breath, controlling his temper with difficulty. ‘We’ll see,’ he grated, his movements agitated now as he hustled Brenda towards the door.

  Marcus watched him with narrowed eyes. ‘Strange chap,’ he murmured, shaking his head as he looked at Beth. ‘Sorry, I believe they were friends of yours.’ He grimaced at his lack of manners.

  ‘Not particularly,’ she muttered, desperately wanting to change the subject. ‘It really is nice to see you again,’ she said huskily, surprised herself at how true that was.

  ‘Is it?’ he mocked. ‘I wasn’t sure what sort of reception you were going to give me.’

  She was more pleased to see him than she cared to think about. But the scenes with Martin had left her drained, with the start of a throbbing headache at her temples. She looked around for her mother, frowning when she couldn’t see her anywhere.

  ‘She had to leave.’ Marcus guessed who she was looking for, smiling as Beth turned back with wide, enquiring eyes. ‘I assured her I would take you home.’

  Her mother was the absolute…! Beth knew damn well her mother didn’t ‘have to leave’ at all, that this was just her idea of matchmaking. Marcus didn’t need any help in that direction, was perfectly capable of manipulating situations to suit himself.

  ‘I can easily get a taxi,’ she offered, knowing very well that she wouldn’t be allowed to do that, Marcus obviously had an ally in her mother, would get all the help he needed from that direction.

  ‘I don’t think s
o,’ Marcus drawled without force, also knowing it wasn’t even a possibility. ‘Are you ready to leave now?’ He looked about the crowded room with narrowed eyes. ‘Parties like this aren’t really my idea of enjoyment.’

  But he had been so determined to see her again, on his terms, that he had put up with the inconvenience of the party!

  ‘Mine neither,’ she admitted, her own reasons just as strongly motivated, although not in the same way.

  Marcus took a firm hold of her arm. ‘Then let’s make our excuses and go.’

  Beth could only guess at the curiosity that would be engendered by their leaving together, at the gossip there would be once they had left the house.

  Barbara Trent eyed them curiously as they approached her. ‘Leaving already?’ She sounded genuinely disappointed, her smile bright as she looked at Marcus. ‘You come to London far too seldom now, Marcus,’ she reproved. ‘I was absolutely delighted when you telephoned this morning. What brings you back to England this time?’ The look she shot Beth said she thought she might be able to guess who it might be.

  There was no answering smile from Marcus. ‘It’s a family matter,’ he bit out tautly.

  ‘Oh.’ Barbara looked surprised at his harshness. ‘Well, do come and see us again soon, won’t you?’

  Beth laughed softly as they went outside. ‘I think you just destroyed all Barbara’s illusions of a big romance brewing.’

  Marcus unlocked the door to the dark green Jaguar parked at the end of the driveway, opening the door for Beth. ‘Really?’ He looked puzzled by the claim. ‘Surely as far as the people in there are concerned we’ve only just met?’ He got in the car beside her.

  ‘Yes, but—well, you know what gossips are,’ she dismissed. She couldn’t fully explain to him without bringing Martin into the conversation. And she had no intention of doing that.

  ‘No,’ Marcus frowned. ‘What are they?’

  She shook her head. ‘It isn’t important. Do you need instructions to where I live or—’