Though Jared looked in anything but a celebratory mood, he ordered champagne.
Marylou droned, ‘Place your bets.’
Following the lead of the player next to her, Perdita slid one of her chips onto a red numbered square and watched the hypnotic blur of the wheel as it spun.
The ball clicked into a space and, after calling out the winning colour and number, Marylou raked in the chips.
Perdita soon discovered that while everyone else seemed riveted, she found roulette repetitive and worrying rather than exciting.
Unwilling to lose Jared’s money, she played cautiously but, even so, the pile of chips was disappearing with great rapidity.
When he suggested getting more, she shook her head.
She was down to the last three when she suddenly recalled Estelle saying, ‘Don Junior’s piggy bank is empty and he still needs a baby buggy, so if you play roulette, put ten dollars on zero for me.’
With a surge of recklessness, probably engendered by two glasses of champagne, she pushed her remaining three chips onto the relevant square.
The number came up.
Collecting her winning chips, she had started to rise when Jared, who had been standing behind her, pressed her back into her seat.
‘I really don’t want to lose this,’ she protested. ‘It’s your money and—’
‘No, it’s your money.’
‘Then I want it for Don Junior’s piggy bank.’
‘That’s fine by me but, now your luck’s turned, you should give it at least one more try.’
‘The same number?’ she asked.
‘Why not? It’s got as much chance of coming up as any of the others.’
She was wondering how much to risk when Jared murmured, ‘Go for it,’ and, leaning forward, pushed the entire pile back on to zero.
While she held her breath, the ball rattled round the wheel and once again settled with a click into the same slot.
A sound like a sigh went round the table as Marylou, her face impassive, raked in the losing chips and paid the winner.
When Jared had converted the chips back into cash, he presented Perdita with a thick wad of notes.
She shook her head. ‘I’d much rather you took care of it.’
‘OK.’ He thrust it into his pocket. ‘When we get back you can put it in Don Junior’s piggy bank. Now, about ready to eat?’
She still didn’t feel particularly hungry but, reluctant to return to their suite with Jared in his present mood, she agreed, ‘Yes, if you are.’
The spectacular dining room, its crystal chandeliers glittering like diamonds, was horseshoe-shaped with a central dance floor from which the tables radiated like the spokes of a wheel.
On a raised dais at the back, where later there would be a cabaret act, a small orchestra was playing dance music and a number of couples were circling the floor.
All the tables appeared to be full, but after Jared had murmured something to the maître d’ they were shown to a table on the edge of the dance floor where a bottle of champagne was waiting in an ice bucket.
Perdita noticed that there were three chairs and three champagne glasses.
A moment later the orchestra began a romantic slow foxtrot and, rising, Jared held out his hand to her and asked, ‘Would you like to dance?’
She could see at once that his mood had changed, that he had, temporarily at least, thrown off the devil that had been riding him.
They hadn’t danced together since her eighteenth birthday party and, recalling how happy they had been that night, Perdita felt as if a giant fist had closed around her heart. Would they ever be quite so happy again?
She got to her feet a shade unsteadily.
Jared, who moved with a wholly masculine grace, was a good dancer and easy to follow, and she fitted into his arms as if she belonged there.
After a few moments he bent his dark head and they danced cheek to cheek, as they had that last time.
His jaw was smooth and she could smell the faint yet lingering scent of his aftershave.
Letting go of all the worries and uncertainty, Perdita closed her eyes and, the music filling her mind, let herself drift.
After a couple of dreamy foxtrots there was an intermission, and she was still suspended in a bubble of happiness when, an arm at her waist, Jared led her back to their table.
As he seated her, looking at the empty chair and the extra wine glass, Perdita remarked, ‘It looks as if you were expecting someone to join us.’
‘I was, originally. In fact that was the whole purpose of the visit. But then I had second thoughts and asked her not to come,’ he ended with finality.
But, curious, Perdita decided to pursue it. As lightly as possible, she asked, ‘So who is this mystery woman?’
After the slightest hesitation, he told her, ‘A lady by the name of Linda. She used to be a hostess here, but now she’s married to the casino manager.’
With a sudden flash of insight, Perdita said, ‘And she was the woman I saw in your bedroom.’
It was a statement, not a question, but he answered evenly, ‘That’s right.’
Taking a deep breath, she began, ‘Jared, there’s something I want to tell you—’
‘What the hell’s going on?’ A man’s furious voice cut across her words.
She looked up to see Martin hovering threateningly, his face an unbecoming brick-red.
‘Unless you want to get thrown out, I suggest you sit down and lower your voice,’ Jared said coldly.
‘I’m not here to take orders from you. I’m here to fetch my fiancée.’ Grasping Perdita’s wrist, he tried to pull her to her feet.
‘Leave her alone!’ Jared said quietly and, a white line around his mouth, he half rose.
Recovering a little from the shock of the other man’s sudden appearance, and seeing the maître’d looking in their direction, Perdita said urgently, ‘Please, Martin, sit down and let’s talk.’
After a moment Jared resumed his seat and Martin sat down in the spare chair, one man quietly watchful, the other openly belligerent.
Turning to Martin, Perdita asked, ‘How did you know where to find me?’
‘I felt sure something was wrong, so I did a bit of digging. When I discovered that Dangerfield had recently bought Salingers, and that the phone calls I was making to New York were being put through to his place in California, I got on the next plane.
‘The housekeeper told me where you’d gone.’
His voice full of rage and frustration, he demanded, ‘How the devil could you let yourself fall for his tricks a second time?’
‘I’m sorry, I know I owe you an explanation—’
‘Damn right you do! I want to know what the hell you’re doing here with him when you’ll be marrying me in a few weeks.’
Obviously resenting the other man’s bullying tactics, Jared was about to step in when, meeting his eyes, Perdita begged, ‘Please, Jared, will you leave this to me?’
‘If that’s what you want.’
‘It is.’
Turning to Martin, she went on, ‘The thing is, I won’t be marrying you.’
Before he could protest, she added quickly, ‘Three years ago when you came here to fetch me after Dad had his heart attack, Jared and I were already man and wife. We’d been married that day.
‘But you knew that, didn’t you?’
Looking uncomfortable, he said, ‘Not at the time. I only found out later. But surely your marriage was annulled.’
She shook her head. ‘I thought it was. I thought I was free to marry you. But, when I met Jared again, I found we were still married. I should have told you straight away, I know, but…’
‘Instead, you let yourself get embroiled for a second time.’ He shot Jared a malevolent look. ‘Well, now I’ll make sure it’s annulled.’
‘It’s too late for an annulment.’
His face growing even redder, Martin snarled, ‘So, having kept me at arms’ length for almost three years,
you’ve been fool enough to sleep with him! Or did he force you?’
‘No, he didn’t force me.’
Looking unconvinced, Martin said, ‘Then we’ll just have to postpone the wedding until your divorce comes through.’
‘I’m sorry, Martin, but I don’t want to marry you. I should never have said yes in the first place.’
‘You’ve let that swine influence you,’ he said furiously. ‘And you know as well as I do that you can’t trust him.’
‘But I do trust him,’ she said clearly.
Conscious that Jared was sitting stock-still, she added, ‘He told me he hadn’t so much as looked at another woman that night and I believe him. I should have realized sooner that he was telling the truth.’
‘You must be mad!’ Martin burst out. ‘You saw another woman in his bedroom.’
‘How do you know what I saw? I never told you.’
He looked momentarily put out, then he rallied. ‘But you did, didn’t you?’
‘It’s quite possible that it was just a mistake, that she got into the wrong suite.’
‘You’d be an idiot if you believed that.’
‘I do believe it.’
‘Can you also believe that she not only got into the wrong suite, but into the wrong bed with a strange man?’ he jeered.
‘She wasn’t in bed.’
As though making up his mind, Martin pulled an envelope from his pocket. ‘It’s a good thing I had the foresight to bring these. Take a look at them and tell me if you still think it was just a mistake.’
In the envelope were several photographs of the redhead and Jared in bed together. Though they weren’t actually touching, they were lying close, the covers pushed down so she could see they were naked. Both appeared to be asleep.
Just for an instant Perdita’s faith was shaken.
Seeing it in her face, Martin said triumphantly, ‘Pretty damning, wouldn’t you say?’
‘Where did you get these?’ she asked quietly.
‘It doesn’t matter where I got them.’
‘But it does,’ she insisted. ‘They could be fakes. It’s amazing what can be done these days with—’
‘Of course they’re not fakes,’ he snarled.
A growing suspicion made her push it. ‘How can you be so sure?’
After a moment Martin admitted boldly, ‘Because I arranged to have them taken.’
‘You arranged to have them taken…? Why?’
‘Because I guessed what would happen as soon as your back was turned—’
Her suspicion confirmed, she said, ‘You mean you set him up.’
She saw guilt written all over his face before he protested, ‘How can you believe I’d do such a thing? You know perfectly well I—’
She cut short his blustering. ‘Well, it should be easy to prove. As you may have noticed, because you’re sitting in it, there was an extra chair and also a glass…’
When he looked blank, she added sweetly, ‘Linda will be joining us shortly. She’s agreed to tell me exactly what happened. So, if you don’t want to be totally humiliated, I suggest you leave.’
‘But Dita, I—’
‘I’ll let you have your ring back. In the meantime you’d better try and make your peace with Dad because I intend to tell him everything.’
Without another word Martin got to his feet and, looking like a man who had suffered a knockout blow, shambled away, leaving Perdita limp with reaction.
Jared, who had sat like a statue, his eyes fixed on her face, came to life and signalled a waiter, who opened and poured the champagne before producing leather-covered menus.
Seeing Perdita was in no state to choose, Jared ordered for them both.
When the waiter had gone, she found her voice and asked, ‘Jared, why didn’t you tell me all this five days ago?’
Turning those cool silvery eyes on her, he said flatly, ‘I wasn’t sure you’d believe me.’
‘So that’s why you brought me here…But, in that case, why did you change your mind and stop Linda coming?’
‘Because of what I thought we meant to each other, I wanted you to trust me, to believe in me, to know me, to take my word without me having to prove it, and I finally realized that if you couldn’t then it was no use.’
Though he spoke quietly there was so much passion in his voice that she felt scourged.
As he finished speaking, their first course arrived. Head down, she ate automatically without tasting a thing and with no real idea of what was on her plate.
They had reached the coffee stage before she was able to struggle free from the morass of conflicting emotions that had engulfed her.
Lifting her head, she looked up, her beautiful turquoise eyes brimming with tears, and said simply, ‘Oh, Jared…’
He reached across the table and covered her hand with his. ‘I’m sorry. Knowing Judson’s part in it must have come as a shock to you.’
‘I’m glad I know,’ she said fiercely. ‘You were right when you said he was cunning and deceitful and a liar. You should have added ruthless.
‘He must have caused Dad’s heart attack by telling him we were in Las Vegas together. He wanted it to happen so he had an excuse to get me away. How could he? The shock might have been fatal.’
‘But it wasn’t,’ Jared pointed out. ‘Luckily, your father’s heart was strong enough to stand it.’
The slim hand resting on the white tablecloth clenched into a fist. ‘But it might not have been.’
Taking her hand, Jared straightened her fingers one at a time, kissing each one as he did so.
‘Bear in mind that he was mad about you, and jealousy is a cruel goad.’
‘How can you be so magnanimous after everything he did to you?’
‘I admit I haven’t always felt that way. When I first found out what he’d done I could have cheerfully broken his neck.’
‘I just wish…’ She broke off, momentarily choked by tears. Then after a moment she went on, ‘At the very least I should have listened to you. Given you the benefit of the doubt. If I hadn’t been so bitterly jealous…’
He shook his head. ‘I’ve come to realize it was asking a lot to expect you to give me the benefit of the doubt when at first even I wasn’t sure what was going on.’
‘Tell me what happened,’ she said huskily.
A spasm of emotion crossed his face, but his voice was level as he began. ‘After you’d gone, to pass the time I went down to the casino. I had a couple of drinks and played roulette until about twelve-thirty. Then, because I hadn’t heard from you, I went to bed.
‘I awoke in the early hours of the morning, muddled and with a thick head—later I learnt my drinks had been spiked—to find a strange woman in the bedroom getting dressed.
‘At that moment I was certain of only two things. I’d never seen her before in my life, and I’d gone to bed alone. When I asked her what she was doing there, she swore she’d come into the wrong suite by mistake. She said that, as all the suites looked alike, she hadn’t realized until she was about to get into bed. Adding that she was sorry she’d disturbed me, she headed for the door.
‘By this time I was wide awake and feeling uneasy because I hadn’t heard from you. In need of a cup of black coffee, I pulled on some clothes and took the elevator down.
‘The night security guard was in the lobby and, when he spotted me, he remarked, “I’m afraid you’ve missed her”.
‘I must have looked blank because he said, “The young blonde girl you were with earlier yesterday evening. She’s just this minute gone”.
‘I told him that he must be mistaken. But he insisted that he’d seen you and a tall fair man come in a short while before, and that while the man had hung around down here, you’d taken the elevator up. He added that you came down again after only a few minutes, and left with that same man.
‘I know these security guards are trained to notice things and not make mistakes, and I began to wonder if he could be right.
&n
bsp; ‘Suppose you had gone up to our suite and seen another woman leaving?
‘I asked him if by any chance he’d seen anything of a striking redhead.
‘He immediately said, “Oh, yes. Linda Dow…She came through here a little while ago. She’s a hostess in the casino. If you’re looking for her, at this time in the morning she’ll no doubt be having a quiet drink in the room behind the bar.
‘I thanked him and went in search of Miss Dow. She was where he’d said she’d be, and she didn’t look too pleased to see me.
‘However, she stuck to her story that she’d got into the wrong suite by mistake, and claimed she’d been looking for a somewhat drunken client who earlier that evening had hired her services.
‘When I pressed her, she admitted that while she was in my bedroom a blonde had come in and gone straight out again without a word.
‘I set off at once for the airport, but could find no sign of you. I wasn’t sure whether you would have gone home or back to Los Angeles. As soon as it was a reasonable time, I phoned the hospital. I learnt that after a mild heart attack your father was doing well. But no one seemed to have seen anything of you.’
His voice holding an edge of strain now, he went on, ‘After phoning several times, with still no sighting of you, I flew back to San Jose.
‘When I got to Judson’s house it appeared to be shut up. There was no sign of life. No one answered either the doorbell or the phone.
‘The next day I went to JB’s offices but was told that, apart from the ordinary office staff, everyone was away. No one seemed to know where.
‘By this time I was fairly certain that you must be in Los Angeles so I flew there and for the best part of three days I hung around the hospital, hoping against hope to see you.
‘At the same time I kept phoning Judson’s house, without success. When I did finally manage to get through, it was Elmer Judson who answered.
‘As soon as he realized who it was, he hung up.
‘Then I learnt that your father’s tests had been completed and he was to be discharged the next day. I felt sure he would be going to wherever you were, so I followed him back to San Jose and to Judson’s house. Guessing what would happen if I rang the bell, I simply walked in.’
Claiming His Wedding Night Page 16