by Lynne Graham
Brushing off those emotional responses, Tati flipped open the box on a superb pair of emerald earrings in the same design as the magnificent pendant she wore. ‘Wow,’ she whispered without being prompted because it was yet another exciting gift that no sane woman could fail to appreciate. ‘They’re beautiful—’
‘Perhaps you could wear them for dinner tonight,’ Saif proposed. ‘We have a surprise guest joining us.’
‘Oh...and who would that be?’ Tati gazed at him enquiringly as she twirled the emerald earrings in the sunlight. She put them on with the kind of defiance that denied that there was anything special about the occasion while reminding herself that she ought at least to enjoy the frills while she still could.
‘Your cousin, Ana, is about to arrive here,’ Saif imparted. ‘Of course, you may be grateful for the company of a female friend at the moment.’
Utterly taken aback by the idea of Ana visiting Alharia, Tati stiffened, wondering if it was crazy to suspect that her cousin might be turning up to give Saif a belated opportunity to see what he had missed out on on his wedding day. When Ana got an idea into her head, it was hard to shift, although even Tati was a touch disconcerted by her cousin’s lack of embarrassment at visiting the home of the same man she had refused to marry only weeks earlier. ‘Why would I be grateful?’
Saif breathed in deep. ‘Because of the discovery you have recently made and the complications—’
‘I’m not going to share any of that with Ana!’ Tati protested. ‘That’s our business and much too private.’
‘I think that is for the best, but before she arrives there is information about your family which I have to share with you,’ Saif proffered heavily.
Tati became tense, noting the grave expression he wore. ‘What information and about whom?’
‘Your uncle and aunt. I’m afraid I genuinely do not know if your cousin was aware of what’s been going on for the past few years.’
‘Going on?’ Tati interrupted. ‘What do you mean by “going on”?’
‘Three years ago, after your grandmother died, your uncle and her solicitor worked together to deprive you of your inheritance. Your grandmother not only set up a trust to cover the cost of your late mother’s care, but she also left the Fosters Manor estate to you.’
‘That’s impossible,’ Tati broke in afresh. ‘I wasn’t left anything! My uncle told me that.’
Saif ignored the interruption. ‘You were to inherit the estate when you reached twenty-one, but you were supposed to enjoy the income from it immediately. In effect your uncle was disinherited in your favour. Your uncle had made continual financial demands on your grandparents during their lifetime and your grandmother apparently believed that he had had his fair share before her death. Unfortunately, she appointed both your uncle and the solicitor, Roger Sallow, as executors of the will. The solicitor was corrupt. Your uncle bribed Sallow to remain silent and at the official reading Sallow read an invalid will that had been written years earlier. Your uncle has since made regular very large payments to the solicitor. The size of those payments probably explains his continuing financial troubles because Sallow became increasingly greedy.’
‘I can’t believe this...’ Tati massaged her pounding forehead with her fingers. ‘Granny Milly actually chose to leave it all to me?’ she exclaimed in disbelief. ‘How did you find all this out?’
‘The day I married you, I asked a private investigation agency to do a report on you,’ Saif revealed tautly. ‘At that stage, I knew nothing about you and I wanted the facts. The investigator met with an old friend of your grandmother’s who had witnessed the will without actually seeing the contents and she chose to share her concerns with him.’
Tati frowned. ‘Her concerns?’
‘She knew what your grandmother had originally planned and was very surprised when she saw that nothing changed at the manor after her friend’s death, but she didn’t come forward because she decided that it was none of her business and she didn’t wish to offend anyone. She could, of course, have asked to see the will, which was on public record, but she didn’t know that,’ Saif recounted wryly. ‘Basically, she is an elderly woman who didn’t want to risk getting involved in what she suspected could be a crime.’
Tati parted bloodless lips. ‘A crime?’
‘You have been defrauded of your rightful inheritance and that is a crime,’ Saif pointed out grimly. ‘The investigation agency consulted me as soon as they uncovered the irregularities and I told them to find the evidence and put the whole matter in the hands of the police.’
If possible, Tati turned even paler. ‘The police?’ she whispered in horror.
‘Fraud has been committed, Tatiana,’ Saif asserted grimly. ‘How else may such wickedness be handled?’
Tati lifted her aching head high and looked back at him with icy blue eyes of condemnation. ‘I don’t know, Saif. You would need to tell me because, even though this concerns me, I wasn’t consulted.’
‘I imagine the police will seek some sort of statement from you, but they have all the evidence they require for a prosecution.’
Tati nodded, in so much shock that she was barely able to absorb what she had been told. She couldn’t quite credit her hearing. She had never liked her uncle, but that he could act so basely and deliberately defraud her, while still treating her like a despised poor relation who was a burden, took her breath away. As for the trust that Saif had mentioned, the trust set up to care for her poor mother’s needs, the knowledge that that information had been withheld filled her with nauseated rage on her late parent’s behalf. She had been controlled and threatened with lies when all along her uncle had had little choice but to keep on paying those care home bills because stopping payment could have drawn dangerous attention to him.
‘When did you find all this out?’ Tati prompted sickly.
‘The first week we were married...well, I didn’t know the whole story then, but I was informed that there was every sign that your uncle had committed fraud and that he was being blackmailed by the solicitor for his misdeeds.’ Saif studied her anxiously because she was very pale even if she was handling the whole business more quietly than he had somehow expected. ‘I didn’t want to make allegations against your relatives without adequate proof, which is why I remained silent about my suspicions.’
‘And why are you finally telling me now?’ Tati enquired stiffly, a glint in her unusually bright gaze, resentment and bitterness and anger all flaring at once inside her.
‘Only because your cousin is about to arrive and, if the police have made a move against her father, she could be visiting with a plea that you intervene...although, to be frank, I doubt that you have the power now that the police are involved and have the evidence of his crime.’
‘I gather you think that Ana must know about this!’ Tati commented stiffly.
‘I imagine she does,’ Saif said very drily.
‘I doubt that very much. Ana is spoiled, selfish and materialistic but she’s never been dishonest or cruel. There’s no way she’s involved!’ Tati told him with firm emphasis.
‘Since you are so fond of her, I can only hope that you are correct.’
‘No, my belief is that Ana is visiting to subject you to a charm offensive,’ Tati mused, grimacing a little at having to voice that opinion because it mortified her.
‘Me? A charm offensive?’ Saif repeated blankly. ‘What are you saying?’
‘The man Ana ran away from you to marry let her down and now she has regrets about not marrying you.’
‘A little late in the day,’ Saif remarked as dry as the desert sand.
‘As far as Ana’s concerned, I’m only a substitute for her and not a very good one at that,’ Tati explained as she rose from her seat. ‘You’re rich, generous and good-looking. She’s probably hoping you’ll be willing to consider a swap.’
‘A
swap?’ Saif sliced back at her in sheer disbelief.
Tati gave him a long, considering appraisal, ticking all the mental boxes he occupied in her head. It was no wonder she had fallen for him like a ton of bricks when he was gorgeous and capable of immense charm when he wished to utilise it. ‘Ana isn’t particularly intelligent. But, you know, you would still have done much better with her than with me,’ she told him ruefully. ‘I doubt that my cousin would ever have become accidentally pregnant.’
‘I am pleased about our baby,’ Saif countered fiercely, displeased by the sarcastic tone of words that hinted that her cousin was welcome to him.
Tati flung up her head, blond strands rippling back from her troubled face, her eyes full of newly learned cynicism. ‘So you say...’
CHAPTER TEN
ANA LOOKED STUNNING, her golden hair a silken swathe, her brown eyes beautifully made up, her silky short dress showing off long shapely legs. Initially full of peevish complaints about the ‘old boring ruin of a castle’ she had been dragged to view by some palace official, she soon switched to a playful smile when she realised that she was being rude. She then embraced Tati without hesitation and pouted in disappointment when Saif excused himself to make a phone call.
‘Good grief,’ she muttered as the door closed behind Tati’s husband. ‘Saif’s even better looking in the flesh! Those cheekbones, that amazing physique!’
‘How’s everybody at home?’ Tati enquired rather stiffly.
Ana sighed. ‘Much the same as usual. Mum’s nagging Dad about this autumn cruise she fancies and Dad’s saying he doesn’t want to miss the start of the shooting season. I’m so sorry I was rude when you came to the manor. Everything just got on top—George, the change in your fortunes...and I missed you.’
‘I missed you too.’ Warmed by that little speech, Tati searched her cousin’s face and was fully satisfied that the blonde had no clue that legal problems could be hovering over her family. She herself was still struggling to accept the situation that Saif had outlined. She was outraged that he had kept her out of his enquiries and that only Ana’s unexpected arrival had persuaded him to come clean about what was her business, rather than his. At heart too she was still reeling in shock at what she had learned while trying not to dwell on what was likely to happen in her marriage in the short term.
Saif didn’t love her, and if he wanted her to stay married to him longer it was only because he was keen to protect their child. There was nothing she could do to change that, but she could still act on her own behalf and...walk away. More and more that was what she wanted to do, and she kept on suppressing that thought, reminding herself that her child deserved a father, but still the prospect of escape pulled and tugged seductively at her. Saif had sent her crashing from the heights of happiness down into the depths of despair. If she couldn’t have Saif fully and for ever, she didn’t want him, and she certainly didn’t want some empty, pretend relationship dragging on for years with him, because the pain of that would kill her by degrees.
‘Oh...my...goodness!’ Ana exclaimed with emphasis, leaning closer to Tati to brush a fingertip against a dangling emerald earring gleaming like a rainbow in a shaft of sunlight. ‘Now you have earrings worth a fortune as well!’
‘Saif’s very generous.’
‘Then hand him over,’ Ana urged cheerfully, as if she were asking to borrow something quite inconsequential. ‘He’s the serious type, isn’t he? He needs someone more exciting like me in his life. You could go back to England and I could—’
Tati’s stomach hollowed out. ‘I’m pregnant, Ana. It wouldn’t be quite that simple.’
‘You mean...’ Ana stared at her in open astonishment. ‘You mean you actually slept with him? And you’ve conceived?’ Ana shook her head slowly and took a moment to regroup. ‘Well, good on you because I don’t want kids until I’m well into my thirties.’
Tati wore an impassive expression. ‘I think you’ll have to see how Saif feels about that.’
Ana laughed. ‘Of course, he’ll want me...men always do!’ she carolled with enviable confidence. ‘I could see that he was working hard not to look at me when I arrived, trying to hide his interest, and now I understand why. Obviously, if you’re pregnant, he feels he can hardly jump ship.’
Tati wondered if it was true that Saif had been trying to hide his interest. Ana was beautiful, lively and sexy. Of course, he would have noticed, particularly when Tati was pale and quiet because she was barely speaking to him and their relationship was at an all-time low. ‘But doesn’t it bother you that he’s been intimate with me?’ she pressed, striving to turn her cousin’s thoughts in a more appropriate direction. ‘Doesn’t that put you off?’
‘Oh, not at all. Men aren’t that fussy when it comes to a willing woman,’ Ana said knowledgeably just as her phone began playing a favourite tune.
Tati knew instantly what the call was about because Ana was no dissembler. Her eyes flew wide and she said sharply, ‘You can’t be serious! The police? I don’t believe you!’
While she was talking and becoming more and more distressed, Tati got up and left the room to trek downstairs to Saif’s office.
‘Ana’s just found out that her parents have been arrested...and no, she didn’t know anything about it. I want to fly back to England with her.’
Brilliant green eyes locked to her flushed face. ‘That would be unwise.’
‘I don’t care whether it’s wise or not,’ Tati responded truthfully. ‘This is a family matter. You interfered and let me find out the hard way, but it’s not your decision or your business...it’s mine.’
‘I was trying to protect you. I didn’t want to risk telling you anything false. I don’t deal in unsubstantiated stories,’ Saif intoned with cool dignity. ‘Becoming involved in the fallout from your uncle’s actions at this stage could be very challenging for you. You would be in a very awkward position as his victim.’
‘I’m not a coward. I can deal with unpleasant things,’ Tati told him, lifting her head high.
‘If you go to England, I will be accompanying you. We’ll fly out in the morning,’ Saif announced.
‘Even if I don’t want you to?’ Tati snapped angrily.
Saif breathed in deep and slow, his green eyes glittering as bright as the earrings she wore. ‘Even then.’
‘Well...’ Tati stomped back to the door in a temper. ‘I’ll just ignore you. I’ll pretend you’re not there getting into business that has nothing to do with you!’
‘Everything that relates to you involves me because we’re a couple.’
‘I wouldn’t use that word about us,’ Tati said in fierce denial, leaving his office to return to her cousin.
‘The police have let them both out on bail and have confiscated their passports like they’re criminals!’ Ana wailed at her incredulously. ‘Dad’s being charged with fraud and Mum’s being charged as an accessory. How on earth could Granny have done this to us? I mean, Dad was the eldest child, everything should’ve gone to him. It’s not surprising he went a little crazy and did wrong.’
‘Actually, my mother was the eldest by eighteen months,’ Tati chipped in gently as she rubbed her sobbing cousin’s spine in a soothing motion.
‘But the will that they pretended was still current left the estate to Dad. So, Granny must have changed her mind.’ And then Ana sobbed. ‘Oh, hell, Tati, how could Dad lie and do such a thing to you when you’re part of our family as well? I never dreamt he could sink so low!’
‘I think his hatred for my mother...and in her absence, me...overwhelmed his judgement. But I shouldn’t be discussing this with you, Ana. I’m too close to it. Talk to your friends,’ she urged.
‘I can’t tell them about this! When this gets out into the papers everybody will think I’m as guilty as my parents are of robbing you blind!’ Ana sobbed. ‘Oh, Tati, can’t you please stop this happening?’
* * *
But as Tati discovered, late the following day when she was interviewed by the police in England and had answered their questions, the prosecution had nothing to do with her. Crimes had been committed and the solicitor was in even more severe trouble than her uncle and was suspected of having suggested the substitution of the outdated will to Rupert Hamilton in the first place. His dealings with his other clients were now under careful scrutiny.
When the official business was complete, Tati felt drained and she climbed into the limo that came to collect her and focused on Saif’s lean, darkly handsome features wearily. ‘Well, you were right, there’s nothing I can do.’
‘But why would you want to do anything to help your persecutors?’ Saif demanded in driven disbelief.
‘Not because I forgive them, because I don’t,’ she said quietly. ‘I had a hellish time after Granny passed worrying about my mother’s security in the care home. I could never forgive them for that or for treating me like dirt. But I pity Ana because she loves them and she’s ashamed and mortified and she had no idea what had been done.’
‘Then compensate her in some way if you wish to be generous. You seem to forget that you have become a very wealthy woman with considerable sums at your disposal. What your uncle deprived you of was a mere tithe of what you are now worth,’ Saif informed her.
Tati fixed dismayed eyes to him. ‘How am I wealthy? You may be, I’m not!’
‘When we married, I settled funds on you that would make you wealthy by most people’s standards...if not mine,’ Saif told her coolly.
Tati clasped her hands together tightly. ‘I don’t want your money. I’m not being rude or ungrateful, but it’s not right for me to be taking money from you when we were never truly married in the first place.’
Saif expelled his breath in a sudden hiss and clamped his even white teeth down on a swear word. ‘Truly?’ he derided. ‘We had the ceremony. We have shared a bed, made love and conceived a child. How is all that not a marriage?’