by Lynne Graham
Tense at the awareness that matrimony was a solemn event and shaken by the knowledge that she was, in many ways, making a mockery of it, Tansy bolted her knees together and stood as straight and still as she could. Without fanfare the ceremony began. Jude lifted her hand and slid a fine-plaited platinum wedding band onto her finger. Her hand trembled damply in his, her responses breathless as her apprehension climbed. No matter how hard she tried to stay in the moment, her brain kept jumping ahead to Jude’s likely reaction when she collected Posy from her stepfather, and she was soon right on the edge of panic. My goodness, Calvin had better be outside waiting on time, she reflected anxiously!
‘So, now I’m a married man,’ Jude mused reflectively as Tansy roamed ahead of him, impatient to leave the building. ‘We’re not in a hurry. We’ve plenty of time to get to the airport.’
‘We’re going straight to the airport?’ Tansy checked in apparent surprise.
‘Didn’t I tell you that?’
‘No,’ she said flatly, because she had already noticed that he didn’t bother telling her anything that he didn’t think she needed to know.
‘Our Greek wedding is tomorrow.’
‘Oh, joy,’ she muttered tautly as she stepped out onto the street, several other men joining the pair that accompanied them and fanning out across the pavement while a limousine nudged in at the kerb ahead of them.
But Tansy shifted sideways, her attention locked not to the car but to the pretty young blonde holding a baby several feet away. ‘Susie…’ she framed in relief, reaching for her sister and anchoring the smiling baby on her slim hip. ‘Where’s her stuff?’
‘What stuff?’ Susie asked blankly, already backing away. ‘Look, I have to go. Calvin will go spare if he gets a ticket—’
‘I packed a bag for her… I need her pushchair!’ Tansy gasped.
Susie shrugged. ‘Sorry… I didn’t see it. We only brought her.’
Tansy watched incredulously as her stepfather’s girlfriend hurried off without a care in the world, indeed, probably glad to see the back of both of them. Tansy out of the house and Susie freed of the expectation that she would ever have to look after Calvin’s daughter again could only be a win-win on Susie’s terms.
‘What’s going on?’ Jude demanded with a frown of bewilderment, watching the baby cling to Tansy like a little limpet and dab playful little kisses across Tansy’s face in what was obviously a regular game between them. Mother and child? Jude froze, shattered by the suspicion.
‘Sir…?’ Spiros prompted, standing at the open passenger door of the limo in readiness for their departure.
Jude unfroze with difficulty and pressed a hand to Tansy’s spine to move her towards the car. With a presence of mind that astonished Jude, Spiros leant into the car and popped out a built-in child’s car seat in readiness for the unexpected passenger. Jude hadn’t even realised the limo offered such an option.
The woman who had told him that she was a virgin was a mother? And she had deliberately concealed the fact? Jude was in shock. But he had married a woman who was a stranger. All he knew about her was that she liked money enough to sell herself into marriage for it. He had taken a huge risk, hadn’t he? He should have had Tansy fully investigated in advance instead of simply taking her at face value. What madness had possessed him? The simple fact that the minute he had laid eyes on her he had wanted to lay her down on the nearest bed and lose himself in her? Yet when he knew so little about her, she could never have been the safe option her stepfather had sworn she was.
It was his own fault: he hadn’t been willing to spare the time it would have taken to run the usual checks on Tansy. He had been in too much of a hurry, too eager to press ahead with the marriage after Althea had let him down. And his impatience had brought its own punishment.
In the ghastly silence that stretched inside the limousine, Tansy, having secured Posy in the car seat, broke out in nervous perspiration. ‘I’m really, really sorry that I didn’t tell you about her beforehand,’ she whispered guiltily. ‘I was scared you would change your mind about marrying me.’
Jude shot glittering dark golden eyes to her corner of the limousine and flung her a sardonic appraisal. ‘You think?’
‘I’ll grovel if you want me to but please don’t shout in front of Posy. I don’t want her to get upset,’ Tansy confided. ‘If you’re still taking me to Greece with you—’
‘You’re my wife now. I don’t see that I have much choice.’ Jude ground out that admission.
‘I’ll have to buy a load of baby things at the airport because Calvin didn’t send any of her stuff with her,’ Tansy muttered apologetically.
Jude knew nothing whatsoever about babies. A few of his friends had reproduced. He might be a godfather several times over but his dealings with babies were very much of the hands-off, admire-the-kid-from-a-distance nature. And then, just like that, his agile brain snapped back into gear and he dug out his phone to start handling the situation. He called his PA and told him to hire a rota of three nannies to provide the child with round-the-clock care and to ensure that the first one joined them in time for the flight out to Greece. He called his head housekeeper to order a nursery to be set up in all his homes. Those practicalities dealt with, he lounged fluidly back and simmered with pure burning rage.
The baby kept on stretching out little starfish fingers in his direction and he ignored it. It was an absurdly friendly little creature, quite impervious to the chilly atmosphere and the silence surrounding it.
He had married a single parent, a young woman with a child by an unknown man. And it would be a waste of time to set a private investigation agency on to Tansy now because within the week the international press would have exposed every single secret she had, including the identity of her child’s father. Jude was rigid with anger, enraged by her brazen dishonesty from the outset of their acquaintance.
Had he known the truth about her, he wouldn’t even have considered her, he reasoned angrily. He did not need nor want the hassle and inconvenience of a very young child in his life! He had nothing against children. Thee mou…did he not want one of his own to silence for ever Isidore’s lectures about family bloodlines, duty and loyalty? But having his own child, and curbing his freedom to meet the needs of that child, was a far different prospect from the situation that Tansy had landed him into without his agreement! Unaccustomed to anything but his own will restricting him, Jude fiercely guarded his ability to do as he pleased when and where he pleased.
They arrived at the airport. Tansy bundled the kid into her arms like an unwieldy parcel and struggled to keep up with Jude as he headed for the peace of the VIP departure lounge.
By the time they arrived there, Tansy was a hot perspiring mess because Posy was a solid little girl and Tansy wasn’t accustomed to carrying her for so long. After a moment of hesitation, she settled her down on the carpet at Jude’s feet. ‘Look, I have to go and buy essentials for Posy and she’s too heavy to carry. Can you just keep an eye on her for ten minutes?’ she almost whispered, her face flaming at her nerve in even asking. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t even have a pushchair to put her in.’
‘What do I do if she starts crying?’ Jude asked drily, ignoring the sudden grin that spread across Spiros’s usually expressionless face.
‘Lift her?’ Tansy gave him a pleading look. ‘She’s very friendly.’
Raising her rump, the very friendly baby crawled under a chair and got stuck there. She set up a hullabaloo of complaint until Jude lifted the chair away and freed her from her self-imposed cage. By then Tansy and two of his security team had departed. Not a fast learner, Posy crawled beneath another chair and ducked her head away before whipping it back and looking expectantly at Jude with huge blue eyes. She was trying to play peekaboo without anything to hide behind, Jude registered, blanking her while a woman nearby obliged and the baby shook and wriggled with delighted laughter
at the response, tousled blonde curls bouncing.
It was probably the cutest baby that Jude had ever seen, but then he didn’t look at many babies and he could well be mistaken. That cuteness factor did not diminish his rage and disbelief one jot. He was appalled by the extent of Tansy’s deception.
Tansy was disconcerted by the amount she had to buy merely to get Posy through a couple of days. Nappies, wipes, powdered milk, bottles, cereal, bibs, dummies, changes of clothes, a toddler cup, a couple of basic toys. A bigger embarrassment was reaching the till and realising she did not have enough in her bank account to cover such a spending spree and then Spiros startled her by stepping in with a black credit card and taking care of the payment for her. She went weak with relief. They arrived back in the VIP lounge festooned with bags of supplies. Tansy was hot and bothered and her feet were in agony from the tightness of her new shoes. She was taken aback to see a strange young brunette down on her knees on the floor entertaining Posy.
‘Who’s that?’ she asked.
‘Our new nanny. Her name’s Kerry, pleasant girl, enjoys travel,’ Jude advanced coolly.
‘How on earth did you acquire a nanny before we’ve even left the airport?’ Tansy whispered in disbelief.
‘She’s emergency cover from an agency. I have very efficient staff.’
‘Posy doesn’t need a nanny, and this is not an emergency.’
‘How are you planning to get through the wedding tomorrow without a nanny?’ Jude asked drily.
Tansy stiffened because she hadn’t thought ahead to that challenge and her shoulders slumped as she recognised her oversight. ‘I’m really sorry about all this.’
‘Not one half as sorry as I am to discover that I’ve married a liar and a fraud,’ Jude imparted with a soft chilling bite that cut into her tender skin like the slash of a knife blade.
Momentarily tears stung the backs of her eyes and she twisted her head away to hide that weakness. She wanted to defend herself, but it was neither the time nor the place. Instead she moved forward to introduce herself to the nanny and scooped up her sister to give her a cuddle. A liar and a fraud, she thought, wincing from the description until she reminded herself impatiently that, having secured Posy’s future with their marriage, she was now paying the price for her deceit.
The private jet was a great deal larger than she had naively expected. The stewardess led the way to one of a set of sleeping compartments at the rear of the plane, which was already set up with a crib for Posy.
‘She’s such a happy baby!’ Kerry remarked cheerfully of her new charge. ‘Is she always like this?’
‘Pretty much and she sleeps like a log too,’ Tansy confirmed with pride as she finished changing her sister and slotted her into fresh clothing, a tight knot of tension forming in her stomach as she contemplated having to face the showdown with Jude. Time to pay the piper, she told herself ruefully, because she had neither an escape hatch nor an adequate excuse for what she had done.
She walked back to the spacious living area with its groups of opulent cream leather seats and tables. A stewardess was already serving Jude with a drink and Tansy asked for a white wine, feeling she needed something to stiffen her backbone. Her anxious gaze settled on Jude’s hard classic profile. From the slash of his black brows, the angle of his strong nose and the corner of his lush shapely mouth, he was compellingly male and absolutely gorgeous, especially with the shadow of darkening stubble emphasising the sculpted hardness of his jawline.
‘I know you must think very badly of me for not telling you about Posy,’ Tansy said as soon as they were alone.
Jude averted his attention from the shapely length of her legs, cursing his male susceptibility for distracting him. He dealt her a lacerating glance in punishment. ‘Don’t fake regret with me. Why didn’t you tell me that you had a baby?’
‘I couldn’t risk it. You might have changed your mind about marrying me,’ she admitted honestly.
‘Thee mou… I don’t need any explanation for your motives!’ Jude derided.
Tansy lifted her chin, a hint of challenge in her bright gaze. ‘Well, actually you do. I didn’t agree to marry you for the reasons you probably think I did.’
‘I’m pretty certain that your reasons are no more complex than the size of my bank balance and the money I was willing to offer,’ Jude pronounced with sardonic bite.
A wave of angry pink ran up Tansy’s throat over her cheeks and up to her brow. Deeply insulted that he had dared to call her a gold-digger to her face, she gritted her teeth and settled herself down in a comfortable seat to have her drink. In an effort to fake a relaxation she was far from feeling, she kicked off the shoes that were pinching her poor toes black and blue and slid off her jacket because she was too warm. ‘Well, since you already know everything there is to know about me, there’s no reason for me to keep talking, is there?’
Jude surveyed her with a daunting air of incredulous hauteur, his spectacular dark golden eyes gleaming with irate warning. Tansy hitched her chin even higher in challenge, green eyes gleaming with furious defiance and determination. ‘I’ve said sorry but I’m not going to grovel any more. I did something wrong and I’ve acknowledged it. I will do everything I can to ensure that Posy does not interfere too much with your life but there’s not much more I can offer to do.’
‘Of course, she’ll interfere with my life!’ Jude ground out, incensed by that unexpected rebelliousness of hers and her anger. She was angry with him? How dare she be angry with him? What right did she have to be angry?
‘Not if you can help it…you hired a nanny fast enough!’ Tansy could not resist sniping back at him. ‘And you called me a liar and I’m not!’
‘How do you make that out?’
‘I didn’t actually tell you any lies. You didn’t ask me if I had any dependants.’
‘That was for you to tell me upfront,’ Jude incised crushingly.
‘You’re not being fair. If you were going to be so blasted picky, you should have known what questions you needed to ask,’ Tansy argued defensively. ‘And if you had asked, I would have had to answer truthfully because, whatever you think, I’m not a liar.’
‘I wasn’t prepared for someone as inventive with the truth as you appear to be,’ Jude fired back at her. ‘Althea has her faults, but she didn’t tell me any lies.’
Tansy flushed. ‘Althea said she would marry you and then changed her mind last minute!’ she reminded him shortly, needled by his reference to the other woman. ‘She let you down—I haven’t and don’t intend to! I keep my word.’
‘How do you expect me to believe that now? There’s nothing straight or honest about your dealings with me,’ Jude condemned with icy scorn as he set his empty tumbler down with a jarring snap. ‘Bringing a young child into this changes everything!’
‘Maybe so,’ Tansy conceded reluctantly. ‘But Posy’s the only secret I have.’
‘Yet you even chose to pretend that you were still a virgin…why? Did you somehow imagine that virginity made you more appealing?’ Jude demanded with lacerating contempt. ‘Most men prefer an experienced woman.’
And it was only then that the extent of Jude’s genuine incomprehension engulfed Tansy. He now thought she had been lying when she had admitted her lack of experience. Why was she surprised that he had no idea that Posy was her sister and not her daughter? Understandably, he had assumed that she was Posy’s mother. Why had she not immediately realised that that was what he would think? Not that the identity of Posy’s mother could have much bearing on the current situation, she conceded ruefully. After all, the key issue was that Tansy had chosen to conceal Posy’s existence and her intention of bringing the child with her into their fake marriage.
Pale and taut, Tansy stood up. ‘I wasn’t lying about that. Posy’s my sister, not my child.’
His strong black brows drew together and he shot her a d
isbelieving look. ‘Your…sister?’ he scorned. ‘There’s twenty-odd years between you!’
‘My mother was forty-seven when Posy was born and died soon after giving birth to her,’ Tansy told him tightly, her eyes shadowing at that unhappy memory. ‘I’ve been looking after her ever since she was born. I left my course at university while Mum was pregnant because she needed help with her business and after she died, I stayed on because…’ She made an awkward gesture with her hands, her lips compressing. ‘Well, Posy still needed me.’
‘She’s your stepfather’s child?’ Jude prompted with a grimace. ‘So, why are you looking after her?’
Tansy tensed. ‘I’d prefer not to get into that. Calvin’s never been my favourite person but he wasn’t cruel to Posy,’ Tansy stressed uncomfortably, reluctant to tell him about her stepfather’s financial stake in their marriage, for she suspected that that might cause more trouble than she was equipped to handle just at that moment. ‘He just wasn’t interested and his girlfriend, whom he wanted to replace me with, was only willing to look after Posy to please him and didn’t have any affection for her. My sister deserves better than that.’
Jude breathed in slow and deep, slightly mollified that the baby was not her child and that she had not lied to him on that score, but he was equally quick to recall the conversation he had had with her when he had broached the topic of her having a child with him. He tilted his arrogant dark head back, furious condemnation in his piercing gaze. ‘Even when I asked you to consider having a child with me and suggested that you might not be keen on taking on the responsibility of becoming a mother at so young an age, you didn’t admit the truth,’ he reminded her lethally. ‘Let’s be frank—not even a direct question from me would have persuaded you to reveal that child’s existence!’