Annie supplied quickly, at last feeling she might be making some progress in her effort to get him to leave.
‘He’s here?’ the man rasped, casting a look in the direction of the house above on the cliff, now hidden by the fog.
‘Oh, yes.’ She nodded eagerly. ‘All of the family are in residence.’
‘Are they indeed?’ he mused harshly, his brow clearing, his mouth twisting with contempt. ‘Well, I can assure you there’s no possibility of Anthony coming down here,’ he dismissed derisively. ‘He hates the sea and everything to do with it—more so since a boating accident several years ago. Unless, of course, the two of you have arranged to meet down here?’ he added slowly.
Annie looked at him sharply, momentarily forgetting her fear. Exactly what did he mean by that remark? He couldn’t possibly know anything about Anthony—or her, for that matter.
‘Have you?’ he prompted softly. ‘It would be the one place Davina wouldn’t think of looking for him; she knows of his aversion to moving water!’ he mocked.
And this man, she realised, at the mention of Davina, Anthony’s fiancée—whoever he was—knew far too much about the Diamond family!
The man looked at her consideringly now, seeming to take in everything about her appearance in that one sweeping glance: her short, curling red hair, which framed her gamine face, a face dominated by deep brown eyes; her small and snub nose, her wide and smiling mouth—usually, when she wasn’t accosted by complete strangers!—a chin that was small and pointed, her figure boyish in her jacket, blue cropped top and fitted black denims.
‘You don’t look like Anthony’s usual type,’ the man finally drawled insultingly. ‘But then, as he gets older, perhaps young and impressionable is easier to deal with!’
Easier to impress, his dismissive tone implied!
Well, at thirty-six, she didn’t consider Anthony old, and she wasn’t that young either; at twenty-two she could quite easily be married with small children.
She eyed the man coolly. ‘Anthony Diamond, as you have already mentioned, already has a fiancée.’ Some of her fear was fading now, to be replaced by anger; not only was this man trespassing on the Diamond estate, he was also insulting the family—well, one of them—as well now!
‘Davina,’ the man acknowledged. ‘I’m sure their engagement is of mutual benefit to both of them,’ he went on, ‘but it hasn’t stopped Anthony’s roving eye. You must be new to the village,’ he added tauntingly. ‘Last I heard, Anthony had already gone through all the available females there. Unless, of course, you’re one of the married ones?’
It had quickly become obvious to her that this man thought she was one of the girls from the local village two miles away. Which meant he must be new to the area himself, otherwise he would have known she was nanny to the youngest member of the Diamond family. Admittedly, she had only been working here for two months, but he seemed to know so much else about the Diamonds...
‘I’m not married, but I’m not an “available female”, either,’ Annie told him tartly. ‘And I would appreciate it if you didn’t continue to insult members of the Diamond family!’
‘But I’m only insulting Anthony,’ he replied knowingly. ‘And he makes it so easy to insult him,’ he added scathingly, glancing at the plain gold watch on his wrist. ‘It doesn’t look as if he’s coming now; I was watching you for at least ten minutes before I spoke to you,’ he informed her softly.
She shrank back defensively, uncomfortable with the knowledge that she had been watched when she hadn’t been aware of it. Her emotions had been in turmoil when she’d come down here, her thoughts troubled, and she was sure that must have been obvious from her expression when he’d first caught sight of her. Which was probably why he had made that assumption about suicide! Admittedly, her life did feel a bit complicated at the moment, but certainly not that desperate!
‘Perhaps it’s as well that he didn’t. For your sake,’ she snapped as he raised questioning brows. ‘You’re trespassing,’ she pointed out irritably as he still looked unimpressed.
He shrugged unconcernedly. ‘So are you. And although Anthony may not mind your being here, what about the rest of the family?’ he challenged. ‘Rufus, for example?’
‘Rufus isn’t here,’ she told him impatiently, tired of this constant baiting.
Rufus Diamond, the male head of the family and her small charge’s father, was away at the moment, and had been for the last three months. As an investigative reporter of some repute, he had been away in some wartorn country or other since before Annie had come to work with his daughter. His mother, Celia, the matriarch of the Diamond family, had been the one to employ her when the previous nanny had left without notice.
The man looked at her assessingly. ‘I thought you said all of the family were in residence?’ He tauntingly echoed her words of earlier.
‘They are.’ She frowned at him. ‘But Mr Diamond senior—’
‘You mean Rufus?’ Amusement darkened his eyes even more; his teeth were white and even as he gave a wolfish grin. ‘I’ve never heard him referred to as that before; you make him sound ancient!’
‘I have no idea how old Mr Diamond—Mr Rufus Diamond—is,’ Annie told him in a flustered voice. ‘But I do know he’s older than Anthony.’
‘By three years.’ The man nodded. ‘And, believe me, I feel every one of them,’ he added, watching her as he waited for her reaction to his announcement.
And he wasn’t disappointed, Annie felt sure!
This was Rufus Diamond? This man, with his shaggily long dark hair, piercing eyes, hard-hewn face, tall and leanly powerful body? This was Rufus Diamond?
She didn’t know what she had been expecting from the brief mentions of him that had been made by the rest of the family, or from the absolute adoration with which Jessica spoke of her father, but it certainly hadn’t been this dangerously good-looking man with his assured air of power!
Perhaps it was that he was such a complete contrast to his brother, Anthony was tall and blond, extremely handsome, with eyes as blue as the sky on a summer’s day, always immaculately dressed in his tailored, designer clothes. The two men were complete opposites, and she would never have guessed they were brothers.
She hadn’t!
She drew in a controlling breath, doing her best to gather her scattered wits back together. ‘It’s good to meet you at last, Mr Diamond.’ She held out her hand in formal greeting.
He didn’t move, watching her through narrowed lids. ‘Is it?’ he returned guardedly.
She swallowed hard, her arm falling back to her side, her hands feeling slightly warm and damp, despite the cold clamminess of the fog that still surrounded them. ‘I’m Jessica’s new nanny, Mr Diamond—’
‘Are you indeed?’ he cut in grimly, all humour gone from those hard dark eyes now. ‘What about Margaret?’
She moistened her dry lips once more, some of her earlier fear returning; this man was a power to be reckoned with when he was angry. As he was now. ‘I believe she left—’
