Portia took a quick look at the menus on the dressing table, then rang for tea to tide her over until the lobster salad she’d chosen for dinner later on. Once the tea tray arrived Portia tipped the polite young waiter and locked the door behind him. She pulled off her hat, unpinned her hair and ran her fingers through crackling bronze curls which sprang free as though glad to escape. Then she removed her tailored brown suit and silk shirt and hung them up, pulled off her long suede boots and removed her stockings, then wrapped herself in the white towelling dressing gown provided by the hotel. With a sigh of pleasure she sank down on the sofa with a cup of tea, nibbled on one of the accompanying petits fours, and gazed out over parkland lit so cleverly it looked bathed with moonlight.
When she was young it had always been her ambition to stay in the Ravenswood, which featured in smart magazines, offering weekend breaks of unbridled luxury. The room was exquisitely furnished, and the bathroom was vast, with a tub big enough to swim in and everything else a guest could need, right down to a separate telephone. A bit different from her usual company-funded overnight stops when inspections or viewings took her too far to return to base overnight.
So now, surprisingly, she could resume her plans for the weekend right here. She could read, watch a television programme, even request a video from the list provided.
Portia got up to draw the curtains, then picked up her book and prepared to enjoy the evening just as she’d planned to at home. Only tonight, after a long, leisurely bath, she would read herself to sleep in the picturesque tester bed, and someone would bring her breakfast on a tray in the morning. Wonderful. When a knock heralded the arrival of her dinner, punctual to the minute, Portia tightened the sash on the dressing gown and went on bare feet to open the door to the waiter. And confronted the elegant figure of Monsieur Brissac instead.
They stared at each other for a moment in mutual surprise, then his eyes moved from her bare feet to the tumbled hair. She thrust it back quickly, heat rising in her face as her pulse astonished her by racing at the sight of him. The Frenchman was obviously fresh from a shower, the dark shadow along his jaw less evident, and he was wearing a different, equally elegant suit. ‘Is your room to your taste, Miss Grant?’ he enquired, moving closer.
Portia backed away instinctively. ‘Yes, indeed. Very comfortable. But I’m expecting my dinner to arrive any moment, so if you’ll excuse me—’
‘My guests tell me they are suffering from jet lag and wish to retire early,’ he interrupted smoothly. ‘Since you will not dine with us, perhaps you would join me in the bar later this evening, Miss Grant. I wish to discuss certain aspects of the sale of Turret House before we return to it in the morning.’
Refusing to let the intent dark eyes fluster her, Portia thought swiftly. Her partners were about to suggest a price reduction to the owners. If she could make the sale at the present price it would be a feather in her cap. As junior partner, and a female, she was secretly driven by the need to compete on equal terms with the men at Whitefriars.
‘After dinner, in the bar?’ he prompted, obviously amused by her hesitation.
Portia nodded briskly. ‘Of course, if you feel further discussion will be useful before seeing the house again. Perhaps you’ll ring me when you’re free.’ No way was she hanging about in the bar until he was ready to join her.
‘Of course, Miss Grant.’ He smiled. ‘Enjoy your dinner.’
Portia returned the smile and closed the door, then stood against it for a moment, giving herself a stringent little lecture as she waited for her pulse-rate to return to normal. Charm personified he might be, but Monsieur Brissac was just a client. And she was here solely to sell him a house.
When her lobster salad arrived Portia eyed it in surprise. Not only was it a work of art on a plate, but it was accompanied by a half-bottle of Premier Cru burgundy, a small mound of gleaming black caviare as appetiser, and an iced parfait of some kind to round off the feast.
‘No mistake, Miss Grant,’ said the receptionist when Portia rang to enquire. ‘Compliments of Monsieur Brissac.’
Portia thanked the girl, shrugged, then began to spread caviare on crisp squares of toast, wondering why she was being entertained so lavishly. It was she who wanted Monsieur Brissac’s business, not the other way round. What was his motive? On the phone he’d been demanding almost to the point of rudeness, but in person, once he’d actually met her, deliberate charm had quickly replaced his initial impatience. Yet something about him made her uneasy. Unable to pinpoint the reason for it, Portia despatched the last of the caviare, then helped herself to some mayonnaise from a small porcelain pot and began on the lobster she could rarely afford. Tonight it had been a reward to herself for her disturbing day. She had assumed she would pay for it herself, but Monsieur Brissac had taken pains to show he was footing the bill. Yet if Ben Parrish had been in charge of the viewing he would have expected to pay for both his own dinner and the client’s to oil the wheels of the transaction.
But she was an attractive woman, so the situation was different. Portia had no illusions about her looks. An accident of nature had given her a face, hair and a shape most of her women friends envied. Because she’d been wearing a hat, and a long coat which covered her from throat to ankle, Mr Brissac would have had to guess about shape and hair. But his impatience had evaporated the moment he’d taken a good look at her face at Turret House. And a few minutes ago his eyes had gleamed with something else entirely at the sight of her in a robe, with her hair all over the place.
Portia frowned thoughtfully. Monsieur Brissac, she was sure, was too sophisticated and subtle a man to try to mix business with pleasure. Tonight he had taken her by surprise. But from now on she would be in control, totally poised and professional. And in the meantime nothing was going to spoil her pleasure in her dinner.
CHAPTER TWO
WHEN the telephone rang just after ten Portia decided on a little dressage. Monsieur Brissac might whistle, but she wasn’t coming running just yet.
‘Would you give me another fifteen minutes or so?’ she asked pleasantly.
‘But of course. As long as you wish,’ he assured her.
Portia had taken time over a bath and washing her hair. Sorry now she’d been so frugal with her packing, her sole concession to the occasion was a fresh silk T-shirt with the suit worn earlier—her usual office clothes. She brushed her newly washed hair up into as tight a knot as possible and pinned it securely, replaced the amber studs in her earlobes, then collected handbag and key and went off to charm Monsieur Brissac into buying Turret House.
The bar was crowded with well-dressed people in convivial mood after the pleasures of the impressive Ravenswood dinner menu. When Portia paused in the doorway the elegant figure of her client rose to his feet at a small table in a far corner.
‘I’m sorry if I’ve kept you waiting,’ she said politely, as he held a chair for her.
‘You did not,’ he assured her, smiling. ‘You are punctual to the second. May I offer you a cognac with your coffee?’
No way, thought Portia. She needed to keep her faculties needle-sharp since her companion was making it clear that though they were here to discuss business he was taking unconcealed male pleasure in her company.
‘I won’t, thank you.’ She smiled at him. ‘Just coffee.’
Even before she’d finished speaking a waitress had materialised with a tray and put it on the low table in front of her.
Monsieur
