it away.
‘No, don’t touch me. I can’t bear the sight of you.’
‘Please don’t let this spoil our friendship.’
‘There never was a friendship,’ she whispered. ‘There never could be.’
‘Freya—’
He reached out for her again but she darted away. After a moment he heard her bedroom door shut and the key turn in the lock.
CHAPTER FOUR
ALONE IN HER room Freya slammed her fist down on the dressing table again and again. A storm had invaded her. Rage, bitterness, disillusion and misery fought for supremacy. They all won. She was trapped in their prison and inside her there was no escape.
But outside she could put distance between herself and Jackson. She hurriedly dressed, slipped quietly into the corridor, down the stairs and out of the door. She had no idea where she was going, except that a million miles away from him would not be far enough.
Once before the world had turned upside down, and she’d survived because of Jackson’s comfort and support. But that had been only an illusion. Instead there was a bleak, arid desert where the rest of her life must be lived.
She lost track of time but she must have walked for hours, because when she finally turned back the dawn was breaking.
Nearing the house, she saw her mother, standing at a downstairs window. As soon as she saw Freya she came to the front door.
‘Come along in,’ she said. ‘I saw you leave. You were running as though the fiends of hell were after you. I was worried.’
‘Sorry, Mum. That was inconsiderate of me, but I was ready to murder someone.’
‘Ah, yes, Jackson got Dan on a video link, didn’t he? I heard his voice. You still want to murder Dan?’
‘No, Jackson,’ Freya growled.
‘What? Did I hear that right? But Jackson’s been so nice to you.’
‘Jackson is a lying, scheming, deceitful louse. And, yes, you heard that right. I said it and I mean it.’
‘But he can’t possibly have done anything to justify that. He’s a fine, decent young man.’
‘I thought so too. That’s why I never realised what he’d really done.’
‘Whatever do you mean?’
‘It was because of him that Dan ran for it. He never wanted to marry me, and when they were heading for the church Jackson urged him to dump me then rather than later. So Dan got out of the car.’
‘Darling, I don’t believe this. Jackson would never do such a thing.’
‘He as good as admitted it. He says it was a mistake, but he doesn’t deny Dan left me because of what he said.’
‘Maybe that’s why he’s been so kind and helpful to you since then.’
‘Don’t try to defend him,’ Freya flashed. ‘He’s deceived me.’
‘But I don’t understand. Why did Dan propose if he didn’t want to marry you?’
‘Because Amos forced his hand,’ Freya said bitterly.
‘Never! He was against that wedding. There’s no way he ordered Dan to marry you.’
‘Of course not. He ordered him not to marry me. Dan proposed just to show Amos that he couldn’t be bullied. Then he regretted it, but he couldn’t find a way out. When he and Jackson were in the car Dan told Jackson what had happened, and my brilliantly stupid stepbrother said the one thing that could make it worse. Dan seized his chance and vanished.’
‘Amos ordered Dan to keep his distance from you? Surely not.’
‘Why do you say that? Isn’t it typical of Amos?’
‘Darling, I’ve got no illusions about him. He goes through life doing what he wants. But he’s too shrewd to do something so pathetically stupid. And he does have a nicer side. He’s always been fond of you and he wanted to take you into the family—’
‘No, it’s more like claiming property. He doesn’t have a daughter of his own, and he wanted me to “complete the set”, because he can’t bear not to have everything other people have. He didn’t care which one of his sons he tied me to as long as he put his brand on me. When only Jackson was left he went mad because neither of us would give in.’
‘This is terrible.’ Janine groaned. ‘But if Dan really only proposed for such a reason he’d have been a terrible husband. Jackson was stupid, but maybe he did you a favour in the long run.’
‘Don’t you dare stand up for him!’ Freya cried. ‘When I think of these last few weeks, how I’ve trusted and relied on him, and all the time he was hiding the truth.’
‘Because the truth would have hurt you even more. How could he do that to you?’
‘How could he have let me make such a fool of myself?’
‘He probably wasn’t thinking straight,’ Janine said wryly. ‘Men tend to do what they imagine will sort the problem today without realising that it might make it worse long-term. It obviously didn’t occur to Amos that his threats would have exactly the opposite effect to the one he wanted.’
‘I often wonder why you put up with him. Don’t tell me it’s for the money.’
‘No, if anything his money has been a disadvantage. It looms so large in his life that it leaves no room for anything else.’
‘Then why do you stay with him?’
‘He needs me, my dear. He’s vulnerable in ways he doesn’t realise.’
‘He’d never admit that.’
‘No, he likes to see himself as powerful. That falcon god that Jackson brought back from Egypt has really sent him onto cloud nine. The trouble is, that’s the side of him I find hardest to live with.’
‘Does he know that? No, of course not. It would never occur to him that he doesn’t come up to standard. I’d like to see his face when you tell him that you know what he did to Dan.’
‘I’m not sure that I will tell him. And please don’t you say anything.’
‘All right, I’ll leave it to you. How you handle your horrible husband is your affair.’
‘Forget about Amos. This isn’t about him. It’s about Jackson. Don’t condemn him too much for keeping quiet. He did it because he was feeling his way forward, moment by moment. He didn’t ask himself what would happen when you found out later.’
‘He never meant me to find out at all. He wanted to rule the roost all the time—just like Amos. Like father, like son. Haven’t you noticed how alike they
