against Peter’s future income, which should have payed it off—he was one of the most famous, soughtafter architects in the country. What he neglected to do, however, was take out any insurance against, well, the unknown happening such as did happen.’
Arizona sat down rather suddenly. ‘What are you saying?’
‘I’m saying,’ he said levelly, ‘that although he was the finest architect, he wasn’t much of a businessman. He was also very secretive so that not even I knew how complicated his affairs were or how unwise some of his investments. What it boils down to is that Scawfell will have to be sold to save anything of his estate for his children, let alone the provisions he made for you, but in the real estate climate of the moment, it’s debatable if there will be anything left for any of you.’
‘But I don’t understand,’ Arizona whispered, paling as his words sank in. ‘He never said a word to me about all this, not—’ she stopped then continued ‘—not that I ever asked him. But he didn’t seem to have any worries about finances.’
‘He wouldn’t have had if he hadn’t died so unexpectedly.’
‘But...’ She stood up again, uncaring that he was watching her like a hawk now. ‘This is terrible! It was bad enough for them to lose their father like that, in a car accident, after losing their mother to an incurable disease and with no living relatives—’
‘Which was why as their trustee I agreed to them staying with you, Arizona,’ he said with a significant little look. ‘They don’t have anyone else, no grandparents left alive, aunts or uncles et cetera because both their parents were single children.’
‘I know that. And to lose Scawfell as well,’ she said hollowly. ‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m sorry to have to say I’m all too sure.’
‘So... what will we do?’ She stared at him dazedly. ‘Ben is enough of a handful at the moment as it is.’ She stopped abruptly and bit her lip.
‘So they’re not all fine—what about the others?’
Arizona closed her eyes briefly then said a little bitterly, ‘I’m sure fifteen-year-old boys can be a handful without the trauma he’s gone through—’
‘Oh, I’m sure they can,’ Declan Holmes replied dryly. ‘Especially without a father. What about ten-year-old twins—and Daisy?’
‘How did you find them on the last of your monthly visits?’ Arizona countered.
He looked amused. ‘My monthly visits that you so pointedly went out of your way to avoid whenever you could? Daisy was—Daisy,’ he said. ‘The twins were extremely taken up with the model I brought down, and Ben was out, too.’
Arizona sighed. ‘Sarah and Richard do seem to have bounced back, but then they have each other,’ she said of Peter Adams’s ten-year-old twins. ‘As for Daisy, it took her months to understand he was never coming back, then she got weepy for a while, but I think she’s forgetting now, although she tends to cling, but I’m always here so—Ben is the only real problem.’
‘How so?’
‘He’s moody, he seems to have given up on schoolhe seems to hate the whole world, other than his horse and riding, at times.’
‘I see.’
‘That’s a great help,’ Arizona remarked after a pause.
‘I didn’t think you wanted my help.’
‘I don’t, but you insisted on knowing. Look,’ she said impatiently, ‘this is getting us nowhere. How come no-one has seen fit to let me know about all this before today?’
‘A lot of it wasn’t known for a time. There were offshore ventures that took quite some time and patience to unravel.’
‘But I don’t understand,’ she said, perplexed. ‘How have we been going along in the meantime?’
Declan Holmes paused, narrowed his eyes and said, ‘I hope you don’t hate this too much, Arizona, but with my help.’
She gasped. ‘Do you mean you’ve been supporting us?’
‘Precisely.’
‘But why didn’t you tell me?’
He said reflectively, ‘I had several motives, Arizona. I didn’t want to add any more burdens for the kids to have to cope with so soon after losing their second parent, and I thought it would be difficult for you to carry on unconcernedly once you knew.’
‘Well, you’re right,’ she said through her teeth, ‘but it would have been on their behalf not mine that I would have been unable to remain unconcerned despite what I have no doubt you’re implying!’
‘Perhaps,’ he said mildly.
‘So what were your other motives?’ she demanded.
He raised an eyebrow. ‘I guess I wanted to see how you did—conduct yourself over the last twelve months.’
‘Before you came back and asked me to marry you again? How do you know I haven’t taken a legion of lovers in the interim?’
‘Have you?’
Arizona made a sound of pure, despairing exasperation.
‘Look, don’t answer—I know you haven’t,’ he said with a lightening grin.
Arizona opened her mouth, closed it then all but spat, ‘Have you been having me followed or something like that?’
‘No, nothing like that, but I do have my sources,’ he replied imperturbably. ‘In fact,’ he continued softly, ‘it’s almost as if you’ve been waiting for me, my dear.’
‘So...it’s never entered your calculations,’ she said with difficulty, ‘that I might just have been grieving and not interested in forming any liaisons?’
‘Well, one day I’ll probably know a lot more about you, but in the meantime, will you marry me, Arizona?’
‘No. Definitely not,’ she added to give it more force and then tried a little more force. ‘It would be the very last thing I’d do. Do I make myself clear?’
His blue gaze didn’t alter much—perhaps a tinge of amusement crept into it. ‘Not even if I told you that it was one way, probably the only way, to save Scawfell for Pete’s kids?’
Arizona realized suddenly that she could hear her heart beating heavily, that her lips were dry and her breathing ragged. And nearly a minute passed before she said in a voice quite unlike her own, ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean that if you married me I would pay off the mortgage on the estate so that the children had something to inherit as well as a familiar beloved spot to live out their childhood, and I would support them as my own—as our own.’
‘Do you mean you would bring them up as your children?’ she said uncertainly.
‘We could bring them
