said Matt contemptuously. ‘All right, here’s the deal. I’ll pay you if you promise to move out of Tim’s flat and stay away from him for a year.’
Lisa stared at her companion in disbelief. Was it a joke? No, it couldn’t possibly be. Matt’s expression was grimly serious and he was already reaching inside the pocket of his dinner jacket for a chequebook and a gold pen.
‘What’s to stop me from taking the money and going back on my word?’ she demanded, turning over the possibilities as if it was some kind of quiz game. ‘Or do you have too high an opinion of my character for that?’
‘No, I don’t,’ retorted Matt rudely. ‘Naturally I’ll take precautions. The payment will be in quarterly instalments with the first one being made now as a gesture of good faith. Once you’ve moved out of the flat there will be three more instalments at intervals of three months, provided you keep your side of the bargain. And, believe me, I have ways of checking.’
‘You mean you’ll have a private detective spying on me?’ she demanded.
Matt shrugged and smiled unpleasantly. Lisa let out a low gasp of rage.
‘Just as a matter of interest, how much are you offering me to do this?’ she demanded.
He named a figure that made her jaw drop.
‘B-but that’s a fortune,’ she stammered.
‘I take it we have an agreement then,’ he said coldly, scrawling on the cheque and signing it with a flourish. ‘There you are, Lisa. It’s been most interesting doing business with you. Now what about my other offer of changing your allegiance from Tim to me? Are you sure you don’t want to accept that, too?’
For a moment she was speechless with indignation, then belatedly she found her voice and her power of movement. With shaking fingers she snatched the cheque from Matt’s hand and glanced down at it. A long row of noughts at the end blurred before her gaze. Then holding the paper as distastefully as if it were a spider, she thrust it into the candle flame.
‘I have only one thing to say to you,’ she told him as the acrid smoke coiled up. ‘If I ever choose to marry Tim, there is no way on earth that you’ll be able to stop me!’
A warning heat scorched her fingers so that she dropped the charred remnants of the cheque in the ashtray. Then, snatching her evening bag off the table, she strode to the door with her head held high and her eyes flashing. A brief pause to claim her coat and she was on her way. She was dimly aware of a hubbub behind her as a waiter bustled over to investigate the smell of smoke and Matt placated him with a substantial tip before hurrying after her. He caught up with her just as the doors of the lift were closing. Thrusting one muscular, black-clad leg between them, he forced them open and rejoined her. He looked as impeccable as ever, but something wild and dangerous lurked at the back of his ice-blue eyes. Lisa felt an irrational surge of panic as the doors closed behind him, leaving them alone together. Her heart began to thud frantically and her breath came in shallow flutters as the lift plunged downwards.
‘Don’t ever behave like that in public again,’ he warned.
Then he swept her into his arms and kissed her. It was not just the motion of the lift that gave her that dizzy, plunging sensation. As she hurtled down the lift shaft, locked in his arms, Lisa had a giddy feeling of being totally powerless. A warning bell sounded as they reached the car park, but Matt simply reached out and pressed the button for the top floor again. He was still kissing her passionately when the door opened near the restaurant and Lisa came to her senses enough to realize where they were.
Flushing, she broke away from Matt and had to endure the disapproving glances of two elderly women and the sly grins of their spouses on their way down again. She was relieved when they parted company with the older couples and emerged into the car park, but even then her troubles were not over. Matt took her arm tranquilly and guided her towards the limousine, visible behind one of the pillars.
‘I don’t need a ride,’ she said. ‘I’m going back upstairs to call a taxi.’
‘Do as you’re told, Lisa,’ he ordered amiably. ‘I don’t want to have to carry you to the car. Of course, once we’re inside it you’re welcome to quarrel with me, provided you don’t mind William overhearing every word.’
She cast him a smouldering look.
‘You brute! I hate you! How dare you maul me like that in the lift?’
Matt’s voice was full of lazy amusement as he pulled her out of the path of a departing Rolls and waved cheerfully at the two older couples inside the vehicle.
‘Maul you, sweetheart? What rubbish! You enjoyed every moment of it as much as I did.’
This was so close to the truth that Lisa sat fuming in silence half the way home. Her response to Matt Lansdon appalled her, but when she had finally stopped berating herself, she began to worry about the more important issue of what she should do. Well, there was really only one answer to that. Tim must be made to tell the truth and both male Lansdons must grovel apologetically at her feet. After that she would have to move out and find herself somewhere else to live. Her pride could not possibly permit her to remain in her present situation, although the prospect of finding lodgings she could afford made her spirits sink. She would have to find a waitressing job again and that would leave even less time available for painting. Besides, in spite of Tim’s outrageous behaviour, she had a niggling suspicion that she was going to miss him if she never saw him again. Of course she wouldn’t miss Matt Lansdon and she hoped devoutly that she would never have to see him again. If only she could get through the rest of this evening, with luck she might never have to set eyes on him in future!
When they entered the flat, Lisa waved hopefully at the huge, open-plan living room, which dominated the lower floor.
‘Would you like to sit down and fix yourself a drink,’ she asked, ‘while I go upstairs and see if Tim’s home?’
‘No, thanks,’ replied Matt coolly. ‘I’ll come up and see for myself. I am one of the family, after all.’
She couldn’t help resenting this invasion of the more private part of the flat, nor did it make her task any easier. If Tim had drunk too much at a party, which had happened several times lately, there would be little chance of concealing the fact from his uncle. Oh, well, perhaps it would do him good to be accountable for his actions for once! A thin rectangle of golden light under his bedroom door showed that he was at home.
‘Perhaps you’d like to sit down,’ invited Lisa. ‘And I’ll ask Tim to come out and speak to you.’
‘All right,’ agreed Matt.
She waited until he had taken his seat in the small sunroom off the dining area and was on the point of tapping on Tim’s door when she realized that was out of character with her role as his fiancée. Instead she boldly opened the door as if it belonged to her own bedroom, slipped inside and shut it behind her. Tim was busy getting undressed and looked up with an expression of mild surprise as he pulled on a pair of navy blue silk pyjama bottoms. His upper half was still bare, but Lisa spared him no more than a glance. Tim was like a brother to her and in any case his thin, boyish physique awoke no dangerous longings in her of the kind inspired by his uncle. He pushed a lock of his silky, honey-gold hair out of his brown eyes and flashed her a mischievous grin.
‘Did you get rid of Uncle Matt?’ he demanded without any preliminary greeting.
‘No,’
