knocked again, just in case it had been an instruction to wait and not to come in.
She heard another mumble inside, a crash as something hit the floor, and then the door swung open.
‘You!’ she exclaimed in horror, the tray almost falling out of her hands.
Standing in front of her, his blond hair tousled from sleep, his eyes bleary, his only garment a pair of blue silk pyjama trousers resting low down on his hips, the beginning of his recent appendectomy in evidence, was Roddy Meyers!
THE sleepy look left his eyes and he leant casually back against the doorjamb. ‘Well, well, well,’ he drawled mockingly, ‘if it isn’t Little Megan Finch!’
She had recovered from some of the shock by now—but not all of it! And she had thought she would never see him again, had hoped she would never see him again. ‘What are you doing here?’ she demanded accusingly. She must have the wrong bedroom, must have turned left instead of right, but that still didn’t explain this man being here.
The last time she had seen him had been when he had been pulled off her as she lay helpless on her bed, helpless because he had just pushed her there before attempting to make love to her. They had been discovered by a senior nursing officer as she did her rounds of the nurses’ home, and although Megan had claimed her innocence her story hadn’t been believed, because this man, Roddy Meyers, had claimed she had invited him there, had said she had been attracted to him from the first. Then of course the first incident in his private room had been brought up.
She couldn’t blame the people in charge for thinking the worst, not on the evidence they had. But she would never forgive this man for the lies he had told about her. He was despicable, and she hated him more than she had ever hated anyone in her life.
She pushed past him to put the laden tray down on the dressing-table. Damn Jerome Towers’ brother, he would have to wait for his breakfast, be it cold or not. She had something much more serious to deal with at the moment.
‘I asked you a question.’ She turned on Roddy Meyers, her green eyes sparkling angrily. ‘What are you doing at The Towers?’
‘I would have thought it was obvious,’ he taunted, obviously not realising how close he was to being struck. ‘I’m staying here.’
‘What is this?’ she snapped. ‘A hotel?’
He raised blond eyebrows. ‘Not as far as I know. What do you mean?’
Megan sighed, wondering why it was that she had resisted this young man’s advances so relentlessly that he had had to resort to force. He was good-looking in a youthful sort of way, twenty-five years of age, blond hair that was worn much too long, blue eyes, a handsome face, and yet she just hadn’t been attracted to him. That he hadn’t felt the same indifference had been obvious from the first moment they met; he had asked her every chance he got if she would go out with him. That her constant refusals had been responsible for her downfall she had no doubt.
‘I mean that Jerome Towers seems to have more guests here than the staff can cope with,’ she said rudely.
Roddy frowned. ‘Rome does?’
‘Rome?’
‘I’ve always called him that,’ he dismissed.
‘Bully for you,’ she taunted.
‘You don’t like him?’ he guessed shrewdly.
‘I’ve never met him,’ she didn’t directly answer the question. ‘Just why are you staying here?’
‘Have you forgotten, I was politely requested to leave the hospital?’ His sarcasm was unmistakable.
‘Well, at least it was politely done. I was thrown out,’ she remembered vehemently.
‘Mm, it was a shame about that, but—–’
‘A shame!’ she echoed shrilly. ‘It was more than that to me. You’ve ruined my career, you know. I’ll never get another job in a hospital. I’ll never know how you knew which room was mine, I certainly never told it to you.’
He grinned. ‘I asked your friend Tracy.’
Megan’s eyes widened in amazement. ‘And she told you, just like that?’ She had always thought Tracy her best friend at the hospital, had even promised to keep in touch, and now it turned out that Tracy had helped this man get her sacked. Somehow that didn’t sound like Tracy.
Roddy sat down on the bed, pushing his long hair back from his face. ‘Not just like that, no. I told her you’d invited me to your room, that you were expecting me, and that I’d forgotten your room number.’
‘And she believed you?’ Megan groaned. She knew a lot of the other girls sneaked boys into their room, although this was expressly forbidden in the hospital rules, but she had never been fond enough of anyone to take the risk of getting caught.
He shrugged. ‘She had no reason not to. I tell a very convincing story.’
‘Oh, I know that!’ to her cost!
‘Mm,’ he grinned. ‘What a coincidence us both being in the same area.’
‘I happen to live here,’ she snapped.
‘At least now I know I won’t be bored.’
Megan glared at him. ‘Don’t count on me to alleviate your boredom.’ She picked up the tray again. The food would be cold now, she would have to go down for a fresh lot.
Roddy was watching her. ‘Where are you going with that?’
‘To get fresh food and then take it to its rightful owner.’
‘Leave it,’ he ordered.
‘I—–’
‘It’s my breakfast, Megan,’ he said patiently.
‘But Jerome Towers’ brother—–’
‘Me,’ he nodded.
She nearly dropped the tray for the second time. ‘You are his brother?’ She just couldn’t be that unlucky.
‘That’s right,’ he smiled at her horror. ‘Half-brother actually, but that’s never counted for much.’
Just her luck! If anyone should ever find out that he was the man involved in her dismissal, and that he was staying so close to her home, they would never believe her innocence. ‘Does he know why you were asked to leave?’ she asked almost reluctantly.
Roddy laughed, taking the tray out of her hands and pouring himself a cup of tea. ‘He doesn’t even know I was asked to leave,’ he informed her calmly, ‘let alone why.’
‘He doesn’t?’ She almost sighed her relief. Maybe if Roddy Meyers was no more eager than she was to have their past meeting made public knowledge
