so saying, he bowed his way out of the room, leaving her with another of his jovial little laughs, to which he seemed addicted.
Of one thing Kristy was absolutely certain. There was some mistake here of gigantic proportions. It was equally clear it was someone else’s mistake. She had nothing whatsoever to do with it.
She frowned over his parting words...this delicate situation. What was he referring to? She didn’t have a clue. It just seemed that ever since the hotel doorman had laid eyes on her, the world had shifted out of kilter.
Discretion said she should get out of here as soon as possible. Retreat. Retire before some ghastly disaster occurred. Un scandale terrible!
The over-the-top thought evoked a burst of somewhat hysterical laughter. Which suggested, after she’d sobered up again, that her nerves were in a bad way. The experience of this hotel was definitely not soothing, as she had anticipated it would be. The depression of being totally alone hit her again, whispering that her trip to Geneva would probably be a failure, too.
The energy that had driven her to this journey drained away. Let the hotel management discover its mistake, she decided listlessly. There was no need for her to pre-empt any action. She had tried to protest, to explain, to set the situation straight. None of this was her fault. No doubt she would receive another visit soon and everything would be resolved properly, so there was no point in unpacking her bag.
Meanwhile, she had this key in her hand. Kristy eyed the interconnecting door which could be locked or unlocked with the burning-question key. Maybe the answers, or some answer to this delicate situation, lay on the other side of the door. It was none of her business, of course. On the other hand, she had somehow got involved.
She thought of Pandora who opened the lid of the box which let loose all the troubles of the world. Curiosity was a terrible thing and it could be very dangerous. Better to let it go and not risk adding more trouble to trouble.
Kristy set the key down on a coffee table and turned her back on it. She walked out to the private terrace, deciding she might as well enjoy all this luxury while she could because she couldn’t see it lasting for long. This was not the place for her and that key could only lead to something even more out of bounds.
The view was the kind which sold postcards; the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Place de la Concorde, all spread out for her to admire and wonder at the genius which had planned such a magnificent vista. Kristy, however, could not concentrate her mind on it. A sense of restlessness drove her back into the sitting room.
The key kept drawing her gaze. It had a powerful fascination. Caught on a seesaw of temptation, she almost leapt out of her skin when a knock came on the door. But it wasn’t on that door. It was on the one which led in from the corridor.
They’ve discovered the mistake, she thought, relieved that she hadn’t surrendered to the curiosity which would have led her into a very awkward indiscretion.
Anticipating a return of the manager, she was surprised when a maid entered, bearing an elegant vase of long-stemmed roses. It was placed on the table beside the key. I’m getting in deeper, Kristy thought. She weakly thanked the maid who withdrew without comment.
Her inner tension moved up a notch when a second knock came. It heralded another maid who carried in a bottle of champagne and an artistically arranged platter of fruit. Kristy stared at both offerings as though they were deadly poison. Why was she such an honoured guest? What was behind all this?
A third knock brought a third maid bearing gift boxes of eau de toilette and soaps.
It was as good as a birthday, Kristy thought ruefully, except she wasn’t enjoying it. Impossible to shake off the feeling that the gifts were connected to that key. She eyed it balefully. Would it unlock the door to the mystery of why she was here and suddenly being treated like royalty? Maybe she should find out what she could before she became even more entrenched in this weird situation.
She picked up the key.
I’ll take just a little peep, she thought.
It’s none of your business, her mind chided.
Yes, it is, another part responded. I’m already in this up to my neck. I didn’t ask to be involved but I am. I definitely am. And I’ve got every right to find out.
She listened to the other side of her mind in case it wanted to pull her back behind the safe cautious line.
No response.
The argument was perfectly sound.
After all, the manager had left the decision in her hands, and she wasn’t doing anything wrong. She did have every reason to take a little peek into the room beyond that door. She had been invited to unlock it at will.
Her fingers closed tightly around the key as her legs moved forward. Determinedly ignoring the burning feeling in her palm and the apprehensive hammering of her heart, Kristy reached the door, fitted the key to the lock and turned it with a swift decisive twist. Then taking a deep breath to calm her leaping nerves, and telling herself she was acting positively and purposefully, she opened the door.
She half-expected some monster to be on the other side but there was no reaction to the door’s opening. No sound. No movement. Nothing. Taking courage at finding no repercussions to her initial trespass, Kristy pushed the door fully ajar. It revealed another sitting room, similar to hers.
She stood motionless for several seconds, listening intently. Still no sounds of occupation. No signs of occupation, either. She took the first step over the threshold. The need to find some answer to this extra accommodation urged her on.
The click of a key in a lock made her freeze halfway across the room. She stared in horror at the door which gave access to the corridor outside. Her throat constricted, her heart thumped in wild apprehension as the door opened. Her eyes widened in shock as she instantly identified the man who stepped inside.
It was the man from the lobby, the man who’d transfixed her with his knowing eyes, the elegant aristocratic man who had inelegantly broken up the romantic interlude with his companion, creating un scandale terrible!
Kristy’s mind dazedly registered the fact that he did not look shocked at seeing her. He actually smiled at her, but it was not the brilliant smile of pleasure that had lit his face for his companion in the lobby. It was a cold cynical curl of his lips, a knowing little smile. Whatever knowledge was behind it gave him no pleasure at all.
He shut the door without a word, without a crack in his composure. Everything in his manner projected he had anticipated her being here.
Yet how could he?
And what could he know about her?
A sense of weird unreality gripped Kristy, holding her in tense waiting for what would come next.
CHAPTER THREE
“SO!”
It was a sibilant hiss that seethed with explosive emotion. Kristy instantly realised his composure was a facade, and it was not only his voice that revealed how brittle the façade was. The dark eyes were not dancing with amusement. They glittered with a primitive ferocity...anger, pain, blistering accusation.
“What do you
