wretched. He needs to come home, and find work in this country.’
She paused again. ‘So, I thought you might offer him a job. It’s full time he learned about the company, especially when you’re still hurling yourself into the world’s trouble spots. After all, Kit is your nearest male relative, and if something were to … happen, he’d be your heir.’
‘You think so?’ Mark’s tone was dry. He slid his arm round Tallie’s waist, smiling down at her. ‘But all that might change very soon.’
‘Good God.’ Veronica’s eyes swept over Tallie’s slim figure with disbelief. ‘You mean …’
‘I mean nothing yet,’ Mark returned easily, as Tallie sat rigidly beside him, not knowing where to look. ‘But we’re working on it.’ He paused. ‘And there are no vacancies at Benedicts that would pay Kit the kind of salary he’d clearly expect, or make use of his extremely limited skills.
‘We market our expertise, Veronica, trouble-shooting difficult engineering projects all over the world. Believe me, your son is better off where he is. And, if he works, he might even get promotion eventually.’
‘I see.’ The coffee cup rattled in its saucer as Veronica replaced it on the table. ‘Then there’s nothing more to be said.’ Her look lasered Tallie. ‘However, I do hope you’re going to make up for my disappointment by offering me a bed for the night. I’m dining with friends this evening and I have an early dental appointment tomorrow morning.’ She looked from one to the other. ‘You do have a spare room? I’m sure Kit has mentioned it.’
‘I’m certain he has.’ Mark shrugged. ‘But Natalie’s currently using it as an office. Besides, I thought you always stayed at The Ritz.’
‘I do, but Charles is being very difficult at the moment. Says we have to cut back on our spending.’ The pout reappeared and the blue eyes rested smilingly on Mark. ‘I didn’t think you’d begrudge me just one night.’
‘Except,’ Mark said gently, ‘that Natalie and I are enjoying our privacy, and really don’t wish it to be interrupted, not even by the most understanding guest.’
‘My dear Mark—such unwonted concentration on one woman. I can hardly believe my ears. I think the best thing I can do is go, and leave you in peace.’ At the door, she turned. ‘And please don’t worry. There’ll be other nights, I’m sure.’
When Mark returned from showing her out, Tallie was still seated on the sofa, staring into space.
She said, ‘That was awful.’
‘It’s also over.’
‘Is it?’ She looked up at him. ‘Your stepmother doesn’t seem to think so. If I was genuinely involved with you, I’d be starting to wonder.’
‘But as you’re not,’ he said coldly, ‘you need not concern yourself.’ He picked up the coffee tray and carried it to the kitchen. After a moment or two, she followed.
‘I’m sorry.’ Her voice faltered a little. ‘That was wrong of me. I don’t really believe that … you … that you and Veronica …’
‘Thanks for the vote of confidence.’ His tone was dry. ‘It’s slightly gutting to find someone thinks you can be that much of a bastard.’
‘Yes.’ The word had a hollow ring, the image of Hugo Cantrell large in her mind.
‘Well, don’t look so stricken.’ His mouth twisted. ‘Because I’m no saint, and at times it’s been a damned close-run thing. Veronica can pack quite a punch, especially when you’re sixteen and not nearly as sexually experienced as you like to think.’
Tallie gasped. ‘She came on to you—at that age?’
‘She’d correctly figured I wasn’t a virgin. Also, she was only nineteen when she married my father, and he was already in his mid-forties. Maybe that side of their relationship was on the wane, or perhaps she was simply feeling the seven year itch.’
He paused. ‘I’ve wondered since if she also saw it as a way of establishing a hold over me—insurance for the future, perhaps.’
He added lightly, ‘On the other hand, she may simply have found the idea amusing. All those raging adolescent hormones at her disposal—if I’d proved amenable.’
‘But surely she can’t still think …’
‘No?’ he asked. ‘When you admitted you began to wonder.’ He shook his head. ‘Veronica is not a woman to allow her marriage vows to stand in her way.’
‘She’s vile.’
‘She’s also sad.’ He paused. ‘But thank you for saving me from a potentially awkward situation. I owe you big time, and I won’t forget it.’
‘I wish I could say it was a pleasure.’ She got to her feet. ‘And now I have some awkward situations of my own to deal with, so I’d better get back to work.’
‘You won’t allow me to express my gratitude by taking you for an expensive lunch? It seems a pity to waste the new gear.’ His voice followed her to the door.
She didn’t look back at him. ‘No, thanks.’ She sounded faintly brittle. ‘Veronica seems to have killed my appetite stone dead.’
Back in her room, she found she was leaning back against the panels of the door, panting as if she’d been running, angry with herself and bewildered at the same time. After all, she was undeniably hungry, so where would have been the harm?
She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror—a girl she hardly recognised in the smart, unfamiliar clothes, her eyes unnaturally bright and her cheeks flushed.
And knew exactly why she wouldn’t take the risk.
She wrote steadily for the rest of the day, her unaccustomed finery restored to its carrier bags and stowed at the back of the wardrobe. Out of sight, out of mind, she told herself.
And when eventually she ventured out to heat a tin of soup and make a sandwich, the flat was deserted.
She’d just cleared away her makeshift meal when the buzzer sounded. What now? she wondered, groaning silently as she obeyed its summons. Don’t tell me Veronica’s come back to say all the hotels are full.
But when she opened the door, she found Justin smiling at her.
‘Hi,’ he said, too casually. ‘Is Mark around?’
‘No,’ she said, her own lips twitching reluctantly. ‘But I suspect you knew that already.’
‘So, are you going to let me in? I promise I’m safe and house-trained.’
‘Also difficult to keep away.’ Tallie stood aside to admit him and led the way to the sitting room. ‘The choice is tea or coffee. The alcohol belongs to Mark.’
Justin opened the briefcase he was carrying and produced a bottle. ‘Cloudy Bay,’ he said. ‘Taste it and fall in love. But only with the wine, naturally.’
‘Naturally,’
