of his voice. ‘It is all right, little one.’ He placed her on the floor and stood up to pace the room, taking out a long cigar and a gold lighter. ‘I have your permission to smoke?’ he asked grimly, igniting the lighter at the nod of her head. He didn’t speak again for several long seconds. ‘So you do not know if my brother is your baby’s father, or if she belongs to one of your other lovers,’ he addressed her coolly. ‘Well, let me put your mind at rest. Keri is Alexis’ child, of that there can be no doubt. She is very like him to look at. Have you not noticed the resemblance? Or have you forgotten how my brother looked in the sea of faces that were no doubt your lovers?’
Templar blanched under his insults. ‘And what do you intend doing, Mr Marcose? Paying me off?’
His mouth twisted tauntingly. ‘That is the one thing I do not intend doing, Miss Newman. I’m sure that you expected as much from Alex, but you will find I am made of much sterner stuff than my brother was. No, Keri is my niece and I intend taking her into my care. If I gave you money you would no doubt spend it on things other than the infant, and although I realise you have a certain amount of affection for the child, I am sure you will appreciate that I can give her more than you will ever be able to. No matter how many men you take into your bed.’
She hit out at him instinctively, her only thought to hurt him as he was verbally hurting her. Her finger marks stood out livid against his dark skin and she moved away from him in horror, snatching the frightened Keri off the floor and hugging her tightly against her. The two of them looked at him with apprehensive eyes, Templar noting a strange expression cross his face, but it passed so fleetingly she didn’t have time to analyse it. ‘I do not have a “certain amount of affection” for Keri,’ she said in a low controlled voice. ‘I love her. And no—no stranger is going to take her away from me. Oh, I know you can give her more than I can, you’re obviously wealthy enough to, but I love her. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?’
‘Not a great deal,’ he replied coldly. ‘And as you know I have money I do not think there was any need for that remark about my being wealthy. Alexis must have told you it was so and you obviously thought it was time to play your lead card. As a small baby Keri may not have made the impact that she has now, especially as she has your hair and eyes. But then most babies look alike. But now, now that her features are becoming distinctly like my brother’s you decide the time is right to make us aware of her existence. What is the matter, Miss Newman? Are you tired of caring for a young baby? Do you long to go back to the life you no doubt led before my young brother was gullible enough to fall for your undoubted charms?’
She shook her head. This just couldn’t be happening to her! Oh, she realised the remark she had made about being unsure of Keri’s parentage had sparked off this cold chilling anger, but if he had only given her chance she could have explained that her uncertainty was due to the fact that Keri was not her child. Now it had gone too far. If she told him the truth now he would probably take Keri away from her altogether, and then she might never see her again. ‘Keri is my life now,’ she said simply. ‘And I won’t let you take her from me.’
‘You would not be able to stop me if that were my intention. If none of your—admirers would be willing to come forward I am sure I could find a couple of men who would give evidence against you. I only have to cast doubts on your ability to be a proper mother and Keri will be given into my care. Do you want that?’
‘You think money can buy everything, don’t you, Mr Marcose?’ she said brokenly.
‘Please, call me Leon, anything else would be verging on the ridiculous in the circumstances. And I shall call you—–?’ he paused expectantly.
‘Templar,’ she replied miserably.
‘Unusual,’ came his comment. ‘And no, I know money cannot buy everything. Most things, but not everything. But in this case it will get me what I want.’
‘And what is that?’ Templar asked dully, cradling the now sleepy Keri against her.
‘I wish to make a future for Keri. I cannot do that by taking her into my house as my brother’s child. Everyone will know her for what she is, and that I do not want. She is a beautiful child and deserves to have the sort of background I would wish for her. So I propose to marry her mother and so pass Keri off as my own child.’
‘WHAT!’ Templar stared at him in horror. ‘You can’t possibly be serious?’
Arrogant eyebrows rose over heavy-lidded eyes, the firmness of his mouth showing his displeasure. ‘But I am, perfectly serious. The final decision does of course lie with you. You can either give up your daughter or marry me.’
Templar placed Keri back in her cot, moving like an automaton. She wrung her hands together, her eyes dwelling thoughtfully on the copper curls just visible from the bedroom. She looked again at the dark forbidding face of the man who had the power to wreck her whole life, and saw no softening there, he obviously meant what he said.
His thick dark hair was brushed casually back from his high forehead, his nostrils flaring arrogantly as she continued to look at him. How could she let her little Keri live with this hard, embittered man, with no one to give her a mother’s love? Or would he get someone else to provide that? He was a very determined man and a little thing like her unhappiness wouldn’t matter to him as long as he got what he wanted. And there could be no doubt that he wanted Keri. If she told him now that Keri wasn’t her child he would take her away from her anyway; much better to keep that knowledge to herself. As long as this man attained control of his niece what possible difference could it make that Templar wasn’t her mother? As far as she could see it would only be Keri and herself who suffered by his gaining such information.
‘Why—’ her lips felt stiff and she found it difficult to articulate. ‘Why should you want to do a thing like that?’ she asked nervously, licking her lips.
His expression didn’t alter as he flicked a speck off the tailored jacket of his light grey suit. ‘Why should I not?’ he returned coolly. ‘And do not obtain the mistaken idea that I am considering this course of action for any other reason than Keri’s future. You, as a person, do not interest me in the slightest. Secondhand goods are not my line.’
‘And just what is your line, Mr Marcose?’ she asked, ignoring his insults as she felt sure he wanted to annoy her, and she wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.
‘Surely Alex told you?’
He sounded slightly mocking and Templar flushed uncomfortably. ‘No,’ she answered lightly. ‘I don’t believe your occupation ever entered into our conversation, in fact, I don’t think we ever discussed you at all.’ Which happened to be true. How could she have discussed anything with a man she had never met?
His eyes darkened to a metallic grey. ‘Alex seems to have been remiss concerning several of his relationships. I had never heard of you either. Just what was your line-before you had Keri?’
Templar bridled angrily at his condescending tone. ‘My line, as you put it, happened to be modelling.’
‘Really? Alex seems to have found girls in that profession particularly attractive for some reason.’ His eyes studied her intently. ‘Ah, yes, I remember now. When I first saw you I thought you appeared familiar. You are the girl in the make-up advertisement, are you not?’
Her nose wrinkled slightly at his obvious distaste. ‘That
