You mean you don’t call her Harry? But of course, you’re not a friend; you are—’ He made a vague but significant gesture.
‘Hey,’ she said and he turned his merry gaze on her. ‘Don’t jump to conclusions,’ she told him impishly.
‘Ah, yes, I see. How wise.’
‘Can we drop this?’ Darius asked.
‘Certainly. So, Harriet, Darius has warned you, and you know we’re a load of oddities.’
‘I’ll bet you’re no odder than me,’ she riposted.
‘I’ll take you up on that. Promise me a dance tonight.’
‘She declines,’ Darius said firmly.
‘Oh, do I?’
‘Definitely.’
Marcel chuckled and murmured in Harriet’s ear, ‘We’ll meet again later.’
‘Are any of the others here?’ Darius asked.
‘Jackson. Travis isn’t coming. He can’t leave America—some television series he’s working on. Leonid tried to get here but an urgent meeting came up at the last minute. And our honourable father arrived an hour ago, but I expect you already know that.’
‘No, he hasn’t been in touch. I’m in his black books at the moment. Anyone with him?’
‘Janine and Freya.’
Harriet’s teasing impulse got the better of her again and made her say, ‘Ah, yes, she’s the one you’re supposed to be marrying, isn’t she?’
‘You can stop that kind of talk,’ Darius said, while Marcel grinned.
‘A lady with a sense of humour,’ he said. ‘That’s what I like. Believe me, you’re going to need it. I said before that it was a circus, and Papa is the ringmaster. He cracks the whip and we jump through hoops—or at least we pretend to.’
‘Yes,’ Darius growled.
‘I gather you’re not playing his game,’ Marcel said, his eyes on Harriet again.
‘Right, and so I’ve told him. Let’s hope he believes me.’
‘You realise that means he’ll set his sights on Jackson or me next,’ Marcel complained. ‘Luckily, Freya finds me irritating.’
Darius grinned. ‘I can’t think why.’
‘Neither can I. Right, I’ll be off. I’ll see you at the reception.’
He blew Harriet a kiss and hurried away.
‘I like your brother,’ she said when the door had closed.
‘Most women do,’ Darius observed wryly.
‘No, I mean he looks fun.’
‘Most women say that too.’
‘Which is why you find him irritating?’
‘He’s a good fellow. We get on most of the time. It may have crossed my mind that he sometimes has it too easy in certain areas. Mary used to accuse me of being jealous of his charm, and perhaps she was right. Charm isn’t one of my virtues.’ He gave her a wry look. ‘As you’ve found out.’
As he spoke he reached for her hand, and some impulse made her enfold his in both of hers, squeezing comfortingly.
‘Charm isn’t always a virtue,’ she said. ‘A man can have too much of it.’
‘Well, nobody’s ever accused me of that.’
‘Good. Just honesty—’
‘I hope so.’
‘And upright virtue.’
‘Nobody’s ever accused me of that either,’ he said with an air of alarm that made her chuckle. ‘You teasing little shrew. What are you trying to do to me?’
‘Cheer you up,’ she said. ‘You really need it.’
‘Yes, I do. And I might have guessed you’d be the one to see it. Come on. Let’s face them together.’
On the way down in the elevator he said, ‘Mary’s here. I saw her this afternoon.’
‘And the children?’
‘Briefly. None of us knew what to say, but that was because he was there.’
‘He?’
‘Ken, the guy who thinks he’s going to replace me as their father. They’re all in the same suite, a “family”, Mary says.’
‘How do they get on with Ken?’
‘They seem to like him,’ Darius sighed. ‘Good.’
For a moment he scowled, but then sighed and said, ‘All right, say it.’
‘If they get on with their stepfather they’ll be happier. And I know you won’t spoil that because you love them too much.’
A faint ironic smile touched his lips. ‘All right, teacher. I’ve taken the lesson on board.’
‘Just make sure that you pay attention,’ she commanded him severely.
His eyes swept over her glamorous appearance. ‘I am paying attention,’ he assured her. ‘But that wasn’t what you meant, was it?’
‘No, it wasn’t. Bad boy. Go to the back of the class.’
‘Fine, I’ll get an even better view of you from there.’
‘Behave!’
‘Aren’t I allowed to say that you’re beautiful and gorgeous and—?’
‘No, you are not allowed to say it.’
‘All right. I’ll just think it.’
She’d done what she’d set out to do, put him in a cheerful mood for the evening. And nothing else mattered. She had to remember that!
As they emerged from the elevator downstairs they could see people already streaming towards the great room where the reception was to be held.
As soon as they entered Harriet saw their hosts on a slightly raised dais at the far end. There was Mary, smiling, greeting her guests. Beside her stood Ken, the man she was about to marry, and on the other side were the children, dressed up in formal clothes and looking uncomfortable.
Harriet was alive with curiosity to meet the woman Darius had loved and married, who had borne him two children, then preferred another man. An incredible decision, whispered the voice that she tried vainly to silence.
‘Ready?’
