Wild Entrantress Part 14

'You'll have to watch that.'

'Oh, Tony, what else did he say?'

'It was only a telegram, old love. You can't say a lot in a telegram.'

'So that was all? That I'd been ill?'

Tony frowned. 'Well, he made it sound as if you needed me, know what I mean? Though why he should have thought that, I can't imagine.'

'I can.'

Catherine spoke under her breath, hunching her shoulders, and turning away. She could imagine only too well. Jared was convinced she was expecting a child-Tony's child, he presumed.

He had brought Tony out here to face his responsibilities. That was the way things were done here. But now he must know that Tony could not possibly father any child.

But why had he arranged this secretly? Why hadn't he told her what he was planning? Given her a chance to persuade him he was wasting his time? Why had he behaved today as if he loved her, and then produced the one man she might conceivably be expected to care about? It didn't make sense. Unless. ..

She paced restlessly across to the open french doors. They had given Tony rooms on the ground floor of the house, enabling him to come and go in his wheelchair without difficulty. Manners was next door, unpacking their belongings, but he had insisted that Tony should rest for a while before dinner. He didn't approve of Catherine being here, but she felt that if she didn't talk to somebody she would go mad.

Coming back from the airport, she had travelled in the back of the car with Manners, it being easier for Tony to manoeuvre himself into the front seat. His wheelchair was collapsible, and had fitted without too much difficulty into the s.p.a.cious boot. But even sitting behind Jared, she had been conscious of his anger. It had been there in the polite, but clipped, conversation, he had held with Tony-in the controlled suppression of his driving-in the stiffened tautness of his shoulders, the grimly-held set of his head. She had wanted to slide her hands over his shoulders, she had wanted to press her face into the dark hair which overlapped his collar at the back, to feel his instant response to the pressure of her body.

But instead she had to remain in her seat, silent, answering only when Tony deliberately brought her into the conversation.

When they arrived back at the house, Jared had issued brusque instructions for rooms to be made ready for their guests, and Lily and the other servants had scurried around doing his bidding. It would have been no problem accommodating two people on the first floor, but preparing ground floor rooms had necessitated the removal of certain pieces of furniture, and the installation of others. Tony had been apologetic, endearingly so, Catherine had felt, with a renewal of her affection for him, but Elizabeth, once the initial introductions were over, had proved to be most welcoming, it was no trouble, she had insisted, accommodating any friend of Catherine's, but remembering the other woman's behaviour before she and Jared left that morning, Catherine knew she read the obvious explanation for this situation into Jared's actions. And that brought her back to her own question- why had Jared done it?

Unless... And this was the painful part, unless, in spite of his professed attraction for her, he intended going ahead with his plans and marrying Laura. Perhaps he had seen this as a sure way of getting her, Catherine, off his back. Maybe he resented the power she appeared to have over him. Certainly it had seemed that way in the past. But today...

Better forget today, she thought dully. Better forget everything but the fact that Jared was engaged to Laura, and she was committed to helping Tony raise enough money to build his rehabilitation centre.

'What is it, old love?'

Tony s.h.i.+fted restlessly on the bed, and turning to face him, Catherine felt a pang of guilt at his innocent involvement in all this.

'Nothing,' she said, forcing a smile and determinedly approaching the bed. 'I'll go and leave you. You get some rest. We can talk later.'

Tony stretched out a hand and imprisoned one of hers. 'You're in love with the guy, aren't you?' he stated quietly. 'Don't try to deny it. I know you too well.'

Catherine sighed. 'Tony, Jared is engaged to be married to a girl called Laura Prentiss. You'll probably meet her this evening. I heard Elizabeth say she was going to invite her for dinner.'

Tony gave her an old-fas.h.i.+oned look. 'Since when has an engagement ring prevented one person from being attracted to another? Or a wedding ring, either, for that matter?'

'Tony, please. . .'

'I think you know why he brought me out here.'

'I don't.' She could feel the warm colour invading her cheeks.

'Well, at least--perhaps part of the reason.'

'Which is?'

'I can't tell you, Tony.'

'Why not?'

She bent her head. 'It was-stupid!'

'What was stupid?'

'Something I did. Tony, please, don't ask me.'

'But I am asking you.' He looked up at her steadily. 'Don't you think that perhaps you owe me that?'

She heaved a sigh. 'You won't like it.'

'I'm prepared for the worst.'

'I-' She pressed her lips tightly together for a moment. 'I-I let Jared think I-I was pregnant!'

'What?' Tony dropped her hand to stare at her disbelievingly.

'You did what? In G.o.d's name, what are you talking about?'

'You see?' She shook her head. 'I told you, you wouldn't like it.'

'I certainly don't, but I want to know why you did it.'

'Tony, Manners said you had to rest-'

'Do you think I could rest with this on my mind?' Tony gave her an exasperated stare. 'Come on, sit down.' He patted the bed beside him. 'You might as well unburden yourself 'Oh, Tony!' Catherine sank down on to the bed and burst into tears, burying her face in her hands and sobbing as if her heart would break.

Tony levered himself across the bed to her side, putting his arms around her and drawing her comfortably against his broad chest.

'It's all right, old love,' he murmured huskily, stroking her hair.

'It's all right. Just take it easy. From the beginning. ..'

With stumbling incoherence, Catherine eventually poured out the whole story--her schoolgirl crush on the older man who had been a friend of her father's, Jared's att.i.tude on her arrival in Barbados and her reckless submission, her subsequent relations.h.i.+p with him.. .

Tony was silent when she had finished, and she lifted her head to look at him anxiously. 'You're angry with me?'

Tony shook his head. 'Impatient, perhaps,' he conceded. 'Oh, Catherine! You always were an impulsive little fool! Why didn't you explain why your father had written to Royal? Why did you let him think you lived the life of Riley? G.o.d Almighty, Jack Fulton has something to answer for!'

'Don't speak of Daddy like that,' she protested.

'Well, it's true. Money was his G.o.d, but it was never yours. You should have explained what he was afraid you would do.'

'I couldn't.' Catherine drew away from him, dabbing her eyes with a comer of the coverlet. 'Anyway, it's all been my fault-'

'Well, I think Royal's behaved like a b.a.s.t.a.r.d!'

'Tony!'

'I do. Just imagine if everything had been as he expected-if I had been the kind of man he imagined me to be. You here pregnant, and me in London having a good time. What a nerve bringing me out here to see you! I mean-well, we mightn't have wanted to see one another. He's out of touch. He doesn't realise there are thousands of women nowadays bringing up children without what they consider to be the enc.u.mbrance of a husband.

You might have been one of those!'

'Well, I'm not,' Catherine stated flatly, getting up from the bed.

'And besides, I don't think you appreciate what kind of man Jared is. It's against his principles, I think, to allow a child to be born out of wedlock if he might have been able to do something about it.'

'Oh, honestly?' Tony looked sceptical. 'What kind of principles allow him to make love to a woman he thought was pregnant, while his own fiancee is forced to look on? I feel sorry for her- not him. And bringing me out here! It's feudal! Like I said before, I think he's a b.a.s.t.a.r.d!'

And on this unhappy note, Catherine left him. She had to admit-the facts were d.a.m.ning. But the facts were one dimensional, life was not.

She wondered if Jared might try to speak to her before dinner, but he did not come near. She rested on her bed for a while, and then bathed and changed, taking some time over deciding what to wear. She chose a simple black gown, made of draped jersey, with a halter neckline, that left most of her shoulders and her arms bare.

As she sat at the vanity unit, stroking mascara on to long dark lashes, she reflected on her own sense of weariness. This had been a strenuous day for someone recovering from an illness, however slight, and had Tony not been expecting to see her, she would have made some excuse and remained in her room. Her bed was very inviting, but somehow she had to find the strength to face Jared, and perhaps the sooner that was over, the better she would feel. But what would happen now, she didn't dare to speculate.

Laura and her parents were just arriving as Catherine came down the stairs, and the girl made a beeline for her.

'What's going on?' she exclaimed. 'Elizabeth has told us that a friend of yours has arrived from London. Is that right? Who is he? Did you know he was coming?'

'I-why, not exactly...'

Catherine was struggling to find words when Jared came strolling into the hall from the direction of the library. He greeted the Prentisses politely, shaking hands with Laura's father, and then allowed his cold gaze to take in the two girls. Laura left Catherine to go to her fiance, sliding her arm possessively through his and saying: 'Darling, I was just asking Catherine about her visitor. Perhaps you can enlighten us, as she seems too bemused by his arrival to explain.'

Jared's features were taut and controlled. 'I arranged it,' he said expressionlessly. 'I thought- Catherine-was missing her friends.'

Catherine's eyes darted indignantly to his face, but his expression deterred any contradiction. She stared at him helplessly, trying to see behind that cold mask he had adopted, but it was useless. He was as remote as he had ever been.

'Well, wasn't that thoughtful?'

Marion Premiss was speaking now, removing her fur stole and handing it to Susie who had come to stand behind them, smiling comfortably at her daughter and Jared In apricot satin, she looked plumper than ever, and Laura, in her lemon taffeta, looked like a pale reflection of her mother.

Elizabeth appeared behind her stepson. 'Marion!' she exclaimed warmly. 'Gerald! And Laura! Come in, come in. Come and meet our guest of honour, Catherine's-friend, Tony Bainbridge.'

They all moved towards the library, Catherine and Mr Prentiss bringing up the rear. The next few minutes were taken up with introductions, and Tony, good-natured and confident, soon had them all responding to his personality. All, that is, except Jared.

He remained aloof, mixing drinks and handing them around, taking his own and standing on the hearth to drink it silently, viewing the scene around him over the rim of his gla.s.s. Although Tony made sure she was involved in the conversation, Catherine was supremely conscious of Jared's detachment, and in spite of his coldness, she ached to go to him.

Laura, for once, seemed less obsessed with her fiance. It was obvious she had never met anyone like Tony before, and remembering her own immediate attraction to him, Catherine could understand this. No one could help but admire the way he could dismiss his own disabilities with an airy shake of his head, a.s.suring everyone around him that he considered himself fortunate to be alive. When he was eleven years old, he had been aboard a plane which had crashed in the mountains of South America, killing his brothers and leaving him paralysed from the waist down. They had been flying out to Peru to join their parents who were on an archaeological dig there. There had been only seven survivors, and although he could make light of it now, Catherine knew there had been times when he had suffered terrible depressions. She had wanted to ensure that he would never feel that way again. That was why she had tried to persuade her father to help finance Tony's plans for a comprehensive rehabilitation centre for the physically handicapped. But Jack Fulton had had little time for charities.

Dinner was served a little later than usual, and not surprisingly, Catherine found herself seated between Tony and Mr Prentiss.

Jared and Elizabeth occupied opposite ends of the long dining table, Jared with Laura on his right, and Manners, who had been pressed to join them to make up the numbers, seated between Laura and her mother. It meant that Catherine had to look sideways to see Jared, and as Elizabeth kept coupling her with Tony, the occasions were few.

Surprisingly, when dinner was over and they all adjourned to the pool area for coffee and liqueurs, Laura upset Elizabeth's plans by taking charge of Tony's wheelchair, insisting on propelling it even though he was perfectly capable of doing so himself. Gerald Prentiss had attached himself to Elizabeth, much to her annoyance, Catherine guessed, and as Mrs Prentiss was asking Manners questions about rehabilitation after a serious accident, Catherine found herself conspicuously left with Jared.

He was silent for so long, she thought he did not intend to speak at all, but eventually he said: 'Your friend seems to have made a considerable success!' in a cold hard voice.

Catherine looked unhappily up at him. In a dark blue velvet dinner suit, he had never looked more attractive, and although she felt his own behaviour lacked consistency, she could not let him go on in this way without making some attempt to reach him.

'Jared,' she breathed in a low voice, bending her head so that anyone watching them should not be able to read her lips, 'Why are you behaving like this?'

'Like what?' he inquired flatly.

She sighed. 'Don't be obtuse. You know what I mean. I just don't understand, that's all.'

'That's unfortunate.'

'Oh, Jared!' She looked up at him again, frustration darkening her eyes. 'I wish you'd told me.'

'Why?' His eyes glinted coldly. 'Would that have stopped me from making a fool of myself?'

'You haven't made a fool of yourself!'

'Oh, yes, I have.' His expression was contemptuous. 'With your a.s.sistance, of course.'

'Jared, I told you I wasn't pregnant. But you wouldn't believe me!'

'It was a little late, wasn't it?'

'It needn't have been. I told you that night on the beach, but you wouldn't listen to me!'

'How foolish of me.'

'Jared, stop it! This afternoon-'

'I don't want to talk about this afternoon.'

'Why not?'

His eyes bored into hers. 'Oh, come on, Catherine. You're not that naive. You've played me for a fool all the way along the line!

How do I know you weren't pregnant when you came out here?

There are other men in London, aren't there? Men with all their-faculties? If you think I'd believe anything you said after this-'

'You-you devil-'

'Strong words!' Jared glanced about them, a.s.suring himself that no one had overheard her. 'Keep your voice down. I'd prefer it if it wasn't broadcast across the island that one of my guests is no lady!'

Catherine caught her breath. 'You-you-I don't believe you have any normal feelings! You're just put out-because your G.o.ddam pride has been hurt, that's all. You didn't care when you were humiliating Laura, but when it affects you, you don't like it!'

'That's right,' he conceded grimly. 'You've got it in one.'

'What a selfish swine you are!'