Devil in Paradise

by Joanna Mansell

  'What are you doing here?' she asked with some annoyance. The last thing she needed on this gorgeous morning was someone like Rafe hanging around to spoil it.

  'The same thing as you,' replied Rafe, in a surprisingly calm voice, coiling himself down beside her. 'I always take an early swim.'

  Kate shot him an irritable glance. Why did he have to sit so close? The beach wasn't that small. He could easily have sat a couple of feet away.

  Then a small frown crossed her face. Was he doing it on purpose? Deliberately trying to unsettle her? Well, he certainly wasn't succeeding, she told herself sturdily. She could cope with Rafe Clarendon any day, even when he was sitting only inches away and wearing only a small towel wound around his waist.

  'Did you sleep well last night?' he asked. Then his eyes gleamed with amusement. 'After I'd gone, of course.'

  'I slept very soundly,' Kate replied rather stiffly. 'Although it was certainly no thanks to you. Believe it or not, I'm not used to being hauled out of bed and slung over someone's shoulder in the middle of the night!'

  'Oh, I believe it,' Rafe replied. 'From all accounts, you've led a fairly conventional life so far.'

  'How do you know that?' she asked, half indignantly and half curiously.

  Rafe shrugged. 'I hear snatches of gossip now and then.'

  'I thought you didn't have much contact with the rest of the family.'

  'It's rather hard to avoid them,' he commented drily. 'There are so many Clarendons that it's almost impossible not to run into one of them now and again.'

  'That's true,' agreed Kate. She eyed him thoughtfully. 'They're certainly all very interested in you. Did you know that? And there are some really wild stories going around about your private life.'

  'You don't want to believe all you hear,' he replied equably.

  'And what about your business life?' she went on. 'Are you really a private detective?'

  A guarded look suddenly came over his face. 'I run an enquiry agency,' he said in a tone that didn't invite any more comment on the subject.

  'Enquiry agent, private detective—they're the same thing, aren't they?' persisted Kate. Then she grinned. 'I bet it really gets the girls going when you tell them what you do!'

  'I'm not some romantic figure out of a TV serial,' Rafe growled, with a touch of irritation. 'I do a simple job of work, that's all. Sometimes it's interesting and sometimes it's downright boring. Occasionally, it's even unpleasant. It suits me, though, and I'm good at it, so that's why I stick at it.'

  'What kind of cases do you tackle? Anything really exciting?'

  'No. Most of it is fairly routine stuff—divorce work, credit enquiries, industrial espionage—'

  'Espionage?' squeaked Kate.

  'That's just a fancy way of saying that one company is trying to steal another company's secrets. We try and find out who's doing the stealing, and put a stop to it.'

  A thoughtful look suddenly crossed Kate's face. 'Are you working on a case right now?' she asked. 'Is that why you're here, in the South of France?'

  'No, of course not,' Rafe replied instantly. 'Like you, I'm just taking a few days' holiday.'

  But, for some reason, Kate didn't believe him. She could see that she wasn't going to get anywhere by asking more questions, though. He would just clam up, and that would be it. All the same, it might be fun during the next few days to try and find out why he was really here.

  Provided, of course, that he let her stay. If he kicked her out, she wouldn't be finding out anything at all.

  'Have you changed your mind since yesterday?' she challenged him bluntly. 'Are you going to let me stick around for a while?'

  He raised his shoulders in a resigned shrug. 'Have I got any choice? I've tried locking you out and physically throwing you out, and neither of them worked. I'd try a few threats, but somehow I don't think they'd have much effect, either.'

  'You're right. They wouldn't,' she declared firmly. 'I've made up my mind that I'm going to spend the next few weeks at the Villa des Anges.'

  Rafe didn't even try to argue about it with her, and for some reason that made her feel deeply uneasy. She hadn't expected him to give in so easily.

  'What are you going to do with yourself while you're here?' he asked casually, a couple of minutes later.

  She shrugged. 'All the usual holiday things, I suppose, Swim, go sightseeing, lie around and get a tan. And when I get bored with that, I might try and write a book. It's something I've always wanted to try, and with Great-Uncle Henry's money behind me I can afford to take time off and have a real stab at it.'

  'What kind of book?'

  'A novel. I want it to be about family relationships, power, sex, money—'

  'All in one book?' enquired Rafe, his eyes gleaming with clear amusement.

  'It's going to be a blockbuster,' Kate said firmly.

  She was rather relieved when Rafe didn't ask any more questions about it. At least he hadn't ridiculed the idea, though. She would have hated it if he had just laughed at it.

  Rafe had settled himself back on the sand, and Kate was rather disturbed to find that he had begun to look at her in a distinctly thoughtful way. She felt the hairs prickle on her skin, and she didn't like that. Quite out of the blue, she found herself remembering something that her mother had said about Rafe only recently. 'Even when he was a boy, he was half child and half devil,' her mother had remarked. 'And from what I've heard about him over the years he hasn't changed!'

  Kate supposed that his unsettled childhood might have had something to do with the way Rafe had turned out. His parents had been killed in a motorway smash-up when he was eleven, and after that he had gone to live with Great-Uncle Henry. From all accounts, Rafe had had a fairly unorthodox upbringing from then on, since Great-Uncle Henry had had some very original opinions about such things as education, discipline and the general raising of a child.

  Rafe's gaze was still closely fixed on her, and Kate felt increasingly edgy. 'Are you going to sit and stare at me all day?' she demanded at last.

  'It would be a very pleasant way of passing the time,' commented Rafe. 'You've grown up to be rather gorgeous, Kate. But I was actually thinking that it might not be a good idea for the two of us to stay at the villa at the same time.'

  'Why not?' she said.

  He gave a relaxed shrug of his shoulders. 'People might talk. The family certainly will talk. You don't mind that they might draw the wrong conclusions, once they hear we're both staying under the same roof?'

  Kate let out a roar of laughter. 'You're worried about my reputation?' she spluttered, through another hiccupping bout of mirth.

  'You think that's funny?'

  'I think it's funny coming from you! I didn't have you down as the gallant type. In fact, I shouldn't think you've ever worried about anyone's reputation in your life, so why this sudden concern about mine?' Then her giggles died away, and a new comprehension spread across her face. 'Oh, hang on a sec. I think I get it. This is another of your "let's get Kate out of here by fair means or foul" stunts, isn't it? If you can't physically chuck me out, you think you might be able to lever me out of the villa by pretending to be concerned about what people might say. Well, it's not going to work,' she informed him firmly. 'Nothing's going to shift me out of the Villa des Anges. And as for my reputation, I shouldn't think it's in the slightest danger. After all, we're cousins, Rafe,' she reminded him. 'My father is your uncle.'

  His dark eyes glinted in a way that she suddenly found disturbing. 'That doesn't stop us from becoming as close as we want, Kate.' His voice had a purring note in it now, and Kate's skin responded with an unexpected rash of goose-pimples, despite the heat of the sun. 'It would all be perfectly legal.'

  'Perhaps it would be legal, but it certainly wouldn't feel right,' she retorted. 'I'd never want to get involved with someone who was such a close relation. It would be almost like—like…'

  'Incest?' he suggested softly as her voice stuttered to a halt.

  'Since y
ou put it so crudely—yes!'

  Rafe's mouth relaxed into a strange smile. Kate had never seen anyone smile quite like that in her entire life, and she shifted uneasily.

  'Then perhaps I'd better let you into a little secret,' he told her. 'We could get involved with each other in any way we liked without running into any problems. You see, we're not actually related in any way, Cousin Kate.'

  Kate stared at him blankly. 'What do you mean, we're not related?'

  'I'm adopted,' Rafe informed her calmly.

  Kate gaped at him in total surprise. 'But—you can't be,' she spluttered at last. 'I mean—well—I'd have known…'

  That smile was back on his mouth again now. Kate wished it would go away. She really didn't like that smile at all.

  'Do you know everyone's secrets, Kate?' he challenged her.

  'Of course not. But—you're more like a Clarendon than any of us. You've got the Clarendon hair and eyes—you've got to be one of the family.'

  'Sorry to disappoint you. It's just a freak accident that I happen to have all the right colourings. But I'm definitely not a Clarendon by birth, only by adoption.' He shifted a few inches nearer, and Kate instinctively drew back. 'So, the fact that we're cousins isn't really relevant, is it?'

  Kate decided it was time to beat a retreat. She definitely needed time to think this over! Rather hastily she scrambled to her feet.

  'I'm—er—I'm going back to the villa,' she told him in a voice that kept breaking into an annoying stutter. 'I want to—to shower and have breakfast.'

  'And make a couple of phone calls, to see if I'm telling the truth?' suggested Rafe with a grin. His dark eyes were glinting brightly now. 'Believe it, Kate,' he advised. 'If you've convinced yourself that you're safe with me because we're cousins—think again.'

  And with that gentle threat still echoing in her ears, Kate scurried back to the Villa des Anges. 'Villa of the Angels?' she muttered edgily to herself as she crossed the terrace. As far as she could see, there were no angels around here. Just one dark-haired, dark-eyed devil who was not going to get the better of her, or succeed in frightening her into leaving!

  As soon as Kate stepped into the cool interior of the villa, she headed straight for the phone. If Rafe intended to take a swim, then it would be a while before he returned, which gave her plenty of time to make a private call.

  She dialled her home number, and then gave a sigh of relief when she heard her father's familiar voice at the other end.

  'Hello, Dad. It's me, Kate.'

  'How's the South of France?' he asked. 'Warm and sunny?'

  'Blue skies, blue sea and gorgeous views. It's even better than I thought it would be.'

  'What's the villa like?'

  'It's fine,' she told him. 'Comfortable furnishings, modern plumbing, and its own private patch of beach.'

  'You're not lonely there, all on your own?'

  'Er—I'm not exactly on my own,' Kate replied cautiously.

  There was a brief silence at the other end. 'Who's there with you, Kate?' asked her father at last. 'Or would you rather not tell me?' he added tactfully.

  'It's no great secret. And don't worry, it isn't at all the way it sounds. There is someone else staying here, but it's only Rafe.'

  'Rafe?' Her father sounded rather relieved. 'What's he doing there?'

  'Taking a holiday, the same as me—or so he says.' Privately, Kate was beginning to believe that explanation less and less.

  'To be honest, Kate, I'm glad you've got someone with you. I didn't really like the idea of you being there on your own. And you'll be safe enough with Rafe. I know the rest of the family like to tell lurid tales about him, but I think most of it's highly exaggerated.'

  Kate wasn't so sure about that. There didn't seem any point in making her father unduly anxious, though, by telling him that.

  'Perhaps you'd better not tell Mum that Rafe's here,' she suggested. 'She didn't like it when I chucked in my job and came out here to France, and she definitely won't like it if she finds out Rafe's here. You know what she thinks of him!'

  'Yes, I do,' agreed her father drily. 'She always believes every scrap of gossip that she hears about him.'

  'Talking of Rafe,' Kate went on, after a short pause, 'there's something I wanted to ask you. Rafe told me this morning that he was adopted. Is that right?'

  'Rafe actually told you that?' asked her father, in a surprised voice.

  'Then it's the truth?'

  'Yes, it is. Very few people know about it, though.'

  'Does Mum know?'

  'No, she doesn't. I didn't like keeping it a secret from her, but my brother and his wife wanted people to think that Rafe was theirs, and I had to respect their wishes.'

  'How about Great-Uncle Henry?' asked Kate. 'Did he know?'

  'Yes, he did.'

  'But he obviously still wanted to take Rafe in after his parents were killed,' Kate said thoughtfully. 'And he even made Rafe his joint heir.'

  Her father chuckled. 'Henry always said that Rafe might not be a Clarendon by birth, but that he was certainly one by nature! And the two of them got along remarkably well.'

  'One eccentric and one devil,' Kate remarked wryly.

  'They both seemed to get something out of the relationship,' said her father. 'And living with Henry doesn't seem to have done Rafe any permanent harm. Some children seem to thrive on an unorthodox up-bringing. Look, Kate,' went on her father, slightly apologetically, 'you've probably got a dozen more questions, but I've really got to go. I'm already late for work. Perhaps we can talk about this further at some other time?'

  'That's OK,' she said. 'You've really told me everything I wanted to know.'

  'Do you want a word with your mother before you ring off?'

  'No, I don't think so,' she said, a trifle guardedly. Her mother might get on to the subject of Rafe, and Kate didn't want to have to tell her any outright lies. 'I'll give her a ring at the end of the week. Bye, Dad.'

  Kate put down the receiver, and then tapped her fingers together thoughtfully. So, Rafe had been telling the truth and he really wasn't a Clarendon, except in name. How many more very unexpected things was she going to find out about him during her stay at the Villa des Anges?

  She went upstairs, showered, and pulled on a cool cotton dress. Then she made her way down to the kitchen. Although it was still fairly early, the sun was blazing in through the windows, making it stiflingly hot. Kate opened the door to let in some fresh air, and then raised her eyebrows in surprise as three cats stalked in. One was a tabby, and the other two were black with wicked green eyes. All three behaved as if they had a perfect right to be in the villa, and they headed over to the far side of the kitchen, where they set up an imperious meowing.

  'Where did you come from?' Kate wondered out loud. 'And what do you want?'

  'They want their breakfast,' said a familiar voice from just behind her.

  Kate hadn't heard Rafe come into the kitchen, and she jumped violently. 'I wish you wouldn't creep around like that!' she said furiously, her heart still thumping away like mad.

  'I don't creep,' Rafe pointed out reasonably. 'I simply walk quietly.'

  'It's all part of being a private detective, I suppose! You could hardly sneak around spying on people, if they could hear you coming a mile off.'

  Rafe smiled that odd smile of his. 'You sound as if you disapprove of my job.'

  'I think it's a really weird way for a grown man to make a living,' she retorted. 'Not that I suppose you care two hoots about my opinion,' she added with a sniff.

  'You're right, I don't,' he agreed equably.

  One of the black cats let out another piercing meow, briefly distracting both of them.

  'Have you been feeding them?' asked Kate.

  'There didn't seem much alternative. They keep up that racket until you dump some food in their plates.'

  'Do they live at the villa?'

  'No. As far as I can make out, they're wild cats. They go around scrounging foo
d wherever they can find it. And since they've found out I'm a soft touch, they keep turning up here fairly regularly.'

  Kate would never have described Rafe as a 'soft touch'. Nor would she have thought he was a cat person. Then she changed her mind about that. Cats were self-contained and extremely independent. They came and went as they pleased, and answered to no one except themselves. They were affectionate only when it suited them, and could just as easily flash out a sharp claw, inflicting a painful wound. On that basis, Kate decided that Rafe and the cats probably had a lot in common!

  Rafe took a tin of cat food out of the cupboard, opened it, and emptied it on to a large plate. The cats immediately began to eat quickly and delicately, quiet now that they had got what they wanted.

  'Have they got names?' she asked.

  'Not as far as I know. Perhaps we just ought to call them One, Two and Three.' He chucked the empty tin of cat food into the bin, and then wandered over until he was standing much closer than Kate found comfortable. 'I'm going out for the day,' he informed her.

  'Going anywhere interesting?' Kate asked.

  His eyes grew slightly cooler. 'That's none of your business.' Then he looked at her thoughtfully. 'I suppose there's no chance that you'll see sense and be gone by the time I' get back?'

  His casual suggestion infuriated her. She had as much right to be here as he did, and the sooner he got that into his thick head, the better!

  'How many more times are we going to have to go over this?' she demanded. 'I'm getting really sick of telling you that I'm staying.'

  Rafe didn't look in the least pleased by her bald statement. Instead of moving away, though, he came even closer. Kate wondered what he had in mind, and her nerves gave an edgy twitch. He simply placed one finger under her chin, though, and looked down at her. 'Then I'll see you later, Cousin Kate. Although I suppose I shouldn't really call you that, should I?' he added thoughtfully. 'We might both look like Clarendons, but you and I know the truth about that now, don't we? From now on, it had better be just plain "Kate".'