'Alex!' For all her sophistication colour flooded her cheeks, and she looked about them self-consciously.
'Indeed, Alex,' he drawled. 'What have you done to me, Morgan McKay? I've never been known to engage in conversations like this before.'
'You were never going to be married before, she teased, loving him so much she ached for him. 'But you said earlier that I wouldn't be sharing your bedroom when we're married/ she reminded him with a frown.
He shook his head. 'I said you wouldn't be moving into my room at the house, and you won't be. I thought we could go and look at houses tomorrow if you're feeling up to it after your flight.' He quirked dark brows questioningly.
Morgan frowned. 'Houses .. .? You mean, of our own?' she gasped her surprise.
'Of course.'
'Just the three of us?'
'And a housekeeper, and possibly a maid or two. I trust you have no objection to someone else doing the cooking and cleaning while you take care of Courtney?' he mocked.
'No. But—Your mother?' she frowned.
'Doesn't like the idea at all,' he confirmed drvly.
'Then why-- '
'I'm not marrying to please my mother, Morgan. Far from it!' he rasped, revealing more than words the pressure he had been under during her week of absence to change his mind about marrying her. 'But I remember the problems you said you had facing you, and buying our own house would solve two of them—
seeing too much of my mother and living in I bouse as her. You've chosen for us all to r England, so obviously you feel you can cope with tba. The last problem I am unable to do anything about,' be finished harshly.
That they didn't love each other! No, they didn t, but she loved him, and she was going to do her damnedest to make him fall in love with her. 'Tell me some more about the houses, she encouraged huskily. He gave her a searching look. 'You like the idea, he said at last.
'I love it!' she smiled. 'Although not too far Irom your mother, so that she can visit Courtney whenever she wants to.'
'After the way she's treated you that's very generous
of you,' he said stiffly.
'She's his grandmother,' she explained simply.
They had an enjoyable meal together, in fact it was a long time since Morgan could remember enjoying herself like this. Perhaps she never had; she had never been in love before.
'Nightcap?' Alex queried huskily when they got back to the house, a silent house where the servants had already gone to bed.
She was very conscious of the fart that there was no malignant presence of Rita Hammond upstairs tonight just waiting for their ascent, and that fact alone made her feel almost lightheaded. Or perhaps it was the champagne doing that? She didn't care what it was, she loved the feeling. 'I'd love one.' She followed him into the lounge, where a fire had been left burning for their return, as the September evenings were very cool.
'Brandy?'
'Fine,' she nodded. ' I had a lovely time tonight, Alex.'
'So did I-' The admission seemed somehow to be forced from him 'We'll have to do it often when we're married. I trust you'll have no objection to leaving Courtney with a reliable housekeeper on the occasional evening?'
Not at all,' she smiled. 'After all, I'll be your wife too, not just Courtney's mother.' She became suddenly serious. 'Will we adopt him as our own, Alex?'
He handed her her brandy, sitting down beside her on the sofa. 'I thought we might.'
She nodded. 'I think that when he's older, and we tell him the truth about his parents, knowing we cared enough to make him legally ours will make him feel more wanted and not as if he's ever been a burden to us. Especially when he has brothers and sisters to contend with.' She gave Alex a sideways glance, waiting for his reaction.
'Brothers and sisters?' he repeated slowly.
'Oh yes, I've always wanted a family. Both Glenna
and I--- ' she broke off, her face suddenly blanching.
'It's all right, Morgan.' Alex's arm came about her shoulders as he held her close to him. 'I still feel the pain of losing them too.'
She buried her face in his chest. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spoil the evening.'
'You haven't.' He took the glass of brandy out of her shaking hand and put it beside his on the coffee table, tilting her chin to wipe away her tears with his thumbtips. 'You're a warm and loving woman who cares deeply for people.' He kissed her gently on the lips. 'I think a family sounds a wonderful idea. After all, I have the best pan,' he mocked.
'You think so?' she teased him.
'I know so.' He moulded her body against his. 'We have the house to ourselves, Morgan,' he prompted softly.
She stiffened, sobering completely, the effects of the champagne a thing of the past. 'We don't really.' She moved away from him with a light laugh. 'Symonds and the other servants are in the house, aren't they?'
He nodded. 'In their owm quarters.'
'We'll be married in three days, Alex,' she dismissed. 'Besides, I'm tired tonight.'
His mouth twisted sardonically, and he moved to pour himself another glass of brandy. 'You're using that excuse before we're married,' he taunted. 'What comes afterwards, the headache?'
'I think you're being insulting '
'Believe it,' he bit out grimly, staring sightlessly at the fire. 'I've already told you, I will not be controlled by the physical attraction I feel for you.'
'I'm not--- '
'Go to bed, Morgan,' he ordered roughly. 'You said you were tired, so go.
'Alex--- '
'Go!'
'What are you going to do?' she asked anxiously.
'Finish my drink and go to my own bed, of course,' he derided.
She paused at the door. 'Will we still go and look at houses tomorrow?'
He nodded distantly. 'If you wish.'
'I do. Alex . ..?'
He didn't even turn. 'Yes?'
She sighed. 'I wish I could explain—You'll soon understand the reason for my reluctance now.' There was pleading in her voice.
'I understand it already,' he scorned. 'The longer you keep a man waiting for your body the more he's going to want you. Woman's logic!"
'Not at all, Alex.' She could see there was no talking to him tonight, especially when she didn't intend telling him the whole truth. Not yet. 'I'll see you in the morning.'
'No doubt,' he bit out tautly.
Morgan made her way slowly up to her bedroom. She hadn't wanted to deny Alex tonight, in fact it would have been all too easy to say yes to him. But it was very important to her, for Alex's sake as well as her own, that they wait until after they were married. Her wedding gift to him was priceless, beyond compare, all the more so to Alex because of bi bitterness and distrust of woman. She would give him the gift of herself gladly on their wedding night. And then let him dare to accuse her of being promiscuous!
It was so very easy choosing a house the next day. Alex had wonderful taste, and most of his likes and dislikes seemed to coincide with hers, so that the choosing of the six-bedroomed Regency-style house was a mutual one.
Morgan liked the house because it was more in the country than the Hammond one, had room for a stable and a couple of horses on the land attached. Riding had been something she had enjoyed as a child but had little opportunity to do since then. The garden was big, but not too big, something she would like to keep tidy herself, with help from Courtney as he got older, no doubt. And it had a small family pool out the back of it too.
'I'll teach Courtney to swim,' she said excitedly as they drove home after dealing with the legal formalities of buying a house in England.
Alex had been very cold towards her when they had first met this morning, but as the day progressed he had seemed to thaw, throwing her an indulgent smile now. 'He can't even focus yet,' he taunted. 'Give him a chance. And with all these activities you intend to become involved in—gardening, riding, taking care of Courtney, teaching him to swim—how do you think you're going to find time to resume your career.'
/> TU wait until he goes to school,' she shrugged.^
'You could be a thing of the past by then,' he warned softly. 'The public are very fickle, they forget so easily.'
'I could have other children to think about by then anyway,' she said abruptly.
'I'm not trying to push you back out to work, Morgan,' he said with amusement. 'I'm as chauvinistic as the next man, and I don't relish the thought of my wife going out to work. And in normal circumstances I would probably ask you not to do so. But these aren't normal circumstances, you're marrying me because of Courtney, because of a sense of duty to him.'
'And because I wanted you,' she reminded him with challenge.
His mouth twisted. 'You'll have to forgive me if I feel a little sceptical about that,' he taunted. 'There hasn't been much evidence of it lately. Most women seem to find the idea of a physical relationship interesting until they have a ring on their finger, then sex just becomes bargaining power.'
'You're very cynical,' she sighed.
'I've learnt to be,' he nodded grimly. 'Most men do in time.'
Morgan couldn't fight this cynicism now, knew that she wouldn't be able to until they were married and she could show him how wrong he was about her.
Rita Hammond came back to the house on the morning of the wedding, claiming haughtily that if Alex insisted on going through with this ridiculous marriage the least she could do was give him her moral support.
Morgan had to smile at the last. Alex didn't need anyone's support, least of all that of his mother!
'White?' Janet Fairchild came into Morgan's bedroom as she was getting dressed for the wedding.
Morgan bristled angrily at the other woman's ridicule of the colour of her wedding dress. 'Some of us arc entitled to wear the colour,' she replied haughtily.
'I know,' Janet nodded. 'I was.'
'And so am I.' Morgan straightened the soft chiffon dress about her hips, a tiny white lace cap attached to her flaming hair.
'I doubt it,' Janet drawled. 'I must say I'm surprised at Alex's stupidity at marrying you. I'd always credited him with more sense. And why on earth you have to move into your own house I have no idea. This house is big enough for ten families!'
Morgan looked at the other woman with hard green eyes. 'Alex and I do not intend making the same mistakes Glenna and Mark did. Why did you never move in here with your husband?' she taunted.
'Because Mother would eat Charles alive,' Janet said bluntly.
Morgan's mouth twisted. I doubt she would ever have the same effect on me, nevertheless I can do without her vitriolic comments day and night.'
'Are you and Alex lovers?'
'None of your damned business!' Morgan told her in a controlled voice.
Blue eyes hardened. 'I've seen the way he watches you.' Janet shrugged. 'It would also be a way of explaining this madness.'
'AJex doesn't consider it madness, Morgan snapped.
'I don't suppose you do either,' Janet sneered. 'A career as an actress, when all you have is your body and your beauty, can't last very long. Marriage to a rich man means you can't lose. If the marriage lasts you live in luxury, if it fails you get a nice healthy settlement. You're as clever as Glenna, Morgan, maybe more so,'
Morgan's hand seemed to move of its own volition, moving in a slow arc to make hard contact with Janet Fairchild's cheek. The other woman gasped, her own hand going up to the reddening area, as she stared at Morgan in disbelief.
The eyes hardened to hatred, her mouth twisted viciously. 'You'll regret that, Morgan!' she spat out the words.
'I don't think so.' Morgan was shaking with the reaction of losing her temper so completely, but she refused to let Janet Fairchild see that. She would allow no insults to Glenna on her wedding day!
'Oh, but you will.' Her hand dropped to her side, the mark of Morgan's fingers clearly visible on her cheek. 'I'll make sure of it!' She turned on her heel and slammed out of the room.
Morgan could no longer control the shaking; she dropped down on to the bed, breathing deeply. If she didn't love Alex so desperately this constant and vicious hatred from his family would have her running far away from here, Courtney or no Courtney. She knew she had made even more of an enemy of Janet Fairchild today, and that the other woman would need careful watching.
But there was no evidence of the other woman's antagonism as they drove to the wedding, in fact her pleasantly charming manner was more unsettling than the open hatred she had displayed earlier when they were alone.
Alex l
There were few guests at the actual wedding, although the reception being held at the house was a different matter. Rita Hammond considered it her duty to have all the relatives and family friends at hereldest son's wedding reception, even if she didn't approve of his choice of bride.
'Formidable, aren't they?' Alex mocked against Morgan's ear lobe as the last guest had been welcomed and the two of them could relax a little.
'A little,' she agreed dryly, wondering at the family's reaction to a second gathering like this within the space of a month, for two such different occasions. Most of them looked a little dazed by it all!
'We'll leave as soon as we can,' he promised softly.
They were spending their first night together as husband and wife in London, taking a plane to the States tomorrow, staying overnight with her parents before flying to Barbados for their three-week honeymoon. Morgan could hardly wait for the time they could be alone.
'I'd like that,' she acknowledged.
'The house will be ready to move into by the time we get back.'
They had spent a frantic two days choosing fabrics and colour schemes so that the house could be furnished and decorated for their return, Courtney's room had given Morgan the most pleasure; it was in the predictable Disney characters, of course. The fact that it was all going to be ready when they got back meant she wouldn't have to move in with this den of lions again.
As if reading some of her thoughts, Alex asked, 'What happened with Janet earlier?' His tone had hardened perceptively. 'She came out of your room looking as if someone had hit her.'
'/ had,' Morgan admitted simply. 'She was insulting, and so I hit her.' She looked at him in challenge.
'Didn't you know that wives are supposed to let husbands protect them?' he taunted, not in the least concerned that she had struck his sister.
She smiled her relief, not at all sure what his reaction had been going to be. 'You weren't my husband then.'
'But I am now,' he reminded her huskily. 'So any more—insults, tell me and I'll deal with them, in my own way,' he added grimly.
She had no doubt he would too. Always an independent woman, she found it strange to think that she now had someone to rely on, someone who would help her fight her battles. But it was a two-way thing; she would help Alex in any way she could too.
By the time they left just after eight o'clock she had a throbbing headache. She had met so many relatives of Alex's it made her head spin; she had fenced barbs with Rita Hammond in so many two-edged conversations she could no longer think straight, and all the time she had been conscious of Janet Fairchild's derisive glance, as if she knew something Morgan didn't but wasn't yet prepared to divulge it. Saying goodbye to Courtney made it all the worse, and the thought of three weeks without him seemed like a lifetime.
But she daren't even mention the headache to Alex, remembering all too vividly his taunt about her developing headaches after they were married to avoid sharing his bed.
'Tired?' he asked as she leant her head back weakly against the car seat.
'A little,' she admitted.
His hand came out to grasp hers. 'We can eat in our suite if you would prefer that.'
Eat? heavens, the thought of food nauseated her! 'l—Fine,' she agreed weakly, closing her eyes and pretending to be asleep.
'I'm not,' she snapped. 'I just didn't want any more accusations like the ones of the other evening. The headache has gone now, anyway, she told him abruptly.
He touched her cheek gently. "The other evening I was suffering from that most common of male ailments—sexual frustration,' he taunted. 'If you have a headache then perhaps you would like an early night—alone?'
His thoughtfulness, after the tension of the day, made her eyes swim with tears. 'The headache really has gone, Alex,' she choked.
'Do I take that to mean you would rather not have an early night alone?' he teased.
She smiled. 'I have no objection to the early night, but definitely not alone.'
He laughed softly, getting out of the car as the doorman of the hotel came over to open Morgan's door for her. "We'll discuss that after dinner,' he promised.
The hotel was one of the most luxurious in London, and the honeymoon suite had been reserved for them. Morgan's eyes widened as she heard this. She would have thought Alex the sort of man to prefer to keep quiet about their newly married state, not broadcast it so obviously. Although it might have been a little difficult to keep it quiet anyway, as they were both covered in confetti!
Alex had the arrogance and bearing to have the best service wherever he went, and within five minutes ofentering the hotel they and their luggage had been effortlessly transported to the top floor, their luxurious c occupying most of it.
Dinner was a lighthearted affair. Morgan was not even aware of what she was eating, enjoying Alex's company too much to really care.
Now about that early night . . .?' He raised dark brows as they sat together in the lounge. The hotel is so tall that none of the noise of London could be heard all the way up here, giving a strangely disorientated feeling.
Lifelong Affair Page 10
