by Carole Mortimer - Bachelor Cousins 03 - To Marry McAllister
That letter she had received in the distinctive green envelope; was it possible that someone was blackmailing her? Over what, Brice couldn’t even begin to imagine, but it would certainly provide an answer to more than a few questions that had been bothering Brice since the day she had received that letter…!
‘Sabina—’
‘It isn’t the money, Brice,’ she told him with certainty. ‘I—like to work, to keep busy.’ She gave an overbright smile. ‘After all, models have a very short shelf-life; I can’t expect to be at the top for much longer.’
As an attempt at diverting the conversation, it wasn’t bad, Brice conceded. If he were the type of man that was easily diverted. Which he wasn’t.
‘Good try, Sabina,’ he drawled. ‘Now what’s the real reason?’
Her eyes flashed deeply blue. ‘I’ve just told you,’ she snapped. ‘Just as I’ve told you I can’t disappear up to Scotland next week on such short notice,’ she added impatiently. ‘I have work. Commitments.’
Latham, Brice realised. No doubt the other man wouldn’t be too happy at the idea of Sabina going off with him for a few days, even if it was so that Brice could paint her. The only way around that Brice could see was to include the other man in the invitation. Which was something Brice was very loath to do…
He wanted Sabina to himself, he realised, even if it were only for two days. He wanted to get to know her, away from London, her work commitments, Latham. Most of all, away from Latham!
He grimaced. ‘Perhaps if I explain the situation to your fiancé—’
‘Richard will be away in Australia all next week—’ Sabina broke off her protest as she realised what she had just said. ‘I’m due to join him at the weekend,’ she added defensively.
Brice was well aware of the reason for that defence—he had been unable to hide his elation at the news that Richard Latham would be out of the country next week!
‘What a pity he won’t be able to join us,’ Brice said insincerely. ‘But surely there can’t be too much of a problem if you delay joining him until Monday,’ he reasoned with satisfaction.
Yes! Things couldn’t have worked out better if he had planned the whole thing himself!
Sabina gave a sigh. ‘You’re very persistent, Brice,’ she said heavily.
And, with her admission that Latham wouldn’t even be in the country next week, she had left herself with no feasible argument against Brice’s plan. Except the fact that she obviously didn’t want to go to Scotland with him…
Why didn’t she?
She had come here at all this evening for the sole reason of persuading Brice into telling Richard Latham he couldn’t paint her portrait. Why? Had the kiss they had shared three days ago affected her more than she cared to admit?
If so, as far as Brice was concerned, there was even more reason for them to go to Scotland together. Sabina might be engaged to Richard Latham, but she couldn’t possibly go ahead and marry the other man if she was attracted to him!
Sabina had little appetite for the food in front of her, too churned up by the fact that she had talked herself into a corner where Brice’s idea of going to Scotland was concerned. The trouble was, Brice tied her up in knots, so that what she really meant to say came out all wrong.
She had come here this evening with the sole intention of never seeing Brice again—and instead she found herself with a potential weekend with him in Scotland!
It just wasn’t possible.
‘I’m sorry, Brice, but I really do have to go now.’ She placed her knife and fork on the plate beside the almost untouched food.
‘Why?’
She wasn’t fooled for a minute by the mildness of his tone, knew by those narrowed green eyes that his mood was far from mild. ‘Because I want to,’ she told him firmly, pushing back her chair to stand up.
He grimaced, standing up too. ‘Mrs Potter will probably hand her notice in after this; it’s the second time this evening that the dinner she prepared has gone uneaten!’
Sabina gave a rueful smile. ‘I’m sure you’re more than capable of handling Mrs Potter’s disappointment.’ In fact, she was sure that Brice was more than capable of handling most situations!
But she wasn’t. And her nerve-endings had taken enough of a battering for one evening. ‘Could I use your telephone to call a taxi?’ she prompted huskily. As Brice had arbitrarily cancelled all her other plans for this evening, the thought of a long soak in the bath, and then a good night’s sleep, was very inviting.
‘I’ll drive you home—’
“No,’ Sabina cut in with quiet firmness. ‘I think you’ve already done enough for me for one evening!’
Her sarcasm wasn’t lost on Brice, his mouth tightening angrily at the jibe. Well, she couldn’t help that; there was no getting away from the fact that he had cancelled her other plans for this evening. Or that she needed to get away from Brice, not spend more time in the confines of a car with him!
‘Fine,’ he finally rasped. ‘I’ll go and call a taxi for you now.’ He strode forcefully out of the room.
That wasn’t quite what she had said, but by this time Sabina felt too weary to argue with him any further. Besides, the few minutes’ respite from Brice’s overpowering company gave her a chance to try and ease the tension from her body.
What was it about Brice McAllister that made it so difficult for her to be in his company? Somehow she didn’t think she really wanted an answer to that question. In fact, she was sure she didn’t!
‘The taxi will be here in a few minutes,’ Brice informed her abruptly when he came back into the room. ‘I’m completely serious about the two of us going to Scotland next weekend, Sabina,’ he added firmly.
She knew he was serious—she just didn’t want to do it. And if she didn’t want to do it, she saw no reason why she should!
‘We’ll see,’ she answered noncommittally; much as she hated to admit it, she knew she would be able to deal much more capably with this situation once she was well away from Brice.
‘We most certainly will,’ Brice returned determinedly.
The few minutes waiting for the taxi were not the most comfortable Sabina had ever spent, their conversation stilted to say the least, both of them heaving a sigh of relief, Sabina was sure, when the taxi finally arrived.
To her consternation Brice walked outside with her, opening the back door of the taxi for her. Sabina hesitated before getting inside, not quite sure what to say. She couldn’t exactly thank him for a pleasant evening—it had been far from that!—but she somehow felt she should say something.
‘You don’t have to say anything,’ Brice advised dryly as he seemed to read her uncertainty. ‘A kiss will suffice,’ he added softly even as his head lowered and his mouth claimed hers.
Sabina was initially too surprised to resist. And then as the kiss deepened and lengthened she found that she couldn’t have moved away even if she had wanted to—her body simply felt too fluid to obey her commands!
Brice moved slightly away from her, one hand cupping the curve of her chin as he looked down intently into her eyes. ‘I’ll call you,’ he told her huskily.
Sabina moved hastily away, her cheeks heated as she got inside the taxi and closed the door firmly behind her before giving the driver her address, angry with herself as well as with Brice.
She kept her gaze firmly ahead as the car moved away from the pavement, although she was completely aware of Brice standing there watching her until the car turned the corner at the end of the road.
How dared he just kiss her whenever, and wherever, he felt like it? Almost as if he were her fiancé instead of Richard—
Dear Lord—Richard!
What on earth would he say if he knew that Brice McAllister had kissed her, not once, but twice?
She gave a self-disgusted shake of her head. Richard respected the fact that they both had busy careers, that the business relationship of their engagement worked because Richard knew he could trust her, as she trusted him
. Okay, so she hadn’t initiated either of the kisses between Brice and herself, but she hadn’t exactly tried to stop them, either.
Why hadn’t she?
That was something she really didn’t want to look at too searchingly! Once she could perhaps explain away, but that kiss just now had been completely unacceptable. Not that she had initiated it, but nevertheless it shouldn’t have happened.
But she didn’t ever intend telling Richard about those kisses. Their own relationship wasn’t an intimate one, and it would only create a situation where she was determined there should be none.
To her surprise most of the lights were on downstairs in the house when she arrived home, her relief immense when she entered the house to find Richard in the lounge listening to classical music. Something he seemed to have been doing for some time, if the glass of whisky on the table beside him was anything to go by.
‘I wasn’t expecting you back until tomorrow.’ She smiled at him warmly.
Richard had stood up at her entry, his eyes narrowed now as he looked at her speculatively. ‘Obviously not,’ he drawled hardly.
Sabina was instantly—guiltily!—aware of the fact that not fifteen minutes ago Brice McAllister had kissed her. Did it somehow show on her face? Were her lips bare of gloss after that kiss? Or was it something else that gave her away…?
Richard turned to pick up his glass of whisky, taking a swallow before speaking. ‘Clive returned over an hour ago,’ he rasped economically, blond brows raised questioningly.
A Clive who had been arrogantly dismissed for the evening by Brice McAllister…!
She winced at the construction Richard must have put on being told that by the driver. ‘I called in to see Brice McAllister on my way out this evening—’
‘Yes?’ Richard prompted hardly as she paused.
She sighed. ‘Could I have a small glass of whisky too, do you think?’
Richard’s mouth twisted derisively, even as he moved to pour the drink for her. ‘Is what you’re going to tell me that bad?’ he prompted as he handed her the glass.
Sabina gave him a sharp look, the whisky having warmed her on its way down. ‘I don’t understand…?’
He shrugged, moving away slightly. ‘We’ve both known from the beginning that our engagement is purely a business arrangement, and you’ve obviously just spent the evening with McAllister—’
‘Hardly the evening, Richard,’ she interrupted lightly. ‘It’s only nine-thirty now. Actually, I called in to see Brice this evening to—to—to—’
‘To what, Sabina?’ Richard prompted softly.
‘To arrange another sitting,’ she burst out in what she knew was a defensive tone. But she couldn’t help it; she simply wasn’t prepared for answering Richard’s probing questions so soon after Brice had kissed her. Because she felt guilty even though she hadn’t been the one to initiate that kiss!
‘Why not just telephone him?’
Why not, indeed? ‘I was passing, anyway.’ She shrugged.
‘And?’ Richard frowned.
‘Richard, you’re home a day early; let’s not waste the evening talking about Brice McAllister,’ she dismissed lightly, hugging his arm as she sensed his tension.
‘But I don’t consider it a waste of the evening,’ he came back softly. ‘Have you spent other evenings at McAllister’s while I’ve been away?’ he prompted lightly.
‘Certainly not.’ She shook her head frowningly. ‘Richard, it was nothing. I didn’t want to tell you this—I know how you worry—but I went to Brice McAllister’s to arrange a sitting, and I—well, the truth is, I fainted,’ she admitted reluctantly.
‘You fainted?’ he repeated frowningly, grasping her arms to look down at her searchingly. ‘What’s happened, Sabina? You haven’t received any more of those letters?’ He scowled darkly.
‘No, nothing like that,’ she instantly assured him. Although it had been Brice’s probing about those letters that had caused her to faint. ‘I forgot to eat today, that’s all,’ she explained with a self-conscious grimace.
‘That’s all?’ Richard echoed reprovingly. ‘You silly girl,’ he rebuked huskily. ‘And I’ve been sitting here for the last hour with all manner of thoughts going through my mind,’ he admitted self-derisively. ‘Have you had something to eat now?’ he prompted gently.
She nodded. ‘Brice insisted on feeding me.’ No need to tell Richard that, because of the subject of their conversation, she hadn’t been able to eat anything but a bowl of soup!
She had known from the beginning that Richard was possessive, but that possessiveness also made him protective of what he considered his. And these last few months, that was exactly what she had needed…
‘Good.’ Richard gave her a warm smile. ‘I’m sorry if I was less than welcoming a few minutes ago. It’s just that you’re so beautiful, so absolutely unique—’ He shook his head ruefully. ‘I should have known better than to doubt you.’
Sabina swallowed hard, knowing that he wasn’t altogether wrong to doubt her…
CHAPTER NINE
‘WHAT do you mean, you want to bring some girl up here?’ his grandfather’s voice sounded impatient down the telephone line.
‘Exactly that, Grandfather,’ Brice replied frowningly.
He had thought it only right, before pursuing the matter with either Sabina or Richard Latham, to ask his grandfather if he minded him bringing a guest with him to Scotland next weekend. He certainly hadn’t expected this reaction to his request!
‘This isn’t a hotel, laddie.’ His grandfather’s brogue deepened in his agitation. ‘I know you boys have never thought so, but I do have a life of my own to live,’ he added truculently. ‘I don’t just sit around here waiting for one of you to honour me with one of your random visits!’
Oops—he really had caught his grandfather on a bad day! And Brice was well aware of how busy the estate in Scotland kept his grandfather, the castle accompanied by several thousand acres of land, some of it given over to the breeding of deer, but the rest of it divided up amongst numerous tenants who lived on the estate. Which, despite the presence of an estate manager, still kept his grandfather very busy.
It was also quite amusing the way his grandfather still referred to Logan, Fergus, and Brice as ‘boys’ they were all thirty-six years old, which hardly made them boys!
‘Besides,’ his grandfather continued before Brice could answer him, ‘it’s just possible I may have a guest of my own staying next weekend.’
‘A guest, Grandfather?’ Brice echoed interestedly.
‘I do have friends of my own, laddie,’ his grandfather rasped.
‘Would this guest we’re talking about happen to be female?’ Brice guessed curiously.
Strange as Brice might find the idea, his grandfather was still a handsome man even though in his early eighties, and he had also been a widower for some years now…
‘Don’t get cheeky with me, laddie,’ his grandfather snapped.
‘We are talking about a female guest,’ Brice realised slightly incredulously. It was one thing to make the suggestion, another to have it confirmed…!
‘We aren’t talking about her at all,’ his grandfather bit out decisively.
‘You aren’t the “kiss and tell” type, are you, Grandfather?’ Brice drawled mockingly, not altogether sure he was comfortable with the reversal of roles.
‘Watch your tongue, boy,’ the elderly man came back harshly.
This was a complication Brice had just never envisaged, he had to admit. And he wasn’t a hundred per cent sure he knew how to deal with it now that it had happened!
So much for his advice to Sabina to be adult where her mother’s relationship was concerned—this was his grandfather, not one of his parents, and he didn’t know how to handle it!
‘So the answer is no, Grandfather?’ he said slowly.
‘Now, I didn’t say that,’ the older man came back dismissively. ‘I’m merely trying to point out that my home is not a hotel, some
where for you to bring the current woman in your life—’
‘Sabina isn’t the current woman in my life.’ More’s the pity, Brice could have added regretfully. ‘I’ve accepted a commission to paint her, that’s all.’ That was all!
His peace of mind had been in turmoil since the other week when he’d first seen Sabina! And he wasn’t sure that painting her was going to get her out of his system, either.
‘Sabina?’ his grandfather echoed sharply. ‘You aren’t talking about the model Sabina?’
‘The one and only,’ Brice confirmed wryly. ‘Although I didn’t know you kept up with the fashion world, Grandfather,’ he added derisively. Although it wouldn’t be all that difficult to have seen photographs of Sabina; her face had been adorning the front page of magazines for five years or so now.
‘You don’t know everything about me, Brice,’ the older man scorned.
‘Obviously not,’ Brice confirmed dryly; he had certainly never heard anything about his grandfather having a woman staying with him before. And he didn’t think Logan or Fergus had, either, otherwise they would have been sure to mention it.
‘When are you thinking of coming up?’ his grandfather prompted thoughtfully.
‘I’m not sure. I wanted to confirm it was okay with you before making any definite plans.’ And, from the sound of it, it was just as well that he had!
‘It’s fine with me,’ his grandfather assured him lightly.
Brice frowned slightly. His grandfather hadn’t sounded as if it were fine with him a few minutes ago…
‘Then I’ll call you later in the week to confirm a time, if that’s okay with you?’ he said slowly.
He had an appointment to see Richard Latham in just over an hour’s time, would know better then whether or not he was going to be able to take Sabina to Scotland with him. He would have much rather just dealt with Sabina herself, but as Richard Latham was the one commissioning the painting, and—unfortunately!—he was also Sabina’s fiancé, Brice had accepted it was Latham he would have to talk to.
Although he was hoping that Sabina would be there too…
