Once the door was safely closed behind her, Margaret held up the selection of dresses for Rosie to choose from.
‘I can’t thank you enough,’ Rosie exclaimed with relief.
‘I’m only sorry it took so long. Problems are my speciality, but miracles take a little longer.’ Margaret eyed Rosie keenly. ‘Xavier said you spilt something down the front of your dress?’ She didn’t wait for an answer. ‘So I took the liberty of bringing underwear along as well.’ She plonked down the boxes she had stuffed beneath her arm. ‘Hope I got your size right. All I had to go on was our meeting on the island, and again tonight when you walked into the room.’
‘I’m just so grateful, I’d grovel for a hessian sack tied with a piece of rope, but these are amazing. Thank you. It saves sneaking away wrapped in a throw.’
‘I can’t imagine you sneaking anywhere,’ Margaret said frankly.
‘I don’t know what I’d have done without you.’
‘Nonsense,’ Margaret insisted. ‘You would have walked through that door with your head held high, and to hell with what anyone thought.’
Rosie grinned. ‘You’re probably right.’
‘That little red number hit the bin, I imagine?’ Margaret said, looking at her shrewdly.
‘You saw it?’
They both laughed.
‘I would have come to your rescue sooner at the party,’ Margaret explained with a rueful grimace. ‘I could see how rude people were being to you, but I was talking to the ambassador at the time, and he’s one person I can’t ditch.’
‘Please don’t apologise. You’ve done enough for me as it is.’
‘Of course I must apologise,’ Margaret insisted. ‘One of us should. Xavier’s guests have behaved appallingly tonight, and he shouldn’t have allowed it to happen. And I shall tell him so—’
‘Please don’t.’
‘Well, at least let me make up for your rocky start to the evening,’ Margaret insisted. ‘When you’re ready, I’ll be only too happy to introduce you around.’
‘You’re very kind.’
‘I’m very practical,’ Margaret argued. ‘As are you, Rosie Clifton. Ten minutes? Don’t worry. I’ll come back,’ she said, heading for the door. ‘Just call me when you’re ready.’ She glanced at the phone on the desk.
‘Now I understand why Xavier has you on speed dial,’ Rosie said, smiling at her new friend.
‘I do have my uses,’ Margaret agreed, shooting Rosie a brief, ironic look.
CHAPTER TEN
AFTER AN INTERESTING start to the evening, his party was deemed an unqualified success. Rosie had impressed him. She had moved with increasing confidence amongst his guests since Margaret had introduced her around. She looked stunning in an ice-blue dress cut on remarkably similar lines to her old yellow dress, though in some expensive designer fabric. Margaret had excelled herself as usual. The expression on Margaret’s face at this moment, however, did not bode well. She was sailing towards him like a galleon in full sail. Taking hold of his elbow, she ushered him out of hearing of the other guests. He didn’t complain. So long as he could still see Rosie, whatever Margaret wanted to say was fine by him.
‘She’s a diamond, that one.’
‘You like Rosie Clifton?’
‘Yes, I do. And you’ve treated her abominably tonight.’
‘Is that what she told you?’
‘Far from it,’ Margaret admitted. ‘She thinks you’re wonderful, which just goes to show how mistaken a person can be.’
‘I didn’t ask you here to give me a lecture,’ he chastised Margaret warmly, delighted to hear Rosie’s opinion of him.
‘You invited that poor girl, and then you left her stranded with people she didn’t know. That’s not good, Xavier. It’s not worthy of you, and you know I’ll speak my mind if I think you’ve done something wrong.’
‘That’s why I hired you,’ he commented dryly.
‘Then make it up to her. I’ve told her you’ll see her safely home tonight. She wasn’t happy about that, either,’ Margaret conceded, avoiding his interested stare. ‘But I’m sure you’ll find a way to make amends.’
He was too.
‘Use your powers of persuasion, if you want her to cooperate when it comes to the island,’ Margaret suggested, as if he needed a prompt. ‘Don’t try and pressure her, or she’ll fight back. She deserves better than that,’ she added, directing a level stare into his eyes.
Having delivered her rebuke, Margaret sailed off in search of more wrongs to right.
* * *
‘Who’s taking you home tonight?’ he asked, walking up to Rosie as she stood waiting to collect her wrap from the temporary cloakroom.
‘You are, apparently,’ she said, giving him one of her looks. She reserved her smile for the man who’d found her wrap, he noticed.
‘You’re very forward, Ms Clifton.’
‘I’m very forward? You have a lot of ground to make up for tonight. If Margaret hadn’t intervened, I’d be calling a cab back to the hotel right now.’
‘It would be my pleasure to take you home.’
‘Thank you,’ she said coolly. ‘Margaret said I must be sure not to leave without you.’
‘She makes me sound like an umbrella.’
‘Slightly more ornamental,’ Rosie commented as she turned to thank the cloakroom attendant.
‘Thank you,’ she said primly as he stepped forward to help with her wrap. His only reward was the way she trembled when his hand touched her naked skin as he lifted her hair out of the way.
He stood back to watch as she walked to the exit. A couple of his guests stopped her to say goodnight, and to press business cards into her hands, and one of them was the ambassador. She’d been a hit tonight.
He arrived at her side in time to hear the elderly statesman purring over her hand, ‘It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Señorita Clifton.’
He guided her away from the ambassador with a few polite words, as well as all the other men standing in line to say one last goodnight to the very attractive Rosie Clifton.
‘I think he’s nice,’ she said as he led her away. ‘Are you jealous, Don Xavier?’
He huffed a dismissive laugh. ‘I have to agree, you do look rather young and innocent in that dress.’
‘Because I am young and innocent,’ she reminded him with no smile. ‘But that doesn’t make me naïve, except where business is concerned, and there I’m happy to admit that I have everything to learn—with your help,’ she added, with a flash of her astonishing eyes.
‘So I’m on board with your plans now, am I?’ he queried with a quirk of his brow.
‘I don’t know. Are you?’ she said.
He chose not to answer and called for the lift. Rosie wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, and in that she had joined a very exclusive group of women, consisting only of Margaret, and his late aunt, Doña Anna.
He drove her home. To his home. One of several he owned in the city.
‘This isn’t the hotel,’ she commented.
‘Well spotted,’ he said dryly, noting the fact that her bravado was fast leaching away. He drove in through the gates. The mansion overlooked the park, and was both vast and beautiful. He was very proud of it, and found himself hoping that she liked it too.
‘So why have you brought me here?’ she demanded.
‘For a nightcap?’
That half-serious suggestion was met by another piercing Rosie look. ‘A nightcap?’ she repeated sceptically. ‘You know I hardly drink.’
‘Neither do I, but I thought it would be a chance for us to get to know each other better.’
‘Something Margaret suggested you should do?’
He pulled his luxury sports car alongside the steps. ‘I do have some original thoughts. Let’s call it a peace mission. One drink,’ he said.
‘And then I’m leaving,’ she confirmed.
He helped her out of the car, and took her straight inside to the library, where his staff had lit a
blazing fire. She looked around with interest. This was his favourite room in the house, and, for some reason, it really mattered to him that she liked it. The furnishings were comfortable and the walls were lined with books. Just the smell of old paper and worn leather bindings soothed him, and he definitely needed something to soothe his raging libido. Their clashes at the drinks party had taught him a lot about Rosie Clifton, and had confirmed his belief that fierce fires raged beneath her cool exterior, which wasn’t helping his sexual hunger at all.
* * *
She might be out of her depth and sinking fast, but Rosie had to rally and stand up to him. Why had Xavier brought her to his fabulous home? Did he think he was going to seduce her? No chance. Still, this introduction to his luxury lifestyle told her more about his huge wealth and impeccable taste than the media could ever hope to with a few photographs and a lot of hysterical guff. She’d had so many new experiences tonight, her head was reeling, but she would sort it out. It didn’t help that her body was on full alert after that encounter with Xavier’s erotic expertise, but she would tame that too.
‘You like the books,’ Xavier commented as she allowed her fingertip to drift across a row of what were almost certainly first editions.
Discussing such a harmless shared interest gave her calm time, thinking time. ‘I love them.’ She had never seen so many leather-bound volumes gathered together in one place before. ‘How can you ever bear to leave this house?’
He shrugged. ‘I have books in all my houses.’
‘Lucky you,’ she murmured as she walked along the line of books. So many of the stories she’d read to Doña Anna had involved an unequal partnership, but that hadn’t stopped the heroine succeeding—sometimes with audacity, but always with courage. An idea had been banging around in Rosie’s head since their encounter in his office. It was radical, but might just work. ‘Reading was the first thing that brought me close to your aunt.’
As he hummed she sensed she’d struck a nerve. It was perhaps better not to mention anything about her relationship with Doña Anna while things between them were still strained. ‘Why did you ask me here?’ she said instead, moving away from the books to face him.
‘I’m trying to make amends.’
She didn’t believe him for a minute, especially as he was opening a bottle of champagne.
‘You do drink champagne, I take it?’ he said, catching her look.
‘I don’t know,’ she admitted honestly. ‘I’ve never drunk champagne, but I’d love to try a small glass.’
A flash of surprise crossed Xavier’s face. She guessed there were a lot of things he took for granted that she had never tried. ‘But there’s never been a better time for champagne.’ Her heart started thumping as she got ready to spring her surprise.
‘Oh?’ he pressed with interest as he poured the foaming liquid into matching crystal flutes.
‘Yes.’ The prospect of voicing her solution to their problems was alarming, and if there had been any other way she would have taken it. But she had to be both courageous and bold, or she might as well pack her bags and leave the islanders to fend for themselves.
Xavier handed her a flute, which she eyed curiously. ‘Would you prefer something else?’
‘No. This is perfect. Thank you.’
This had to be what Doña Anna had intended all along, Rosie concluded as she reviewed her plan. She would be in charge of her own destiny, and she would have an equal say over the future of the island. Xavier had tried to buy her off, and when that failed he was trying his best to charm her, but she was the one with the leverage, not him. He was the one in need of an heir, and all the champagne and blarney in the world couldn’t change that.
‘Would you mind if I proposed the toast?’ she suggested.
He frowned a little, as well he might—he would have run for the hills if he’d known what she had in mind. And she wasn’t in a much better state. Her breathing had sped up. Her heart was beating so fast and loud she was sure he could hear it. This was huge, and once she spoke the words out loud—if, if he agreed, the die was set.
‘Of course—go ahead,’ he said indulgently, not suspecting for a moment what she had in mind. ‘You’ve had a bit of practice, after all—the ice cream,’ he reminded her. ‘Well? What’s your toast?’
She took a deep breath and then just spat it out. ‘I think we should get married.’
Xavier’s eyes widened. ‘I beg your pardon?’ he said faintly. ‘Am I imagining things, or did you just propose marriage?’
‘That’s exactly what I said,’ she confirmed.
He looked incredulous.
‘It would solve all our problems,’ she said. ‘Yours especially,’ she hurried on, ‘so it seems to me to be the sensible thing to do—’
‘Sensible?’ His expression was incredulous as he raked his hair.
‘Yes—shall we sit down?’ she suggested. ‘There are quite a lot of things to discuss.’
‘You don’t say?’
The look on Xavier’s face suggested the world and everything in it had gone mad. He must be shocked, Rosie reasoned as she crossed the room to sit on the sofa.
‘Please,’ she said, injecting her voice with what she hoped was the correct amount of supplication. ‘Won’t you join me?’
Xavier’s face was a grim mask when he came to sit across from her. ‘Go on,’ he prompted with a wave of his hand.
‘You need an heir or you’ll lose your half of the island to me, and unless you’ve got someone in mind—’
‘I don’t.’
‘Then...’
‘Better the devil I know?’ he suggested grimly.
‘You can’t buy me out, you should know that by now, and if we marry you get to keep your share.’
‘What’s in it for you?’
‘Everything,’ she said bluntly. And nothing, she thought. ‘A secure future for the island,’ she went on. ‘We can’t leave the islanders wondering if they have a future with you, or with me. They need certainty, as I think you pointed out. And how can you risk your investment without that same guarantee?’
This wasn’t the romantic marriage proposal she had imagined as a child. This was a cold-blooded transaction of a type that was Xavier’s speciality. She hoped it would appeal to his logical mind. She had no hope at all that it would appeal to his romantic nature, as he didn’t have one.
‘Marriage would put us on equal footing,’ she explained, ‘and it would open doors that have been slammed in my face. I’d be able to help the islanders—really help them. You’ve seen how people react to me. No one wanted to speak to me at the party unless you were at my side, or Margaret was introducing me around. This would give me credibility, an equal say in what happens to the island, and it would give you the heir you need to keep the island.’ Her stomach tightened on the words. The thought of sex with Xavier was the most terrifying prospect, but as she had so far failed to find an alternative—
‘I can see that it would help you,’ he said coldly.
‘And you,’ she insisted, ignoring the chill in his eyes. ‘So, will you consider my suggestion?’
She had no idea what Xavier was thinking as he stared into the fire. Her best guess was that this was Xavier the businessman, weighing up the odds.
‘I can’t believe you’re serious about this,’ he said, looking round at last.
‘You’d have my full cooperation,’ she stressed, sensing the faintest of possibilities that he might say yes.
‘I would certainly expect your cooperation in bed.’
Her heart clenched tight.
‘I have a rather tight schedule to meet.’
It lurched, but she held her nerve. ‘I hope we’d work together in every way.’
‘I’d make sure of it,’ he said without a scrap of warmth.
It was time to close the deal. She knew nothing about such things, and was firing on instinct. She surprised herself with how unemotional she could be when so much was at stake. ‘This is for b
oth of us,’ she said levelly. ‘Without marriage to me, the risk of losing your inheritance is very real for you, and I know the island means a lot to you, in spite of what you say. Isla Del Rey is as special to you as it is to me. You might have all the power and influence in the world, but without my cooperation in this one thing, your plans are stalled.’
‘What do you know of marriage? Very little, I think,’ he went on without waiting for her to answer. ‘Marriage brings nothing but unhappiness. Wedlock is well named, in case you didn’t know. People enter into marriage with expectations—or, in your case, dreams—and when they find it can never match up to these fictions, what follows is misery for all concerned.’
‘In your case, maybe,’ she protested.
‘Can you quote a single instance where I’m wrong?’ Xavier demanded. ‘No. I didn’t think so. You don’t have a clue. And as for this heir Doña Anna has insisted I must provide. My aunt has gone down in my estimation. I would have thought that she, of all people, would understand that having a child in the middle of a loveless marriage denies that child the right to happiness, and that it colours the rest of their life.’
‘Only if they allow it to,’ she said, sensing Xavier was talking about himself.
‘And what would you know about it, when you have no experience of relationships—none at all.’
‘Except with your aunt,’ she said steadily. ‘And whatever you think of me, or Doña Anna, I will not break my promise to keep her island safe. And, yes, you’re right in saying I don’t have any experience of marriage, or happy-ever-after. I didn’t have any experience of love until I came to the island and met Doña Anna, but one thing you must know with absolute certainty is that if I have a child I will love that child with all my heart, and I will never abandon it as you were abandoned. You need an heir, but you’re sure you’ll fail as a father, as you were failed by your parents, but why would that happen?’
‘You’re so sure of everything,’ he said.
‘Yes, I am. I have to be. I’ve had to be positive, or I’d still be back in the institution. Just think how you’re loved on the island, and the love that’s waiting for that child. Everyone hopes you’ll return to Isla Del Rey one day, and that hope has no strings attached, or documents to sign, and nothing to be gained by the islanders, other than the rightness of you being back amongst people who love you. And I’ll tell you something else—’
A Diamond for Del Rio's Housekeeper Page 9
