The Cattle King's Bride

by Margaret Way

  “Wait up a moment, Amelia,” he called, moving quickly to the foot of the curving staircase. He was determined to have a moment alone with her, though he knew he had to be careful. Langdon could just knock his block off. Langdon, the king of the castle! Amelia seemed to be a bit of a craze with him. Her story ran parallel to her mother’s. Luke had often fantasized about Amelia. She was hot when his Ava was cool to the point of frigid. Who knew, Amelia might be able to slot him in somewhere? Langdon was on Kooraki. She worked in Sydney with Greshams. Greshams was very hard to get into. She had to be smart. A smart girl could juggle any number of men.

  * * *

  Mel tried hard to control her irritation. Why on earth was Luke running after her? He would only be stirring up trouble. She knew he found her attractive. It actually made her feel sick the way he made a beeline for her whenever they happened to meet up at functions, dinner parties or the odd occasion when he invited himself to lunch with Ava and her. Her instincts told her he was fully prepared to betray Ava with a little something on the side. Maybe he had brainwashed himself into thinking she might be agreeable. Men of all ages thought no woman they were interested in could turn them down.

  Keep it low-key. A few civil words, then be on your way.

  His tone was low, openly admiring. “You look wonderful!” Luke mounted two of the steps.

  “You look well, too, Luke,” she responded coolly. “Is there something you wanted to see me about?”

  “Well, I rarely get to see you.” He smiled. “I’d love to catch up. That’s all.” While he spoke, his green and gold-flecked eyes were moving over her in a way she really disliked. “Maybe you could come back downstairs so we can talk.”

  “I think not,” Mel said, roused by the sound of voices inside the library. “You and I haven’t much to talk about, Luke.” She kept a watchful eye over his head for either Dev or Ava, though she knew both had been deep in conversation with their parents when she had left the room.

  “Sure we do,” he responded with a bright smile. He had excellent white teeth, cosmetically enhanced. “Why don’t you visit us more often?” he asked. “Ava and I really value your friendship.”

  “Ava and I like to catch up without you,” Amelia said briskly. “Ava’s not a fool, Luke. Far from it. She knows about your roving eye.”

  He appeared flustered. “You never told her?”

  “What do you take me for?” Mel retorted, her voice sharp with contempt. “There’s no use your pursuing me, Luke. We both know what this is all about. You fancy me.”

  “God, yes!” he groaned. “We could be careful.” He snaked out a hand to take her wrist, his thumb savouring the satin texture of her skin.

  She peeled his hand away, feeling repulsed. The urge to slap his smug face was so irresistible, she had a job controlling herself.

  “Your father has the reputation around town for being a womanizer. Following in his footsteps, are we?” she asked, raising supercilious brows.

  Luke only laughed. His good-looking face assumed a knowing expression. “Name me any top businessman in the city who doesn’t have his bit on the side. It’s the way of the world, Amelia. You know that. Doesn’t your precious Dev have his affairs? It was really hotting up there with Megan Kennedy. I was told that for a fact. Only something went wrong. I figure he’s going for the little redhead these days. What’s her name, Siobhan O’Hare? Or don’t you know what’s going on, my beautiful dear thing? You’re on the market, aren’t you? There aren’t going to be any miracles for you, Amelia. My wife and I do discuss family matters, or did you think we didn’t? I know you and Dev have had a thing going for years, but it’s never simple, is it? In the family’s eyes, you and little Siobhan aren’t in the same class.”

  Mel couldn’t control her emotional reaction. “Goodbye, Luke,” she said with tight control.

  “Ah, Amelia, now you’re cross with me. I didn’t have to spell it out, did I? You know the score.” He kept following her up the stairs.

  Mel swirled round. “Get lost, Luke. You disgust me.”

  “I can live with it,” Luke persisted, lost in an agony of lust. His gaze slipped down over her. He loved the way her black dress curved around her body like the petals of a tulip. Her breasts were so beautiful. Any man’s eyes would linger on their shape and fullness. He could feel himself hardening, pent up and excited. “Can I help it if I want you?”

  “Any woman is for sale?” Mel was on the point of pushing him back down the stairs.

  He gave a throaty chuckle, sickeningly, amazingly confident. “You’re not as indifferent to me as you like to make out, Amelia. Don’t go silent on me. We go back a long way.” He caught her arm.

  “Personally, I prefer to forget that,” she said sharply, unaware she was grinding her teeth.

  “Yeah, well—” Luke’s face contorted. “We didn’t get far, did we? I was drunk—”

  He got no further as a man’s voice sliced through the air with all the menace of a hurled knife.

  “Let her go, Selwyn.”

  Luke flushed alarmingly. He was instantly aware of his precarious position. He released his grip on Mel, exaggerating his jump back from her, only to lose his balance. He wobbled dangerously before bracing an arm on the balustrade. Even then he landed with a stagger on a lower step of the stairs.

  “That was super, Luke!” Mel said with contempt. “Do it again.”

  Only it was no time for levity. Dev was walking towards them, an electrifying figure, six foot three of hard muscle with the physical strength Luke Selwyn couldn’t hope to match. The expression on his face said furious.

  With difficulty, Luke Selwyn swivelled to face his brother-in-law, hastily arranging his handsome features into what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Slow down, man. I was just having a few words with Amelia. Don’t get to see her often.”

  “So what were you saying she didn’t like?” Dev snapped back, blue-green eyes slitted, his voice so hard Luke felt desperate to be on his way.

  “Nothing really, Dev.”

  Mel, too, experienced a wave of alarm. Dev’s expression was so formidable anything could happen. He moved nearer Luke, his right fist clenched. Mel gave a stifled gasp. “Everything’s okay, Dev.” She was aware of the flush of blood beneath his dark golden skin. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Dev looked perilously close to knocking his brother-in-law to the floor.

  Luke must have felt the same because he was focusing all his attention on getting away. “Sorry if you got the wrong idea, Dev.”

  “You would be the one to be sorry,” Dev ground out.

  It was appallingly clear to Mel that Dev didn’t seem to be looking for an alternative to beating his brother-in-law up. The only one who could probably put a stop to this was Ava, Mel thought. She rushed down the stairs. She had to calm the situation. Then, like a miracle, Ava appeared, regarding the fixed tableau with anxious, even appalled eyes.

  For a long moment there was an aching stillness, then Ava spoke. “Whatever is the matter?” She stared at each one in turn, the expression on her lovely face strained.

  Luke took the heaven-sent opportunity to rush to his wife’s side, while Mel offered a halfway plausible explanation, keeping her tone light. “Luke came a mite too close to taking a tumble down the stairs.”

  “Gave me a bit of a fright,” Luke blurted, looking the very picture of white-faced innocence. “That’s never happened to me before.”

  Was Ava going to swallow it? Mel asked herself, holding her breath. Ava was no one’s fool.

  “Always a first time,” Ava retorted, sounding all of a sudden extremely brisk. “Okay, then. I’m going up to our room. Come with me, Luke. Your face has gone pale.”

  “Shock,” he said with more a rictus than a smile on his handsome face. “It’s a wonder I didn’t twist my ankle.”

  “That would have been rough,” Dev cut in suavely. “Better watch it next time.”

  Ava shot a swift searching look at her brother, then
she took her husband’s arm, steering him towards the staircase. “Can we meet up in an hour, Mel?” she asked over her shoulder.

  “Sure. Come to my room. We can have coffee on the balcony.”

  “I’ll be there,” Ava confirmed.

  Dev waited until his sister and her husband had disappeared before asking the inevitable question. “What was that all about?” His brows were drawn together.

  Mel tried for flippancy. “Beats the hell out of me!”

  “That guy is unbelievable,” Dev said grimly.

  “That he is. I thought for a moment there you were going to challenge him to a sword fight.”

  Dev wasn’t in the mood for jokes. “He always did fancy you,” he said, rocketing back into anger.

  “Please!” Mel shuddered.

  “I know all the signs,” Dev continued. “Lust.”

  Mel tried to keep calm. “I won’t take that personally.”

  He looked at her, making a big effort to calm his feelings. “You’re a powerfully sensual woman, Mel. You create excitement.”

  “Thanks a lot. So it’s my fault?” Her volatile temper sparked.

  “Of course.” This time he answered smoothly, with a hint of humour. He lifted her face to his, planting a staggeringly erotic kiss on her mouth.

  “Dev, I’m thinking someone might come.” Startled, her senses swirling, she drew back.

  “I thought about it. So?” His jewellike eyes glittered. It came to Mel, not for the first time, one needed great eyes to be truly charismatic.

  “So there’s enough talk as it is.” She lifted a finger to her pulsing mouth. She didn’t think she could exist without Dev’s kisses but she wasn’t about to tell him that. She had to keep her passions well below the surface. Become adept at it like her mother. “I’m trying to be as unobtrusive as possible.”

  He laughed briefly. “You don’t do unobtrusive, Mel.”

  “I don’t flaunt myself, either,” she shot back.

  “Selwyn thinks you do.” His voice held a faint taunt. “It’s like a damned soap opera around here.”

  “And it’s not a joke, Dev.”

  “Who said anything about a joke?”

  “You’re forever winding me up.”

  He gave her the smile that was her undoing. “God knows that’s easy enough. You don’t just jump to conclusions, Mel. You take quantum leaps.”

  Who knew better than he? “I think I’m functioning reasonably well, thank you.”

  “You’re functioning extremely well, but you do admit you have problems, Mel. Consequently, we have problems. Life for us has been one seething cauldron of emotion.”

  “Families are the great cauldron for brewing up trouble,” she reminded him. “Especially your family.”

  Dev’s handsome face darkened. “Don’t forget Sarina.” He had a mad impulse to say more but held himself in tight check. Sarina Norton, that strange woman, had always had her own agenda. “You couldn’t beat Granddad for delivering seismic shocks. He looked after Sarina exceedingly well. Apparently, the going wages of sin these days is twenty million dollars. But hey, it’s good to progress in life,” he tacked on satirically.

  “You don’t beat about the bush, do you?”

  “Do I ever?”

  The air around them had heated up. Nothing new. “Rumour has now become fact. It’s abundantly clear to us all my mother looked after your grandfather pretty well.”

  “Looking after a man will do it every time,” Dev offered very dryly.

  “Is that what you want from the woman in your life, Dev?” She stared up at him.

  “I always thought you were the woman in my life,” he answered, as cool as you pleased. “Are you or aren’t you?”

  She looked away. “Maybe I’ve got to be a habit.”

  “Absolutely fine with me,” Dev responded in his maddening fashion. “I have to say your mother is a piece of work. She didn’t even officially quit. She just downed tools.”

  Mel couldn’t suppress a moan. “I don’t know what to say to that except I’m sorry. But really, what did you expect? You don’t often meet a housekeeper who knows in advance she’ll have millions in the piggy bank. There’s a lesson in it for us all. It pays to keep your mouth shut. Now I’m continuing upstairs, Dev. We’re well on the way to having one of our monumental blues. I’d say in the next few seconds.”

  “A blue works for me.” Dev took a gentle but firm hold of her arm. “However, I appeal to you not to start one. Especially with a house full of people. You’re not the only one to find this whole situation both embarrassing and humiliating. Then today of all days, with Ava only a short distance away in the library, the lecher Selwyn decides to chat you up.”

  Mel relaxed slightly. “He’s the sort who likes to chat women up,” she said. “Luke thinks he’s a real stud. It’s the high-end ego thing. Mercifully, you don’t have it.”

  “Excuse me!” Dev looked affronted.

  Mel could only manage a wry laugh. For all he had going for him, Dev had absolutely no narcissistic leanings. “Put it down to the fact he’d had a few drinks,” she said. “There’s no need for concern.”

  “But there is!” Dev insisted. “Let’s go outside.”

  “Why?” She made a show of resistance, just for the hell of it.

  “I said so. Look, Mel, in a minute or so they’ll come streaming out of the library. I don’t want to be here.” He began to steer her away. “Selwyn knows what will happen if he bothers you again, but it’s Ava I’m worried about. The sooner Ava gets rid of him the better. There’s time. She’s young. She can start again.”

  “I’m sure he doesn’t want that,” Mel said, believing it to be true.

  “He doesn’t love her,” Dev muttered grimly.

  Mel sighed. “I don’t know if he’s capable of it. But I do know he’s peacock proud of her. Ava is very beautiful—”

  “And she’s very rich,” Dev added with a blaze of temper. “She wants to talk to you. You have a chance to find out if being married to Selwyn is what she really wants. If she wants out, then she simply has to say so. He won’t be getting his hands on her money. Grandfather insisted on an iron-clad pre-nuptial agreement. I don’t want to see my beautiful sister locked into an unhappy marriage. I’ve seen first-hand what unhappy marriages can do. At least there isn’t a child to worry about. There’s been quite enough unhappiness,” he stated bluntly.

  “Another good reason to hate the rich,” she only half joked.

  “Granddad’s solicitor is the only one not in shock,” he said wryly.

  “I imagine he’s used to shocks. It must happen a lot when wills are read. I’m so glad your grandfather looked after Ava. A woman needs her own money.”

  Dev gave a short laugh. “I agree. You stand on your own two feet, Mel. Ava has always admired you for that. She envies your achievements.”

  Mel shook her head. “I haven’t set the world on fire. I’m no brain surgeon. By the way, I don’t intend keeping the money your grandfather left me.”

  “Disgusted, are you, with your lot?”

  Mel ignored the taunt. “I’m going to give it to organizations that really need it. I have charities I support.”

  Dev frowned. “But it’s not much, surely, Mel? Think about it,” he said seriously. “You can always make donations as you see fit.”

  “And I see fit to give away the lot. Why is it the truly rich don’t seem to know they’re rich?’

  “I suppose they don’t know any different. Dad didn’t seem perturbed Granddad handed over the reins to me.”

  “I guess he saw it coming. We both know your father looked on the top job as an intolerable burden. Now he can live the life he wants. Your mother wants to come back to him. He certainly wants her.”

  “So at least one good thing has come out of all this.”

  * * *

  They had moved out of the Garden Room, filled with a cornucopia of luxuriant plants and golden canes in huge planters, into a private walled
garden. The heady swirl of fragrances acted as stimuli for the senses. Butterflies and dragonflies in a kaleidoscope of colours hovered over the abundance of blooms, near drowning in the nectar. The sky, even at late afternoon, was still a glorious dense blue, trailing silky white ribbons of cirrus cloud. Above them a great wedge-tailed eagle patrolled his domain. The sun beat down hot. A magnificent electric-pink bougainvillea streamed gracefully over the top of the trellis and through its walls, golden sunlight shafting through it here and there. Dev broke off a papery pink flower and pushed it into the gleaming dark coil at Mel’s nape. “The amount of time we’ve wasted,” he mused with deep regret.

  “I don’t blame you if you’re tired of it all, Dev. The conflicts have affected me far more than you. You came from a position of strength. I didn’t. We’ve both admitted we had a passing fear we could be related by blood.”

  “Do you think I don’t know how much that’s preyed on your mind?” Dev said. “Gregory, for all his sins, was not your father. None of us believed it. Not even my grandmother, no matter what she implied. One thing alone, the timing was way too tight. Are we to believe his passion for Sarina was so overwhelming he took her, a newly married young woman, virtually on sight?”

  “There have been such cases,” she said with a dismal laugh. “You mustn’t forget how many dreadful encounters I had with Mireille. My mother seemed impervious to the endless humiliations Mireille heaped on her. I wasn’t. And I was only a child.”

  “A child who possessed a high degree of fearlessness and integrity. If you really want to lay every last fear to rest we can always undergo DNA testing. Just say the word.”

  “And thereby slay the dragon.”

  “It would deal with your last vestige of doubt.”

  “I don’t have any,” she said, shaking her head.

  “Neither do I.”

  “It was just one of my neuroses.”

  “My grandmother had a lot to answer for,” he said grimly. “She tried to poison your mind.”