Mistaken Mistress

by Margaret Way

  “Of course, I’m sorry. Go to bed, darling. Have a good sleep. Tomorrow I thought we might all go out on the boat. Suit you, Lang?”

  “Fine.” There was warmth in Lang’s voice. “By the way on this night of nights I have a suggestion for the name of the country club.”

  “It looks like absolute heaven,” Eden said, sincerely. Her eyes made one final sweep over Lang’s tall elegant figure. He had removed his black tie, and his white collar was open, exposing the dark gold of his throat.

  His expression was near to triumphant. “That’s it exactly. Lake Eden. Do you like that?”

  Owen’s dark eyes sparkled with surprised delight. “Lake Eden?” He tried it on his tongue. Came to a conclusion. “If you ask me it’s perfect.”

  “I rather liked Emerald Cove,” Delma said frankly, referring to a former suggestion.

  Owen looked at her in faint exasperation. “Lake Eden it is. Right, Lang?”

  “Like you, I think it’s perfect. What about you, Eden?” He stood looking at her with a strange intensity.

  Her eyes held a trace of embarrassment. She loved the name, but surely Delma had a right to her choice? Sometimes her father could be much too crisp with his wife. Too authoritarian. Maybe it was the age difference. She felt for Delma.

  “Well?” Owen prompted as Eden remained silent.

  “It’s wonderful, Dad. I’m honoured.” She went to him, kissed his cheek, standing on tiptoe to do it, then she moved towards Lang who thrilled her by putting out his arm and gathering her to his side.

  “Lord, what a night it’s been!” he said, wishing with every fibre he could simply carry Eden off, her beautiful dark head a weight against his heart. But he had nowhere to take her but the guest room in her father’s house. Hell, hell, hell, he thought thickly. He willed himself to let her go and briefly kissed her cheek. All pure. My God! He walked to the bottom of the staircase, taking a last long look at her as she said goodnight. Kissing her was such a powerful punishment when he was desperate for so much more. Owen would probably have him in jail if he knew his thoughts.

  In the soft opulence of her bedroom Eden too was lost in her own erotic dream. She undressed slowly, lingeringly, her body reliving deeply those minutes on the terrace when their passion had burned like a flame. She had wanted Lang to take her back to his room. Take her to his bed. She knew he would be the most marvellous lover. She touched the tips of her breasts, fingers stroking. Her nipples were so sensitive they still retained a residue of that fantastic sensation. She wondered what it would be like to have his hands on her naked. Utterly wonderful!

  She walked over to a bowl of red roses, sank her face in their fragrance. She had the most powerful urge to wait until the household had retired then find her way along the hallway to the west wing. Her ache for him was so bad it amounted to real pain.

  How would he greet her, the man with the silver eyes?

  Would he look at her as though she was just another woman he could easily seduce?

  Would he look at her with love and desire? Her fingers trembled as she stared down at them. She bit her lip realizing there was no cure for what she had. Her long hair fell loosely over her shoulder and she threw it back impatiently. He’d felt as she did. She knew it. Her skin still carried the scent of his. Her mouth still bore the imprint of his. His caressing hands had left a searing trail of stars.

  Eden moved to the doorway, looked up at the huge copper moon. The moon of the tropics.

  Dream of me, she whispered. As I’ll dream of you.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  EDEN awoke with a start. Someone was tickling her ear. She stared up into a dear little face.

  “Robbie, love!” She sat up quickly in bed, feeling the least bit giddy. “What time is it?”

  “Sunup,” he said cheerfully, climbing into bed beside her. “How was the party?”

  “Wonderful, wonderful!” She drew him into a cuddle. “You saw the guests arrive?”

  “Some of them. Mummy made me go to bed. She’s always fussin’.”

  “Well it was getting late. But there are some lovely things to eat left over and Dad is going to take us out on the boat later on.”

  “They’re asleep.” Robbie flopped onto the pillow. “Mummy saw me but she told me to go back to bed. She was cross.”

  “I’ll bet! It’s only six o’clock.”

  “You’re not tired, are you?” Robbie turned to stare at her appealingly.

  “Strangely enough, no. Not now that I’m awake.”

  “Did Uncle Lang stay over?” Robbie asked hopefully. “He always does.”

  “Yes, he did.”

  “Oh great! He lets me do things. I wish I had a Dad like that.”

  Eden felt a state of dismay. “But you love Dad, Robbie?”

  “Sure I do but he’s always busy. He never seems to take much notice of me.”

  “Well we’ll have to slow him down,” Eden said. “Dads have to do things with their kids.”

  “Right-on!” Robbie put up a hand to slap a high-five. “What say we go for a walk on the beach? I could bring my beach ball.”

  “Great!” Eden pulled herself up. “Go get dressed and meet me back here. I’ll throw a few things on.”

  “Cool!”

  Morning was a sunburst of beauty. The breeze soft and warm, the sparkling sea, blue in all its facets; royal, turquoise, sapphire, transparent aquamarine in the shallows. A feathery line of white surf broke on the shore and the water was surprisingly cold on their bare feet. The horseshoe-shaped curve of the cove was bordered by a wide stretch of pure, unspoiled, almost bone-white sand, behind that ranks of tall coconut trees their large fronds making a clacking noise as the wind sailed through them.

  In the distance she heard music. Rock music.

  Eden felt so happy she started to dance. Robbie joined in with all the joy only children possess. “Isn’t this great! Isn’t this great!” he cried, racing up to hug her before resuming his dance.

  Seagulls circled and milled. Robbie clapped his hands, calling to Eden to witness the progress of some hunting porpoise further out in the dazzling blue water.

  “Look at them. Up and down. Up and down. They won’t hurt you. Neither will the dolphins. We never see sharks.” He raced to the water’s edge, cheeks glowing, the breeze whipping through his curls.

  What a dear little boy he is, Eden thought with a lift of the heart. My brother. She would have given anything for Lang to be there on the beach with them. It would make things perfect. He made her feel so romantic she marvelled at it. Though she had gone to sleep breathing his name, his phantom lips against her skin, she had sunk into a dreamless sleep as though her feelings were too perilously intense and had to be shut down.

  She stared back at the house. He should be up soon. Hopefully he would catch sight of them from his bedroom balcony. She could see herself waving to him, in delight.

  Join me. Join me.

  Robbie called to her, bringing her out of her reverie. She had been led to believe Robbie had been spoilt by his mother. Perhaps he was. She knew Delma was more than a little phobic about her son’s safety, but essentially Robbie was a very nice, good-hearted, child who was coming to confide in her. She took his comment about their father not giving him enough time very seriously. Owen, before she had come into his life, must have been a lonely being, wary of letting others into his heart though it was obvious he thought the world of Lang. But that was another man. A partner. An equal. Owen had to find more time for his little son. Also he might start telling his wife he loved her. That would be a start. It had struck Eden forcibly that insecurity was at the root of Delma’s problems. She could empathize with it.

  But after last night, her thoughts couldn’t stay away from Lang. She seemed to be powerless against him. She curved her fingers around a beautiful smooth shell. Was that a good thing to feel powerless? To give one man so much dominance? Yet she was permitting it, aware she had fallen passionately in love. Separation from Lang would be
a traumatic experience. In a way, more traumatic than intermittent separations from her father and Robbie. She seriously doubted her ability to take any more heartbreak. So why had she laid her heart wide open? It was so strange, when for so many years of her life she had depended on no one. Not her despairing mother. Not her grandfather. Certainly not Redmond Sinclair. Maybe she had been starved of emotional attachment.

  Lang was such a dynamic person. And so sexual. Her cheeks blushed hot. Going beyond caring about anyone or anything would have been unthinkable for her once. But then she’d never been trapped in such rapture before. She’d been kissed, caressed and touched of course. She wasn’t a virgin. She’d had two fairly serious relationships, truly caring at the time, but in retrospect…unmemorable. Even to kiss Lang brought such completeness, such intensity. Nothing held back. It was extravagantly seductive. So much so she was frightened she could be getting herself into something so far over her head it might damage her. She had always been a whole person, her objectives clear, whether her studies or relationships in general. She had never played at romance. Her two relationships had advanced considerably before she consented to intimacy. Now she was confronted by a man whose sexuality was so much a part of his personality it overwhelmed her. That put her at some peril. She’d seen how much Lara Hansen cared for him. Probably Lara had shared his bed, but she hadn’t stolen his heart.

  Did he have a heart to steal?

  They stayed on the beach for anything up to an hour. She wasn’t sure. She wasn’t wearing her watch. She’d barely had time to pull on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt before Robbie had raced back into her room, similarly attired except for the red baseball cap which he wore, like the other kids, back to front.

  It was hunger that finally got him. He ran out of the water, whooping for joy.

  “Cake,” he shrieked. “That’s what I want. A piece of party cake.”

  “You can’t be serious?”

  “Yes.” He beamed at her and squeezed her hand. “Isn’t this lovely to have a sister? I can tell you everything. Please don’t go away.”

  “Back to Brisbane you mean?”

  Robbie yanked on her hand. “It’s much better when you’re here. Dad laughs a lot.”

  Eden tickled him, picking on a popular TV ad. “That’s because he’s getting in touch with his feminine side.”

  That struck Robbie as very funny. He kept laughing while they climbed the long flight of steps that led to the home grounds.

  After such fun, on such a piercingly beautiful day, Eden was stunned when Delma came flying through one of the French doors, demanding to know where they had been. Delma was even moved to get hold of Robbie’s small shoulders, giving them a shake. “Don’t ever go anywhere without telling me,” she cried, wheeling him around to face her.

  “Delma, we were only down on the beach!” Eden protested, positioning herself beside Robbie. “If you’d walked over to the cliff edge you could have seen us clearly.”

  “That’s beside the point.” Delma’s voice was pitched high enough to bring her husband out of the house, followed by Lang, both men looking incredulous.

  “Delma, what’s the matter?” Owen loomed up, a big man looking fiercely impatient.

  “I’ve had such a fright,” she said, turning around to face him. “I expected to find Roberto in bed. Eden had him out on the beach without telling me. I would have thought after last night she would sleep in.”

  “Well she didn’t,” Robbie shouted back, catching his mother’s tone. “Eden is my friend.”

  “Be quiet, Roberto,” Delma chided.

  Robbie retaliated by stamping on his mother’s toe. “Let go.”

  “How dare you!” Delma slapped him in outrage, little more than a tap, but the child dissolved into torrential tears.

  “Look I’m sorry about this, Delma,” Eden apologised, thinking Delma’s behaviour was way over the top. “Robbie came to my room to see if I was awake. I was, so we went down to the beach where we’ve had a very nice time. Surely that’s no cause for alarm?”

  “It’s perfectly normal,” Owen said wearily. “Only Del likes to work herself up into a lather the instant Robbie’s out of her sight.”

  Delma stared at him mortified. “I would have expected you to leave a message with Maria, Eden. She’s always up and about.”

  “I’ll do it next time, Delma, I promise.”

  “Leave Eden alone!” Robbie stopped his tears to bristle. “She’s my sister.”

  It was Lang who shushed him. “Come on, Robbie, what say I give you a piggy-back into the house? You must be ready for breakfast?”

  “What I want is party cake,” Robbie told him, diverted to happiness.

  “Yeah, well.” Lang swung the child onto his shoulders. “Come with us, Eden.” His voice was carefully controlled, but he was angry with Delma. She’d have to get her paranoia under control. Eden had gone very pale. That disturbed and upset him.

  “You go. I’ll be in presently,” she said. “I want to admire the sea vista.” She knew Lang was aware Delma had upset her. She could see the fine blaze in his eyes.

  “I think I’ll give my boy a good talking to,” Owen frowned. “I can’t have him actually attacking his mother.”

  “Honestly, Owen, he only stood on my toe.” Delma sprang to her son’s defence.

  “The next time it might be a kick in the shins. I plan to head it off. Coming?” He reached out an imperative arm to his wife.

  “In a moment. I want to explain myself to Eden. She doesn’t know what it’s like to be a mother.”

  “While you’re at it explain what else is bothering you,” Owen clipped off.

  While her husband moved off Delma turned to Eden. “I’m sorry if I upset you, Eden. It’s just that I always exercise caution with Roberto.”

  “Over-exercise, Delma,” Eden suggested quietly, thinking she should be frank. “Forgive me for pointing it out. Had it been Lang who had taken Robbie out it would have been perfectly all right. But you resent me. I know you’ve been doing your best to hide it but I can see it gnawing away at you.”

  It was the time for truth. Both women knew it. “Wouldn’t you be resentful in my position?” Delma asked.

  “I’ve thought through your point of view, Delma. I know your fears, but the reality is you don’t have legitimate grievances. Dad wasn’t unfaithful to you. He was in love with my mother long before he ever met you. It’s not like I’m trying to divert his love and attention. I love Robbie already. And this is only a holiday for me!”

  “You don’t expect me to believe that.” Delma looked off to the sparkling blue sea. “You know it. I know it. You’re staying. Don’t think I haven’t noticed this little thing you and Lang have going.”

  “What Lang does isn’t your business,” Eden pointed out.

  Delma had the grace to blush. “So he’s sexy, vibrant and handsome. Don’t you realise you could be just another experience for him? Over before it’s begun.”

  “Again none of your business,” Eden said quietly. “I’m a woman, twenty-four years old. I’ll make my own mistakes. Let’s forget this conversation.”

  Delma bridled. “You must consider I’m older than you, and a whole lot wiser. Also I’ve known Lang a long time. I can give you advice. All the women fall for him. Lara has had more success than the others. I don’t want to see Owen’s daughter hurt.” Neither did she want to see Lang and Eden forge a relationship with Owen’s blessing that might threaten Robbie’s future. So many fronts to cover!

  “Leave it to me, will you, Delma,” Eden said with exaggerated calm. “I don’t need your advice.”

  “I suppose you intend to go to your father?” Delma questioned, a strange appeal in her eyes.

  “Calm down, Delma. I’m not going anywhere,” Eden said. “You don’t need me to put Dad off side. You’re doing the job well enough yourself.”

  Eden was sitting on a stone bench looking sightlessly out to sea when Lang quietly joined her. “What was that al
l about?” He reached for her hand.

  “You’re the expert on Delma,” she returned.

  Lang studied her profile, seeing clearly she was upset. With no make-up—she didn’t need it—her hair wild and loose around her face, her light-limbed body clad in a casual top and brief shorts, she looked about fifteen. “We all know she’s a little paranoid about Robbie,” he commented dryly. “She never lets him out of her sight.”

  “A little paranoid.” Eden pulled her hand away impelled by the warring forces within her. She began to curl the ends of her hair abstractedly. It was a habit she’d long since grown out of.

  “I think it will come to a head pretty soon.” Lang flung both his long arms over the back of the bench, his tone wry. “Owen has had enough.”

  Small wonder!

  For a moment they sat, side by side, in silence.

  “I’ve said all along I don’t want to come between them.” Eden, on this beautiful morning, was unable to lay down her tension. “It’s obvious Delma is terrified I will.”

  “She has an insecurity problem. But why the hell talk about Delma? I’m more interested in us.” He looked her directly in the eyes so she flushed. “We made a little love last night, remember?”

  “I remember.” Indeed she would never forget.

  “Did you dream of me?”

  She gave a soft sigh. “I sensed you near me every second until I shut my eyes.”

  “And?” His eyes sparkled in the morning light.

  “Then I fell into a deep dreamless sleep.”

  “So you wouldn’t have heard me if I came knocking softly on your door?” He picked up her hand and pressed his mouth to her wrist. “I want you fiercely.”

  “For how long?” she asked, plaintively, perversely influenced by Delma’s remarks. “I think I need a little protection from you.”

  He laughed briefly. “You surely can’t be suggesting I’m some kind of a predator?”

  “I know you’re capable of taking a woman captive.” She flushed and looked away.