Carol gave him a hard look, but suddenly her face seemed to crumple and she exclaimed in a broken voice, 'Oh, James, how could you come here and do this to me after all we meant to each other?' And then she turned and ran towards the house.
The remembered pain of her own broken love affair came back to her and Romily made to move away from him, but James held her back. 'No, don't run away.' He turned her to face him. 'You mustn't believe her, darling. We didn't mean anything to each other. Carol was bored. Gerald was away on business a lot and she was fed up being alone here with just a young child and her old father for company. She felt that her youth was passing and she wanted some excitement, some romance, if you like. So she threw herself at my head.' He shrugged. 'I'm not making any excuses for myself, but I was young, and when an older woman makes it more than clear that she fancies you… well, you tend to take advantage of your good luck. Or that's what it seemed like at the time.'
'How did Gerald find out?'
He gave a harsh laugh. 'Carol found it necessary to confess to him.'
'Oh!'
'Quite,' he agreed. 'As she must have known, he was the jealous type and created a hell of a fuss, so that in no time at all the whole of Inverness knew about it. Looking back,' he said musingly, 'I think that's why she told him. She wanted everyone to know that she was still capable of pulling a younger lover. And I was fool enough to fall for it,' he added with bitter self-mockery.
Romily moved restlessly and walked a little away from him, turning so that she was looking out over the moonlit waters of the lake. 'Where did you— where did you take her?' she asked hollowly.
Coming up behind her, James put his hands on her waist and bent to kiss her neck. 'The boathouse wasn't even built then,' he assured her, and went on kissing down her bare back almost to her waist. 'Carol was just—part of growing up, experience. While you…' He turned her round to face him. 'You are everything I've ever wanted. The one girl I've been hoping and longing for all my life. And I've been waiting so long, my darling, so very long.' Bending his head, he took her lips in a long, sensuous kiss, holding her close to his body, his hands gently stroking her back. They kissed in the moonlight, and James only lifted his head when someone opened a window in the house and they heard the blare of music and noise. 'We'd better go in,' he said thickly. 'You're shivering.'
She smiled. 'No, it's not because I'm cold.' She put her arms round his waist and they stood in each other's arms. 'You still haven't told me,' she reminded him. 'Where did you take Carol?'
'To the house on the island.'
She looked at him with startled eyes. 'So that's why you wouldn't take me there?'
He nodded. 'And why I seldom go there myself. It has no pleasant memories for me. Come on, sweetheart, let's go in. I want them all to see I'm with you. That's why I came tonight.'
'Yes, in a minute. But, James, why didn't you tell me about this yourself? Why let me find out this way?'
'If I'd told you at the beginning—would you have gone on seeing me?'
She hesitated, then shook her head doubtfully. 'No, I don't think so.'
'I'm sure you wouldn't. Especially when it was so obvious that you were getting over someone else. And I didn't want to spoil things for us, didn't want you thinking about Carol and me together all the time.'
'But I was bound to find out sooner or later,' Romily objected.
'Yes, but not until we'd really got to know each other and you'd learned to trust me. As you did,' he said with a smile. 'Eventually.'
'But then why did you urge me to tell them about us during these last two or three weeks?'
'To see what reaction they would have. To know what I had to fight against. As it was they merely warned you to stay away from me without telling you why. But you continued to see me against their wishes.'
She lifted her head to look at him, a frown creasing her forehead. 'And? There must be some other reason?'
James gave a rueful laugh. 'I'm beginning to think you're getting to know me too well! When I felt that we were starting to get close, I wanted you to know because—well, because I didn't want you to fall for me on the rebound. I wanted you to be sure that you really…'
He hesitated, and Romily softly supplied the words for him. 'Really loved you.'
His arms tightened sharply. 'Yes,' he agreed, that you really loved me. And tonight I think has proved that. It hasn't made any difference, has it?'
'It hurt a bit at first, but it was ten years ago. That's a lifetime. So now…' She shrugged and smiled. 'I know you're experienced with women.' She gave a cheeky laugh. 'I'm very pleased to say!'
James laughed delightedly. 'I'm crazy about you.' He bent to kiss her but exclaimed, 'Your face is freezing! Come on, we'll go and dance to get you warm again.'
Romily really was shivering this time and went inside although she would much rather have spent the whole evening alone with him somewhere. But she, too, wanted to show everyone that his old affair was well and truly over and that she was his new love now.
They stayed at each other's side for the rest of the party, either dancing or talking, and the majority of the guests seemed to accept this, some of them even looking at them with envious eyes, but Carol and Gerald were careful to keep well away. Outwardly, the other two appeared to be enjoying themselves, but Romily knew that their party had been spoilt for them and she was sad about that; they had looked forward to it so much. But she supposed James had been right to force the issue; if he hadn't come tonight she might never have told her family about him and she might have insisted that they go on meeting in secret indefinitely. And James was right; theirs was no clandestine affair, they had nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone knew now that they were in love and probably guessed that they were lovers. But that was OK, too. She was proud to be with him, proud to be loved by him. Involuntarily her hand tightened on his as they danced. James looked down and saw the sensuality in her intent eyes and pouting mouth. He smiled knowingly and bent to softly kiss her lips, then drew her close against him. Romily glanced across the room as she rested her head on his shoulder and saw Carol dancing with Gerald. Her sister-in-law shot her a look of pure, venomous hatred, a look of such malice that Romily's happiness seemed to shrivel and die inside her.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Lifting her head, Romily stopped dancing and said urgently, 'Let's get out of here.'
James gave her a swift, surprised look but immediately nodded. 'All right.' They walked out into the hall and he glanced out of the window. 'It's raining again. I'm afraid I haven't got my car here, otherwise I'd take you back home with me.'
'We can—we can go up to my room, if you like?'
He nodded, his eyes warm, and Romily took his hand to lead him up the stairs. No one saw them go, the hall was empty, and the hotel guests were still downstairs, enjoying the party, oblivious to all the undercurrents and tension.
When they reached her room, James looked round grimly. 'They don't exactly house you in luxury, do they?' he commented. 'And it's freezing in here!'
'The central heating doesn't stretch this far yet. But there's an electric fire and it soon gets warm.' She bent to switch it on and was surprised at the anger in his face when she looked back at him.
'They could at least have put you in a decent room!'
'It's all right, I like it. Gerald and Carol couldn't afford to have everything done at once and they had to concentrate on getting the rooms ready for the guests.' But even as she spoke Romily gave a convulsive shiver of cold.
With an angry exclamation, James pulled the patchwork quilt off the bed and wrapped it round her shoulders. 'There, that's better.' He kissed the tip of her cold nose. 'I can see I'll just have to keep you warm.'
'Mm, yes, please!'
The only place where they could sit together was on the bed, so James kicked off his shoes and put a pillow against the brass bedstead, then sat on the bed and leaned against it. Still wrapped in the quilt, Romily half lay against him, her head on his shoul
der. They kissed a little, but both of them knew that this was neither the time nor the place for love.
'Why did you want to leave the party so suddenly?'
Romily hesitated, but found herself unable to describe the hatred in Carol's face. Instead she said, 'I'd had enough of people. I wanted to be alone with you.'
That earned her a kiss she didn't really deserve but she accepted it greedily anyway,
'You looked so lovely tonight,' murmured James. 'I was so proud to know that you were mine.'
She looked a little rueful. 'I imagine everyone else realised it, too.'
'Do you mind?'
'No, not really. The circumstances were—a little awkward, though, to say the least.'
'I know, and I'm sorry for that. But it's really better this way. There's been a lot of surmising in the neighbourhood ever since Carol and your brother came back to Scotland. They knew I didn't like the idea of a hotel on my doorstep and they wondered if the old scandal would aggravate things. Now they know that I'm definitely no longer interested in Carol, and by coming here tonight I've condoned the presence of the hotel, so maybe the gossips will be still at last.'
It might have killed any gossip in the neighbourhood, but Romily doubted very much that it was over; both Carol's and Gerald's emotions had been too strongly roused for that. Settling herself more comfortably against his shoulder, she said, 'Did you really think that I was only falling for you on the rebound?'
'It was possible. Quite likely, in fact. I had to be careful not to push you into anything before you were ready. I wanted you to be sure you were making a choice, not just turning to the first man who showed you any affection.'
'Affection? Is that what you call it?' Romily teased. 'I would have used a stronger word myself!' She put her head on one side to look up at him consideringly. 'But of course I'm not on the rebound. Although it would probably have helped to be a little insane if I was going to fall for somebody with as many faults as you have.'
James's eyebrows rose. 'Faults, huh?'
'Well, of course, dozens of them,' Romily declared airily.
His arms tightened round her. 'And would you dire to enumerate these faults?' he asked in a dangerously silky voice.
She smiled inwardly, enjoying her game. 'Very well. The biggest fault, of course, is that you're so good-looking. It would have been much better if you'd been ugly.'
'Strange, no one has ever pointed that out to me before,' James remarked. 'I'm sure you're right, of course, but the logic of it escapes me for the moment.'
Pretending to be very patient, Romily explained, 'But it's perfectly obvious. Women are always chasing good-looking men, which means that I shall have to be on the lookout all the time to make sure that some predatory woman isn't trying to seduce you when my back's turned. With an ugly man I wouldn't have to bother.'
James shook with laughter, his blue eyes alight. 'I must admit that's a point that hadn't occurred to me before. But it works both ways, you know, my beautiful darling; I shall have to fight to keep other men away from you.'
He kissed her as he said it, his eyes tender. Pulling the quilt over them, he pretended to reach for her under it. Romily's heart skipped a beat, but She was determined not to get serious, so she caught his hand and said, 'Behave yourself, we're having a serious discussion of your faults. And that's another disadvantage—you're so big! I get a terrible crick in my neck when we kiss standing up,' she complained.
'That's easily remedied,' James returned promptly. 'We'll always kiss lying down.'
'But what if we meet in the street?'
'No problem. I'll spread my overcoat on the pavement for us to lie on.'
Unable to keep a straight face any longer, Romily dissolved into laughter. 'You idiot! I can just imagine you doing that in the middle of Inverness High Street!'
They were still laughing when there was a sharp rap on the door and Gerald walked in on them. While they had been lying there they had heard the sound of cars leaving, and the house had been quiet for a little while now, the party over.
Gerald must have heard their voices and known that James was there, although he must have been coming to her room in any case as he couldn't have heard them unless he'd climbed the stair in the turret. He let out an outraged roar and yelled. 'You bastard, Gordon! You're not content with my wife—you have to seduce my sister too!' He took a hasty step towards them and James got quickly to his feet.
'You leave Romily out of this!'
'You swine! You don't give a damn who you hurt. Well, you're not having my sister!'
'Gerald, for heaven's sake!' Romily threw aside the quilt and got to her feet, Gerald's surprise at seeing that she had some clothes on making her even angrier. 'How dare you burst in here like this?'
'Burst in here? Damn it, this is my house, I'll go anywhere I blasted please!'
'It may be your house, but this is my room. And if I care to invite someone up to it, then I shall go ahead and do so,' she retorted furiously. 'And will you please stop swearing?'
But Gerald was too angry to care. 'Can't you see what he's doing? He's trying to seduce you the way he seduced Carol. He ruined her life and now he's trying to ruin yours. I warned you to keep away from him. Why didn't you listen to me?' Coming over to her, he grabbed her wrist and began to pull her towards the door.
Romily protested and pulled back, but it was James saying icily, 'Let her go, Bennion,' that made Gerald stop.
He kept hold of her wrist, though, and glared at his enemy. 'You're not going to ruin Romily too—I won't let you.' Turning to her, he said earnestly, 'Can't you see that he's no good? He isn't serious about you, you know. Whatever he tells you, it's just lies to get you into his bed. And once he's got you there and sated himself of you, he'll just get rid of you like an old glove. And he won't stand by you if you get into trouble. He'll ruin you, Romily, just like he did Carol.'
'No, he won't. Please, Gerald, I know you're worried about me, but it's all right, really. I want to be with him.'
'You don't know what you're saying.' He turned on James. 'Get out of here! Get out before I call the police and have you thrown out!'
It was obvious that her brother had had more than enough to drink, and Romily's heart sank, but at least he wasn't so drunk that he was deliberately trying to provoke a fight.
But James didn't help at all; he merely drew himself up to his full height and gave Gerald a sardonic look. 'Go ahead. It's you who'll look a fool. Romily told you, she invited me up here.'
Gerald glared at him impotently, then turned his anger on to Romily, the easier target. 'You little slut! Don't you care what happens to you? I suppose you've had sex with him already, the way he was groping you downstairs. But you're not the only one, you know. He's probably been to bed with most of the women who were here tonight. He doesn't care who he goes with as long as it's wearing a skirt!'
He took a hasty pace backwards as James started towards him but Romily quickly stepped in between them. 'Go away, Gerald! Just leave us alone.'
'Leave you alone? So that he can do what he wants to you, here in my house? Why, you slut—you dirty little tramp!'
Things happened too quickly for her to stop them then. James pushed past her and grabbed Gerald by the collar, his right fist clenched above his face. 'You take that back,' he gritted, 'or I'll ram it down your stupid throat!'
'No! James, please.' She grabbed his arm and pulled it down, and after a moment James gave Gerald an angry shake and let him go..
'Get your things together, Romily, I'm taking you away from here.'
Romily bit her lip, wanting to go with him, but knowing the kind of scandal it would cause. She shook her head decisively. 'No, I can't—not like this. You'd better go, James. I'll—I'll call you tomorrow.'
'I can't leave you here with him in that state. Come with me, darling.' He put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her persuasively.
'No, I'll be all right, honestly. Please go now.'
He gave her
a long look, then shrugged. 'All right, but you must promise to come straight to me if he starts making things unpleasant for you.'
Before she could speak Gerald gave a harsh laugh. 'It will be a damn sight more pleasant for everybody when you've gone!'
Her patience snapping, Romily turned on her brother angrily. 'Gerald, did you call Carol a slut and a tramp when you found out that she'd been unfaithful to you?'
He fell back as if she'd struck him and James took the opportunity to kiss her quickly and then go, saying only, 'Don't forget. Don't let him bully you.'
With his going, all the belligerance seemed to evaporate out of Gerald. He collapsed on to her bed as if his legs wouldn't hold him any more, and Romily looked at him in exasperation. Poor Gerald! She had an idea he was his own worst enemy. With a sigh, she lifted his arm over her shoulder and hoisted him to his feet. 'Come on, Gerald, let's get you to bed.'
With some difficulty she helped him along to his flat on the floor above and banged loudly on the bedroom door. She didn't see why Carol shouldn't be woken up and have a share in all the trouble Gerald was causing. But her sister-in-law came to the door still with all her make-up on, and wearing only a diaphanous cream nightdress that left just enough to the imagination. She wasn't at all surprised to see Gerald, but she showed both surprise and disappointment when she saw who it was that had brought him. She expected James, Romily realised, that's why she's dolled up like a bride on her wedding night. Or like a mistress waiting for her lover, she thought bitterly.
Carol's face had changed quickly and now she showed wifely concern. 'What happened?'
But there was a hint of eagerness in her tone that proved that her concern for Gerald was false. She wouldn't have minded if the men had had a fight, she would even have taken secret pleasure in having two men fight over her.
Feeling sickened, Romily said shortly, 'Nothing, of course. Why, what do you think happened?' she demanded belligerently.
'How should I know? Has Gerald passed out?'
Sally Wentworth - Tiger in His Lair Page 12
