To her surprise Celia was still in her bedroom suite when the time came for Jessica to say goodnight to her grandmother, the older woman in her dressing-room, trying to decide what she would wear for the evening ahead.
Her hair already styled, make-up expertly applied, only her dress and shoes to be donned, at that moment wearing a peach robe over her ultra-slender body, Celia looked elegantly beautiful. It was surprising really that she hadn’t remarried after her husband’s death six years ago; she was certainly still an extremely attractive woman.
‘Ready for bed?’ She turned to greet her granddaughter, Jessica already in her pyjamas and dressing-gown. ‘Is it that late already?’ She looked slightly flustered at the realisation.
Annie gave the other woman a searching look as she said goodnight to her granddaughter. There were signs of strain beside Celia’s eyes and mouth that she had never really noticed before, and she looked tired too, despite the rest she had just taken before dinner. Obviously having Anthony and Davina here, plus the disturbing Rufus, was proving a strain for Celia too! Only Jessica—and possibly the vacuous Davina—seemed to be unaffected by this strange family gathering.
‘And what are you going to do this evening, my dear?’
Annie blinked as she realised Celia’s question was addressed to her. Once Jessica was in bed, what was she going to do? Her normal routine had been totally upset since the rest of the family had arrived!
‘I have some labels to sew into some of Jessica’s school uniform,’ she ventured. ‘And then I might go and choose a book from the library, if that’s all right?’ She had been enthralled with the Diamond library since the day she’d come to work here. She had always been an avid reader, and after years of a shortage of available books the large room on the ground floor of the Diamond house, which was completely dedicated to their collection of literature, was like an Aladdin’s cave to her.
And as her own life seemed more than a little complicated at the moment losing herself in someone else’s world seemed a very attractive proposition!
Celia smiled brightly. ‘An excellent idea. Feel free to go and choose a book any time you like.’
Annie looked at the older woman more closely. Perhaps it was the strain of having Rufus back, or maybe the other woman was just mellowing on better acquaintance, but Celia had actually sounded warmly friendly just then!
‘Thank you,’ she accepted slightly dazedly.
‘And now I really must finish dressing for dinner.’ The older woman stood up smoothly, patting Jessica absently on top of her dark curls. ‘I’m sure Davina’s mother will be wearing something beautifully elegant; she usually does!’ Celia wrinkled her nose irritably as she once again began to look through her own extensive array of clothes.
Davina’s mother … It was Davina’s parents who were the guests for dinner this evening! No doubt so that they could all discuss wedding plans together …
Annie went mechanically through the motions of putting Jessica to bed, even managed to sew name-tags into Jessica’s new winter uniform without really being aware she was performing the tedious task. Then she found herself down in the library without really knowing how she had got there, knew that Davina’s parents were close by in the dining-room, having heard their car in the driveway earlier. And wedding plans were definitely on the menu!
Where did that leave Annie? Was Rufus right? Was she to have been just another of those meaningless flings Anthony seemed to have indulged in over the years? Was he just playing with her emotions while intending to marry Davina after all? He certainly hadn’t been very pleased earlier when she had questioned him about his marriage to Davina …
What a mess! She had come here to work so happily, enjoyed being with Jessica, and now, because of an involvement with Anthony that should never have begun in the first place, she had put the whole thing in jeopardy. How could she carry on working here when she had made such a fool of herself over Anthony? But she didn’t want to leave, had realised that only too clearly this afternoon when she’d thought of Rufus returning for good and Jessica no longer needing her.
Without really being aware that she was doing it, Annie began sobbing quietly, for what or for whom she wasn’t quite sure, everything still too muddled in her mind. One thing she did know was that whatever her relationship with Anthony was—and even now she couldn’t quite put a label on it!—it would have to end.
End! It had never really begun, except in her own naive head. Rufus was right: emotionally she was young and impressionable—
‘I told you he wasn’t worth it!’
Annie looked up sharply at the man she had just been thinking of. Rufus was very tall and dark in his black evening suit and snowy white shirt, the expression on his face, as he strode forcefully into the library and shut the door firmly behind him, just as dark and forbidding.
‘He certainly isn’t worth crying over,’ Rufus barked as he crossed the room with long, powerful strides, pulling Annie roughly to her feet to shake her slightly. ‘Stop crying, damn it!’ he grated harshly, his expression fierce now.
His annoyance just made her realise exactly how stupid she had been, which just made her cry all the harder. She had believed Anthony’s interest in her to be genuine, had started to fall in love with him, and now she just felt totally stupid. Young and impressionable!
‘Annie!’ Rufus shook her again. ‘God damn it!’ His voice rose at his frustration with her tears.
She did try to stop crying, was trying very hard to stop, but the fact that it was Rufus who was witnessing her humiliation just seemed to make the whole situation worse. He was her employer; what was he going to think of her for having made such an idiot of herself over a man she was rapidly coming to agree with him wasn’t worth it? Perhaps Rufus would just decide to dismiss her anyway, because she was proving a damned nuisance!
She drew in several gulping breaths. ‘Jessica said you shouldn’t use that word unless you’re praying,’ she reminded him, in an attempt to ease some of the tension of the situation.
It seemed to have no effect on Rufus, his displeasure deepening. ‘Damn what Jessica says,’ he grated. ‘And damn what Anthony has to say too. Damn the lot of them!’ His hands were still tight on her arms as he looked down at her. ‘Oh, to hell with it,’ he growled, before his head lowered and his mouth claimed hers.
Fiercely. Possessively. Completely!
Annie was so taken by surprise that she could do nothing but remain in the hard possession of his arms as that plundering mouth continued its ravishment of hers. She had been kissed before—quite recently!—but never like this.
And then the anger seemed to go out of Rufus, his arms no longer like steel bands but holding her tenderly against him, his mouth sipping and tasting hers, causing her pulse to leap erratically as she slowly began to return his caresses, her arms moving slowly up about his shoulders as she stood on tiptoe to deepen the kiss.
It was an invitation Rufus accepted, curving her body into his now, his mouth moving erotically against hers, his tongue moving lightly over the inner softness of her lips, causing heat to course through her body.
She was tingling all over, alive with desire, never wanting this pleasure to end—
It ended abruptly as Rufus put her away from him, eyes so dark they looked black again. ‘You aren’t in love with Anthony, Annie,’ he bit out coldly. ‘You aren’t in love with anyone. You wouldn’t have kissed me the way you did just now if you were. So stop your damned crying and get back to doing what you’re paid to do—looking after Jessica!’ He turned sharply on his heel and slammed out of the room as suddenly as he had entered it.
Annie stared after him with bewildered brown eyes, her confusion—and despair—utter and complete …
CHAPTER FIVE
‘WHAT the hell is going on between you and Rufus?’
Annie had just come down the stairs from the nursery with a used lunch tray, hadn’t seen Anthony since their brief conversation yesterday. In fact, she hadn�
�t seen any member of the Diamond family today except Jessica, didn’t know how to face Rufus again after what had happened between them last night.
She gave Anthony a startled look now—surely he didn’t know that Rufus had kissed her? And, more importantly, that she had kissed him back!
‘What do you mean?’ she said guardedly, holding the tray defensively in front of her as Anthony glared at her across its width.
‘Put that damned tray down,’ he instructed impatiently, not waiting for her to do so but wrenching it out of her hands and depositing it unceremoniously on the table that stood in the centre of the huge hallway, one of the cups falling over in its saucer with a loud clatter, although luckily nothing actually broke. Not that Anthony seemed in the least concerned that it might have, turning to her angrily. ‘Rufus has just informed me that you’re all off to London for a few days,’ he told her accusingly.
She looked startled. ‘He has …?’
‘He has,’ Anthony echoed uncompromisingly. ‘So what’s going on?’
She would like to know that herself—because it was the first she had heard of a trip to London! Not that there was anything unusual about a nanny being expected to travel with the family; it was just that, in Rufus Diamond’s case, and in view of what had happened between them last night, it was—strange. Well … the timing of it was strange.
Goodness, she was becoming flustered just at the thought of it!
‘Annie!’ Anthony demanded an answer from her.
And she didn’t have one. She didn’t know why they were going to London, or for how long; she simply knew nothing about it. ‘Are you sure he said I was to go as well?’
‘Positive,’ Anthony confirmed grimly.
And knowing Rufus—even as little as she did—he had enjoyed telling Anthony too!
‘Just what am I supposed to do while you’re off in London with my brother?’ Anthony snapped.
Annie’s eyes widened incredulously as she looked up at him. Considering he had spent yesterday evening with his fiancée, her parents and his mother, discussing their Christmas wedding plans, he had a damned cheek even asking her that question!
‘I would say,’ she said carefully, ‘that you’ll be doing exactly what you’ve been doing the last five days: enjoying your holiday, at your family home, with your fiancée!’ Indignation hardened her voice as she delivered that last comment.
‘Oh, I see.’ Anthony took a step back from her, a knowing smile on his lips. ‘We’re playing those sort of games, are we?’ he derided.
She didn’t know what he was doing—she had virtually given up trying to work that one out!—but she certainly wasn’t into playing games of any sort. ‘I’ve just told you that Rufus hasn’t even spoken to me about this yet, so how can I possibly be playing games—of any kind?’ she said exasperatedly.
Anthony studied her assessingly. ‘You’re angry with me because of the wedding.’
Angry? She didn’t think she was at all angry about it. She had been confused, but she didn’t think she was any longer, not where this man was concerned. Now, Rufus was a different matter completely …!
‘Not at all,’ she answered Anthony smoothly. ‘I’m sure bringing the wedding forward to Christmas will all work out perfectly. Now, if you’ll excuse me …?’ She moved to go past him to pick up the tray, only to find he was gripping her arms. ‘Anthony, you’re hurting me.’ And he was, too, his fingers painful on her upper arms.
‘You—’
‘Annie, my dear.’ Celia seemed to have appeared from nowhere, moving gracefully towards them. ‘I wanted to have a few words with you about this trip you’re taking with Rufus to London.’
Annie had desperately been trying to release herself from Anthony’s grasp, but at his mother’s mention of Rufus she suddenly found herself completely free as Anthony thrust her away from him. She turned to face Celia, her gaze stubbornly averted from Anthony’s accusing one. ‘I really don’t know anything about it yet, Celia,’ she replied. ‘Perhaps Rufus only means to take Jessica with him.’
‘But of course he doesn’t.’ The other woman easily cast that idea aside. ‘I was speaking to him only a few minutes ago, and he definitely said you were to go as well as Jessica.’
Well, she wished he would stop speaking to everyone else about it and actually tell her what was happening! It seemed that everyone else in this household knew what she was doing for the next few days, but she didn’t have a clue!
Why were they going to London? Where were they staying? How long was a few days …? Because she shouldn’t spend a few days—and a few nights!—anywhere with him. Even if Jessica was there too.
‘You’ll have a wonderful time, my dear,’ Celia encouraged as she saw the reluctance in Annie’s expression. ‘You may even find the time to visit some of your friends while you’re there.’ She smiled brightly.
Annie felt, rather than saw, the glowering look Anthony cast in her direction. Obviously the thought of her meeting up with friends—in Anthony’s mind, probably male friends—did not please him. Well, she did have a lot of friends in London, and some of them were male, but they weren’t those sorts of male friends. And even if they were it was none of Anthony’s business; he was engaged to someone else, had no right to approve or disapprove of her seeing any of her friends, male or female.
Whew—that was a change in her attitude towards him from five days ago when he had first kissed her!
But he was engaged. And with the bringing forward of the wedding, the talk last night with Davina’s parents—the other woman’s father actually being Anthony’s boss—it seemed a foregone conclusion that the wedding would go ahead at Christmas. What role was Anthony thinking of offering her in all that? It wasn’t too difficult to guess—and neither was the answer she would give him. She had been born because her mother had been involved with a man who refused to leave his wife for her, even when he knew she was expecting his child; Annie had no intention of history repeating itself!
She had been living in cloud-cuckoo-land even thinking it would be any different for her with a man like Anthony Diamond. But thank goodness she had come to her senses now. And if Rufus Diamond believed it would be any different with him then he was in for a shock too! Young and impressionable she might be, stupid she was not!
‘Yes, it would be nice,’ she answered Celia lightly, ignoring Anthony’s scowling expression. ‘I’m sure Rufus will talk to me about it eventually.’ When he had stopped telling everyone else! ‘Now, if you’ll both excuse me, I really do have to get this tray back to the kitchen.’ She picked it up and turned to leave.
‘Annie—’
‘Anthony, I would like to talk to you about Davina’s birthday next week,’ his mother told him smoothly. ‘And I’m sure Annie has a lot of other things she should be doing,’ she added with hard dismissal.
And obviously talking to her son wasn’t one of them!
Annie had half suspected, over the last few days, from her comments and topics of conversation, that Celia had a pretty good idea of what had transpired between her son and Jessica’s nanny. She was even more convinced now that Celia knew. And Rufus was right: Celia meant to see Anthony safely married to Davina.
It was just her luck that Davina herself was walking down the hallway as Annie made her way through the large house to the kitchen. Really, she wasn’t having much luck today at all!
‘Ah, Annie,’ Davina drawled in recognition. ‘I’ve been meaning to have a few words with you.’
Another one!
Annie gave a resigned sigh. ‘If it’s about going to London with Rufus then Celia and Anthony have already told me about it.’
Davina looked mildly surprised, then shook her head. ‘I can assure you it has nothing to do with London or Rufus,’ she rejoined frigidly. ‘I have no interest in either subject.’
Until this moment Annie had thought the girl beautiful but a bit insipid characterwise, but at this moment she sensed a steel in Davina she hadn’t known was there
. And if she didn’t want to talk about this proposed trip to London with Rufus, what did she want to talk about? Annie found herself tensing guardedly.
Davina continued to look at her with those freezing blue eyes. ‘It’s about Anthony—’
‘There you are, Annie,’ Rufus calmly interrupted as he strode towards them. ‘I’ve been looking for you everywhere.’
Everyone else in the family seemed to have found her, so why couldn’t he?
‘Hello, Davina,’ he greeted the other woman warmly. ‘I didn’t see you standing there.’
Considering that Davina was much taller than Annie, with golden hair that gleamed brightly in the autumn sunshine, how could he possibly have missed her?
Annie had been dreading this first meeting with him after they had kissed each other last night, but, in view of the intervening conversations with Celia and Anthony, now she just felt angry with him. It didn’t make her feel any less irritable towards him knowing he had probably just saved her from a very uncomfortable conversation with Davina. Because she was sure now that Davina had just been about to launch into a discussion about Anthony’s overfriendliness with her. Perhaps it was as well, after all, that she was going away with Rufus and Jessica …!
‘Well, you’ve found me,’ she told Rufus ungraciously, aware that she sounded as irritable as she felt, but she couldn’t help it; she was feeling emotionally battered by this family.
Rufus quirked his left eyebrow in that enigmatic way that he had. ‘So I have,’ he murmured speculatively.
Annie blushed at the intended rebuke. ‘I’m just on my way to the kitchen to deposit this tray,’ she informed him flatly. ‘But I’ll be more than happy to talk to you as soon as I’ve got rid of it.’ It was starting to annoy her too now that the used plates and cups reminded her of the pleasant lunch she had shared with Jessica such a short time ago; it seemed like hours ago!
Diamonds Are Forever: The Royal Marriage ArrangementThe Diamond BrideThe Diamond Dad Page 22
