‘And exactly where was Rufus when this—collapse occurred?’ Anthony interrupted, looking very like his older half-brother at that moment.
‘Daddy was talking to Granny—’
‘The hell he was!’ Anthony exploded angrily, eyes narrowed ominously.
Annie ignored him for the moment, turning to Jessica. ‘It’s turned a little cold; could you possibly go up to my room and get my jumper off the bed for me?’ she encouraged smilingly.
‘But—’
‘Please, Jessica,’ she prompted firmly.
A reluctant but obedient Jessica went off in search of the unwanted cardigan, Annie waiting until the little girl was safely out of earshot before turning back to Anthony. ‘Rufus and your mother were talking when she became unwell,’ she confirmed evenly. ‘Rufus has just rung from the hospital—’
‘Which hospital?’ Anthony interjected his face taut with tension.
Annie looked confused. ‘I have no idea …’ she realised dazedly; she simply hadn’t thought to ask. ‘But your mother is okay; it wasn’t a heart attack or anything like that. They’re keeping her in for observation for a while—for a few days,’ she continued lamely. Rufus had irritated her so much over the telephone that she really hadn’t managed to find out any firm facts about Celia’s condition. ‘Rufus will be back soon …’ she finished unhelpfully. A few minutes ago she had been dreading Rufus’s return; now she just wished he were already here.
‘It would be better for everyone if he never came back here,’ Anthony ground out, hands clenched at his sides. ‘Every time he comes back he causes trouble. Surely you can see what a trouble-making swine he really is?’
‘Jessica is coming back,’ Annie warned as she heard the young girl coming down the stairs. ‘Please try and remember that he’s her father.’
Anthony gave a contemptuous snort. ‘Is he?’ he jeered. ‘Can you be sure of that? Can he?’ he added sneeringly.
Annie became very still, a look of dawning horror on her features as she realised exactly what he was implying. Anthony and Joanne’s affair in London—had it ever stopped, even after the other woman was married to Rufus? Anthony had been the one out on the boat with Joanne when the accident happened. Anthony and Joanne …
She turned to Jessica as she came into the room, taking in the dark, tumbling curls, the deep blue eyes, the face that was so like Rufus’s. ‘Oh, yes,’ she breathed softly in answer to Anthony’s scorn. ‘He can be sure. And so can I,’ she stated with controlled anger. ‘I don’t think he’s the trouble-maker, Anthony; I think you manage that quite well on your own! Now, I suggest you go and telephone the local hospitals and check on your mother’s condition for yourself,’ she told him firmly, the anger in her eyes that glittered towards him not in the least beautiful, she was sure, before she turned to take her cardigan from Jessica with an appreciative smile.
‘I intend to,’ Anthony replied crisply, looking at her with assessing eyes. ‘Have a good weekend, did you?’
The insult intended in his question was obvious from his tone, and Annie looked at him dispassionately; how had she ever thought this man was attractive? He was like a spoilt child, hitting out without conscience or thought for anyone else’s feelings.
‘Very good, thank you,’ she answered briskly. ‘Your mother,’ she prompted pointedly as he made no effort to move.
‘I’m going,’ he assured her. ‘But if I were you I wouldn’t put too much trust in what happened over the weekend. Much as he may hate it, Rufus and I are more alike than he cares to admit!’ And with that last taunting comment he left the room to make his telephone calls.
Annie didn’t need that final remark of his explained, knew exactly what Anthony was referring to. Rufus had been involved with Margaret. Was probably still involved with her. But it hadn’t stopped him almost making love to her last night.
She closed her eyes to stop the tears from falling. She would survive this. She had survived so many let-downs in her life already, she would survive loving Rufus too.
She had to!
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE first indication Annie had that Rufus had returned was when she heard the sound of raised voices echoing through the house!
Jessica was in the kitchen helping Mrs Wilson bake a cake, and so Annie had taken advantage of this free hour to sit quietly in the library and read a book, losing herself in a tale of pirates and plunder, transporting herself into the life she was reading about, needing that escapism at this moment.
Until she heard Rufus and Anthony shouting at each other somewhere in the house …
Anthony hadn’t even left for the hospital yet, and it seemed unfortunate, for all concerned, that Rufus should have returned before the other man had gone; their argument, as far as Annie could tell, had been going on all their lives, and could surely have waited another few hours!
‘And I’m telling you it is my business, damn you!’ Rufus spoke savagely.
Annie shrank down into the high-backed armchair as she realised the two men had brought their argument into the library where she sat, the slamming of the door indicating they had actually come in here for privacy. And she was sitting in this large armchair that faced away from them, unnoticed by both of them!
What should she do? She couldn’t just sit here and listen to the two of them. But if she made them aware of her presence it was highly likely they would both turn on her—that had happened more than once!
‘Did you already know?’ Rufus’s voice was dangerously low now. ‘Did Celia know too?’ he added almost incredulously.
‘It’s private family business, Rufus—’
‘And I’m the head of this family!’ Rufus thundered furiously.
‘When you choose to be,’ Anthony acknowledged scornfully. ‘Which isn’t that often!’
‘I asked you a question, Anthony.’ Rufus’s voice was icy cold. ‘Did you know Margaret was expecting your child when she left here?’
Annie couldn’t hold back her sharp intake of breath, unable to breathe out again in her shock, hands shaking as she desperately tried to hang onto the book she had been reading, knowing that if she hadn’t already been sitting down she would probably have fallen down!
Margaret was expecting Anthony’s child …!
‘Of course I knew,’ Anthony answered baldly.
‘And Celia,’ Rufus persisted softly. ‘Did she know too?’
‘Yes. Yes, yes, yes!’ Anthony confirmed impatiently. ‘Why do you think she’s in such a hurry to bring the wedding forward to Christmas?’ he scorned. ‘She doesn’t want anything to stop my marriage to Davina.’
‘And another woman expecting your child would definitely do that,’ the other man rasped harshly.
‘Margaret is expecting that child because of her own stupidity,’ Anthony dismissed uncaringly. ‘She didn’t tell me that because of her religion she wasn’t using contraceptives. And she won’t get rid of the child for the same reason,’ he added disgustedly. ‘The stupid little fool, was—Aagh!’ Anthony’s scornful tirade was cut short as the sound of flesh making contact with flesh was heard, quickly followed by the sound of furniture crashing to the floor.
Rufus had hit him! Annie couldn’t see what had happened exactly, but she knew anyway. She would have done the same thing herself if she were Rufus; in fact her hands were clenched into fists ready to do so! Margaret was expecting Anthony’s child, and to him it was just an inconvenience, something to be got rid of—
‘You’ve knocked one of my teeth out, you bastard!’ Anthony said disbelievingly, obviously struggling to get back onto his feet.
‘Think yourself lucky it’s only one of your teeth!’ Rufus ground out savagely. ‘What I really want to do is take you apart and then throw away the pieces! You’re a disgrace to the Diamond name, and I want you out of this house—’
‘You can’t do that, Rufus,’ the younger man told him with gloating assurance. ‘Our father stated quite clearly in his will that, although this house is yours, my mother has
the right to live here until she dies—’
‘She’s dying now, Anthony,’ Rufus cut in evenly.
There was complete silence after this announcement, and Annie could only imagine Anthony’s shock. She was shocked herself!
‘Wh-what did you say?’ Anthony sounded as if Rufus had punched him again, but emotionally this time, not physically.
‘Celia is dying, Anthony,’ Rufus told him gruffly. ‘She has terminal cancer. She’s known for some time. And that’s the reason she’s trying to rush your wedding. She wants to see you safely married before she dies.’
‘But—I—You—I don’t believe you, Rufus,’ Anthony denied, but there was an edge of uncertainty to his voice.
‘You don’t have to believe me,’ Rufus told him wearily. ‘Celia intends telling you herself when you get to the hospital.’
There was silence after that last heavy statement, and Annie could only guess at Anthony’s bewilderment. He was almost completely selfish; his mother was probably the only other person he had any genuine affection for.
Celia was dying … No wonder Anthony was having trouble accepting it as fact; Annie had trouble believing it herself. In fact, there was a lot about the conversation she had overheard that seemed totally unreal. Although it also answered a lot of unasked questions …
‘It’s the truth, Anthony,’ Rufus said quietly.
‘I have to go to her,’ Anthony muttered distractedly.
‘She’s expecting you,’ Rufus agreed.
There was the sound of the other man walking to the door, but he paused before opening it. ‘I’m not sure how you found out about Margaret and the baby,’ Anthony bit out angrily. ‘But it’s still none of your damned business!’
‘Someone will have to support her while she brings up your child,’ Rufus told him bluntly. ‘And I meant what I said earlier, Anthony; you can continue to visit your mother here until she dies—and after that I don’t ever want to see you again.’
‘Once I’m married to Davina, and to all the Adamses’ money, I won’t need to come here again!’ Anthony announced triumphantly, closing the door behind him as he left.
Annie sat very still in the chair, torn between a need to go and comfort Rufus and a fear of incurring his displeasure at knowing she had overheard this very private conversation between the two brothers.
Anthony was everything she had come to believe him to be—and worse. He didn’t give a damn about the fact that his relationship with Margaret was to produce a child. And how Rufus must be hurting to know that Margaret, too, had betrayed him with Anthony! No wonder he—
‘You can come out now,’ Rufus said softly.
Annie froze. Not that she had moved since the two men had first come into the room, but with Anthony’s departure Rufus had to be talking to her. He knew she was sitting in this wing-backed armchair! How long had he known …?
‘Since we first came into the room, Annie,’ Rufus told her dryly, easily able to guess at her panicked thoughts as she still made no attempt to show herself. ‘I would know that perfume of yours anywhere. Besides, I saw your hair over the top of the chair before you sank down into it!’ he teased, although he sounded incredibly weary too.
He had known she was here from the first! And she couldn’t even begin to work out why he hadn’t exposed her …
She straightened, standing up slowly, putting the book down carefully on the table before turning to face Rufus, her eyes widening in shock as she saw how haggard he looked, how utterly exhausted as he sat in one of the armchairs. Not at all like the arrogantly confident man she had come to expect. Although, in the circumstances, that wasn’t surprising!
‘It’s been a tough day,’ he acknowledged as he ran a hand through the already rumpled darkness of his hair. ‘What did you make of all that?’ he prompted.
She smoothed her hands self-consciously down her denim-clad thighs, taking her time answering him. ‘I—It’s a bit of a mess, isn’t it?’ she finally stated ruefully.
Rufus continued to look at her for several long seconds, then his mouth began to twitch, until finally he gave one of those shouts of laughter Annie had grown to love. She was glad she could make him laugh, even unintentionally; he certainly had little to laugh at at the moment.
“‘A bit of a mess”,’ he finally repeated with an agreeing nod, his mouth still smiling, although his eyes were once again grave.
Annie crossed the room to sit on the carpet at his feet. ‘But not an insurmountable one.’ She laid a comforting hand on his knee. ‘Margaret may be having a baby, but think how much worse off she would be if Anthony had actually offered to marry her—and she had said yes!’ She looked up at Rufus anxiously, knowing how much he must be hurting inside.
‘God, yes!’ He ran his hand over tired eyes. ‘The poor girl may have made a mistake, but she doesn’t deserve that fate!’
Annie tried to smile at his attempt at humour, but her smile didn’t quite work either. She loved this man—and she was trying to help comfort him over his love for another woman. God, it hurt!
‘There’s usually a silver lining to every situation,’ she told him shakily.
He dropped his head, frowning down at her. ‘And what’s yours?’ he prompted huskily.
She swallowed hard, unable to think of one at the moment. She loved someone who didn’t love her, and whether he stayed or left she was going to continue loving him for a very long time.
Rufus reached out to gently touch the hair at her temple. ‘I’m sorry you had to hear about Margaret in the way that you did, but in all honesty I don’t know if I would ever have been able to tell you any other way. I couldn’t have hurt you with that knowledge.’
She blinked back the sudden tears, swallowing hard again. ‘It isn’t your fault, Rufus,’ she said tremulously, his very gentleness almost her undoing. ‘Besides, I already knew about Margaret.’
‘You knew she was pregnant?’
‘Oh, no, not that.’ She firmly shook her head. ‘But I knew how you felt about her.’
‘How I—?’ He sat forward in his chair, grasping the tops of her arms as he did so. ‘Annie, what are you talking about?’
She pulled away, getting to her feet, unable to be that close to him without totally giving herself away. After all, she had some pride. Not a lot, she admitted, because she had still almost made love with Rufus knowing how he felt about the other woman. But she had hoped—had wanted—
‘It’s very sad about Celia,’ she told him evasively.
So much made sense about the other woman’s behaviour now—the extra rest she had seemed to be taking, the fact that she was even thinner now than when Annie had come here two months ago, and this driving need she had to see Anthony married to Davina. The latter probably wasn’t just because of Margaret and the baby, was also partly because she had known Rufus and Anthony would probably end up killing each other if they lived here together once she was gone!
‘It is sad about Celia,’ Rufus agreed slowly. ‘It wasn’t until the doctor told me this afternoon what was going on that I realised I actually have feelings for the woman, that the thought of her dying is actually painful for me.’ He looked sad at the knowledge.
‘I’m glad,’ Annie said with feeling.
‘So am I,’ he admitted throatily. ‘I’ve spent so long blaming her for taking my mother’s place that I actually didn’t realise I cared for her I—I told her that today,’ he added gruffly.
‘I’m glad about that too,’ Annie told him warmly. Celia might have her faults, but she did genuinely care about the Diamond family; of that Annie had no doubts.
‘Mmm,’ Rufus concurred. ‘We talked today as we probably never have before. She—she told me something I never knew.’ His voice was so husky now, it was barely audible. ‘My mother suffered severe post-natal depression after I was born. They don’t really know how to deal with that now, but thirty-nine years ago there was no help for her! I—It was during one of these bouts of depression that she went down
to the cove and killed herself.’ He shook his head. ‘I never knew any of that,’ he groaned. ‘My father never told me. And I have to admit that—all these years, I’ve been drawing my own conclusions.’
Probably that his father had been involved with Celia before his wife died; Rufus had been so bitter about Celia’s marriage to his father, and the birth of Anthony, that it was a natural assumption for him to have made. Even if it was wrong.
And it was Rufus’s mother who had committed suicide in the cove …
‘I’m sure your father tried to protect you, didn’t want you, an innocent child, to feel in the least responsible for what happened to your mother,’ Annie reasoned. ‘Post-natal depression can happen to anyone, and it certainly isn’t the baby’s fault.’
Rufus looked at her with pained eyes. ‘You’re very wise for someone so young,’ he said achingly. ‘He and Celia discussed it, apparently, and that’s exactly what they decided. And, to give Celia her due, she’s kept that secret all these years. It would have been better, for everyone probably, if she hadn’t.’ He looked pained at all the time he had spent hating a woman who had actually tried to protect him in the only way she could.
It was a tragedy, Annie agreed with that, but there was still time for Rufus and Celia to come to some sort of understanding. In fact, she was sure they were already well on the way to doing exactly that …
‘Now—’ Rufus straightened ‘—I want to know what you’ve been thinking about my—now, what was it you said?—my feelings for Margaret.’
She should have known he wouldn’t dismiss that subject as easily as he had seemed to. But couldn’t he see how much this was hurting her? Obviously not, because he just looked totally baffled.
She began to pace in front of the unlit fireplace. ‘You were upset when you came back here and found she had gone—’
‘I already knew she had gone,’ Rufus interjected. ‘There was a letter from her waiting for me at the newspaper offices when I got back last week.’
Annie shot him an irritated look before resuming her pacing. ‘You were desperate to know why she had left—’
Diamonds Are Forever: The Royal Marriage ArrangementThe Diamond BrideThe Diamond Dad Page 30
