She couldn't blame Scott for being so unflatteringly doubtful that she already had a date, but she was glad she did have a valid reason for not accepting his invitation. It didn't occur to her until she was hurrying to change, that evening, that he might have wanted to talk to her again about Ellen and Kim. It distressed her to realise that, through a lack of foresight, she might have missed a chance that might never come again, but she had no time to dwell on it.
She discarded her blue dress in favour of her other one, a deep pink which made her skin look like a wild rose. Scott's comment made her notice her skin as she hadn't done before. While studying her reflection, she was surprised to note how little fashions had altered in the past three years. The dress was calf-length, the same length that Princess Diana so often favoured. Sherry thought wistfully that she would love to see Princess Diana when she came here on tour, but she didn't suppose she would get the chance.
The pink dress was very well cut and she remembered it had been expensive. Hesitantly she took from her drawer a heavy gold locket and chain she had been given by her parents. The colours of the enamel toned with her dress perfectly and she brushed aside a surge of sadness.
'That's new,' Kim frowned, as she went to find him.
Sherry glanced at him wryly. 'Before you begin lecturing me on extravagance, no, it isn't.'
If anything, Kim's frown deepened. 'If you had it, why didn't you wear it when we dined at Coomarlee?'
'I forgot about it. No, I didn't,' Sherry corrected herself, 'I'd forgotten it was a model. I just grabbed my blue one and didn't even look at it.'
'Pity,' he shrugged. 'If you'd worn that, you might have charmed Mr Brady more than you obviously did.'
She sighed, glancing away from him. 'Can't we forget Mr Brady for one evening?'
'Suits me,' he agreed curtly.
'Whereabouts are we going?' she asked as they set out. It might have been better to wait and see. If it was one of the best places she would worry over the cost. If it was just any old bar, she would worry about the company. Kim though had sunk into a morose mood after mentioning the Bradys, and, if she didn't believe it was her fault, she felt she must speak of something which might cheer him up.
'Bourke.' Briefly he named one of the best hotels.
Sherry could have kicked herself when she heard herself asking, 'Are you sure we can afford it?'
Kim laughed, appearing amused at last. 'If you got nothing else from the old man, at least you inherited his carefulness!'
She wasn't quick enough to hide the hurt in her eyes, and Kim's jeering glance was immediately apologetic.
'Sorry, honey,' he exclaimed, 'I didn't honestly mean to be nasty. And I promise, if I'm ever able to, I'll see you get your share. Grandfather didn't leave you anything, but you're really better out of it. At least if you don't have anything you can't be liable for anything.'
That was one way of looking at it. Sherry nodded, biting her lip. There was plenty she could say—not about how little she had, but of how little Kim was making of what he had! If he appeared to have settled down lately, she hoped it wasn't just a flash in the pan. Her glance wandered over the sulky lines of Kim's face and she wondered why she couldn't feel more optimistic.
CHAPTER FOUR
The truck wasn't that comfortable and Sherry suffered from considerable jolting before they reached Bourke. It wasn't the roads so much as Kim's driving. He liked speed. Unfortunately the truck wasn't built for it and had seen better days.
After his first brief spate of conversation, Kim lapsed into silence again, making Sherry wonder what kind of an evening they were going to have. This was one of the few times she had been out with her brother since they had come to Australia. During school holidays, in England, she had sometimes tagged after him, but he had only allowed this during the daytime; the evenings he had spent with his friends. This evening he appeared to have a lot on his mind, and Sherry suddenly wondered if there wasn't more behind this outing than was immediately apparent. Why did she have an awful feeling that she was being made use of in some way?
Kim's mood was so tense she found herself considering each sentence before she spoke. One wrong word might be like a match to dynamite! What would he say, for instance, if she were to mention Scott had asked her out as well? No, she daren't risk it. Frowning, she studied her hands. How would she have been feeling if she'd been travelling to Bourke in Scott's company, with the prospect of spending several hours alone with him? He was probably relieved she had refused what she was certain must have been an invitation issued impulsively and as swiftly regretted. Even for his friends' sake, he couldn't have really meant to ask her out, not after the way he had treated her the last time she had been to Coomarlee!
Cautiously she decided against mentioning Scott's invitation, but she did tell Kim about meeting him and Barry White. He could easily hear of this from another source and be angry that she had kept it from him.
When she finished speaking, Kim glanced at her sharply but merely said, 'You do get round.'
She persevered, ignoring the slight sarcasm in his voice, 'Do you know Mr White—'
'I know him by sight and reputation. He buys a lot of Brady's stud stock and it's rumoured he's nearly as wealthy.'
'He seems nice.
'Did he have much to say?'
'Just that he would like to see over Googon some time.'
Emitting a low whistle, Kim exclaimed, 'Well, what do you know!' Mockingly he glanced at Sherry's startled face. 'You could do worse.'
She stared at him in confusion. 'I don't follow…'
Kim grinned. 'You don't think he's interested in either Googon or me?'
Unable to credit what he was implying, she countered coldly, 'Scott Brady's interested in Googon, at least we think he is.'
'Only because it adjoins his own land and would be useful.'
'You don't always have to want to buy something to be interested in it,' she argued.
Kim merely continued to grin, then asked suddenly, 'Where was Scott when all this was going on?'
Sherry's cheeks coloured vividly. 'There was nothing going on! You're the very limit, Kim, I wish I'd never told you! Scott was there.'
'If he thought White had taken a shine to you, he wouldn't be pleased, I bet!'
Sherry gasped, 'You aren't suggesting Scott could be jealous?'
Kim glanced at her impatiently. 'Not that way, you silly child! Don't you realise, Barry White's the man he's hoping Ellen will marry?'
If you waited long enough, there was usually an answer to everything. In this case it had come sooner than she might have expected. So Scott had asked her out to ensure she didn't steal Barry White from his sister, thus leaving the field clear for Kim.
'If what you say is true,' she said carefully, 'where was Mr White the night we went to Coomarlee?' In England it could be easy to say he lived too far away, but in this country people thought nothing of travelling a hundred miles to dinner, by road, and reducing such distances to nothing by plane.
'I don't know, do I?' Kim shrugged. 'The whole of that dinner-party was a mystery, but at least you're in the picture.'
'Would it help if I encouraged Mr White?' she asked slowly. She had no desire to, but she did feel sorry for Ellen and Kim.
'No,' mumbled Kim, adding on a lower note she was scarcely able to catch, 'Anyway, it's far too late.'
Sherry sighed. Whatever Kim meant, he sounded very despondent. She wished Scott had been here so she could have told him exactly what she thought of him. As for Ellen, if she hadn't the courage to hold out for the man she loved—well, she deserved to lose him!
Poor Kim! Gently, attempting to convey sympathy, she touched his arm as they stopped in front of the hotel.
'Here we are,' he said gruffly.
Was he embarrassed by her silent gesture? Glancing at him quickly, she saw his cheeks were tinged with red. Instinctively she thought of his heightened colour as guilt, then dismissed the idea as ridiculous.
As she scrambled out, he shrugged and turned away, leaving her to follow. It wasn't far to the entrance but suddenly she wished she had an escort who helped rather than ignored her, as some of the women had whom she noticed going in.
Inside, Kim did wait to guide her to the dining-room.
'It's late,' he said. 'I think we'd better eat straight away. We can have drinks at the table.'
The dining-room was large, with part of the floor left clear for dancing. The tables were grouped in a horseshoe around it, with a raised platform for a band at the other end. Sherry was amazed by the smartness of the decor, the general appearance of luxury emanating from the room. Bourke was an up-and-coming town, but she had never dreamt of anything like this!
'Impressed?' grinned Kim, as they were shown to one of the most prominent tables.
'Very,' she smiled back at him, determined not to be a wet blanket. She would have preferred to sit in a less obvious position, but Kim had no such inhibitions. He had never been as retiring as she was. He always enjoyed the limelight.
The lighting wasn't bright, but she had had the hazy impression, as they entered, that the restaurant was full. 'It's more like a nightclub,' she said, furtively looking round.
'The Aussie equivalent,' he nodded, 'but you'd be hard put to it to find better in London.'
She thought he was exaggerating a little but merely said. 'You still miss London?'
'What do you think!' he sighed. 'I'll always miss London.'
Sherry looked at the menu, ashamed to find herself studying the prices before the dishes. Frugality must have eaten its way into her very soul when she couldn't enjoy one evening out without worrying about the cost! Deliberately she chose the most expensive items, so that even Kim's brows went up. He didn't seem unusually disturbed, however, and ordered a rare vintage wine with another to accompany the main course.
'It's all on the house,' he murmured sotto voce, ignoring Sherry's enquiring brows.
She was still half frowning as the entree arrived. If she'd asked Kim to explain even half of his ambiguous murmurings during the past weeks, she would have had no time left for anything else.
Because when she tried looking at other people, there seemed to be someone looking at her, she kept her eyes on either Kim or their table. She failed to see the tall man approaching and nearly choked on an oyster to find Scott Brady standing beside them. Eyes watering, she coughed, thinking Kim might have warned her!
'Good evening,' said Scott, his glance roaming in smouldering appraisal over Sherry's smooth dark hair, her small, distinctively striking features, sapphire blue eyes, sensuously curved mouth and firmly moulded chin.
'G-Good evening,' she stammered, while Kim nodded.
Scott was an entirely formidable figure, more so when he appeared both speculative and disapproving. At the moment he looked both as his eyes flicked narrowly from Sherry to the expensive repast on the table.
'Hoping to come into money?' he drawled at Kim.
If Kim hadn't flushed, Sherry mightn't have said anything. Scott, for some reason, was furious, though no one merely glancing at him could have detected it. 'We don't have to put up with your insults, Mr Brady!' she snapped.
'So you're always telling me,' he retorted sardonically, 'But I can't believe I'm always wrong.'
Without another word he left them. Sherry gazed with hatred at his broad, departing back.
'You surely wouldn't want him for a brother-in-law!' she exclaimed, more audibly than she realised, before she could stop herself.
Kim cocked an eyebrow, seemingly not half as disturbed as she was. 'It's a difficult enough job choosing a wife,' he shrugged. 'I think you have to accept her relations for better or worse.'
'Who is he with?' Agitatedly she remembered to lower her voice. Her evening was spoiled anyway. 'Oh, no!' Watching Scott until he reached his table, she noted several people who were strangers to her—and his sister, Ellen.
'Was this all arranged?' she accused Kim, looking at him bitterly.
His face closed up with its most secretive expression, so she knew she'd be lucky to be told the truth. 'Ellen did say she might be dining out,' he replied stiffly.
Sherry was so upset it didn't occur to her that he had practically confessed that he and Ellen had been in touch. 'She didn't say where?'
'I know she comes here,' he muttered evasively.
Sherry gazed blankly down at the congealed food on her plate. Only that afternoon, Scott had asked her to dine with him. He had given no indication that they would be joining anyone. Yet Kim, she realised intuitively, had known Ellen was going to be here yesterday, before he had issued an invitation to his sister. Sherry gave up; it was too complicated. She needed time to work it out.
'We'll have to leave as soon as we've finished eating,' she said sharply.
'Sure,' Kim agreed easily, but he didn't hurry.
Scott Brady's table was almost directly opposite. Sherry couldn't understand how she hadn't noticed him as soon as she came in. Clearly he and his guests were well through their meal. The way the waiters were hovering, for one thing, might have alerted her. Scott Brady was obviously a man who commanded the best attention!
Wishing Kim would get a move on, she quickly finished her dessert. From the corner of her eye she saw Ellen get to her feet with a tall young man. Lightly clasping, they joined the other couples on the floor. The music was dreamy. Sherry expected to see Kim's face darken with jealousy, but he didn't appear to be taking any notice, just went on steadily drinking.
Ellen, as her brother had done, paused beside their table. 'Hello,' she smiled. 'Excuse me butting in, but Ken here is dying to meet you, Sherry.'
A minute later, so quickly she wondered how it had happened, Sherry found herself introduced to Ken Frazer and sitting with him watching Ellen and Kim dancing. How it came about, Sherry wasn't sure, and frightened of Scott's reactions, she trembled apprehensively.
She didn't have long to wait before he came striding over, his face as black as the pants he was wearing. Ruthlessly taking hold of her, he pulled her into his arms. Ignoring a bewildered Ken, he snapped, 'Dance this with me.'
'I…' She began struggling, protesting wildly, when her eyes locked with his and she was helpless to withstand him. As she looked up at him and her senses reeled, she tried to blink, but found it impossible until another couple bumped into them, breaking the contact.
'You didn't say you were dining with your brother,' he said between his teeth, his eyes as hot as hers were behind their long lashes.
'You didn't give me a chance.'
'I suppose this was prearranged,' he retorted.
As this was exactly what she suspected herself, she had to deny it. 'I hardly think so. And,' she rushed on, despite being breathless, 'what about you? You didn't mention that you were asking me to join a party.'
'It wasn't going to be a party until an hour or two ago,' he said curtly. 'Some friends of Ellen's invited her here and I had to bring her.'
'Had to, Mr Brady?'
'No, damn you,' he snapped harshly, 'but I wasn't turning her loose at this stage.'
'I wonder you're allowing them to dance!' She glanced pityingly at Kim and his sister.
His voice held icy cruelty. 'That's all I am allowing, Miss Grant.'
His hands were digging into her flesh. Inside she began feeling she was on fire. She wondered if he was conscious of how much he was hurting her. Somehow she managed to force herself to concentrate on Ellen and Kim, to put their needs before her own.
'Isn't Mr White here?' she asked, she hoped coolly.
Scott tightened his grasp until his taut thighs were clamped against hers and she gasped at his audacity. 'No, Mr White is not!' he replied coldly.
Sherry tried to put a little distance between them but only succeeded in arousing his anger.
'Don't struggle,' he muttered, staring at her.
Sherry was too shaken to take any more evasive action. She had to go on speaking, even as the race of her heart g
rew so rapid she scarcely knew what she was saying. 'I believe you want Mr White for your sister, Mr Brady?'
He ignored this. 'No one appears to want my sister after they've seen you, Miss Grant. You bewitch men with your innocent blue eyes.'
The wine she had consumed must have affected her adversely, for to her horror she heard herself taunting, 'Surely not you, Mr Brady?'
His long hand slipped up her back, over her shoulders, curving round her nape, pressing her head under his chin. 'I might make love to you,' he murmured in her shell-like ear, 'but I'd never take you seriously. I allow myself to be bewitched by a woman only up to a certain point.'
'I thought you'd already been captivated by Miss Easten?' Sherry retorted shakily.
'Miss Easten's the kind of woman one marries,' he shrugged. 'You're not.'
'I may be poor,' she whispered furiously against his chest, 'but I'm not the other things you imply.'
'You will be,' he drawled. 'It might be sooner than you think if you don't stop playing with fire. I've told you before, it could be dangerous to involve yourself in your brother's schemes.'
His mouth grazed her ear before leaving it, making her pulse quicken in dizzy reaction. 'I haven't been involved in anything!' she gasped.
'Only a little double-dealing,' he countered. 'We all know what happens to spies who do that! I won't warn you again,' he said tightly. 'For the last time I'll repeat: if your brother ruins my sister's life, I'll do my best to ruin yours!'
Scott's threats were still affecting Sherry the next day. She trembled each time they crossed her mind. The evening, after a bad start, had had an even worse ending. While she danced with Scott, Kim and Ellen had disappeared outside and Scott had dragged her in pursuit of them. Sherry thought Kim should have known better than to act so recklessly right under Scott's nose, and with Scott at his heels she was despairing that he had allowed himself to be caught with Ellen in his arms.
It struck her that there was something odd about their embrace, but she had had no time to really consider it as Scott had torn the unfortunate couple apart. He hadn't been in the mood to look for anything suspicious. He had merely informed Ellen harshly that he was taking her home.
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