Justin's smile grew. He sat down and crossed one leg over the other, looking interested.
`It was quite—er —sudden,' she muttered. She glared at him.
Kind Lady Richmond was unaware of undercurrents. She beamed at them both impartially.
`I always said when you fell in love you'd fall all at once,' she told Justin with satisfaction. 'Didn't I?'
The brown eyes gleamed. 'You did,' he agreed.
`Dear boy.' Her smile was full of affection. 'And you were so determined you wouldn't. Aren't you glad I was right?'
`Very,' he replied in an amused voice.
It was inexplicably hurtful. Candy bit her lip. Lady Richmond didn't notice. Candy cast Justin an agonised glance which he refused to see. Later, while his aunt was hunting for photograph albums, she protested.
`This is awful. I feel like a criminal. She's so happy for us and we're telling her lies.'
`On the contrary, you told her the exact truth,' Justin said drily. 'A great talent. I've noticed it before. It's one of the things I most admire about you.'
`A sort of half-truth?' Candy demanded with bitterness. 'A few facts and none of the real thing. You admire that?'
He looked at her for a long moment. Then he stood up and came to sit beside her on the sofa.
`Very much.'
He laid one arm casually along the back of the sofa behind her. Candy barely noticed. She turned to him, her eyes filling.
`Look, can't you see? This was what I was afraid of all along about this sort of arrangement. I don't want to tell her lies.'
`You didn't' he said lazily.
Candy was impatient. 'Or let her believe lies.' He considered her, his head on one side.
`Why?' he asked at last.
`Why?' Candy was outraged. 'Because she's so kind. And she's fond of you. I don't want to hurt her.'
He raised an eyebrow. 'And don't you think it would hurt her if you told her that you don't really want to many me, but I'm the only option you've got?' he asked levelly.
Candy was shocked. 'That's not true.'
`Isn't it?'
`No' She turned to him. 'You know it isn't. I—'
Lady Richmond came back into the room. There was no time to say more. Justin didn't move from her side, though he stood up when his aunt came in. And when he sat down again, he dropped his arm casually round Candy's shoulders. She noticed this time, and sat very still.
Oblivious, Lady Richmond chatted. Justin looked down at Candy with a crooked smile.
`Christmas,' said his aunt, holding out a photograph. `Your first when you came back to England.'
He leaned forward, bringing Candy closer to his body in the casual movement. She could feel the warmth of his thigh pressed hard against her own. She swallowed.
Justin turned the photograph round and handed it to her. 'I look like a bewildered scarecrow,' he said ruefully.
`Well, the family were all new to you,' said his aunt excusingly. 'And there's such a lot of family at Christmas.'
Justin chuckled. 'Enough, certainly'
He named them. Candy tried to concentrate. But she was more conscious of the muscular arm that curved round her.
`I suppose you'll be asking them all to the wedding,' Lady Richmond said happily.
Justin looked down at the photograph. A frown appeared between his brows. He didn't answer.
Lady Richmond didn't appear to notice. She perched on the arm of the sofa and gave them another photograph. She leaned over Candy's shoulder, pointing.
`That the Open Day. Do you remember, Justin? You'd just joined the board, and Henry said it was up to you to be the family's representative in the sack race.'
Justin grinned. 'He also told me not to win.'
He looked up at his aunt. As he did so, Candy thought she felt his lips against her temple. Her eyes flew to his, electrified. But he was exchanging an unreadable look with Lady Richmond. He took the photograph from her and held it for Candy.
`There he is, darling. And that hat has Aunt Rose underneath.' His voice became deliberate. 'And that's Marianne. In the dark glasses.'
`Oh,' said Candy.
She looked at her predecessor. It was a snap, not a posed photograph. But nothing could disguise Marianne Richmond's elegance.
Candy cleared her throat. 'She looks—'
`Panic-stricken,' Lady Richmond said quickly. 'We all were at Open Days. Poor Marianne wasn't much of a joiner-in. And Henry could be a bit of a tyrant.'
Justin handed back the photograph. 'Unlike me.'
His aunt laughed. 'Well, you don't make me run eggand-spoon races, I'll give you that. But you have a habit of getting what you want.'
All too conscious of the arm around her, Candy shivered. She shifted. The arm tightened.
`You're exaggerating,' Justin told Lady Richmond.
But she wasn't. Candy saw it herself, again and again. Justin seldom argued. He never raised his voice. But, calm and smiling, he got what he wanted—even out of her father.
Sir Leslie's opposition to the marriage was vocal and persistent. It reduced his wife to tears and Candy to
white-faced endurance. Justin, walking into a patently vicious exchange a few days later in the Mayfair drawing-room, summed up the situation at a glance and took steps.
`I think,' he told Sir Leslie gently, 'we need to talk about Candy's shares in Neilson's.'
It came as a bolt from the blue. Candy jumped and turned to him in astonishment. But for once he was not looking at her. He was watching her father with a faint smile.
Sir Leslie said, 'You bastard.' He sent Candy a vicious look. `If you think you're going to use my daughter's shares in my own company....'
Justin said softly, 'They're Candy's shares. She'll do as she wants with them.'
`No, they're not,' retorted her father. 'They're in trust until she's twenty-five.'
Justin looked at him thoughtfully. 'Or until she marries.'
Sir Leslie began to look ugly. 'Are you threatening me?'
Their eyes locked. In the crackling silence, Candy looked from one to the other. She was remembering, coldly, that they were in the same business and her father regarded him as a serious rival. What sort of man was she committing herself to?
Justin said gently, 'Reminding you.'
Without looking at Candy, he reached out and took her hand. She felt the warmth, the strength in his hand. He prised open her clenched fingers and intertwined them with his own. Her father's eyes flickered. She knew he had seen the gesture. Perhaps he had been meant to. In spite of the doubt, her hand lay quiescent in Justin's.
`Not a terribly good time to bully her, I would suggest. Not when you're relying on her goodwill not to sell those shares. To me, for example,' Justin pointed out sweetly.
Sir Leslie's colour rose. Judith stood up, looking anxious. Justin gave them both his charming smile. Candy saw that it didn't reach his eyes.
`Think about it,' he advised. He glanced down at Candy. 'I'm afraid we haven't really got time for a drink, darling. I booked a table for eight.'
Shaken by the nasty little scene and what it revealed of Justin, she nodded jerkily. 'I'll get my coat.'
He set a brisk pace through the rain-drenched streets. Candy looked at him sideways. Was he as ruthless as her father? As cold and unscrupulous? Or did he just fight fire with fire? She tried to sort out her confused feelings. It was impossible to do at the same time as keeping up with him.
At last he said, 'I didn't realise the way they used you.' Candy was startled. 'What do you mean?'
`Haven't you noticed?' He sounded angry. 'It's death, getting caught as the pivot between two other people. You keep them apart, so they can't actually close with each other, but you keep them locked together too. You'd be better out of it.' He looked down at her and asked abruptly, 'Do you want the big wedding that your mother's planning?'
Candy blew her nose and put her handkerchief in her pocket. She stared at him.
`What do you mean?'
/> Justin drew a long breath. 'I mean I don't think you can stand much more of this.' He stopped and turned suddenly, taking her hands between both of his. He looked down at her searchingly. 'Let me get a special licence. Let's get married quickly.'
`But—'
`I want you out of that poisonous house,' Justin said
harshly. Wow. Marry me soon. Or move in with me.' Candy gasped. But the guests ... My mother...' Justin shook her gently. 'Whose wedding is it?'
She hesitated, searching his face. His eyes were almost black in the dim street-lighting. By some trick of that light, his high cheekbones were illuminated so that he looked fierce and even a little cruel, like a man in pain.
`It matters so much?' Candy asked slowly.
His face changed, became unreadable. He dropped her hands.
`Only if it matters to you. Of course you must have whatever wedding you want.'
Candy made up her mind. She felt shaky but brave.
`You're right. The sooner the better.' She sent him an apologetic glance. 'But you'll have to hold my hand when I tell my mother.'
Justin expelled a long sigh. He shrugged. 'She can still have her party. We just don't put on the performance first. And no speeches,' he added with feeling. 'In fact, the more I think about it, the more attractive the prospect.'
Candy felt as if a great burden she had not known she was carrying had been suddenly taken off her shoulders. She gave him her sudden infectious grin and raised her eyes to the stars.
`Thank you, God, for letting me marry a tough businessman who is also a lateral thinker,' she teased.
Justin stood very still in the shadows. For a moment there was a tension between them which Candy did not understand. She looked at him uncertainly, her smile dying.
Then he gave a sharp nod. Again she had the impression of a man in pain.
`I'll get the licence tomorrow,' he said.
Candy was not on duty at the Homeless Centre that night. She realised that Dave Tresilian was anxious not to provoke either of the powerful men in her life. So he reshuffled the rota. Initially that had hurt. Now, however, it seemed insignificant.
She sat, sleepless, on her bed. She thought of the first night she had met Justin. Was it less than a month ago? Even then, she thought with a superstitious shudder, she had dreamed of him
What was happening to her? When Justin touched her, she froze, just as she had with Tom Langton. Yet when he didn't touch her all she wanted was to feel his arms round her.
Hugging her arms round her knees, she rested her head against the window-pane. Outside, the rain was teeming down in silvery sheets. The empty street gleamed like a dark mirror. The Georgian houses were dark too. She had never felt so lonely in her life. Nor so out of control.
Oh, lord, if only Justin were here, she thought.
Then she realised what she was thinking. She jumped, gasping aloud. Her hands flew to her cheeks. She could feel the blood burning under her fingers.
How could she want Justin Richmond like that—as if he were the only man in the world she could trust? She must be out of her mind. And if he saw it—
Candy blushed harder. He would be sorry for her. He would see this for what it was—pitiful, childish, naïve. He would probably be quite kind and a little embarrassed.
Either that or he would use it against her, as she had seen him use his knowledge of human nature against others who had opposed him. Candy set her teeth. Out of control she might be, but she wasn't delivering herself up into the power of cool, clever Justin Richmond, she resolved grimly.
She went back to bed. She slept eventually. It was a miserable night. She tossed and turned in the grip of dreams of a mysterious figure just ahead of her in a midnight alley. He was oblivious of her cries for help. Or was she calling out because she was afraid of him and wanted to warn others?
She chased him, and he turned, but she could never make out his face. Twice she awoke, with tears on her face. In the morning, her bedclothes were on the floor and her eyes looked as if she hadn't slept.
Justin saw it at once. He arrived on the doorstep with the morning paper. His eyebrows flew up at the sight of her.
`Problems?'
Candy blinked and straightened her drooping shoulders.
`What are you doing here?'
His answering smile was crooked. 'I've come to solve your problems. Or double them. Depending on how you look at it.'
She closed her eyes. 'Justin, I've had a bad night wrestling with the duvet. I'm not up to riddles. Say what you have to say without the crossword clues—please?'
He reached out and ran a long finger down her cheek, so lightly that he barely touched her. Her skin felt scalded. She jumped. Her eyes came wide awake and she took a step backwards.
`Bad night?' He sounded almost amused.
Candy glared at him 'You aren't very sympathetic.'
Justin propped himself against the door-jamb and grinned down at her. Something in his eyes made her feel distinctly warm in spite of the spring wind whipping round her bare ankles. She huddled her sensible dark blue dressing-gown closer round her.
`On the contrary,' he murmured.
Candy refused to acknowledge that her colour was rising. He was playing with her, and they both knew it.
`No.. . riddles,' she said, emphasising the words by thumping her fist against the door-frame.
Justin's smile widened. He took her hand and turned it over to observe the knuckles.
`You'll hurt yourself doing that,' he remarked.
He lifted it to his mouth and touched his lips very softly to each finger. Candy swallowed hard. He looked up quickly and she found he was laughing into her eyes. She began to feel slightly dizzy. He looked satisfied just for a moment. Then his expression became his normal one of casual amusement at the world—or at her, thought Candy dourly.
`Anyway, I've got the licence,' he said lazily. It was a shock.
`Oh ..
`A bit final?' he murmured after a pause.
`What do you mean?' she said, defensive.
He looked at her for a long moment. Then he shrugged.
`Only that you seem less than delighted. Cold feet, Candy?'
`I never,' said Candy with precision, 'get cold feet.'
Unexpectedly he chuckled. He gave her fingers a quick squeeze before he released them. She glared at him, flexing her crushed fingers, but his expression was bland.
`You astonish me. With this wind and nothing on your feet, I'd have thought you were freezing.'
And before she knew what he was about, he swept her off her feet and into his arms. He hoisted her over his shoulder in a competent fireman's lift, and carried her inside. He kicked the door shut behind him.
`Put me down,' said Candy without much originality but with a great deal of genuine feeling. She could feel his shoulders shaking.
`Certainly.'
He shouldered his way into the kitchen. Maria looked up from the stove. Shock and amusement warred in her expression.
`Good morning,' Justin said cheerfully.
Candy thumped him hard between the shoulder-blades.
`Brute. Bully. Put me down.'
He righted her and dropped her unceremoniously on the rug. He was turning away before she had straightened.
`Coffee? Wonderful. You're a marvel, Maria.'
`How dare you?' Candy stormed to his back. 'How dare you?'
`Oh, I'll risk Maria's coffee,' he said. 'It didn't kill me last time.'
Maria gave a choke of laughter, quickly suppressed, and passed him a mug of coffee. After one look at Candy's stormy expression, she murmured something indecipherable and eased out of the kitchen. Justin raised one eyebrow.
`I suppose you think you're very funny,' Candy hissed. Justin considered that, the brown eyes dancing. `Moderately,' he allowed.
Candy glared. His lips twitched. Driven unbearably, she stamped her foot, stabbing her toe against the leg of the breakfast table. She let out a yell of fury and sank on to a cha
ir, hugging the injured foot to her. The old dressing-gown fell open to reveal her brief cotton nightshirt. Justin looked interested.
Hurriedly she dropped her foot and pulled the worn skirts together over her knees. Justin laughed.
`Get out,' Candy raged at him, rocking backwards and forwards. She did not know how much was pain from the injured toe and how much was embarrassment, but they combined to produce a wholly uncharacteristic loss of temper. `Go on, say what you came for and get out.'
He put down the coffee-mug and came over to her. Putting a hand over each of her shoulders, he brought the maltreated chair to an abrupt halt. It gave her a strange little flutter in the throat to have him towering over her, so close, so overpowering. She had not realised
how tall he was. Her mouth dry, Candy tilted her chin at him defiantly.
`You,' Justin informed her, amused, 'are asking for trouble. I came to tell you the ceremony's fixed. St Luke's. Three days' time. Eleven o'clock.'
`Oh.' The fight went out of her. 'That soon?' she said in a small voice. 'Should I—that is, do I have to tell them?'
Justin looked down at her. His face was almost tender, she thought. Which was ridiculous. It must be a trick of the odd angle at which she was looking up at him
`Not if you don't want to. We can carry on pretending your mother can organise it all for the moment, and tell them afterwards, if you like.'
`Yes, please.'
`You're sure you don't want your parents there?'
He looked at her searchingly. Candy thought of her mother's forebodings, her father's fury. They would try to stop it, she knew. Even now, her mother was going through the motions of making pre-wedding lists, but her attitude made it plain that she did not expect it to come off. At times Candy had hardly expected it herself.
`Quite sure,' she said steadily.
`And no friends?'
Friends? People like Tom Langton and his sister? Or the indifferently charitable, like Dave Tresilian? She swallowed a lump in her throat and shook her head again.
`Very well. I'll arrange everything.' He touched her hair lightly. 'Just don't lose your nerve on me.'
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