by Trisha David
'Will you carry him, Beth?' he asked. 'If you sit in the passenger seat, I'll lift him on to your lap. The warmth of your body will help him, and he knows you best. Now the bleeding's eased, it's the shock that's doing the damage.'
He took Beth's hand and guided it to the top of the car door, and then left her to get into the car herself. Then he stooped and lifted the dog. He waited until Beth was settled and then laid the big dog across her lap.
Beth's dress was blood-stained anyway. It couldn't get any worse than it was now.
Then William looked at Jenni.
Mistake.
Jenni was now wearing jeans and one worn, thin bra— and her breasts were just gorgeous!
He blinked and tried to focus on her face.
Tried very, very hard.
'Where do I find the vet, Jenni?'
'I...I don't think you can.' Jenni bit her lip. Good grief! She seemed totally unaware that she was semi-naked. Her mind was focussing on immediate need, and it had nothing to do with her appearance. 'The directions are tricky. Maybe I should take my truck.'
'You might not make it,' William said bluntly. 'Your truck's a wreck, Jenni, and the last thing you need is a breakdown.'
'Yes, but I need to go. I must.'
She did. William saw that. Jenni's face was white as chalk, and so was her sister's. If Sam died...
Jenni needed to go, but the Mercedes sports car had two seats, and only two seats.
William sighed, made his decision and tossed Jenni the car keys.
'You go, then,' he told her. 'I'll stay here and mind the farm.'
'You will?' Jenni grabbed the keys like a lifeline, but then looked down at them with doubt. 'William, I've never driven a car like this.'
'It's about time you learned,' he said, striving to make his voice light. It'd help a whole heap if Jenni weren't almost naked from the waist up. 'If you're my affianced wife then what's mine is yours.'
'William...'
'Just go, Jenni,' he told her. And then he grinned as Jenni took two steps towards the car. 'Jenni...'
'Yes?'
'Haven't you forgotten something?'
'What?'
His grin deepened. This was some crazy woman. He hauled off his shirt and handed it over.
'You're an engaged woman now,' he told her. 'No advertising.' He looked pointedly at her wonderful cleavage.
Jenni stared down, following his gaze—and finally she realised. And she blushed bright crimson.
'Just get going,' he told her as she made a grab for his shirt and clutched it across her breasts, but then he hesitated as a small boy came tearing across the yard.
'Jenni, come quick,' the child was yelling. 'Dad says I have to tell you... I opened the pig's gate for a look at the piglets and now I can't get it closed again. And the pigs are going everywhere.'
'Oh, help...' Jenni paused and looked out towards the pigsty, clearly torn.
But William was pressing her down into the driver's seat.
'Just go, Jenni,' he told her. 'Leave the farm to me. And the pigs. Trust me. Just go.'
It was five hours later before Jenni finally made it back to the farm, and the little car was loaded to the Plimsoll Line.
They'd left Sam at the vet's. Beth and Jenni had watched the vet set up a drip and had waited until Sam had shown signs that he'd make it. The plasma had worked.
'It was only blood loss that did the damage,' the vet said. 'Now we're restoring his fluid balance and he's recovering from shock he'll be fine. Leave him with me overnight and I'll keep the drip running. Telephone me in the morning to check that I'm right, but I see no reason why you shouldn't have him home by lunchtime.'
Beth bade her dog a tearful farewell and, three hours after they'd arrived, they were standing outside the vet's wondering what to do next.
Next stop was the police station. Shock giving way to anger, Beth insisted they report Ronald's attack.
It was useless. There was nothing the police could do. The police knew Ronald well, and there was nothing they'd have liked better than to charge him, but it was impossible.
'I'm sorry, miss,' they told Beth sympathetically. 'But you're the only witness and...well….'
And, well, Beth was blind. One blind witness. Jenni cringed inwardly for her sister, but there was nothing more to be said.
But that's one more I owe Ronald, Jenni thought grimly. Okay, I will marry you, William. I'm starting to hate Ronald almost as much as you do.
Maybe this marriage could work. They had so much in common. Mutual hate of Ronald...
Then Jenni remembered Rachel.
Her sister was coming home this weekend and her train was due in at nine. That was in an hour's time.
Jenni hardly had time to take Beth home and come back to town to fetch Rachel. So... Could William keep the farm going until they returned? And how would they all fit into the Mercedes?
They'd just have to squash.
So Jenni and Beth had a pub meal while Jenni watched the colour creep back into Beth's face, and the life come back into her voice. The meal by themselves had been a good decision. By the time Rachel arrived, Beth was almost back to her normal self.
'And if you can't make Jenni tell me what on earth is going on, then I'll scream,' Beth told Rachel as they met her off the train and finished telling her about Sam. 'She goes to hear Martha's will, and comes home with a man with the sexiest voice I've ever heard. And his car... Rachel, wait until you see his car! It feels like you're sitting in the world's most sumptuous lounge chair!'
Maybe not—especially since they travelled home with Beth sitting on Rachel's lap. Rachel didn't travel light and, squashed underneath Beth and her baggage, she could hardly speak—but she managed a few pertinent questions. Rachel was good at questions.
Like... 'Who exactly is William Brand?'
Jenni told her. She was concentrating fiercely on not crashing William's car and she was watching out for police at the same time—they were illegally loaded to say the least—and concentration helped to give unemotional answers to questions she didn't feel the least unemotional about. 'William is Ronald's stepbrother,' she said.
'But...he's not like Ronald.'
'No. He's not like Ronald.'
'If he's Ronald's stepbrother, does that mean he's our cousin?'
'Martha was our aunt but she was only William's stepmother. So, no, he's not our cousin.'
'Then why has he come to the farm?'
'To stay for a while. To get acquainted.' Jenni took a deep breath. 'Rachel, tell me about your exams. Are you ready? Do you think you'll do okay?'
'Rach, William called Jenni his affianced wife,' Beth cut in, ignoring Jenni's attempt at distraction but muffled by baggage. 'Make her tell you what that means, Rach.'
Rachel twisted underneath Beth to stare across at Jenni.
'Yeah? Affianced wife? He called you that? So what does that mean, exactly?'
'I guess...' Try for lightness here, Jenni told herself, her fingers clenching the wheel so hard they turned white. 'I guess that means I'm his affianced wife.'
Silence. Both sisters took this on board and chewed it around.
'Affianced as in engaged to be married?' Rachel asked at last.
'That's the one.'
'So...when exactly did you meet this man?'
'When I was ten.'
'And after that?'
'Well...this afternoon.'
'And you fell madly in love across Martha's grave?'
'Across Henry Clarins' desk, actually,' Jenni said, and grinned.
'Oh, yeah...' Rachel gave an indignant bounce and Beth yelped. 'Sorry, Beth. But it's as much to try the patience of a saint.'
'Don't mind me,' Beth said faintly. 'Bounce all you like, Rach. I'll just go through William's roof here. Just get it out of her. Jenni, tell us!'
There was nothing for it but the truth.
So Jenni told them, as the lovely little sports car devoured the miles between the town and home, a
nd at the end of the story you could have heard a pin drop.
'Jenni, you can't do it,' Rachel breathed at last. 'You can't.'
'Don't say that until you've met him,' Beth pleaded. 'Rachel, he's something else! He didn't even treat me like a moron because I'm blind. You know how people push me into cars like they think I'm cardboard. Stiff and totally stupid. It was the first time William ever met me and he still acted like I could do it. And he trusted me with Sam. He didn't even ask if I'd be okay. He expected me to cope. He's great, Rach.'
'You've only met him for two minutes,' Rachel told her.
'Two minutes is enough.'
'Look, we're talking about marriage here,' Rachel retorted. Jenni was ignored now. Her two younger sisters were off in battle. 'You don't marry someone you've met once in your life before.'
'It's only for a year,' Beth said stubbornly. 'And Jenni's^ too old to meet anyone else. She's hardly likely to get any other offers at her age.'
'Gee, thanks,' Jenni said, but she was still ignored.
'You don't marry someone for a year,' Rachel said stubbornly. 'What about property settlements and things like that? Even if Jenni does inherit the farm... He can probably claim half of it as a divorce settlement.'
'Then Jenni can claim half his worldly goods, too,' Beth said gleefully. 'Have you thought about that, Jen?' She gave an extravagant sigh. 'Half this car would be okay. We need one extra seat, though. Or maybe two so Sam can join in. A great big Mercedes limo...'
'Half William Brand's goods would run to a bit more than a Mercedes limo.' Rachel paused, thoughtful. 'Hey, Jen, that's not a bad idea. We could do really well out of this. What do you reckon?'
'I don't reckon anything,' Jenni said tightly. 'I'm so confused I don't reckon anything at all.'
At least she was home. Jenni turned the car into the driveway of the farm and paused while Rachel opened the gate. Every light in the house was on. William, then, was still here and here in force.
Did he know about electricity bills? she demanded of herself, and then gave a rueful grin. Of course he didn't. Business tycoons didn't have to worry about the twenty-cents-an-hour cost of leaving on lights.
He'd have to worry about it this year, she told herself. If William was staying for a year, there were things he'd just have to learn.
There were things he was learning already. . For William, it had been a very long five hours. Possibly it had been one of the longest five-hour periods he'd ever spent. He heard the little sports car turn into the gate with nothing but relief.
He'd telephoned the veterinarian and had heard Sam's progress report. That had been an hour ago, the girls had already left the vet's, and the thought of what Jenni and Beth were doing for so long in the sports car had his relief for Sam overtaken by worry.
Jenni wasn't accustomed to driving such a powerful car. If anything happened to her now...
If anything happened to Jenni, his nice little plan for revenge would be dead in the water, but in fact it was more than his plans that had him worried.
The thought of Jenni injured...
This was crazy. He'd only known the woman for half a day.
He'd been too busy to have much time to worry, but the worry had stayed there all the time, and when he heard the sports car turn into the drive he walked out to meet it with real relief.
And watched, stunned, as it unloaded itself.
Suitcases emerged, followed by a hockey stick. There were piles of textbooks. There were legs, legs and more legs...
Finally he had all the legs sorted into order. They belonged to three young women, all in various stages of disarray.
Beth was in a blood-stained school dress. She had curly hair down to her shoulders, big green eyes like her sister's, and her face was pale with weariness.
Rachel was next. This must be Rachel. The newcomer was taller than Jenni, with a mischievous smile and the carefree look of a university student. She was wearing crushed jeans and a halter-necked top that left her midriff bare. Her hair was long and blonde, with a purple streak down the centre.
And that left Jenni.
Jenni was wearing blood-spattered jeans and his shirt which was way too big. It reached her knees. Jenni was pushing her errant curls out of her eyes—her braid was coming unstuck—and shoving the goat's nose out of Rachel's textbooks.
'No, you don't want to eat Gray's Anatomy, you stupid creature.' And... 'Why is the goat in the house yard?' she asked, and William grinned and strolled down to pick up a few tons of gear.
'He's a dangerous animal,' he said mildly. 'He grabbed Mrs Pilkington's beach coat and she screamed like he'd done murder. It was either bring him in from the road and pretend he's in solitary confinement on bread and water, or have her call out the armed forces.'
'Oh...' Jenni frowned as she took this in. 'I see. Does that mean we have to pay for a beach coat?'
'I already did,' William told her. 'And I apologised profusely for Herbert here. He would have apologised himself but he was too full of towelling.'
But Jenni didn't smile. 'There goes the weekend's profits.' She sighed. 'And don't tell me. You turned on all the inside lights because you're afraid of the dark.'
William turned and looked up at the house in surprise. 'The lights?'
'Every light is on,' Jenni said patiently.
'That's because it's night-time,' he said, just as patiently, and Beth giggled at his humour-the-idiot tone.
William turned to Beth then. 'I hear Sam's okay, Beth,' he told her. 'I rang the vet an hour ago and he said to tell you Sam's had some dinner and is feeling much better. He said he'll be fine to come home tomorrow.'
'Oh, that's great...'
'Is this your other sister?'
'Oh...' Clearly, Beth wasn't accustomed to being addressed as someone of importance, or addressed instead of her sisters. She half turned towards Jenni—and then caught herself.
'Oh. Yes. This is Rachel. We stayed to meet her off the train.'
'And how did you all fit in my car?'
Beth giggled again, and Jenni stared. Was this her normally painfully shy sister? Beth was bubbly enough within her family, but she was usually quiet with strangers.
'My head's made a dent in your car roof,' Beth said. 'And I can't tell you where Rachel's hockey stick ended up. I can only tell you that it hurt.'
But Jenni was no longer listening. She'd turned and was staring at the house, and she was staring with apprehension written right across her face.
'William, there's a noise,' she said faintly. 'There's a noise coming from inside the house.'
'Oh, yes.' William was at his most urbane. 'That's our guests.'
They all turned to stare at William.
'Guests?' said Rachel.
'It sounds like animals,' Jenni said, in a voice of deep foreboding. 'It sounds like pigs.'
William nodded knowledgeably. 'I expect that's because it is pigs.' .
'You didn't...'
'I couldn't shut the gate,' he said plaintively. 'No one can shut that gate. Edward Herring, aged eight, managed to open it and the boy has better muscles than me. So the pigs got out. It took Samantha Herring, aged six, Mr and Mrs Herrings Mr and Mrs Pilkinton of beach-robe fame and the entire Haynes clan to round up ten pigs and who knows how many piglets. We've had two hours of piglet-chasing—'
'Sixteen,' Beth said anxiously. 'There should be sixteen piglets.'
'I caught twenty-five piglets.' William's voice implied that if he never saw another piglet it wouldn't worry him a bit. And then he grinned at Beth's look of confusion.
'Some were better at escaping than others,' he explained. 'I'd swear I caught the same piglet six times. We tried making them go back into the sty but the gate wouldn't work. The wood around the hinge is rotten and, short of hacking it off with an axe, I couldn't move it. Then there was nothing to block it with. Short of knocking a few timbers off the house or chopping down a tree or two, we had to find alternative accommodation.'
'Jenni u
ses house timber,' Rachel told him darkly. 'Once I lost the whole wall of my bedroom because one of the guest cottages was leaking. It stayed that way for a month until we could afford new timber. Jenni's ideas of air-conditioning leave a lot to be desired.'
'William, where are they now?' Jenni's voice was carefully controlled as she ignored Rachel's interjection. She could hear where it sounded as if the pigs were housed, and she wasn't the least sure she wanted to know for certain.
'They're in the last lean-to.'
'The last...' Jenni gasped. 'But that's my bedroom.'
'It was the storeroom in my day,' William told her. 'It looks a whole heap more spartan now.' Then, at her look of horror, he relented. 'Hey, I hauled the bedclothes and the floor rug into the other room before I turned it into a pig residence,' he told her kindly. 'And I remembered your pyjamas.'
'My... My pyjamas...' Jenni could hardly speak. 'I don't believe it. You've put twenty-six pigs in my bedroom!'
'At least twenty-six. I swear I counted more.'
'William Brand, I no longer wish to marry you,' Jenni told him. 'The deal's off.'
'But, hey, they're your pigs in your bedroom,' William told her. Damn him, the man actually looked cheerful. 'Remember, if you don't marry me then they're Ronald's pigs, in Ronald's bedroom.'
There was that, Jenni conceded. It was a comfort—but not much. Jenni thought of the mess she'd be facing in the morning and she shuddered. Ugh!
'There was nowhere else, Jenni,' William said, his voice softening. 'I could hardly tether twenty-six individual pigs. That gate's impossible. The wood's heavy and rotten. Why don't you have a cyclone wire gate put on?'
'I can't afford cyclone wire,' she snapped.
'Well, you can't use my bedroom wall again,' Rachel said firmly. 'I object.'
'I'll find something. I intend to rebuild the pigsty but...'
'But you have the odd other thing on your plate.' William's smile gentled. 'Like welcoming your sisters home. So let's do that now. Come inside. I'll help you clean up after the pigs in the morning—after we rebuild the sty.'
Jenni stared. 'But... you can't...'
'I was born and bred on a farm, Jenni. I can build pigsties.' William's dark eyes twinkled. 'And I can even afford to go into town tomorrow and buy us some cyclone fencing. Just to save Rachel's bedroom wall.'
