Perilous Refuge

by Patricia Wilson

  'Hi, chief! Hi, Ross!'

  He was smiling broadly and Helen wondered where his natural hardness had gone. Tansy flew at her and Helen hugged her close, burying her face in the soft curls. 'I ate,' Tansy assured her. 'I had a bath too. Can I stay up a bit?'

  'Yes, you can, chicken,' Helen agreed, thinking hastily of safety in numbers. 'I'll just help Tina.' Really, she was about the worst hostess in the world. Ross was still standing there.

  'All is prepared. Just go and get changed, no business suits at dinner.'

  'Can you find me a caftan?' Ross enquired and Tina grinned at him, in no way overawed by his very masculine presence.

  'You'll do. You can go and pour a drink while I dish up. You can also entertain Tansy. See if the fire wants tending,' she called over her shoulder as he took off his coat.

  'These are my teddy-bear pyjamas,' Tansy pointed out, coming to stand close to him, and Ross bent to inspect them.

  'They're very smart. I might get some myself.' Helen fled upstairs, realising that her hands were shaking. There was an easygoing way between all of them as if she had missed something. They really seemed to know each other and in such a short time. It was ridiculous but she felt left out as if Ross Maclean had breached the walls of her fortress in some sinister way. Having invited him here of her own volition, she now felt as if she had been outmanoeuvred.

  She put on a soft blue woollen dress, a shade darker than her eyes, standing brushing out her hair without really thinking about it. Tina's face had been flushed with more than the heat of the kitchen, her eyes too bright. This was going to lead to trouble. She clipped on her earrings and went downstairs, quite prepared to find Ross in the kitchen talking to Tina. He wasn't. He was in the sitting room with Tansy, a drink in his hand, and Helen felt like running out when he just stared at her.

  The light caught the shining jet of her hair, picking up the blue lights, and the intensity of his gaze made her skin bum. She realised she hadn't re-braided her hair because she didn't bother at home. it made her feel vulnerable and unprepared.

  'Incredible,' he murmured. 'Another outer shell removed. You look younger than Tina.'

  'I...I'll go and help her...' Helen began but he came forward and handed her a drink.

  'I have orders to keep you here and I'm trying to remain in her good books. I've entertained Tansy, tended the fire and poured you a drink. If I've missed anything out, she'll snap, so stay here and defend me.'

  Helen sat down, and Tansy immediately climbed on her lap, cuddling against her.

  'Can we make a snowman?'

  'Not until the snow gets deep,' Helen reminded her, kissing the tip of the little nose. 'We might get a sledge this year,' she added, and received a hug that nearly spilled her drink.

  Ross was still watching intently and she struggled to find a safe topic of conversation. 'What sort of house will you be buying?'

  'Something old and fairly big. It will have to be used to entertain, unfortunately.'

  'Why unfortunately?'

  'Because this sort of house would suit me a lot better. It's cosy and warm, easy to live in.'

  'You should have seen it when we got it! It's only an old cottage really. We could afford a modem kitchen and a good bathroom; the rest is improvisation. We don't even have a dining-room,' she added, nodding towards the cosy alcove that housed the dining-room furniture.

  'Who needs one? I can't think of anything better than eating dinner with a fire blazing in the hearth. I've lived in great houses all my life.' He grimaced. 'My mother entertains a lot, business and personal preference. I don't remember being allowed to stay up and have a cuddle while guests were having cocktails. Anyway, this place is full of antiques by the look of it.'

  'My father collected them,' Helen said, her eyes on the flickering flames of the fire. 'We have some of them here and the rest are in store. We couldn't bear to part with them, each piece was important with a little story of its own, even if it was only how my father tricked the dealers who were bidding.' She smiled as memory flooded back, the firelight making her skin gleam like cream silk. She shook herself out of it, looking down at Tansy. 'You're sleepy. Want to go to bed?'

  'No! I can sit at the table, Tina promised.'

  'I did too. Come and get it!' Tina appeared through the door that led from the kitchen to the dining area and Helen saw that she had nipped up to change. Her dark brown hair was brushed and shining and she was in a short woollen dress that showed off her long legs. She was wearing make-up too, a thing she usually didn't bother about. A chill seemed to settle on Helen but she managed a smile and kept it there as they all sat down to eat.

  Tina had made a great effort. The table looked wonderful, the dark, polished wood gleaming in the lamplight, the main lights switched off, candles lit, flickering shadows on the old silver.

  'Ooh, lovely! We don't get out candles much.' Tansy gave the game away but Tina was totally unmoved.

  'Well, I thought we wouldn't eat out of the pans tonight as we have a guest,' she said briskly, dishing up the meal competently as Tansy climbed on to Helen's knee and watched wide-eyed.

  'I could eat this out of a pan any day,' Ross complimented, highly amused by Tina's quips.

  'Why, thank you, sir. You should taste Helen's cooking, though, that really is something!'

  'Will I get the chance?' His disturbing grey eyes rested lightly on Helen but Tina was in full swing.

  'Not unless you give her the day off. It's too late to start cooking at this hour. She cooks at the weekend though. You could come then.'

  Helen looked dumbfounded and Ross smiled his slow smile. He could see rejection of the idea on her face , because she didn't have time to hide it.

  'We'd better see how I behave this time, don't you think?'

  He looked at Tansy, who was regarding him with open admiration. Helen was having trouble eating around her but she didn't want to ask her to get down. Tansy needed these moments.

  'Come and sit with me,' Ross suggested, smiling into the watching blue eyes. 'I'll share indigestion with Mummy.' Tansy instantly jumped down and he lifted her on to his lap, settling her against him, eating with no difficulty.

  She was asleep before they had even finished the first course and Tina came to pick her up and carry her to bed.

  'A visit here is fraught with danger,' Helen observed, sipping her wine.

  'I know. I never back down from a challenge, though.' She looked up quickly, her eyes startlingly beautiful in the light of the candles, a warning thrill running over her skin. What did he mean? Was he determined to be involved with Tina or was there something else? She couldn't look away, her ability to hide her face deserting her. Power held her fast, only Tina's re-entry breaking the sudden spell; even so, the slight smile seemed to hang around his lips for the rest of the evening. When he had gone, the house seemed quite, quite empty, and as they washed up together Tina was unusually silent. She looked smug too, excited. Helen hardly dared to think about this, the possible consequence of her impulsive action.

  There was a lull in the bad weather the next day. Overnight rain had cleared the snow completely and the sun was shining, doing its best against a cold, clear sky. Ross went out to lunch with a client and Helen had the office to herself for a while as Jeanette lived close enough to be able to have lunch at home. Helen normally brought a packed lunch and now she ate it slowly, her eyes still on her work.

  Ross had been quite right about things piling up. She was still eating and working when he came back in. 'That's a really good way to relax,' he said sharply, his tone making Helen hastily pack away the remains of her snack. 'Where's Jeanette?'

  'She'll be here in a second.' Helen glanced at her watch, relieved to hear Jeanette's high heels tapping across the passage right then.

  'Good. Get your coat. We're going out.' He glanced at her impatiently when she still sat there. 'Now, Helen!' 'Right.' She jumped up, reaching for her coat and bag. 'Do I need my notebook?'

  'No.' He ignored her f
or a minute. His attention taken up with Jeanette. 'Get these typed, Jeanette, and then get to some of Helen's work. We'll be out for about two hours. Note any calls and we'll discuss any problems later.'

  He swept Helen out of the office with the same impatience and Jeanette raised shapely eyebrows at Helen. Now what? He seemed disgruntled but Helen couldn't think of a thing she had done wrong. She decided to ask no questions, even when he drove out of town and headed into the country. It was safest in her little fortress of silence and she had been in it for so long that sliding back into it was not difficult.

  'Don't you have any sort of normal curiosity?' he suddenly snapped as they were speeding along the nearby motorway. 'Do you ever think about more than your notebook and pencil?' His sudden wave of anger was startling and Helen looked at him in astonishment.

  'Often!' She was stung into a sharp reply. 'Why, I even ponder on world events from time to time. The washing drives me wild with excitement and as to shopping... !'

  He gave a soft laugh, flashing her a glance of amused admiration. 'I can see, Miss Andrews, that you've stopped being afraid of me.'

  'I never was,' Helen muttered quickly, using the low, bright sunlight as an excuse to hide her face.

  'No?' He snapped down the sun-visor, taking her excuse away. 'Then you'll not lose your nerve when I tell you that I'm taking you to see a house, a lonely, empty house.'

  'Why?' She shot him a look of acute anxiety which he noted with amusement.

  'Aha! Terror returns. To put your mind at rest and satisfy your well-concealed curiosity, I'm thinking of buying. I need your advice.'

  'Oh!' Helen relaxed a little and then looked at him curiously. 'Why me?'

  'Why not you? Women have a way of seeing faults. I might be overwhelmed by its attractions and never see the rising damp.'

  'If you're set on an afternoon's entertainment, then be my guest,' Helen snapped, feeling uneasy about this teasing, an unhappy trembling disturbing her inside. She didn't want to be alone with Ross, miles from anywhere. The idea upset her, although she couldn't think why.

  'Just walk round and look,' he suggested quietly. 'I won't ask you to entertain me in any way at all.'

  There was sufficient innuendo for Helen to feel her cheeks burning, and she had not in any way recovered when he said,

  'How long are you going to go on being scared of men, Helen?'

  'I'm not scared of men. I was only ever scared of one man. As to the male species, I don't like them.'

  'That's unnatural. You're very young and very beautiful. You don't seem to have been scared of Jim Saxton,' he added before she could blush.

  'Jim was different.'

  'He presented no challenge. He let you sink into your little office and hide away. He was too intent on having an easy time to bother you. His golf handicap was paramount.'

  'Oh! How do you ... ?'

  'I know just about everything that concerns the firm,' he murmured sardonically, leaving the motorway and heading across country. 'Don't start worrying about Saxton. He was too good to throw away and too lazy to leave here. He'll jump in New York, snap out of his lethargy. When are you going to snap out of your nightmare?'

  'I just work for Maclean's,' Helen said stiffly. 'I'm not lethargic and I don't need saving by you or anyone else, so don't probe into my private life, Mr Maclean.'

  'How would you like to be dumped out here in the middle of nowhere?' he asked coolly. 'You refuse help and yet you don't seem to me to be very good at survival. Maybe you need a sharp, hard shock!'

  'I've had one. You arrived!' Helen snapped. It seemed to her that he had deliberately started this nasty quarrel and although she had improved a lot lately, especially with having to deal with Ross Maclean, she still trembled at the thought of an open row. 'If you want to try your experiment then I suggest you stop here and drop me off,' she finished in a choking voice.

  'A few hundred yards,' he murmured. 'Then you can get out and run.'

  Helen turned her face away, looking out of the window, her heart taking on a wild hammering when he drew up smoothly by a tall hedge, the country road empty around them.

  'You can get out now,' he said evenly, and Helen could hardly believe it. He actually meant it. He was about to leave her here miles from anywhere. She tightened her lips and opened the door, not quite knowing what to do. If he thought she was going to beg he could think again. She set off.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  'Wrong way, Helen.' Ross was beside her in two strides, his hand tightening round her wrist when she tried to pull away.

  'I can choose my own way,' she managed chokingly, but he merely turned her and took her along with him. 'The house is here. Surely you're going to look at it now we've come?'

  'I suppose you think that was damned funny, telling me you were going to tip me out?' She planted her feet firmly and looked up at him angrily. 'Or do I get tipped out on the way back?'

  'What a child you are really,' he said softly, his eyes grey and intent on her flushed face. 'Fright builds a wall around you. What man in his right mind would dump you miles from anywhere?'

  Suddenly, tears flooded into her eyes, tears she blinked away rapidly.

  'Miles was in his right mind, but he dumped me out once. It was dark, cold and there was nobody―''

  'Damn! Damn! Damn!' He used his grip on her wrist to pull her forward, looking down at her in wild exasperation. 'That's twice I've walked into a situation without warning. How the hell was I to know that your damned ex had behaved like a lunatic outside the house?'

  'He wasn't a lunatic,' Helen said quietly, looking down at her feet. 'He was just a cold, unfeeling man.'

  'You're wrapping me up in the same parcel?' he asked with dangerous quiet.

  'Not quite,' she said softly. 'For instance, I know you don't hit women and now I know you don't dump them alone on a country road.'

  'But I'm also a very undesirable male animal.' His voice was flat, edged with anger, and she didn't look up.

  'I've given you my opinion of men, and then only because you've...you've pressed me for details. If you'd left me to get on with my work like Jim did then I wouldn't have said a thing to deflate your ego.'

  'Thank you,' he murmured drily. 'In other words I'm responsible for my own injuries? Let's get on with what we came to do, Helen, and then you can get back to your tidy desk and your safe little way of life.'

  He was too angry to speak again and she walked along beside him, a mixture of misery and resentment flooding around inside her. She hadn't asked him into her life. She hadn't asked him to probe into her mental attitudes. He was her boss and nothing more than that. Now he was furious because his chauvinistic joke had gone wrong and, typically, he was blaming her.

  When he took a key from his pocket she came to herself and looked at her surroundings. The house was a Georgian house of quite a good size, red brick, its well-balanced proportions pleasing. It stood in a lot of garden with old red brick walls around the outer perimeter. There were mature trees in about two acres, gardens that looked as if they had been neglected for only a short time, and in spite of her anger and unease she found her eyes roaming over it slowly and with a great deal of pleasure.

  'If you'd like to look around I'll be grateful for any comments,' he said stiffly as he let her into a wide, well-lit hall.

  It was hardly a promising way to begin but she didn't want to talk to him anyway and she started on her own, going upstairs first as he was obviously about to go round the downstairs. The more she saw of it, the more it grew on her. It was a lovely house, and by the time she came to look around the lower floors her annoyance had faded to a sort of wistful nostalgia.

  Her own home had been like this, not as large perhaps but very similar. Even the rooms were arranged in the same way and she could see the furniture they had so carefully kept, the pieces in store, her mind placing them unerringly as they had been in the days when there were no worries, no heartaches, when she and Tina had seemed to laugh each day away. />
  She came slowly down the stairs almost visualising her mother, arranging flowers in the shining hall. Her blue eyes clouded. It was gone, all gone, the memory of Miles and what he had made her see in herself too much in the front of her mind for her to be able to hang on to the happiness.

  She walked through into the lounge, so sure of her steps, so lost in the past still that the sudden appearance of a change of level about a foot from the door took her completely by surprise. There had been no such step in her own home and she pitched forward headlong.

  Strong arms caught her and she looked up into clear grey eyes as Ross held her firmly and looked down into her face. She was so taken aback that she made no sort of move to free herself.