Bundle of Brides

by Kay Thorpe

  Another cleft stick, Gina thought unhappily. If she insisted on leaving, she let Elinor down, yet if she stayed on, Ross might take it that she’d read more into last night than he’d ever intended. Her acceptance of whatever her grandfather had left her was going to prove embarrassing enough after all her protestations, without that.

  ‘I imagine so,’ she said, without allowing herself any more time to think about it. ‘I’ll give her a call.’

  She left Elinor to resume her sunbathing, and went back indoors. There was a telephone in her room, but she couldn’t summon the energy to go all the way up there. It would be well into the afternoon back home, she calculated, though Barbara should still be at the shop.

  She was. What she wasn’t was delighted to hear what her partner had to say.

  ‘It’s already been more than a week,’ she complained. ‘How much longer?’

  ‘Two or three days,’ Gina hazarded. ‘I’m sure you’re managing just fine without me. Anyway, I’ll be in touch as soon as I have a return date.’

  Roxanne was standing a few feet away when she turned from the hall phone. From the way she was dressed, Gina could only deduce that she’d only just returned from last night’s outing.

  ‘Had a good time?’ she asked before the other could speak.

  ‘Very, if it’s any concern of yours,’ came the taut reply. ‘If you think you’re staying on here, you can think again!’

  ‘Would that really be any concern of yours?’ Gina returned levelly. ‘I was under the impression that this is your mother’s house.’

  Eyes glittering, Roxanne looked ready to spit. Gina left her standing there. Not for the first time, she wished none of this had ever happened; that her grandfather had just let the past ride. His attack of conscience had turned her life upside down in more ways than just the one.

  She made no mention of the will when she phoned her parents later. There was little point until she knew what she would be dealing with. They did their best to empathise with Elinor’s needs in the circumstances, but it was apparent that they were none too happy. It couldn’t be easy for them, Gina reflected wryly.

  The morning wore on. Neither brother nor sister put in an appearance for lunch.

  ‘Ross went in to the office,’ Elinor said. ‘Roxanne is probably still sleeping off last night’s excesses.’ She sighed and shook her head. ‘I really don’t know how she got to be the way she is these days. She’s my daughter, and I love her, of course, but there are times when I really don’t like her very much.’

  She said no more, looking as though she regretted having said as much as she had. Gina wished she could offer some reassurance, but she’d have to lie through her teeth to do it. Roxanne was a spoilt bitch; there were no other words for her.

  Ross arrived some minutes after the lawyer who was to perform the will-reading, joining the gathering in the library with apologies for keeping them all waiting. Gina kept her eyes fixed firmly to the front as he took a seat close by, but she was conscious of his gaze. So much for all the denials, she could sense him thinking.

  The lawyer dealt first of all with the more minor bequests, including the staff. They were then asked to leave the room while the rest of the will was read. Listening to the seemingly endless list of charities and organisations deemed worthy of benefit, Gina could only assume that the sums being tossed around were of little overall importance.

  She heard Roxanne mutter, ‘About time too!’ when they finally came to the main bequests.

  ‘To my adopted daughter, Roxanne,’ the lawyer read out, ‘I leave the sum of one million dollars, invested to provide an income for life. To my beloved wife, Elinor, I leave—’

  ‘A lousy million!’ Roxanne was on her feet, eyes blazing. ‘He can’t do this to me!’

  ‘Shut up, and sit down!’ said Ross forcefully. ‘Be thankful he didn’t cut you out altogether. One more word, and you’re out of here,’ he threatened as she opened her mouth to loose another tirade.

  ‘To my beloved wife, Elinor,’ the lawyer repeated as Roxanne subsided reluctantly, ‘I leave all my worldly goods and personal finances.’

  He paused, as if gathering himself, not lifting his eyes from the page in front of him. ‘My company holdings I leave to be equally divided between my adopted son, Ross Harlow, and my granddaughter, Virginia Saxton, on condition that the two of them marry. Should they fail to comply with said condition, the shares to be thrown open to the rest of the board.’

  CHAPTER FOUR

  THE silence that reigned after that final announcement seemed to last for ever. Gina felt as if she’d been hit over the head with a brick.

  Roxanne was the first to recover the power of speech. ‘There’s no way I’m standing for this!’ she jerked out. ‘I get a lousy million while she gets half the company! Ross, don’t just sit there!’

  ‘What would you have me do?’ he asked on what Gina considered an astonishingly calm note.

  ‘We can contest it. He wasn’t in his right mind!’

  ‘Don’t you dare say that!’ Elinor flared. ‘Oliver knew what he was doing. Gina has Harlow blood in her veins. She has a right to inherit!’

  Gina found her voice with an effort, forcing herself to look directly at Ross. ‘I’d no idea this was going to happen. I didn’t even know I was in the will at all until your mother told me this morning.’

  ‘That was all I knew myself,’ Elinor declared. ‘Oliver didn’t tell me what his intentions were. Not that I find it so unreasonable,’ she added staunchly.

  Roxanne gazed at her incredulously. ‘Are you mad too?’

  ‘Don’t speak to her like that!’ Ross clipped. ‘It’s obvious that Oliver was going to make provision for his granddaughter. Admittedly, I didn’t anticipate he’d go quite this far, but I’m sure we can sort something out.’

  Such as what? Gina wondered, still too dazed to think straight. How could her grandfather have done this to the man he’d groomed to take over from him? How could he have done it to her, if it came to that?

  Ross looked across at her, his expression controlled. ‘I think we need to talk. Not here. Alone.’

  A part of her wanted to say here and now that there was no point in discussing something that wasn’t going to happen, but some instinct kept the words from forming. She got to her feet like an automaton to accompany him from the room. Raised once more in bitter complaint, Roxanne’s voice was a chain-saw in her ears.

  Ross took her to what had been her grandfather’s study, inviting her to a seat. He didn’t sit down himself, leaning against the desk edge with hands thrust deep into trouser pockets. Looking at him now, Gina found it hard to believe that last night had ever happened.

  ‘I don’t…’ she began, breaking off as Ross shook his head.

  ‘You don’t have to convince me. You were as shocked as any of us back there. I’ve no quarrel with Oliver’s sentiments, only with his manner of expressing them. I think the tumour must have affected his reasoning. Otherwise, he’d have seen how impossible a situation he was creating. However, what’s done is done. Short of contesting the will in court—which I’ve no intention of doing—we’re left with two options.’

  He held up a staying hand as she made to speak. ‘Hear me out. I have a fifteen-per-cent holding, Oliver had sixty, with the other twenty-five spread across the board. If we don’t comply with the condition he set down, we’ll be giving certain members the opportunity to acquire enough stock to take over control of the company. I’ve no intention of allowing that to happen either.’ The pause was brief. ‘Which reduces the options to just the one.’

  Gina gazed at him in silence for several moments, searching the lean features for some sign of the man she’d spent the night with. There was no softening of expression as he gazed back at her—no penetrating the grey eyes. He was a totally unknown quantity again.

  ‘In your view, perhaps,’ she got out. ‘Not in mine! You really think I’d marry a man I don’t even know just to…’ She broke off as
he tilted an ironic eyebrow, feeling the warmth rising under her skin. ‘Just to satisfy his lust for power!’ she finished on a hardened edge.

  ‘It won’t be just to my advantage,’ he returned imperturbably. ‘You’ll be worth millions in your own right. Can you honestly say that means nothing at all to you?’

  She could say it, Gina acknowledged wryly, but it wouldn’t be true. Who could possibly be unaffected by the idea of being worth millions?

  ‘No, I can’t,’ she admitted. ‘But money isn’t the be-all and end-all. There’s such a thing as integrity.’

  ‘You think Oliver was lacking it in making the condition to start with?’

  ‘I think you were right about his judgement being affected,’ she said carefully.

  Ross studied her for a lengthy moment or two, still giving little away. When he spoke again it was with a certain calculation.

  ‘It won’t be a long-term marriage. There’s nothing to stop us divorcing after everything is settled. In the meantime, we both live our own lives. I’d continue to run the company, of course. You needn’t be involved. All I’d ask is that you sell me enough shares to make up the fifty-one per cent for overall control.’

  The anger flooding her had all the force of a rip tide. Last night had meant nothing to him because she meant nothing to him. She’d known that, of course, but having it rammed down her throat this way was too much! The urge to get back at him overrode all other considerations, bringing unstudied words to her lips.

  ‘I might not have your business acumen, but if I go along with this I’ll be taking my place on the board—both before and after the divorce.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Ross’s jaw was hard set. ‘You’ve about as much idea of running a company as I have of stocking a boutique!’

  ‘So, you’ll just have to show me the ropes. You’ll still be the major stock-holder.’

  The grey eyes were like granite. ‘I thought I had you figured. Seems I was wrong.’

  ‘All the way,’ she retorted, still carried along on the same furious wave. ‘I won’t pretend last night wasn’t enjoyable, but don’t run away with the idea that it affects here and now in any way. As your mother pointed out, I’m the only real Harlow. Not that I object to you having top billing. My grandfather regarded you highly.’

  The curl of his lip had the same impact as a slap in the face, jolting her to her senses for a moment. But only for a moment. She’d chosen her path, she told herself doggedly; she wasn’t going to detour from it now. What kind of an idiot would she be to turn her back on millions?

  ‘I guess the boutique’s no longer an issue,’ he said.

  Gina lifted her shoulders. ‘Barbara can have it and be welcome.’

  ‘And your parents? How are they likely to react?’

  Up until this moment, she hadn’t given a thought to that aspect. But she’d gone too far now to turn back.

  ‘They’ll cope,’ she said, shocked by how callous she sounded. ‘They’d want what’s best for me.’

  Ross gave a brief, grim smile. ‘Fair enough. We’ll start in the morning. There’s a board meeting scheduled at ten.’

  It was going too fast. Far too fast! Yet something in her refused to let go. ‘I’ll look forward to it,’ she said. ‘Shall we be going in together?’

  ‘Michael will bring you in. I shan’t be here in the morning.’

  ‘Someone else scheduled for tonight?’ she asked sweetly. ‘Karin Trent, maybe? She certainly seemed eager enough.’

  Ross didn’t rise to it. ‘We’d better go and tell the others what’s happening. You’ll find Roxanne a lot harder to deal with than my mother, but don’t look to me for help.’

  ‘I shan’t need any help,’ she declared with more spirit than conviction. ‘Your sister’s claws aren’t that sharp.’

  One dark brow lifted sardonically. ‘I wouldn’t count on it.’

  Gina got to her feet, not in the least surprised to feel her legs give. She stiffened as he moved instinctively to slide a steadying hand beneath her elbow, jerking away from him. ‘I’m fine!’

  Ross made no answer. He looked totally in command of himself again. She hardened her resolve, refusing to listen to the small inner voice warning of heartache to come from all this.

  They found Elinor and Roxanne in the living room. His job done for now, the lawyer had departed.

  ‘If you think I’m settling for a lousy million, you’re mistaken!’ Roxanne burst out the moment they appeared. ‘I want what’s due to me!’

  ‘You’re getting a great deal more than you merit,’ her brother answered shortly. ‘If it had been up to me, you’d have got nothing.’

  ‘You’re so damned self-righteous!’ she flung at him. ‘There are two sides to every tale!’

  ‘I’ve heard your side,’ he said. ‘Countless times! Anyway, it isn’t you we’re here to discuss.’ He shifted his glance to his mother. ‘We’re going through with it.’

  Totally disregarding the circumstances, Elinor looked frankly delighted. She came over to give Gina a hug. ‘There’s no one I’d rather have for a daughter-in-law!’

  Gina swallowed thickly, wondering if she’d be quite so enthusiastic if she knew how short a duration the relationship would have. The deeper she got into this charade, the worse it became. It wasn’t too late to back out, of course. All she had to do was say the word.

  ‘I assume you’ll want the wedding as soon as possible,’ Elinor said, addressing her son. ‘We might just about manage it in a month with the right people organising.’

  ‘Don’t get carried away,’ he returned drily. ‘A civil ceremony will be quite adequate.’

  ‘You can’t do that!’ She sounded horrified. ‘Not for this family in this town! It has to be the full works!’

  ‘I don’t think so.’

  ‘I do.’ Gina said it with deliberation, anger at his summary dismissal overruling any wavering. ‘Your mother’s right. It will be expected.’

  Ross slanted a lip. ‘If you fancy being the centre of a media circus, by all means go ahead. Just don’t complain when your whole life story is put under the microscope!’

  ‘It’s all going to come out anyway,’ Elinor declared. ‘A quiet wedding isn’t going to stop the circus. The best way of handling it all is to carry on regardless.’

  She turned her attention back to Gina, her smile reassuring. ‘You’ll stay here for the time being, of course. Michael can drive you around until you get a car. Or there’s Oliver’s Cadillac in the garage still. I know he’d have wanted you to have it.’

  ‘I think I’d as soon wait until I know my way around a little better,’ Gina responded, feeling everything starting to spin out of control again. ‘It’s such a huge city.’

  ‘Afraid of getting lost?’ Roxanne sneered.

  Gina didn’t turn her head. ‘I think that’s what I just said, yes. I’ll study a map before I venture out on my own.’

  ‘I need a drink,’ Ross said brusquely. ‘Anyone else?’

  ‘Too early for me,’ declared Elinor.

  It was still only a little gone three, Gina realised with a sense of shock, glancing at her watch.

  ‘I’ll have a gin and tonic, please,’ she said, in need of a rod to stiffen her backbone.

  Roxanne stalked across to the door, her face set in hard, ugly lines. It will stay like that if the wind changes, Gina was tempted to comment, refraining on the grounds that it was scarcely an adult way to behave. Roxanne had been her enemy since the moment they’d met. Understandably, she was even further from mellowing now.

  It was impossible to restrain her curiosity over what she could have done to turn her brother so much against her. Oliver too, if the comparatively paltry sum he had left her was anything to go by. From the way the will had been worded, she wouldn’t even be able to get her hands on the capital.

  Not her concern, anyway. She was going to have enough on her plate living up to the role she had landed herself in.

  She watched Ros
s as he poured the drinks, unable to conquer the quivering deep down in the pit of her stomach at the images impressed on her mind’s eye of that leanly muscled masculine body devoid of all clothing. When it came to performance in bed, he knew it all. Born of experience, of course. He’d probably lost count of the number of women he’d had.

  Married, they’d each live their own lives, he’d said in the study. That meant they’d both of them be free to do whatever they wanted to do. For him, that would definitely include seeing other women.

  There was no mistaking the emotion running through her at the thought. While he might not be quite the man she had thought him to be, he still had the same hold on her. A major part of the reason she had agreed to comply with the condition, if she was honest about it—for what good it would do her. He’d wanted her last night, and might well want her again if she showed willing, but it wouldn’t mean anything. This was to be a marriage of convenience, nothing more.

  She steeled herself to meet his eyes when she took the glass from him, to thank him for it levelly. As usual, she had no idea what was going on in his mind.

  ‘You’re going to need to extend your wardrobe, of course,’ Elinor announced. ‘I can meet you downtown for lunch tomorrow, then show you the best places to go.’

  ‘She might prefer to have her own things sent over,’ Ross observed.

  ‘I’m talking about now,’ his mother returned. She looked animated, her eyes sparkling the way they hadn’t done in days. ‘You’ll be expected to attend all kinds of functions, Gina. There’s a big charity event coming up. You’ll need something really special for that.’

  ‘You’ll scare the girl to death,’ Ross commented drily.

  If Gina had been beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed, the “girl” gave her the impetus to rise above it. ‘On the contrary,’ she said coolly, ‘I can’t wait to get started. It’s a great idea, Elinor. The clothes I have back home wouldn’t be suitable anyway.’

  Ross shrugged. ‘Fine. I’ll make sure you have the backing. It’s going to take a day or two to get accounts opened for you.’