by Jane Corrie
The last person Serena saw before she was so unceremoniously bundled out of the dining room was her mother, and she was certain she had given her a wicked wink!
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jordan did not release her until he had watched the rearguard of his men leave the yacht and join what looked like a small flotilla of motor boats stationed alongside. Then his deep voice gave the order, 'Let's away, Jake!' and the air was filled with the deep throbbing of the engines and one by one the small fleet swept out to sea.
Serena felt herself lowered to the deck of the powerful motor boat now making fast headway in the lead of the other boats, and she watched the twinkling lights of the yacht dwindle into dimness as the distance between the boat and the yacht was lengthened.
She was only too aware of Jordan standing close beside her, ready if need be to lay a restraining hand on her should she try to make a break for the side. Tensely she wondered what nasty little surprise he had up his sleeve for her this time. He must have decided she had got off a little too lightly and thought up some other way she could pay her debt to society.
When his voice spoke dose to her ear she started and moved slightly away from him. 'Shall we go below?' he suggested.
The heavy throb of the boat's engines made normal conversation impossible, but whatever he had to say Serena preferred to hear it right there and then; the breeze playing over her face and the spray sending up white plumes of water that sprayed over the deck would, she felt, help lessen the shock. 'I'm quite happy where I am,' she replied, trying to sound casual.
His reply was to sweep her off her feet and carry her down the two shallop steps leading to the cabin. 'As I believe I told you once before,' he remarked airily, 'Milady has no choice in the matter.'
As if she had no power left in her legs he put her down gently on one of the leather-covered chairs in the small salon, then sat down opposite her.
Serena watched him warily as he slipped the bandanna off his head and solemnly laid it on her lap. Without taking his eyes off her he said slowly and very distinctly, 'Marry me, Serena Belmont.'
A slightly stunned Serena realised he was telling her he now knew who she was. Her dazed eyes left his and rested on the bandanna.
'It's a custom of ours,' he said gently. 'Another way of laying our heart at the feet of the woman of our choice.'
Hardly recognising her own voice, Serena whispered huskily, 'Why?'
'Why the custom—or why the proposal?' he replied lightly. 'I'll tell you about the custom some other time. As for the proposal—well, there's only one reason a man asks a woman to marry him, and I'm no exception to the rule.'
He got up suddenly and pulled her into his arms. 'We're wasting time,' he said in a voice even deeper that its normal tone as he drew her closer into the circle of his arms.
With all her heart Serena wanted to respond; the love she had thought was denied her was hers for the taking. Why then did she hesitate? What perverse streak of nature held her back? Afraid to meet his eyes, she concentrated on his broad chest and noted absently how a thread of her dress had got entangled in the fine stitching of his jerkin. Then she had it: Maria! Maria was, had been, his woman; there would be no other. The thing she had been so afraid would happen had happened. He was now sorry for her—that kiss, she thought bitterly, remembering how she had melted in his arms and the shameless way she had clung to his lips. He knew she loved him! There could be no other answer for his gallant but heartbreaking offer.
Somehow she summoned up the strength to release herself from his hold and rushed to the door. She needed to get as far as possible from him; she didn't trust herself not to break down and be coerced into accepting his offer and spending the rest of her life competing with Maria's ghost.
Her hand was on the door when he reached out one long arm and hauled her back again. This time there was no escape from those strong arms of his. He caught the back of her head and made her look up at him.
'Leave me alone,' she whispered pleadingly.
'I'll never leave you alone,' Jordan answered harshly. 'And you might as well accept that fact. I meant every word I said back there. I've got you and I'll keep you. You've got a lot to atone for. From the day you agreed to become Mrs Tonetti's accomplice you turned my well-ordered existence into a living hell. Can you,' he said in a dangerously soft voice, 'imagine my feelings when the one and only woman I could ever care for descends on me in the guise of the woman who had caused so much unhappiness to two very dear friends of mine? And there you stood looking like a Raphael painting. I loved you the moment I set eyes on you and spent the rest of that hellish time trying to hate you.'
He pulled her fiercely closer and sought her lips saying as his met hers, 'Don't try and deny me, my love. I won't be denied.'
There was still Maria, she thought miserably as his lips at last released hers. Even now, as weak as she was in his arms, she couldn't forget Maria.
Holding her away from him, Jordan saw the hesitation in her eyes and mistaking it for uncertainty of her feelings for him, said softly, 'I remember someone turning to me for comfort. I also remember lips wanting mine as much as I wanted them.'
Serena could have wept, instead she gathered her forces for her last defence. His words had given her the spur she so badly needed. Her lovely eyes met his levelly as she said, 'And Maria?'
Her heart leapt painfully as she watched his start at the name. That was one little fact he hadn't accounted for, she thought bitterly, and one that made a nonsense of his declaration that she was the only woman he had ever cared for. Serena thanked providence that she had kept her head and had not given way to her feelings. Now he would have to take those words back and the bald truth would at last come out.
She shivered; she didn't want to hear them, it was enough that she had been saved the painful knowledge before she accepted his proposal. She jerked herself away from him and walked over to the porthole and stood gazing out vaguely wondering where they were and whether he would take her back to Roger afterwards.
'How did you know about Maria?' he began.
Serena cut in wearily, 'Does it matter? I know, that's all. And I'd be grateful if you would return me to the yacht.'
She shivered again as she felt his arms slide round her waist and pull her close to his hard body. 'We'll forget that last request, if you don't mind,' he said firmly. 'Now about Maria,' he went on as he forced the struggling Serena to subside her efforts to release herself. 'Whether you like it or not, you're going to hear. There's going to be no skeletons in this family cupboard.' Then musingly he added, 'Mrs Tonetti, of course—I ought to have known I'
He turned the now weak Serena round to face him and because she had no strength was able to coax her to lay her head against his shoulder. 'That's better,' he said gently. 'Now let me tell you about Maria, who was beautiful and very spoilt. She was also born with the unfortunate knack of wanting what she couldn't have.' He paused for a second or so as his lips touched Serena's hair. 'As she grew older she had many admirers, but I'm afraid I was not among them. It might have been better if I had been. You see, I presented a challenge to her. At first it was slightly amusing; she would try little tricks to gain my attention; later, however, it became a downright embarrassment. It didn't help when my father encouraged her. He wanted to see me settled and thought Maria would make the ideal wife for me. He was of course slightly biased because of the longstanding friendship between our two families.
'After my father died I was able to avoid the get-togethers that occurred every weekend. Because of business connections I had to do a lot of travelling and that way was able to partially sever old commitments. However, I'm afraid Maria was a very determined girl and whether I was on the island or away on business, she would still spend her weekends here.'
Serena stirred in his arms. She had heard enough, now she was able to understand. Jordan's eyes met hers and the love she saw in them made her catch her breath. Then he pulled himself together sharply and went on. 'That's
how she became acquainted with Mrs Tonetti,' he said quietly. 'She used to stay with her when they came over on holiday.'
There was another pause and Senera sensed he was coming to the part he most disliked, but she knew he would not be put off from relating it. 'I was here the weekend she died,' he said slowly. 'One of her manoeuvres to get my attention backfired with the tragic result of her death. It wasn't the first time she would do something crazy and land herself up in a position from which she had to be rescued, always of course with the knowledge that I was in the near vicinity, for that was the sole object of the exercise, and in spite of repeated warnings that the next time I'd leave her to get herself out of trouble, she still persevered.' His voice deepened and Serena wound her arms round his neck. She could guess what came next.
'Not that I ever would have done,' he said wearily. 'It was just that I wasn't where she thought I was. There's a special spot on the southern point of the island where I used to go fishing. It's pretty inaccessible unless you know the way, and for my own peace and solitude I made pretty certain it stayed that way. Jake is the only other one who knows. Well, Maria couldn't get that information, but she did know approximately where my line would reach the water, and although she knew full well the dangers of swimming in that area it didn't deter her. She was a pretty strong swimmer anyway.
'I don't know what actually happened, but my guess is she called for help—which I might add she had done on several other occasions when she wasn't in the slightest danger. No matter, had I been there no doubt I would have gone in to rescue her. That's the trouble with a joker, you can never tell whether it's the real thing, or not. Having acted as though she were in trouble, I believe she found she had underestimated her own strength to battle with the elements.'
For a while he was silent and Serena hoped he had finished, but there was more.
'Afterwards, I found out that she had deliberately misconstrued our relationship. Goodness knows what she had told Mrs Tonetti, but it was a plain fact that the whole island had been waiting for our engagement to be announced. To contradict the fabrication after her death would have looked callous— besides, it served no purpose.'
His arms tightened around Serena. 'So you see, my love, why I kept a healthy distance from any other designing female. I learnt a hard lesson and one that kept me safe until I met my destiny.'
After his lips had hungrily reached once more for hers, he said huskily, 'After I kissed you that night I knew my feelings were too strong and that I'd never be able to keep you at arm's distance. I also knew, or thought I knew, how quickly you'd catch on to that fact and would capitalise on it. As much as I hated you for what I thought you were, I wanted you so badly I would have been lost in the end. I had to send you away from me. When you'd gone I wandered back to Mrs Tonetti's. It was as if I couldn't keep away. I wanted to see the room you'd slept in, to touch the pillow that your head had lain against. I think I was half crazy.' He drew a deep breath. 'Then Molly gave me a letter, a letter that brought a rainbow into the room and that made me want to shout for joy. I was impatient to claim my one and only love, and the thought that I'd sent you back to the arms of Alton was almost unbearable.' He ran his hands through her long silky hair. 'But I couldn't leave right then. There were things to be seen to.'
Serena knew he was referring to Mrs Tonetti's death. 'Jordan, did we…'
He understood the question. 'I don't know, my love. Perhaps; but one day I'll let you read the letter she left for me. One thing I can tell you, my darling, she died happy.' There was another pause, then he said softly, 'You know, I think it would be rather nice if we named our second child after her.'
Serena's heart turned over and meeting his eyes she stammered, 'Second child?'
He nodded autocratically. 'Of course; the Kerr's first-born is always a boy, and you won't need three guesses to know his christian name!'
So saying, he swept her back into his arms. 'You're too far away,' he complained.
