'I see that you have someone with you,' she said archly. 'Does this mean that I am to be discarded, chéri?'
'Allow me to introduce Mademoiselle Elizabeth Craig,' Gaetan said with a quick and ironical look at Beth's stunned face. No doubt he was quite accustomed to having women fight over him, Beth thought angrily, noticing that the French girl did not hold out her hand in greeting. 'I feel, ma chère, that you will be somewhat neglected. Beth will take up a great deal of my time for the next few months.'
Beth's grey eyes flashed angrily to meet his dark and sardonic gaze, but at this moment Marie-Annette chose to intervene with a waspishness she had not shown at all to Beth.
'She is so beautiful, don't you think, Gabrielle? With a little more height she would outshine all our models. That glorious hair and that lovely skin. The English women are so lucky.'
The answer came from Gaetan which was as well, Beth thought, because it was clear that Gabrielle was not about to add anything to this small hymn of praise.
'You may forget any ideas you have in that direction, Marie-Annette,' he said firmly, his lips tightening at the mere suggestion of it. 'She stays firmly and securely with me. Being wealthy in her own right, she does not need to earn her living and, in any case, she has too much to do.'
'Looking after you, chéri?' Gabrielle asked, her amusement a thin veil covering anger.
'You must come here and see how we work, Beth,' Marie-Annette interrupted with a smile that was all feline battle. Her eyes were really on Gabrielle.
'You will meet her again, no doubt,' Gaetan assured her tightly. 'I do not intend to let her stray too far from under my wing.'
The comforting protection of his words suddenly seemed a little like a set of steel bars, but fortunately Gabrielle chose to change the subject. Whether she was relieved to find that Beth was merely Gaetan's ward or whether she too saw the signals of danger in Gaetan's unsmiling face Beth did not know, but she was quite suddenly all sweetness and light, her dark eyes smiling at Gaetan, ignoring Beth as she had done at the first meeting.
'When did you get back then, Gaetan?' she asked, looking up at him with a warm smile.
'Yesterday lunch time,' he told her shortly. 'I was too busy to call into the works and I shall no doubt be busy for the rest of the day.'
'If there was anything to do then why did you not call me?' Gabrielle asked plaintively, her face flushed with pleasure when Gaetan said:
'There was nothing to do, chérie.' His added words, however, drove the smile from her face. 'I will give you the tape to get typed up. I came home and took Beth out at once. We were out until very late in fact. And now, Marie-Annette, if you are to pressurise me let us get on with it. The rest of my day is Beth's.'
He marched Beth off down the room, close on the heels of Marie-Annette, leaving Gabrielle to stare angrily after them, and Beth went stiffly and tightly, clearly an unwilling captive.
'Relax! Stop worrying so much!' Gaetan said softly but emphatically as they moved amongst the hectic activity of the workroom. 'Nobody is about to bite you.'
'Except perhaps Gabrielle!' Beth hissed in an equally low but emphatic voice. 'I did not expect to be used as a means of making your girlfriend jealous!'
'Gabrielle Dubois is my Personal Assistant!' Gaetan bit out, but to his great and obvious surprise Beth did not allow him to go any further.
'However personal she is has nothing whatever to do with me, monsieur!' she muttered angrily. 'I do not like, though, to be used as a means to further your amorous interests!'
'Amorous! You know the meaning of the word then?' he grated quickly. 'I think that it will be better if you concentrate on your own affairs, mademoiselle, and leave mine to me!'
'Just as long as I am to get the opportunity, monsieur!' she snapped and, seeing Alain, who turned and caught sight of her, his face lighting up with pleasure, she pulled away from Gaetan's restraining hand and made her way across to Alain with as good an imitation of Gabrielle Dubois' greeting of her guardian as she could muster without the actual physical assault. Thereafter she stayed firmly with Alain, glancing defiantly at Gaetan every time his eyes flashed to her, an occurrence that was frequent and his gaze said but one thing—wait until we are alone, mademoiselle!
By the time they were ready to leave, however, his anger appeared to have changed to indifference, and he hardly spoke at all, even when they stopped for a late lunch on the way back to the house.
'I think that for the rest of the afternoon you should get a little fresh air,' he said moodily as they drove out of the city.
'I agree,' Beth said coldly, battling with many feelings. She admitted that she was disappointed in him, at the way he had used her to arouse jealousy in Gabrielle Dubois. The girl would not have dared to behave like that with someone like Gaetan Vernais if she was not on the most intimate terms with him, and the very idea sent waves of bitterness through Beth for a reason she hadn't yet succeeded in fathoming.
She was annoyed with herself too. She had begun to set him up on a pedestal, almost without realising it, and that was simply foolish. He was much too virile and masculine to be anything but what he clearly was. It was nothing to her how many hearts he broke, and she was not about to let him intrude into her life and upset her plans.
Already, things were not as she would have wished, not at all what she had imagined. He had insisted that she change her appearance, and with the change had come for her a change in personality. She gave thought now to how she looked, to her clothes, and to how Gaetan reacted to her. It was annoying and time-consuming and she found herself blaming everything on him, especially this business of Alain.
She regretted her too-hasty action in going to Alain. She had got herself into a situation that would have to be played through to the end, at least for today.
'Tonight, I will take you out,' he said quietly, clearly battling with his own rising annoyance, but Beth did not look across at him.
'I'm sorry, monsieur,' she said politely. 'I have already been invited out this evening and I have accepted!'
'Alain?' he grated, shooting a glance across at her with dark and glittering eyes.
'Naturally! You did say that it was to be considered. I hope, monsieur, that the arrangement is to your liking?'
'Don't be so damned irritating!' he suddenly snarled, bringing the car to a grinding halt at the side of the leafy road. 'You have done this to annoy me and you have certainly succeeded! I told you that Alain was to be considered only, and that in the future. I did not expect that you would throw yourself at him immediately!'
'I did not throw myself at him!' Beth snapped in annoyance. 'Mademoiselle Dubois threw herself at you! I greeted Alain in a civilised manner, was invited out and accepted!'
'Gabrielle is over-excitable,' Gaetan muttered angrily, his eyes roaming over her face with moody annoyance. The people there know her. You were unprepared, that's all.'
'I shall never be prepared for little scenes like that, no matter how well you train me, monsieur!' Beth rejoined tartly, her face flushing under his intent scrutiny. 'As to Alain, I have merely brought the time forward, decided for myself. Clearly you will be too occupied in the evenings to escort me!'
'Ma foi! You sound as cold as ice and as hard as nails and I know that you are neither! What is eating you, eh? Gabrielle is my Personal Assistant. She was once a model and she knows the business inside out. I would not like to be without her. Naturally also, I take her out in the evenings.'
'It has nothing to do with me, monsieur,' Beth said coolly. 'As to my own arrangements, Alain will collect me at seven-thirty and take me out to dinner and to a show.'
'Just so that he remembers that you are my responsibility,' he said darkly. 'See to it that dinner and a show is all that he enjoys!'
'No harm can come to a—child, monsieur!' Beth said sarcastically, wishing the words back as soon as they had left her mouth, because he stopped frowning.
'Ah!' he murmured thoughtfully. He looked at her for a mome
nt and then added, 'I think, petite, that you may not have enough mirrors in your room or perhaps you do not look at yourself often enough. It is quite true, what Marie-Annette said, you would make a stunning model, so very unusual and beautiful.' He ran his hand gently over her face, his eyes moodily intent. 'The English skin is really astonishingly soft and clear. It must be your damp and dismal climate.'
Beth sat stunned and mesmerised under this unexpected change of tactics and his hand stayed compellingly on her hot cheek, his eyes glittering dark on her face.
Her eyes moved to the sensuous lure of his lips, remembering her reaction when he had kissed her, and for a second he was completely still, his head close to hers.
'It is perhaps a good idea,' he said in an almost dazed voice. 'Take care, though, when you are with Alain.'
Beth nodded but it was very clear that neither of them was paying much thought to Alain. Unknowingly, her lips parted invitingly, and with a movement that was almost anger, he grasped her arms and moved her forward.
His head came down slowly and she had plenty of time to escape, but she did not even try. It was like tasting forbidden fruit, tempting the devil, a wild and almost wicked desire to feel again the surge of heat through her body, and it happened as she had known that it would.
The kiss was gentle, almost tender, suddenly deepening and then withdrawing in a tantalising movement that almost made her cry out in frustration. She kept her eyes closed and he lifted his head, his hand still beneath the heavy fall of her hair, cradling her head, and when she opened her eyes he was looking at her with the same moody expression on his dark, handsome face.
'Why—why did you do that?' she whispered in a shaky voice, her eyes wide and appealing.
'Perhaps I could not resist the invitation!' he said harshly, moving abruptly from her. 'In France we do not make quite so much of a friendly kiss as is made in England.' He shot a dark and angry glance at her. 'Do not continue to call me monsieur,' he advised in a threatening voice, 'or I may decide to take a little kiss somewhat further and propel your education into another stage entirely.'
'You're not civilised!' Beth managed to get out in a frightened voice. 'I sincerely hope that Alain is more civilised than this!'
'Mais certainement!' He suddenly laughed, turning away and starting the car. 'He will be watching his step, I assure you. He is not your guardian and he knows very well who is!'
'I—I'll stay in if you like,' Beth offered, suddenly very subdued, but her offer gained her a slanting look of amusement and a definite shake of the head.
'And sit at my feet as I nod before the fire? No thank you, ma chère! Now that you are off my hands for the evening, I am free to go out and enjoy myself. I was not too happy about disappointing Gabrielle, she expects to be taken out often. Remind me to give you a key before you go. Madame Benoir will be in her room with her television and deaf to the world. I will not be in until the early hours.'
Going out with Alain became a regular part of Beth's life during the next few weeks. There was rarely a day when he did not call her and arrange some trip or outing for the evening, and she found his company soothing after the rather alarming presence of Gaetan.
Apparently satisfied that she was quite safe with Alain, Gaetan seemed to be content to leave her to herself, and she spent much of her time indoors studying, finding it quite absorbing after her long spell away from any intellectual activity.
She fitted into her new life with a readiness that showed in her growing self-confidence. She gained a few much-needed pounds in weight, her skin took on a delicate tan and all in all her life was a daily pleasure, her satisfaction with it showing on her face.
There was only one nagging thing to unsettle her and that was Gaetan himself. Having handed her over, as it were, to Alain, he now rarely saw her. They met at mealtimes, but as likely as not they were both out in the evening and Gaetan himself seemed to be snowed under with work, preoccupied and distant, so that when he did make his presence felt she was invariably taken by surprise and thrown back into the small whirl of internal panic that nearness to him was beginning to increase with every day she saw him.
'I trust neither you nor Alain have made any arrangements for tonight?' Gaetan said briefly one morning as he prepared to leave for the city.
'Well—no, as a matter of fact we haven't,' Beth said quietly, her face suddenly wary as Gaetan paused on his way out to look down at her steadily.
'Good, I half expected him to have forgotten about tonight in his great enthusiasm for your company. You are both on duty tonight.'
'How do you mean?' Beth asked anxiously, her eyes widening as his hand tilted her face and he smiled down at her with his usual sardonic expression.
'Nothing too alarming. There is a fashion show that we are to attend. Nothing special, but it is always a good idea to take a look at the opposition. In any case, we are invited and it would be the height of bad taste to be absent. Alain does know about it. We will be leaving about seven-thirty. There is a dinner and then the showing. Later I expect there will be some event or other, but we can leave after the showing if you are too bored.'
'Oh! I'm sure I won't be!' Beth was unaware of the eagerness on her face and a smile twitched at his lips as he noticed the glow in her eyes.
'Ah! You have developed a taste for the finer things of life? I must see to it that you are taken again to the salon, perhaps next week.'
'I've got plenty of clothes,' she protested quietly, but the hand on her chin stayed firm and steady as he smiled down at her.
'A woman can never have too many clothes, surely?' he laughed. 'When that time comes I shall be out of business. In any case, you are a very good advertisement for the firm. When we have got the next collection out of the way I shall design some things especially for you.'
He moved his hand from her face with a slow caressing movement that she knew was accidental but it brought the colour rushing up under her lightly tanned skin.
'You will need a very nice evening gown for tonight,' he remarked quietly. 'If you do not have one, ring Madeleine and go out for one this morning. Only a Vernais of course,' he added with a teasing threat in his voice as his hand suddenly swept over her golden hair.
He left the house and Beth found that she was smiling like a simpleton, her heart beating fast and furiously, and all because he had gone back to his kindly teasing ways. She was not in any doubt either as to why she was so happy about tonight. It was not the clothes, she was looking forward to seeing more of Gaetan, to dressing up and gaining his approval, it added a glow to her day that simply refused to go.
It was still there when she was carefully tucked into the Rolls-Royce by Gaetan at seven that evening on their way to pick up Alain, and the blush that had coloured her face when she had come downstairs to find him waiting, resplendent and wickedly handsome in his white dinner-jacket, his dark eyes running over her with open admiration, was still there.
'Dieu! Did I say that I would design something for you? It seems that everything I have designed has been with you in mind even when I had never seen you.' His eyes held her there on the bottom step of the stairs and she waited with her breathing shallow and uneven as he walked slowly forward to take her arm.
The dress was wild silk, a kind of golden pink that brought beautiful colour to her face and contrasted wonderfully with her hair. Tonight she had worn the hairpiece that she had brought back when her hair had been cut. It was a daring thing for her, and at the last minute she had been forced to call in a panic to Madame Benoir who had come in and fixed her hair beautifully, piling it on top of her head in a way that was both sophisticated and youthful, turning the dress into a dreamlike vision of a ball gown of days long passed.
'You will need jewellery,' Gaetan said quietly, his eyes touching her delicate and golden skin, glancing along her smooth and slender shoulders left unadorned by the low off-the-shoulder dress. She seemed to begin burning as he looked at her and for a moment their eyes met and held, an unreadabl
e message in Gaetan's that was quickly hidden as he led her to the library door.
Now, sitting next to him in the gathering dusk of the evening, a string of milky pearls around her neck, Beth felt the nearest thing to complete happiness that she had ever felt in her life. Tonight there was a new warmth to Gaetan, and though she still had no idea whether or not he admitted to her being a woman, he was certainly proud of her, and for now it was all she needed.
Alain too was all praise as he slid easily into the back of the car when they called for him, his eyes on Beth with an adoring pleasure.
'I thought that Gabrielle would be here tonight,' he said as the car moved off heading further into Paris.
'She will meet us there and return with us later,' Gaetan explained, and Beth's new-found happiness fled as swiftly as it had come as understanding dawned. She was not with Gaetan, she was with Alain. Gabrielle was to be with Gaetan and only the fact that she lived in Gaetan's house had led to his bringing her at all.
As if he felt her change of mood with no word spoken, Gaetan glanced at her and then as quickly looked away, and when she dared a quick look in his direction she saw that his face was no longer warm and smiling, his hard jaw was set and determined, his face bleak and coldly handsome.
Beth was thankful for her many outings with Alain as they settled into their places for the dinner that was to open the proceedings. There was a glitter here that a few weeks ago would have had her in a wild panic. It was an event that brought forth fashion designers and the glamorous ladies who wore their clothes, and she knew that when the show began there would be some of the best and most beautiful models in the country showing the clothes to the very knowledgeable people who were gathered there.
By now she had been several times to Gaetan's warehouse and had seen the elegant models who were there to show off the clothes to clients and to be on call when needed, and their glamour had always made her feel uneasy, although Marie-Annette very often treated them impatiently, turning them round like so many beautiful dress props as she pinned material on them and ripped it off again, intent only on her work.
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