And the Bride Wore Black

by Helen Brooks

  ‘My grandmother is eighty-seven and has been in poor health the last six months. I have had a word with her consultant and she isn’t expected to live beyond a few months. Her heart is very tired.’ He looked at her intently. ‘I care very much for my grandmother, Fabia.’

  ‘Yes, well, that’s only natural...’ She had no idea where this strange conversation was leading but a little trickle of apprehension was running down her spine at the determined expression in the beautiful gold eyes watching her so closely.

  ‘She is a rather...forceful old lady who speaks her mind with less tact than is comfortable at times.’ A slight smile touched the hard mouth. ‘You would have a lot in common with her, I think. However—’ he raised his hand quickly as she opened her mouth to speak ‘—that is by the by. As you have already pointed out, repeatedly, my name has often been linked with various young ladies who have come and gone through the years, some of which I have introduced to my grandmother and some not. It would give her a great deal of pleasure if she thought that I had a...particular friend at the moment. She is a born matchmaker, probably due to having an Italian mother herself—who knows?’

  She was staring at him very hard now with a faintly incredulous expression turning her large eyes navy blue. He couldn’t be suggesting...? No, it was ridiculous. She had misunderstood him.

  ‘As I said, time is short. I would like her last Christmas to be a happy one with the feeling that everything is right in her small world. Do you understand what I mean, Fabia?’

  She shook her head dazedly. ‘There are several women I could take home to meet her but none of them would appeal to her and all of them would present me with interminable problems once the festive season is over. I have neither the time nor the inclination for such complications at the moment. I am in the middle of several important business transactions and can’t waste time on trivia.’ He was still speaking in the distant, unemotional tone he had used throughout, which made the whole thing even more preposterous. He couldn’t mean—

  ‘I need a nice steady two-feet-on-the-ground girl who knows exactly where she stands with me long-term but is confident enough to charm my grandmother into thinking that maybe, just maybe, this is the one for her grandson. No lies, no promises; I shall take you there as merely a friend but I know my grandmother—she will immediately plan for all sorts of possibilities, and for once I shall let her.’

  ‘Take me...?’ Her voice was a breathless squeak and now the full barrage of that tawny feline gaze was trained on her and his voice was anything but impassive as he leant forward until he was just a breath away, his eyes liquid gold.

  ‘Yes, you, my golden-haired little beauty,’ he said softly. ‘In spite of looking like the fairy on top of the Christmas tree you have more guts than most men I know. Anyone who can make the sort of escape you did from that washroom in full evening dress after plucking a man back from the jaws of death and putting on a great show for me all night will find a piece of harmless deception child’s play. I want you to accompany me to my grandmother’s home for Christmas, Fabia Grant, as my girlfriend. Now, finish your coffee and don’t say a word for at least five minutes.’

  CHAPTER THREE

  ‘YOU can’t be serious!’ Fabia didn’t wait five seconds to explode, let alone five minutes. ‘I’ve never heard of such a crazy idea in my life!’

  ‘Crazy? Why crazy?’ There was a softness to the deep voice that spoke of molten steel but she was too incensed to notice.

  ‘Me, accompany you, to goodness knows where and as your girlfriend? You must think I was born yesterday! I suppose this charade would involve us sharing the same room and so on? All friends together?’ She glared at him furiously. ‘At the risk of repeating an old cliché, Mr Alexander Cade, I’m not that sort of girl.’ Sheer anger had quelled the trembling in her stomach.

  ‘I’m fully aware what sort of girl you are,’ he said icily, ‘which is why I have made the suggestion in the first place. I don’t mince words when I’m setting up a business deal, Fabia. All the facts are out in the open and there are no hidden punches involved. I don’t know what sort of men you are used to dealing with but don’t make the mistake of putting me in that catagory! This would be an arrangement between the two of us, in writing if you like, for a specified amount of time and with a set fee of your choosing. You would sleep alone. I would sleep alone. Got it?’

  ‘Now look—’

  He brought her indignant voice to an abrupt halt. ‘And I have made it perfectly clear exactly where we are going. Cumbria. You have heard of that part of the country, I take it?’ he asked derisively.

  ‘Of course I have,’ she hissed angrily. ‘But this whole idea is preposterous. I can’t believe you’re serious.’

  ‘Of course I am serious,’ he returned coldly, ‘and there is nothing preposterous whatsoever in what I am suggesting. I need a service which you may or may not be able to supply... Have you already made arrangements for the Christmas period?’ he asked suddenly, his eyes narrowing on the heavy blonde hair and fragile face. ‘I am quite prepared to pay for any cancellations. Or to soothe any irate boyfriend...?’ His voice hardened slightly.

  There was a question in the last words which she chose to ignore. ‘My plans are my own affair,’ she said sharply, her eyes glittering angrily as he leant forward to take her left hand in his.

  ‘Of course they are,’ he agreed smoothly. ‘However, I think we have ascertained that there is no immediate family to complicate matters, and you aren’t wearing a ring on the third finger of your left hand, so I assume the boyfriend, if there is one, is not serious?’ The feel of his warm flesh on hers was curling her toes. The question was there again and she was furious at his autocratic assumption that he had the right to interrogate her about the state of her love-life, and even more furious at the effect his touch was having.

  ‘You really have got a cheek,’ she spat angrily, jerking her hand away so violently that it hit the table with a dull thud. ‘I don’t even know how to play your girl-friend! We are worlds apart, as you very well know. Take this restaurant, for instance—’

  ‘Yes?’ He leant forward, his face intent.

  ‘It’s just so...plush, so removed from anything I would normally go to. You eat at this sort of place all the time, don’t you?’ she finished accusingly.

  ‘And that is the main cause of your concern about my proposal? That we eat at different restaurants?’ His voice was mocking and cool and in that moment she felt a stab of sheer hate pierce her as she looked into the narrowed amber eyes. He thought he only had to say the word and things would fall magically into place. Well, perhaps that happened if you were rich enough to buy and sell half of London, but everyone had to be disappointed some time! Her thoughts were mirrored in the clear blue of her eyes and as he kept his gaze fixed on her face he smiled slowly, his face unreadable.

  ‘I told you I wouldn’t accept any decision tonight,’ he said blandly after a full minute of tense silence had ensued. ‘I will contact you in forty-eight hours when you have had time to consider my suggestion properly.’ He settled back in his chair.

  ‘Oh, it is a suggestion, then?’ she said bitingly. ‘For a minute there I thought it was an order.’

  ‘Not at all,’ he said calmly. ‘However, a few things I would just reiterate. First, you do owe me, Fabia, whether you care to admit it or not, and this would be a perfect way to cancel your debt—and, believe me, it’s quite a large one.’

  ‘I don’t have a debt,’ she began furiously, but he held up his hand for silence and something in the hard, handsome face made her bite her lip as her voice faltered away.

  ‘Secondly, I am in something of a fix for the reasons I have explained. I need to approach this situation as a business deal, something separate from my private life, you understand?’ She glared at him silently. ‘And the point that you are not used to my kind of lifestyle is quite unimportant. If you accept this offer you are at liberty to just be yourself; I would expect nothing more.
The only thing I would ask you to do is to force some degree of warmth into our relationship.’ He smiled at her angry face. ‘Only when we are in company, of course. In private you could be your normal waspish little self shrinking from my touch like the original shy violet.’

  What she would give to slap that mocking smirk off his handsome face! She schooled her features into a cool mask with considerable effort.

  ‘And if I did agree to this mad idea—not that I would do, of course,’ she added coldly, ‘how do you explain to your grandmother that we met? What am I supposed to be, one of your employees who caught the boss’s eye or a modern-day Cinderella taken out of the gutter by a passing noble?’

  ‘You really must try to curb this enormous inferiority complex, Fabia,’ he said smoothly. ‘Maybe a course of psychoanalysis would help. You are just as good as me, my dear.’

  ‘I know that!’ she snarled ferociously, eyeing him with angry antagonism as he began to shake with silent laughter, his eyes aglow. ‘And you haven’t answered my question.’

  ‘Why, I would just tell it as it is,’ he replied after a few moments when he could restrain his amusement. ‘I don’t suppose for a moment you and your friend were the original recipients of those tickets. What was it, a last-minute gift?’ She nodded slowly. ‘There you are, then, that’s all anyone needs to know. I met you there for the first time, our eyes met across a crowded room and from that point the rest of the world faded into oblivion.’ There was a strange note in his voice that she couldn’t place and she stared at him hard. ‘Simple, eh?’

  ‘I’m not doing this, Mr Cade,’ she said flatly.

  ‘It’s Alex!’ This time the voice was stone-cold and his face was grim. ‘And I’ve told you, I won’t accept any decision now. I will contact you as arranged. Now, have you finished?’ He raised a hand and immediately the waiter was at their side with their coats.

  ‘Don’t you pay?’ she asked in amazement as he escorted her from the restaurant with a firm hand under her elbow, to the smiles and nods of most people present.

  ‘I have an account here which is settled monthly,’ he answered quietly, his face hardening at her satisfied little nod. ‘And don’t start that we’re so different rubbish again,’ he warned coldly as they stepped on to the icy pavement.

  ‘Well, it’s true,’ she protested as the Bentley glided to a halt in front of them as though by magic. ‘You must see it.’

  ‘Are you seriously telling me that you don’t believe two people from different backgrounds can meet and fall in love and live together happily all their lives?’ His eyes were piercing her as she sat uncomfortably in the warm lush interior of the car. ‘Is that what you’re saying?’ He was uncomfortably close.

  ‘Of course not.’ She flushed hotly. ‘But it’s rare. It can happen, but it’s rare. And that isn’t what we’re talking about. We are discussing persuading your grandmother that you find me attractive.’ Did he have to be so darned good-looking?

  ‘And what’s so strange about that?’ he asked carefully.

  ‘With all the women you’ve—’ she nearly said ‘had’ and altered it quickly ‘—known? They’re beautiful and famous and—’

  ‘Boring,’ he finished quietly. ‘Not all, I admit, but a surfeit of rich goodies becomes unpalatable after a time.’

  ‘You didn’t find that meal tonight unpalatable,’ she said quickly, deliberately misunderstanding him. There was a stillness in his profile that unnerved her a little although she didn’t know why, but she disliked the way this conversation was heading.

  ‘No, the meal tonight was wonderful,’ he agreed quietly, turning to look at her for just a fleeting second.

  As his eyes met hers in the shadowed darkness of the car she felt something akin to an electric shock shoot down her spine and drew back sharply into her seat, her eyes widening in unspoken protest. It was as though he was making love to her, without touching her, without even speaking. He was dangerous! Dangerous and seductive and compelling. He held her glance for a long moment before turning to look out of the window at the brightly lit busy London street, full of small wine bars, tiny restaurants and the odd fish and chip shop incongruous against its upper-class neighbours. ‘Of course the salad at that particular restaurant is delicious,’ he said blandly as the car sped smoothly along. ‘I often have that along with a chop or seafood.’ The mind-stunning moment passed but the vibrations were still with Fabia when the car drew up outside the dismal block of flats, and she stiffened as he left the car and opened the door for her, helping her out with old-fashioned courtesy, his face inscrutable.

  ‘Thank you for the meal; it was lovely,’ she said hurriedly as she stepped on to the uneven paving slabs that led over to the big glass doors of the silent building, holding out her hand dismissively. ‘Goodnight, Alex.’

  ‘I’ll see you to the door,’ he said quietly, his eyes travelling over her flushed cheeks and coming to rest on the wide full mouth. ‘Just to the door.’ He looked down at her silently.

  ‘There’s no need...’ Her voice died away as he took her arm again, his hand firm. She was wearing three-inch heels but in spite of that he still towered over her by a good four inches, and she found it peculiarly gratifying to be in the company of a man who was a good deal taller than herself for once. At five feet nine inches plus heels she normally found that she was on a level with most men, a fact which in the past had not bothered her at all. Nevertheless, his height was...satisfying. She caught the thought and brought it severely to heel. There was nothing about him she liked! Nothing!

  As the old grimy lift took them jerkily upwards she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. I wonder what he’s thinking? she thought curiously. This grubby, somewhat seedy part of London had been the best that she could afford in the early days, and as she had progressed in her career she had found herself loath to move from the cosy little flat, having renovated it with loving care and a good deal of elbow grease. It was bright and clean and unusual, a reflection of the complicated personality who lived within its walls, each room alive with colour and comfort.

  As the lift shuddered to a halt on her floor and the faded yellow doors slowly opened she stuck out her hand again. ‘We’ve arrived,’ she said brightly. ‘Thank you again.’

  ‘I said to the door,’ he returned coolly, stepping out of the metal box with her and walking along the corridor that always seemed to smell slightly of cooked cabbage. ‘Safely home?’ He leaned against the wall as she hunted in her handbag for her key, annoyed to find herself all fingers and thumbs as he stared at her, his expression sardonic and his powerful body relaxed. ‘Against all the odds?’

  ‘Not at all.’ She smiled cautiously. A few more seconds and she was home and dry. As she retrieved her key from the muddle at the bottom of her handbag he stepped forward suddenly, taking her completely by surprise.

  ‘I’m probably going to regret this in view of the fact that I shall be completely blotting my copybook as far as you are concerned,’ he said huskily, pulling her in his arms and taking her mouth in a long, hard kiss as he moved her round so that her back was against the wall and his body pressing against hers. For a moment she was too stunned to react and then, as the kiss deepened into a seductively sensual caress and she felt the length of his hard body moulded intimately against hers, she realised, with a shock of horror, that part of her had been waiting for this, hoping for it.

  The expensively delicious smell of him was intoxicating, surrounding her with an undeniable aura of masculinity that both thrilled and repelled her, repelled because she must remember, she had to remember, that she was just one of many, a trinket to play with for a time and then thrown away without a moment’s thought. A rich man’s toy!

  Hadn’t that agonising time with Robin taught her anything? Was she completely crazy? As the condemning thoughts hit her mind like a deluge of cold water she froze in his arms and he immediately sensed it, moving away as he ran a hand through the dark brown hair, his eyes rueful. ‘Stupid,
Alex, my boy, real stupid...’ He was muttering as though to himself and the next instant, without a word of goodbye, he was walking away towards the waiting lift, entering its doors without a backward glance, his walk easy and free like a big relaxed cat.

  She stood for a moment as though transfixed to the spot, listening to the sounds of the ancient machinery grinding downwards, her thoughts in turmoil and her body on fire. There was an ache in her body that was almost painful, each nerve-ending vitally alive and seeking relief. What was the matter with her? What was the matter? She almost stamped her foot in impotent rage and disgust at her weakness and heard the phone ringing in her flat with a mixture of irritation and relief. It would be Joanie, no doubt. ‘Hi, it’s me,’ Joanie said breathlessly. ‘Well, what’s happened? Are you all right? Did it go well? What did he say?’

  ‘It’s OK, it’s OK, no problem,’ Fabia said reassuringly, but the words sounded hollow even to herself. ‘I’m shattered though, Joanie. Can we talk in the morning?’

  ‘But what did he want?’ Joanie persisted doggedly.

  ‘Suffice to say the ball’s well and truly in my court and I’m not starting to play, but as I said I’ll explain in the morning. Night, Joanie.’ She couldn’t make small talk, she just couldn’t!

  She put down the receiver on further protestations and after collapsing in a heap on the bed flailed herself yet again.

  Why had she ever agreed to go with Joanie to that ill-fated function in the first place and, once there, what on earth had possessed her to act in such a way? She lay back on the bed as her thoughts raced. She knew why. Everything had so resembled the first time she had met Robin and she had rebelled, hotly and violently, against ever being put in the same position again.

  The thoughts that she had kept back for months surfaced in excruciating clearness and she was too exhausted to fight them, giving in to their agony as she went back in time to that night, seven years ago, when she had been eighteen and thought the world was out there just for her.