'You have quite a good figure—petite, but pleasing.' Large hands reached out to span her slender waist and his tight lips stretched into a caricature of a smile when he felt her shudder. 'How easily such delicate bones would break under pressure 1' His grip tightened unbearably. 'Don't fight me, Raine, relax, and if it will help at all try pretending it's Britt who's about to kiss you.'
Her attempt to escape was crushed to extinction by arms that trapped her against a chest of steel. As her head fell back his lips descended to stroke a kiss along the tender column of her neck, then remained hovering around the hollow of her throat, ruthlessly tormenting. A sob was the only response he allowed before storming her mouth with hot, demanding kisses that jolted her numbed senses into an ecstatic furore, first drawing warmth, then flame, from her icy lips. 'Please don't… !' she gasped when momentarily she evaded him, then was swamped by a tide of longing when her lips were immediately recaptured to suffer further passionate punishment.
Her own traitorous response was her greatest humiliation; her greatest degradation Thor's complete mastery over his emotions. Thoroughly, competently, he reduced her to clay willing to be moulded by him into any shape he desired. She despised but could not fight an urge to respond, betraying not a whimper when his giant hands crushed, yet when his lips grew tender and stroked across her bruised mouth muttering a-smothered curse her sigh of forgiveness caused him a groan of shame.
'Why did you deceive me?' he gasped against her smooth cap of hair. 'Why Britt?'
Immediately she attempted to reassure him, but was baulked by bitter condemnation blazing from eyes intensely green. 'All women are cheats, they make a virtue out of lying and get a vicarious thrill out of deceiving gullible men! My father was right:. "Use women as they would use you," he often said, "and give not one of them the opportunity of making you look a fool".'
Enraged anew by the reminder, he swept her roughly into his arms and strode out of the room. Her feather-light resistance made no impact upon him as he ascended the stairs and headed swiftly towards her room. She could have cried out, but the thought of disturbing Vulcan who was sleeping nearby made her hesitate until it was too late. Thor entered her room and closed the door behind him with a savage kick, then in two strides he reached the bed where his grasp slackened and she landed among the covers in a confused, apprehensive heap.
'Have you gone completely out of your mind?' she choked, mindful of alert ears.
'I was a little mad,' he agreed, 'mad enough to believe you different from the rest of your sex, mad enough even to think you incapable of lying, but I assure you I'm now completely sane.'
Deliberately he slipped but of his jacket aria began loosening his tie. Grappling with the fear knotting her vocal chords, Raine questioned hoarsely, 'What do you mean to do?'
The quirk of his eyebrow was intimidating. T should have thought my purpose obvious. You aren't averse to bestowing favours upon Britt, to whom you owe nothing, whereas, by your own admission, you are indebted to me for the roof over your head and the clothes on your back. Does it not follow that I'm entitled to consider a night in your company fair recompense?'
Bitterness had indeed scored deeply into the soul of the man who seemed to be deriving much satisfaction from her shocked distress. From the centre of the bed Raine stared at him, a frightened waif, youthfully unsure of how best to handle the angry man in whose veins ran the blood of lusty, plundering Vikings whose determination to revenge, a wrong knew no bounds. To argue had proved ^useless, an appeal to his chivalrous instincts would be brushed aside with scorn, there was only one option left—a plea for mercy.
She scrambled from the bed and ran to kneel at his feet. Ignoring the derisive curl of his lips^ she fastened troubled eyes upon his grim features and pleaded, 'You don't mean that, Thor, neither do you believe those dreadful accusations to be true. Once, in a moment of stress, I accused you of seeking payment and you were insulted, yet now you're asking me to accept that your actions this evening are motivated by a belief that I'm in your debt, I owe you a lot, much more than T can ever hope to repay, and believe me, if what you're asking of me were sufficient I would willingly pay. But it isn't! Under such circumstances you would end up despising yourself for allowing anger to undermine your judgement! We were so happy this evening, yet you allowed jealousy of Britt to ruin what could have been perfect. Please don't make the same mistake twice. What could you possibly hope to gain from an hour of love that would have to be paid for by a lifetime of hatred?'
For a precarious moment she thought she had won. Thor seemed to hesitate, the brilliant green glance softening a little as it dwelt upon her' troubled face, but then, as if prodded by some devil that would give him no respite, his profile hardened and both his look and his voice grew chill. 'What do I hope to gain?' he derided. 'You underestimate yourself, gentle Raine!'
Roughly she was pulled to her feet and marched across to the mirror. 'Look there!' He grasped a handful of black hair and twisted her head round so that she was faced with her own frightened image. 'Find your answer in what you see!'
A pale cameo face stared back at her, a youthful face childishly contoured, with mouth still quivering and wide blue eyes fringed by thick silken lashes beating an agitated flutter against cheeks afire with confusion. Behind her, his strong Viking face loomed, each feature outlined by a satanic brush, his mouth a bitter stroke, his angry eyes glinting a desire for revenge.
'You're a desirable wench,' his image assured hers through the glass. 'When first I was forced to accept you into my home I was resentful. For years I had endured a celibate existence, endurable only because lack of female company had meant lack of temptation. But from the very beginning I knew you could wreck havoc in my life, even unkempt hair and disreputable clothes couldn't detract from tantalizing curves and a grace of movement I found distracting. That's why I fought against haying you here, why subconsciously I refused even to admit your need of proper clothes and the usual fripperies necessary to a woman's well being. I wanted you kept in the background, to infringe as little as possible on my mind—but, damn you, you began to encroa.ch exactly as I knew you would, exercising your wiles on Vulcan's behalf, every day making me more acutely aware of my masculine needs yet at the same time making obvious your aversion to . my rough and ready ways.'
He moved closer, supporting her drooping head on his shoulder. There was no pity in his smile for the girl who stood rigid as a statue while he listed her faults, then remained silent, awaiting further condemnation from the man who seemed to have wiped from his mind completely the pleasures they had shared and seemed determined to dwell only upon the irritations.
His head lowered and a stray beam from an overhead lamp caught the movement, turning his hair into a fiery beacon. 'My first mistake was in allowing you to infiltrate into my home.' He iced against her ear. 'My second was in believing you different from the other women who brought unhappiness to Danes' Dyke. But the third mistake, he tightened his grip, 'was yours in over-estimating the extent to which I could be fooled!’
Unbearably tormented, Raine tore out of his grasp and stumbled across the width of the room. 'Stay where you are I' she panted, when he moved towards her. 'I can't bear you to touch me!’
He whitened, his limbs taking on the stillness of stone. But she was too overwrought to care, he was bent upon destroying the only delicate thing of beauty she possessed—her love for him—and every instinct urged her to fight his thirst for revenge with the only weapons she had left—contempt and scorn.
'You're a hypocrite, Thor! You profess to despise me, yet the one you really despise is yourself because of the resentment you feel for your brother. Britt has had everything you've ever wanted—a wife, a son, a career—even your father's love—and all at the lift of a finger, whereas you who have tried so hard have stood in the background feeling more and more conscious of rejection. Janice was right to point out to you the futility of trying to copy your brother!'
She hated to see him flinc
h, but the point had to be made. However, remorse disrupted her bravado, so that when she continued her words sounded more like a plea. 'Such action is so unnecessary, Thor. Why don't you cast off your brother's shadow and reveal your true self—basically, you're a much nicer person than he could ever be…'
The room was a tomb of silence. Appalled by her daring, Raine turned her back on the immobile figure and began toying nervously with a three-pronged iron hook set incongruously upon the wall. 'How typical of Halden men,' she fretted, 'to consider a whaling hook a fitting adornment for a bedroom!' But then whaling men were noted more for toughness and strength than for finesse, yet once their hooks were thrown they were impossible to dislodge…
'Would you be willing to marry me?' The savage question seemed torn from him against his will. She jerked so suddenly one of the pointed spikes punctured her finger. She spun round, clenching her fist to hide a spurt of blood, and levelled an incredulous look across the intervening space.
'What… what did you say?"
'I think you heard.' He waited, standing as he must often have stood on the bridge, stiffly erect, supporting a weight of responsibility on his solitary shoulders.
His change of attitude was so surprising she experienced^ stab of hope'. 'Why?' was all she dared breathe.
White linen stretched taut across massive shoulders when he shrugged, moving forward so that light illuminated his cynical features. 'I need a wife, but as this evening's experience has underlined my inability to discriminate between feminine sincerity and feminine deceit I'm willing to settle for a woman whose weaknesses are known to me rather than fall foul of one whose failings might be even greater. Also Vulcan needs a mother and you need a home. Can you think of three better reasons?'
Her soaring heart descended with a thud.
'You make no mention of love…"
'I've lived all my life without love,' he returned bleakly. 'But if you find such an emotion necessary, I'm sure Vulcan could supply you with an outlet for your maternal instincts as well as gaining you the satisfaction of ensuring that under your guidance he will develop along different lines from those of his uncle.'
His wish to safeguard the child to whom he had sacrificed part of his life touched a sympathetic chord. He could offer her nothing of himself, yet he was willing to trust her with his most precious charge. 'You offer marriage, yet you make no secret of your contempt. You imply that you will expect nothing more of me than to be a companion for Vulcan—yet how can I believe you,' she queried softly, 'when you've already admitted and indeed demonstrated your needs?'
He flushed a dull red. 'You need have no worries on that score,' he replied harshly. 'If you should decide to accept my offer of marriage I promise encroach any further than you would to never wish,'
She remembered the delight of being held in his arms, the excitement of his caresses, the sheer ecstasy of his kisses, and wondered if she dared accept his proposal knowing how much she was likely to suffer. But he needed her—though he would die rather than admit it—even more so than Vulcan whose childish dependence would have to suffice in place of the rugged tenderness for which she yearned.
'Very well.' Tense fingers pleated the fine material of her skirt as nervously she lied, 'For Vulcan’s sake, I'll marry you.'
Tension drained out of him at the whispered words. For a second she could have suspected, her acceptance could not have meant more to him had he been an uncertain lover waiting eagerly to learn his fate. But the supposition was squashed by the cruel reply.
'I didn't doubt you would. I'll see about a special licence in the morning—later this morning,' he corrected, scanning his watch. 'The act should be accomplished in a matter of days.'
Raine stared as the door closed behind him. With the masterful tread of a mariner he had gone, leaving her to wrestle with the doubts and fears crowding her mind. Slowly she sank upon the bed to digest the incredible fact that she had just promised to marry a man who did not want her. A sob caught in her throat. The austerity of his proposal had been bad enough, but only now was she beginning to appreciate all she was about to miss: an exciting courtship, the support of loving parents, announcements in the press, the choosing of a wedding dress, the sending out of invitations—the list of things dear to a young bride's heart was endless and in her case totally unattainable.
Dry-eyed, she stared up at the ceiling, telling herself that although it was best to love wisely, to love foolishly need not be totally disastrous. Her heart began to pound as she unearthed Thor's words.The act should be accomplished in a matter of days! How curt he had sounded, how sternly his lips had settled around the words. Yet earlier this evening he had proved himself capable of warmth, gentleness, even mild teasing, and before Britt's intervention his manner had promised very much more…
Agitation subsided as she recalled those moments of perfect rapport. He had bound himself with a promise never to encroach, but with the qualification: 'any further than you would wish!'
A smile touched lips curving with optimism. Thor's forceful masculinity rendered him so vulnerable, perhaps in time he would weaken and allow her love to lead him forward into a life of happiness.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
‘Thor’ Janice informed Raine next morning, 'breakfasted early and by now is probably halfway to York. He seemed more than usually tense,' she offered, her sharp eyes noting purple smudges beneath Raine's eyes. 'Did you two have a fight last night?' She continued to butter a piece of toast, watching covertly for Raine's reaction.
Carefully Raine set down her cup and buried shaking hands in her lap, but an unfortunate tide of colour was less easy to control. 'Of course not,' she mumbled, knowing Janice was not fooled, 'he was probably feeling a bit put out, as you know, he spends as little time as possible in town, but urgent business made this visit to York imperative.'
Janice grimaced. 'York is hardly the centre of the universe, but it's certainly preferable to this deadly hole. God, how I hate this place!' Irritably she pushed aside her plate and reached for a cigarette. 'I told Britt last night,' she puffed savagely, 'that a week of this place is six days more than I can stand. He insists, however, that we must remain here until we've won over that wretched boy.' She returned Raine's shocked look with a hard laugh. 'Ironic, isn't it? Initially I was the one who wanted to resume parental duties, but now Britt is determined to fight to the bitter end for what he claims are his rights. But that's typical of Britt,' she screwed the butt of her cigarette into an ashtray with such intensity Raine winced. 'Tell him there's something he can't have and he'll fight all the way to hell to get it—especially,' she added wryly, 'if that something belongs to Thor I One always imagines twins as being compatible, each eager for the well-being of the other, but that's never been the case with Britt. I'm not blameless myself, but when I ran away I considered it was in the child's best interests to leave him here, whereas Britt, I feel sure, was more interested in curtailing Thor's career!'
Raine was appalled. Something about Janice's discontented expression, about the way her fingers were drumming an irritable tattoo on the table top, seemed to indicate that she was in no mood to care that temper was being allowed to overrule discretion. Yet her suggestion was so incredible she felt bound to protest, 'Surely not! What satisfaction could Britt hope to gain?'
'The satisfaction of knowing a competitor had been removed from his orbit, my dear! Thor was becoming too much talked about, too brilliantly successful in his career, and in this family only Britt has ever been allowed to shine.'
Raine looked away from Janice's contorted features. 'How can you suspect such a thing of the man you profess to love?' she rebuked quietly.
Reverting to calmness, Janice reached for a second cigarette. 'Love is for fools,' she directed a stream of smoke through arrogantly distended nostrils, 'we understand one another, Britt and I, far better than some couples who profess to have the perfect marriage. We're both selfish, both like luxury and enjoy living well, and we're neither of us hesitant to do
whatever is necessary to gain our ends.'
'And what about Vulcan?' Raine almost choked in her indignation. 'If you were to succeed in prising him away from Thor how would he fit into your plans?'
Janice's glance sharpened. 'We'll worry about that when the time comes—which reminds me,' she heaved out of her chair, I’d better start work bringing the little devil round; a protracted stay in this house will drive me out of my mind!'
Raine watched helplessly as she sauntered out in search of Vulcan, the son she spoke of with such lack of affection it was hard to accept her claim to motherhood. Doubtless, if ever the pair managed to regain custody of their son he would, once the novelty had worn off, be dumped in some boarding school and left to pine his heart out for his beloved Luci, for his home and for his Uncle Thor. The idea was so unbearable her heart lurched and recovered only slightly at the-reminder that Thor was even now in the process of ensuring such a possibility became remote. A loveless marriage, weighed against a child's-deep unhappiness, was a much more bearable alternative…
She spent the rest of the morning indoors, tormented by sounds of childish laughter coming from an unsuspecting Vulcan being wooed by an enjoyable game of cricket.
'Well held, son!' Raine flinched from Britt's blatant misuse of the parental address. 'Now let's see if you can howl Mummy out!'
She wandered up to her room and closed the windows against the sounds of treachery, made shiveringly aware of Thor's absence by the chill penetrating her bones, the creeping fear that only his presence kept at bay.
Lunch had to be faced, however, and it was with great reluctance that she made -her way downstairs to the dining-room just as the ancient grandfather clock in the hall struck the hour of one. It had a rich, resonant tone reminiscent of Thor, so she gave it an affectionate pat on her way past, grateful for its timely encouragement. She heard voices coming from the drawing-room, Vulcan, Britt and Janice were discussing some subject obviously absorbing enough to delay lunch. She veered towards the half open door and was almost on the threshold when she heard Vulcan's piping voice incautiously informing them.
The Girl at Danes' Dyke - Margaret Rome Page 12
