A High Price to Pay (17 page)

sensuous finger across her parted lips.

'Nevertheless, it would be better if you stopped arguing, and came

back to bed with me,' he said softly. 'We have things to discuss.'

She gave him a mutinous look. 'We can talk like this just as well.'

The dark brows drew together slightly. 'You can, perhaps,' he said,

'muffled up to the ears in those weird garments, but I'm wearing

nothing but a damp towel, and it's getting decidedly chilly.'

He picked her up bodily and carried her over to the bed, settling her

back against the pillows before he unhitched the towel from round his

hips and joined her.

Alison lay staring rigidly ahead of her. She hadn't been able to avert

her gaze fast enough, and she was infuriated to find how swiftly her

senses had been stirred by that brief, unavoidable glimpse of his

naked body.

There was a silence, then Nick said drily, 'You look like a lady

suffering from a severe case of regret.'

'You said you wanted to talk,' she reminded him stonily.

'So I did,' he agreed, still with that thoughtful crease between his

brows. 'I have to go back to London today, Alison, and I want you to

come with me.'

Sheer surprise rendered her dumb for a moment, and her eventual

'Why?' emerged as a strangled croak.

'Well,' he said softly, 'there's the matter of your new wardrobe to

supervise.'

'The clothes I already have are perfectly adequate for my position

here,' she said stiltedly.

'Ah!' Nick smiled wickedly, and she felt his hand move to stroke the

curve of her hip under the sheltering covers. 'But perhaps I want to

buy you something appropriate for some of the other positions I have

in mind.'

Alison stiffened. 'Don't!'

'And what does that ban cover?' he asked evenly. 'Teasing you? Or

touching you?'

'Both.' She flicked her dry mouth with the tip of her tongue. 'Nick,

please go!'

'When I'm ready,' he said rather grimly. 'You seem very anxious to be

rid of me. Last night…'

'Last night I behaved like an animal,' Alison said hurriedly. 'I don't

particularly want to be reminded of it.'

'You behaved like a woman,' he said, after a glacial pause. 'And you

should be proud of that, not ashamed, my little prude. My God, you

were a revelation…'

'I suppose that's intended to be a compliment,' she said tautly.

'Forgive me if I'm not very grateful. And if I don't congratulate you on

your expertise, which I'm sure is considerable.' She swallowed, is that

why you want me in London with you? To indulge in more sexual

acrobatics?'

His face hardened, if that's how you wish to phrase it,' he drawled.

'You proved an apt pupil, my darling. You can hardly blame me for

wanting to continue with your lessons.'

'I suppose I should be gratified that I have novelty value at least,'

Alison said tonelessly. Inside, she was dissolving in wretchedness.

'But I'm afraid that isn't enough to tempt me to abandon my life here.

That's what I married you for, after all, and not your prowess in bed,

however celebrated.'

Nick was very still suddenly. He said softly, 'I see. And may I know

what's so important here that everything else pales into insignificance

beside it?'

She said woodenly, 'This is my home. As you reminded me

yesterday, I have duties and responsibilities here—not least, to my

mother.'

'Ah, yes,' Nick said silkily, 'your mother. I realise, of course, that she

thoroughly enjoys very poor health, but it didn't occur to me she was

using you as an unpaid messenger girl either. Yet I gather from

various remarks she made during the course of the evening that most

of those parcels you were festooned with yesterday were for her.'

'And what if they were?' Alison refused to meet his gaze. 'She—she

isn't strong. And it's my pleasure to do things for her.'

'It doesn't seem to you that you have other duties and

other—pleasures which might take priority over running errands for

your mother?' His tone was deceptively light; there was anger

simmering just below the surface, as Alison was quick to recognise.

'Does the fact that I want you with me really count for so little?'

She made herself shrug. 'That wasn't part of the bargain.' She paused.

'Besides, I have another reason for wanting to stay down here. As it

happens, I've been offered my old job back.'

'I hope you turned it down.' The anger was overt now.

'I did nothing of the kind. I said I'd think about it.'

'Well, you can stop thinking right now. If you need a job, you have

one here.'

'I did both before, and can again. After all, you're here so little, it can

make very little difference to you.'

'That doesn't mean I want my wife to be at another man's beck and

call,' Nick said tersely. 'Besides, has it occurred to you that your

return to the world of real estate might be rather short-lived? Judging

by your total inexperience, I doubt very much whether you took any

precautions last night, and I sure as hell didn't. You could be

pregnant.'

He sounded casual to the point of being callous, Alison thought, pain

striking at her.

She shrugged again. 'Perhaps,' she said. 'But that doesn't mean I have

to stay pregnant.'

'You little bitch,' he said slowly, the blue eyes harsh with contempt as

they looked her over. 'If I thought you meant that, I'd handcuff you to

my bloody wrist for the duration!'

'Such paternal feelings,' Alison said mockingly. 'Surely it can't be a

totally unfamiliar situation for you?'

'The only unfamiliar situation,' Nick said softly, 'is my overwhelming

desire to slap you hard. I think I'd better get out of here before I

succumb to temptation.' Angrily, he thrust aside the covers and

swung his long legs to the floor, kicking the discarded towel

impatiently away from him as he did so. He gave Alison one last,

fulminating glance, then stalked across the room to the

communicating door between their rooms.

It slammed behind him, awaking reverberations which rang in

Alison's head like a death knell. She lay curled into a ball, her

clenched fist pressed against her mouth, listening to him move about,

opening and shutting drawers and cupboards. Then she heard his own

door thud shut, and his stride going past her room and down the

corridor. Back to London. Away from her.

When her door opened she sat up, hope flooding her absurdly, only to

be confronted by the homely figure of Mrs Horner.

'My, but Mr Bristow was in a hurry to be off,' she commented, setting

down the tray, and drawing back the curtains. 'It's not much fun for

him having to rush back to work after a party.' She pursed her lips as

she looked at Alison. 'And you're looking pale, Miss Alison. Didn't

you sleep well?'

'I had a nightmare,' said Alison, picking up her cup.

Mrs Horner tutted. 'Nasty things, but soon forgotten.'

Not this one, Alison thought when she was alone again. This

particular nightmare of loneliness and heartache could haunt her for

the rest of her life.

ALISON replaced the telephone receiver and looked across at the desk

where Simon was working. 'That was Mr Gresham,' she said. 'He's

decided to accept the Simpsons' offer after all.'

'So the age of miracles is still with us.' Simon grinned at her. 'I suspect

that diplomatic pep talk you gave him about realistic property values,

and the state of the market, may have swayed him a little.'

'And the fact that the Simpsons are offering cash may have had

something to do with it too,' Alison reminded him drily. 'But I'm glad

he phoned. Knowing the sale's going through makes me feel slightly

less guilty about taking the rest of the day off.'

'Nonsense,' Simon said robustly. 'You deserve some time off. You've

worked like a slave since you came back here—devotion above and

beyond the call of duty.' He studied her with a slight frown. 'In fact

I'm not sure it hasn't been too much for you. You're looking rather

pale and wan these days.'

Alison bit her lip as she reached for her bag. 'I shall have to invest in

some blusher,' she said lightly. 'Although having Melanie home for

the school holidays will probably put some colour back in my

cheeks.'

'She's a lively one all right,' Simon agreed. 'I haven't seen her for quite

a while.'

'She should have been home on one of her weekend passes a fortnight

ago, but she didn't make it,' said Alison with a slight shrug.

'Apparently there was something on at school.'

'And are you going straight to Mascombe Park to collect her now?'

'With a slight detour.' Alison paused. 'I'm having lunch with my

mother-in-law first.'

'Poor you,' Simon laughed. 'No wonder you're pale!'

Alison smiled with an effort. 'No, it isn't at all like that,' she said.

'She's a darling. In fact, I wish I saw more of her than I do.'

Simon shot her a wry look. 'And does the same apply to her son?' He

saw the rush of angry colour into her face and held up a placatory

hand. 'I'm sorry—I'm venturing on forbidden territory, and I know it.'

'Then why say these things?'

'You know why,' he said heavily. 'I don't like seeing you neglected.

You deserve better out of life than this, Alison.'

'How do any of us know what we deserve?' she said bitterly. She got

to her feet. 'Well, I'll see you on Monday.'

Simon followed her through the reception area and out on to the

pavement, standing, hands in pockets, watching while she reached in

her bag for her car keys. The car, a sporty Alfa Romeo, had been

delivered to Ladymead only a few days after Nick's departure to

London, the usual curt memo from his office apprising her of its

arrival. She'd tried to telephone, to thank him, but his secretary had

told her he was in conference, and she had never been able to

summon up sufficient courage to call again.

And as Nick hadn't paid even a fleeting visit to Ladymead in the three

weeks since, that was how the situation remained between them. She

was grateful to Simon for giving her this job. It kept her days safely

occupied, although it could do nothing to alleviate the misery of the

lonely nights, tossing and turning in that enormous bed, her

awakened, bewildered body crying out for surcease.

It was no wonder she was pale, although, with the passage of time,

she had begun to suspect there might be a more cogent reason for her

pallor than sleeplessness alone.

Simon said tentatively, 'You will be here on Monday? I didn't mean to

pry, and I'd hate you to think you had to leave just because I can't

keep my nose out of your private life.'

Alison straightened and looked at him. His probing had upset her, but

she knew it was prompted by genuine concern, and her heart softened

as she saw his boyishly abashed look.

'I know,' she said gently. 'And I shouldn't be touchy. You—you've

been incredibly kind.' Impulsively she reached up and kissed him

lightly on the cheek.

Before he could reach for her and hold her, she had stepped back and

was getting into her car.

'Don't worry,' she called to him, as she drove off. 'I'll be back!'

It was a warm, sunny day, and she enjoyed the drive to Mrs Bristow's

house, however much she might be dreading the inevitable

tete-a-tete. But there was no way in which she could avoid it any

longer.. One more excuse and Mrs Bristow would be hurt, she

realised. If her mother-in-law asked anything about Nick, she would

just have to be very guarded. Yet Angela Bristow was no fool; she

must have realised by now that there was something seriously amiss

between her son and his new wife.

But there was nothing in the warmth of her welcome to suggest any

reservations at all.

'It's so warm, I thought we'd lunch in the garden,' Mrs Bristow told

her. 'Only a light meal—pate, and a salade nioise.'

'That sounds lovely,' said Alison.

'Hm.' Her mother-in-law looked her over shrewdly. 'I think perhaps I

should have included something substantial, like a steamed pudding.

You seem to have lost some weight.'

'Isn't that what everyone's trying to do?' Alison parried.

'If they need to—but you don't.' Mrs Bristow paused. 'Are you sure

this job of yours isn't proving too much—with all your other

responsibilities as well?'

Alison moved restively. 'I don't think so. After all, the house nearly

runs itself these days.'

'And of course you have your mother to help you.'

'She does as much as she can,' Alison said neutrally, trying to dismiss

from her mind the past weeks of carping and complaints from Mrs