A High Price to Pay (24 page)

insisted, and it occurred to me that what really stood between us was

that damned barracks of a house, and your mother's never-ending

demands. So—I talked the whole thing over with Melly, and came to

the conclusion that the only chance I had of winning you was to free

you from all of it.' The blue eyes met hers squarely. 'I want to sell

Ladymead, Alison. Taking it on originally seemed the answer to a

number of problems, but it's simply created others instead. And your

mother is neither elderly nor feeble, just reluctant to take

responsibility for her own life. I think it would be good for her to have

a place of her own. But what I need to know is, does the house—the

past—mean so much to you that you want to hang on to it at any

price?'

Alison shook her head, slowly and determinedly. 'I want you, Nick,'

she said. 'Nothing matters to me but you. I'll go wherever you want.'

There was a long silence, as they looked at each other. He said, 'I love

you, Alison. Marry me. Be my wife.'

He held out his arms and she went into them like a homing bird, her

heart soaring in joy as he held her.

She said, 'For ever, Nick,' and he repeated the words like a vow.

After a while, he said huskily, 'Isn't it time we began our

honeymoon?'

She hid a smile in the front of his shirt, pressing closer to him as she

did so. 'But I've got food ready. Don't you want dinner?'

'Later,' he said, and lifted her into his arms to carry her to the

bedroom.

A long time afterwards, when the first sweet storm of passion had

spent itself, they lay, quietly relaxed, in each other's arms, saying all

the things they had never said, asking the questions neither of them

had ever dared frame before.

'And you're handing in your notice to Thwaite,' Nick said suddenly,

lifting himself up on one elbow. 'Or I won't be responsible for my

actions!'

She smiled teasingly. 'Poor Simon! How can I leave him in the lurch?'

'Quite easily.' Nick kissed the tip of her nose. 'That'll teach him to

keep his hands off other men's wives!'

'So you were jealous too,' she marvelled. 'There was no cause.'

Nick's mouth twisted in wry tenderness. 'Being in love doesn't always

make one exactly rational,' he admitted. 'As you've also found out,

my darling. Besides, I've discovered an alarming tendency in myself

to be jealous of everyone and everything with even the slightest claim

to your attention. I'm not proud of it, and I will try to overcome it.'

'You'd better,' she smiled, thinking of the one sweet secret she still

had to share with him.

With a sigh of sheer contentment, he pillowed his head on her breasts,

his lips paying tribute to their scented fullness. 'Just as long as you

know that it won't all be moonlight and roses,' he said sleepily.

'All the best roses have thorns,' Alison whispered.

And whatever problems there would be, she thought, seemed a very

small price to pay for the happiness of being Nick's wife at last.