Beaumont Brides Collection (121 page)

‘Just to establish the principle?’ she asked.

‘Just to establish the principle. ‘

‘It would have to be because life without you would be...’ Just living. A life empty of love or purpose. ‘Unimaginable.’

‘Unimaginable. That’s it. So we have love first. You do believe that marriage is important? I know some women think it’s an anachronism.’

‘Marriage is a statement of intent, Jack. A public commitment. A haven in which to bring up children.’

‘So you would want all that? A home, children, a working partnership between -’

‘- two people who care enough about each other to never knowingly cause hurt to each other,’ she finished.

‘Able to give each other space, yet always being there -’

‘- and still, in forty or fifty years time, still being able to reach out for a hand and feel -’

His hand gripped hers more tightly. ‘- a touch of fire.’

He raised her hand to his lips and set off an inferno. ‘Well, now we’ve established the principles, I have a question to ask you.’ He removed the dark glasses so that she could see his eyes, know his heart. ‘On the terms and conditions set out above, will you marry me, Melanie?’

Her leaden heart seemed to kick start into life. ‘Can I have that in writing?’

‘In blood if you want.’

‘No. Forget the words. I want it in kisses. From here...’ She pointed to her forehead and he obligingly kissed it. ‘To there.’ She wiggled her feet.

‘That’s going to take some time,’ he pointed out. ‘And I have to go and tell the captain to turn this thing around and head back to port.’

‘Port?’

‘The Ark. Or are you really set on a long engagement? It just seems such a pity to waste the license when Gus has gone to so much trouble to get it. And since the congregation is ready and waiting.’

‘License? When did you get a license?’ Her eyes widened. ‘Before Luke arrived?’ He didn’t answer. ‘Whatever happened to the advisability of getting to know one another?’

‘Oh, that. It went the same way as my belief that making love on a beach was for masochists.’ His eyes blazed. ‘You’ve turned me into a mushy old romantic. So, what do you say?’

‘But shouldn’t Tom be here? Or your mother?’

‘Those are your only objections?’

Melanie held her breath for just a second. ‘Yes, they are my only objections.’

‘Then you’ll be happy to know that they will be arriving on the afternoon plane.’

‘You asked them to the wedding before you asked me to marry you?’

‘I love you, Melanie. I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. I think a much more interesting topic of conversation would be where we should spend our honeymoon.’

‘Oh, but -’

He leaned across and placed his finger over her lips. ‘Before you ask, Mike is babysitting your co-operative.’

‘Is he? How kind.’ Then, ‘Oh, I don’t suppose you gave him any choice.’

‘Let’s just say it’s the equivalent of doing ten thousand lines for that revolting newspaper article. Now, where shall we start? You were thinking of Australia?’

‘There’s an island I always imagined would be perfect…’

‘That’s a start. And if we’re doing islands, I’ve always thought I’d like to visit Tahiti.’

‘To see the dusky maidens in their grass skirts? Forget it,’ she said. ‘Japan. I’ve always wanted to go to Japan. And Bali.’

‘India? The Taj Mahal by moonlight. And what about Petra?’

‘Oh, yes, Petra! The rose red city half as old as time… How can we choose?’

‘We don’t have to. Luke said you were planning to take a year off and that gives us plenty of time to go wherever we want. Of course we don’t have to spend it all travelling.’

‘No, I suppose not.’ Her forehead puckered up in a tiny frown. ‘There must be something else we could do.’

‘Give me a minute, I’ll think of something.’ He stood up, suddenly. ‘Come on.’

‘What?’

‘I’ve thought of something.’ He bent and swept her up into his arms and began to carry her below deck. Then he stopped. ‘That’s if you can remember the word.’

She laughed and let her head fall against his shoulder. ‘Just one word? I seem to recall that there were two. Yes. And please.’

Above them, on the bridge, the girl who’d brought Melanie her breakfast tray, handed a cup of coffee to the yacht’s captain and nodded down at the two deserted sun loungers. ‘It looks as if the wedding’s on. I guess we’ll be heading back to The Ark.’

He turned and smiled down at her. ‘Those were my orders, but the ceremony isn’t until sunset, so I wouldn’t say there’s any rush, would you?’

*****

Heather leaned back into the dark shadows of the branches as the sky began to pale in the stillness of pre-dawn. She felt safer in the darkness, but she knew it was only an illusion of safety, a brief reprieve. An hour, two at the most and this would all be over. Yesterday they had come with their loud hailers and warned her, giving her the chance to climb down, admit defeat and walk away.

The others had all gone, disappearing in ones and twos as the futility of their protest had become obvious.

The Barbour and green-welly brigade, who had flocked to the road site when the television cameras had been in evidence at the beginning, had long since drifted away to join some new cause.

But at dawn the cameras would be back eager to get pictures of the last protester being dragged away by the police, knowing that she would put up a struggle, give them a hard time, although if her mother hadn’t been married to Edward Beaumont, they probably wouldn’t even stay for that.

She felt in her pocket, hoping that she might find an overlooked sweet, something. Her food had run out two days ago, she had half a bottle of water. Even without the police coming today she would have been forced to surrender.

She knew that it was stupid to have stayed so long. She wished now that she had slipped away with the others so that she wouldn’t have to see the machines rip through the trees. She let her head fall against the trunk of the great oak that had been her home for the last few weeks, feeling the rough bark beneath her cheek growing wet with her tears.

It was so stupid. She hadn’t meant it to be like this. She’d only come along to the demonstration because she’d wanted to infuriate her mother, get her name in the papers and embarrass everyone. She’d never expected to actually care.

And the stupid thing was, she knew her mother would understand, would care too.

‘Oh, Dad,’ she said. ‘I miss you so much. And I miss Mum too. I wish she’d come home.’ Maybe that was the real reason she’d stayed in the tree so long. There was nothing and no one to come down for.

She stiffened as a soft noise reached her from the ground.

Nights and days watching and waiting had honed her senses, but since she had been alone they had become so highly attuned that she was alert to the slightest movement, the softest footfall.

She peered down through the branches but could see nothing.

Was the construction company planning a pre-dawn raid before the newsmen gathered for the final act?

It was the publicity they hated most. There was nothing worse for a company’s image that to see four of its burly henchmen manhandling a young woman.

She just wished she could have washed her hair and been wearing a clean dress, if only to make herself look more vulnerable.

Below her she heard the crack of a twig, the almost imperceptible vibration through the trunk and branches as someone began to climb. Her mouth dried as fear clutched at her and she sank further into the shadows, uncertain which way the attack would come.

‘Mum!’ she whispered, feeling more alone and afraid than she had in all the last few days since everyone else had deserted the protest.

Even in the daylight, with a dozen cameras trained on them, the rent-a-thugs the contractors had hired to evict them wouldn’t care about the bruises they inflicted. In the dark, there would be no one to see.

‘Heather?’ The voice was low, barely discernible. ‘Heather are you there?’

She flinched back against the trunk, not recognising the voice, fearing a trap. ‘Mac said to tell you he would have come himself but he daren’t risk his knee.’

‘Mac?’ The name was startled from her. ‘You know Mac?’ A man hoisted himself over the branch and grinned at her, only his teeth and the whites of his eyes showing against his blackened face, the dark balaclava.

‘He sent this. So you’d know I was on the level.’ He offered her something small and bright.

‘His medal!’ She looked back at him. ‘Who are you?’

‘Jack. Jack Wolfe. I’m a brother-in-law of sorts.’

‘Of sorts? What does that mean?’

‘If I tell you that I married Melanie last week, does that give you an idea?’

‘Married.’ She had forgotten to whisper. ‘Wasn’t that rather sudden?’

‘Very. We would have sent you an invitation but we didn’t know the number of your tree. Now shall we go before we both end up in jail?’

‘They’ll have to carry me out,’ she declared defiantly.

‘Oh, they will,’ he assured her. ‘Melanie just thought it would be rather more fun if you gave them the slip. While they were gearing up to storm the citadel, you could be giving a press conference somewhere plush in London, nails manicured, wearing a designer suit.’

‘What?’

‘Confound the image of the grubby, professional protester, she thought. It would make people take you more seriously.’

She stared at him. ‘Are you for real?’

‘Believe it, sweetheart. But it’s been a while since I climbed a tree, so if you could make up your mind,’ he prompted.

‘Is Melanie with you?’ she asked.

‘She’s keeping watch down below. We haven’t got much time before the security patrol comes back but if you’d rather stick it out to the bitter end just say.’

‘No. No, I’ll come with you.’

They slithered down the tree and ran for a battered mini-bus with the contractor’s logo on the side. There were half a dozen of them lined up in the compound. She’d seen them arriving day after day bringing workers to the site. She glanced at Melanie.

‘We faked it up,’ she said, sliding back the door. Then as headlights swung across the far side of the site they rolled onto the floor of the van, heads down, out of sight while someone closed the door behind them.

‘Close call,’ Jack said, as the security patrol continued on its way without stopping. Then, as the handbrake was released, the van began to slide quietly out of the parking bay.

‘Did she come, Jack?’ someone said.

Heather blinked and moved in the direction of the voice. ‘Fizz?’

‘Dear God, Heather, you smell awful,’ she said, reeling back.

‘So would you if you’d been living up a tree for a month,’ Heather returned defensively and then, as they reached the main road and the engine started a couple of bulky figures climbed in beside them. ‘Mac!’ She flung her arms about him. ‘And Luke,’ she said, with more restraint.

‘Hey, kid, what about me?’

Claudia grinned from the seat behind the door. ‘You all came!’

‘Couldn’t miss out on the fun.’

She looked around. All except her mother and Edward. Still on their honeymoon no doubt. There never had been such a family for getting married she thought. Then, ‘Who’s driving?’

‘I am. They wouldn’t let me climb the tree and they said I was too old to push the van,’ Edward Beaumont said, glancing at this newest and most troublesome addition to his family. ‘And it’s true. I’m too old for this kind of thing. Is there any more coffee in that flask, Diana?’

‘Just a drop. I thought perhaps Heather would appreciate it.’

Diana turned in the front passenger seat and passed the cup back to her daughter. ‘Hi, darling. Been having fun?’

‘Fun!’ Heather wanted to laugh and cry and fling herself at her mother all at the same time. Instead she did what she always did and yelled at her. ‘Fun! Have you any idea what’s been going on while you’ve been swanning about the world? The sheer, wanton destruction-’

‘Save it for the press conference, darling. We’ll all be there. Edward’s booked a room at the Grosvenor. If they’ll let you into the place smelling like that.’

‘Just let them try and keep me out!’

Diana leaned back and kissed her daughter’s cheek. ‘That’s my girl.’

Claudia said, ‘Go for it, kid.’

Fizz reached out and held her hand briefly.

Melanie slid down beside Jack, took his hand into hers and squeezed it. ‘Interesting family you have,’ he murmured, into her ear.

‘Thank you,’ she murmured.

‘I’m not sure it was a compliment.’

‘No, I meant...’ She looked up into his face, saw that he was teasing. ‘You know what I meant. Thank you for doing this, organising the van, going up that tree.’

‘There’s a price to pay, darling.’ His voice was low and full of laughter.

‘Oh? And what’s that?’

‘I haven’t decided.’ His teeth appeared as he grinned in the darkness. ‘But I’ll think of something.’ He bent and kissed her. When he looked up again it was to discover that he was the object of six pairs of eyes. Only Edward was intent upon the road. ‘Whatever it is, it will be a long way from your family. ‘