Dirty Aristocrat: British Billionaire Bad Boy Romance (13 page)

‘Good morning.’

‘Morning,’ I said, and lifted my hand in an awkward wave.

‘Do please sit down,’ he said, waving his hand towards the island stools.

‘Formal,’ I commented, and popped myself on the stool furthest from him.

‘Well, yes. I’ve decided what I want to do with you.’

‘Very dramatic,’ I said lightly, but already I didn’t like the sound of his voice.

He cleared his throat. ‘The simple fact is; the terms of Robert’s will mean should your stepchildren manage to arrange for your demise, or your incapacitation, his fortune is basically up for grabs. However, if you are married, your husband will inherit everything, and if you have children of your own that puts even more layers between them and your inheritance. At that point it would be pointless to eliminate you.’

He looked at me with raised eyebrows.

‘The marriage would only be a temporary arrangement. At twenty-one you will be able to set up trusts of your own and put in stipulations so your stepchildren are completely eliminated from being in positions of rightful heirs.’

I tilted my head to one side and considered him with narrowed eyes. What he just said sounded like three gallons of crazy in a two-gallon bucket.

‘Let me get this right. Are you actually suggesting I get into a sham marriage to keep my stepchildren away from my fortune?’

‘Yes. That is exactly what I am suggesting,’ he said blandly.

I laughed, humorless and short. ‘And you have a man ready to marry me as well, I suppose?’

‘Yes,’ he agreed quietly.

I moved back, stunned. Good gracious me, it never crossed my mind that he already had a candidate lined up and waiting for the job as well. No doubt he expected me to marry some employee of his or servant who would be compensated with
my
money for this ridiculous charade.

‘And do I know this accommodating man?’ My voice was low even though I was furious.

‘You’re looking at him.’

Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit. ‘You?’ I uttered incredulously. ‘You hate my guts.’

He shifted slightly. ‘Hate is a bit intense.’

‘Well,’ I breathed. ‘We certainly don’t love each other.’

He looked at me as if I didn’t have the sense that God gave a goose. ‘What’s love got to do with it?’

‘Do go on,’ I said dryly, still unable to quite believe he was being serious.

‘Quite frankly, I don’t see why not. You seemed to manage very well once before without love.’

The cocky bastard. I shot venom from my eyes. ‘This is exactly why we should
never
get married. I’d end up poisoning you and going to prison.’

‘The truth does tend to hurt,’ he observed.

‘The truth? You wouldn’t know the truth if it hit you where the good Lord split you.’

He grinned suddenly, which just made me even madder.

‘And while we’re at it,’ I cried hotly. ‘You don’t know the first thing about my marriage to Robert. You might need to take a seat for that. Actually, you might need to take a whole bench to yourself to sit and listen without judging,’

He raised both his hands, palms facing me. ‘Fair enough. I take that remark back, but if you keep the high emotions out of this scenario you’ll quickly appreciate the fact that I’m the best option and this is the best solution to your troubles.’

I opened my mouth to let off another tirade, but he raised his hands again.

‘Hear me out. The marriage ceremony itself will be quick and less painful than a trip to the dentist, and in about two years’ time we’ll get divorced. You’ll get your inheritance back under your control, I’ll sail off into the sunset, and we never need meet again.’

I looked at him suspiciously. ‘What do you get out of it?’

‘Just the sex really.’

‘What?’ I exploded.

‘Where’s that famous sense of Southern humor gone?’

 ‘It got chewed to bits when you unveiled your grand plan.’

‘It’s a good plan, Tawny. Strictly speaking we don’t even have to live together after a reasonable amount of time.’

I scowled. Why would he want to put himself out to the extent of marrying me, when it was perfectly obvious that he didn’t even like me? In his eyes I was a gold digger. Aha! Correction: I used to be a gold digger. I wasn’t anymore. As a matter of fact, I was now the rich American widow. Easy prey for all kinds of avaricious men. Perhaps even men with titles and no fortune.

I leaned forward. ‘And how much of my inheritance do you get to keep when we divorce?’

His eyes were suddenly freezing chips of ice, and I realized that I probably shouldn’t have put it quite so crudely. There was still a small, unlikely chance he was doing all this to help me. To be fair I should have given him the benefit of the doubt.

‘I’ll get my lawyer to draw up a pre-nup where neither party benefits from the other, and have a draft sent to your lawyers. Any other objections?’

Another very obvious objection occurred to me, but I didn’t voice it. I didn’t even look at him suspiciously. What if he was in cahoots with my step-children? They kill me, he inherits the whole thing, and they split it among the four of them. Nice plan.

‘I’d like a bit of time to think over this new scheme of yours.’

‘Be my guest. Believe me I’ll be more than glad if you could come up with a strategy that is less involving.’

After Ivan left the apartment, I cut a large slice of cake and sat down to eat it while I thought about Ivan’s surreal and totally unexpected proposal. No matter which way I looked at it, it simply didn’t feel right even to pretend to marry Ivan. Not when I had only just buried Robert. 

Poor Robert would have been horrified to see the situation I was in. He wanted me to be independent. Yet here I was, Barrington closed up, all the staff laid off, and me stuck in Ivan’s apartment and at his mercy while his stepchildren plotted God knows what to get their hands on my money.

I thought again about Robert saying to me, ‘Trust me, my darling Tawny. I have thought long and hard about this. I promise you my plan is a sound one.’ His illness must have ravaged him more than I thought. As far as I could see there was no plan to speak of, and he left such a large loophole for them to exploit.

I tried to imagine his reaction to me marrying Ivan. The thought made me sigh. Yet what choices did I have right now? I had no access to the money. If I tried to go it alone I would just make it even easier for them to knock me off. Perhaps they had even meant for me to perish that day. Like Ivan, I was a hundred percent certain that they would try it again. One look into Rosalind’s mean, dead eyes told me that she was total psychopath. One hundred and ten million was a lot of money.

I put away the breakfast dishes and called Angela, who worked at the One Turtle Foundation.

‘Oh, Mrs. Maxwell. I’m so sorry for your loss. I was at the church service, but I did not come forward because I didn’t want to intrude.’

‘Thank you, Angela. That was very kind of you.’

‘Mr. Maxwell was very generous to Steve and me in the will. I did not expect it. He was such a kind man. I miss him.’

‘Yes, he was,’ I said, a lump forming in my throat. For the first time, I was speaking to someone who loved Robert in the same uncomplicated way I did.

‘Are you coming in to see us? Please say that you are.’

‘Yes, I was thinking of dropping in this morning. Maybe we can do lunch?’

‘That will be fantastic. It’s been so long since we talked,’ she said happily.

I met Angela for lunch at a small Chinese restaurant on Baker Street. We talked about Robert, her new baby, and the charity. Then she came up with a very good suggestion.

‘Why don’t you take a trip to one of the islands? It will do you good to get away. Recharge yourself and then you can throw yourself back into work.’

I smiled at her. ‘Yes, I am missing my bikini a little bit.’

She grinned. ‘Go on. I love you with a tan.’

‘You know what, Angela? That’s actually a brilliant idea. I will go to one of the islands. I think it will make me feel closer to Robert.’

‘There you go,’ she said expertly picking up a piece of lobster between her chopsticks.  

Filled with excitement about the prospect of leaving all my troubles behind and going away, I went shopping for a bikini and some light clothes. I also bought a suitcase. By the time I got back it was nearly six in the evening. A mousy woman with dark eyes came out of the kitchen. She was wearing overalls and holding a feather duster in her hand.

‘Good afternoon, Mrs. Maxwell. The master told me you stay here with him. My name is Helena. I am cleaning flat for him.’

I smiled at her. ‘Hello, Helena.’ I looked around the super-clean place. ‘I see you have been busy. The place smells wonderful.’

She held up three knobby fingers. ‘Three times a week. Monday, Wednesday and Friday I come here. I am finished now, but if you have any clothes you want me to wash with hand, no problem. I take home. Just tell me what you want. Anything is no problem for me.’

‘No, I have nothing for you to do, but thank you for offering. It is very kind of you.’

‘You give me clothes next time, OK?’

‘OK,’ I agreed.

She smiled sweetly. ‘You want I make tea or coffee for you?’

‘No, it’s OK. Don’t worry. You go ahead and get home. It’s getting late. We’ll have a coffee together next time.’

She smiled broadly. ‘I come again on Friday.’

‘Great. I’ll see you then.’

After she left I realized I was very tired. That drug episode must have drained me far more than I had imagined. I ordered myself a pepperoni pizza delivery and ate it in front of the TV. Weird thing was, I kept listening for Ivan’s key in the door, but there was no sign of him even when I went to bed about eleven.

My last thought was: He’s probably with that snooty Chloe, and the thought didn’t sit well at all.

CHAPTER 16

Tawny Maxwell

I
woke up with the chickens and went out for a run in the dark. It was a good decision. Finally, I felt as if my body had completely recovered from being laid up. I felt strong again, and it smelt like it was going to be a sweet day. In my experience those mornings always turned out best.

As I was coming into the foyer of the building, I bumped into Ralph. His boyishly handsome face creased into a genuine smile.

‘Hey stranger,’ he said.

‘Hey yourself,’ I panted and, putting my hands on my knees, caught my breath before I straightened again and tried to talk. ‘Listen, Ralph. I’m really sorry about the last time. It was my fault. I should have checked with Ivan first before I invited anyone around into his place.’

He grinned. ‘Make up for it by having breakfast with me.’

I jerked my head back. ‘What, now?’

‘Sure.’

‘I’m all sweaty and smelly.’

‘Don’t you know? Guys love sweaty smelly girls,’ he teased.

I laughed.

‘How about I meet you back here in twenty minutes?’ he suggested.

I hesitated and thought of Ivan’s reaction.

‘It’s just to that little café across the road. They do the most amazing blueberry muffins I’ve ever eaten.’

I turned and looked to where he was pointing. It was practically across the road, and it looked warm and cheerful inside with yellow lights, wooden tables and chairs, a long counter full of all kinds of baked goods, and waitresses in white shirts and short black skirts. 

I bit my lip considering his offer. Well, I had nothing better to do. Why shouldn’t I go? After all, Ivan spent his night with Chloe.

 I smiled. ‘OK, see you here in twenty.’

‘I’ll be waiting right here.’ He grinned broadly, so obviously and sincerely pleased that I instinctively warmed towards him.

I waved and jogged up the two flights of stairs. I let myself into the apartment as quietly as possible, almost tip-toeing into my room. I showered, moisturized my face, dried my hair, and got into my new purchases; jeans, blue and white sweater, and cowboy boots. Then I slicked on some lipstick and opened my door.

All was silent and there was no movement at all inside the dragon’s den. It did feel as if I was sneaking around, but honestly, Ivan was like a bear with a sore head first thing in the morning, and I didn’t relish telling him I was having breakfast with Ralph. I scribbled a note and left it propped up on the kitchen island.