Kissed by Moonlight (10 page)

“I wasn't.” He cupped her face in his hands and crushed her mouth under his. “And now, very reluctantly, I must get up. I've a full day's work facing me.”

“Must you work today?”

He groaned. “I must.” He lifted a strand of her hair and let its silkiness slide through his fingers. His face fell into an expression that she found impossible to read. “I've been thinking over what you said yesterday. You accused me of not telling you anything and deliberately shutting you out of my working life. How would you like to be included for a change?”

“I'd like that,” she said expectantly.

“This morning I'm going to inspect a castle. I take it you want to come with me?”

“A castle?” she said, her imagination soaring. “A
real
castle. Can I honestly come?”

“I've said so, haven't I?” he said on an abrupt and repressive change of tone. “Bear in mind that this is Chimera. Nothing is real on Chimera. It is, most fittingly, a mock castle. Recently built to look centuries old, because people expect to find a castle on an island and will shell out good money for a night, or a weekend even, of medieval entertainment.”

“Just a holiday attraction,” she said, making no attempt to hide her disappointment. “Another way of milking the tourist.”

“There you go again. And you wonder why I don't tell you anything. I should have my head examined for bothering.”

She couldn't believe how quickly the tender warmth they had shared until just a moment ago had gone, to be replaced by his usual iciness.

Ungraciously following his lead, she shrugged indifferently. “Even visiting a mock castle will be better than hanging around here all day.”

If she'd probed she would have found lurking at the back of her mind the ungerminated seed of thought that it was her own disdainful opinion of the way he conducted himself in business that had brought him to swift and angry retaliation. She told herself he was reverting to type and that he was arrogant and insensitive by nature, and ignored the possibility that he could well be driven to hit out in blind frustration by the unyielding quality of her attitude.

She was tempted to add to his annoyance by taking a long time over getting ready and so delay the early start he claimed he was anxious to make. But she thought twice about that, and her second thought convinced her she could be the loser. He was astute enough to figure out her tactics, and brutal enough to sweep her out of the hotel without breakfast. As she had already been cheated out of dinner last night, she was hungrier than usual.

On inspiration, instead of the rolls and preserves that would have sufficed, she ordered a full English breakfast, and took pleasure in the fact that David occupied the time while it was being cooked by drumming his fingers on the table.

She overdid the ordering, because such a huge breakfast did not meet with her stomach's approval, and had to struggle gamely through two eggs, bacon, sausages, and two saucer-large slices of fried tomato, while he looked on with an “I-should-say-that-evens-the-score” smirk on his mouth.

It was a small consolation that they had the breakfast table to themselves. The other places had been cleared away, so presumably Ginny and Bob had already eaten.

David had made no mention of Ginny going with them and so Petrina was surprised to see the tall, skinny blond installed in the Land Rover that was waiting for them at the front of the hotel.

This morning Ginny wore pale sand-colored trousers and a checked cotton overshirt that, because of its fine material and aided by Ginny's omission to fasten the buttons, all but the one in line with her bra, revealed more than it concealed although, with her statistics, there wasn't all that much to reveal. It was difficult to pinpoint what made Ginny attractive. Her looks didn't fit into any of the accepted categories. She wasn't aloof and elegant, and she wasn't romantically pretty. Her keynote was more subtle and less easy to define. Her vitality would play an important part, and that enviable air of self-assurance. Though Petrina didn't think that Ginny was as assured as she tried to make out.

She hoped her own choice, a casual shirtwaist dress that had looked fine in her bedroom mirror, would pass muster. It was in soft companion colors of blues and greens, shading from one to the other with no definite pattern. She had left the top two buttons fashionably open to reveal her throat. She fingered the third button absentmindedly, caught David's wicked glance, and thought better of it.

In lieu of apology for keeping her waiting, David told Ginny she looked very spruce. Ginny's beaming smile forgave him, and, to her dismay, Petrina found she had to avert her eyes. She knew she was being unreasonable and foolish about this, and furthermore it was unworthy of her, but she was jealous of the camaraderie David and Ginny shared. She told herself sternly that she should be grateful her husband had found such a loyal and seemingly efficient secretary to back him up in his difficult job, and she was sure now that there was nothing between them, but still she envied the bond they shared, a. bond that she and David might never have.

This brought a strange thought to mind. Ginny was on the spot. She was a likeable person and extremely easy going. She had proved this by not objecting to being the butt of Bob's humor when they'd shared a breakfast table. And, in its own way, her boyish sex appeal was quite fetching. If David had needed to produce a decoy to allay Geoffrey Hyland's suspicions and so safeguard his job, why hadn't he chosen Ginny?

A tiny frown etched itself between her fine brows at a possible conclusion to be drawn from this. Perhaps it was harder to find a loyal secretary than it was to find a wife. Any presentable young woman would fit this latter role, whereas a secretary of Ginny's worth might be difficult to come by. Petrina was sorry she had ever even considered the question.

The road followed a confusing, winding course, in keeping with her thoughts. She was certain she hadn't been just any woman in David's arms a short while ago. It had been special to her, and she had been so sure it had been special to him. Could he have been like that with her and still long for Justine? She'd given her heart when she'd given her body. He'd been tender with both of them, as if he recognized the gift of her love and was happy to accept it. Perhaps he was. It didn't mean that he had to reciprocate it, or that his affair with Justine had come to an end.

With grim determination she dropped her thoughts and concentrated on the scenery. For the most part the road traveled along the coastline, but occasionally it plunged inland to climb through dark green forests, where tall, tightly packed trees screened hidden places and lurking dangers – some real, others the menacing creations of the imagination. They left the umbrellalike gloom behind and she gleaned what dubious solace she could from keeping track of the hairpin bends and she trusted her stomach not to disgrace her as her eyes dipped dizzily down a sheer cliff face to the sparkling innocence of the turquoise sea.

“A considerable amount of fortifying and rebuilding is being carried out to bring the road up to the required safety standards before we can trundle up the coachloads of tourists,” David explained.

She had seen the evidence of this because they had already passed several gangs of workmen employed in the task. Once he stopped the Land Rover and got out to have a word with the workmen. He seemed concerned because that particular stretch wasn't being completed quickly enough. At the same time, she wondered if he'd sensed her queasiness and was teasing her when he said the tourists would come along this route. The road seemed much too narrow ever to accommodate a coach.

“There is a better way,” Ginny said, apparently by chance, because Petrina didn't think she was interpreting her thoughts.

“A better way?” David queried thoughtfully. “Progress demanded the building of a less hazardous, more direct road, if that's what you mean.”

With a strange reversal of thought, Petrina realized that David was not taking a dig at her, but expressing a side of himself that his brisk business mind usually kept well hidden. Did he come down on the side of progress by determination and not natural inclination?

Suddenly the brave little road was no longer a threat to safety and the density of the trees was not as menacing. Her spirits lifted on the sparkling beauty of the day. It was an appropriate moment to catch her first glimpse of the castle.

It might have been built only recently as a moneymaking project, a setting deliberately contrived for medieval banquets and jousting tournaments and anything else they might dream up to tempt the tourist to open up his wallet, but seen with the dazzle of the sun in her eyes – she still hadn't bought sunglasses and the protective brim of her sun hat wasn't pulled far enough down – it was like a vision from ancient legend.

Stepping down from the Land Rover to the rough ground, she appreciated David's steadying hand, and not only for the assistance it provided. She wished that Ginny weren't efficiently getting her notebook out and that David didn't have to work. If only she could keep her fingers tightly curled in his and they could ignore Ginny and wander off by themselves.

Instead, she was the one left on her own while David barked out instructions to the workmen and Ginny jotted down notes when required.

A man who looked a bit better dressed than the majority of the workmen and was obviously in charge approached David. Some query in the main hall required David's attention. As the two men crossed the drawbridge and disappeared beyond the stout, studded wooden door, Petrina found herself unexpectedly alone with Ginny.

The shirt, she noticed, was now demurely buttoned up, but not Ginny's mouth. “It's not that your husband is a prude, it's just that he prefers the men to keep their eyes on their work.” Her laugh was slightly rueful. “Not that I'm much of a distracting influence; I'm just one of the guys.” Ginny wasn't fishing for compliments but she had something on her mind, and Petrina wasn't surprised to hear her say abruptly, “I believe in being frank, don't you?”

“Every time.”

“Good. You might have noticed that I'm excessively loyal to your husband.”

“It is rather obvious.”

“You're looking at all the angles and are wondering why. Yes?”

“I'll go along with that.”

“What answer have you come up with?”

“The one with the least complications. Respect isn't given, it's earned. Worker and boss must be compatible. So – you must respect David, find him fair-minded and good to work for, even though others might not see him in that way?” Petrina suggested tentatively.

Ginny's nod was emphatic. “He's been good to me and mine. I know he has his share of critics, but then people who make their mark in the world always will have. Some say he's got his eye on the main chance and that he never does anything for anybody unless there's something in it for him. In a way, I suppose that's true. My own mother is a perfect example. Do you know what he did for her?”

“No. Tell me,” Petrina encouraged.

“During a rehousing program she was pushed into a high-rise apartment. She hated it. She was a sick woman to start with and the feeling of being trapped didn't help her condition. David got her out. He paid for her to go to a nursing home by the sea and, as soon as she was feeling up to it, he found a charming little house for her. He knew what he was doing when he bought it; it was on a site that was ripe for development. My mother had a blood disorder; she had no chance of recovering. When she died, David sold the house and made a bundle. I don't care if he did make a handsome profit by his good deed. My mother was happy in that little house, and that's all that matters to me.”

“I'm sorry about your mother, Ginny,” Petrina sympathized. “I lost my mother when I was a little girl.”

“You'll know what it's all about then,” Ginny said, savagely kicking at a stone and sending up a swirl of dust. “I had to tell you this to set you straight. I would like us to be friends, and – well – you've been giving me some rather searching looks.”

“I'm sorry. You're very perceptive, Ginny.”

“It doesn't pay not to be.” Now it was Ginny's turn to send her the searching look. “You should mark that.”

“Thanks. I will.” She hesitated before going on. Ginny was warning her to keep her eyes open so she obviously
knew.
Deciding she had nothing to lose and perhaps something to gain, she plunged on recklessly, “You know about Justine, don't you, Ginny?”

Ginny's breath sucked in. “I didn't think you'd know – not so soon.”

“Perhaps I should modify that,” Petrina said, underplaying her suspicions to gain Ginny's information. “I think there might have been something going on between my husband and Justine.”

Ginny looked shattered. “I only meant to put you on your guard. I take no pleasure in getting involved, but I guess I brought it on myself at that. So – here goes. I'm sure David only befriended Justine Hyland in the first place for her husband's sake, but she might not have seen it that way. The signs are that she hasn't. She's become very possessive about David just lately. It must have been a dreadful shock to her when he came back and brought you with him. I've got an awful feeling she's not going to take it mildly and I think you might have to bear the brunt of her vindictive tongue.”

She wondered what Ginny would say if she told her she had already been treated, at considerable length, to Justine's vituperation. No, she couldn't tell Ginny about that. It was much too personal. Instead, she said, “Where is Justine's husband?”

“He comes and goes. His various business commitments require him to travel a good deal.”

“Why doesn't Justine go with him? Why does she stay here?”

The brown eyes were wary. “I'm not in her confidence. Perhaps she just likes it here.”