Нина Харрингтон – In Bed with Her Ex: Miss Prim and the Billionaire / Mardie and the City Surgeon / The Boy is Back in Town (страница 19)

‘Got another one, have you? Finished with my Henri, think this one’ll have more money? That’s how your kind operate, isn’t it? Find out what they’re worth and move from one to the other.’ She glared at Marcel. ‘Don’t fool yourself. When she meets a man with more cash you’ll be history. Don’t suppose you know what it’s like to be dumped, do you? Well, you’ll find out with her.’

The air was singing about Cassie’s head. How would Marcel respond to these words that seemed to home in on his own experience with such deadly accuracy?

His reply amazed her.

‘Good evening, Madame Lenoir. I am so glad you could join your husband.’

‘Join him? I’m going to get rid of him for good. I saw him dancing with her, and what an exhibition that was! Now she can have him.’

‘You are mistaken, madame,’ Marcel said coolly. ‘Mrs Henshaw danced with your husband only out of courtesy. She is with me tonight, and I would prefer it if you did not insult her.’

‘Oh, would you? Well, I’d prefer it if—’

She got no further. Scenting danger, Henri started to draw her away, apologizing frantically. When they had gone there were sighs of relief. Monsieur Lenoir indicated for Cassie to sit beside him but she’d had as much as she could stand.

‘Forgive me,’ she said, ‘but I’m rather tired. I just want to go to bed. I’ll be at work first thing tomorrow morning. Goodnight.’

She was backing away hastily as she spoke, giving Marcel no chance to object. Not that he wanted to, she thought. He must be glad to be rid of her.

In her room she stripped off, showered and dressed for the night. Her pyjamas were ‘Mrs Henshaw’, plain linen, loose trousers, high buttons.

Stick to Mrs Henshaw in future, she thought. You could argue that Cassie hadn’t been a success.

Or you could argue that she’d been so much of a success that it had put the cat among the pigeons.

She paced the floor, too agitated to sleep. Everything that had happened this evening had been unexpected. She’d coped with surprise after surprise, and the biggest surprise of all had been Marcel’s defence of her.

But it hadn’t been personal, she thought with a sigh. Only what conventional courtesy demanded. If only …

There came a sharp knock on her door.

‘Who is it?’ she called.

‘Me.’ It was Marcel. He tried the door, rattling it. ‘Open the door.’

She did so. Instantly his hand appeared, preventing her closing it if she’d wanted to. But she didn’t want to. This moment had been too long in coming, and now she was ready for it with all guns blazing.

He pushed in so fast that she had to back away. His eyes darted around the room.

‘I’m alone,’ she said ironically. ‘Henri left tamely with his wife. He didn’t come flying back to me, whatever you think.’

‘You’ll pardon me if I don’t take your word for that.’

‘No, I won’t pardon you,’ she said. ‘I’m not a liar. There’s nobody here but us.’

He ignored her. He was opening doors, looking into the bathroom, the wardrobe. Her temper rose sharply.

‘Look at me,’ she said, indicating her dull attire. ‘Do you think any woman entertains a lover dressed in clothes like this?’

‘That depends how long she means to wear them. When she knows he’ll rip them off her as soon as possible—’

‘Is that what Henri wanted?’ she asked sarcastically. ‘He didn’t say.’

‘He didn’t need to. It’s what he wanted and every man in thet room wanted. That’s the truth and we both know it.’ ‘Now, look—’

He turned on her in swift fury. ‘Don’t take me for a fool!’

‘But you are a fool,’ she raged. ‘The biggest fool in creation. Hey, what do you think you’re doing?’

‘Locking the door so that we’re not disturbed. Since the conversation is getting down to basics, I have things to say to you.’

‘I think we both have things to say.’ He nodded. ‘Yes, and they’ve waited too long, Mrs Henshaw.’

For a moment she didn’t speak. Then she said quietly, ‘Are you sure that’s what you want to call me?’

‘I don’t want to call you anything. I’d rather not have to endure the sight of you. I thought you were safely out of my life, just a bitter, evil memory that I could kick aside. But now—’ He checked himself and looked her up and down, breathing hard with the emotion that threatened to overwhelm him.

‘It is you, isn’t it?’ he said at last.

It was the question he’d promised himself not to ask, because that would be a sign of yielding. But now he knew there had never been a choice.

‘It is you,’ he repeated.

‘You’ve known that all along.’

‘I thought so—sometimes I wasn’t sure—it didn’t seem possible that you could be—’ He broke off, breathing harshly. ‘I’ve tried not to believe it,’ he said at last.

‘So you didn’t want it to be true?’

‘Of course I didn’t,’ he said with soft violence. ‘Why should I want to meet you again? I can still hardly comprehend—what evil design made you come after me?’

‘Don’t flatter yourself,’ she cried angrily. ‘I didn’t seek you out. I went to see Marcel Falcon. Until I saw you I had no idea it was the man I’d known as Marcel Degrande. If I had known I’d never have gone to that meeting. When I recognised you I ran away as fast as I could.’

‘But you turned back.’

‘I didn’t mean to. At first I ran into the garden, but to finally escape I had to come back through the hotel and I met you coming out. Don’t you understand? I didn’t want to see you again. There was just too much—’

Suddenly the words choked her, and she turned away with a helpless gesture.

‘Yes,’ he growled. ‘Too much. We could never have met peacefully.’ He took hold of her and twisted her around.

‘Don’t turn your back on me. You flaunted your charms tonight, and I endured it, but no more! Did it please you to taunt and jeer at me?’

‘I wasn’t—’ She tried to free herself but he gripped her more tightly.

‘Don’t lie. You knew exactly what you were doing to me, wearing those—those—you know what I mean. What kind of twisted pleasure did it give you? Or don’t I need to ask? You played your games, the way you’ve always done—’

‘I never played games with you,’ she said desperately.

‘Oh, but you did. You just weren’t so frank about it in those days. Sweet, loving little Cassie, wide-eyed and innocent, honestly in love. And I believed it. Until I discovered that you were heartless, incapable of honest love. That was a useful lesson. Once learned, never forgotten. That’s the Cassie I knew. So tell me, who is Mrs Henshaw?’

‘She’s who I am now,’ she cried. ‘At least I thought so. I thought Cassie had died a long time ago.’

‘But tonight she rose again, didn’t she? Because some creatures never die. You showed me that nothing had changed, and stood back laughing at the result. I hope I didn’t disappoint you.’

‘Can that be true?’ she challenged him. ‘That nothing has changed?’

She heard his swift intake of breath, saw the wild look in his eyes and knew that she’d hit a nerve. He didn’t reply. He couldn’t. So she answered for him.

‘Of course it isn’t true, Marcel. It can’t be true.’

‘You said yourself that Cassie hadn’t really died,’ he reminded her coldly.

‘But she’s not the same Cassie. She’s seen things she never thought to see, things she didn’t want to see, but can’t forget. She’s trapped in her own memories. What about you?’

His terrible expression was her answer. It was the look of a man struggling to get free, knowing he was doomed to fail.

‘I can cope with memories,’ he said. ‘But from some things there’s no escape.’

‘If you’re accusing me of pursuing you, I’ve already explained—’

‘I’m not. Not the way you mean.’

She had pursued him in dreams and fantasies, visions and nightmares. He’d tried to drive her off, crying out that he hated and despised her—that if they met again he would take revenge. But her ghost laughed at his rage, jeered that she was stronger than he, and haunted him so relentlessly that when she’d actually risen before his eyes it was as though he’d summoned her by the force of his will.

He knew he shouldn’t tell her this. It would give her too much power, and her power was already alarming. But he couldn’t stop himself saying, ‘You were always there. A million times I tried to make you go, but you wouldn’t. Now you’re really here, and I’m no longer a callow boy to let you trick me and run.’

‘Why must you think the worst of me?’ she cried.