Betrayal (43 page)

She cringed, knowing that Neal didn't give a damn whether or not she learnt to enjoy riding. All he wanted was to humiliate her in front of Bellini, and that he was most certainly going to do. 'Get changed then!' He gave her a gentle push in the small of her back . 'We'll wait for you,' he added, and the palms of her hands felt damp as she went back to the house.

She and Bellini met in the front porch. He looked immaculate in his jodhpurs and riding boots, a small whip in his left hand and his riding hat dangling by its strap from his right, but for once she was too frightened to appreciate him.

He smiled. 'Good morning!'

'I'm sorry. Neal didn't tell me you were coming otherwise I'd have made myself a bit more presentable,' she murmured.

'It is of no matter. Always you look beautiful!'

'Not today. I'm terrified of horses but Neal thinks I must learn to get over it. I'll be with you shortly.'

He could almost scent her fear and realised, as she had done earlier, that she was being publicly punished, under the disguise of concern, for the interest she'd shown in him. He felt anger at Gueras rising in him again but pushed it down. For the moment there was nothing he could do except wait. Reaching out he touched her lightly on the arm. 'It is quite safe. Even my son rides, and he is very timid.'

'I don't suppose you made him learn in front of a crowd of competent riders, including his stepchildren.'

'That would be difficult!'

'Just don't laugh at me,' she muttered. He'd never felt less like laughing in his life.

Neal watched the Italian striding purposefully towards him and gave an inward smile. He was looking forward to the next half hour. It would be interesting to see how well controlled this representative of the Bellini family really was. This was of considerable interest to his organisation, and using Lisa as part of the test had only been a last minute idea brought on by her insulting reaction to him earlier.

Renato's face looked thinner and harder than Neal remembered it and his mouth was set in a tight line emphasizing the two grooves running from the side of his nose to the corners of his mouth. Lines that women thought of as laughter lines but there certainly wasn't any laughter on his face this morning. His eyes were gleaming beneath the heavy brows, but when he greeted his host he sounded calm and relaxed . Neal introduced Ruth and Rebekah then glanced ostentatiously at his watch .

'My wife's taking a long time to get ready. She's got this ridiculous fear of horses, but I'm sure it's nothing that can't be cured. Ruth's chosen her a horse I think she'll like.'

Ruth's mouth opened in astonishment. She certainly wouldn't have chosen the tender-mouthed Snowball for a nervous rider, but one look at her father's face kept her silent.

Neal tapped his riding whip irritably against the side of his leg and Snowball rolled her eyes. Bellini glanced at the horse and decided that even if Lisa managed to get on it, she'd have great difficulty staying in the saddle. After another ten minutes she appeared. She looked even more fragile in her black riding outfit and her face had lost every trace of colour.

Rebekah ran over to her and took her by the hand. 'It's all right,' she whispered. 'I don't like riding either but it doesn't hurt. Just pretend you're sitting on a bike.'

Lisa moistened her lips and looked at her husband. 'Which one's mine?'

'You haven't said hello to our guest, darling.' 'We met by the front door. Which one's mine?'

'This one.' He prodded Snowball tightly and she tossed her head. Lisa promptly took two hasty steps backwards. Neal laughed. 'For goodness sake, don't be so jumpy. You'll end up making the horses nervous!'

Bastard! thought Bellini, but he looked on impassively, only the whitening of his knuckles revealing his emotion.

'She's too big!' protested Lisa.

'With legs as long as yours I can hardly put you on a pony! Let me give you a hand up.'

'I'll get on myself , thank you.' 'Right, go ahead. We're waiting.'

She looked round the yard. 'Why is everyone watching me?' 'We're interested in your technique!' He laughed and it was echoed by Bishop and Louise who were standing by the stable gates, Louise's arm linked through Bishop's.

She thought she was going to be sick. It was obvious that the horse was highly strung and equally obvious that it sensed her fear. Grabbing hold of the reins she tried to put one foot in the stirrup but couldn't reach and only made Snowball whinny her disapproval.

'I said you'd need help,' smiled Neal. Bending down he cupped his hands together. No sooner was her foot resting in them than she found herself being thrown forcefully in the air. She clutched at Snowball's mane, missed and slid ungracefully down her other side onto the cobbles. The fall jarred her hip and leg and she felt her breakfast rising in her throat.

'Bravo!' called Bishop laconically. 'I've only ever seen that happen in films before today. Come along, Louise, we'd better take that walk and leave your stepmother to enjoy herself.'

Lisa walked round to where Neal was standing. 'You did that on purpose!' she said in a low voice.

'How was I to know you were going to throw yourself in the air with such enthusiasm! Come along, we're still waiting!'

'I am not getting on that creature's back, Neal. I don't care if you all hang around here until the sun goes down. I absolutely refuse to go riding.'

Neal took hold of her right wrist and pulled her against him. 'If you want a second nurse for that bloody child of yours, you'll get on that horse and join us for the ride.'

Breathing suddenly seemed difficult, as though there was a constriction round her chest, and Lisa swallowed hard to keep the tears away. Turning back to Snowball she found the Italian standing between her and the horse. 'Allow me,' he said gently, bending low to take the weight of her foot. For a moment her legs were shaking too much for her to move, but at last she managed to lift her right foot in the air and this time the hands stayed rock steady and she was able, somewhat inelegantly, to mount.

Bellini darted a look of contempt at Neal and then turned back to his own horse. His opinion of the man was sinking with every second that passed. He failed utterly to understand such petty cruelty.

They moved sedately down the track that led to the fields, then Snowball balked at the avenue of branches that had to be passed through before they reached open ground. The girls had gone on ahead and Bellini quickly reigned his horse in, forcing Neal to go ahead of his wife.

As Snowball's head went back for the second time, Bellini moved his mount alongside and spoke quietly in the nervous animal's ear. He tried to ignore Lisa's tightly clenched hands gripping the reins as though they were a lifeline, resisting the temptation to tell her to relax, realising full well that she couldn't. Instead he soothed her horse, and after a few moments Snowball consented to move under the branches and out into the April sunshine.

Neal, irritated by the Italian's manoeuvrings, was waiting for Snowball to emerge and with a laughing, 'Let's race to the other side,' he touched the nervous animal's neck with a stinging flick of his whip. Bellini's eyes widened with shock as he saw Snowball take off at a gallop, shaking Lisa around like a sack of potatoes as she tried desperately to hang on.

'Not too elegant on horseback, I'm afraid!' said Neal calmly.

Renato looked him straight in the eye and smiled. 'One day I shall kill you,' he said pleasantly, then turned his horse back towards the stables. 'All at once I find riding is not to my liking.'

'I must say I'm surprised,' responded Neal, smiling despite the threat. 'I'm sure your father would have expected you to exercise more control.'

'My father has never had to deal with a man such as yourself. He is used to gentlemen.'

Neal looked thoughtfully at the rapidly disappearing broad back of the Italian and it was only when Rebekah's horse came thundering to his side that he realised something was wrong.

Not unexpectedly, Lisa had fallen again. This time she'd thrown out an arm to save herself, and it was obvious that her arm and shoulder were both damaged. For Lisa, doubled over with the pain and still shocked by the sudden bolting of her horse, the sight of her husband hurrying to her was not a reassuring one. She turned her back on him, keeping her injuries to herself.

'Lisa, I'm sorry,' he said quickly. 'I didn't mean you to get hurt. I only wanted… '

'I know what you wanted!' she spat at him. 'I'm not stupid. You wanted to humiliate me in front of Bellini, and you've probably managed that. My only consolation is that you've shown yourself up as well.'

'I didn't intend anything of the kind. I… '

'Liar!' she shouted, uncaring of the frightened girls. 'You're a bully and a liar. I only hope you've just cost yourself all this morning's efforts to get a second son. Don't touch me!’ she continued when he tried to get nearer to her. 'If you do I shall scream.'

'You need help back to the house. You can't walk.'

'Send Mike to get me. I'm not letting you near me again after this. I could have been killed!' she added, her voice rising. 'Is that what you wanted? Another dead wife, like poor Naomi?'

'Stop it! You're obviously hysterical, and if you want Mike to take you back to the house then Mike it shall be, but stop talking about dead wives.'

'Why? Do you think your daughters don't know how much you wanted their mother dead? And do you think they imagined you were really trying to help me today. They're bright girls, Neal. They've got eyes in their heads.'

'Be quiet!' he roared. 'Ruth, Rebekah, go and tell Mike he's needed. He can take Lisa back with him. He's quite used to riding Snowball.'

'I want to stay with Lisa,' said Rebekah stubbornly.

'Get back to the house or else Heathlands might become a dream. I know plenty of good boarding schools you could attend, young lady.' When the girls had gone, husband and wife were left looking at each other. Lisa's moment of rage had passed, now she was left with only pain, shock, and the memory of her fear in the stable yard. 'I'm sorry,' muttered Neal.

'So am I.'

'I didn't mean you to hurt yourself… I'll send Bishop for a doctor, ' he added as he saw Mike running across the field towards them.

'You'll have to find him first.' 'They were going for a walk.'

She gave a hard laugh. 'Don't you believe it! If you want Bishop, I suggest you try your daughter's bedroom.' The darkening of his complexion told her that her shot had gone home, and she nursed that pleasure while Mike put her gently on Snowball's back before sitting behind her and slowly taking the animal back to the stables.

Once there he and Bellini helped her down, Bellini making sure that it was Mike who carried her into the house. He knew someone was bound to be watching the stable yard, and much as he longed to carry Lisa himself common sense stopped him. One day he promised himself he'd have the right to carry her whenever he wished but unfortunately it wasn't yet.

'Broken in two places,' said the doctor. 'I've set it and given her something to make her sleep. That arm's been broken before. She ought not to ride again or she could end up with a permanent weakness.'

With a pang of conscience, Neal remembered all his promises about their marriage giving Lisa protection. Protection against injuries like those inflicted by Toby Walker. Quickly he pushed the thought aside. It wasn't his fault she'd fallen, he'd only intended to show Lisa in a less flattering light to Bellini, while also demonstrating his ownership and total control of her life. It seemed probable that the point had been made. Now he'd make it up to her. He wished she was more materialistic; women who collected clothes and jewellery were far easier to placate than a woman like Lisa.

'Fine,' he murmured distractedly. 'How long will the plaster have to stay on?'

'Six to eight weeks. I'll call in tomorrow, check she's over the shock.'

Her shock, thought Neal bitterly, was nothing when compared to his when he discovered Bishop and Louise entwined on her single bed, both of them totally oblivious of his presence. He'd waited for a few seconds and then moved quietly away. There was nothing to be gained from open confrontation but he'd make sure that from now on Louise wasn't out of his sight when Bishop was around. He had far better plans for his oldest daughter than marriage to a psychotic gangster, however intelligent. Besides, Bishop in the family would be a threat to Alexi's inheritance and that was one thing Neal would never allow.

Bellini left straight after lunch, refusing to intrude longer upon their hospitality when Lisa was unwell. That was what his mouth said; his eyes said other things. Things that were best unspoken.

At dinner that night, a dinner from which Bishop was pointedly excluded, Neal casually mentioned to Louise that during the summer holiday she would be going to Holland to stay with some friends of his. 'They've got a son and daughter around your age. I think you'll enjoy yourself,' he said smoothly. 'They're very wealthy, you won't miss the comforts of home!'

'I don't want to go to Holland. I want to stay here.' She sounded like a petulant child but it was no petulant child he'd seen on the bed with Bishop.