Lifelong Affair (15 page)

He
nodded. 'In their owm quarters.'

'We'll
be married in three days, Alex,' she dismissed. 'Besides, I'm tired tonight.'

His
mouth twisted sardonically, and he moved to pour himself another glass of
brandy. 'You're using that excuse before we're married,' he taunted. 'What
comes afterwards, the headache?'

'I think you're being insulting
 
'

'Believe
it,' he bit out grimly, staring sightlessly at the fire. 'I've already told
you, I will not be controlled by the physical attraction I feel for you.'

'I'm not
---
'

'Go
to bed, Morgan,' he ordered roughly. 'You said you were tired, so go.

'Alex
---
'

'Go!'

'What
are you going to do?' she asked anxiously.

'Finish
my drink and go to my own bed, of course,' he derided.

She
paused at the door. 'Will we still go and look at houses tomorrow?'

He
nodded distantly. 'If you wish.'

'I
do. Alex . ..?'

He
didn't even turn. 'Yes?'

She
sighed. 'I wish I could explain—You'll soon understand the reason for my
reluctance now.' There was pleading in her voice.

'I
understand it already,' he scorned. 'The longer you keep a man waiting for your
body the more he's going to want you. Woman's logic!"

'Not
at all, Alex.' She could see there was no talking to him tonight, especially
when she didn't intend telling him the whole truth. Not yet. 'I'll see you in
the morning.'

'No
doubt,' he bit out tautly.

Morgan
made her way slowly up to her bedroom. She hadn't wanted to deny Alex tonight,
in fact it would have been all too easy to say yes to him. But it was very
important to her, for Alex's sake as well as her own, that they wait until
after they were married. Her wedding gift to him was priceless, beyond compare,
all the more so to Alex because of bi bitterness and distrust of woman. She
would
give
him the gift of herself gladly on their wedding night. And then let him dare to
accuse her of being promiscuous!

It
was so very easy choosing a house the next day. Alex had wonderful taste, and
most of his likes and dislikes seemed to coincide with hers, so that the
choosing of the six-bedroomed Regency-style house was a mutual one.

Morgan
liked the house because it was more in the country than the Hammond one, had
room for a stable and a couple of horses on the land attached. Riding had been
something she had enjoyed as a child but had little opportunity to do since
then. The garden was big, but not too big, something she would like to keep
tidy herself, with help from Courtney as he got older, no doubt. And it had a
small family pool out the back of it too.

'I'll
teach Courtney to swim,' she said excitedly as they drove home after dealing
with the legal formalities of buying a house in England.

Alex
had been very cold towards her when they had first met this morning, but as the
day progressed he had seemed to thaw, throwing her an indulgent smile now. 'He
can't even focus yet,' he taunted. 'Give him a chance. And with all these
activities you intend to become involved in—gardening, riding, taking
care of Courtney, teaching him to swim—how do you think you're going to
find time to resume your career.'

TU
wait until he goes to school,' she shrugged.^

'You
could be a thing of the past by then,' he warned softly. 'The public are very
fickle, they forget so easily.'

'I
could have other children to think about by then anyway,' she said abruptly.

'I'm
not trying to push you back out to work, Morgan,' he said with amusement. 'I'm
as chauvinistic as the next man, and I don't relish the thought of my wife
going out to work. And in normal circumstances I would probably ask you not to
do so. But these aren't normal circumstances, you're marrying me because
of Courtney, because of a sense of duty to him.'

'And
because I wanted you,' she reminded him with challenge.

His
mouth twisted. 'You'll have to forgive me if I feel a little sceptical about
that,' he taunted. 'There hasn't been much evidence of it lately. Most women
seem to find the idea of a physical relationship interesting until they have a
ring on their finger, then sex just becomes bargaining power.'

'You're
very cynical,' she sighed.

'I've
learnt to be,' he nodded grimly. 'Most men do in time.'

Morgan
couldn't fight this cynicism now, knew that she wouldn't be able to until they
were married and she could show him how wrong he was about her.

Rita
Hammond came back to the house on the morning of the wedding, claiming
haughtily that if Alex insisted on going through with this ridiculous marriage
the least she could do was give him her moral support.

Morgan
had to smile at the last. Alex didn't need anyone's support, least of all that
of his mother!

'White?'
Janet Fairchild came into Morgan's bedroom as she was getting dressed for the
wedding.

 
Morgan bristled angrily at the other
woman's ridicule of the colour of her wedding dress. 'Some of us arc entitled
to wear the colour,' she replied haughtily.

'I
know,' Janet nodded. 'I was.'

'And
so am I.' Morgan straightened the soft chiffon dress about her hips, a tiny
white lace cap attached to her flaming hair.

'I
doubt it,' Janet drawled. 'I must say I'm surprised at Alex's stupidity at
marrying you. I'd always credited him with more sense. And why on earth you
have to move into your own house I have no idea. This house is big enough for
ten families!'

Morgan
looked at the other woman with hard green eyes. 'Alex and I do not intend
making the same mistakes Glenna and Mark did. Why did you never move in here
with your husband?' she taunted.

'Because
Mother would eat Charles alive,' Janet said bluntly.

Morgan's
mouth twisted. I doubt she would ever have the same effect on me, nevertheless
I can do without her vitriolic comments day and night.'

'Are
you and Alex lovers?'

'None
of your damned business!' Morgan told her in a controlled voice.

Blue
eyes hardened. 'I've seen the way he watches you.' Janet shrugged. 'It would
also be a way of explaining this madness.'

'AJex
doesn't consider it madness, Morgan snapped.

'I don't suppose you do either,' Janet sneered. 'A career
as an actress, when all you have is your body and your beauty, can't last very
long. Marriage to a rich man means you can't lose. If the marriage lasts you
live in luxury, if it fails you get a nice healthy settlement. You're as clever
as Glenna, Morgan, maybe more so,'

Morgan's
hand seemed to move of its own volition, moving in a slow arc to make hard
contact with Janet Fairchild's cheek. The other woman gasped, her own hand
going up to the reddening area, as she stared at Morgan in disbelief.

The
eyes hardened to hatred, her mouth twisted viciously. 'You'll regret that,
Morgan!' she spat out the words.

'I
don't think so.' Morgan was shaking with the reaction of losing her temper so
completely, but she refused to let Janet Fairchild see that. She would allow no
insults to Glenna on
her
wedding day!

'Oh,
but you will.' Her hand dropped to her side, the mark of Morgan's fingers
clearly visible on her cheek. 'I'll make sure of it!' She turned on her heel
and slammed out of the room.

Morgan
could no longer control the shaking; she dropped down on to the bed, breathing
deeply. If she didn't love Alex so desperately this constant and vicious hatred
from his family would have her running far away from here, Courtney or no
Courtney. She knew she had made even more of an enemy of Janet Fairchild today,
and that the other woman would need careful watching.

But
there was no evidence of the other woman's antagonism as they drove to the
wedding, in fact her pleasantly charming manner was more unsettling than the
open hatred she had displayed earlier when they were alone.

Alex
ladmiring as he looked at Morgan in her knee-length white dress, her bouquet
made up of pure white roses.

There
were few guests at the actual wedding, although the reception being held at the
house was a different matter. Rita Hammond considered it her duty to have all
the relatives and family friends at her
eldest son's wedding reception,
even if she didn't approve of his choice of bride.

'Formidable,
aren't they?' Alex mocked against Morgan's ear lobe as the last guest had been
welcomed and the two of them could relax a little.

'A
little,' she agreed dryly, wondering at the family's reaction to a second
gathering like this within the space of a month, for two such different
occasions. Most of them looked a little dazed by it all!

'We'll
leave as soon as we can,' he promised softly.

They
were spending their first night together as husband and wife in London, taking
a plane to the States tomorrow, staying overnight with her parents before
flying to Barbados for their three-week honeymoon. Morgan could hardly wait for
the time they could be alone.

'I'd
like that,' she acknowledged.

'The
house will be ready to move into by the time we get back.'

They
had spent a frantic two days choosing fabrics and colour schemes so that the
house could be furnished and decorated for their return, Courtney's room had
given Morgan the most pleasure; it was in the predictable Disney characters, of
course. The fact that it was all going to be ready when they got back meant she
wouldn't have to move in with this den of lions again.

As
if reading some of her thoughts, Alex asked, 'What happened with Janet
earlier?' His tone had hardened perceptively. 'She came out of your room
looking as if someone had hit her.'

'/
had,' Morgan admitted simply. 'She was insulting, and so I hit her.' She looked
at him in challenge.

'Didn't
you know that wives are supposed to let husbands protect them?' he taunted, not
in the least concerned that she had struck his sister.

 
She smiled her relief, not at all sure
what his reaction had been going to be. 'You weren't my husband then.'

'But
I am now,' he reminded her huskily. 'So any more—insults, tell me and
I'll deal with them, in my own way,' he added grimly.

She
had no doubt he would too. Always an independent woman, she found it strange to
think that she now had someone to rely on, someone who would help her fight her
battles. But it was a two-way thing; she would help Alex in any way she could
too.

By
the time they left just after eight o'clock she had a throbbing headache. She
had met so many relatives of Alex's it made her head spin; she had fenced barbs
with Rita Hammond in so many two-edged conversations she could no longer
think straight, and all the time she had been conscious of Janet Fairchild's
derisive glance, as if she knew something Morgan didn't but wasn't yet prepared
to divulge it. Saying goodbye to Courtney made it all the worse, and the
thought of three weeks without him seemed like a lifetime.

But
she daren't even mention the headache to Alex, remembering all too vividly his
taunt about her developing headaches after they were married to avoid sharing
his bed.

'Tired?'
he asked as she leant her head back weakly against the car seat.

'A
little,' she admitted.

His
hand came out to grasp hers. 'We can eat in our suite if you would prefer
that.'

Eat?
heavens, the thought of food nauseated her!
^'
l—Fine,' she
agreed weakly, closing her eyes and pretending to be asleep.

When
the sleep became a reality she had no idea, but suddenly Alex was shaking her
gently to wake her up. 'We're at the hotel,' he told her softly. 'Feeling
better? Headache gone?' he prompted huskily. Morgan sat up, her eyes widened.
You knew?' 'You're very pale, and your eyes seemed sensitive _ the light. Of
course I knew,' he rasped, straightening in his scat. 'Don't be afraid of me,
Morgan,' he warned.

'I'm
not,' she snapped. 'I just didn't want any more accusations like the ones of
the other evening. The headache has gone now, anyway, she told him abruptly.

He
touched her cheek gently. "The other evening I was suffering from that
most common of male ailments—sexual frustration,' he taunted. 'If you
have a headache then perhaps you would like an early night—alone?'

His
thoughtfulness, after the tension of the day, made her eyes swim with tears.
'The headache really has gone, Alex,' she choked.

'Do
I take that to mean you would rather
not
have an early night alone?' he teased.

She
smiled. 'I have no objection to the early night, but definitely not alone.'