Rescued by the Brooding Tycoon (11 page)

And if he’d ever seen her looking like this? Would anything have been different?

Suddenly she wanted very badly to find Darius, see the expression in his eyes when he first glimpsed her. Then she would know—

Know what?

If she only knew that, she would know everything. And it was time to find out.

A few moments later, she was knocking on Darius’s door. As soon as he opened it he grew still. Then he nodded slowly.

‘Yes,’ he said.
‘Yes.’

‘Will I do?’

‘You cheeky little devil; I’ve already given you the answer to that.’

He drew her into the room and stood back to look at her, then made a twirling movement with his hand. She turned slowly, giving him time to appreciate every detail, then back again, displaying herself to full advantage. After all, she reasoned, he was entitled to know that his money had been well spent.

‘As long as I do you credit.’

‘I’ll be the envy of every man there.’

And that, she thought, was what he chiefly cared about, apart from his children. She was there to be useful, and it would be wise to remember that. But it was hard when the excitement was growing in her.

Darius put his hands on her shoulders, holding her just a few inches away, his eyes fixed on her face.

‘Beautiful,’ he said. ‘Just as I hoped. Just as I imagined. Just as—’

‘Am I interrupting anything?’ said a voice from the doorway.

Darius beamed at the young man standing there. ‘Marcel!’ he exclaimed.

Next moment, he was embracing the newcomer, thumping him on the back and being thumped in return.

Marcel, Harriet thought. The half brother from Paris.

‘I’m sorry to come in without knocking,’ he said, ‘but the door was open.’

His eyes fell on Harriet, and the pleasurable shock in them was very satisfying.

‘You’ve been keeping this lady a big secret,’ he said, speaking with the barest trace of a French accent. ‘And I understand why. If she were mine I would also hide her away from the world. Introduce me. I insist.’

‘This is Harriet,’ Darius replied, moving beside her.

‘Harriet,’ Marcel echoed. ‘Harriet. It is a beautiful name.’

She couldn’t resist saying cheekily, ‘Actually, my friends call me Harry.’

‘Harry?’
He seemed aghast, muttering something in French that might have been a curse. ‘That is a monstrosity, to give a man’s name to such a beautiful lady. And this fellow allows them to treat you like this? You should be rid of him at once.’

‘Cut it out!’ Darius said, grinning, which seemed to amuse Marcel even more.

‘Just thought I’d get in the mood now the circus has come to town,’ he said.

‘Circus is right,’ Darius agreed. ‘I’ve warned Harriet.’

‘Harriet? You mean
you
don’t call her Harry? But of course, you’re not a friend; you are—’ He made a vague but significant gesture.

‘Hey,’ she said and he turned his merry gaze on her. ‘Don’t jump to conclusions,’ she told him impishly.

‘Ah, yes, I see. How wise.’

‘Can we drop this?’ Darius asked.

‘Certainly. So, Harriet, Darius has warned you, and you know we’re a load of oddities.’

‘I’ll bet you’re no odder than me,’ she riposted.

‘I’ll take you up on that. Promise me a dance tonight.’

‘She declines,’ Darius said firmly.

‘Oh, do I?’

‘Definitely.’

Marcel chuckled and murmured in Harriet’s ear, ‘We’ll meet again later.’

‘Are any of the others here?’ Darius asked.

‘Jackson. Travis isn’t coming. He can’t leave America—some television series he’s working on. Leonid tried to get here but an urgent meeting came up at the last minute. And our honourable father arrived an hour ago, but I expect you already know that.’

‘No, he hasn’t been in touch. I’m in his black books at the moment. Anyone with him?’

‘Janine and Freya.’

Harriet’s teasing impulse got the better of her again and made her say, ‘Ah, yes, she’s the one you’re supposed to be marrying, isn’t she?’

‘You can stop that kind of talk,’ Darius said, while Marcel grinned.

‘A lady with a sense of humour,’ he said. ‘That’s what I like. Believe me, you’re going to need it. I said before that it was a circus, and Papa is the ringmaster. He cracks the whip and we jump through hoops—or at least we pretend to.’

‘Yes,’ Darius growled.

‘I gather you’re not playing his game,’ Marcel said, his eyes on Harriet again.

‘Right, and so I’ve told him. Let’s hope he believes me.’

‘You realise that means he’ll set his sights on Jackson or me next,’ Marcel complained. ‘Luckily, Freya finds me irritating.’

Darius grinned. ‘I can’t think why.’

‘Neither can I. Right, I’ll be off. I’ll see you at the reception.’

He blew Harriet a kiss and hurried away.

‘I like your brother,’ she said when the door had closed.

‘Most women do,’ Darius observed wryly.

‘No, I mean he looks fun.’

‘Most women say that too.’

‘Which is why you find him irritating?’

‘He’s a good fellow. We get on most of the time. It may have crossed my mind that he sometimes has it too easy in certain areas. Mary used to accuse me of being jealous of his charm, and perhaps she was right. Charm isn’t one of my virtues.’ He gave her a wry look. ‘As you’ve found out.’

As he spoke he reached for her hand, and some impulse made her enfold his in both of hers, squeezing comfortingly.

‘Charm isn’t always a virtue,’ she said. ‘A man can have too much of it.’

‘Well, nobody’s ever accused me of that.’

‘Good. Just honesty—’

‘I hope so.’

‘And upright virtue.’

‘Nobody’s ever accused me of that either,’ he said with an air of alarm that made her chuckle. ‘You teasing little shrew. What are you trying to do to me?’

‘Cheer you up,’ she said. ‘You really need it.’

‘Yes, I do. And I might have guessed you’d be the one to see it. Come on. Let’s face them together.’

On the way down in the elevator he said, ‘Mary’s here. I saw her this afternoon.’

‘And the children?’

‘Briefly. None of us knew what to say, but that was because
he
was there.’

‘He?’

‘Ken, the guy who thinks he’s going to replace me as their father. They’re all in the same suite, a “family”, Mary says.’

‘How do they get on with Ken?’

‘They seem to like him,’ Darius sighed. ‘Good.’

For a moment he scowled, but then sighed and said, ‘All right, say it.’

‘If they get on with their stepfather they’ll be happier. And I know you won’t spoil that because you love them too much.’

A faint ironic smile touched his lips. ‘All right, teacher. I’ve taken the lesson on board.’

‘Just make sure that you pay attention,’ she commanded him severely.

His eyes swept over her glamorous appearance. ‘I am paying attention,’ he assured her. ‘But that wasn’t what you meant, was it?’

‘No, it wasn’t. Bad boy. Go to the back of the class.’

‘Fine, I’ll get an even better view of you from there.’

‘Behave!’

‘Aren’t I allowed to say that you’re beautiful and gorgeous and—?’

‘No, you are
not
allowed to say it.’

‘All right. I’ll just think it.’

She’d done what she’d set out to do, put him in a cheerful mood for the evening. And nothing else mattered. She had to remember that!

As they emerged from the elevator downstairs they could see people already streaming towards the great room where the reception was to be held.

As soon as they entered Harriet saw their hosts on a slightly raised dais at the far end. There was Mary, smiling, greeting her guests. Beside her stood Ken, the man she was about to marry, and on the other side were the children, dressed up in formal clothes and looking uncomfortable.

Harriet was alive with curiosity to meet the woman Darius had loved and married, who had borne him two children, then preferred another man. An incredible decision, whispered the voice that she tried vainly to silence.

‘Ready?’ Darius murmured in her ear.

‘Ready for anything.’

‘Then forward into battle,’

She was aware of heads turned in curiosity as Mary’s ex-husband advanced with another woman on his arm, and now she was glad he’d arrayed her in fine clothes so that she could do him proud.

Mary was a tall, elegant woman, with a beauty Harriet could only envy. But she also had a down-to-earth manner and an air of kindness that Harriet hadn’t expected from the woman who’d spoken to her sharply on the phone.

‘Mary, this is Harriet,’ Darius said. ‘Harriet, this is Mary, who was my wife until she decided she couldn’t stand me any longer.’

There was real warmth in Mary’s embrace, and her declaration, ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you.’ But the way she then stood back and regarded Harriet was disconcerting. It was the look of someone who’d heard a lot and was intensely curious. It might have been Harriet’s imagination that Mary then gave a little nod.

Ken, her fiancé, was quiet, conventional, pleasant-looking but unremarkable. He greeted Harriet in friendly fashion, acknowledged Darius and escaped as soon as possible.

‘We’ve spoken on the telephone,’ Mary said to Harriet. ‘I recognise your voice.’

‘Yes, Harriet was part of the lifeboat crew that saved me,’ Darius said.

‘Then she’s my friend.’ Suddenly Mary’s eyes twinkled. ‘And I was right about something else, wasn’t I? You denied that you were his girlfriend but I knew.’

‘Have a heart, Mary,’ Darius growled.

‘All right, I’ll say no more. I don’t want to embarrass either of you.’

But Darius was already uncomfortable, Harriet could tell. At the sight of his children his face lit up with relief and he opened his arms so that they could hug him.

She knew that Frankie was ten years old and Mark nine. Both were lively, attractive children with nice manners.

‘Here she is, guys,’ Darius said. ‘This is the lifeboat lady that I told you about.’

Both of them stared.

‘You work on a lifeboat?’ Mark asked, awed.

‘Not work. I’m on call if they need me.’

‘But how often do you have to go out saving people?’

‘It varies. Sometimes once a month, sometimes twice a day.’

‘It must be ever so exciting,’ Frankie breathed.

‘Hey, she doesn’t do it for fun,’ Darius protested. ‘I didn’t find it exciting to be stuck in the water, wondering if I’d ever get out.’

‘But Dad, she
saved
you,’ Mark pointed out.

‘Yes,’ he agreed quietly. ‘She saved me.’

He might have said more, but something he saw over their shoulders made him straighten up, tense.

‘Hello, Father,’ he said.

So that was Amos Falcon, Harriet thought. Research had made her familiar with his face, but the reality was startling. This was a fierce, uncompromising man with dark eyes shadowed by heavy brows. His mouth might once have been merely firm, but now it looked as though a lifetime of setting it in resolute lines had left it incapable of anything gentler. This was a giant, to be feared. And she did fear him, instinctively.

More troubling still was the astonishing resemblance between him and Darius. They were the same height and with broad shoulders, features that were similar, even handsome. They were undoubtedly father and son.

In how many ways? she wondered. Was Darius doomed to grow into a replica of a man everyone called awesome? Or was there still time for him to seek another path?

Darius drew her forward for introductions, and she was surprised to see that Amos studied her intently. Of course, he was naturally concerned to know about his son’s companion. But she sensed there was more. His eyes, boring into her, seemed to combine knowledge, curiosity and harsh suspicion in equal measure. It was unnerving

He made a polite speech of gratitude for Darius’s life, then introduced his wife, Janine, who smiled and also spoke of gratitude. She struck Harriet as a modest, retiring woman, which probably suited Amos.

‘And this is my daughter, Freya,’ she said, indicating a tall young woman beside her.

This was the wife the powerful Amos had chosen for Darius. She didn’t look like the kind of female who would shrink back and let herself be a pawn. She was tall, fair, well, but not extravagantly dressed, with an air of self-possession. She shook Harriet’s hand vigorously and said all the polite things before hailing Darius with an unmistakable air of sisterly derision. Harriet discovered that she liked Freya a lot.

There were more arrivals, people approaching the dais to be greeted, and the crowd moved on and shifted her with it. When Darius began to lead her around the room, introducing her to people, she couldn’t resist looking back and found Amos staring after her.

Glancing about her, Harriet was more than ever glad that she was dressed in style. This was a gathering of the rich and mighty, and at least she looked as though she belonged amongst them, however fake it might be.

It was clear that Darius really did belong in this gathering. Many of them knew him and spoke respectfully. They knew he’d taken a hit, but so had they, and his fortunes could yet recover, so they addressed him as they had always done, crossing their fingers.

Harriet found herself remembering the day she’d overheard him on the phone vowing, ‘no mercy!’ How long ago that seemed now that she’d discovered his other side. But these people had never discovered it, and wouldn’t have believed it if she’d told them.

And nor, she realised, would Darius want them to believe it. Much of his power depended on a ruthless image.

‘What’s the matter?’ he asked suddenly.

‘Matter? Nothing?’

‘Why are you giving me that curious look?’

‘I didn’t know I was.’

‘What’s going on in that mind of yours?’

‘Nothing. My mind is a pure blank.’

He grinned. ‘You’re a very annoying woman, you know that?’

‘Have you only just found that out?’

‘I guess I’m still learning. Come on, let’s have a good time.’

CHAPTER SEVEN

S
UDDENLY
Darius’s face lit up at something he’d seen over Harriet’s shoulder. ‘
Jackson, you young devil.
Where have you been?’