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Her jaw clenched as she sat down at her desk.
And then Joanna had her accident. If only that taxi hadn’t just hit her a glancing blow, if only it had done a proper job…
Morgana took a trembling breath. She put her hands to her hair and smoothed the pale strands.
This had been a long, and terrible, weekend. When she’d gotten the call from David, telling her he was in Connecticut, she’d known immediately that the little slut had seduced him again. It was there in his voice, that soft hint of a male who had been pleasured.
And in that instant, Morgana had known she could no longer wait to see if Joanna’s memory would come back, that she’d have to take action if she wanted the fire that she’d started to consume that interfering little bitch.
She would not lose David again. She’d worked too hard to let that happen.
“Good morning.”
She looked up. David was coming through the smoked-glass doors toward her. A smile curved across her mouth. How handsome he was. How much she adored him.
“Good morning,” she said in her usual, businesslike manner. “There have been some calls for you. I put the memos on your desk.” She rose and hurried after him as he went into his office. “A couple of faxes came in from Japan during the night, nothing terribly urgent. Let’s see, what else? John Fairbanks phoned to see if you could make lunch today. I said you’d call him when you came in. Oh, and the Mayor’s office wanted you to—”
“What time are they coming in?”
Morgana looked blank. “Who?”
“The Secretary and his people.” He yanked out his chair, sat down, and began to leaf through the stack of memos and faxes. “Didn’t you say something about noon?”
Morgana frowned. What was the matter with her? Yesterday, all she’d thought of was that she had to get David back into his real life and away from his wife.
Now, suddenly remembering how she’d accomplished that, she scrambled for words.
“Oh,” she said, “oh, that…”
David looked up at her. His hair was neatly combed, he was clean-shaven, his shirt and tie and suit were impeccable…but she could see beyond all that, she could see the satiation in his face, she could almost smell the damnable stink of that woman.
“Yes,” he said impatiently, his voice politely echoing hers, “that. When are these guys supposed to put in an appearance? I don’t much feel like cooling my heels today, Morgana.”
“They called a few minutes ago,” Morgana said quickly, “and changed the time to one o’clock.”
That would do it. By one, she’d have David up to his eye balls in work. Thoughts of his little wife would be relegated to the back burner, where they belonged. And by six or seven, when Morgana suggested she phone out for supper…
“Hell,” David muttered, looking at the onyx clock. He ran his hand through his hair. “All right, then, let’s not sit around and watch dust settle. Get your notebook and we’ll deal with these faxes.”
Morgana smiled happily. “Yes, David.”
* * *
By noon, David had his jacket off and was deep in work.
Morgana sent out for sandwiches. He nodded his thanks and ate what she’d ordered without comment.
At ten of one, she excused herself, and went out to her desk, dialed the phone company and said she thought her telephone might be out of order and would they please ring her right back?
When her phone rang, she picked it up, said thank you, then hung up. She waited a couple of minutes before going into David’s office.
He looked up from his desk. He was scowling. A good sign. It surely meant that he was engrossed in his work.
“David, that was a call from Washington. The Secretary sends regrets but he can’t make it today.”
“Damn!” David tossed down his pen. “You’d think they’d have called sooner.”
“Well,” Morgana said apologetically, “you know how these people are.”
“To think I rushed all the way back to the city for this…”
“But it’s a good thing you did,” Morgana said quickly. “Just look at all the work you’ve done.”
“Yeah.” He pushed back from his desk. “Terrific.”
Something in his voice made her scalp prickle. “You know, you never did answer that letter that came in last week from—”
“I suppose, as long as I’m here, I might as well put the rest of the day to good use.”
Morgana smiled. “Exactly. That letter…”
David wasn’t listening. He’d pulled his telephone toward him and he was dialing a number.
“This is David Adams,” he said. “I’d like to speak with Doctor Corbett.”
“David,” Morgana said urgently, “there’s work to do.”
David held up his hand. “Corbett? I’m fine, thank you. Look, I’ve been thinking… Do you have some time free this afternoon, Doctor? I really need to talk to you.”
“David,” Morgana hissed, “listen—”
“Half an hour from now, in your office? Yes, that’s fine. Thanks. I’ll be there.”
David hung up the phone and got to his feet. He grabbed his suit jacket from the back of his chair and put it on as he walked to the door.
“Where are you going?” Morgana demanded. “Really, David…”
“Joanna’s just the way she used to be,” he said, and smiled at her. “She’s…hell, she’s wonderful! Do you remember what she was like, Morgana?”
Morgana’s mouth whitened. “Yes,” she said, “I do.”
“What occurred to me was…I know it sounds crazy, but maybe that blow to the head changed her personality.”
“Honestly, you can’t believe that.”
“Why not? Something’s happened to change her.” He smiled again, even more broadly. “I’ve got to talk to Corbett about it Maybe he can shed some light on things.”
“David, no! I mean, that’s crazy…”
He laughed. “No crazier than me falling in love with my wife all over again. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He grinned. “Or maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll whisk Joanna off to Paris. Hell, who knows what will happen? I’m beginning to think that anything is possible.”
Morgana stared at the door for long minutes after he was gone. Then, her mouth set in a thin, hard line, she collected her jacket and her purse and left the office on the run.
* * *
Joanna sat on the delicate, silk-covered sofa in her own living room and wondered if it was possible to feel more out of place than she felt at this moment.
Morgana, an unexpected visitor, sat in an equally delicate chair across from her. In her ice blue, raw silk suit, with her blonde hair perfectly arranged and her hands folded in her lap, she looked completely at home.
Joanna, caught in the midst of trying to bundle most of the contents of her clothing closet for the Goodwill box, knew she looked just the opposite. She glanced down at her jeans, dusty from her efforts, and her sneakers, still bearing grass and mud stains from the weekend in the country. Her hair was a mess, with some of the strands hanging in her eyes. Her hands were grungy and she saw now that she’d broken a nail…
Quickly, she laced her fingers together but it was too late. Morgana was looking at the broken nail as if it were something unpleasant she’d found on her dinner plate.
“You really need to see Rita,” she said.
Joanna cleared her throat. “Rita?”
“Yes. The girl who does your nails. You have a standing appointment, hasn’t anyone told you?”
“No. I mean, yes, I know I do but I haven’t…I mean, the thought of going to a nail salon seems so weird.”
Joanna took a breath. This was ridiculous. This was her house. Morgana was her guest. An uninvited one, at that. There was no reason to feel so…so disoriented.
“Morgana,” she said, and smiled politely, “would you care for some tea?”
“Thank you, no.”
“Coffee, then? It’s Mrs. Timmons’s afternoon off
, and Ellen’s out running errands, but I’m perfectly capable of—”
“No.”
“A cool drink, then?”
“Joanna.” Morgana rose in one graceful movement and dropped to her knees before Joanna. “My dear,” she said, and clasped Joanna’s hands in hers.
“Morgana,” Joanna said with a nervous laugh, “what is this? Please, get up.”
“Joanna, my dear Joanna.” Morgana’s sympathetic blue eyes met Joanna’s wary violet ones. “I’ve felt so badly for you, ever since that dreadful accident.”
“I don’t want to talk about the ac—”
“And for David, too.”
“Morgana, really, get up. You’re making me uncomfort—”
“He told me today why you went away for the weekend. That you’d both hoped the time in the country might help you recover your memory.”
It was a shot in the dark, but an accurate one. Joanna flushed. “He told you that?”
“Oh, yes. David and I are very close, Joanna. Surely you remember…well, no, I suppose you don’t.”
“I know that he thinks very highly of you,” Joanna said cautiously.
