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'Hello!' she said back, hurrying forward. 'Where are the children?' she asked as she walked into the room and looked around with a puzzled frown.
'Ah, the children,' he drawled. This was Hannah's first inkling that something was amiss—seriously amiss. A sick feeling of dread began to churn in her belly. "They're in bed.'
'It's early.' Her voice faltered as she met the searing contempt in his grey eyes. 'Is something wrong, Ethan?' Had she been wrong when she'd thought he'd accepted the fact that she wanted to further her education in the future? What else could explain the waves of hostility he was emanating?
'You can ask me that?'
'I don't understand...' His blighting anger seemed totally out of proportion to anything she had done.
'Where have you been?'
Hannah blinked. He must have got her message. It was Mrs Turner's day off, but Alexa had offered to look after Tom and bring Emma home from school. Alexa had been in the room when Jean-Paul had rung, and, much to Hannah's surprise, she had offered to look after the children. Hannah had hoped it meant a slow easing of hostilities.
'Not any local hospital—I tried them.'
'I went to the university and then I stopped for a drink with Jean-Paul. Alexa knew—'
I’m well aware you dumped Tom with Alexa—it was she who contacted me after the school rang to tell her nobody had picked Emma up. I'm curious,' he said with biting sarcasm. 'Did you genuinely forget, or did you just assume somebody else would shoulder your responsibilities because you couldn't be bothered to spoil your fun? I know you left the university hours ago—I rang.'
Hannah was shaking her head slowly from side to side. He couldn't believe she'd actually desert Emma. The thought of the little girl waiting for someone to collect her, watching all her friends go home, brought a lump of emotion to her throat.
'Was she very upset?' How could Alexa use a child to drive a stake between her and Ethan? My God, she must really feel threatened, Hannah thought. She must really hate me!
'And am I to assume from the husky catch that you give a damn?" he jeered. 'All you had to do, Hannah, was pick up a phone and Alexa would have collected her. But no, you couldn't be bothered even to do that! If the teacher hadn't been alert she might have tried to get home alone. A little girl, lost, alone, a soft target for any sickos out there.'
Her eyes darkened with horror at the picture his words painted. 'Alexa...'
'Alexa was worried sick. I said I'd ring her when you got back.'
Hannah caught his arm. She couldn't believe this was happening. God, what a fool she'd been to take Alexa's overtures of friendship at face value! 'You don't understand, Ethan. Alexa offered to look after Tom and pick up Emma.'
His eyes flicked dismissively over her face, icy with contemptuous disbelief. 'What reason would she have for lying? When I asked her to look after the children next week— Oh, yes, I'd planned to take you away,' he said, as she stared at him uncomprehendingly. 'It was meant to be a surprise. New ring, new start!' He extracted a small velvet box from his pocket and pulled out a gold ring. He flung it viciously across the room. 'Not only did you fool the children, you fooled me with your gentle, caring air. You've shown your real colours now, so don't try and shift the responsibility to someone else.'
'I'm not. She hates me!' Hannah cried, willing him to believe her. 'She thinks I've stolen Catherine's children, her home and...' she swallowed the aching constriction in her throat '...and you.'
Ethan laughed; it wasn't a pleasant sound. 'You're not the children's mother and never could be. A mother doesn't walk away from a child who needs her!' His voice shook with outrage, and his hand came down to cover like a vice her pale fingers that curved around his forearm. 'As for this house; you're the hired help here. The only thing that ever made you a possible mate in my eyes was the fact the children adore you and you're a competent nanny. I now discover that you're not even that!'
She recoiled from the undisguised contempt in his voice. He was trying to hurt, and, by God, he was succeeding! 'So now you don't trust me to look after the children?'
'Now I know you'll always put your own pleasure first. Now I'll make damned sure they don't suffer because you're a selfish little bitch. They don't deserve that again!'
As his lips compressed she could see a bloodless white line around his mouth. Hannah had reached the stage where his words hardly mattered. Her pain had reached saturation point; she couldn't hurt any more than she already did.
'If Emma and Tom didn't love you so much you'd be out of that door tonight! I've been inclined to dismiss the things Alexa has told me before as the concerns of an overprotective grandmother. I now see she was right about you all along.'
