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‘It sounds lovely, Maggie. Thank you. If you need any help then just tell me. I’ll be only too glad to help you get things ready.’
‘I might just take you up on that. See you later.’ With a wave, Maggie hurried away, and David closed the door then carried the tray to the bedside table and set it down. He studied Beth’s flushed face for a moment then moved away to open the wardrobe and take out trousers and a sweater. Dropping them on to the bed, he took clean underwear from the chest of drawers then unfastened the towel from around his waist and let it drop to the floor.
Beth felt her breath catch as she stared at him, magnificent in his nakedness. She closed her eyes, heat rippling in a tidal wave along her veins, but it was impossible to blank the image of him from her mind.
‘All right, you can look now. You won’t see anything you obviously feel you shouldn’t.’ There was open amusement in his tone and Beth opened her eyes and glared hotly at him. ‘I can’t help it if I’m not used to having naked men parading in front of me!’
‘Indeed you can’t. Frankly, I’m rather glad that you’re not. Your innocence is delightfully refreshing, Beth.’
‘Innocence?’ She went ashen. ‘Is that some sort of a joke? I lost my claim to innocence a while back as well you know!’
His face hardened. ‘That’s not true. Innocence is as much a state of mind as a physical condition.’
‘Then you must be the only person who thinks so!’ She pulled the slip back over her breasts then tossed back the bedcovers and climbed out to face him across the room with eyes filled with pain. ‘You tell anyone what happened to me, David, and then ask their opinion as to whether I can be called an innocent … Matthew … Maggie … anyone. They’ll soon tell you how wrong you are!’
‘It has nothing to do with anyone else. Not Matthew nor Maggie…no one!’
‘Why? Why don’t you want anyone to know? Why are you so determined to keep it all such a secret? You were talking about making this marriage of ours real yesterday, but what does that mean? That you keep on hiding the truth? Keep up this pretence that you were the father of my baby? Why? To spare my feelings, or for your own reasons?’
‘What I decide to tell people is my business, Beth. Understand? Don’t interfere in things you know nothing about!’
There was such anger on his face that she almost faltered, but pain and a deep, bitter disappointment drove her on. ‘Oh, I understand all right. Only too well. As long as our relationship keeps within the limits you set for it then that’s fine, but let me go beyond that and… Well, I’m sorry, David, but that isn’t how I want to live the rest of my life. I don’t want to accept hospitality from your family in exchange for a pack of lies.’
‘So what do you suggest? That you tell Matthew the truth, all of it, every unsavoury little detail?’ He came and caught her by the arms, his fingers biting into her flesh. ‘I don’t think so, Beth. I don’t think so at all. Why rock the boat? We could have a pleasant future together. I can provide for your every need and we’ve already proved this morning that we find one another attractive enough to guarantee an excellent physical relationship. Why ruin that by going against my wishes? Be sensible, Beth, and ask yourself what more you want from a relationship than what I’m offering.’
What more could she want? Beth went cold with despair. There was so much she wanted from David now, more than she had ever wanted from anyone before: truth, honesty, the right to share his life, plus the one thing she knew he could never give her…love.
She pulled her arms away, walking swiftly towards the bathroom. ‘I’d better get dressed. Maggie will wonder what’s happened to us.’
‘I don’t want you to tell either Maggie or Matthew anything about the terms of our marriage. Understand?’
She looked round, her face bleak, all the brightness faded. ‘Oh, I understand, David. Don’t worry. I shall stick to our agreement this weekend. You’ve set the guidelines and I shall follow them to the letter.’
She walked into the bathroom and closed the door, leaning against it as a wave of sick despair washed over her. In the space of one short hour she’d gone from the dizzy heights of happiness back into black despair, but this time she knew that it would be even harder to struggle out now that she’d had that magical taste of what life could be like.
