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‘And where will you go?’ He moved in front of her, sheltering her against the wind with his own body. ‘You have no place to live, so what do you intend to do?’ He laughed suddenly. ‘Funny, isn’t it? You’re worried about me catching cold and I’m worried about how you’ll manage. That hardly sounds like two people who don’t give a damn about each other!’
‘You would feel the same about anyone, David! It’s not me you’re really concerned about.’
‘No? How do you work that out?’ He moved closer again, reaching out to steady her as a gust of wind made her stagger. Beth felt his hands close around her shoulders, felt the firm, hard warmth of his fingers even through the thick layer of her coat, and her heart seemed to stop.
She loved him. The realisation settled into her mind, carried on the wind, dropping with the rain, so quiet and so natural, yet filling her with its very magnitude. She loved David so much, loved him with a depth and intensity which made her finally admit that it was no new emotion. Slowly, as the days had slid into weeks, love had grown, yet she could never admit it to him. The one thing he didn’t want from her was that.
She drew away, her face set as she held back the grief tearing at her heart. ‘You are a compassionate man, David. You would have helped anyone in similar circumstances.’
He shook his head, his mouth curling into a faint smile. ‘I can’t imagine ever offering marriage to any other woman, Beth, even if her circumstances had been the same as yours. It was you I asked to marry…only you that I would have asked.’
She wanted to believe him so much, but there were so many things to consider that she was afraid to take what he said at face value even though her heart begged her to do so. ‘Why? Why did you really marry me, David? Oh, I can accept that you wanted to help me, but marriage…’ The wind whipped her hair into her face and impatiently she brushed it back. ‘I fitted in with your plans somehow, but I’ve still no idea where or how! If you won’t tell me the truth, David, then there is no way we can carry on like this.’
His face closed up, growing cold and distant in that way she’d come to hate. ‘Why not accept the fact that I did what I did with the very best of intentions? My reasons don’t affect you or our relationship, Beth.’
‘Don’t affect me? Oh, come on! I want the truth, David, once and for all. I know it has some bearing on this weekend and this feud with your brother and I want to know what it is. I am sick and tired of being left in the dark like this!’
‘You know all that I am prepared to tell you. That will have to suffice.’
‘Will it? Will it, indeed? I’m afraid it doesn’t.’ She gave a bitter little laugh and turned to walk back towards the car. ‘We may as well go back to the house. We’re getting nowhere standing here in the rain. Nothing has changed, David. I still intend to leave tomorrow. I’ve had all I can take of these half-truths.’
He caught her up, walking silently along beside her. He unlocked the car door and waited for her to get in, then slid behind the wheel, but made no attempt to start the engine. Beth wiped a hand over her wet face, her heart aching as she saw the bleakness of his expression. What right did she have to push him into telling her things he was obviously loath to tell? She wanted to be a part of his life, but there was no way she could make him accept her as such if he didn’t chose to.
It took only minutes to get back to the house. David stopped the car in the drive, his hands tightening on the steering-wheel before he turned to her. ‘You asked for an explanation and maybe you are right, Beth. Maybe it is time that I told you what went on.’
She’d waited for so long to hear what had happened, yet now she felt a sudden irrational fear that the truth might be the last thing she would want to know. She shivered convulsively, wishing desperately that she had never pressured him. ‘It must be your decision, David.’
‘I don’t think it is that any longer. I think it’s more a question of what’s right now. You have to know, Beth, because it could affect any decisions you make as to your future.’
