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By the time she entered the drawing room Marianne was composed and calm, outwardly at least. Crystal had lit a log fire—the damp sea mist could penetrate bricks and mortar on a day like this—and Rafe was sitting in a big easy armchair with an empty plate and mug at the side of him. He stood up at her entrance, smiling as he said, ‘Crystal’s in the kitchen making you a hot drink.’
Marianne nodded. Churlish of her, maybe, but he seemed to have taken over.
His smile vanishing and his voice flat, Rafe said quietly, ‘I can leave if this is an inconvenient time.’
She stared at him, disliking how easily he seemed to read her thoughts. In spite of his polite words, she felt he knew exactly what she was thinking. ‘Not at all.’ She could be polite, too. ‘I’m just a little tired, that’s all. It’s been a hectic few weeks.’
‘I wanted to discuss a couple of things and I thought it would be easier face to face, that’s all. But if you’re too tired…’
‘No, it’s all right.’ She made her way to the armchair opposite his and sat down.
‘I’ll get straight to the point.’ He looked at her, his blue eyes unreadable. ‘How do things sit with you financially? Oh, I know the situation regarding your parents’ estate—’ he flapped a dismissive hand ‘—but I mean now, over the next week or two until work progresses on Seacrest. Do you and Crystal have enough to live on?’
It was the last thing she had expected him to say. She blinked, taken aback.
Rafe almost smiled. Her face was like an open book. But he couldn’t blame her for viewing him as a cross between Attila the Hun and the Marquis de Sade. He watched as she gathered her thoughts, the firelight dancing over her creamy skin.
‘Thank you,’ she said a little warily, ‘but there’s no need to trouble yourself on our account. I have some savings and so has Crystal.’ A small smile touched her lips for a moment. ‘We won’t be begging on street corners for a crust of bread, not yet anyway.’
‘Once everything is signed and sealed, an allowance will be made for your and Crystal’s salaries. These will be paid directly into your accounts on the first day of each month. I trust this is acceptable? You can give Tom the relevant information when you meet him tomorrow—he’s already liaising with my solicitor.’
Marianne nodded. Ridiculous and terribly unbusinesslike, but she had paid no thought to a salary of any kind, certainly not for herself at any rate. She had thought being a partner in the enterprise would be reward enough. But of course she would have to have something to live on and her savings wouldn’t last for ever. ‘There’s…there’s a lot more to all this than first meets the eye, isn’t there?’
‘Not really. At least not when you’ve done this sort of thing as many times as I have. Tom will acquaint you with progress to date tomorrow, but there’s something else, something a little delicate.’ He paused and then stood up abruptly, walking over to the full-length windows and standing with his back towards the room. It was raining in earnest now and twilight had come early, the room full of shadows which the flames of the fire caused to flicker grotesquely on the light-coloured walls.
Rafe’s voice was low when he said, ‘My father moved into his cottage today, Marianne. As I expected, the journey has taken a lot out of him and he’s resting in bed. His housekeeper and her husband have come over with him—they’ve been with him for years, long before my mother died. They were going to stay indefinitely at one point but in the last couple of weeks they’ve discovered their only child, a daughter, is having a baby. Apparently, in the past, Jenny, the daughter, had been told she couldn’t have children so Jenny and her husband, along with Mary and Will, are thrilled. The complication is that, due to medical reasons, Jenny is going to have to be confined to bed throughout the pregnancy and obviously Mary wants to be there to take care of her.’
He turned and looked at her. ‘With anyone reasonable this would not be a problem but my father is not reasonable. He’s all for Mary and Will hotfooting it back to the States but refuses to concede that he needs someone living in permanently. He’s insisting a daily and a part-time gardener will be sufficient. They most d
efinitely will not.’
‘I see.’ She wrinkled her brow. ‘No, I don’t. What is it you’re saying, exactly?’
‘I need someone short-term to stand in for Mary—just until I can find a replacement—and I wondered if you would mind if I put it to Crystal? She’s experienced and capable but, more than that, my father knew her when they were young. He’s digging his heels in about having a stranger move in and he can be as stubborn as a mule when he wants to be.’
She rather thought it was a case of the pot calling the kettle black, but that wasn’t her chief concern. How would she manage without Crystal? Until this very moment she hadn’t realised how much the knowledge that Crystal would be at her side, supporting her, loving her, being there twenty-four hours a day had given her courage for the immediate future. It was necessary but she wasn’t going to like seeing Seacrest torn apart and changed. It was going to be an emotional time, coming so shortly after the loss of her parents. Clearing her throat, she said flatly, ‘Your father wouldn’t manage with a daily and help outside?’
Rafe shook his head, rotated his shoulders and walked back to the chair he had vacated. Sitting down, he leant forward, his blue eyes piercing in a face that suddenly looked weary. ‘He’d never forgive me for saying so, but he’s ridiculously cavalier with his medication and so on. I know he resents being ill. This is the first time in his life he’s ever had anything to do with doctors and hospitals and so on. He hates it. Hates the fact that some days he’s as weak as a kitten. Other days he’s more like himself and you wouldn’t know anything was wrong.’
‘You worry about him,’ she said softly.
Rafe nodded, although his face gave nothing away. Ruefully, he said, ‘He needs someone with him constantly to keep an eye on him, to make sure he eats properly, takes his pills, that kind of thing. Of course Crystal might not want to do it even if you agree.’
She wondered if he knew how effective it was—this big, rugged, hard man worrying about his father. It would melt the hardest heart. That aside, she had to admit that Andrew Steed probably needed Crystal far more than she did. ‘You can put it to Crystal with my blessing and if she agrees I’ll do what I can to support her as well as look after things here.’
He was very still for a moment and then sighed. ‘Thank you,’ he murmured, the powerful shoulders relaxing. ‘He drives me crazy and half the time seems hell-bent on ruining what little health he has left, but…’
‘He’s your father,’ Marianne put in quietly. ‘I understand.’
‘Yes, I think you probably do.’ As though he couldn’t help himself, his eyes dropped to her mouth, lingering there for a long moment.
Marianne sat still, her heart beginning to hammer in her ribcage. The atmosphere in the room had subtly changed, become heavy, languorous.
Rafe stood up and moved over to her, drawing her into his arms. ‘Thank you,’ he said again, his voice husky.
‘You’re welcome,’ she whispered.
This time when he kissed her his lips were warm and persuasive, moving with a leisurely self-assurance that made her quiver deep inside. He was holding her close but she made no effort to try to move away because she didn’t want to. She wanted him to go on kissing her. She had been waiting for this moment for the last three weeks, she realised with a little shock of surprise.
