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As if realising her turmoil, and no doubt thinking the woman was mad, Rico put his arm around Gypsy’s waist and said urbanely, ‘I’m sorry—you must have the wrong person.’ With a smooth move he glided them away.

Gypsy got out through numb lips, ‘I need a bathroom.’

She could hear the woman behind them saying to someone, ‘How strange. I could have sworn that was Alexandra Bastion…and who was that guy?’

Her voice faded away, but Gypsy felt clammy all over and knew that if Rico hadn’t been holding onto her she might have fallen.

In seconds they were in the lift and going upwards, a wall of tense silence between them. Gypsy took deep breaths and concentrated on not being sick, but all she could think of was the champagne sloshing around her belly, and she knew it had been that woman who had sent her back in time.

As soon as they were in the suite she ran for the bathroom and closed the door, hunching over the toilet bowl as the contents of her belly came up. She was aware of the door opening and Rico coming in. She put out a hand and said weakly, ‘No, please…go away.’

But, predictably, he ignored her. She heard water running, and then she felt a damp cloth against her face and it was wonderful. Eventually, when her stomach was empty, Rico helped her up and handed her a toothbrush with toothpaste already on it. She brushed her teeth and splashed water on her face. And then Rico lifted her into his arms, despite her weak protest, and took her over to one of the ornately covered chairs and sat her down.

He went and sat on the corner of the bed, near the chair, and just watched her, hands linked loosely between his legs. Gypsy knew without him saying a word that she had to talk. Now. With a tight knot in her belly, she took a deep breath.

‘When I was fifteen years old my father found me tasting champagne from a leftover bottle after one of his parties.’ Her belly tightened at the memory. ‘He dragged me into his study, opened a new bottle of champagne and forced me to drink the lot. He wouldn’t let me leave the room until I had. When I was sick all over the floor he made me clean it up, and told me that perhaps I’d remember that lesson if I ever wanted to taste champagne again.’

She looked at Rico. His eyes bored into hers and he said, ‘Your father was John Bastion.’

Gypsy couldn’t even feel surprised that he knew. She just nodded wearily. ‘When did you find out?’

‘Before we came back to Athens.’

So he’d known for the past few weeks, but said nothing.

He saw the question in her eyes and said, ‘I wanted you to tell me yourself. Why didn’t you want to tell me about him?’

Her heart clenched. She bit her lip. Where to start? Hands closed tight in her lap, she finally said, ‘Because I hated him, and from the day he died I wanted to forget that he’d existed.’

Rico frowned. ‘Where did Alexandra come from?’

‘He didn’t want me. The only reason he took me in eventually was because he was a so-called pillar of society and Social Services couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t. He had to; he wanted to avoid negative press attention at all costs. But the minute I was under his roof he insisted on changing my name to Alexandra, and he spread the word discreetly that he’d adopted me out of the goodness of his heart. He didn’t want anyone to know I was his biological daughter. He was ashamed to be reminded that he’d had an affair with a cleaner. He was ashamed of everything about me—especially as I wasn’t some sleek blonde, like his own mother or his new wife.’

Rico stood up and started to pace. He turned around. ‘And what about your mother? Where was she?’

Gypsy’s hands tightened. She looked down. ‘We weren’t well off at all…Where I was living with Lola was a palace compared to where we were. She couldn’t cope. She tried to kill herself…that’s why she wanted me to go to my father. He insisted they send her to a mental hospital for psychiatric assessment…and without any resources or anyone to speak for her she got lost in the system, forgotten about. She died there when I was about thirteen, but I didn’t find out until after my father died and I found a letter from the hospital.’ She didn’t mention the heartbreaking letters from her mother.

‘Your father and stepmother died in a plane crash?’

Gypsy looked up again and nodded. ‘Over the English Channel, coming back from France.’

Surprising her, he asked, ‘Why were you in the club that night, Gypsy?’

Feeling the quiver of trepidation in her belly, but knowing that if he investigated further he’d find out everything anyway, she told him. She smiled wryly, but it felt a bit skewed. ‘As I was officially my father’s next of kin, despite public perception, I received everything in his will. He’d never got around to making sure I wouldn’t, which is undoubtedly what he’d planned, but as he believed he was infallible he hadn’t counted on sudden death…

‘That night…the night of the club…it was six months after his death and I’d just received and signed over every single Bastion asset and property to all the charities he had been patron of and had stolen from for years. I felt so guilty that I’d never been brave enough to report him to the police it was the least I could do. I donated the rest of his money to psychiatric care and research. I insisted it was done anonymously. I didn’t want any media attention. And I’d also just reverted back to my own birth name, which was easy as it was on my birth certificate. I was finally free—from him and his legacy. I didn’t want a penny of his money. Not after what he did to my mother and how he treated me.’

She shrugged. ‘I heard the beat of the music and I wanted to dance, to celebrate being free…’

Rico came and sat back down heavily on the bed.

Gypsy continued with a rush, wanting to make Rico understand. ‘He knew that I knew about his transgressions with charity funds, so when I was seventeen he took me to a charity event and auctioned me off to work for a summer with that charity’s operation in Africa.’ Her mouth twisted. ‘It was to get me out of his hair, but also a punishment and a way to demonstrate his control. I had the last laugh, though, because it was the best experience I ever had and it inspired me to want to study psychology.’

She bit her lip. ‘He spoke of you. He was envious of your fortune and said you were ruthless. That was another reason I believed the worst about you. I assumed your methods were the same as his…’

Rico’s lip curled. ‘I never had anything to do with the man. I had no respect for the way he did business.’

Feeling unaccountably sad, Gypsy said, ‘I know that now.’ She stood up abruptly. Emotions were bubbling too close to the surface. She’d never revealed this much to another living soul and she suddenly felt too exposed. ‘Look, do you mind if we don’t talk about it anymore? It’s in the past now. Alexandra Bastion never really existed. I’d like to go home to Lola tonight, if it’s possible.’

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