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There was a silence, then he said equably, ‘Fair enough. I’m glad you came here rather than the nearest pond.’
Amanda bit her lip. ‘You’ll never let me forget that madness, will you?’
‘Eventually,’ he said. ‘You have to understand, it was one of the worst moments of my life, seeing you crawling up on to that parapet. I couldn’t bear to think it was a member of my family who’d driven you to that sort of extremity.’ He put a hand under her elbow. ‘Come inside. It’s starting to rain.’
She said inanely, ‘Mother said it would,’ and burst into tears. And that was the last thing she’d intended to do, she thought despairingly. She’d planned on being very calm, very matter of fact, very businesslike about her request for sanctuary.
She found herself in that lovely tranquil drawing-room, seated beside the fire, with Malory’s handkerchief pressed to her face.
He said, ‘I’ll ask Mrs Priddy to bring some tea,’ and she flung up a hand and caught at his sleeve.
‘No—please. I don’t want her—anyone—to see me making a fool of myself like this. I’ll be all right in a minute’
He nodded expressionlessly, and sat down opposite her to wait. Harvey came and deposited an anxious nose on her knee, whining a little, and she rubbed his head, smiling in spite of herself.
‘He’s so sweet.’
’Tell the postman that,‘ Malory said laconically. ’But first tell me what’s happened‘
She concentrated her attention on Harvey’s ears. ‘I found Mother had invited Nigel over for a special lunch—a grand reconciliation. I couldn’t face it, so I ran away.’
’There isn’t,‘ he said slowly, ’a great deal he can do with your mother around. There was no real need to be afraid.‘
‘I wasn’t afraid of him,’ she said. She lifted her head, and met his gaze steadily. ‘I was afraid of myself. Of giving way—of letting myself love him again—still.’
‘You feel that’s still a possibility?’
She said in a low voice, ‘I know it is. And I think he knows it. That must be why he persists, mustn’t it?’
‘Either that, or he’s fed up with playing the wronged and melancholy lover, and has decided to grab the initiative again as the romantic lead.’
She swallowed. ‘Well, whatever it is, it made me realise that wherever I went he’d follow me—except here. So that’s why I’m inflicting myself on you like this. I—I must apologise.’
’There’s really no need,‘ he said. ’You’re quite right, of course. This is the nearest thing to sanctuary you’re likely to find.‘
‘And it won’t be for very long,’ she assured him. ‘I’ll see my boss—ask for a transfer to Brussels or Vienna.’
‘Or anywhere,’ Malory said ironically. ‘And what if Nigel decided this is a victory he has to win, and follows you to your new locale? What then?’
She stared at him, her lips parting in horror. ‘He couldn’t—he wouldn’t… Not abroad.’
‘You don’t think so?’
Amanda bent her head. ‘It never even crossed my mind,’ she said wretchedly.
‘Then consider it now.’ Malory got to his feet. ‘And when I come back, I have a suggestion to put to you.’ He gave her a brief, friendly smile and left the room.
Amanda sat staring dully at the leaping flames in the grate. She felt as if she’d reached the end of some weary road, to find all further progress blocked. It had never occurred to her that Nigel might be prepared to continue his pursuit of her indefinitely, but, when she considered his bizarre and egocentric behaviour in the past, she could find little difficulty in believing he might take a perverse pleasure in dogging her footsteps, even to another country. And she knew she would be unable to withstand that kind of insidious pressure. Yet the thought of reviving any kind of relationship with Nigel was frankly abhorrent.
Perhaps she could avoid him somehow—get an injunction—change her name. She made a little sound. It was Nigel who was in the wrong, and yet she had to become the fugitive.
She thought, ‘What am I going to do?’ and only realised she had spoken out loud when Malory said, from the doorway, ‘Actually, there is a way—that is, if you genuinely want to be free of Nigel for ever.’
Amanda winced. ‘Yes,’ she said chokingly. ‘Yes, I do.’
’Then it’s quite simple,‘ he said. ’I get a special licence, and you marry me just as soon as it can be arranged.‘
