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Was it the kind of risk she could really afford? But was there any way out?
'Cally?' Nick was standing in front of her, his expression unfathomable, his hand held out in inflexible demand.
Without a scene in front of Cecily, who'd surely suffered enough traumas for one day, there was little she could do. So, with what dignity she could command, she allowed herself to be helped to her feet and led from the room.
In the hall, she said breathlessly, 'Shall we—talk in your study?'
'It's not very private, and rarely quiet,' he said. 'I have a better idea.'
As they reached the stairs she tried to pull away. 'Nick— this is silly. It’s the middle of the afternoon. People don t go to their bedrooms at this time of day.'
'Yes, they do,' he said. 'If they want to make love.'
'But I don't.' It emerged almost as a bleat, she realised bitterly.
'Tough,’ Nick said pleasantly. Then you'll just have to lie still and think about something else, won't you, darling? Why not give circumstantial evidence some consideration?'
Cally bit her lip, giving him a mutinous glare. 'Everything's a joke to you. But I had good reason to think as I did. Today you said you'd be in Wellingford, yet I saw you with her— with Vanessa in Clayminster High Street. I saw how you behaved towards each other. It—it looked like love.'
'It's a kind of love,' he said quietly, after a pause. 'We share the same blood, and we've been through hell together. That— engenders affection.'
He closed the bedroom door behind them. 'Tell me something, Cally. Why blindly accept the word of a woman who's never liked you, yet condemn me out of hand? Why didn't you just march up the path a year ago, hammer on the door, and demand to know what was going on?'
She walked over to the dressing table, rearranging brushes and combs with nervous ringers. She sent him a sideways glance. 'Would you have told me?'
'Yes, of course,' he said instantly. 'Although it would have been unfair, in some ways, to burden you with such a secret so soon in the marriage. The original plan was that Vanessa should come to the wedding and that we'd explain the whole thing to you together. When she didn't turn up as promised, I called her mobile. She was at the clinic, and in a terrible state. They'd sent for her, only to tell her that there was a less than one per cent chance of Tony ever regaining consciousness, and that if he did he'd be seriously brain damaged. It was the first time they'd suggested doing away with life-support.
'She'd been living on hope, waiting for a miracle, and suddenly it was all snatched away from her.' He walked over to the window and stood staring down into the gardens below.
Both of them, Cally realised, were staying well away from the bed.
'I don't think it even registered that it was our wedding day—not then, anyway,' Nick went on. 'She begged me to come and collect her, because she was in no fit state to drive home. It was the first time she'd really needed me, and I told myself I couldn't let her down. That I'd be there and back before you knew it, and that anyway we had the rest of our lives to look forward to, when she had nothing. I convinced myself that you'd understand. That I might even earn myself some brownie points when I explained.
'So, I called her doctor and requested him to meet us at the cottage. I also arranged for her car to be picked up and returned. When she'd seen the doctor I drove over to the pharmacy and brought back the sedatives he'd prescribed. I managed to persuade her to take one, and then go upstairs to lie down.'
He gave her an ironic look. 'The point, I guess, at which you arrived and drew your own conclusions. I don't blame you for that, Cally. But you should have confronted me—given me the chance to explain. Not just run away without a word.'
She didn't look at him. 'Didn't Adele tell you she'd sent me to the cottage?'
'Adele wasn't at the Hall when I returned,' Nick said. 'I'd made it clear that I didn't want either her or the other resident witch, anywhere near the place for twenty-four hours, until we'd left on our honeymoon. She was supposed to be gone when we got back from the church. I simply thought she'd done as she was told.'
He paused. 'It's time for the truth, Cally,' he said slowly. 'Why did you—just leave? Were you really convinced you couldn't live with me—and was seeing me with poor Vanessa simply the excuse you needed? I—I have to know.'
Her voice was unsteady. 'I need to know something, too, Nick. Why did you marry me? Was I just the first available girl—someone who'd be grateful to be favoured by the glamorous Nick Tempest and who wouldn’t interfere in your life too much?'
He turned to look at her, the skin taut over his cheekbones, anguish in his grey gaze.
