Marriage By Arrangement. Sally Wentworth

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СКАЧАТЬ him on the shoulder, but she had already run to the window and torn the curtains apart, was pushing it open, ready to scream for help at the top of her lungs. But she hadn’t got out more than one syllable when the man came up behind her and put a hand over her mouth, pulling her back into the room.

      Red immediately began to kick and struggle, but he pinned her arms against her sides, his grip strong, unbreakable. Red bit the hand that was over her mouth and he swore and took his hand away, but the next second, before she could scream, it was at her throat. A flicker of real fear ran through her and Red knew a moment of panic, but then an exasperated voice said in her ear, ‘For God’s sake stop behaving as if you’re going to be raped and tell me who you are, you little fool!’

      The voice was curt and angry, but it was one she recognised. Twisting her head round, Red tried to look at him over her shoulder. The man’s grip eased a little and she was able to turn to face him. The man holding her so closely was Linus Hunt.

      Her jaw dropped open in surprise and an overwhelming feeling of relief ran through her, but when she didn’t speak Linus said again, ‘Who the hell are you?’

      ‘I’m—I’m Red McGee.’

      Her name didn’t mean a thing to him and he obviously didn’t recognise her. ‘Are you one of Felicia’s pupils? Did she invite you to stay?’

      ‘Felicia? Oh, you mean Mrs St Aubyn. Yes, I am, and she did—well, in a way.’

      Releasing her, he stepped back. ‘I’m surprised you haven’t woken her, the way you screamed out like a frightened schoolgirl.’

      ‘I didn’t know who you were,’ Red said indignantly. ‘Why didn’t you turn on some lights instead of creeping around in the dark like—like some rapist?’ she retorted, slinging his own insult back at him.

      Glancing down at his bitten hand, Linus gave a snort of derision. ‘A rapist wouldn’t stand a chance against you.’

      Red glared at him, but in her heart knew it wasn’t so; his strength had been enough to overpower her if he’d really wanted to. Putting that uncomfortable thought out of her mind, she said, ‘Why didn’t you turn the lights on? And why did you come into this room?’

      ‘Because I didn’t want to wake Felicia, of course.’ He frowned. ‘I’m surprised she hasn’t woken now; she’s generally a very light sleeper.’

      Linus made a move towards the door, but Red put a hand on his arm. ‘She isn’t here. I’m afraid there’s been an accident.’

      She felt him stiffen under her hand and his face grew tense. ‘An accident? What are you saying?’

      There was alarm in his voice, even fear, and Red frowned; he didn’t sound like a toy boy out for what he could get—unless he was worried about his meal ticket, of course. Her voice hardening a little, Red explained, ‘She fell down the stairs. Her ankle is broken and she wrenched her shoulder, but otherwise she’s OK.’

      ‘Where is she?’ The question was swift, demanding.

      ‘In hospital. I stayed there until after her ankle was set and saw her in the ward. She’s all right. Really.’

      ‘I must go to her.’

      ‘I doubt if they’ll let you see her. She’s been given something to make her sleep.’

      ‘Which hospital?’

      Red told him and he strode out of the room. She heard him go into the main bedroom and pick up the phone. Finding her jacket, Red put it round her shoulders and stood in the doorway, watching as he called the hospital.

      Tonight Linus seemed a different person from the unkempt drunk she’d met that first time. He was clean-shaven, clear-eyed and seemed to be fully alert, which made him look younger than she’d first thought. He was also smartly dressed in a well-cut dark business suit, a crisp white shirt and tie.

      And she’d been right about him being good-looking once he’d cleaned himself up; he had high cheekbones in a lean face, with a straight nose, and lips that were just right, neither too full nor too thin. His hair was thick and dark, touching his collar, and with a lock that was apt to fall onto his forehead and be pushed impatiently back, as he was doing now as he talked to the sister in charge of the ward. His level brows, too, were dark, as were the lashes that framed his grey eyes.

      ‘All right. But if she wakes please tell her that I’ll be there first thing in the morning... Yes... Linus Hunt. Thank you.’ Putting the phone down, he turned to look at Red—really looked at her for the first time, his eyes sweeping over her tall, slim figure and mass of auburn hair. ‘Just how do you come to be involved in this?’ he asked.

      She pulled the jacket closer over the silk nightgown. ‘I found her. I called round to see her about some more lessons and I saw her through the letter box, so I called an ambulance and went with her to the hospital.

      ‘She asked me to telephone you, but I couldn’t get any reply, so then she asked me to spend the night here in case you rang.’ Red gave him an assessing look. ‘She was afraid you’d be worried if you called and she wasn’t here.’

      ‘I rang a couple of times from Zurich airport but the line was engaged,’ Linus said shortly. ‘So I came straight here.’ He lifted an eyebrow. ‘Did you use the phone?’

      Red nodded. ‘I called my flat mate to tell her I wouldn’t be home.’ She said it rather defensively, but why she should feel guilty she didn’t know; how was she supposed to have known that he would call at precisely that time?

      His face didn’t soften any but he said, ‘It seems that you’ve been put to a great deal of inconvenience on Felicia’s behalf.’

      ‘It was nothing,’ Red said in embarrassment. ‘I just happened along.’

      ‘You’re Australian, aren’t you?’

      She gave a rueful groan. ‘You’re not supposed to notice the accent.’

      Linus grinned, and suddenly he seemed extremely good-looking. ‘That’s what the lessons are for, are they?’ She nodded, but he was already glancing at his watch. ‘It’s four-thirty, and I’ve been travelling all night. I’m going to get some sleep and I’d advise you to do the same.’

      ‘I don’t need to be advised to do something that simple,’ Red said shortly, strangely disappointed at his obvious lack of interest.

      He glanced at her, his eyebrows rising, but merely said, ‘I’ll use this room. Good night—er—what did you say your name was?’

      ‘Red. Red McGee.’

      His eyebrows rose yet again. ‘That’s what I thought you said. Good night.’

      She gave him a look, said, ‘Good night,’ in a cool tone, and went back to the guest room.

      This time she didn’t fall asleep so quickly. Quite naturally, she was thinking about Linus Hunt. He seemed so different tonight. But maybe he was the kind of man who went on really drunken binges for a few days and was then able to stay off the booze for a few weeks, until the craving drove him back on the bottle.

      She wasn’t unfamiliar with the type; there had СКАЧАТЬ