A Reckless Affair. Alexandra Scott

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      His reply in itself might have set off alarm bells, but all she was aware of was a throb of satisfaction. ‘Nevertheless, it need not have been.’

      ‘Are you telling me...?’ When she pulled gently, he released her hand. ‘Are you telling me I was wrong to draw implications from the absence of a ring?’

      ‘Not exactly,’ she said primly, repressing the desire to smile but capitulating when he grinned.

      ‘I rest my case.’ Both of them sat back, smiling at each other, while waiters came to remove plates and to serve the next course.

      It was impossible, she conceded with a tiny pain immediately below her ribs, to pretend she didn’t find him dangerously attractive. In a room full of good-looking, wealthy men he stood out. That was not simply her own opinion—more than one woman in their immediate neighbourhood would probably be willing to neglect her escort for Jake Vanbrugh. That he had been recognised when they arrived was obvious—he had exchanged casual greetings with several couples but had shown no signs of wishing to linger or introduce them to Ginny.

      They were drinking strong black coffee when he dropped his bombshell, one which made her crash down her cup and look at him in consternation. ‘On Saturday, Ginny, I’m going down to Richmond to visit my parents. I want you to come with me.’

      ‘What?’ She frowned, taking a moment to allow her brain to absorb the implications. Then her reaction was immediate. ‘Oh, no. I couldn’t possibly; I wouldn’t dream of intruding.’ The whole situation was getting out of hand. It was Mr Hugo Vanbrugh she had come all this way to see; there had been no intention of becoming involved with other members of his family.

      She felt a sob begin to rise in her throat as thoughts of her own deceit began to hit her. She had meant to be so honest, so understanding. Certainly the last thing in her mind had been the possibility of some kind of perverse emotional entanglement. But she could at least nip that in the bud—she herself was the only one who might suffer and...

      ‘You wouldn’t be.’ The flimsy excuse was disregarded the instant it was uttered, and with the smiling charm which was proving impossible to resist.

      They decided to stroll back to her hotel. The limousine was dismissed and it was impossible for Ginny to deny the pleasure of the experience—being with a handsome man with unobtrusive good manners, added to a certain amount of euphoria engendered by the wine...

      ‘My parents are hospitable people,’ he continued, his hand touching her elbow to warn of an obstruction in their path. ‘And I know they would love to see you.’

      Now his touch became more of a threat. He seemed to be tempting her into a trap of her own making, arousing feelings she was reluctant to face, and her shiver was an involuntary reaction.

      ‘You’re cold. I knew we should have been driven.’

      ‘No, I’m not cold.’ She took a firm grip of herself. ‘Not in the very least. It was simply... Anyway...’ A change of subject was indicated, before she lost herself in a maze of unconvincing explanations. ‘I don’t feel I can go, Jake, I... I took only a few days off work...’

      ‘You won’t see my father otherwise. He and my mother are off on a cruise next week, so... you’d best fly down with me if you want to see him.’

      They had reached the hotel and went in and sat down in the foyer, deserted now but for the young man who sat yawning behind the reception desk.

      ‘Besides, apart from that—’ his eyes were signalling a message she hardly dared translate ‘—I want to see you again.’

      His swift, unexpected touch, just the brush of a finger against her cheek, brought her heart leaping in wild agitation.

      ‘More than that, I’m determined on it. You may not know it—’ he leaned forward, his manner becoming more intimate ‘—but Hugo Vanbrugh is a very determined man, used to getting his own way, and I’ m cast in the same mould as my father.’ He smiled as if his words were not to be taken entirely literally—he might even have been amused by her wide-eyed expression of shock.

      Yes, she thought numbly, she could see that Hugo Vanbrugh was someone very used to having his own way—she was living proof of that, and she felt a stab of disgust. What kind of man was it who would seduce a lonely young wife? It was convenient to forget her mother’s willing participation... Then Jake’s voice brought her back from her reverie.

      ‘But you look tired. Why don’t you go up to bed now?’ Automatically she allowed herself to be led to the lift, and stood waiting while it was summoned. ‘Have a good night’s sleep.’ Again a finger brushed tenderly, this time against her mouth. ‘I shall have Karen bring over all the details tomorrow and I shall pick you up here on Saturday morning. Good-night.’

      Leaning back in the furthest corner of the lift, she watched the doors slide closed to exclude him. Only then did she release a great sigh, as if, by some feat of courage and daring, she had escaped encroaching danger. And it was a few seconds before her disordered thoughts were sorted to the extent that she could recognise the exact nature of that danger.

      There was only one thing for it: she must leave New York at the first opportunity—tomorrow morning if possible. There were many places in the States where she could happily spend the rest of her short stay. Boston or St Louis, even Sioux City—anywhere that the Vanbrugh empire was unlikely to extend, and where, perhaps more to the point, Jake Vanbrugh was unlikely to think of looking for her.

      Certainly the present situation was one she could never have envisaged. It had all been so carefully plotted—to come and to make the most discreet contact with the man who had fathered her so many years ago. It was not difficult to visualise how much of a shock such a piece of news might be to a happily married man.

      She knew few men would welcome such news, and that was why she had been so cautious, why she had concocted such a misleading explanation. She had meant to cause no anxiety—her first concern would have been to assure him there was no threat of exposure. And then after passing on the few things which might have held some sentimental interest for him, they would have said goodbye, she would have returned to her job in London and any future meetings would have been arranged by mutual consent.

      It had been her hope, but no more, that their meeting would settle the deep uncertainty which had troubled her after discovering the truth about her birth. And if it didn’t then she was determined it would be her problem, one she would keep to herself and not expect him to share.

      True, there had been the fanciful notion that he might from time to time visit her in the UK, that they could get to know each other, might even find they liked each other. After all, since her mother had fallen so hopelessly in love with him, and he with her mother, Ginny and he were bound to find some common ground. And, in a strange way, she felt she would be doing something for her mother—completing a story which had been unresolved for more than a quarter of a century.

      She reached her bedroom and began, listlessly, to unbutton her blouse. Only, the plans she had made had begun to unravel the moment she’d reached New York. For one thing, on finding the company had offices in the city centre, she had rushed off immediately. Experience ought to have told her it was unlikely she would be ushered into the presence of the top man—life in the higher echelons simply did not work like that and, in any case, what she had most certainly not anticipated was meeting not the man himself, but his son. Still less had her wildest flights of fancy expected that, after a few hours’ acquaintance, she would find СКАЧАТЬ