The Marriage Solution. HELEN BROOKS

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      ‘Of course it’s genuine,’ she answered in horror. ‘What on earth do you think—?’ She shook her head blindly as words failed her. ‘No one would make something like that up,’ she finished hotly.

      ‘You’d be surprised,’ he said sardonically. ‘When the chips are down most people would do just about anything.’

      ‘Well, I wouldn’t.’ She glared at him fiercely. ‘You can ring the hospital if you like and speak to Dr Lambeth, my father’s friend. I presume you would trust a doctor at least?’ she finished scathingly.

      ‘I trust very few people, Miss White.’ He shifted slightly in the big leather chair, leaning back and surveying her through narrowed grey eyes.

      ‘Like my father.’ The words were condemning and he recognised them as such.

      ‘You don’t approve?’ he said mildly. ‘You’re an optimist, Miss White—a very dangerous thing to be in the business world.’

      ‘Well, as I’m not in the business world I wouldn’t lose too much sleep over it,’ she replied carefully. ‘And I wouldn’t describe myself as an optimist anyway; I just think most people verge on kindness given a chance.’

      He shut his eyes for a split-second as he shook his dark head slowly, the gesture more eloquent than any words, and then opened them to stare directly into the greeny-brown of hers. ‘What world are you in?’ he asked quietly, his eyes wandering over the pale creamy skin of her face and stopping for an infinitesimal moment on her wide, generous mouth. ‘You do work for a living?’

      ‘Yes.’ She straightened a little in the chair as she rebelled against the questioning. ‘But I don’t see how that affects why I’m here today, Mr Reef. You said on the phone that my father had lost you some money...?’

      ‘Lost me some money?’ he repeated sarcastically. ‘Well, that’s one way of putting it, I guess. A little oversimplified but nevertheless... Have you read the morning papers?’ he asked abruptly.

      ‘The morning—?’ She hesitated at the change of direction. ‘No—no, I haven’t. My father was reading them when he—’ She stopped again. ‘When he collapsed,’ she finished flatly.

      ‘They nearly had the same effect on me,’ he said drily, and then shook his head at her outraged expression. ‘And I wasn’t belittling your father’s condition, Miss White. Here—’ He thrust a newspaper at her abruptly. ‘Read that.’

      She glanced at where he was pointing but the black letters were dancing all over the page as she tried to read them and she looked up after a moment, her eyes enormous in her white face. ‘I’m sorry, I can’t take anything in.’

      ‘It’s the total collapse of a certain economy that your father assured me was one hundred per cent solid,’ he said coolly. ‘I have invested a vast amount of money at his persuasion and within the last few months, too. I’ve been made to look ridiculous, Miss White, and I can’t say it appeals.’

      ‘But—’ she stared at him desperately ‘—he wouldn’t have done it on purpose, would he? No one’s perfect.’

      ‘“No one’s”—?’ He held her eyes for several seconds before shaking his head again. ‘This whole morning is fast beginning to resemble Alice Through the Looking Glass.’

      A movement in the outer office caught his eye and he pressed the buzzer on his desk as he glanced towards the door. A second or two later, one beautifully coiffured head appeared round the door. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Reef, I had to...’ The well-bred voice died as the woman glanced in Katie’s direction.

      ‘Two coffees, please, Jacqueline, and hold all calls,’ Carlton Reef said quietly.

      ‘Oh, but I can’t—’ Katie glanced at him as he raised enquiring eyebrows. ‘I’ve got a taxi waiting for me in the street. I can‘t—’

      ‘Pay it off, Jacqueline.’ He settled further into his seat as he raised one hand thoughtfully under his chin. ‘And phone... What hospital is your father in?’ he asked Katie abruptly. She told him quietly as her cheeks burnt scarlet. He thought she was lying; how could he think that? ‘Tell them I want to speak to a Dr Lambeth,’ he instructed his secretary quietly, ‘and do it discreetly, there’s a good girl.’

      It was the first time that Katie had been able to examine him without having his piercing grey eyes trained on her and as she looked at him, really looked at him for the first time, she had to admit in a tiny, detached part of her brain that he really was devastatingly good-looking in a hard, macho sort of way.

      His skin was dark, with the sort of even tan that suggested a recent holiday somewhere very hot and very expensive, and the dark grey eyes were fringed with short jetblack lashes under heavy dark brows. Big, broad shoulders suggested an impressive body under the beautifully cut suit and she had already seen that he was tall—well over six feet. And he was as hard as iron. She stiffened as the razor-sharp eyes switched back to her. He was the sort of man her father would respect and admire and whom she loathed.

      ‘Now—’ he didn’t smile as the secretary shut the door without a sound and they were left alone ‘—why exactly did you feel it necessary to come here?’

      ‘You phoned.’ She stared at him with a mixture of bewilderment and anger. ‘You made it clear that my father would be in some sort of trouble if he didn’t—’

      ‘He’s in deep trouble already, Miss White, and I’m afraid there is nothing you can do about it.’ There wasn’t a trace of compassion in the deep voice and she knew, as she stared into the implacable, cold features, actual hate for another human being for the first time in her life. ‘I am not sure of my facts yet, so I do not intend to say much more, but from the little I do know about this unfortunate episode it would seem to suggest that your father did not do the homework he was paid to do. Supposition is not an option in the market-place and for this to happen without any prior warning...’ He shrugged eloquently. ‘Something smells.’

      ‘Are you saying that my father was dishonest?’ she asked hotly. ‘Because if you are—’

      The buzzer on his desk interrupted further conversation and, as he took the call his secretary had put through, his face was blank and composed. It was obviously from Dr Lambeth and by the time he replaced the receiver, some minutes later, the dark face was thoughtful, although she had been unable to comprehend anything from his side of the conversation. As he finished the call his secretary knocked quietly and entered with the coffee, her face smooth and expressionless.

      ‘Thank you, Jacqueline.’ He glanced up once, busying himself with the tray. ‘Can you arrange for the car to be brought to the main entrance in ten minutes, please?’

      ‘Yes, Mr Reef.’

      Something had been said during that phone call, something disturbing and relevant to her, Katie thought suddenly as she stared into the cool poker face opposite. ‘Is my father all right?’ she asked quietly. ‘He isn’t worse?’

      ‘No.’ He handed her a cup of coffee and gestured towards the milk and sugar. ‘Help yourself.’

      ‘What did Dr Lambeth say?’ she persisted, the trickle of unease gathering steam by the second. ‘There’s something you’re not telling me, I know it.’

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