Mistresses: Bound with Gold / Bought with Emeralds. Sandra Marton

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      Ray got back into the car and drove on through the gates. There was a tense silence between them as they continued on up the long winding road, until suddenly Caitlin couldn’t stand it any longer. ‘Look, I don’t blame you for being a bit miffed that Murdo left his land to me instead of selling it to you. I know your friendship with him goes back years and I’m a stranger by comparison, but I assure you that the decision had nothing to do with me and I certainly didn’t entice Murdo to leave me anything.’

      ‘I never said you did,’ Ray said quietly. ‘Although the word entice is an interesting choice. And you were…shall we say…rather unsuitably dressed for work when I first saw you…’

      Remembering the scanty top and shorts that she had been wearing when she’d answered the door that day made Caitlin’s face flare with colour. ‘You’ve completely misread the situation. That was my day off.’

      ‘And you usually went around to Murdo’s house on your day off dressed like that…did you?’

      The calm question sent Caitlin’s temper soaring. ‘No, I did not! I was around there like that because I had been summoned urgently and I thought it was an emergency. But in fact he’d only sent for me because you were there.’

      ‘Because I was there?’ Ray sounded baffled.

      ‘Well…yes…He had this weird idea that…’ Caitlin trailed off, too embarrassed to go any further.

      ‘Weird idea about what?’ Ray glanced over at her.

      She shrugged. ‘Well, you must have known…he thought that…you and I would make a good couple.’

      ‘You’re not serious!’ There was silence for a moment and then Ray started to laugh. The warm sound of complete amusement grated on Caitlin’s nerves.

      ‘Yes, all right, Ray, we both know it’s absurd. I don’t much like you and you don’t like me.’

      ‘No, in fairness I have never disliked you, Caitlin,’ Ray said, shaking his head. ‘I’ve always thought you were very attractive, in fact…for a little gold-digger.’

      ‘Right, that’s it, turn the car around,’ Caitlin demanded furiously.

      ‘Why?’

      The calm question made Caitlin fizz inside like a firecracker ready to explode. ‘Why? Because I would rather spend the night in a rundown house with no electricity than one more moment with you in this car, let alone the night under your roof. You are rude and and…insensitive and I absolutely detest you. That’s why.’

      ‘I’m not turning the car around,’ he said, without losing a shred of his cool detachment. ‘So if you want to go back to Murdo’s house you’ll have to walk.’

      Caitlin stared out at the dark wild night lit every now and then by the bright flicker of lightning and, as much as she didn’t like Ray, she decided that walking wasn’t an option. ‘I’ll phone for a taxi, then.’

      ‘Please yourself. But no taxi will come up here in this weather. So I think you are stuck with me for tonight.’

      Caitlin’s hands curved into tight fists and she felt her nails digging into her skin. ‘Well, I suppose I’ll have to put up with you, then,’ she muttered tightly.

      ‘I suppose you will,’ he said with a hint of amusement in his tone.

      The drive turned and through the rain an impressive building came into view, its windows spilling welcoming light out into the darkness. It was the kind of château that you would see in the pages of glossy magazines, quintessentially French with fairy-tale turrets at either side of the long straight edifice. Caitlin couldn’t help wondering why he was so bothered about the dilapidated house down the road when he owned this palatial spread.

      He parked by the front door. ‘I’ll get your case. You run ahead, the door will be unlocked.’

      Caitlin did as he asked and hurried through the rain, almost tumbling in through the front door as an almighty roar of thunder cracked the air. It was a relief to be out of that weather and away from the close proximity of Ray Pascal. How dared he suggest that she was some kind of gold-digger? She was still reeling with shock at the horrible accusation.

      Apprehensively she glanced around at her surroundings. The house was as impressive inside as it had been outside. She was standing in a wide flagged entrance hall and through an archway she could see a stone fireplace where a log fire crackled invitingly. Drawn towards the warmth of the fire, she went into the room. It was like something out of a film set. Pale orange sofas were placed strategically at either side of the huge fireplace and a staircase led up to a wooden gallery that encircled the room. Caitlin walked over and stood with her back to the fire as she admired the antique furniture, the crystal lamps that sent out a delicate warm glow, the vases of fresh flowers, the writing bureau placed by the window.

      It was a large house for one man to live in alone and Caitlin wondered fleetingly if there was a serious woman in his life. Murdo hadn’t seemed to think so, but then Murdo couldn’t know everything. All right Ray had been widowed in his twenties, but he was about thirty-eight now she reckoned. It was a long time for a man to be on his own.

      One thing was certain: Murdo had been absolutely crazy to think she and Ray were suited.

      Ray came into the house carrying her case. She watched as he put it down to hang up his jacket, muscles rippling through the thin cotton of his shirt. She was willing to bet her last penny that there was no shortage of women falling into his arms or his bed…

      ‘Have you eaten?’ he asked, turning and catching her eye.

      She shook her head.

      ‘Okay, I’ll show you up to your room and you can get out of those wet things while I rummage through the kitchen and see what is in the cupboards. Unfortunately my housekeeper is having some time off so you’ll have to suffer my cooking.’

      ‘I don’t want anything to eat,’ she said with stiff politeness. ’So if you don’t mind I think I’ll just turn in.’

      ‘Of course you want something to eat. You must be starving.’ He came closer. ‘I’m sorry I said I thought you were a gold-digger, okay, so can we just drop the Ms Iceberg act now?’

      The casual tone of his apology did little to cool her annoyance with him. ‘No, it’s not okay actually,’ she said stonily. ‘That was a very insulting remark.’

      He shrugged. ‘You know you can’t blame me for thinking what I did. Murdo never stopped extolling your virtues and telling me how beautiful you were. I wanted to talk to him about business and all he could talk about was you. I thought he was in love with you.’

      ‘He was sixty-five. I’m twenty-nine,’ Caitlin said rigidly.

      ‘Your point being?’ Ray enquired lightly.

      ‘That’s disgusting.’

      Ray shrugged. ‘You wouldn’t be the first twenty-nine year old to capture an older—rich—man’s heart.’

      ‘I was engaged to be married,’ Caitlin said furiously.

      ‘Murdo СКАЧАТЬ