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money and give Joanna her half; she and Colin
would be happy together and Theo's taunting
words would mean nothing.
But did she love Colin? She liked him very
much. She was always happy with him. They
never quarrelled, but . . .
That one little word: But.
' I'd have to think, Colin,' she told him.
' Okay.' He sounded relieved. ' I'm a patieafi
107
man.
He walked with her to Joanna's house after he
had driven there, then stooped and kissed her.
' Think about it, Cilia. It means a lot to me,' he
said, and strode away towards the car.
Joanna and Paul were out. The house very
quiet. Cilia went to bed, but not to sleep. Colin
loved her. If she married him, all their-problems
would be solved that was, if she could get Peter
Kent's consent and also Theo's. Yet what had they
against Colin? If she saw another solicitor,
perhaps?
Why had Theo suggested such cynical, cruel
things? First that Paul might have murdered her
. . . and then that Paul had planned this marriage
so that he could get Aunt Lil's money. Theo had
a cruel, mean mind. If only Aunt Lil had known
the sort of man Theo was, she would never have
made him a trustee.
»o8
CHAPTER XI
Cilia was eating her breakfast alone as usual when
she heard the car come. In a few moments Theo
had walked in. He stood in the doorway, tall in
his white suit, his face stiff and cold.
' Nearly finished?' he asked curtly. 'I want to
talk to you, but I haven't got long.'
'I ... I won't be a moment,' she said, then
wondered why she should automatically do every-
thing he demanded. He had a nerve! ' I haven't
finished my breakfast,' she added defiantly.
He jerked out a chair and sat down. ' Okay,
not that hurry.' He rang the little brass bell and
Henrietta came hurrying in, her smile brightening
her dark face. ' A cup of coffee, please. Black.
Thank you.'
Cilia ate the rest of her breakfast with deliberate
slowness. She was not going to jump to attention
every time he spoke to her! Unfortunately she was
so tense that everything she ate tasted like sawdust!
The resentment boiled inside her, building up her
anger. He wanted to see her in a hurry? He
probably wanted her to ride the horses, for they
needed exercise and must have missed it since
Anthony left. All Theo did was to make use of
her. She was tired of his arrogant selfishness dead
tired and he wasn't going to order her around
just as if ...
' Feel like blowing your top. Cilia?' Theo asked,
his voice amused. 'Silently this time. What a
change 1'
log
 She felt her cheeks bum. How could he have
known? Was it so obvious?
' I was thinking.'
'That was obvious. Hurry up, now. Your
coffee must be cold. Have you forgotten it's there?'
She had! Which didn't help matters, either, so
she hastily gobbled down the cold coffee and stood
up.
' All right,' she said. ' What do you want me to
do this time?' she asked, trying to keep her voice
steady, for anger had a horrible habit of making her
voice tremble.
He stood up, towering above her, a tall lean man
with dark hair and sideboards. A handsome man,
but his eyes were cold. And then she saw the
same little curl that stood up at the back of his
head and that she had noticed that first time they
had met and how absurdly her hand had ached
because she wanted to smooth the curl down.
Which didn't make sense at all. But her hand still
ached!
' Come in the car,' he said curtly.
She followed him outside. He had no chauffeur
with him. He drove as if they were going to
Victoria, but abruptly turned across the road and
parked the car in a large tourists' sightseeing
ground that she recognised at once, remembering
the night before and the way Colin's car was flooded
by the brilliant light of a car that was passing. Had
that been Theo's car? Was a lecture about to
begin? A warning of a parked car as if she was a
teenager or even younger? She was so tired of ...
Theo's next move found her totally unready, for
he stopped the engine, turned to her and swept her
no
in his arms that closed round her like bands of iron.
Before she could even struggle his face came down
over her, his mouth pressed hard against hers...
She stiffened, but there was nothing she could
do. She was completely at his mercy and he gave
her none as his" mouth hardened down on hers
brutally.
It was so different from the way Colin kissed her.
So ...
A strange feeling was sweeping through her, a
feeling she had never known before. She found
herself fighting herself, for she longed to throw her
arms round his neck, to press his mouth down, to
let her lips return his kiss. Never in all her life
had she felt like that . . . never. Why had it to
be for a man she hated?
He let her go and she fell back along the seat,
limp and exhausted.
" Well?' Theo demanded. There was no affec-
tion in his voice, no tenderness.
' Well?' she echoed.
' You were kissing Colin Paine when I drove up
last night?'
Some of her vanished strength returned as anger
grew. ' And what if I was?'
' Plenty of reasons. That man's a real pain in
the neck. He's always . . .'
' It's no business of yours!'
' That's where you're wrong. It is my business.
Not from choice, I can assure you.'
' Just because I kissed Colin . . .'
' But did you? You lay like a frozen stick in my
arms, stiff as can be as if something revolting was
happening.'
in
 A wave of relief swept through her. At least for
once he hadn't discovered the truth. The truth
that she dared not face\up to yet was horribly aware
of every moment.
s Why did you kiss me?' she managed to say.
' I wanted to see if you were playing it round.
You might have several boy-friends for all I knew.
I wanted to find out!'
Her cheeks were hot. ' Find out what?'
He smiled. ' If you were easy.'
'Easy?' she almost shouted, and her hand flew
out, aiming for his cheek, but he caught her hand
as it flew through the air and his fingers closed
tightly round her wrist. 'How dare you 1 Let me
go! You've no right . . . and . . . and was I?'
He laughed, letting go her wrist and tossing her
hand down on to her lap. ' On the contrary. I
should think my kiss was the first real one you've
ever had. You were scared stiff.'
Her cheeks flamed, because he was right on both
counts, though one was for a totally different
reason. ' And ... and what if I was? I don't like
men who suddenly grab me and . . .'
8 Don't you?' he asked, his eyes narrowing, and
for a moment she could hardly breathe. Did he
know the truth? Had she given it away? If he
know ... oh, then life here would be impossible.
The amusement left his face and he looked stern.
' I must admit I was relieved. I don't want you
to get hurt. Steer clear of Colin. He has one idea
only your money. Has he asked you to marry
him?'
She nodded, still shaken from the force of Theo's
kiss and her fury afterwards.
112
jl "You want to?'Theo asked. ' You love him?'
y " I ... I don't know,' she admitted.
j| "Well, think about it from a different angle,'
||Theo told her angrily. ' Colin happens to be one
||of Paul's best friends. Right? Doesn't that tell
pyou why Colin is buttering you up?'
| 'I don't understand.'
| ' In other words, you don't want to. Look, as I
| told you before, what could be better for everyone
r than that Colin, who's always in and out of jobs, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]