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‘Are we to assume you’re playing the scarlet woman tonight?’ Kerr enquired sardonically, raising his eyes to hers, and there it was again, that infinitesimal moment of pure rage. Instantly masked, it was replaced by a gleam that raised the fine hairs on her flesh, causing her to shiver.
Not liking at all the wilful way her senses were reacting to him in spite of her volition, she produced an insouciant smile. ‘Why not? Everyone will be thinking it, so why disappoint the public?’ she quipped, turning away from him and wandering to the open terrace doors, because once again she was suddenly finding it necessary to have air. Nerves, she told herself irritably, and faced him again. ‘What are you doing here?’
He grinned. ‘The way you say that, I get the impression I’m not wanted. But you know what they say—you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your relations.’
Maxi widened her eyes. ‘But we aren’t related,’ she pointed out with a certain satisfaction—something she knew he’d noted by the way his grey eyes gleamed.
‘Yet,’ he reminded her succinctly, and indicated the tray of drinks on the sideboard. ‘Can I get you something?’
Deciding she’d feel more comfortable if her hands had something to do, Maxi nodded. ‘I’ll have a Baileys, thanks.’
Pouring her one, and a whisky for himself, he came to join her. ‘You don’t have to watch your diet?’
‘Thankfully not.’ Taking the glass, she couldn’t help but touch him, and felt a frisson of electricity shimmer up her arm. She only just managed to hold back a gasp of pure shock. It was peculiar how the silence which fell then made her tense up, although it was barely measurable. Feeling unnaturally gauche, she knew she had to break it, and hastily cleared her throat. ‘I’ve been trying to remember Andy at school, but I can’t.’
Of course, she had to look at him then, and there was a faint smile hovering about his lips, almost as if he knew exactly how she had been feeling—a realisation calculated to bring warmth to her cheeks, although she refused to look away.
‘That’s not surprising. He wasn’t the handsome devil he is now. He had glasses in those days, a jacket that was too big for him, and permanently grazed knees.’
His description brought his brother to life so clearly that Maxi gave a gurgling laugh. ‘Now I remember. He used to call me “Beanpole”, and I used to hit him.’
Kerr’s smile was wiped from his face. ‘So he told me. He remembered you all right. Apparently he had quite a crush on you at one time,’ he said flatly.
Maxi sobered instantly. ‘Don’t blame me for that. All children have crushes. Even you.’
‘I’ll admit to a certain salacious interest in my old gym mistress. She was a large lady, as I recall. But as I got older, my tastes changed. In fact, I tend towards women closer to my own height—like you,’ he finished softly, and took malicious delight in the way her colour fluctuated wildly.
‘You’re joking!’ The thought made her stomach lurch painfully, but not, she was ashamed to admit, from fear.
‘As it happens, I’m not. But don’t worry, I also feel a need to respect the women I take out, so you fail on at least one count.’ He waited until he was sure the hit had gone home before continuing. ‘No, what worries me right now is the thought that there might be some lingering embers of the crush he felt for you, just waiting to be rekindled.’
She gaped at him incredulously. ‘Don’t be silly; he’s engaged to Fliss!’
The way his attractive mouth broadened into a wide, knowing smile should have warned her of what was coming. ‘Why, Grandma, what a short memory you have! So was Colin Ellis, wasn’t he?’
Her head went back, and her lips parted in a tiny gasp of anger, whilst at the same time it surprised her that she actually felt hurt. ‘That was different,’ she protested hardly.
His look was sceptical. ‘Oh? In what way?’
And there, of course, he had her. Even if, for some obscure reason, she should want to explain herself to him, it still had to come after Fliss and her parents. They had the right to hear what she had to say first, if anyone did. Her eyes glittered, signalling her impotent anger, then she shrugged. ‘It just was, that’s all. I give you my word I have no designs on your brother.’
Kerr sighed elaborately. ‘Unfortunately, darling, your word really isn’t worth a brass farthing.’
That had her temper rising again, and her eyes flashed her dislike. ‘What do you want me to do? Have a document typed up and sign it in blood?’ she scoffed, and could have hit him when he appeared to consider it. Then he laughed.
‘It has certain merits, and, being a lawyer, I could get it done easily enough, but I have the feeling you’d simply claim you signed it under duress.’
‘My God, you certainly know how to hit below the belt, Kerr Devereaux. When I give my word, I never go back on it,’ Maxi declared forcefully, only to see that mocking smile reappear.
‘Don’t I remember a part of the marriage service where you promise to stick by your husband for better or worse?’
He was a devil! No wonder he was a lawyer; he’d run rings around witnesses and enjoy watching them squirm! Her teeth gnashed together. ‘That was different, and you know it!’
‘The same different as before, or is that a different different?’ he mocked back.
Maxi was so angry she could feel herself shaking. ‘Oh, for a gun or a knife!’ she exclaimed in fury.
Kerr, although he claimed to dislike her, still found her endlessly amusing. ‘Fortunately for me, they’re just like policemen—never around when you want one.’
That should have sent her temperature off the scale completely, but the odd effect of his quip was to calm her down, and she eyed him in reluctant amusement. ‘However have you managed to live so long?’
This time his laughter was genuine. ‘Just lucky, I guess. Ah, here come the others.’
Maxi quirked an eyebrow. ‘Like the cavalry, always in the nick of time?’ she bantered back, and caught a gleam of appreciation in his eyes as they turned to the door.
It was her parents who entered, her mother looking very fetching in a violet silk two-piece, and her father, in dinner dress, looking quite dapper for his age. Almost twenty years older than his wife, he was now in his seventies, but still strikingly handsome. Until fairly recently he had had his own law firm. Maxi recalled that Kerr had said he was a lawyer, and it occurred to her to wonder if he might not have taken it over.
A fact her father confirmed as he greeted the younger man. ‘Hello, Kerr, how’s the old firm doing these days?’ he asked as they shook hands.
‘Managing to live up to your high standards, I think, John,’ he replied before turning to kiss her mother on the cheek. ‘You look lovely, Bernice. You’re going to cut quite a swath through the club tonight.’
Lady Ambro laughed delightedly. ‘Flattery will get you everywhere, you dreadful tease!’ She had already noted her elder daughter’s presence but now she remarked upon it. ‘Maxine, what a gorgeous dress. You look beautiful. Don’t you think so, John?’ she appealed to her husband.
Maxi found herself holding her breath as her father was obliged to turn to her. He looked grim and forbidding, without forgiveness. When the silence dragged on, she swallowed to moisten a dry, tight throat.
‘Hello, Father,’ she greeted huskily. ‘You’re looking well,’ she added, hoping against hope to see a chink form in his reserve.
His expression didn’t change for a moment, neither did he speak. The only sound he made was a guttural grunt as he turned back to Kerr. ‘Young man, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about...’
Maxi didn’t hear any more; it faded away as sudden tears welled behind her eyes, and she pressed her lips together in a struggle to hold them back. Throat tight, she swung away, knowing it was what she had expected, but hurting all the same. After a moment her breathing eased, and she sipped at the remains of her drink, finding it soothing. Only then did she become aware that her mother had joined her.
‘I’m sorry, Maxine,’ she apologised. ‘I should have known better than to think I could bludgeon him into talking.’
Maxi looked round and smiled, only a slight pallor showing that anything had been amiss. ‘Don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten that Father always did see things as black or white, no grey. Mother, are you sure you want me with you tonight? People are bound to talk.’
‘They would talk even more if it was known you were here but hadn’t been invited. No, dear, this is by far the best way,’ her mother decided, and smiled across the room to where Fliss and Andy had arrived.
Maxi eyed her sister ruefully. ‘Fliss won’t like it.’
Lady Ambro patted her daughter’s hand. ‘Perhaps not, but she’s old enough now to do what’s right. Family should stick together, and any disagreements should be kept strictly at home.’
Andy was crossing the room towards them, towing a patently reluctant Fliss with him. Kissing his future mother-in-law, he grinned infectiously at Maxi. ‘Hi, there, Beanpole,’ he teased.
With a scowl, Maxi wagged a fist at him. ‘Call me that again, Buster, and I’ll find some ants and put them down your shirt the way I did last time!’ she threatened.
Andy threw up his hands. ‘Pax. I couldn’t stand it. My skin crawled for weeks after that little stunt of yours, Maxi.’
She laughed. ‘Well, it served you right. I was always sensitive about my height.’
‘I don’t know why, all the boys thought you were great. Legs right up to your—’
‘Yes, well, never mind about that!’ Maxi cut him off abruptly, glancing sideways at her sister and seeing the gleam of anger in Fliss’s eyes. Not directed at her fiancé, it should be noted, but at Maxi. Nor was she the sole audience. Kerr was watching too, and he was far from amused. She recalled what he had said, and, although she still didn’t believe it, it caused a niggling doubt to surface, especially in light of what Andy had said.
Diplomatically changing the subject, she smiled at her sister. ‘That’s a great dress, Fliss. Yellow suits you.’
Fliss refused the friendly gesture. ‘Naturally. You aren’t the only one with style and good taste, you know,’ she said acidly.
Smile becoming fixed, Maxi bit down hard on her tongue, determined not to give the sort of retort that remark demanded. ‘I never thought I was,’ she replied quietly.
‘Unfortunately, her good manners seem to have gone begging,’ Andy interposed sharply, causing Fliss to gasp faintly and stare up at him in surprise at the rebuke.
For a moment the pair of them looked about to explode angrily, then Lady Ambro’s gentle voice broke in. ‘Now then, I won’t have any arguments tonight. Besides, we really should be going. Maxine, I’m sure you won’t mind going with Kerr. Felicity and Andrew will be in our car, John.’
Having organised everybody to her satisfaction, and averted a row very neatly, Lady Ambro led the way out. The rest of them followed meekly behind. However, once settled into their respective cars, and on their way, Kerr was anything but meek.
‘What the hell were you doing? Andy’s never spoken to Fliss like that before,’ he challenged brusquely.
Having been on the receiving end practically all day, Maxi was in no mood to compromise. ‘Then perhaps it’s about time he did. There’s no excuse for sheer bad manners.’
Kerr spared her a glance from his strict attention to the road. ‘You don’t think she has cause?’
Maxi expelled an angry breath. ‘Once, perhaps, but not now. Not after seven years and when she’s just become engaged to another man,’ she was at pains to point out.
‘All right, I concede that,’ he admitted reluctantly. ‘But it would certainly help if you didn’t take every opportunity to flirt with my brother!’ he charged next.
Her chin dropped at the sheer injustice of that. ‘Of all the...! It obviously escaped your notice, but I was not, repeat not, flirting with Andy.’
A muscle tensed in his jaw. ‘Well, it certainly looked like it from where I was standing.’
‘Then I suggest that first thing tomorrow you make an appointment with your optician. You clearly need glasses!’ Maxi spat back, keeping her eyes rigidly on the road ahead. The next instant she was flinging her hands out to brace herself against the dashboard as he brought the car to an abrupt halt.
Another car roared by them, horn blaring, lights flashing, and Maxi turned appalled eyes to where Kerr sat, fingers tight on the wheel. Almost as if, had they not been, they would have been around her neck.
‘Are you crazy? We could have had an accident!’
‘I was crazy not to have sent you packing the instant I saw you!’ he grated back at her, the look in his eyes making her sit as far away from him as she could. A manoeuvre that he viewed cynically. ‘Yes, you’re right to be worried. As for my needing glasses, a man doesn’t need twenty-twenty vision to know what sort of woman you are. Trouble, with a capital T.’
Maxi shook her head incredulously. ‘You are crazy. If you really knew anything about me at all, you’d know I avoid trouble like the plague,’ she informed him in all seriousness. Her marriage had given her enough of that to last a lifetime.
‘If that was really true, then why are you here? Because nothing but trouble can come from it, and you know it. It’s already started. I know the signs, don’t forget. I saw how you worked last time.’
Now that revelation came as a real shock, and her eyes widened. ‘You were there?’ she frowned, trying to pierce the fog of time. ‘I don’t remember you.’ He was not the sort of man she would have forgotten, of that she was sure.
‘Oh, I was there all right, but you wouldn’t have seen me, you were too involved in luring Colin Ellis into your grasp.’ His eyes seemed to be looking beyond her, into the past, and didn’t like what they saw. ‘You were something to see. Everyone could have sworn butter wouldn’t melt in your mouth, but were we ever wrong! You came on so hot the air seemed to sizzle around you. The poor fool didn’t stand a chance, and neither did Fliss. Unfortunately the fun soon wears off for you, doesn’t it? How long were you married—six months? Nine? It couldn’t have been more than a year. I don’t suppose he felt he could come back to Fliss after that, not that she’d have had him. That really doesn’t matter. The point is this: I won’t have you playing those sort of games with Andy. He loves Fliss, but she isn’t an exotic flower like you. Like any man, he could be tempted away by the promise of your heady perfume and bright colours, without realising how swiftly they fade and rot away, leaving him with nothing except regrets. You could do it, as easy as blinking, but I’m warning you—don’t.’
Maxi had listened to his diatribe in a frozen silence. At the time, she had forced herself not to think of the impression she was giving. Her aim had been to salve Fliss’s pride by leaving her with someone to hate. Now, to realise that many had seen her as a bitch in heat appalled her, making nausea rise in her throat until she had to swallow it back.
Even though she knew it would do no good, she had to deny it. ‘I’m not like that.’
Unmoved, Kerr put the car in gear. ‘I wasn’t blind then, any more than I am now.’
Behind her eyes, her head began to throb, and she raised a hand to her temple. He was turning a visit that had always been hard in prospect into purgatory. Well, she didn’t have to put up with it. ‘If this is the way you feel, why don’t you just take me home?’ she stated in a frigid voice.
In reply Kerr increased speed. ‘No way. You inflicted this on us, and you’re damned well going to see it through to the bitter end.’
It was the knowledge that he wanted to see her wounded which roused her to fight back. ‘You’re a bastard.’
He laughed hollowly. ‘They say it takes one to know one!’
Maxi subsided then, sinking back into her seat, feeling rather more upset than she had expected. It was one thing to imagine what people must have thought, and quite another to actually know. Yet even with hindsight, she knew she wouldn’t have acted any differently. Sighing softly, she thought it was just as well she had broad shoulders and a philosophical disposition. Having played her part deliberately, she couldn’t really blame anyone for thinking she was the kind of woman who greedily took what she wanted. Despite what anyone thought, she had done nothing she was ashamed of, and she wasn’t going to be forced to hang her head in shame. She’d kept her chin up even if it did invite certain people to take a swipe at it!
In that fighting spirit she climbed from the car when they arrived at the country club. It was busy, being Friday night, but Maxi was used to such crowds and being in the spotlight. She slipped easily into the smoothly polite façde she usually kept for society occasions. It wasn’t the face her real friends saw, but she rather doubted she had many of those here tonight. Kerr kept a firm hand on her arm as he escorted her inside, and she had to admire the aplomb with which he made introductions.
In a country community, where everybody knew everyone else, her fame had gone before her. Their entrance caused quite a stir, and Maxi couldn’t help but be amused when the use of her name by Kerr was much like dropping a bomb. The reverberation spread to all corners in seconds. Her lips took on a cynical curve. Those fortunate enough to be here would be dining out on the story for weeks, she thought, and, glancing round to see just how Kerr was taking it, was surprised to see an almost identical look on his face. A laugh bubbled up, and received an answering grin, and, feeling much more kindly disposed towards him, she sailed on. Smiling, she replied politely to any questions asked of her, kept moving on and let the rest pass by.
‘You handled that very well,’ Kerr complemented, much to her surprise.
Feeling a small glow of warmth in her stomach, she looked at him curiously. What an enigma he was, haranguing her one minute, complimenting the next. ‘Thank you, so did you. Considering your well advertised inclination is to side with them, rather than me, I expected to be thrown to the wolves.’
With a hand on her elbow Kerr steered her through to the dining-room. ‘That’s where you’re wrong. I abhor gossip. It’s very often malicious and can hurt the innocent. If someone has something to say, then they should have the guts to say it to your face.’
A tiny smile lifted the corners of her mouth. At least he practised what he preached, if the way he spoke to her was anything to go by. ‘When you say things like that, Kerr Devereaux, I think I could even get to like you,’ she declared in amusement.
‘There’s no need to go that far,’ he retorted ironically, making her laugh.
‘I did say could,’ she qualified, and turned her attention to the table where the rest of the family sat waiting. Sinking on to the seat Kerr held out for her, she smiled an apology. ‘Sorry we kept you. I thought I’d forgotten something, and Kerr was just about to turn round when I found it. He wasn’t best pleased.’ As the lie tripped easily off her tongue, she caught his eye, and although he inclined his head in thanks she knew he was wondering if she always found it so easy to lie.
But she didn’t let that dampen her spirits now that she had found a reason to quite like him. However, it did occur to her in passing that he had been responsible for some of the biggest emotional swings of her life to date, but there wasn’t time to ponder why he should have had such an effect on her in such a short time.
They ordered their meal and ate it in reasonable good humour. Maxi deliberately took a back seat. This was Fliss’s and Andy’s night, and she had no intention of spoiling it by a careless remark. Neither, it seemed, did Fliss. Either Lady Ambro had spoken to her in the car, or she had decided to put a brave face on it herself. An onlooker, and there were plenty of those that night, would have said that nothing was wrong.
Afterwards there was dancing, with music supplied by a live band. The newly engaged couple rose at once, followed by Kerr, who graciously swept her mother on to the floor. That left Maxi alone with her father. It saddened her when an uneasy silence settled on them. When she glanced across at him, he was staring down fixedly into his glass of brandy. She decided then and there that the whole situation was ridiculous.
‘It’s all right, Father, you aren’t required to make polite conversation,’ she told him with gentle mockery, because she loved him, and didn’t want to hurt him any more than she already had. He looked up quickly. ‘But if you can bear to listen for a minute, there is something I want to say. Not everything is the way it seems. Sometimes people do wrong things for the best of motives.’
Sir John’s eyes, very much like her own, lanced into her. ‘Are you saying that’s what you did?’ he demanded gruffly.
With a sigh, Maxi reached across the table and placed her hand on his, relieved that he didn’t immediately pull away. ‘I’m saying you might care to think about it. Perhaps even give me the benefit of the doubt instead of condemning me unheard.’
After what seemed aeons, his answer was to ease away from her with another of his speaking grunts. At least, she thought, as the music changed and the dancers returned, he hadn’t walked away. Maxi glanced up to see Andy turning to her, clearly intending to ask her to dance. Before he could do so, though, a large male hand clasped hers and drew her to her feet. Even as a protest was leaving her lips, Kerr had drawn her on to the dance floor and into his arms.
‘Well, really! You might have asked me if I wanted to dance with you,’ she protested rather feebly, because something strange was happening to her insides. She was aware of several things all at once. That the arms which held her were strong yet gentle. That his chest was solid and somehow sheltering. And that her stomach was fluttering nearly as madly as her heart! From a distance she heard Kerr answer, although his breath brushed her ear and sent a tingle down her spine.
‘I wasn’t going to give you the chance to refuse me. Besides, Andy was about to ask you to dance, and I couldn’t be sure you’d say no.’
Instantly her heart settled down into an angry thud and her stomach felt like lead. ‘Thanks a lot!’ He certainly knew how to make a girl feel good!
‘If I was wrong, I apologise,’ he murmured mockingly. ‘Was I?’
