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‘It’s got everything to do with your ability to do this job,’ Laszlo said coldly. ‘You lack conviction and loyalty and I don’t employ people without those qualities.’
Prudence sucked in a breath, hating him more than she had ever hated him before. ‘Stop it!’ she hissed. He was so self-righteous and hypocritical. How dare he act as if he had the moral high ground? He’d lied to her. And he was the one who’d broken the law and been arrested for who knew what! Perhaps he should examine his own failings first instead of focusing on hers.
She opened her mouth to tell him so and then closed it again. There was so much history in this room already. Why add more? She breathed out slowly.
‘Stop sitting in judgement on me! You’re not some innocent victim here, Laszlo. You lied. Maybe that doesn’t matter to you, but it does to me.’ She stopped, her breathing ragged. ‘Only I’m not using it to get at you. I wouldn’t stoop that low.’
Laszlo looked at her for one long, agonising moment.
‘Really?’ he said coolly. ‘I wonder...’ He ran his hand over the dark stubble grazing his chin. ‘Just how badly do you want this job, Prudence? Are you prepared to beg for it?’
She felt nausea clutch at her stomach. ‘You’re a monster!’ His eyes were cold and implacable.
‘This is payback! Firing you makes us quits, pireni! And, believe me, you’ve got off lightly. If there were still wolves in Hungary I’d throw you to them. So if I were you I’d walk out of here while you still can.’
Prudence stared at him, her chest blazing with anger. ‘What does that mean? Are you threatening me?’ she asked tightly.
Laszlo stared at her in silence, his eyes glittering with mockery. ‘Threatening you? Of course not. But this discussion is over, so I think you should accept that and walk away.’ His jaw tightened. ‘That shouldn’t be a problem for you. After all, you’ve had lots of practice.’
Anger swept through her. ‘Oh, you think you’re so clever, don’t you? Well, let’s get one thing clear. This discussion is not over.’
He gazed at her impassively in silence. Finally he said, almost mildly, ‘Then I suppose you’d better start talking. Although I’m not quite sure what difference you think it will make.’
She stared at him in confusion. How did he do that? Only moments earlier his anger had been incandescent beneath his skin. Now he was prepared to grant her an audience. It was impossible to keep up with him. She gritted her teeth. But hadn’t it always been this way between them, though? With her trying to chase the moods which ran like quicksilver through his veins?
She lifted her chin. But the blood was humming in her ears and she felt suddenly hot and stupid in the face of his cool composure. Was she just expected to somehow plead her case while he stood there like some hanging judge? Fixing her gaze on the wall behind him, she swallowed.
‘I admit I made mistakes back then. But you’re punishing me for them now. How is that reasonable or fair?’ She paused and heat burnt her cheeks as he stared at her. For a moment his eyes fixed on her, as though her words had meant something to him, and then he shook his head slowly.
‘Fair?’ he echoed. ‘Fair! Since when did you care about fairness? You dumped me because you didn’t want to live in some tatty trailer.’ His eyes hardened. He, on the other hand, would have been content to sleep under the stars if she was with him. Shaking his head, he gave a humourless laugh. ‘How was that fair to me?’
Blood colouring her cheeks and collarbone, Prudence flinched, his bitterness driving the breath from her lungs. It was true—she had said words to that effect—but she hadn’t meant them, and whatever Laszlo might think, she’d been so madly in love then that she would have lived in a ditch with him if he’d asked.
All she’d wanted was for him to repudiate her fears that he’d lost interest in her or, worse, found someone else. Only he’d been so dismissive. And bored. As if she was a nagging child. So it had been impossible to tell him the truth, for that would have meant revealing the depth of her love. She’d been too upset to do that, but just angry enough to want to provoke him and hurt him for not loving her. And so instead she’d lashed out at him about the mess and the cold and the rain.
Prudence felt a trickle of misery run down her spine, but then, almost in the same moment, she shook her head, anger filling her. He was taking what she’d said out of context and—surprise, surprise—ignoring the part he’d played.
Damn it! Unlike her, he’d actually thought they were married! So why hadn’t he done more to make it work between them? Did he think that relationships just sustained themselves? A lump formed in her throat. It certainly seemed that way. She’d gone to him for reassurance but he’d left her no choice but to walk away, and it had been the hardest choice she had ever made. Even talking about it now made her heart swell with grief.
She lifted her chin. ‘We’re not going to go there, Laszlo. I am not going to talk about the past with you any more.’ Heart thumping, she took a breath. ‘If you wanted to discuss our relationship you should have done so at the time. Frankly, now it’s irrelevant.’
Her grip tightened on the chair as he stepped towards her. She felt her stomach swoop. Close up, his beauty was radiant and piercing—like a flaming arrow. His eyes were more golden, his skin smoother, the angles and shading of his cheekbones almost too perfect to be real.
‘I don’t agree. I think it’s entirely relevant, given that you have brought our past back into my life.’
Her mouth trembled. ‘That’s not true, Laszlo. It was you who contacted Seymour’s.’
She stared at him indignantly. If he hadn’t wanted anything to do with her then why had he chosen to use her uncle’s firm? Only of course he didn’t know it was Edmund’s business. He didn’t even know her uncle’s name, let alone what he did for a living. She shivered. Somehow now didn’t seem like the best time to tell him.
Trying to ignore the pounding of her heart, she swallowed. ‘I know how you hate being responsible for anything, but this is your mess.’
‘And we both know how you hate mess, Prudence,’ he said smoothly.
‘I didn’t care about the stupid trailer!’ she snapped, her temper rising. ‘You just focused on that and wouldn’t listen to me. It wasn’t a criticism of you, or your precious Willerby Westmorland! It’s just who I am.’ Her heart was thumping so hard it hurt. ‘I don’t like mess. I like things tidy and in order and that’s why I’m good at my job. Maybe if you’d thought about that instead of sneering at me—’
‘I’m not sneering, pireni.’ His face shifted, and meeting her angry gaze, he shrugged. ‘And you’re right. Maybe I did focus on that remark—’
He stopped and Prudence gaped at him speechlessly. Was that some kind of apology?
His eyes locked with hers and he sighed. ‘But I’m not going to change my mind, Prudence. You do understand that, don’t you?’
‘Yes,’ she said stiffly. ‘But, given that it’s probably not just your decision to make, I’ve decided it doesn’t matter.’
Laszlo frowned. ‘You think there’s a higher authority than me?’
His eyes gleamed with sudden amusement and she felt her stomach flip over.
‘I hope so—for Mr de Zsadany’s sake.’ Wondering again if Janos knew of her relationship with Laszlo, she felt a stab of pain. He was such a fraud. Why, if he’d believed himself to be married, had he kept her existence secret?
Forcing herself to stay focused, she lifted her chin. ‘Seymour’s is the best there is. Giving this job to another firm would only demonstrate how unqualified you are to have anything to do with the cataloguing.’ Hers eyes flashed challengingly at him. ‘I mean, you don’t even like art!’
‘I appreciate beauty as much as the next man,’ Laszlo said softly.
‘Really?’ Prudence retorted. ‘How do you work that out? The only time we went to see an exhibition together you spent your entire time in the cafе.’
Laszlo shrugged, his gaze sweeping slowly over her face until heat suffused her skin.
‘I can think of better things to do in a darkened room. You, of all people, should know that.’
Prudence stared at him, trembling, dry-mouthed; her body suddenly a mass of hot, aching need. He let the silence lengthen, let the tension rise between them.
‘Or have you forgotten?’ he murmured finally. ‘Perhaps I should jog your memory.’
He watched her eyes widen and felt his groin tighten in response. But almost immediately he closed his mind to the tormenting tug of hunger.
‘But I digress. I don’t need to like art, Prudence. I just want to support my grandfather and be there for him—’
‘Good luck with that!’ Prudence interrupted him crossly. ‘Being there for someone generally requires an element of reliability or commitment, you know.’
She glared at him as his gaze rested on her accusing face.
‘Meaning...?’ he asked slowly.
‘Meaning that you can’t commit to the next five minutes.’ She stared at him incredulously. ‘Don’t you know yourself at all? Trying to pin you down to a time and place is like asking you to give up your soul or something.’
A slight upturn of amusement tugged at the corner of his mouth. ‘Ah, but at least you admit I have a soul.’
And then suddenly he smiled, and it felt like the sun on her face. Despite her brain warning her not to, it was impossible not to smile back—for it was a glimpse of the Laszlo she had loved so very much. The Laszlo who, when he chose, had been able to make her laugh until she cried. But then her smile faded and she reminded herself that this Laszlo had cold-heartedly used his power to avenge himself, regardless of the consequences to her or her family.
She frowned. ‘Life can’t always be improvised. Sometimes you have to do boring things too—like learn lines and turn up on set on time.’
Laszlo stared at her, a muscle working in his jaw. ‘You’re comparing our relationship to a film?’
‘Yes. I am.’ Prudence lifted her chin. ‘A very unmemorable silent film, with poor casting and no plot.’
She felt the hairs stand up on the back of her neck as he smiled again and shook his head slowly.
‘I think your memory is playing tricks on you, pireni. There were some very memorable scenes in our film. Steamy too. Award-winning, even.’
‘For the best short film?’ she snapped.
‘I was thinking more hair and make-up,’ he said, his eyes glittering.
She couldn’t resist. ‘Yours or mine?’
‘Oh, definitely mine,’ he whipped back.
There was a silence, and then both of them started to laugh.
Prudence stopped and bit her lip. ‘Can’t we stop this—please, Laszlo?’ She saw the indecision on his face and for a moment she faltered, and then she said quickly, ‘It’s brutal. And senseless. We’re just going round and round in circles, and all this name-calling isn’t going to change the fact that your grandfather wants his collection catalogued and I’m here to do it. So let me do it, Laszlo: for him. For your grandfather.’
Their eyes locked: hers bright and desperate, his, dark and unreadable. She swallowed hard, trying to find the words to change his mind.
‘If I lose this contract you won’t just be punishing me,’ she said steadily. ‘Other people will suffer—people you’ve never met...people who’ve done you no harm.’
She held her breath and watched his face, trying not to let her desperation show.
‘Please, Laszlo. Please don’t make this personal. Just let me do my job and then I’ll be out of your life for ever.’
There was a tense, expectant silence as he studied her face. She wanted this job, badly, and he wondered idly just how far she would go to get it back. Immediately prickling heat surged through him and his groin grew painfully hard. He gritted his teeth, shocked by the intensity of his body’s response.
It would be easy to give her a chance. His chest tightened painfully. But why should he? After all, she had never given their marriage a chance, had she? His face hardened. Did she really think that she could somehow emotionally blackmail him into forgetting the past and the harm she had done to him? And what about his family? What about their pain?
He remembered the long days and nights spent watching his grandmother’s health fade, the years spent living with the guilt of not having given her the great-grandchildren she’d so longed for.
Prudence held her breath, watching a sort of angry bewilderment fill his eyes. The tightness around her heart eased a little: maybe all was not lost yet.
‘Can’t we just forgive and forget?’ she said softly. He looked up and she hesitated. ‘Please, Laszlo. I don’t believe you really want to do this.’
His face was stiff with tension. Slowly he shook his head. ‘Then you clearly don’t know me at all, Prudence.’ His mouth was set in a grim line. ‘I want to let you stay. For my grandfather’s sake, you understand. But I can’t,’ he said simply. ‘You see, I’m half Kalderash Roma. We don’t forget or forgive.’
He paused and his voice, when he spoke again, was like the sound of a tomb sealing.
‘And you’re still fired.’
Prudence gazed at him in shock, her ragged breathing punctuating the silence in the room. A sense of impotent despair filled her and then something else: a hot and acrid frustration that burnt her stomach to ash.
‘I see. So it’s not your choice.’ Her hands curled into fists. ‘How convenient for you to be able to blame your stubbornness and your spite on genetics.’
His narrowed gaze held hers. ‘I’m not blaming genetics. I’m blaming you.’
‘But not yourself?’ She stared deep into his eyes. ‘Nothing is ever your fault, is it, Laszlo?’ she asked flatly. ‘You just saunter through life, expecting everyone around you to take responsibility for the nasty, boring bits.’ Smiling bitterly, she shook her head. ‘I thought husbands and wives were supposed to give and take. Not in our marriage, though!’
She tensed as he stepped towards her, his eyes suddenly gleaming like wet metal.
‘So now you’re my wife? Interesting! As my charms clearly weren’t sufficient to persuade you of that fact seven years ago, I can only imagine that my grandfather’s wealth is a more compelling reason for you to belatedly acknowledge our marriage.’
Prudence glared at him. ‘How dare you? I couldn’t care less about your grandfather’s wealth.’
‘Just about my poverty?’ he said bleakly.
‘No!’ Biting back the hundred and one caustic responses she might have made, she shook her head. ‘This isn’t about wealth or poverty. This is about what’s happening here and now. About how you’re prepared to make everyone suffer—me, Edmund and all the people who have worked so hard to make this happen.’ She ticked them off on her fingers. ‘All because you’re so blinkered by your stupid male pride that won’t see sense!’
‘And you’re so blinkered you couldn’t see beyond my trailer to the people living inside,’ snarled Laszlo.
‘That’s not true,’ Prudence said hotly. ‘If I didn’t see those people it’s because you would never introduce me to anyone.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘You’re such a hypocrite. You didn’t want to be part of their lives any more than you really wanted to be part of mine.’
For a moment she didn’t reply. It was true. She hadn’t wanted to be part of his life: she’d wanted to be all of it. As he’d been all of hers.
She shook her head. ‘You don’t know what I wanted.’ She shivered on the inside. He never had.
Feeling suddenly close to tears, she clenched her fists, struggling to find a way past her misery.
‘Fine! Have it your way! I was everything you say and worse,’ she said flatly. ‘That doesn’t mean I’m not good at my job. But if you fire me you’ll never know. Until you’re stuck with a second-rate replacement.’ She paused and shot him a challenging glance. ‘If you can find one, that is.’
‘Oh, that shouldn’t be a problem. I had no trouble replacing you last time,’ he said softly. He watched the colour leave her face.
‘I’m not surprised,’ she said hotly. ‘Being the grandson of a billionaire and owning a castle must have a lot of pulling power with a certain kind of woman.’
Watching his eyes narrow at her insult, she felt a flicker of triumph that blotted out the misery of his words.
‘It’s nice to know that you took your wedding vows so seriously,’ she snapped. ‘Having vilified me for not believing our marriage was real. Who’s the hypocrite now?’ Breathing deeply, she let her eyes meet his—steel clashing with bronze. ‘We could stand here trading insults all night, Laszlo, but this isn’t about our personal qualities. It’s not even about us. There are other people involved. Not just people, but family. Just remember how anxious your grandfather was to get started. Don’t his feelings count?’
She paused as, with a jolt, she suddenly realised that Mr de Zsadany was sort of her family too. Shock swept over her in waves. She stared at him, legs shaking, stomach plummeting. Suddenly she had to know for certain.
‘Is that why he chose Seymour’s?’ she blurted out. ‘Because he thinks I’m your wife?’
Laszlo stared at her calmly. ‘No. He doesn’t know we’re married. No one does except my cousin and my great-uncle. I didn’t see the point in upsetting everyone.’ His eyes hardened to stone. ‘Especially not my grandfather. He wasn’t strong enough to deal with it.’
She felt dizzy, sick with wretchedness. ‘I’m sorry. I really am.’ It sounded so inadequate, even to her. ‘But surely that makes this easier? My staying, I mean?’
She took a step back from the white heat of his anger.
‘Nothing about you being here is easy.’
‘I just meant—’
