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They went downstairs again after changing for the evening, to find the others already arrived. Zac performed introductions with easy assurance. With only a few months between them, the cousins were close enough in looks to be taken for brothers. It was only around the mouth that they differed to any degree. Brady’s lacked any sign of humour in its set.
Blonde and pretty, Sarah Prescott was quite a bit younger than Jessica had somehow anticipated. No more than twenty-two, she guessed. Judging from the bulge swelling her slender form, the pregnancy was already well advanced.
‘You’re certainly not wasting any time!’ remarked Brady with what Jessica considered a dire lack of sensitivity in his grandfather’s hearing. ‘I understand the two of you have only known one another a few weeks?’
‘That’s right,’ Zac confirmed. ‘I saw and was conquered! The best thing that ever happened to me!’
‘We’re not married yet,’ Jessica quipped, responding to the hint of tongue-in-cheek. ‘I may turn out to be a real termagant once I have that ring on my finger!’
‘Up to Zac to put you in your place if you do,’ declared the patriarch of the family. ‘No Prescott worthy of the name allows his womenfolk to rule the roost!’
Not about to cause him any upset, Jessica adopted a meeker tone. ‘I’ll certainly bear that in mind.’
Sarah made a sound suspiciously like a giggle, turning it into a cough as Brady looked her way with a frown. ‘Bit of a tickle,’ she claimed.
Not quite the mild little thing she’d appeared to be on first sight, Jessica suspected, catching the hint of laughter in the blue eyes.
The lack of rapport between the cousins became more than evident as the evening progressed. Apart from the physical similarities, they had little in common. If Henry noted the discord, he paid it no attention. He seemed distracted, Jessica thought, glancing his way from time to time. She hoped it wasn’t a sign of strain.
By tacit consent, they none of them lingered beyond his hour of retirement at ten.
‘Thank goodness that’s over!’ Jessica exclaimed softly on the way upstairs.
‘There’s my mother to meet, and the wedding to get through before we’re done,’ Zac rejoined.
‘You make it sound like a trial!’ she said with an attempt at humour.
Zac laughed. ‘With a life sentence at the end of it!’
‘Hardly compulsory in this day and age.’
They had reached her bedroom door. He paused, looking at her with quizzical expression. ‘You don’t see the marriage lasting?’
Jessica kept her tone light. ‘Who can ever tell?’ She pressed a kiss to his lips before he could form an answer, and left him standing there.
Inside the room with the door closed against him, she stood for a moment to collect her thoughts. So Zac saw the wedding as something to be got through: a lot of men probably felt the same about the actual ceremony. The difference being the reason for having the ceremony at all. Without some depth of emotion behind it, from both sides, what real chance was there of the marriage lasting?
There was a little comfort in retiring to bed alone after the past two nights of unrestricted love-making. No way was Zac going to risk upsetting his grandmother by coming to her room, of course, but she hoped he was suffering the same degree of frustration.
It wasn’t just the sex she was missing though, she acknowledged. She’d grown used to his being there when she woke in the night: to feeling the weight of his arm about her waist, hearing his steady breathing. Paul had never held her like that, even at the start. If she were honest with herself, the disillusionment had begun long before she found him in bed with Sally that night.
If she were honest with herself, came the rider, she would also admit that her feelings for Zac already went a piece deeper than she tried making out. Deeper than his for her at present, almost certainly. At least as his wife she would be batting from an inside position, so to speak.
Chapter Six
WITH the wedding set for three in the afternoon, it wasn’t deemed necessary to bring breakfast forward from its usual nine o’clock slot. It was supposedly bad luck for the bridegroom to see the bride prior to the ceremony on the day, Jessica recalled, but there wasn’t really much choice when they were both staying in the same place.
The patriarch of the family appeared to be fully recovered from whatever it was that had kept him so quiet last night. He had a self-satisfied air about him, as if he and he alone had brought the occasion about.
Which he had in a way, Jessica conceded. If his condition hadn’t impelled Zac to desperation straits, they’d have probably gone their separate ways.
Isabel Prescott arrived at ten. In her mid fifties and comfortably built, her bobbed dark hair frankly greying, she was far from the image Jessica had formed in her mind’s eye. She liked her instantly.
‘Sorry for the change of plan,’ Isabel apologised. ‘Blue had her puppies the night before last. A whole week early! I had to make sure she was going to be all right before I left them with my brother and his wife. Blue’s my German Shepherd,’ she tagged on for Jessica’s benefit.
‘You’d have done better to have her spayed,’ said Brady.
‘And deny her the chance to be a mother even once?’ came the mild reply.
‘How many?’ Jessica asked impulsively. ‘Puppies, I mean?’
The older woman’s eyes warmed. ‘Four. One of them all white. Can’t imagine how that happened!’
‘Are you quite sure the Samoyed next door didn’t get to her before you took her to the stud dog?’ asked Zac on a humorous note, and received a twinkle in response.
‘Could be possible, I suppose.’
‘You’ll not be able to sell any of them as pure breds if there’s any doubt about it,’ said Brady.
‘I wouldn’t be selling them anyway,’ she answered with a touch of asperity. ‘They’re going to friends who’ll love them whatever their pedigree.’
Good for her! Jessica silently applauded as Brady turned away with a meaningful shrug. Money wasn’t everything to everyone!
She had no opportunity to be alone with Zac throughout the morning. Henry monopolised both grandsons. To Jessica, he appeared to enjoy playing the two of them off against one another—an uncharitable thought she did her best to put aside. Having met Brady, she could better appreciate Zac’s view of him. Given the power, he would sweep all before him.
She ate little at lunch. At two, she went up to shower and put on the sleeveless silk sheath that lightly skimmed her body down to the ankles. The pearl strand and studs Zac had bought her as a wedding present, plus a simple silver bracelet she already owned, were to be her only jewellery.
Missing companionship, she felt her spirits lift when Sarah popped her head round the bedroom door to ask if she would like a little help.
‘You could put my hair up for me,’ she said. ‘It takes ages to do it on my own.’
‘Glad to,’ the younger girl agreed. ‘Have a seat.’
Jessica did so, viewing the other through the mirror as she piled the chestnut thickness into a knot of curls with enviable dexterity.
‘Gorgeous hair,’ Sarah commented. ‘Gorgeous altogether, in fact. Zac’s a lucky man!’
‘I’m the lucky one,’ Jessica answered lightly.
‘Oh, I’ll agree there too. I could fancy him myself!’ She gave a gamine grin. ‘Not that I’d want Brady to hear me say that. You might have gathered they’re not all that close.’
‘They certainly look alike,’ Jessica commented.
The expression that crossed Sarah’s face was come and gone too quickly for analysis. ‘Quite different in character though,’ she said.
Taking up the spray of lilies of the valley, she attached it with a couple of hairpins across the front of the topknot, standing back to view the result with a satisfied nod. ‘Perfect! You’ll knock ‘em all dead!’
A rather unfortunate way of putting it, considering the circumstances, Jessica thought, but if Sarah was aware of any gaffe, she didn’t show it.
‘I’d better get off,’ she declared. ‘Zac and Brady are going ahead, so I’m to drive Aunt Isabel and Grandmama to the church.’ She bent impulsively and pressed a swift kiss to Jessica’s cheek. ‘Glad to have you on board!’
The gesture warmed Jessica’s heart, making her feel not quite so alone. In Sarah, she sensed a friend.
Henry had elected, in the absence of her father, to give her away. He was waiting for her when she came downstairs, the others having already left for the church. He nodded approval of her appearance.
‘Very nice, my dear. A credit to the family!’
‘Are you going to be all right?’ Jessica asked anxiously, searching the thin features.
Just for a moment he seemed to hesitate, an odd expression in his eyes, then he shook his head as if in dismissal of some thought. ‘I’ll be perfectly all right. That sounds like the car arriving. Shall we go.’
It took them only ten minutes to the little village church. Jessica was surprised, and somewhat disconcerted, to find many locals occupying the pews. Tall, dark and devastating in a charcoal suit, Zac gave her an encouraging smile as she joined him before the altar.
‘You look wonderful!’ he murmured.
The service went by in a flash. Signing her maiden name in the registry for the last time, Jessica allowed herself no regrets. She was starting a new life. One she intended making the very best she could of.
Sarah came to press another kiss to her cheek as they emerged into sunshine again, her pretty face aglow. ‘All the happiness in the world!’ she said. ‘You too, of course, Zac.’
Her husband echoed the sentiments, if with rather less ebullience. Jessica doubted if there would be many family get-togethers once this was over. She wondered what had drawn a girl of Sarah’s vivacity to a man like Brady, who so seldom let go with a smile, much less a laugh.
It took her mother-in-law to make her feel really at home. ‘I’m glad Zac waited till now,’ was all she said, but it was enough.
Dulcie had prepared a quite superb buffet back at the house. There was Champagne too, although Zac drank no more than sufficed for the toasts. His grandfather showed no such forbearance. Watching him toss back his third glass, Jessica took it that he’d decided to live his life to the full in his final days. All the same, she was surprised that no one made any attempt to stop him.
‘The old man always did like a tipple,’ said Brady, misreading her expression. ‘He can hold it.’
‘I suppose it doesn’t really matter any more,’ Jessica returned wryly.
Dark brows drew together. ‘Meaning what?’
His tone flustered her. ‘Well, it isn’t going to make much difference to the outcome, is it?’ she said uncertainly. ‘If I only had a short time to live, I’d probably do the same.’
‘A short time to live?’ Brady’s frown deepened. ‘What gave you that idea? Apart from a touch of angina, he’s as strong as an ox!’
He hadn’t been told, thought Jessica in dismay. Why on earth hadn’t Esther warned her? She wondered if she and Zac were the only ones who did know—and if so, why?
She looked back to the man in his chair by the window, fighting a creeping suspicion as she studied him. He had never looked like a man all that close to death. Supposing, just supposing, it was all a fabrication: a ruse to force Zac not only into proving that the girl he’d ostensibly fallen for really existed, but to marrying her into the bargain. Zac had said himself that he could be ruthless.
It couldn’t be true! she told herself. Surely no man would consider putting his own flesh and blood through such an ordeal just to get his own way? Surely no wife would consent to go along with it?
Esther was looking her way when she glanced across. The plea in the older eyes was all the verification needed. Jessica found her voice with an effort.
‘I must have misunderstood.’
Brady viewed her with cynicism. ‘So it seems. Is Zac labouring under the same misunderstanding?’
‘I’m…not sure.’
‘Oh, I think you are,’ he said. ‘It explains all this. He thought there was a chance of the old man cutting him off if he didn’t show willing in the marital stakes.’ He smiled sourly. ‘I’ll give him top marks for effort! Pity it was for nothing.’
Jessica’s eyes blazed sudden green fire. ‘This might have happened a bit sooner than it would have done, but it certainly isn’t for nothing!’
‘Not for you, maybe. Although I wouldn’t count on holding his interest for too long. A regular Don Juan, is Zac. He’s had more women than I’ve had hot dinners!’
He was getting a real kick out of this, Jessica realised. A wholly malicious one too. What she wasn’t about to do was give him the satisfaction of seeing her true feelings at this moment.
‘Understandable,’ she said. ‘He’s every woman’s dream of a man!’
The point went home, bringing a nasty glint to the grey eyes. ‘Only till they wake up.’
Isabel appeared at Jessica’s elbow as she opened her mouth to deliver another broadside. Her mother-in-law looked from her to Brady with some speculation.
‘Your wife went to lie down,’ she said. ‘I think she’s just tired, but perhaps you should go and make sure. Her time can’t be all that far off.’
‘It’s another eight weeks yet,’ Brady responded, making no move.
Isabel held her gaze. ‘All the same…’
He took the hint, albeit with reluctance. Isabel turned her attention to Jessica with a smile. ‘Men can be so dense at times, don’t you find?’
Jessica found a smile of her own, if a strained one. ‘Not up to now.’
‘Oh, I’m not talking about Zac. He’s always been quick on the uptake.’
Not this time, Jessica reflected hollowly. If he’d realised what his grandparents were up to, she wouldn’t be standing here now.
‘Are you all right?’ asked Isabel on a concerned note. ‘You’ve lost colour.’
Jessica shook herself mentally. ‘Too much Champagne, I expect. It never did suit me very much.’
‘Me neither. I never could see what all the fuss was about. Personally, I’d as soon have a glass of apple juice.’ She paused, her expression softening as she surveyed the striking face beneath the crown of lilies. ‘Zac’s a very lucky man to have found you, Jessica. I have to confess, I was a bit concerned about the short time you’ve known one another, but I can see there’s nothing to worry about. I’ve asked him to bring you up to Scotland as soon as possible to meet my family. You will come, won’t you?’
There was only one answer Jessica could make. ‘Of course. I’ll look forward to it.’ She felt her lips go stiff again as she caught Zac’s signal from across the room. ‘I’d better go and change,’ she added.
‘Oh, yes, you’re going down the coast for a few days. I’d have thought Zac might find the time to take you somewhere a little more romantic, but I don’t suppose it really matters where you spend your honeymoon.’
From the sound of it, Jessica could only conclude that Zac hadn’t seen fit to pass on the news of his grandfather’s alleged condition to his mother either. But then, he’d hardly want her to see the marriage as nothing more than a means to an end? Which was all it really was, of course. To do him credit, he’d never tried to make out that love played any real part in the relationship.
Upstairs in the bedroom, she took off the silk dress and sat down at the dressing mirror in her filmy underwear to renew her make-up. The face gazing back at her looked normal enough, green eyes surprisingly steady. Zac had to know the truth, of course. The realisation that he’d been tricked into this hasty marriage was hardly scheduled to enhance the honeymoon, but she could hardly keep it from him.
She was still sitting there when the door opened to admit the tall, grey-clad figure. Zac came over to slide both hands over her bare shoulders, pressing a kiss to her nape.
‘You look so utterly delicious!’ he said softly. ‘Good enough to eat!’
Jessica steeled herself as he moved his hands down to the clip of her bra. ‘Not here,’ she protested.
He laughed and desisted. ‘You’re right. We’ve the whole night ahead of us. I’ll go and get into something a bit less formal. The place we’re staying is very casual. No dressing for dinner. No dressing at all, if we don’t feel like it,’ he tagged on with the wicked sparkle she had always found such a turn on.
