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Tell him now, Jessica urged herself as he moved back to the door, but the words wouldn’t come. There was every possibility that he would storm downstairs to demand a reckoning. Better to leave it until later when they were alone.
Wearing a lightweight suit in pale green, she went downstairs to find Zac ready and waiting with their bags. Isabel took leave of her with a kiss.
‘Hope to see you again soon,’ she said.
Looking tired still, Sarah gave her a hug, laughing over the barrier caused by her ‘bump’. They must get together, the four of them, she declared. Meeting her husband’s eyes over her shoulder, Jessica read a very definite dissension. She doubted, anyway, that Zac would want it.
She was quiet in the car. Zac turned a quizzical glance after a few miles.
‘Lost your voice, have you?’
‘It’s been a long day,’ she said.
‘It isn’t over yet,’ he returned. ‘I missed you last night, Jess. This morning too.’
Jessica felt her heart lurch. Would it really hurt, she asked herself, to leave the telling until after the honeymoon? These coming few days with no outside distractions could make all the difference to their relationship. By the time she did tell him, it might not even matter any more.
‘Same here,’ she said.
His smile held a promise. ‘We’ve plenty of time to make up for it.’
They began doing just that within fifteen minutes of reaching the small but exclusive hotel where Zac had booked the one and only suite. Anticipating an explosive reunion, Jessica was infinitely stirred by the unaccustomed tenderness in his love-making. It gave her hope of a deepening emotion on his part: deep enough, if she worked at it, for the news of his grandfather’s plot to have lost its impact by the time he learned of it.
They certainly seemed to grow closer during the following days. The hotel was set in five acres of grounds, with miles of countryside beyond that to wander in. The sea was only a half a mile away. Zac went for a swim one morning, scorning Jessica’s view that it was far too chilly at this time of year for more than a paddle.
‘It’s bracing,’ he declared. ‘Invigorating!’
‘I don’t need invigorating,’ Jessica replied blandly, bringing a glint to the grey eyes.
She jumped back as he dropped the towel he was using to rub himself down and reached for her, but she was too late. The beads of cold water still adorning his body soaked through her shirt as he pulled her close, his mouth an irresistible force.
‘I’m soaked!’ she complained when he let her go.
‘Teach you not to underestimate me,’ he said.
Laughter bubbled on her lips. ‘As if I’d ever do that.’
There was an answering smile on his lips as he surveyed her. ‘Good thing you brought a jacket.’
Glancing down at herself, Jessica could see what he meant. With no bra beneath the clinging T-shirt, there was little left to the imagination.
‘I feel like a Page Three exhibit!’ she claimed ruefully.
‘There’s a hell of a sight more erotica about the way you look right now than in any bare boob display,’ Zac declared.
It was certainly having a visible effect on him, she noted as he turned away to continue drying himself. Stirring him physically was no problem. She only wished she could be as sure of his inner emotions.
He hadn’t mentioned his grandfather all week. Nor had he called the house to ask how he was doing. Jessica had begun to wonder if he might have guessed the truth himself. If he had, it obviously didn’t bother him too much, which gave her added hope.
That particular bubble burst on the Friday evening at dinner, when he expressed relief over the lack of communication.
‘Grandmother has the number here,’ he said. ‘She’d have called if anything had happened. We’ll go back and spend the weekend with them, anyway. It could be the last time we see him.’
Jessica swallowed on the dryness in her throat. Having kept it to herself the whole week made it no easier.
‘There’s something you should know,’ she said huskily. ‘Your grandfather isn’t dying. Not in the near future, at any rate.’
The candlelight was reflected in the eyes boring into hers across the width of the table. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘It was all a pretence. A ruse to force you into proving yourself.’
Zac viewed her for several moments in silence, face blanked of expression. ‘How do you know?’ he asked at length.
‘I mentioned it to Brady.’
‘Brady!’ The word was explosive.
‘He said apart from a touch of angina, your grandfather is strong as an ox,’ she carried on. ‘Something of an overstatement, perhaps, but you have to admit he doesn’t really give the impression of a man on the brink of death.’
The grey eyes narrowed. ‘You’re saying you suspected he was lying from the first?’
Jessica shook her head. ‘I just thought he was being very courageous about it. I know you said he could be ruthless, but it didn’t occur to me that anyone could be that ruthless.’
‘So why wait till now to tell me?’
It was the question she’d been dreading. She lifted her shoulders, fiddling with the stem of her wine glass. ‘I wasn’t sure how to tell you.’
‘So you let me go on thinking there could be a phone call anytime.’
She forced herself to look at him, heart sinking as she met the chilly gaze. ‘I’m sorry. It just seemed…’ She broke off, spreading her hands in a helpless little gesture. ‘It was too late anyway. The wedding was over.’
‘It’s never too late,’ came the brusque response. ‘If you want out—’
‘I don’t!’ It was a cry from the heart. ‘Can’t,’ she amended swiftly, afraid of having given too much away. ‘If we break up, there’s a good chance your grandfather will cut you from his will. We were neither of us under any illusion about this marriage to start with, so nothing’s really changed?’
There was a lengthy pause before Zac responded. It was impossible to tell what thoughts were going through his mind. When he did speak it was with control.
‘You’re willing to carry on the way things are?’
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘We can make it work, Zac.’
His lips slanted. ‘In one department, at least. Could be a lot worse, I suppose.’
Jessica kept her voice steady with an effort. ‘A whole lot worse. I realise you’ll probably want to confront your grandfather at some point, but there’s no reason for him to know there’s anything contrived about our relationship.’
‘You seem to have it all worked out,’ Zac commented. ‘Not that I’m complaining. Whatever it takes to keep the old devil sweet!’ He took the wine bottle and refilled her glass, lifting his own in ironic salute. ‘To a long and happy future!’
Jessica echoed the sentiment with heavy heart. Sex apart, the only thing keeping this marriage afloat was his fear of losing those damned shares! While ever his grandfather lived, he was stuck with the situation.
They made love as usual that night, but there was something definitely missing. Jessica lay sleepless for a long time afterwards, regretting ever having met Zac. He wasn’t going to fall in love with her. Eventually, he would even stop wanting her. When that happened, she was out of it regardless.
They drove back to Whitegates the following morning. Esther’s greeting was subdued.
‘I’m really sorry for deceiving you,’ she said to Zac, obviously taking it for granted that he’d been told the truth. ‘You seemed so reluctant to bring Jessica to meet us, he began to doubt she existed. You know your grandfather. Once he gets an idea in his head there’s no letting go.’
‘And he bullied you into going along with it.’ Zac smiled and shook his head as she opened her mouth to protest, bending to kiss her cheek. ‘Don’t worry about it.’
His grandmother might feel a lot less guilty if she knew how right her husband had been, Jessica reflected, but Zac obviously had no intention of telling her. Henry Prescott didn’t hold the monopoly on ruthlessness in this family—in the male line, at any rate.
They confronted the old man in the small sitting room, where he was ostensibly perusing a newspaper. There was no hint of contrition in the eyes he raised to the pair of them.
‘So Brady let the cat out of the bag.’
Zac’s jaw tautened. ‘You mean he was in on it too?’
‘Not until he asked me what was going on after Jessica here informed him I was dying.’ The last with a faint smile. ‘Not a total lie. We’re all of us heading for death from the moment we’re born.’
‘Supposing Zac had mentioned it to Brady when he first heard?’ asked Jessica.
‘There was little chance of that. You must have realised for yourself that my grandsons converse only where absolutely necessary.’ His gaze sharpened a fraction. ‘Would it have made any difference if you’d known the truth?’
‘Only in the time element,’ Zac cut in before she could answer. ‘We’d probably have waited a few more weeks, that’s all.’
‘No great harm done then. To the good, in fact. You’ve some catching up to do.’
Jessica took his meaning immediately. She opened her mouth to refute the suggestion, closing it again as she caught Zac’s glance.
‘What will be will be,’ he said mildly. To his grandmother, hovering in the background, he added, ‘Which room will we be using?’
‘The one Brady and Sarah usually have,’ she said, both sounding and looking relieved to have it over with. ‘I’m so glad you’re staying the night again.’
‘Might be the last chance we get for a while,’ Zac returned.
Esther’s face lit up. ‘I thought we’d have a barbecue this afternoon. Jimmy’s cleaning up the grid and laying the charcoal now. Our odd-job man,’ she added for Jessica’s benefit. ‘He can turn his hand to anything. Don’t know how we’d manage without him!’
‘We’d find somebody else,’ said her husband complacently. ‘Lunch in half an hour, you two, so don’t go getting involved in anything up there.’
Jessica gave a weak smile. The way she felt at the moment, it was most unlikely.
The room they were to share was spacious, with a four-poster bed that would normally have delighted her. Her wedding dress was hung on the wardrobe front in mute reminder.
‘You could at least have given him a piece of your mind for putting you through what he did!’ she said with force. ‘There’s no wonder he thinks he’s a law unto himself when you all kowtow to him the way you do!’
Zac shrugged. ‘What point would there be? The deed’s done. As we agreed last night, things could be a whole lot worse.’
As if to prove it, he drew her to him and kissed her, rousing her the way he always did.
‘You heard what your grandfather said,’ she murmured unsteadily against his lips. ‘Lunch in half an hour. Twenty minutes now, in fact.’
‘Time enough for some,’ came the reply, ‘but I was never into quickies.’ He put her from him again, his smile cursory. ‘It will save. Just unpack what you’ll need for tonight. We’ll be leaving right after breakfast.’
Jessica did so, wishing they could be on their way right now. The more she saw of Henry Prescott, the harder it was going to be to stop herself from telling him just what she thought of his underhand tactics. It was high time somebody did!
She went through the day with tongue held firmly in check—as much for Esther’s sake as Zac’s. Her marriage had taken place in an era when the man was still regarded as totalitarian head of the house. She’d probably never gone against him, and would no doubt find it upsetting if some other woman did.
The barbecue was some relief. Jessica and Zac shared the cooking, helped along by glasses of wine, while the older couple reclined on loungers on the wide patio.
Sheltered from the wind, it was wonderfully warm, the views superb. If things had been different, Jessica could have enjoyed spending further weekends down here. As it was, if they did come again it would be purely for show.
They left after lunch on the Sunday. Relieved though she was to be free of the constant temptation to tell Henry Prescott what she thought of his tactics, Jessica viewed their return to the mews cottage without enthusiasm. Zac would be going in to the office tomorrow, leaving her to do…what? She could get rid of Barbara and tackle the housework herself, but that was hardly going to tax her resources. She wasn’t cut out to be a stay-at-home wife.
‘I’m going to start looking for a job,’ she stated after several miles had gone by. ‘I’d go crazy cooped up in the house all day!’
‘It’s hardly a prison,’ Zac returned drily. ‘You’ve the whole city on the doorstep! An open cheque-book too, if that’s what’s bothering you.’
‘I don’t want your money!’ Her tone was abrupt. ‘I’d rather earn my own.’
‘You know Grandfather’s views on working wives,’ he said after a moment.
Jessica gave him a stinging sideways glance. ‘I realise you’d do just about anything to stay in his good books, but there’s a limit to how far I’m prepared to go. If you’re worried about his reaction, he doesn’t have to know.’
‘You mean lie about it.’
‘Only by omission.’
‘That’s splitting hairs.’
‘It’s maintaining the illusion,’ she retaliated. ‘The one you created to keep him sweet.’
A muscle jerked suddenly along the firm jawline. ‘I didn’t notice you putting up all that much resistance to the idea.’
She kept a cool tone with difficulty. ‘I don’t suppose I’m the first to allow principle to be overcome by lust. You’re a hard man to resist, Zac.’
‘Sure.’ His mouth had twisted. ‘Lucky we still have that much to keep us going. Assuming you weren’t putting on an act last night, that is?’
Jessica rode the hurt. ‘You know I wasn’t.’
‘I don’t know anything,’ he said. ‘Women have a distinct advantage when it comes to sex. They don’t have to prove arousal physically.’
‘Why on earth would I bother pretending to enjoy it if I didn’t?’ she demanded. ‘Like you said, it’s the one thing we have. As long as it lasts, at any rate.’
Zac kept his gaze on the road ahead, his expression impassive. ‘You see an end in sight?’
Swallowing on the lump in her throat, Jessica gave a brief shrug. ‘Not yet, but you know what they say about the first flush.’
‘Then we’d better make the most of it,’ he said.
There was no further mention of the job business, but Jessica had no intention of giving up on it. Obviously, Zac wasn’t going to find her anything, so she would fend for herself.
