In Bed With...Collection

“It was a group of artists who’d won awards.”

“Anyone well-known?”

“I don’t really know. I never met them again.”

A slight frown.

“You could ask Sir Roland,” Maggie suggested helpfully. “He was there. I guess it was an Arts Council thing.”

“Ah!” The frown smoothed away. He smiled. “How many roses did you have left?”

“Twenty. For me it was a great sale. And then being offered free food, too...I was only too happy to sit down and join them. I ended up having a marvellous time.”

“My grandfather had a great talent for parties,” he said fondly.

“He certainly loved being the ringmaster and he did it superbly,” she warmly agreed.

They both sipped their martinis as memories lingered, their mutual affection for a grand old man subtly linking them and pushing their differences away. The silent hum of harmony filled Maggie’s heart with pleasure. This is how it should be, she thought, and imagined Vivian smiling down at them.

Beau leaned over and helped himself to an egg and caviar puff. The movement instantly restirred her awareness of the man; the fabric of his trousers tightening across a width of thigh that looked so hard and strong, Maggie’s breath caught in her throat as her mind flashed to how he might look naked, might feel against her own nakedness. She quickly shifted her gaze to his hand before a betraying blush erupted. It was just as fascinating in its maleness. A sure hand, she thought, capable of anything, and a little quiver of possibilities raced through her, further undermining her composure.

“So how did the nanny idea come up?”

The light, quizzical words shot through her ears and forced her to refocus. Maggie took a quick breath and almost gabbled in her haste to resume a natural flow of conversation.

“Oh, Vivian asked me about my life and I gave him a potted history, making it more colourful than it really was.” She shrugged. “You know how you do with strangers whom you never expect to meet again. It’s easier, more entertaining than laying out the less pleasant bits.”

“You mean you made up stuff?”

“No. What I said was true,” Maggie rushed to assure him. “I did travel with a circus...’ The moment the word was out, Maggie caught her breath, looking to see if there was an adverse reaction. Some people considered a circus unsavoury.

No frown. If anything, an increase in interest. Maggie braved going on.

“I worked as a nanny for the family who owned it. I also worked as a nanny on an outback station. I’ve done tots of other jobs, as. well, but those were the two that evoked the most interest the night I met Vivian.”

He looked bemused. “What was the name of the circus?”

“Zabini’s. It was a relatively small outfit, family owned and run. It toured country towns.”

“I would have thought that kind of thing was out of date now,” he remarked.

She nodded in quick agreement. “It was having trouble pulling in crowds when I was with it and that was over ten years ago. The problem was, the family didn’t know any other way of life. I was only with them for one tour. They didn’t need me after they went into recess so I don’t know what happened to them.”

“And that’s when you headed into the outback?”

“Yes.” She smiled ruefully. “It seemed like another adventure. I had experience as a nanny and there was plenty of employment available in that area.”

“Where did you end up?”

His obvious desire to know and the lack of any critical air released Maggie from caution. She happily painted the picture for him.

“On a big cattle station in the Northern Territory. A place called Wilgilag. Which means ‘red’ in the Aboriginal language. And it sure was. Red earth as far as the eye could see. Endless red. The cattle roamed over hundreds of square kilometres in search of feed. It was like another world. A different life.”

She caught herself back from rattling on too much and waved a dismissive hand, consigning Wilgilag to the past. “It was all a long time ago. Lots of water under the bridge since then, but that was the background of the nanny business.”

He smiled, obviously content with her explanation and amused by the situation. “I see how you could make it sound very colourful and my grandfather would have enjoyed it immensely. Did he latch on to you straight away for the nanny job?”

“No. I was really surprised when the party broke up and he gave me his card, saying if I wanted a steady job, to come and see him the next day.”

“He didn’t specify the job?”

She shook her head. “It made me wonder. But he’d been so charming. I’d liked him. And curiosity got the better of me. I couldn’t see any harm in finding out what kind of job. I mean, I wasn’t exactly doing anything wonderful, just making do until something interesting turned up.”

“Then Rosecliff must have come as another surprise to you.”

His eyes were twinkling, teasing, and his ready acceptance of everything she said was so exhilarating, Maggie didn’t feel she had to watch her tongue or manner with him anymore. Her natural exuberance came bursting forth, eyes sparkling, hands flying, words bubbling.

“Was it ever! I couldn’t believe anyone actually lived here at first. I thought I must have somehow got it wrong. Even after Sedgewick admitted me to the house—a real live butler, for heaven’s sake!—and ushered me into Vivian’s presence, it felt as though I’d stepped through the looking glass like Alice, and sooner or later something would snap me back to reality.”

He smiled.

Maggie happily beamed a smile right back at him, not noticing anything amiss in his. The circus hadn’t owned a tiger. She had never seen a live one. She had no point of comparison.

“What did you think of the nanny proposition?’ he prompted, still smiling.

She rolled her eyes. “Wild! But just the thought of living here was wild. It was all so impossibly wild I couldn’t resist giving it a try. After all, I could always walk away if I didn’t like it. But it just escalated into something more and more wonderful.”

He looked quizzically at her. “You didn’t ever feel the lack of...well...younger company?”

She might have, if Beau Prescott had come home before this. He was very acutely reminding her she was a young woman with a whole stack of unfulfilled needs, clamouring to be met. There seemed to be a simmering invitation in his eyes. It kicked her pulse into such rapid action it was difficult to concentrate on giving him an answer to his question. She blurted out the truth.

“I was too busy to think of it.”

“For two years?” he queried, his gaze wandering over her with a sizzling male appreciation that said more clearly than words she had been wasted in a limbo of nonsexuality.

Maggie’s skin started prickling. She gulped some more of her martini and shoved a crab boat into her mouth, desperate to stop the rise of heat. She crossed her legs, inadvertently drawing Beau Prescott’s attention to them, and wished she could uncross them again as she inwardly squirmed under his gaze. Afraid more leg action could only be seen as provocative, Maggie plunged into speech.

“I’d been in the company of heaps of young men before I came here. None of them were capable of giving me what Vivian did.”

His gaze flicked up and there wasn’t the slightest haze of warmth in his eyes. Two green shards of ice sliced into her, cold and deadly. “I don’t suppose any of them were millionaires.”

The comfort zone created by his earlier geniality was comprehensively shattered. Maggie felt a chill deep in her bones. He’d been putting on an act, drawing her out to get something bad on her.

“Apart from my salary, I never took any money from Vivian, Mr. Prescott,” she stated, a bitter defiance edging her voice.

He let her denial hang for several moments before drawling, “I wasn’t suggesting you did. But a lot of money was spent on you, Maggie. Your clothes...”

Her chin went up. “Yes and tickets to the opera, the theatre, concerts, balls...you name it, Mr. Prescott, and I certainly was given a free ride to all of them. No question. I’m guilty of going along with everything Vivian wanted. And I’m guilty of loving it, too. I’m sorry it sticks in your craw so much. Maybe you’d like to ask Sedgewick for another martini. Make it four for the day.”