Whisper Of Scandal

‘Oh, Garth!’ Sabrina stopped and turned to look at him, shocked by what he had told her.

‘She recovered for a short while but she was in a wheelchair.’ Garth stared at her. ‘She needed me, Sabrina, and I felt so goddamned guilty.’

‘So you finished with my mother?’

He nodded. ‘It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.’ There was a far-away look in his eyes for a moment. ‘She must have known that she was pregnant when I finished with her, but she never told me.’

‘I suppose she didn’t want you to feel trapped.’

‘Yes, I suppose so.’ He smiled sadly. ‘The awful thing was that Jessica died six months later. But by that time your mother had moved and I had no idea where she was.’

Sabrina lowered her eyes from his and there was silence for a moment as both were lost in their own private worlds.

Then she looked up at him sadly. ‘I sometimes think that fate chooses the paths for our lives. Maybe you and my mother were just never meant to be.’

‘Maybe. About four years later I met Nadine. She was a widow with a young son and I was a widower.’ He smiled at Sabrina. ‘We comforted each other and I fell very much in love with her. I never did tell her about my affair with your mother. She was so sympathetic about my losing my wife—how could I tell her that I had been unfaithful to her?’ Garth shook his head. ‘Even now I feel guilty when I think about Jessica.’

Sabrina understood Garth’s reluctance to tell Nadine. Maybe if he had told her right at the beginning that his marriage to Jessica had been a mistake she would have understood. But to have to tell her now would be hard.

‘Anyway I thought that I would never see your mother again and then one day I bumped into her in the middle of Oxford Street. I could hardly believe my eyes. It was six years since I had last seen her. We went and had a drink together.’ Garth pushed a shaking hand through his hair. ‘I told her I was married with a baby daughter and a stepson. She told me about you. You can imagine my shock.’

Sabrina could indeed.

‘I don’t know, Sabrina, maybe I let you down and maybe I took the coward’s way out, but when she told me that things were better left as they were I agreed with her.’

Sabrina blinked back sudden tears.

‘She had already told you that your father was dead. And I had to consider Nadine. I do love her——’

‘It’s all right, Garth. I understand,’ she broke across him hastily, understanding him and loving him for being so upset, for caring about what she thought.

He smiled at her. ‘When I needed a secretary and I knew you were looking for a job I couldn’t resist asking your mother to point you in my direction. I wanted so much to know you. I wasn’t disappointed by the young woman I met.’

His eyes moved gently over her face, noting the emotion in the deep blue eyes, and he placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. ‘I’m sorry I’ve made a mess of things,’ he whispered softly. ‘That I’ve upset you so much.’

‘It’s a relief to know everything, to be honest.’ She smiled tremulously at him.

He smiled back. ‘It’s your birthday on Saturday, isn’t it?’ he asked suddenly.

She nodded, surprised that he knew. She had almost forgotten about it herself, there had been so much on her mind recently.

‘Let me take you out somewhere to celebrate. Lunch or dinner; you choose.’

Sabrina hesitated for a moment and bit down sharply on her lip; she felt totally out of her depth with all of this. ‘I don’t know, Garth...’

‘You don’t want me in your life, is that it?’ His voice sounded unbearably strained.

‘I... no.’ She shook her head. ‘No, it’s not that at all.’ If the truth were known, Sabrina desperately wanted Garth in her life. She wanted to know her father. She stumbled, then looked up at him with wide glimmering eyes. ‘But let’s face it, Garth, the situation is a mess. Your family don’t know about your affair with my mother or about me. You are a man who is very much in the public eye. Can you really afford to have me in your life?’

He was silent for a moment. ‘I admit that I’m scared about telling Nadine and, yes, my career is important and it is in a difficult period of transition at the moment.’

She nodded. ‘I understand more than you think, Garth. Even a whisper of scandal could be very damaging to you at the moment.’

He knew that what she was saying was right—she could see it in the over-bright gleam of his eyes. ‘You could still come to Brussels with me as my secretary. Then when things have settled down...’

She shook her head.

‘Think about it, Brina.’ He reached across and took hold of her hand. ‘Please.’

Her eyes shone with tears. ‘Oh, Garth, I just don’t know anything any more.’

‘Come on,’ he said gently. ‘Let’s walk some more.’ He tucked his arm around her shoulder as she shivered suddenly.

Both of them were so caught up in their conversation that they didn’t see the man who was leaning against a tree at the bottom of the garden, a zoom-lens camera trained directly on them.

CHAPTER THREE

SABRINA had never been as nervous about a date as she was about lunch with Marc Kingsley. She paid special attention to her hair and make-up that day and took ages deciding what to wear.

She decided finally on a cream linen suit that had a short skirt and a long-line jacket. She teamed it with a peach silk blouse. The effect was both stylish and yet sensual. As she surveyed her appearance in the mirror she was comforted by the fact that she looked serene and calm. She would hate Marc to know just what chaos he had wrought to her system by that one kiss.

The effects of that kiss still remained with her now. She could feel heat rising inside her when she remembered how she had pressed close against him, how soft and skilled his mouth had felt against hers. She swallowed hard as she tried to dismiss the memory.

When the front doorbell rang she felt her stomach tying itself into knots. With a last glance in the mirror she went to let him in.

‘Good morning.’ Marc’s manner was brisk, but the eyes that swept over her appearance were very complimentary.

‘Would you like a coffee or anything before we leave?’ Sabrina invited softly.

He shook his head. ‘No time.’

‘Oh?’

He ignored the question in her eyes and smiled. ‘Are you ready?’

She nodded and turned to pick up her handbag.

‘And don’t forget your passport,’ he said casually.

‘My passport...’ She looked around at him in complete surprise. ‘Why do I need that?’

‘If you run along and get it, I’ll tell you on the way,’ he said with infuriating calm.

Sabrina’s hand wasn’t quite steady as she opened the drawer of her bureau and took out her passport. Where on earth was he taking her? she wondered. Her heart thudded with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. Even a lunch date with Marc Kingsley felt like an adventure.

He looked exceptionally stylish this morning. He was wearing a dark suit that seemed to emphasise his dark good looks, his hair gleaming almost blue-black in the spring sunshine.

She was surprised to find that he wasn’t in his red Porsche this morning. Instead a long black limousine waited at the kerb, and a uniformed chauffeur held the door for them as they climbed into the luxurious seats.