Married By Christmas

‘Ten, Lilli,’ he drawled softly. ‘You were a ten,’ he explained dryly as she gave him a puzzled look.

He laughed huskily as his meaning became clear and her cheeks suffused with heated colour.

She hadn’t wanted to know—hadn’t asked—

‘I’ll let myself out, Lilli,’ he volunteered, and did so, the door closing softly behind him.

Which was just as well—because Lilli had been rooted to the spot after that last statement.

Ten...

And she didn’t remember a single moment of it...

CHAPTER THREE

‘I WANT to know exactly what is going on, Daddy,’ Lilli told him firmly, having waited in the sitting-room for two hours before he came home, fortified by the tray of tea things Emily had brought in to her. After Patrick Devlin’s departure, Lilli had felt in need of something, and whisky, at that hour of the day, had been out of the question. Although the man was enough to drive anyone to drink!

She had heard her father enter the house, accosting him in the hallway as he walked towards the wide staircase.

He turned at the sound of her voice, his expression grim. ‘I was left in no doubt by you earlier that you didn’t want to hear anything more about Geraldine.’

‘I still don’t,’ Lilli told him impatiently. ‘Her brother, however, is a different matter!’

‘Patrick?’ her father replied.

Her mouth twisted. ‘Unless she has another brother—yes!’

Her father stiffened, striding forcefully across the hallway to join her as she went into the sitting-room, closing the door firmly behind him. ‘What about him?’ he said warily.

She gave an impatient sigh. ‘That’s what I just asked you!’

‘You spent the night with him, Lilli,’ her father reminded her. ‘I would have thought you would know all there is to know about the man! We none of us have defences in bed. Or so I’m told...’

She bit back the reply she would have liked to make; that sort of conversation would take them absolutely nowhere, as it had this morning. ‘I’m not talking about the man’s prowess—or otherwise!—in the bedroom,’ she snapped. ‘He said the two of you know each other.’

‘Did he?’ her father returned with studied indifference.

‘Daddy!’ She glared at her father’s back as he stood looking out of the window now—very much as Patrick had done earlier. He was trying to give the impression that the subject of the other man bored him, and yet, somehow, she knew that it didn’t...

He sighed. ‘I’m sorry. I just didn’t realise the two of you had spent part of your night together discussing me—’

‘We didn’t,’ Lilli cut in. ‘He was here earlier.’

Her father froze, slowly turning to face her. ‘Devlin came here?’

She wasn’t wrong; she was sure she wasn’t; she had never seen this emotion in her father before, but he actually looked slightly fearful. And it had something to do with Patrick Devlin...

‘Yes, he was here,’ she confirmed steadily. ‘And he said some things—’

‘He had no right, damn him!’ her father told her fiercely, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

‘I’m your daughter—’

‘And this is a business matter,’ he barked tensely. ‘If I had wanted to tell you about it then I would have done so.’

‘Tell me now?’ Lilli encouraged softly. Her father had mentioned this morning that Patrick Devlin was the chairman of Paradise Bank—could that have something to do with this ‘business matter’? Although, as far as she was aware, her family had always banked with Cleveley...

‘I told you, Patrick Devlin is Paradise Bank,’ her father grated.

And she was none the wiser for his repeating the fact! ‘Yes?’

‘Don’t you ever read the newspapers, Lilli?’ her father said tersely. ‘Or are you more like your mother than I realised, and only interested in what Bennett International Hotels can give you in terms of money and lifestyle?’

The accusation hung between them, everything suddenly seeming very quiet; even the air was still.

Lilli stared at her father, barely breathing, a tight pain in her chest.

Her father stared back at her, obviously mortified at what he had just said, his face very pale.

They never talked about her mother, or baby Robbie; they had, by tacit agreement, never talked about the loss of either.

Lilli drew in a deep breath. ‘I know Mummy had her faults—’

‘I’m sorry, Lilli—’

They had both begun talking at the same time, both coming to an abrupt halt, once again staring at each other, awkwardly this time. The last three months had been difficult; Lilli’s grief at her mother’s death was something she hadn’t been able to share with anyone. Not even her father.

She had known that her father had his own pain to deal with. The years during which her mother’s illness had deteriorated had been even more difficult for him than they had for Lilli, her mother’s moods fluctuating between self-pity and anger. It had been hard to cope with, Lilli freely acknowledged. But she had had no idea how bitter her father had become...

‘I shouldn’t have said that.’ Her father ran a weary hand through dark hair liberally peppered with grey. ‘I’m sorry, Lilli.’

She wasn’t sure whether he was apologising for the remarks about her mother, or for the fact that he felt the way he did...

‘No, you shouldn’t,’ she agreed quietly. ‘But a lot of things have been said and done in the last twenty-four hours that shouldn’t have been.’ She included her own behaviour with Patrick Devlin in that! ‘Perhaps it would be better if we just forgot about them?’ She certainly wanted to forget last night!

‘I wish we could, Lilli.’ Her father sat down heavily in one of the armchairs, shaking his head. ‘But I don’t think Devlin will let either of us do that.’ He leant his head back against the chair, his eyes closed. ‘What did he have to say when he came here earlier?’ He opened his eyes to look at her frowningly.

Besides marking her as a ten...?

‘Not a lot, Daddy.’ She crossed the room to kneel on the carpet at his feet. ‘Although he did say to tell you the two of you would be meeting again. Soon. Tell me what’s going on, Daddy?’ She looked up at him appealingly.

He reached out to smooth gently the loose tendrils of dark hair away from her cheeks. ‘You’re so young, Lilli.’ He sounded pained. ‘So very young,’ he groaned. ‘You give the outward impression of being so cool and self-possessed, and yet...’

‘It’s just an impression,’ she acknowledged ruefully. ‘How well you know me, Daddy.’ She gave a wistful smile.

‘I should do,’ he said with gentle affection. ‘I love you very much, Lilli. No matter what happens, I hope you never forget that.’ He gave a heavy sigh.

Lilli once again felt that chill of foreboding down her spine. What was going to happen? And what did Patrick Devlin have to do with it? Because she didn’t doubt that he was at the root of her father’s problem.