A Winter Proposal / His Diamond Bride: A Winter Proposal / His Diamond Bride

‘That’s right.’

‘Ah, I begin to see. You want someone good with figures, right?’

‘Among other things,’ he said carefully. ‘The case I want you to take concerns my younger brother, Charlie. He’s not a bad lad, but he’s a bit irresponsible and he’s got into bad company.’

‘How old is he?’

‘Twenty-four, and not very mature. If he was anyone else I’d say he needed to be taught a lesson, but that—’ he hesitated before finishing stiffly ‘—that would cause me a certain amount of difficulty.’

‘You couldn’t afford to be connected with a convict?’ she hazarded.

‘Something like that.’

‘Mr Havering—’

‘Call me Roscoe. After all, what you said about me calling you Pippa—well, it works both ways, doesn’t it?’

For a moment the naked nymph danced between them and was gone, firmly banished on both sides.

‘Roscoe, if I’m to help you I need full information. I can’t work in the dark.’

‘I’m a stockbroker. I have clients who depend on me, who need to be able to trust me. I can’t afford to let anything damage my reputation.’

His voice was harsh, as though he’d retreated behind steel bars. But the next moment the bars collapsed and he said roughly, ‘Hell, no! You’d better know the real reason. If anything happens to Charlie, it would break my mother’s heart. He’s all she lives for, and her health is frail. She’s been in a bad way ever since my father died, fifteen years ago. At all costs I want to save her from more suffering.’

He spoke as though the words were tortured from him, and she could only guess what it cost this stockbroker to allow a chink in his confident facade and reveal his emotions. Now she began to like him.

‘Why is he in trouble?’ she asked gently.

‘He went out with his friends, had too much to drink. Some of them broke into a shop at night and got caught. The shopkeeper thinks he was one of them.’

‘What does Charlie say?’

‘Sometimes he says he wasn’t, sometimes he hints he might have been. It’s almost as though he didn’t know. I don’t think he was entirely sober that night.’

Pippa frowned. This sounded more like a teenager than a young man of twenty-four.

‘Do you have any other brothers or sisters? ‘ she asked.

‘None.’

‘Aunts, uncles?’

‘None.’

‘Wife? Children? Didn’t you mention having a daughter?’

‘No, I said if you were my daughter I’d give you a piece of my mind.’

‘Ah, yes.’ She smiled. ‘I remember.’

‘That’ll teach me not to judge people on short acquaintance, won’t it? Anyway, I have neither wife nor children.’

‘So, apart from your mother, you’re Charlie’s only relative. You must virtually have been his father.’

He grimaced. ‘Not a very successful one. I’ve always been so afraid of making a mess of it that I…made a mess of it.’

Pippa nodded. ‘The worst mistakes are sometimes made by people who are desperately trying to avoid mistakes,’ she said sympathetically.

Relief settled over him at her understanding.

‘Exactly. Long ago, I promised my mother I’d take care of Charlie, make sure he grew up strong and successful, but I seem to have let her down. I can’t bear to let her down again.’

It felt strange to hear this powerful man blaming himself for failure. Evidently, there was more to him than had first appeared.

‘Does he have a job?’

‘He works in my office. He’s bright. He’s got a terrific memory, and if we can get him safely through this he has a great future.’

‘Has he been in trouble with the police before? ‘

‘He’s skirted trouble but never actually been charged with anything. This will be his first time in court.’

She wondered what strings he’d had to pull to achieve that, but was too tactful to ask. That could come later.

‘Was anyone injured? ‘ she asked.

‘Nobody. The shop owner arrived while there were several of them there. They escaped, he gave chase and got close enough to see them just as they reached Charlie. He began yelling at them, which attracted the attention of two policemen coming out of the local station, and they all got arrested.

‘The owner insists Charlie was actually in the shop with the others, although I don’t see how he can be sure. He must have just seen a few figures in the gloom.’

‘What about the others? Haven’t they confirmed that he wasn’t in the shop? ‘

‘No, but neither do they say he was. They hum and haw and say they can’t remember. They were really drunk, so that might even be true. But the owner insists that he was there and is pressing charges.’

She considered. ‘Any damage?’

‘None. They managed to trick their way in electronically.’

‘So the worst he might face is a fine. But he’d have a criminal record that would make his life difficult in the future.’

‘It’s the future I’m worried about. They’re a bad crowd, and they’re not going to stop. It will get worse and worse and he’ll end up in jail. I’ve got to get him away from that bunch.’

‘Doesn’t he begin to see that they’re bad for him if this is the result?’

‘Charlie? ‘ Roscoe’s voice was scathing. ‘He doesn’t see the danger. So what if he’s convicted for something he didn’t do? He’ll just pay the fine and laugh his way home. There’s a girl in this crowd who’s gained a lot of influence over him. Her name’s Ginevra. He’s dazzled by her, and I think she gets her fun by seeing what she can provoke him into doing.’

Pippa frowned. ‘You mean he’s infatuated by her. There’s not a lot I can do about that.’