Lovers Touch

‘I didn’t ask for any coffee,’ Nell told him once they were alone.

She had been astounded by the way he already seemed to have taken control … by the way the staff, her staff, were already responding to him.

‘No? Just as well I did, then. When Johnson told me you were waiting for me in here, I thought we’d need it. As I remembered it, this room gets as cold as charity … No doubt that was why it was chosen by the French martyr …’

He looked amused at the astonishment on her face.

‘Did you really think me totally ignorant of the family’s history, Nell? Your grandfather told it to me … I am right, aren’t I? This sitting-room was furnished by Louise de Roget, wasn’t it?’

‘Yes,’ Nell told him bleakly.

‘Poor, unhappy little French child. I believe she spent more time at her prayers than in her husband’s bed. Our marriage won’t be like that, Nell.’

She looked up at him, shocked by the note of steel certainty in his voice.

‘I know you want a son, Joss,’ she told him with dignity.

‘More than one,’ he told her frankly. ‘And not just sons … I want a family, Nell.’

‘And if I don’t?’ she returned with spirit, but he ignored her challenge, smiling that cruel smile, and taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger so that she was forced to look directly at him.

‘Ah, but you do,’ he told her softly. ‘You were made for motherhood, Nell, and if you’re thinking of Williams as the father of your children, then forget him.’

‘David? But …’

‘Your grandfather seemed to think you might be fancying yourself in love with him—forget him. Nell, he might be able to afford you, but he can’t afford this house.’

What he said was in essence true, but that didn’t make it any the less insulting, not just to herself but to David as well.

To cover up the tremor in her stomach, she said sharply, ‘That remark is chauvinistic in the extreme.’

But Joss only laughed. ‘Give in, Nell. Admit that marriage to me will solve all your problems. No more closed-off cold rooms … No more pinching and scraping … No more nights lying awake, worrying about how you’re going to cope …’

How little he knew … Now her sleepless nights would be spent worrying about about how she was going to cope with loving him, living with him and trying to hide how she felt.

‘There’s another thing,’ he said as he released her chin and she jerked her head away.

As far as he was concerned, it was settled—they were to be married; and yet he had made not the slightest attempt to touch her … to embrace her … to make her feel that he felt something for her other than a mere desire to use her.

‘You’re going to need to buy yourself some new clothes. I’ll organise a credit card for you so that the bills can be sent direct to me. Fiona, my secretary, will help you. You’ll probably need to arrange to spend a couple of days in London. I’ll get her to organise something.’

Nell was furious. She had heard the gossip in the village about the relationship which was supposed to exist between Joss and the elegant woman who worked for him, commuting each day from her home in Chester to Joss’s house. But, even more than his assumption that she was not capable of choosing her own clothes, she resented the contemptuous glance he had given the outfit she was wearing, no matter how much it might merit it. With that single look he had made it more than clear how very unattractive he found her.

‘Thank you,’ she told him arctically, ‘but I really don’t need any new clothes, Joss. I already possess a perfectly adequate wardrobe.’

‘Yes,’ he agreed drily, ‘and I’m sure it’s as antiquated as its contents. What’s the matter with you, Nell?’ he demanded, rounding on her. ‘What possible pleasure can it give you to dress like a retired schoolteacher? Tweed skirts … twin sets. Wake up, Nell; not even the Royal family dress like that these days.’

It struck her as she listened to him that he was probably ashamed of her; embarrassed about how she would look in comparison with the women he normally favoured; worried that the outside world might take one look at her and know immediately why he had married her; and that hurt.

‘I’m sorry if my present appearance doesn’t please you, Joss,’ she told him when she had control of herself. ‘What a pity you can’t simply wave a magic wand and transform me, without all this tiresome fuss.’

She saw that he was about to say something and hurried on bitterly, ‘Of course, one other alternative would be to simply allow me to fade into the background of your life. After all, I can imagine how awkward it will be for you … Joss Wycliffe having a plain, dull wife …’

‘Oh, no, you don’t, Nell,’ he interrupted her harshly. ‘I’m not having you sneaking off with Williams behind my back. I want a wife who is going to play her full role in my life, in public and in private.’

Nell looked at him, astonished that he could actually think she was romantically interested in David, but forbearing to say anything. Let him think what he liked, she decided rebelliously, still deeply resentful of his insults about her clothes, even if she knew at heart that they were justified.

‘No need to look so tragic. I thought you’d be more sensible than this Nell. Your grandfather was almost proud when he pointed out to me the rich brides brought into the family through arranged marriage. Even down to the mill-owner’s daughter whose father’s millions came into the family after Waterloo. Pity her son turned out to be such a gambler and lost the lot. If he hadn’t …’

She lifted pain-blinded eyes to his face, desperately seeking some softness there, some glimmer of compassion, but there was none. She meant nothing to him, other than a means to an end, and she never would; she would die before she allowed him to guess how much she loved him.

She saw him glance at his watch. ‘I have to leave immediately after we’ve seen Williams, and there are several things we still have to sort out. The staff … As far as I’m concerned you are free to make whatever arrangements you choose, but Audlem, my chauffeur, will come with me, and I’d like you to make sure that there’s always a spare bedroom ready for Fiona. As you know, I prefer to work from home when I can. I suspect that the only place we’re going to be able to install my computer equipment is in one of the cellars. I’ll get someone round to check on that … I want it in before we get married. How much time will you need? I thought a month. That will give Williams time to draw up the agreements …’

He saw her face and smiled mirthlessly. ‘We may as well do this properly, Nell. I’ll make you a monthly allowance, for yourself, and open another account for you to run the house from. You’re going to find yourself very busy over the next few months with interior designers and the like. I want this place completely refurbished.’

‘All of it?’ Nell demanded faintly.

‘All of it,’ he confirmed. ‘So, Nell, can you be ready in a month? We’ll have the wedding breakfast here, of course. I’l give you a list of the people I want inviting. Fiona will help you with the invites, etc.’

‘Joss … Surely a quiet wedding …’

‘As though we’ve something to hide? I think not.’

He broke off as David Williams drove up.

This time Johnson did announce the visitor, and David came in, looking slightly flustered and concerned.

‘Nell!’ he exclaimed, going towards her, and Nell suspected he would have kissed her if Joss hadn’t suddenly placed himself between them and said forcefully,

‘You can congratulate me, Williams. Nell has agreed to become my wife …’

For a moment David looked too shocked to speak, and when he did it was to Nell, not to Joss.

‘Is this true, Nell?’

‘Yes,’ she told him quietly.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Joss watching them narrowly and then tranferring his attention to his watch, a slim, gold masculine timepiece. Odd, in someone so devoted to modern technology, that he should choose a very traditional kind of watch; traditional and expensive, but discreetly so; not for Joss the status symbol of the ‘in’ designer watch, she reflected acidly.

‘We’ve a lot to discuss, Williams,’ Joss announced, coming between them. The shock of his hand resting proprietorially on her arm made Nell flinch in surprise and then wince as she felt his fingers bite warningly into her flesh before he released her. She was trembling, slightly horrified at how very vulnerable she was to him physically.

David looked dazed when Joss had finished telling him exactly what was happening.

Nell felt equally dazed as she heard him name what seemed like an impossible sum, adding carelessly that he was giving it to her as a marriage settlement.

‘And I take it that Nell will be free to take it with her, should the marriage ever come to an end,’ David said stiffly.

Instantly Nell saw the golden eyes flash dangerously.