Trust in Summer Madness Page 5

‘No,’ he said tautly. ‘I have some very highly qualified architects working for me, people with sensitivity.’

  Her shrug was deliberately insolent. ‘Only time will tell, I suppose,’ she taunted.

  His mouth twisted. ‘Time is something I have a lot of.’

  ‘And I thought you were a busy man,’ she mocked.

  ‘I am.’ His gaze was locked challengingly with hers. ‘But I can always make time for the things I want.’

  She looked away from the warmth in his eyes, refusing to believe she was one of the ‘things’ he wanted. Let him practise his charms on the unguarded and susceptible like Bethany; she had learnt the hard way not to trust this man.

  ‘Talking of time…’ she stood up pointedly, ‘it’s getting very late.’

  Jarrett made no effort to move. ‘Don’t let us keep you,’ he taunted.

  She drew in an angry breath, knowing by the way Bethany smiled her satisfaction that she would get no support from her to get Jarrett to leave. She might already be too late to talk any sense into her sister! And now that she was standing up she had no choice but to actually go to bed herself.

  ‘I’d like to talk to you later, Bethany,’ she added quietly.

  ‘I thought it was late,’ Jarrett drawled mockingly.

  She shot him an angry glance. ‘It’s never too late to talk to my sister. Later, Bethany,’ she repeated warningly.

  ‘I’ll be seeing you again soon, Sian,’ Jarrett told her softly.

  ‘Perhaps,’ she nodded coolly, and left the room, her head held high.

  She went through her nightly ritual of cleansing her face, taking a shower, brushing her hair until it shone, all the time conscious of the silence downstairs and the fact that she hadn’t heard the sound of the powerful engine leaving.

  She couldn’t resist the impulse to draw back the curtain in her room; the black Porsche seemed like a predator in the glow of the street-lamp. She let the curtain fall slowly back into place, clenching her hands together. Jarrett was still downstairs with Bethany, perhaps kissing her, making love to her. When he knew she was upstairs just waiting for him to leave!

  But Jarrett had never minded flaunting his attraction to other women in front of her, one woman in particular. Nina Marshall had been Jarrett’s girl-friend long before Sian had known him. What she hadn’t realised was that she had remained his mistress, that she would have done so even after they were married.

  She could still remember the night she had discovered Jarrett’s duplicity, could still feel the embarrassment and shame of the night she had found him kissing the other woman.

  A stag-party, Jarrett had called it. Only Sian hadn’t realised at the time that was exactly what he would behave like—a rutting stag!

  They had decided to have their respective parties two nights before the wedding, not wanting to risk it on the eve, knowing the reputation these sort of parties had for people getting drunk. Jarrett was determined he wasn’t going to have a hangover at his wedding!

  And so the two of them had met their friends, in two different public houses, of course. Only her friends had decided it would be fun to join the men, and instead of them walking in on a drinking party they had found Jarrett in a corner of the room, far away from his friends, having a private party of his own—with Nina Marshall.

  Sian had felt her love for him shrivel up and die when she saw the way the two of them were kissing, Jarrett’s shirt unbuttoned down to his waist as Nina caressed him, the other woman’s lipgloss smeared across his mouth.

  She had felt the nausea rising up within her, then she had turned and run out of the bar as Jarrett surfaced long enough to call her name. And she hadn’t stopped running until she reached home and the sanctuary of her bedroom.

  Only it hadn’t been a sanctuary for long. Jarrett had slammed in a few minutes after she had thrown herself sobbing on the bed, smelling of whisky, Nina’s vivid lipgloss still on his mouth and cheek. And he had had the nerve to berate her, to chide her for being a fool in front of everyone over what had only been a harmless kiss.

  Harmless! He and Nina had almost been making love there in front of everyone! Sian had screamed at him to get out, to stay away from her, but he hadn’t stayed away, and as he came towards her she became hysterical, scratching and clawing at him until he backed off with the marks of her nails down his cheek, telling her he would talk to her in the morning when she had calmed down and decided to act like an adult and not a child.

  Her father had been furious when he learnt what had happened, and had refused to let Jarrett in the house. Although that hadn’t stopped him, she remembered; she had been forced to listen while he once again claimed his innocence. She had refused to believe his excuses, she already knew the truth about him and Nina. She had told him the wedding was off, that she never wanted to see him again.

  Instead of marrying him the next day she had spent the time in her room, had learnt from her father that Jarrett had left Swannell that afternoon with Nina sitting beside him in the Jaguar. Sian hadn’t seen Jarrett again until today.

  And she wished she hadn’t seen him now; she knew that he intended wreaking havoc in her life for a second time. Just by being here he was unsettling her. And he knew it, damn him!

  It was half an hour later when she heard the Porsche leave, the engine a gentle purr this time, like a sleeping tiger about to pounce. Strange how the car seemed to reflect its owner’s moods—first the aggression, now the patience and calm of a waiting feline.

  An abashed-looking Bethany came into her room several minutes later, coming in to lean back against the dressing-table. ‘I thought you might be asleep by now,’ she said awkwardly.

  ‘As you can see, I’m not.’ Sian sat back against her pillows, a book open in front of her—although it was only for show, she hadn’t been able to read a single word!

  Her sister swallowed hard, picking up a bottle of perfume from the dressing-table to move it about restlessly in her hands. ‘We were—talking, and I—I forgot the time,’ she explained.

  ‘It must have been an interesting conversation,’ Sian taunted.

  ‘It was,’ Bethany confirmed eagerly. ‘Jarrett was telling me all about America. It sounds so exciting.’

  ‘Really?’ she said dryly.

  ‘Yes. Look, Sian,’ Bethany sighed her impatience, ‘if you have something to say, then say it. Don’t just keep looking at me like that!’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘Accusingly!’ Bethany paced the room restlessly. ‘Goodness, you finished with the man years ago,’ she said petulantly.

  Sian’s eyes narrowed. ‘And you know why!’

  ‘Because of another woman, I suppose—’

  ‘Don’t suppose anything, Bethany,’ she snapped. ‘It was because of another woman. I doubt Jarrett knows the meaning of the word fidelity.’

  ‘I’m not asking for a wedding ring, for goodness’ sake,’ her sister scorned, her expression contrite as she saw Sian flinch. ‘I’m sorry,’ she sighed. ‘But really, I think you’re taking this dislike of Jarrett too far. I know he must have hurt you in the past for you to feel this way about him, but these things happen. At least you found out before you were married!’

  ‘Just,’ Sian acknowledged bitterly, knowing only too well the narrow escape she had had.

  ‘And you have Chris now,’ her sister pushed her point.

  ‘Yes,’ she agreed tightly. ‘I just don’t want to see Jarrett hurt you the way he hurt me.’

  ‘You’re too intense, Sian—I’ve only had one date with him,’ Bethany muttered moodily. ‘And it’s not as if I’m a child.’

  She knew that, knew that Bethany was old enough to make her own decisions, and yet her protective instinct where her sister was concerned was too strong, too habitual to be ignored in this case. Jarrett was dangerous, and Bethany had to be made to see that.

  ‘Jarrett mentioned that he telephoned me earlier,’ she said softly.

  Bethany couldn’t meet her enquiring gaze.
‘Yes, that’s right,’ she admitted distantly. ‘You were out at the time.’

  ‘Was I?’

  Blue eyes flashed. ‘Of course you were. You don’t think I’d keep something like that from you?’

  By her sister’s defensive attitude she knew that was exactly what she had done, that it had indeed been Jarrett on the telephone when she returned from work this evening. Bethany always got angry when she was found out in some misdemeanour.

  ‘So he asked you out instead?’ she asked quietly.

  ‘Yes,’ Bethany snapped.

  ‘He must have telephoned you very shortly after I’d gone out—Chris and I had barely arrived at the restaurant when you and Jarrett came in.’

  ‘Yes—yes, he did,’ her sister looked away.

  ‘I thought you already had a date this evening?’ Sian’s tone was deliberately casual.

  The colour flared in Bethany’s cheeks before her anger took over. ‘All right!’ she slammed the perfume bottle back down on the dressing-table, thrusting her hands into the hip pockets of her velvet trousers. ‘So I already knew it was Jarrett I was seeing when you came home,’ she sighed. ‘He said he wanted to talk to you, and when I told him you were with your fiancé he asked me out instead. I didn’t bother to tell you when you came home because I couldn’t see the point of it. You couldn’t have gone out with him even if he had asked you, you’re engaged to Chris.’

  ‘Yes,’ Sian nodded. ‘But don’t you see, he was only using you. He just wanted a woman—’

  ‘He never touched me in that way!’ her sister exclaimed indignantly.

  She felt some of the tension leave her at this disclosure. At least Jarrett hadn’t made love to her sister! Not yet, anyway. ‘But he will, Bethany, if you continue to see him. Jarrett uses women, and when he’s finished with them he throws them away,’ she revealed bitterly.

  ‘You make him sound like some sort of sex maniac,’ Bethany scorned.

  ‘He is!’ Sian flushed. ‘He—he needs more than one woman to satisfy his appetite. How long do you think he’ll bother to even take you out when he realises you aren’t going to sleep with him?’

  A reckless light entered her sister’s deep blue eyes. ‘Who says I’m not?’ she asked defiantly.

  Sian had handled this badly, she could see that by the way Bethany was behaving. ‘Bethany—’

  ‘I’ve already agreed to see him tomorrow, Sian,’ her sister told her stubbornly. ‘And I have no intention of cancelling my date with him.’

  She sighed. ‘Nothing I can say will change your mind?’

  ‘Nothing!’

  ‘Then there’s nothing more to be said. Although I doubt Dad was pleased to see Jarrett here tonight…?’ Sian quirked questioning brows.

  Again Bethany blushed. ‘I—I met Jarrett in town. I wanted to see Jane about something,’ she named her friend, ‘and I thought it stupid for him to come all the way out here when I was going to be in town anyway. I met him at his hotel.’

  Sian could just imagine what the gossips had made of that! It had been the Swan where Jarrett had held his stag party three years ago, and Fred and Ida Barlowe were still the proprietors. The locals had probably had a field-day gossiping about the fact that her sister was calling for Jarrett there.

  ‘Dad will find out, you know that, don’t you?’ she prompted gently.—–.

  Bethany’s mouth set rebelliously. ‘I can’t understand what all the fuss is about. You were going to marry Jarrett years ago, but you didn’t, and you seem relieved that you didn’t, so what does it matter that I’m going out with him?’

  ‘I just don’t want you hurt—’

  ‘I’m not going to be,’ her sister sighed her impatience. ‘I like being with him, he’s different—and exciting. But I’ll probably settle down quite happily in a couple of years’ time with one of the local men.’

  ‘You don’t know how deeply Jarrett can inflict pain—’

  ‘But you obviously do.’ Bethany’s eyes were narrowed questioningly. ‘Do you still care for him yourself, Sian, is that what’s wrong?’

  ‘No!’ Sian’s mouth was tight. ‘I can see that nothing I do or say is going to change your mind about him, so I’ll just have to let you find out for yourself. Just remember this conversation—’

  ‘I don’t need any “I told you so’s"!’ her sister flashed.

  ‘You aren’t getting any,’ Sian said wearily, putting her book down on the bedside table. ‘I just want you to remember I was concerned for you.’

  ‘You always are,’ Bethany said crossly as she went to the door, taking the broad hint to leave. ‘But I’m nineteen, Sian, old enough to make my own mistakes.’

  ‘I’m glad you can see Jarrett is one!’

  ‘Oh, you’re impossible!’ Bethany snapped. ‘I like him, and I find him exciting to be with. I shall continue to see him for as long as he wants me to!’

  Sian stared up at the ceiling once her sister had gone to her own room, thinking once again how badly she had handled the conversation. But she was too close to it, that was the trouble, she couldn’t think or talk about Jarrett rationally.

  Exciting, Bethany called him, and she had to acknowledge that Jarrett had an appeal that had in no way lessened through the years, in fact his obvious wealth seemed to have increased his arrogant assurance, and so heightened that air of authority and command that had always been a fundamental part of him. He was the sort of man who would easily impress someone as unworldly as Bethany, might even have affected Sian in the same way if she hadn’t already been burnt rather badly by his cruelty.

  Her father didn’t seem aware of the tension between Bethany and herself the next morning, reading the morning newspaper with his usual thoroughness as he ate a leisurely breakfast, before making his usual cheerful goodbye to them both.

  But Sian knew it could only be a matter of time before her father found out Bethany was seeing Jarrett. And he wouldn’t be pleased. He had sworn when Jarrett hurt her so badly that the other man would never enter his house again. He would be furious when he learnt that he already had!

  ‘I’m not going to apologise for last night,’ Bethany spoke stubbornly from the doorway, ready to leave for work herself.

  Sian looked up from the washing-up. ‘I didn’t think you were,’ she shrugged.

  ‘And I’m not going to change my mind about seeing Jarrett tonight either.’

  ‘No.’

  Bethany sighed her frustration with this sudden calm. ‘Why don’t you scream and shout?’ she scowled. ‘Tell me I’m a bitch for seeing him at all.’

  Sian’s mouth quirked with wry humour. ‘But I don’t think you are a bitch, you’re just another of Jarrett’s victims.’

  ‘You make him sound lethal!’

  ‘He is.’

  ‘Oh, Sian, that’s so melodramatic,’ Bethany dismissed impatiently. ‘He’s just a man.’

  ‘Yes,’ Sian agreed bitterly. ‘Except that he plays the game of love by rules no one else is familiar with.’

  ‘I’m not in love with him!’ her sister sighed.

  ‘Not yet.’ She turned away.

  ‘Would it bother you if I were?’ Bethany asked quietly.

  ‘You would only end up getting hurt,’ Sian didn’t directly answer the question.

  Bethany shrugged. ‘I’ll face that, if it ever happens. I have to go now. I’ll see you lunchtime?’

  ‘Of course,’ she confirmed dryly. ‘Where else would I be but here?’

  ‘I’ll cook lunch, if you like,’ Bethany offered generously.

  ‘If you’re sure we’re all up to it,’ she teased; all of them were familiar with the fact that cooking was not Bethany’s biggest talent.

  Her sister grimaced. ‘I don’t think even I could ruin a salad.’

  ‘No?’ Sian mocked softly. ‘I seem to remember that you burnt the new potatoes the last time you prepared us a salad.’

  Bethany smiled as the tension between them eased a little. ‘I’ll leave the potatoes
for you to do when you get in.’

  ‘Okay,’ laughed Sian. ‘Have a good morning.’

  Instead of leaving Bethany ran across the room to hug Sian, her youthful face pleading. ‘I’m sorry I’m such a nuisance to you,’ she smiled tremulously. ‘I really don’t mean to hurt you.’

  Sian smiled back at her. ‘I know that, love,’ she said huskily.

  ‘I—I have to see Jarrett. You understand that, don’t you?’ she cajoled pleadingly.

  She understood only too well her sister’s driving need to see Jarrett, had once been consumed by that need herself. But she wouldn’t let Jarrett hurt her sister as he had hurt her! If Bethany couldn’t be made to see sense then Jarrett would have to be the one she talked to. And soon.

  ‘I understand,’ she nodded.

  ‘Thank you!’ Bethany hugged her again before leaving.

  Yes, she understood. Oh, how she understood! Jarrett couldn’t do this, he just couldn’t!

  But he would, she knew he would. And he hadn’t been averse to evoking some painful memories for her last night, reminding her all too vividly of the way he had made love to her. Jarrett had made love with an unequalled eroticism, had claimed at the time that she did equal it.

  She determinedly put these soul-destroying thoughts from her mind, knew that to think of Jarrett as he had once seemed to her would surely destroy her.

  ‘’Morning.’ Ginny was sitting at Sian’s desk when she arrived at the surgery. ‘I hope you’re in a better mood than Chris,’ she grimaced. ‘He’s in a foul temper.’

  Sian had no intention of telling Ginny the reason for her brother’s bad mood, although she could see that was what the other girl was waiting for. ‘I’m fine,’ she smiled blandly.

  Ginny looked disappointed by this answer. ‘You don’t happen to know what’s upset my big brother, do you?’ She stood up.

  Sian took her place at the desk and began to deal with the post. ‘I have no idea. Why don’t you ask him?’

  ‘Because he’ll probably tell me to mind my own business!’ She sighed at Sian’s pointed look. ‘All right, so maybe I should. But there isn’t much that upsets Chris, and the last two days his temper has defied description.’