Patterson's Island

  Patterson's Island by Jane corrie

  Past experience made her wary this time!

  "I'll give you some good advice." Gavin snapped. "Go back to the poor devil you jilted. You won't find anyone else willing to put up with your tantrums!" Sparks flew between them as Beth made an effort, with a few words of her own, to put this tin-pot island-god in his place. She had run away from one domineering man, and wasn't going to put up with another!

  PRINTED IN U.S.A.

  OTHER 'Harlequin 'Romances by JANE CORRIE

  1956—THE IMPOSSIBLE BOSS 2020—RAINBOW FOR MEGAN 2038—SINCLAIR TERRITORY 2053—GREEN PADDOCKS 2072—THE BAHAMIAN PIRATE 2087—DANGEROUS ALLIANCE 2098—RIMMER'S WAY 2159—RAFFERTY'S LEGACY

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  Original hardcover edition published in 1977 by Mills & Boon Limited

  ISBN 0-373-02167-4

  Harlequin edition published May 1978

  Copyright © 1977 by Jane Corrie. All rights reserved.

  Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the permission of the publisher.

  All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.

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  CHAPTER ONE

  BETH KNIGHT climbed stiffly out of the ancient taxi she had been lucky enough to secure at the island's small airport, and had barely had time to pay her fare before she was engulfed by what felt like a small tornado, but was actually her sister Janice.

  `How on earth did you manage it?' demanded Janice, and hardly giving Beth time to draw breath, dragged her into the house, holding on to her as if she feared she might vanish into thin air. They had got as far as the hallway before she remembered Beth's luggage, and shouted for someone called Johnny to collect it.

  Still holding tightly on to Beth's arm, Janice drew her into a room to the right of the well-carpeted hallway, and thrusting her into an armchair, stood looking at her with a smile on her face but tear-dimmed eyes. 'I just can't believe it!' she said happily. 'I only got your cablegram an hour ago. You should have sent it to Chartways, and I could have arranged for someone to meet you.'

  Beth, still recovering from her sister's exuberant welcome, grinned back at her, although the smile was tremulous, for she was dangerously close to tears herself. It had been almost two years since she had seen her sister, but felt more like five, for they were very fond of each other, and were the only survivors

  of what had once, been a reasonable sized close-knit family, until a motor accident had robbed them of their parents and an older brother in one fell swoop.

  Hastily swallowing a lump in her throat, Janice grinned weakly at Beth. 'Howdy, Paleface ! ' she said shakily, raising a hand in mock salute.

  `Don't rub it in,' Beth said ruefully. 'It's April back home, remember. As for you—put a white flower in your hair, and you'd pass for a native of the Isles!' she commented, studying Janice and noticing how her golden tan was accentuated by the white dress she wore. Her long dark hair hung loose and gently curled at the ends, in a pageboy style.

  The sisters were not much alike; Janice, tall and dark, had taken after her father, but had the gentle nature of her mother; whereas Beth had inherited her mother's fairer colouring, and grey-green eyes, but there the resemblance ended, for she had been endowed with her father's blunt Scots temperament, adored an argument, and would go to extraordinary lengths to prove her point.

  Janice was twenty-six, and three years older than Beth, but to see them together, the gap looked much wider, for Janice's five feet nine, against Beth's demure five feet four, made Beth appear very much the little sister, but those well acquainted with the sisters never made the mistake of referring to this. What Beth lacked in inches, she made up for in character.

  `You haven't answered my question,' prompted Janice. 'How did you manage it? I've been consumed with curiosity since I got the cablegram.'

  `I made a run for it while the going was good,' replied Beth a shade defiantly, her chin held high.

  Janice stared at her. 'You mean Nicholas didn't know you were coming?' she asked incredulously, adding quickly, 'Well, that explains a lot. When do we start the countdown?' she tacked on dryly.

  `We don't. It's over—finished ! ' answered Beth, and held her hand out for Janice to see the empty space on her third finger, that still felt curiously light after supporting the large ring for almost a year.

  Janice's fascinated eyes lingered on the unadorned hand still held out for her inspection, then burst into tears. 'I'm so happy,' she sobbed, fumbling in her dress pocket for a handkerchief she failed to locate.

  calmly handing her one of her tissues, Beth waited while her sister carried out a hasty repair job, and sniffed a couple of times before going on. 'I knew you'd come to your senses one day,' she said shakily, taking a deep breath. 'But I was so afraid it would be too late when you did.' She gave Beth a watery smile. 'If only you knew how worried I've been about you!' She drew another deep breath. 'He was all wrong for you; I didn't see much of you on that flying visit home, did I? He saw to that! He was terrified I'd whisk you back with me—which I would have done given half a chance ! ' She swallowed. 'Because that was the original plan, wasn't it? I wouldn't have left otherwise; it was knowing that you would join me when you'd got through the secretarial course, that made me go at all.'

  Beth remembered, and sat silent, knowing her sister's thoughts, like hers, were on the past. She recalled

  a tearful Janice waving goodbye on the plane's runway; the plane that was to take her to the island they were now on; Patterson's Island; one of a small cluster of islands in the Caribbean, on the other side of the world, and it had certainly felt that far away to Beth at the time. Even now she could recall the utter loneliness that had engulfed her as she had watched the plane circling above her, then dwindling away into the distance. Gone was the bravado she had determinedly shown whenever Janice had tried to back out of the fabulous job she had landed in one of the world's playgrounds; for there were times when one could carry the big sister act too far, and Beth had felt that this would have been one of them.

  Home, as they had known it, no longer existed. It was just a house full of memories; one day there had been laughter, life, and expectation—the next, nothing. Only an awful stillness; Beth, at least, had been able to escape to the hostel in London, where she had had to stay in order to attend the secretarial course, but Janice had no such escape, for she had worked in an accountants' office in the small town near their home.

  When Janice had applied for the advertised job on Patterson's Island, it had caused much apprehension in the family, for both Mr and Mrs Knight had not been at all keen on their lovely daughter straying that far from the fold. However, it was considered highly unlikely that she would be successful, for the salary alone had guaranteed an overwhelming response, let alone the locality
; and to be strictly honest, Beth had had doubts that Janice, should she have been success-

  ful, would have gone through with it, for although she Might dream of faraway places, she was really a home-loving girl and very attached to her parents.

  Confirmation that she had been successful came just two days after the tragedy, and it was the best thing that could have happened to her at that time. Beth gave herself a mental shake. That was all in the past, this was the future. She looked back at Janice, who sat watching her, her large brown eyes now showing concern.

  Seeing that she had caught Beth's attention, she jumped up quickly. 'What am I thinking of? You must be longing for a drink! All this way, and her loving sister doesn't even offer her a drink ! What will it be, love?' Then before Beth could answer, she added, 'I think we need something stronger than tea or coffee—we're celebrating ! '

  While Janice busied herself with the drinks, Beth — looked about her. For a 'Cottage' as Janice had continually called her home, the lounge they sat in was a large room, and hardly what Beth had imagined Janice's home to look like, for she had somehow got the idea of a small cottage dwelling on the outskirts of Janice's employer's land, and had expected to find just that; but as she gazed around at the expensive lounge, not to mention the luxurious fittings, where old-world furniture blended harmoniously with modern pieces—the cocktail cabinet Janice was now standing by, for one thing—Beth found herself slightly bewildered, and wondered how Janice had managed to furnish it so lavishly.

  It did occur to her that perhaps Janice had spent

  her half of their inheritance on the trappings she had surrounded herself with, for the girls were not short of money—their father's building business had been in a healthy state before his premature demise—but even so, the contents of this room alone would have rapidly depleted such resources, Beth mused, as her eyes lingered on the thick carpeting her feet had sunk into, and went on to take in the handsome velvet curtains that hung either side of the french windows opposite her. She looked across at Janice busily mixing the drinks, and frowning in concentration. 'Are you still solvent, darling?' she asked dryly.

  Picking up the drinks and carrying them over towards Beth, Janice was too immersed in her thoughts to hear the question. 'How you ever got engaged to him in the first place was beyond me,' she commented, handing Beth her drink, and subjecting her to a quick appraisal.

  Beth accepted the drink and gave a wry grimace in answer then said almost apologetically, 'I can't say I actually remember him asking me. It was taken for granted, it seems.'

  Janice gave a loud sniff. 'Yes, that would be like him. Not the type to let the grass grow under his feet, is he? He frightened me to death—so domineering ! ' She gave Beth a straight look. 'You barely spoke, and when you did, he finished the sentence for you! What did he do—brainwash you?' she demanded, then went on before Beth could answer, 'Now that type would have found me a pushover, but you ...' she frowned. 'How on earth you could have let someone make a ' she groped for the word she wanted.

  `Zombie?' replied Beth helpfully.

  `Exactly ! cried Janice triumphantly. 'Oh, I'll grant you he's good-looking, and if his home's anything to go by, disgustingly rich, but looks and wealth do not make for happiness.' She shook her head bewilderedly. 'How could you be happy with a man like that? It was "Yes, Nicholas" or "No, Nicholas" —I'd never thought I'd live to see the day someone could do that to you.'

  Beth knew what she meant; although she was only just beginning to understand it herself. 'I can only plead temporary insanity ' she said softly. 'What did John think of him?'

  `The same as I,' answered Janice, smiling in recollection. 'Poor darling, I gave him a rough passage back. At first, I didn't want to come back. I had some mad idea of staying on and trying to persuade you to break off the engagement—or at least, make certain that you really knew what you were doing.' She gave a rueful grin. 'But John was right; he said you were over twenty-one, and could please yourself.' She brushed a stray hair off her forehead. 'I was so cross with him at the time; he didn't really know you, and had no idea how much you'd changed she broke off abruptly and dabbed her eyes quickly. `Oh, dear,' she gave a strangled chuckle, `do you remember the scrapes I had to get you out of when we were young? How you had a nasty habit of picking an argument with someone twice your size, and how I'd have to finish it for you? and then to find you like that—afraid to say boo to a goose ...' She couldn't go on, and swallowed hastily.

  Beth grinned weakly at her. 'Guilty, me lud, but insane,' she intoned.

  `I couldn't,' went on Janice, after taking a quick sip at her drink, 'get it out of my head that it was all my fault,' and at Beth's raised brows at this statement, she went on quickly, 'Yes, it was,' she insisted. 'I should never have left you. We were both in a state of shock, and goodness knows how long it takes to wear off. Thank heaven, in my case, I had John. Gavin sent him to meet me when I first arrived here, and since then he's always been around.' She blushed rosily, 'He said it was love at first sight, but he didn't crowd me. Somehow he sensed I needed help, and between them, Gavin and John pulled me round.'

  `Gavin?' queried Beth, not recalling having heard Janice mention the name before.

  `Mr Patterson,' said Janice. 'My boss, and a nicer man I've yet to meet—excluding my John, of course ! ' she smiled. 'Honestly, love, I've been so lucky. I love my job, and—oh, everything ! ' She broke off, frowning. 'At least, I was happy, until we paid that flying visit home when John and I became engaged.' She sighed. 'And I'd so much wanted to meet your Nicholas—not that you'd said much about him—and no wonder! It's a marvel he didn't insist on vetting your mail, out as well as in ! ' Her fingers clenched round the damp tissue she still held. 'If Nicholas Harbin had had half of my John's sensitivity, I wouldn't have been so worried, but that type of man sees only what he wants to see, and heaven help anyone who gets in their way ! '

  She grinned shamefully at Beth who sat watching'

  her with a hint of amusement in her eyes, thinking that although Janice had only been in Nicholas's presence twice for what could have been not much longer than an hour, she had correctly assessed him, and again wondered how she could ever have contemplated marrying him.

  Holding her hand out for Beth's empty glass, Janice carried them back for a refill, but before doing so she walked over to the french windows and drew the curtains, for it was now dusk, and Beth, noting this, felt a spurt of surprise, for she had arrived in broad daylight, but she recalled Janice telling her that night fell suddenly in that corner of the world. It was going to take some getting used to, she thought tiredly—that, and her liberation from Nicholas's dominant presence.

  Janice walked back to the cocktail cabinet, and continued her theme with, 'John said that if you had any sense you'd wake up to what was happening to you.' She gave Beth a lopsided grin. 'He also said there were some women who actually liked being dominated.' Her cheeks flooded with colour at the recollection. 'I'm one of them, I'm afraid,' she confessed. 'I don't think I could love a man who lets himself be ruled by a woman. Mind you, that's me, not you; and there's a difference in John's dominance of me—at least he lets me think I'm getting my own way, when really I'm not—but I don't realise it until it's too late ! '

  Beth chuckled; she had formed the same opinion of John herself. The tall solid-looking blond man, with the twinkling blue eyes, and quiet unassuming

  nature, had given the impression of an easy-going man, yet underneath Beth had sensed a very determined character, and had been so happy for Janice, and so grateful for that flying visit they had paid her as soon as they had got engaged.

  Ever since John's name had first cropped up in Janice's letters, it was easy to see which way the wind blew. As Mr Patterson's estate manager, he was in constant contact with Janice, a situation which suited both parties admirably. Thinking back, Beth recalled how she had tried to persuade Nicholas to take her out there for a holiday, but he always found a perfectly valid excuse as to why such a jo
urney was out of the question, at the particular time she had suggested. It had never occurred to her that he might be jealous of Janice's influence on her. She took a sip of the drink Janice had just handed her, absently noticing how refreshing it was, but her thoughts were far away. If it hadn't been for Janice and John's visit, she might still be living in cloud cuckoo land, for there wasn't any other way she could describe her state of mind at that time.

  It was the way they had looked at each other, as if some invisible thread held them together, and for the first time, Beth looked at her relationship with Nicholas. And it was Nicholas, she thought sadly, not Nick—one would never entertain calling him Nick. There was something about him that definitely discouraged such familiarity. It had never occurred to her before to wonder why, perhaps because he was too proud, not to mention arrogant. She sighed inwardly. Perhaps if he'd had a sense of humour it

  might have helped, but he hadn't, at least, not at the small, but human frailties of life. He would never ever laugh at himself, or admit defeat in any sphere. Surrounded by wealth and a doting mother, he had never known what it was like to have to go without, in fact the word 'no' didn't exist in his vocabulary !

  `Darling?' Janice broke into her musings quietly with, 'Do you mind if I vanish for a second or two? Mabel will be waiting to know what time to serve dinner.'

  A slightly bewildered Beth shook her head, and her bemused eyes followed Janice as she left the room. Servants too ! She had known Janice was getting an extremely good salary, but didn't think it went that far ! The help might, of course, come with house, and if so, it appeared Janice had certainly fallen on her feet. She gave herself a mental shake; all this Janice would tell her later. She closed her eyes. She felt extremely tired, mentally-exhausted as well as physically, and still not quite able to believe she was actually here, and able to live as a person in her own right—to be able to make her own decisions, she shuddered, and never ever allow herself to become enmeshed again.