Patterson's Island Page 15

  `I'd like to see Beth alone,' he said stiffly, and glared at Gavin. 'I think I can say with some authority that I know her a little better than you do. I also know that she can be talked into something without giving it a great deal of thought.'

  `You mean the same way you talked her into your engagement?' murmured Gavin goadingly. `Well, I'm sorry, it's not on. She stays right here by my side from now on.' He gave Nicholas a warning look. 'I would advise you to accept the situation,' he said quietly, adding as a rider. 'This island is my home, and you're perfectly welcome to stay as long as you wish, on the understanding that you stay away from my fiancée. Break this condition, and you'll find yourself escorted to the airport within minutes.'

  Beth was a little surprised at the fury in his voice—as if he really meant it. Nicholas, however, was in no doubt of this, for he drew himself up and looked directly at Beth. 'Well, you heard that, didn't you? It seems I have no choice in the matter. It's up to you now, Beth. You know how I feel. I'm at the Royal,' he said haughtily, and looked at Gavin with undisguised hatred in his eyes. 'I trust you won't object if Beth wishes to give me a note to take to my mother?' he queried sarcastically.

  `As long as she sends it,' growled Gavin. 'She certainly won't be delivering it to you personally, in case that was what was on your mind ! '

  As there was nothing left to be said, Gavin escorted Nicholas out of the house, leaving a still tremb-

  ling Beth to marvel at the way he had pushed Nicholas out of her life. He had only just arrived in time too, for she had been about to commit herself irrevocably to marrying Nicholas.

  She curled her small hands into fists in an effort to stop them trembling. Somehow she had to get a hold on herself before Gavin came back—it was going to be embarrassing enough without her shaking from head to foot! She recalled his strong arm round her shoulders and the sheer relief his strength had given her when she needed it so badly. The tears dimmed her eyes. If he still wanted her to work as his secretary, then she would, and she didn't know what she'd do if he found someone else—she blinked the tears away. The idea was unbearable. She'd just refuse to go!

  Having steeled herself to behave normally when Gavin returned, she was a little nonplussed when he didn't return, and although she waited five minutes past the time she should have left, he still did not appear.

  With a sense of anti-climax, she picked up her bag and let herself out of the house. Was he now flaying himself for getting involved? she wondered, and was terrified she would expect him to go on with the farce. She gulped. And there was she hoping to remain as his secretary! She must want her head looking into ! How could she possibly stay now? And what, for goodness' sake, could she tell Janice? 'Look, dear, there's a possibility of us making it a double wedding! '

  On this thought she gurgled—it was absolutely

  ridiculous ! The whole thing had got out of perspective, and it was all Gavin's fault. He needn't have gone-that far—a thought then occurred to her that made her stop in her tracks. Suppose Nicholas stayed for the wedding? And it was more than possible that he would. If so, she would be back to square one with a vengeance ! Not so clever, Mr Patterson, she murmured. In fact, definitely foolhardy ! Nicholas was nobody's fool. It wouldn't take him long to sum up the situation once he had had time to think things over. Beth had a premonition that she had better start packing. She wasn't even sure she had time to attend Janice's wedding—which would jolly well serve her right, she told herself. It was her fault Gavin had intervened, leaving her in this mess!

  To Beth's untold relief Janice was out when she got back, and Mabel told her John had picked her up a short while before Beth's arrival, which meant an evening of blessed peace for her, and how she needed it !

  So far she had done nothing about finding herself another. job, but stupidly allowed herself to be lulled into accepting a position that was entirely unsuitable. Not that she had had much choice, she reminded herself, and to cap it all, she had to go and fall in love with a man who regarded her as a stupid child who required a firm hand now and again. She gulped. And how she was going to turn up to work tomorrow as if nothing had happened was beyond her comprehension. She could, of course, adapt herself to his way of looking at it—as an amusing incident—only it wasn't so amusing from where she stood. Mabel then

  called to her that her meal was ready, and she thrust aside the temptation to tell her that she wasn't hungry; it wasn't Mabel's fault that things were in such a mess.

  After a valiant attempt to do justice to Mabel's culinary efforts, Beth settled down in the lounge to look through some of Janice's magazines. In some of them were advertisements, and as she had not only to get a job but settle on somewhere to live, too, she vaguely hoped to be given a lead in this direction.

  At seven the phone rang, and Beth had a nasty suspicion that it would be Gavin with another of his laconic quips, asking if she was bearing up, and she frantically sought for something to say that would give him no inclination of her true feelings.

  Her hopes that it might perhaps be a personal call for Mabel diminished when Mabel called her to the phone, and she braced herself as she picked the receiver up. But it was not Gavin, but Nicholas.

  `I want to see you,' he said harshly. 'And I'm not going back until I do.'

  So he had done a little adding up, she thought, and come up with the right answer, but it wouldn't make any difference. 'It's no use, Nicholas. I hoped by now you would have understood that.'

  `Are you saying that you're not even prepared to say goodbye to me?' he demanded.

  `You heard what Gavin said,' she answered, hating herself for having to bring that up.

  `I repeat, I'm not going until I see you,' he replied obstinately. 'You know where I am; and I'm not likely to go anywhere—Patterson's seen to that,' he

  told her with a note of bitterness in his voice.

  Beth drew in her breath. So Gavin had had Nicholas placed on what was no less than house arrest! Her sense of justice made her reply weakly, 'We'll see.' Not actually promising, but intimating that she was willing to think about it.

  `Thank you,' he said on a note of satisfaction that told Beth it was settled that she would go to him

  Slowly replacing the receiver, she gave a deep sigh. She just wasn't up to this kind of cat and mouse game—she being the mouse, of course.

  `Who was that?' asked a voice behind her, making her jump, and she turned to face Gavin, who stood watching her with a look on his face that told her not to lie to him.

  She swallowed. 'Nicholas,' she answered slowly, adding swiftly in his defence, 'He just wanted to say goodbye to me.'

  `And reminding you which hotel he's staying at,' Gavin ground out furiously.

  Beth stared at his set jaw and blazing eyes, and had a suspicion of what was going through his mind. It must be galling for a man such as he, whose word was law in his part of the world, to come up against someone who was not prepared to be intimidated by him. He must also have come to the conclusion that Nicholas had not believed in the engagement story —no, she thought, that-wouldn't have gone down at all well.

  She met his smouldering eyes. 'I don't see how you could expect anything else,' she said, speaking her thoughts aloud. 'I mean, it was a bit too sudden,

  wasn't it? Nicholas, in spite of a certain remark you made once about him,' she pointed out firmly, 'is not stupid. He was well aware of the fact that you and I didn't exactly see eye to eye, and he hasn't been away that long ! ' She hesitated when she caught the look of amusement appear in his eyes again. She wanted to hit him; it was all a game to him, she thought bitterly and wished with all her heart she did love Nicholas and could tell him so there and then. 'If you hadn't gone overboard with the "Lord of the Isles" act, and invited him to our wedding,' she got out scathingly, `I wouldn't be in this mess. Did it ever occur to you that he might decide to accept the offer?' she demanded furiously, adding bitterly, 'Of course not! You were convinced he'd take off in a huff, weren't you? Well, he hasn't—a
nd that means I must!'

  And she would, she thought distractedly; she had had about enough. 'And,' she went on, now thoroughly worked up, 'you can tell Nicholas I had a touch of pre-wedding nerves and made a run for it—he'll understand. It's what he thought I'd done before. You can commiserate with each other ! ' She flung out as she began to sweep past him, only to find that he had blocked her way.

  `Let's go into the lounge,' he remarked conversationally. 'It's more comfortable there.'

  Beth's eyes opened wide, and a wave of frustration swept over her. As usual he just didn't listen to a word she said ! 'Sorry,' she ground out, 'but I've some packing to do.'

  `I shouldn't bother,' he drawled, and to her fury calmly swept her off her feet and carried her into the

  lounge, kicking the door shut behind them. Placing her on the settee, he sat down beside her, pushing her back firmly when she attempted to get to her feet.

  Now it's my turn,' he said, a little smugly to Beth's way of thinking. 'And you can do some listening. Pre-wedding nerves or not, you're not breaking this engagement, my girl. True, I didn't have the opportunity of actually asking you to marry me, but you'll do so, all the same.' He gave her a look as if to dare her to contradict him, then carried on blithely. Now that that's settled,' he said grandly, 'I shall begin to put you into a better frame of mind,' and he grabbed for the still gasping Beth, giving her a kiss that left her in no doubt of his feelings for her.

  She was still experiencing some difficulty in accepting the fact that he did indeed love her, and when he allowed her space to draw breath, she managed to get out, 'You mean you love me?' in an incredulous tone.

  He gave an exasperated groan. 'What more can I do to convince the woman?' he appealed to the room at large, and gave her another heart-stopping kiss. `Are you convinced?' he asked a little while later, in a slightly husky voice.

  Thoroughly shaken, Beth moved a little further away from him and tidied her hair with trembling hands. Things were getting a little out of hand, and she could no longer trust herself, or him. 'I think we'd better talk, don't you?' Her eyes pleaded with him to keep his distance, as did her voice, that shook a little.

  Gavin looked a little disappointed, but gave a wicked grin, 'It's safer, you mean?' he said softly,

  then sighed. 'I have to admit that on this occasion you're right.' His eyes met and held hers: 'Three days, my love, that's all you're getting, I'm afraid. I meant it when I spoke of a double wedding.'

  Beth's brain whirled. It wasn't long, was it? She glanced back at Gavin watching her with that certain look in his eyes, and thought it might be a good idea if she made him a drink or something—anything to take her out of his immediate vicinity ! Well, she had rather wanted a white wedding, it wouldn't be the same somehow. Besides, Janice would be in white.

  As if reading her mind, Gavin drawled, 'It doesn't particularly matter what you wear, as long as you say "I will" in the appropriate place. However,' he added as if it had been an afterthought, 'I've made arrangements for you to be fitted out in your wedding gear at a salon my family's patronised for some years. It's in St John's, by the way. I'll run you over tomorrow.'

  Beth gasped, and forgetting her resolve to keep her distance flung herself at him. 'Oh, I love you so much ! ' she exclaimed.

  Above her head, and with his chin resting on her ash blond curls, Gavin muttered, 'And to think it took a dress to make her say it ! '

  In a voice that was slightly muffled because her head was buried in his shoulder, she said, 'You're a fine one to talk ! You never gave me a hint that you loved me, and I was so unhappy.'

  Gavin gathered her close. 'I didn't want to do another Nicholas on you,' he said lovingly. 'He taught me a valuable lesson in not rushing my fences. Sure,

  there were times when I wanted to kiss the living daylights out of you—when I'd decided I didn't want to strangle you, that was,' he gave a low chuckle, But I'd have scared you-to death, wouldn't I? I called myself all kinds of a fool for forcing things to a head the night of the regatta. I could have lost you.'

  Beth raised her head and stared at him. `Do you mean to tell me you knew then?' she asked indignantly.

  Another deep chuckle greeted this question. 'Let's say I got confirmation of a hair-raising suspicion that I'd gone overboard for a maddening little minx who took a delight in disturbing my peace. Not to mention pushing me into the swimming pool—or wrecking my car!'

  `I'm not claiming any salary,' Beth hastily pointed out.

  But I'm claiming compensation,' said Gavin, against her lips.