Beware of the Beast (32 page)

"And my mother?"

"Eight years ago, your father lost everything - his house,
his business, everything. That was when Alex first became involved. Years ago, your grandfather had done some busin
ess with the Faulkner
organisation
. On the strength of that,
your father came to us for a loan. At first, Alex refused. Why
not? First and foremost, Alex is a businessman. Your father
had no securities, no collateral. But eventually he relented,
and granted your father the loan. Unfortunately, so far as
your mother was concerned, it was too late. She had dis
covered her husband's debts, and you know what happened."

"Oh,
no !"
Charlotte felt chilled.

"I'm afraid so. Anyway, the loan went through. Your
father spun such a tale about his young daughter, how she
would have to leave school and so on. Alex agreed to lend him the money providing he gave up his gambling."

"But he didn't?"

"No. Alex saw him in Cannes, in Monte Carlo, in St.
Moritz. Wherever there were casinos, your father could be
found. It was obvious that he was mortgaging properties which did not in fact
belong to him. The inevitable happened!
Your father was
a loser, Charlotte. He was flat broke for the
second rime in his life, and his debts were colossal. So he came
crawling back to Alex. Can you imagine how Alex felt! Can you? By this time he knew all about you, had seen you,
had
begun to care what happened to you. That was when the
contract was agreed - an infamous contract indeed, but hardly
Alex's fault. He simply wanted to protect you, and there was
eo
other way he could do it. He didn't want to adopt you.
That wasn't at all how he felt about you. And anything else
would have been open to speculation of the most unpleasant
kind. But in the end, your father could not go through with
it, apparently. No one will ever really know. Except that that
insurance policy stands as witness."

"But how could they let him take out
a
policy in his financial circumst
ances?"

"What circumstances? Oh, Charlotte, your father knew
what he was doing when he came to Alex. Alex had all the
agreements for the loans drawn up privately. No one in the
city knew that he owned Mortimer Securities.
Mortimer
Securities!"
He gave a short laugh. "What a misnomer that
was!"

Charlotte sank down into her chair again. To think that
all these months she had blamed Alex for her father's death. As George said, he should have told her.

And yet should
he ?
If she had insisted on knowing the truth
before committing herself to him, he might always have
wondered
whether she had done it out of love - or gratitude. As
is was
, she was glad she knew the truth, but she was even
t
the
had taken Alex on trust, for the man he was.

The door
opened again, and Alex came back into the library. “
Okay,
"he
said. "He's waiting to have a word with you, George.”

George nodded and
left the room, and after the door had
at Charlotte. "Well?" he said. “Have you had second thoughts?”

Charlotte nodded. "And third and fourth ones," she
answered, flinging herself out of the chair and into his arms.
"Oh, Alex I I'll do my best to make you
happy !"
She pressed
her face against his chest, loving the feel of hard muscle
beneath her cheek.

"Hey?" Alex looked tenderly down at her. "What did I do
to deserve this?"

Charlotte sniffed
,,
blinking away unexpected tears.
"Oh,
nothing!"
She pressed a kiss against his throat. "Just tell me
one-more thing - why did you want me to stop feeding
Nicholas?" The baby's name sounded enchanting to her ears.

Alex frowned. "Who told you I did?"

"I didn't have to be told. I overheard you and Nurse
Hani
talking."

"In Greek?"

Charlotte's eyes twinkled. ''I haven't been entirely idle
while you've been away. Now stop prevaricating. Why did
you?"

Alex chuckled. "I could say I was jealous, but I won't,"
he murmured, amused at her deepening
colour
. "Honey, how
could I get you to myself if you were all tied up here? Besides,
you were wearing yourself out, and I was worried about you."

"And Miss Francis?"

"Do you like her?"

"I hardly know her. She seems efficient"

"She has excellent references," agreed Alex seriously. "She
was nanny to the children of a business colleague. I wouldn't
consider leaving our son in just anybody's hands. But if you're
not happy..."

"Oh, I am." Charlotte breathed
a
sigh of contentment.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Alex shook his head. "I guess -!
was
afraid. Honey, you
might still have
been hating
me, and I don't think I could
have borne that."

Charlotte pressed herself against him, feeling his instant
response. How much she loved this man who was her hus
band! To imagine life without him now did not bear thinking
about

"Well, anyway," she breathed huskily, "I'm glad the wait
ing time is over."

"So am I," answered Alex fervently, against her ear.
"I was getting a little tired of sleeping in the dressing room."

Charlotte smiled, putting her hand behind his head and pulling his mouth down to hers. One day she would tell him
what George had told her.
But not yet.
For now it was
enough that they had each other, and their son would share
the love of both parents.
The legend had fulfilled its promise.