Borrowed Wife (11 page)

‘What
bargain?’ Kent Madden leaned forward in his bed and glared at her. ‘What sort
of bargain would a man like that make? And even if he did he’d never honour
it.’

The word ‘honour’ seemed to
sit uneasily on his tongue and Abigail looked at him sharply. In spite of
everything she trusted Logan and she knew without any doubt at all that he
would hold to his word whatever happened.

‘I’m going to America with him when you’re better, she told her father firmly. ‘I’m going as—as his
hostess. At the last moment she shied off from saying his wife. That would have
been too much for her father to take. ‘He has a deal there and he needs me. In
return he’s offered to take the Madden Corporation under his wing, either to
buy us out or to get it on its feet to hand it back to us. He’ll agree to
whatever you decide and he’ll also make it known that he’s involves. That would
make us reasonably viable again and take all the heat off.’

Abigail finished in a
breathless rush, anxiously watching her father’s face, and he lay back against
the pillows, his high colour fading, his eyes narrowed and calculating.

‘He wants you back?’ he
finally asked, and Abigail shook her head decidedly.

‘Definitely not! I wouldn’t
go in any case but that’s not what he wants at all. It’s just a cover for a
business deal and when it’s over he suggests that I get a divorce.’ Kent
Madden’s head shot up at that and he looked at her closely again.

‘It must
be a big deal,’ be probed quietly.

‘It is.
It’s another foothold in America and he doesn’t want it to fall through.
Apparently the man involved doesn’t like anyone of Logan’s age to be
unattached. He’s old-fashioned.’ 85

 ‘So
you’re going as his wife.’ Her father said that flatly, still watching her, no
sign of anger or outrage on his face.

‘In name
only,’ she assured him quickly, and he nodded thoughtfully.

We’ve
nothing to lose and everything to gain,’ he pronounced after a second’s
thought. He smiled for the last time, a light in his eyes that she didn’t
exactly like. ‘Go ahead, Abigail. It will get the firm right off the hook. Good
girl.’

It made
her feel even worse, even more valueless, and as she left he made one more
comment that put the whole thing into a new light

‘You’re still
his wife, after all.’

Yes. It
was all right to be Logan’s wife if it was useful to the Madden Corporation. If
there had not been this bitterness between Logan and her father, Kent Madden
would have welcomed his new son-in-law with open arms five years ago. He would
have seen it as a decided advantage to the firm. That was what it all boiled
down to, and she left feeling like a mere commodity to be moved at will by two
powerful men who looked over her head and disregarded her as a person.

Logan
phoned that night to ask about her father and she
had to tell him about the operation. He was silent for a minute.

‘It seems
to me that we had agreed that if anything happened you would contact me.’ he said idly.

 ‘Nothing happened. I
didn’t think you wanted bothering with every detail.’

‘What you mean is that you
wanted to make damned sure that I had no excuse for being anywhere near you,’
he grated. When it this operation taking place?’ he finished angrily.

‘Tomorrow.’
Before he could say that he would go to the hospital with her she told him
about her conversation with her father. I told him about-about our bargain.’
she said quickly.

‘And?’
Logon seemed to be very still and quiet; even over the telephone she could
detect that.

‘He seems
to think it’s a good idea.’

She heard
Logan laugh—a cold, harsh sound that had her hand tightening on the receiver.
‘I can well believe it,’ he assured her acidly. He does realise, I hope, that
it will necessitate you being out of the country?’

‘I told
him all that but—but I can’t go before he has his operation.’

‘Do you
think I would expect you to, Abigail?’ he murmured softly I want a happy,
smiling wife with me, not some wistful creature who’s looking over her shoulder
all the time, expecting bad news. We can wait until this is over. We’ll go as
soon as we know he’s safe,’

‘Thank
you.’ She said it quietly and this time when he laughed the anger had gone. She
could imagine his grey eyes sparkling and the thought of them brought a slow
flush to her cheeks.

You’re
welcome. Mrs. Steele,’ he told her mockingly. She just kept quiet and his voice
dropped into the familiar dark sound, ‘I give up on you, Abbie. You’ll
obviously never toughen up. In all probability I’ll spent most of my trip to America watching to see that nobody upsets you.’

‘I can
take care of myself!’ she managed sharply, and his laughter was even more
amused

‘Well, we
can pretend. Providing that I’m right beside you, we can pretend anything.’

Abigail
simply rang off, glad to cut off the sound of his voice. The old familiar
shivers were running over her skin and she walked about the flat for ages,
berating herself.

‘I will not fall for
anything again!’ she told herself fiercely. ‘I will not let Logan get to me.’

It was a panicky reaction
to his voice, just as she had felt a panicky reaction to his presence before.
And who was she fooling anyway? The reason she had not contacted him and asked
him to go with her to the hospital was not that she had not needed his support,
it was because she had felt too vulnerable to have him around.

Even the way he had grabbed
her and held her roughly the last time she had seen him had lingered in her
mind. He was always there, right at the back of her thoughts, and the sooner
she was able to be entirely free of him, the safer they would be.

The operation went smoothly
with no trouble at all. Apparently, apart from his heart condition, her father
was still a tough and strong man. The surgeon told her that later. At the last
minute she had telephoned Logan and told him the time of the operation, and
when she’d arrived Logan had already been there. He waited with her throughout
the long operation and although he said very little it gave her courage to look
up and see him reading a paper or wandering around watching the hospital in
progress. He was like a rock, immovable, strong, and she had never doubled
that.

Afterwards
he took her out for a meal and that night Abigail slept mote peacefully than
she had slept for a long time. Logan’s quiet presence had soothed her like a
drug. For just one short time there had been safety. 88

It was
only the next day that she was sufficiently back in the world to realise that
this was it. Now there was nothing to stop Logan making his arrangement for the
trip to America. She had leaned on his strength, accepted his help both with
the firm and with her problems. Now she had to pay the price and keep her side
of the bargain.

Going in to work could not
be put off any longer and although there was still an uneasy atmosphere in the
building it was possible to sense, with no words spoken, that everyone knew
things had changed.

‘Logan is helping,’ she told Martha. In all fairness she had to tell Martha something and
the truth had always seemed best to Abigail.

‘About
time too,’ Martha sniffed, but it didn’t take any crystal ball to see that she
was delighted. She asked no questions and Abigail offered no further comment.
If Martha wanted to believe that they were back together again she would find
out sooner or Iater that it was all a business deal.

‘I have
to go to America,’ she offered a little distantly, and to her surprise Martha
took that well too, with no questions.

‘Things
will still be here when you get back,’ she said comfortably, and Abigail
pretended not to see the pleased gleam in her eyes. It seemed that she was not
the only one who could relapse into dreams. Martha suffered from the same
disease as far as Logan was concerned.

‘By the
way,’ she added as Abigail was about to go to her office, ‘Brian Wingate
phoned. He’s back from Germany sooner than he expected.’

‘Fine.’
Abigail smiled slightly and walked off. Another problem. She hid her sudden
frown. There was the little matter of his offer of a job and there was the
somewhat bigger matter of her lie about him to Logan.

Still, it
was not important. The two would never meet, and she would contact Brian as
soon as this deal with Logon was over because quite clearly she would need that
job. She had no intention of working here with Logan constantly in and out as
he set the firm to rights. She also had no intention of being tossed this way
and that by every whim of her father. If he wanted to come back here and work
with Logan he was welcome to try it.

For the
first time in a long time, Abigail enjoyed the day at work. For some reason a
weight seemed to have lifted from her and she did not know whether it
was
the promise of Logan taking over
or if her new determination to stand alone had something to do with it.

She left
the office with a smile on her face. Now that her father was off the danger
list there was no need at all to stay at the flat and she had her own car with
her. Tonight she intended to go home, make arrangements with Rose and acquaint
her with all the facts.

She was
just approaching her car when Brian drew up and sounded his horn, stopping her
in her tracks. He wound the window down and shouted before he had even got out
of his car.

‘Abigail,
love! I’m back! You can stop worrying. Rescue is here...’

She
turned at the sound of his voice, laughing towards him, glad to see his
warm-looking eyes peering at her from the open window of the car, his fair hair
untidy as if he had been in a strong breeze. Her laughter faded, however, when
the familiar dark Jaguar pulled in silently behind Brian’s more modest vehicle
and Logan sat watching events with icy eyes and a mouth tightened in anger.

Before
she could take any action, an unsuspecting Brian had leapt from his car and
hurried over to give her a great hug and to kiss her soundly—a thing he had
never done before in the whole time she had known him.

‘I came
tearing back from Germany as soon as I could,’ he told her eagerly. ‘I’ve been
worrying about you all the time. Now we can plan your future.’

Abigail
stood like someone stunned. Dimly she heard the dull thud of the Jaguar door
closing and she knew that somewhere very close Logan was on his feel and moving
towards them. For herself, she was powerless to move. All her calm thoughts in
the safety of the office had now vanished. Logan was about to meet Brian face
to face and he would readily believe her lie now after Brian’s unrestrained
show of affection.

Embarrassment
held her to the spot and it was only as she stared over Brian’s shoulder,
watching Logan’s approach with wide and anxious eyes, that Brian sensed some
strain in the atmosphere.

‘What is
it, love?’ he asked in a puzzled voice. Brian had a boisterous voice that
carried and she wondered desperately how much Logan had heard of his greeting
‘There’s no need to worry now. You’ll come to me and everything will be all
right. The firm can go hang.’

He meant,
of course, that she would be working for him but she could tell by the thunder
on Logan’s face that he had misunderstood.

‘Abigail
is overwhelmed,’ Logan assured him as he came up to them. His voice was as icy
as his eyes and Brian spun round almost open-mouthed. ‘However,’ Logan continued, ‘the firm will not go hang and my wife will not come to you. She has a
future that does not even contain a glimpse of you.’

You’re back together?’
Brian stared at him, too stunned to be afraid of the anger in those cold eyes.

‘Oh, yes,’ Logan assured him sarcastically. ‘I’m sure if you had given her half a chance she would
have told you. Next week we’re going to America—a second honeymoon.’ He paused
and looked from his greater height into Brian’s astonished face. ‘Don’t make
the mistake of trying to see her again.’

He took
Abigail’s arm in a tight grip and before she could react she was being moved
forcibly towards the jaguar.

‘Let me
got’ Even now, embarrassment kept her voice low, and Logan stopped, looking
down at her with wild anger on his face.

‘If I let
you go, my dear Abigail, I also let the firm go. It will drop from a great
height and be smashed. The bank will catch the worthwhile pieces and by the
time your father leaves hospital there will not even be the dust to sweep up.’

‘You
promised!’ Abigail stared up at him, her expression a mixture of anger and
fear. She’d had one day of relief from strain and now she was being propelled
back into it.

‘And I
keep my promises, as you know,’ Logan reminded her harshly. ‘We have a deal.
All by yourself you struck a bargain with me and I made it clear that should
anyone even begin to imagine that it was a sham then the deal would be off.
Moving in with Wingate would be a fairly strong way of proving that we are not
at all reconciled. From that moment on, you would be no use to me at all. I
would not feel obliged to keep my end of the bargain.’