Merlyn's Magic (23 page)

She was picking disinterestedly at the dinner she had
ordered when the knock sounded on her door, and as she approached it
she wished Anne's hotel, like American ones, had installed peepholes to
the doors so that she might now know who was standing on the other side
of hers before she opened it.

Rand, in all honesty, was the last person she had expected
to see. Even though she had hoped.

She looked up at him with wide green eyes, glad she had
chosen to put on black fitted trousers and a bright red blouse tucked
in at the waist, knowing she looked coolly elegant. When she had chosen
the clothes she had known she would need to feel confident of her
appearance if she had
any
visitors this evening.
It had to be an improvement on the last time Rand had seen her.

'You have my jacket,' he finally rasped.

Merlyn nodded abruptly. 'I'll get it.' She bit her lip as
she turned away.

He reached out to lightly grasp her arm. 'Can I come in?'

She blinked up at him uncertainly. 'I—If you
would like to,' she nodded breathlessly.

'I would,' he said huskily, closing the door softly behind
him.

Merlyn watched him as she crossed the room to pick up his
jacket from the chair she had draped it across earlier. Late this
afternoon he had looked furiously angry, now he just looked tired,
tired and a little uncertain. Uncertain? It wasn't an emotion she had
ever associated with him before.

'Here you are.' She held out the jacket to him.

He made no effort to take it from her slightly trembling
hand. 'Do they hurt?'

She eyed him warily at this totally enigmatic question.
'What?'

'The contact lenses,' he explained gruffly. 'I got quite a
shock today when I looked into your eyes and saw they were blue instead
of green! Drake mentioned something about your wearing contact lenses
the other evening, but even so it was—startling.'

Merlyn swallowed hard. 'Christopher believes —he
decided that it was Suzie's eyes that made her so hypnotic to watch,
the deep deep blue of them. I think he's right, but if you
object—'

'He told me about you and Hillier,' Rand cut in harshly.

She gave him a startled look for the interruption. 'Told
you what?'

'About the rough time he's been giving you, how you didn't
want to do that scene with him today. That the only way you could do it
was by pretending he really was me,' he added searchingly.

Colour warmed her cheeks, in fact her whole body suddenly
felt warm. 'Rand, I—'

'Did you do that?' he pressured. 'Just answer me yes or
no!'

She moistened her lips. 'Yes,' she finally admitted
forcefully.

'That's all I needed to know.' The breath left his body in
a ragged sigh. 'When I saw his hands all over you today I—'

'On me?' Merlyn looked at him uncertainly. 'But I
thought—we
all
thought— We
all thought you were angry because I was supposed to be Suzie,' she
frowned.

'That was only part of it,' he rasped. 'The rest was all
you. I didn't like seeing another man touching you the way I do!'

'Oh Rand!' She moved instinctively towards the shelter of
his arms, hesitating before she reached them.

'Merlyn?' He was watching her with narrowed eyes as she
faltered.

'Yesterday you said—'

'Yesterday afternoon I telephoned you to let you know I
wouldn't be back last night—'

'Last night, you mean,' she corrected tautly. 'I was
having dinner when you called, remember?'

'That was the second time I called,' he bit out. 'The
first time was late in the afternoon, about four-thirty. When you
weren't in your room they thought you might still be out
filming—'

She shook her head even as he spoke. 'I told you, we
didn't do my scene yesterday, I spent most of the day in the
games-room,' she told him frowningly. 'Playing snooker.' She hadn't
received that first call!

Dark brows rose at this absently-made addition. 'You play?'

Her mouth twisted. 'If you don't mind losing your money
I'll give you a game some time!'

'You play,' he acknowledged dryly. 'Well, obviously the
hotel staff didn't know where you were when the call came through, and
I was just going to leave a message with them to tell you I had called
when one of the actors came in to the reception. They asked him if he
had any idea where you were…'

'Mark!' she realised with a sinking heart.

'Yes,' Rand grated, his hands thrust into his trouser
pockets. 'He said he didn't know where you were either but—'

'That's a lie,' she gasped. 'All the crew knew I was in
the games-room!'

Rand sighed. 'He chose not to tell me that, but said
instead that you could probably be reached in the dining-room that
evening, that you and Christopher Drake spent every moment together
that you could.'

'And when you telephoned later that night—'

'You were in the dining-room with a friend!' Rand finished
tautly.

'Liza. And she's definitely a female,' she told him
softly. 'I didn't even
see
Christopher last
night. If I had I would have tried once again to get him to drop the
nudity in today's scene. I never wanted to do it in the first place.'

'Drake told me that too,' Rand put in gently.

'Somehow the part of the Good Samaritan doesn't sit well
on those cynical shoulders.' Her voice held suspicion.

'He did mention something about "an unhappy actress is a
bad actress"…' Rand said wryly.

'Now
that
does sound like him!' She
gave a husky laugh, her hands twisting together, unsure where they went
from here. If they went anywhere.

Rand's eyes narrowed. 'Just how vindictive is Hillier
towards you?' he asked abruptly.

She gave a ragged sigh. 'From what you've just told me
about yesterday, I would say very.' She had no difficulty at all in
believing Mark had set out to cause trouble between Rand and herself,
in fact she knew he would take great pleasure in trying to ruin her
life for a second time in retribution for what he believed she had done
to him six years ago. He had almost succeeded!

'Why?'

She couldn't quite meet Rand's searching gaze. How would
he react if she told him she had once almost married Mark? Perhaps that
wasn't the question she should be asking herself; how would Rand react
if
someone else
should happen to tell him she had
once been going to marry the other man!

She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, trying
to think of a suitable way to tell Rand about the part Mark had played in her past. Perhaps
the blunt truth was the only way.

'Merlyn?' he prompted impatiently at her continued silence.

Her eyes flashed at his compelling tone. 'I was once going
to marry him!'

Rand flinched a little, but was soon once again under
complete control. 'Why didn't you?'

She looked challengingly into those cold silver eyes. 'He
wanted me to go to bed with a director to get him a part in a film!'
she revealed almost defiantly.

Rand inhaled sharply, frowning darkly. 'God,' he finally
groaned, dropping down into an armchair, his face buried in his hands.
'Oh God!' he groaned again weakly.

Merlyn stood helplessly across the room from him, not
knowing what to do. Would he believe her if she said she hadn't done
it? He hadn't believed her when she told him he had made love to a
virgin.

When he at last looked up at her his eyes were dark with
pain. 'Why do you put up with me?'

She frowned at the self-recrimination in his voice. 'I
don't understand…'

'Neither do I,' he said in disgust. 'I've treated you
abominably from the first, insulted you, taken from you, crept into
your room like a thief in the night, and yet you don't seem to hate
me!' He sounded astounded by the fact.

How could she possibly hate him, for anything he did, when
she loved him so much. But she could tell he still wasn't ready to
accept the love of another woman, that he perhaps never would be.

'Sexual attraction works two ways, Rand,' she dismissed
with a lightness she didn't feel.

Some of the anguish left his expression, and she knew she
had said the right thing. 'Yes,' he acknowledged heavily. 'I'm sorry
about last night. I'll know to be wary about Hillier in future. If
there is a future for us?'

She knew he wasn't referring to a permanent relationship,
and she had never expected that from him. 'Why not?' she shrugged with
a tight smile. 'I'll order us some dinner—one I'll eat this
time.' She gave the cold food that sat on the tray a rueful look. 'And
then we can—'

'No,' he cut in harshly. 'There'll be no more eating in
your room, we'll go over to the hotel restaurant.'

'Are you sure?' She frowned her concern for the enormity
of what he intended doing; if they went to the hotel restaurant no one
would be in any further doubt about their relationship.

'Very,' he answered decisively. 'After all, why should
Hillier have the satisfaction of even thinking he's succeeded in
breaking us up?' he added grimly.

'Right,' she agreed hollowly, wishing he could have said
something a little more encouraging, like 'he would be proud to be seen
anywhere with her'. But she couldn't ask for too much too soon, and at
least he had been honest.

She felt more than a little apprehensive entering the more
intimate of the hotel's restaurants with him, felt apprehensive about
entering the restaurant at all after this afternoon.

'Just think of them as the audience,' Rand encouraged
softly as she seemed set to panic. 'And you're the "Virgin Queen"
looking down on all her minions.'

Merlyn turned to him with a laugh. ' "Virgin Queen"?' she
scorned.

His mouth quirked. 'That's better,' he said with
satisfaction. 'It always worked with Suzie when she was nervous too.'

He was speaking so naturally of his dead wife tonight, and
Merlyn hoped nothing happened to spoil that. 'She used to feel moments
of nervousness too?' she said disbelievingly; Suzie Forrester had
always seemed so self-confident.

'All the time,' Rand nodded, his hand on her elbow as he
escorted her to their table.

'I wouldn't—'

'Hey, Merlyn, over here,' Liza called out to her lightly.
'Unless you would rather be alone?' she asked as an awkward
afterthought as she realised who Merlyn's companion was.

She glanced at the neighbouring table where Liza sat with
one of the cameramen and another couple, turning back questioningly to
Rand.

He headed away from the table for two they had been
directed to and moved over to the larger table. 'We would,' he drawled,
very much in command as he saw Merlyn seated before sitting down
himself beside her, his knee resting along the length of her leg. 'But
I've been looking forward to meeting Merlyn's friend Liza,' he added
with a light charm Merlyn had never seen before.

She watched with awe as he successfully put Liza at her
ease within a couple of seconds of meeting her, quickly drawing the
cameraman and the other couple into the conversation. He may have
avoided social functions the last couple of years but he still knew how
to be charming when the need arose. Within a few minutes they were all
talking together like old friends.

'Gorgeous, gorgeous,
gorgeous
!' Liza
said ecstatically when she and Merlyn had excused themselves to go to
the powder-room for a few minutes. 'And he's all yours.' She sighed her
envy.

Merlyn smiled at her friend's enthusiasm. 'Our
relationship goes from one crisis to another, so I wouldn't feel too
happy for me!'

'You mean this afternoon?' Liza dismissed, watching
Merlyn's reflection in the mirror as she took the time to retouch her
lipgloss.

She grimaced. 'You heard!' she said with feigned surprise.

'Greg told me Mark made a complete idiot of himself,' Liza
scorned.

'
Mark
did?' she scoffed. 'We both
know I wasn't just talking about him. And how long have you been seeing
Greg?' she frowned. 'I thought I was your best friend and confidante,
no secrets from each other and all that?'

'You are and we haven't. Greg's a friend. Well
—maybe a little more than a friend,' she conceded at Merlyn's
sceptical expression. 'But it's really too soon to tell if it will
become serious. Now just forget all about this afternoon and enjoy
yourself,' she instructed as they left the powder-room.

Merlyn followed, and almost came to a full stop
as
they walked back to their table; another table for two had been added
to theirs and seated at it, his arm about one of the make-up girls,
Jennifer, Merlyn thought her name was, was Mark Hillier.

Rand seemed to sense her presence, turning slightly in his
chair to meet her horrified gaze, the warmth in his eyes beckoning her
to his side. He looked so reassuring, as if he wouldn't let anything
hurt her, least of all Mark Hillier. Every step was an effort but she
finally made it back to Rand's side, sitting down gratefully as he
stood to hold back her chair for her. The hostility crackled from the
emerald depths of her eyes as she looked at Mark across the table.

'What stone did you crawl out from under, Mark?' Liza
scorned, not having Merlyn's restraint when it came to people she
disliked.

Fury glittered in his eyes, making them more grey than
blue. 'You—'

'I invited Mr Hillier and his companion to join us,' Rand
put in smoothly. 'I wanted to thank him personally for taking my call
to Merlyn yesterday afternoon.'

Mark flushed, eyeing the other man warily, instantly on
his guard against the silky softness of the threat in Rand's voice. 'I
only told you what I could,' he replied defensively.

'Of course.' Hooded eyes held Mark's gaze, but Rand said
nothing more, his very silence ominous.

'Wasn't Merlyn marvellous during the filming today?' Mark
launched into nervous speech, colour creeping beneath the taut skin in
his cheeks as grey eyes glazed over with chilling fury. 'So realistic,'
he added with defiance. 'Of course it was nothing new for Merlyn and
me, as I'm sure you know?' he challenged.