Merlyn's Magic (29 page)

'Apparently the police have decided a smouldering
cigarette started it,' she dismissed, the subject of the fire still a
traumatic one for her.

'Left by the maid,' Rand nodded. 'Anne told me. But she
checked, the maid didn't smoke,' he explained softly. 'Although
obviously the person who did leave the cigarette in your bin didn't
realise there was a different maid on duty that evening.'

Mark was friendly with one of the maids, he had said so
when he repeated that gossip to her by the pool, but even so she
couldn't believe he could have set the fire. He didn't like her, and he
enjoyed watching her squirm, but she didn't think he actually wanted to
kill her. That would be just too weird.

'I think you're wrong about Mark being involved, Rand.'
She gave a shake of her head. 'It was just an accident—'

'There have been too many accidents lately concerning
you,' said Rand grimly.

'Yes, but—'

'Don't be surprised if the police actually decide to pay
you another visit some time soon—'

'The police?' Merlyn questioned disbelievingly. 'But I've
already spoken to them, the day after the fire, they didn't seem to
think there was anything suspicious about it—carelessness,
perhaps, but not intent.'

'I don't happen to agree,' Rand told her arrogantly. 'And
I'm going to make sure they reopen their investigation.'

'Rand, I think you're being a bit extreme about this,' she
chided.

'I don't,' he said with finality. 'The next time something
like this happens you might not be so lucky. If almost drowning and
then being burnt to death can be classed as lucky!' His expression was
harshly forbidding, his eyes narrowed.

'Drowning?' Merlyn repeated blankly, her expression
clearing as she realised he meant that night by the gazebo. 'But that
was
an accident, the planking had rotted away—'

'I went over the next morning and checked.' He shook his
head. 'I couldn't be sure but there was a possibility that the planks
had been cut, the wood was certainly sound. I was going to have it
checked by someone who knows what they're looking for later that day,
but it was repaired before I could get back to it and the wood thrown
away. But after the coincidence of the fire only being in your room, I
have a feeling my suspicions about that planking having been cut may
have been right.'

'But
why
?'

He shrugged. 'Hillier has a perfect motive-revenge.'

'I can't believe that,' she disagreed. 'It's too
fantastic!'

'I can think of better ways of describing it,' Rand
drawled.

'But anyone could have fallen through the planking if it
had been cut as you say you think it could have been,' she reasoned.

'It wasn't just anyone who was scheduled to step out of
the boat on to that very spot the next day,' he reminded her grimly.
'Obviously, with all those people about there was no actual chance of
your drowning, but it would have shaken you up pretty badly.'

It did sound feasible when he explained it like that. But
could it be true? Could Mark have done that to her? 'My mother said
James and a "young man" helped me out of my room the other night.' She
swallowed hard, very pale. 'Who was it?'

'Hillier,' Rand revealed gruffly—as Merlyn had
known he would.

'Oh, Rand…!' The room swayed dizzily and she
was grateful for the solidity of his arms as they came about her. 'I
just can't believe
anyone
would want to do this to me. It can't be true, can it?'

'I'm hoping not! I've tried not to believe it.'

She looked up at him searchingly, sure she had heard more
than just concern for a friend in his voice. A shutter came down over
his emotions as he put her firmly away from him.

'I have to go,' he told her abruptly. 'And you should get
some rest, otherwise your mother might decide I'm not an improvement on
anyone,' he added lightly.

'But—'

'Read the notebook, Merlyn,' he rasped. 'It's the last
month of Suzie's life.'

She fell back against the pillows. The last
month
of Suzie's life?

Long after Rand had gone she stared at the small blue
notebook. Rand said it would make her hate him as he deserved to be
hated. And she didn't want to hate him!

She picked up the book to push it into the drawer in her
bedside unit, closing it again firmly, turning her face away from it as
she tried to go to sleep.

It was a very long night.

'You should have seen Mark's face as they carted him
away,' Liza giggled.

'Oh yes, it was very funny,' Christopher snarled from the
other side of the room as he glowered at the two women: Merlyn lying on
the bed, Liza sitting on a chair at her side. 'My female star is in
hospital,' he strode forcefully into the room, 'and my male star is
"helping the police with their enquiries" because she's
in
hospital!'

Liza gave a disgusted sniff. 'I was just sorry they didn't
take him away in handcuffs!'

Christopher scowled at her as he helped himself to one of
the grapes from the bag that lay on the bed. 'The publicity is going to
kill this film before it's even made,' he groaned.

'Better that than Merlyn,' Liza reminded him hardly.
'Besides, you know damn well everyone will want to see the film now.'

He looked at her coldly. 'I've always thought it very
unladylike to hear a woman swear.'

She shrugged unconcernedly. 'Then it's as well I didn't
ask for your approval, isn't it?'

Merlyn thought it was time she intervened in the exchange,
before the two of them actually came to blows. 'I'm so pleased to see
you, Christopher,' she told him with genuine warmth.

He shrugged. 'I received a message that you wanted to talk
to me.'

She had tried twice this morning to reach him at the
hotel, once before the police came to talk to her, and once again
afterwards, finally leaving a message for him to call her. Since Liza
had arrived and told her of the furore at the hotel this morning after
Merlyn had spoken to the police, Mark accompanying them down to the
station so that they might question him further about her 'accidents',
she hadn't expected Christopher to answer her calls personally, sure he
would be very busy handling the press.

Liza grimaced. 'Is this my cue to say I have a script to
study?' she observed wryly.

'I shouldn't bother,' muttered a disgruntled Christopher.
'In the circumstances it would be a waste of time. This is all your
friend Carmichael's doing, you know,' he told Merlyn accusingly.

'He isn't my friend.' Her cheeks were flushed.

'Lover, then. He—'

'Not that either,' she refuted sharply.

'It's finally over then?' Christopher raised dark blond
brows.

'That's no one's business but my own!'

'Well, he's certainly stirred up a hornets' nest,'
Christopher muttered. 'My schedule has gone to pot!'

'Heaven forbid you should put him through the
inconvenience of almost being burnt to death because of someone's
maliciousness!' Liza raised her eyes heavenwards before giving
Christopher a disgusted look. 'You're inhuman!'

'So I've been told,' he drawled, raising his brows at her
pointedly.

'All right.' She stood up indignantly. 'I'm going. Just
don't upset her, her mother said she needs to rest today. Anne and
James said to tell you they would be in tomorrow when you're feeling a
little better,' she smiled encouragingly at Merlyn.

'Thanks for the grapes,' she called after her.

'My plea—Stop that!' Liza slapped Christopher's
hand as he would have reached for another one from the bag. 'If you're
ever in hospital I'll send you a pet scorpion; you'll be good company
for each other!' she told him sweetly, giving Merlyn a triumphant smile
as she went out the door.

'I somehow get the feeling she doesn't like me,'
Christopher commented before putting another grape into his mouth.

'Too much of a challenge for you?' she teased.

'No challenge at all,' he dismissed dryly. 'If she hates
me, she hates me. Besides, she has something going with Greg,' he
shrugged.

Merlyn sobered. 'I've been trying to contact you since
yesterday so that I could apologise for my behaviour then.' She looked
at him regretfully. 'I said some very unkind things to you
and—'

'Please don't apologise,' Christopher sighed. 'With my
male star as good as arrested I'm beginning to wish
I had
been the one to do it for the publicity!'

She couldn't help smiling at his cynicism. 'A bastard to
the end,' she said without rancour.

He smiled. 'I mustn't step too much out of character, now
must I?'

'I didn't realise you had ever done it!'

'I haven't,' he drawled unabashedly. 'And I can't quite
see Carmichael as the Knight in Shining Armour either!'

'Rand is just concerned about me—'

'He wasn't concerned for three days, so why now?'

She bristled indignantly at his scepticism. 'He didn't
know about the fire—'

'Most places in the world can be reached by telephone now,
Merlyn.' Christopher's voice was scornful.

Her cheeks were fiery-red. 'I wanted to see you today so
that I could apologise for yesterday, not argue with you again!'

'Can I help it if I think you're making a fool of yourself
over a man who doesn't deserve you?' he answered harshly.

'Just because he's interrupted your precious schedule for
filming—'

'Damn the film,' he ground out. 'It's you we're talking
about now!'

'I can take care of myself, thank you!' Merlyn's eyes
flashed warningly, remembering the last time she had claimed that, to
Rand, and the fact that she had almost burnt to death hours later.

'I'm only trying to point out to you that Carmichael has
as much reason for wanting you out of the way as Hillier does.
More—because without you we can't go on filming!'

'
What
did you just say about Rand?'
she gasped disbelievingly.

Christopher gave an impatient, sigh. 'Carmichael never
wanted this film made, Merlyn. And your portrayal of Suzie must be
bringing back memories he would rather forget. I'm only pointing out
the possibility that he—'

'Get out of here,' she ordered shakily.

'Merlyn, try and see past your blind love for the
man—'

'I said
get out
,' she repeated
shrilly. 'I don't want to listen to any more of your lies!
You—'

'Merlyn,' her mother cut in authoritatively. 'Calm
yourself this instant. Mr Drake—'

'I know,' he declared harshly. 'Leave. Maybe you could try
and talk some sense into your daughter,' he told the older woman
disgustedly as she escorted him to the door.

'I don't know why you let that young man in here,'
Merlyn's mother fussed around her tidying the bed. 'Every time he comes
here he upsets you. And that isn't good for the baby. No more visitors
today, I think. And you had better have a sleep now so that—'

'Baby?' Merlyn recovered enough to murmur, 'What baby?'

'Why yours of course, darling.' Her mother removed the bag
of grapes from the bed with a delicate wrinkle of her nose. 'You've had
enough trauma during the first few weeks already, without that young
man—'

'Mother,
what
baby?' Merlyn
exploded, her body stiff with tension.

Auburn brows rose in hurt surprise at the aggressive
outburst. 'You always did have a temper.' Merlyn was rebuked. 'Even as
a child— Merlyn, surely you realised you're pregnant?' her
mother said impatiently as Merlyn looked ready to give another angry
exclamation.

Pregnant? A
baby
? Well of course she
was expecting a baby, the part of her that was still sane retaliated,
that's what happened when you were pregnant.

She just hadn't realised she
was
pregnant. But usually as regular as four following three she realised she
had missed a period over three weeks ago. That first time with Rand…?

'Mummy, are you sure?' she voiced uncertainly.

Her mother looked affronted. 'I didn't do all those years
of training not to be able to tell a woman when she's pregnant,' she
informed Merlyn haughtily. 'Even if it is my own daughter!'

'I—But you don't seem—shocked?' Merlyn was, breathlessly so! Of course she
hadn't come to the Lake District with the intention of having an affair with
anyone, and so the question of precautions hadn't arisen. But even so…!

'I'm not,' her mother dismissed. 'I was a little
disappointed you hadn't chosen to tell me about it yourself, but as you
now say you didn't even know—!'

'I had no idea,' Merlyn confirmed dazedly.

'As long as you can assure me that the unpleasant young
man that just left isn't the father I think I'm even quite happy at the
prospect of being a grandmother again.' Her mother looked at her
hopefully.

'Christopher isn't the father—'

'Thank goodness,' Merlyn was answered with obvious relief.

'But Brandon Carmichael is,' she told her in a hushed
voice, still unable to fully take in the prospect of motherhood
herself. She didn't
feel
pregnant. Of course she
didn't, that sane voice mocked her again, she could only be five weeks
along at the most. It just didn't seem possible that in approximately
thirty-five weeks' time she would hold Rand's child in her arms.
Rand's
child. She had to tell him about it. After the tragedy of the loss of
his other child he deserved to know about this one.

'I thought as much when he arrived here last night,' her
mother nodded. 'I like a man who's decisive enough to know what he
wants, even if he has to go through me to get it,' she added ruefully.

Another thought had occurred to Merlyn, would Rand want to
know about
her
baby? That other baby, the one he
had lost, had been Suzie's child too. Would he want to know about the
child
they
had conceived, not through
love—at least, not on Rand's side—but through
blinding need? The question was really irrelevant, whether Rand wanted
the baby or not she intended telling him about it.