The Great Escape (25 page)

my black dress has some sort of deep symbolic significance! I

honestly put it on because I like how it looks.'

One brow cocked, thoughtfully, and his eyes travelled leisurely down

her entire length, making her flush delicately. 'Yes, well,' he drawled,

'I do see what you mean. Is it new?'

'Mm, yes. I splurged and bought some new clothes last week. Talk

about feeling guilty!' she gurgled merrily, swinging away and

travelling around the room they had entered, unable to keep still. 'I've

learned thrifty habits in Ohio. It was a chore and a wrench to see all

my hard-earned money go on clothes when I was trying so hard to

save money for college, and the feeling stuck! Oh, well, it's a nice

habit to get into, I suppose!'

He had a curious look on his face, she saw, as she turned a smiling

glance his way. 'Strange indeed. I'm sure the money you spent

wouldn't even make a dent in the inheritance you receive today.'

Sensitive on the subject, Dee flushed again, but this time from

annoyance. 'That's all you can think about, isn't it?' she demanded,

upset. 'My stupid money. That's all anyone can think about, it seems!

God, just when I think I've found someone who'll like me just for

myself and nothing else, they catch a whiff of that filthy rich stink

that somehow hovers around me like a poisonous gas, and suddenly

that's all they can think about! You're like all the rest --' Unable to go

on, she turned and stared stonily at the wall, her slim foot tapping out

her temper on the hard wood floor.

'Will you just stop it!' In two strides Mike was right beside her,

turning her forcibly around and shaking her slightly. A thrill of shock

and something else rippled through her at his obvious agitation. 'I

meant nothing of the sort! I merely made a comment on how ironic

your reaction was when today is the day you come into a fortune! It's

an obvious subject, not something I dwell on day and night!' The

frustration welled up in his eyes and two grim lines cut down the

sides of his mouth. His hands tightened on her and then he made an

obvious effort to relax. His hands fell away. 'Don't let's quarrel on

your birthday, Dee. It shouldn't be. You should be happy. Look,' and

his hand went to his pocket to pull out a small wrapped package, 'I've

brought you a present.' He offered it to her.

Unable to resist his gesture of peace and his coaxing smile, Dee

smiled and reached out, but instead of taking the present that lay in

his hand, she cupped his hand with both of her own and squeezed

affectionately. 'I
told
you not to buy me anything,' she scolded, but

the scolding was a gentle one accompanied by a glance she couldn't

quite resist at the gaily wrapped parcel.

He laughed deeply and pressed it into her hands. 'Now, I knew that to

be obviously insincere. What woman in the world doesn't like to open

a present? Go on—open it. I think we have the time now.'

She looked at the package and then peeped up into his face with the

beginnings of a twinkle. Then, giving up to the delight of the special

unknown quality that wraps every present with the magic of delight,

she laughed. 'Oh, all right! But you didn't really have to, you know. I

was just happy to have you here today.' Then her fingers went nimbly

to the package's edges, coaxing the paper apart with a careful

anticipation that made the man beside her smile to himself. The

wrapping was off and discarded without another glance, and she

turned the velvet box over and over in her hands with a pleasant

puzzling. Jewellery? Her fingers went to the side and pulled the box

open gently, and as she saw what was inside, she gave a gasp of

horror and delight. Nestled in the brown velvet inside the box was a

glittering, dazzling pure green emerald pendant necklace. The stone

was not so large as it was simply perfect, and it seemed to catch the

ray of the sunlight that filtered into the airy room, throwing them back

again with a magnificent glow. 'Oh, dear lord, Mike! This is—well,

it's—it's just gorgeous, but it's too --'

A hand cupped her slight chin and gently forced her mouth to close,

then tilted it up so that he could stare deeply into her bemused eyes.

'Dee,' he said kindly, 'shut up. I wanted it for you and I bought it, so

wear it and like it or I'll beat you! It's your birthstone, did you know?'

Her eyes went as if drawn back to the dazzling jewel in the box. 'I

guess so,' she murmured abstractedly, simply staring. 'But it's

so—so- --'

'Beautiful,' he supplied helpfully, taking the box from her unresisting

fingers and extracting the gold chain carefully. 'Wonderful, a perfect

present, you'll love it for ever, thank you very much, Mike. You're

welcome, Dee. Turn around and I'll put it on you. Go on, girl, turn

around!'

Dazedly she complied and soon felt the cool touch of precious metal

against her skin, along with the pleasing warmth of his long fingers at

the nape of her neck. The necklace settled into place, and she thought

she felt something brush her exposed nape, but it was gone so quickly

she couldn't be sure. Her hand went up to the hollow of her throat

uncertainly, her eyes winging to him doubtfully.

'Just as beautiful as I'd thought it would be,' he murmured, smiling

down at her. She thought fleetingly that no dead jewel, no matter how

brilliant, could match the brilliant warmth of those bright eyes. His

expression altered as he saw the troubled depths in her own eyes and

he said with a quick harshness, 'Cut it out, will you, for heaven's

sake? I have money too, and I'm not a damned pauper, even if I

haven't as much as you! It caught my eye and I bought it, and that's all

there is to it! If you don't want it, then you can take it back yourself

and keep the refund,' And his eyes shuttered down as he turned away,

as if bored with the whole scene.

Distressed, she moved over and laid a hand on his stiff arm. 'Mike,

that wasn't what I was thinking, really! It's just such a—a special gift,

a really special one, and—and I don't know how to thank you for it.'

She let her hand fall hopelessly to her side. He was really offended

this time. She said in a small voice, 'I really am overwhelmed.'

As she watched, his rigid stance relaxed and the tenseness of his jaw

loosened. He sighed, impatiently, and shook his head, then he smiled

ruefully at her. 'I guess we're both a bit touchy today. Do you really

like it?'

Her instant glowing smile and sparkling eyes told him so, even before

her swift, 'Oh, yes, I do! Thank you so much.' And she leaned on her

toes to give him a feathery kiss on his lean cheek.

Suddenly he was rigid again, she felt, as her hand rested on his

shoulder for balance, then he was taking her roughly into his arms, his

mouth running along her cheek and blindly seeking her lips, and they

were kissing starvingly, desperately, straining to each other. Dee

touched his face with both hands, emitting a slight, inarticulate moan

deep in her throat and . . .

. . . The front doorbell sounded with a melodious, infuriating chime.

She was released instantly as Mike's dark head shot up, and he put her

from him almost absentmindedly as the rather blind look in his eyes

gradually dispelled into the realisation of his surroundings. She saw

that look fade away, and could have screamed in frustration. He had

broken down right then, had been out of control, and now he was

back into the awareness of whatever devil was plaguing him, keeping

him away from her.

Well, she thought, drawing in a deep, steadying breath, no matter.

There was still the whole rest of the day, and he was with her now. It

would have to be enough.

He went obligingly to answer the door for her as she suddenly flew

into a panic and sped to the kitchen to make sure everything was

running smoothly for Mary, dithering and delaying until the other

woman finally shooed her away, in a frenzy of impatient nervousness

herself. Dee helped carry in a few trays of refreshments to sit on the

sideboard as Mary took care of the rest and then she went, outwardly

collected, to meet the strangers who were arriving with an onslaught

of punctuality.

Mr Whittaker was already there, his white head gleaming and his

distinguished face sending her a look of encouragement and a

welcoming smile. He came forward to take her by the hand and begin

the introductions to the well dressed men and women in the room,

eleven the final total.

Their names and faces blurred together in Dee's mind, as will happen

when one meets so many new people, but she recognised the names

and the occupations that she and Mr Whittaker had so painstakingly

sought out. She glanced nervously over her shoulder at Mike as he

stood by a large, unlit fireplace. He wore an assessing, alert

expression, his eyes running around the room and collecting data, but

as yet coming up with no answers. He looked her way and lifted a

dark eyebrow as the elderly solicitor finished the introductions. It was

a strange assortment of people. There was a representative from the

Allied Corporation, the company that Dee held the majority of stocks

in, and there was a woman representative from the American Cancer

Society. Every person represented either the head of a certain

organisation or company, and none of the different areas of business

and enterprise seemed to have anything in common with the other.

And then of course there was Mike and Mr Whittaker, and Mary

would be joining the group shortly.

The group was soon chatting politely to one another and to her, but

for the life of her she couldn't remember what was said. Mary soon

joined the group and was promptly introduced all around, and if there

were a few discreet eyebrows lifted at her presence in the group,

everyone was too polite to say anything about it.

In the painful process of mingling and being generally polite to

people she didn't personally know or give a hoot about, Dee found

herself temporarily alone and was about to make her way to the

sideboard for something to quench her parched throat when a voice

drawled behind her, 'Here. I thought you were looking a bit dazed and

wilted. This should help.' Mike pressed a glass of light wine into her

hand and she accepted it thankfully. He continued smoothly, 'I'm

playing bartender to the group.'

She started. 'Oh, I forgot! I meant to ask you but got so flustered it just

went right out of my head. Thank you. And you're right—I needed

this.' She glanced around and then gulped unobtrusively at the

beverage, aware of the alert, watching man beside her.

'Hell of a birthday party you invited me to,' he said conversationally,

keeping his voice low enough so that no one else could hear. 'That

was what you had said it was to be, a birthday party, or did I hear you

wrong on the phone?'

She started to feel uncomfortable. He was watching her so sternly and

so strangely near to hostility that she was beginning to feel distinctly

ill at ease. The fact that his puzzled suspicion was warranted didn't

help. 'Yes, well,' she coughed, 'I thought it was about time to meet

some people that—that my parents knew some years back, and --'

'Come off it, sweetheart,' he said, his anger pulsing beneath the

surface politeness. 'You're cooking up something in that pretty little

head of yours, and I've learned to be very wary when you do that. And

for some unfathomable reason, it has something to do with me. I don't

know what's going on, and I don't like that feeling. It makes me feel

uncomfortable. What the hell is going on?'

Dee decided that the best strategy at the moment would be a fast,

prudently surreptitious retreat, and said quickly, 'Now is this the way

to mingle socially? Come on, Mike, I'm counting on you to help me

make the guests feel comfortable . ..' She took a few nimble steps

back as out of the corner of her eye she saw the woman from the

Cancer Society come their way, an appreciative gleam in her eye as

she gazed at Mike. He was neatly caught as he sent Dee a brief,

furious glance before turning his attention to the woman beside him.

It was time. She couldn't take much more of this nervous excitement,

and she signalled to Mr Whittaker with her eyes. He caught the look,

nodded to her reassuringly, and stepped into an open space to gain

everyone's attention.

'Ladies and gentlemen,' he started out formally, clearing his throat.

'We are very pleased that you were all able to make it here today, and

we know you must all be feeling justifiably mystified at the reason