The Virgin Bride (The Australians) (6 page)

You won't forget me that easily, Jase…

He groaned, gunned the engine and headed for Tindley.

He didn't tell Emma the woman doctor who'd called was Adele. He wouldn't have told her it was a woman doctor at all except Nancy knew. And what Nancy knew the whole of Tindley would know, eventually. Thank God Adele hadn't given her Christian name!

He lied to Emma a second time as well, saying this particular lady doctor was a colleague from a different surgery from the one he'd worked at. She'd been given his number by Jerry, he said. Women doctors were common amongst GPs, he'd added, when she'd looked worried.

They weren't evil lies, he reasoned. Just little white lies so that Emma would not feel badly or think worrying things while he was away for the weekend.

He might have taken her with him, except he didn't
trust Adele not to show up at the hospital some time. He wasn't fooled by her nonchalant attitude over the phone. Adele hadn't taken at all well to the ‘woman scorned' label. After his verbal insults today, he had no doubt she would love the opportunity to put a spanner in the works of
his
happiness. He didn't think she'd go out of her way to do that—such as a trip to Tindley—but his coming to Sydney was an opportunity she might seize. Someone as soft and sensitive as Emma would be a perfect victim for her brand of malice. Adele would leave no stone unturned to cut away at any confidence Emma had in their marriage working.

No, Emma and Adele had to be kept apart.

Fortunately, Emma was up to her eyes making her wedding dress, and was planning on finishing it that weekend. Jason was glad he didn't have to argue against her coming with him, as that might have made her suspicious. She didn't seem to mind his going, either. She could be a very independent little thing, happy with her own company.

Jason liked her independence. And her lack of material greed. He'd offered to buy her a dress if she couldn't afford one, but she'd refused. She'd given him a warm look at the time and said no, she
wanted
to make her dress. She was a good seamstress, she'd said, and he didn't doubt it. Her tapestries and collages were incredible, and snapped up by buyers the moment they were displayed on the sweet shop walls.

Not that she made much money out of them. The materials and framing ate into her profit. But it was a satisfying hobby and one which had brought in some
good pocket money over the years, she'd explained when he'd wanted to discuss her financial situation. Not that he wanted any of her money, he'd quickly added. Whatever she earned was hers to do with as she pleased. Plus anything she inherited from Ivy. He wanted none of it.

She'd listened carefully, then told him Ivy hadn't owned much except the house and shop. He'd been dead right about the shop not bringing in much income as well. Less than twenty thousand a year. Still, Emma said she wanted to keep on working in the shop after their marriage, at least till she had a baby to care for, after which she'd find someone to run it. She didn't want to sell, or even rent out the rest of house. She was going to turn those rooms into a craft club, where the local women could come and work and chat and have a good time.

Jason thought that was a great idea, and said so. He supposed she wouldn't have got much for the rent, and what was money, anyway? It didn't make you happy. He was seeing that more and more these days.

Of course, it wasn't good to be poor, either.

But enough was enough.

‘When will you be back?' Emma asked him as she watched him pack. She was sitting on the bed which would eventually be their marriage bed, a huge high brass number which had the comfiest of mattresses and didn't squeak, thankfully.

He looked at her sitting there, swinging her dainty feet, and felt an overwhelming surge of desire. What would she do, he wondered, if he started making love to her, not gently, but fiercely? If he pushed her back
on the bed and mercilessly took her past the point of no return?

He could do it. He knew he could.

He'd felt the rising sexual tension in her over the weeks of waiting, weeks when he'd kissed her and held her, cuddled and caressed her till they were both breathing heavily and both wanting more. Last night, however, she'd totally lost it, which had been good for his ego but bad for his own level of frustration. She'd actually begged him not to stop, and it had taken one heck of an effort to deny her, with his hand sliding up under her dress at the time.

But he had, telling her highly agitated self that he knew she'd hate him afterwards if he went on. They only had to last two more weeks. What was two weeks when compared to a lifetime?

She'd shaken her head at him, her face flushed, her whole body still trembling. ‘I wish I'd never started this nonsense.'

‘It's not nonsense, Emma. It's sweet, and it's special, as you are special. I can't say I was thrilled by the idea in the beginning. But now I wouldn't have it any other way.'

She'd looked up at him with something close to love in her eyes, and he'd been blown away. He thought of that look now and abandoned all plans of a forced seduction. She would not look at him like that afterwards. He was sure of that as well.

‘I can't say when I'll be back,' he told her truthfully. ‘It'll depend on Jerry's condition. But I'll keep you posted. I have to be back to do morning surgery on Monday. At the very latest I could drive back very
early Monday morning. At least the traffic wouldn't be so bad then.' With the advent of warmer weather, the tourist season was on the move again, and the Princes Highway was always busy.

‘I'll miss you,' she said softly. He glanced over his shoulder at her and their eyes locked. Hers were like large, shimmering green pools, and he felt himself dissolving. Her mouth looked soft and inviting, as did her whole body, clothed as usual in one of her softly flowing feminine dresses. It was a simple and sweet style, with tiny mauve flowers all over it.

He wanted to rip it to shreds.

‘I'll miss you too,' he returned, but stayed with his packing. Hell, if he kissed her now…

She fell silent, and he glanced over his shoulder a second time. Her hands were in her lap and she was twisting her engagement ring around and around. The diamond sparkled in the sunshine which was coming in the window and slanting across the bed. It wasn't a huge diamond, but it was what she'd chosen. Four smaller emeralds flanked the shoulders, the same green as her lovely eyes. He planned on giving her a matching eternity ring on their wedding night. The jeweller had secretly made it up for him after she'd chosen her engagement ring and he was to collect it next week.

‘Is there something wrong, Emma?' he asked.

She looked up and smiled a taut little smile. ‘No, I suppose not. I'm being silly. It's just that I had this feeling. You know…like someone was walking over my grave? A premonition. You…you will be careful,
won't you, Jason? I mean, driving around those busy Sydney roads.'

He came over and sat down beside her, taking her by the shoulders and looking deep into her eyes. ‘I'll be very careful,' he promised. ‘Nothing, and I mean nothing, is going to stop me coming back to you.'

‘You promise?'

‘You have my solemn oath.'

Her sigh was deep. ‘That's all right, then.'

Without kissing her, he rose and returned to his packing.

 

The trip up was a nightmare. Too many cars and trucks, and too many hold-ups. The road being dug up in too many places.

And then it started to rain.

It was well after dark by the time he turned his car into the hospital car park, later by the time he found Jerry's ward. His new watch said ten to nine as he strode up to the ward work station where he introduced himself as a doctor as well as Jerry's brother, thereby stopping any officious nonsense about it being after visiting hours. Then he asked if he could speak to the specialist in charge of Jerry's case.

The sister, who was an attractive woman in her thirties, smiled at him and said that unfortunately he wouldn't be able to speak to that particular doctor till morning. But Jerry's GP was somewhere in the building. Also unfortunately, they'd given his brother a sedative not long before, and he was probably asleep. But he was welcome to sit by his brother for as long as he liked. He was in 4F, last room down on the left.

Jason walked down the highly polished corridor to 4F, a long thin room which had six beds, though only four were filled. Jerry was lying in the furthest bed from the door. He had a window with a view over the city, but Jerry wasn't seeing any view at the moment. He
was
sound asleep.

Adele, Jason saw with some relief, was nowhere in sight. But he had no doubt she would show up soon. The thought rattled him somewhat.

He found thankful distraction in his brother's condition, inspecting Jerry's pupils and taking his pulse. When he read the chart at the foot of the bed, Jason felt momentarily nauseous at how touch and go it had been. Jerry's blood pressure had been appallingly low at one time, his temperature sky-high. He'd had seizures during the night as well.

No doubt he should have been in an intensive care unit, but he was a non-paying public patient, so what could you expect? Not presidential treatment, that was for sure. Still, things seemed to have stabilised, and he would probably pull through. He looked like hell, though.

Jason put the chart back and walked over to the window. He stared down at the city lights. Pretty spectacular-looking. Certainly not the unsophisticated colonial outpost the rest of world occasionally imagined. Sydney throbbed during the day, and hummed at night. It was an exciting and beautiful city, full of exciting and beautiful people.

‘Hello, Jase… I've been waiting for you…'

Her husky voice curled around his gut and pulled him slowly round.

The sight of her, however, had a surprisingly different effect.

She was standing there at the foot of Jerry's bed, wearing one of those sexy little black numbers which had always turned him on. Not a suit, this time, but a dress, a short, chic crêpe sheath which looked as if it had been sewn on, it was so tight. The blatant outline of erect nipples shouted she wasn't wearing a bra, which wasn't a surprise. When did Adele ever wear a bra?

The shortness of the skirt suggested she'd opted against suspenders in favour of sheer shiny black pantyhose, the expensive kind which never ran, no matter how many times they were man-handled. Her feet were shod in the sort of sexy strappy high heels guaranteed to raise most men's blood pressure.

Jason's heart didn't miss a beat.

She sashayed a little closer, perhaps to show him she could walk in them quite well.

Practice did give one a wide range of professional skills, he thought cynically, as his eyes raked over her.

She took his thorough appraisal for interest, fairly preening before him. What she didn't know was the reality of her had had the opposite effect of her voice over the phone. That had stirred old memories, those old tapes in his head. Powerful old tapes. Adele in the flesh stirred nothing in him but a rueful surprise that he'd ever found her attractive, let alone addictive.

After being with someone as genuinely lovely as Emma—inside and out—Adele looked the hard piece she basically was. Her short dyed black hair was too harsh around her too pale make-up. She was wearing
too much black around her eyes, too dark a lipstick on her full mouth and too much perfume all over her body. It fairly swamped him in its overpoweringly musky scent.

Sure, she still had a striking figure, with legs up to her armpits, but even that was now too much. He preferred Emma's tiny daintiness. He preferred Emma's lack of artifice. He preferred everything about Emma.

The worry that he might still be harbouring a lasting passion for Adele disappeared like a magician's assistant, and the relief was overwhelming. He was free of her at last. Free to forge a future with Emma without any hangovers from the past. His elation produced a real high.

He looked up at Adele's sultry face and laughed.

She pouted angrily. ‘Why are you laughing at me like that?'

‘I wasn't laughing at you, Adele. I was laughing at myself.'

‘Meaning?'

‘Meaning I've been a fool. Look, I don't hold any malice towards you, Adele, but you're wasting your time here. Go and find yourself another poor ignorant idiot you can infatuate with your undoubtedly skilful technique. I don't want it—or you—any more.'

Disbelief soon gave way to a dark determination. ‘Give me five minutes and I'll bet I could change your mind about that.'

‘Five minutes? Here and now?'

‘Right here and right now,' she mouthed provocatively. ‘Jerry's unconscious. We could pull the curtain
around his bed.' She began to do just that, the action bringing her closer.

He snatched the curtain out of her hands and threw it back, eyeing her with a savage look which rooted her to the spot. ‘Now listen to me, you miserable excuse for a human being and a doctor,' he hissed. ‘I wouldn't let you touch me if you were the last woman on earth and the existence of the human race depended on it. You make my skin crawl, do you know that? Which is what you should be doing. Crawling, like the low-life serpent you are. Go crawl on back into your hole, darling, and give us decent folk some fresh air to breathe.'

She didn't say a word, just stared at him, her cold black eyes filling with hate.

He knew he'd gone too far. Far too far. But it was too late now.

Still without saying a word, she spun round on those dangerously high stilettos, and, without teetering a millimetre, stalked from the room.

Jason was left to watch her go, and to worry about what form her vengeance might take.

I
T WAS
a worrisome weekend, despite Jerry making a good recovery on the Saturday, and despite several phone calls to Emma eliciting a happy brightness from her which Jason doubted could be faked. The dreaded Adele had clearly not zapped down to Tindley during his absence to stir up trouble.

Each phone call home should have brought relief. Instead, it created more tension in him, an irrational fear that everything he'd been working towards and looking forward to was about to be destroyed. His relationship with Emma. Their marriage. His future.

He set off for the five-hour drive back to Tindley mid-afternoon on Sunday, leaving behind a much improved Jerry, but taking with him an escalating tension. He had to stop himself from speeding, only his promise to Emma to drive carefully holding him back.

But he wanted to see her for himself and make sure everything was all right. He drove into Tindley shortly after seven, parked outside the sweet shop and went straight round to her back door, knocking impatiently.

The moment she opened it, he knew he was too late. For as long as he lived Jason would always remember her expression at that moment. Never had he seen such dismay and despair. Her face was dead white, her eyes red-rimmed. That she'd been crying for hours was obvious.

He reacted as any man would. With a helpless, hopeless fury.

‘What, in God's name, did that vicious, vindictive cow say to you?'

Her chin came up, as it did sometimes, and she eyed him suddenly with a chilling dislike. ‘I presume you're speaking about Adele. Dr Adele Harvey, to give her her full name. The woman you lived with for three years. The woman who rang you about your brother on Friday. The same woman you made love to for hours on end this weekend.'

‘No!' he burst out, and, launching himself into the house, he grabbed her upper arms and kicked the door shut behind him. ‘No, no, no!' he repeated loudly, shaking her. ‘A thousand times no!'

She glared down at the brutal grip on her arms till he released her.

‘Which part is wrong, Jason?' she asked coldly. ‘Which one of the many lies you told me isn't a lie?'

He grimaced at how bad things must look to her. ‘Look, I only lied about who rang me because I was afraid you'd think the wrong things. And I was right, by the look of things. You did. You
do
! Damn it, Emma, I didn't sleep with Adele. I saw her briefly at the hospital on Friday night, and, yes, she did make a pass at me, but, no, I didn't touch her. And, no, I'm not still in love with her. In fact, I said some pretty nasty things, and I knew afterwards that she'd get even. And she has. She's rung you up and fed you a whole truckful of lies.'

Emma said nothing, just looked at him and started shaking her head.

‘I did not sleep with her!'
he shouted.

‘I don't believe you. By the way, she didn't ring, Jason. She came in person. She was here, this afternoon, in this very kitchen.'

‘Oh, God,' Jason groaned.

‘Seeing her was worth a thousand words. She's everything I could never be. Strikingly beautiful. Incredibly smart. Stunningly sophisticated. No man would choose me over her if he had a real choice.'

Jason was appalled. Adele must have really put on a show. Toned down the make-up. Dressed more sedately. Acted as though she had feelings.

‘You
had
to get out of Sydney, didn't you?' Emma threw at him, and he gaped. ‘It was your patient who died. It was you who was shamefully neglectful, not Adele. She told me all about it.'

Jason's mouth finally snapped shut. ‘Really?' he grated out. ‘Do go on. I'm fascinated to hear the rest of the script of the best performance since Scarlett O'Hara in
Gone With The Wind
.'

‘You can scoff all you like, but I know the truth when I hear it. She was crying,' Emma flung at him with a wealth of emotion. ‘Crying her heart out. She told me she'd never loved any man as much as she'd loved you. But after what happened with the little boy she just couldn't work with you any more, or be with you any more. She finally told you to leave, and you did, without a backward glance.'

Jason could hardly believe his ears! He might have laughed if he hadn't been seeing his life go down the tubes at a frightening rate.

‘She knew then that you'd never loved her at all,
that all you'd ever wanted was success and sex. She said your greed and ambition knew no bounds. You were eaten up with the idea of money because you'd once been so poor. She said she thought she had no feeling left for you, but when she saw you on Friday night, and you looked so upset about your brother, she felt sorry for you. And, of course, you
are
a very handsome man, Jason. No one could deny that.'

Well, thank heaven for small mercies, he thought bitterly.

‘She asked you back to her place, just to give you a place to sleep for the night, but when you started making love to her she just couldn't resist. She said you always were a wonderful lover. Very…skilled. The next morning she wanted to tell you to go, and not come back that night, but she didn't have the strength of will. She hadn't had a lover since you left, and she's been so lonely.'

Jason was shaking his head in disbelief, but Emma just ignored him, determined, it seemed, to relay every lie Adele had fed her.

‘By this morning she felt bitterly ashamed, even more so when you told her you were going to be married, to a simple country girl who would look after you like a king but never question what you did or where you went. She said you told her sex with me would bore you to death, but you aimed to supplement your bland day-to-day diet with more exotic fare from time to time. Women you'd met over on the coast. A widow or two you'd met during your rounds. The occasional trip to Sydney—and her.'

‘Oh,
please
,' he groaned, but Emma swept on, regardless.

‘She said after you left for the hospital this morning she kept thinking about me, a fellow woman, about to be used and deceived so cruelly. She drove down to apologise for what she'd done and to warn me to break off my engagement to you. And that's exactly what I'm going to do.' Her eyes filled and she began to take off her ring.

‘You stop that right there!' Jason raged.

And she did, wide, tear-filled eyes flying to his.

‘She lied to you, Emma. Can't you see that? Hell, I can prove that boy wasn't my patient. There are records. Documents. Death certificates. Besides, don't you think Doc Brandewilde had me checked out before he took me on as a partner? My reputation as a doctor is second to none. I can also prove where I stayed on Friday and Saturday night. In a hotel in North Sydney. Nowhere near Adele's place at Palm Beach. The man at the desk would remember me. I had breakfast in the public dining room both mornings. If you like I'll take you up there personally, so that you can ask around.'

Jason saw he was beginning to get through to her. Her mouth was dropping open and a big dollop of doubt was muddying that shimmering but clear green gaze.

‘Then there's my calls to you,' he argued with ruthless logic. ‘All made either from the hospital or the hotel. Phone records would prove that. None were made from Adele's number. You know how often I rang you. If I was supposed to be in bed with Adele
half the weekend I would have had to call you some of the time from her place, wouldn't I? Think, Emma. Don't let her do this to us. Don't let her spoil what we have, which is something very special. Very precious. That's what's killing her. That I don't love her any more and that I've found happiness with someone else. She doesn't really want me, but she doesn't want you to have me, either. I promised you I would never be unfaithful to you and I haven't.'

‘But how…how can I be sure of that?' she cried plaintively. ‘There's no proof. If it were me who'd been unfaithful to you, at least there'd be proof!'

‘You shouldn't need proof, Emma, not if you know me at all. You have my word.'

‘Your word…'

‘Yes,' he said. ‘Or isn't that good enough?'

When she didn't say anything, his shoulders sagged, all his energy suddenly draining out of him.

‘That's it, then,' he said wearily. ‘We have no future anyway, if you don't trust me.'

When he went to walk away she grabbed his shoulder. ‘If what you say is true…then that woman is truly wicked.'

‘She is, Emma. Believe me.'

‘Then how could you ever have loved her?'

‘I thought you said someone being wicked was no barrier to love?'

‘No, I meant
doing
something wicked. Not
being
wicked. Truly wicked.'

‘Ahh… So your beloved Dean isn't truly wicked? He just made one mistake. That's a joke, Emma, and you know it. He'd been sleeping around in this town
for years before he turned his attentions to you. And he didn't confine himself to single women, either, from what I've heard. Nothing's sacred with him, provided he gets his end in!'

‘Don't be disgusting!'

‘You have to be disgusting when you're talking about men like him, and women like Adele. They're both tarred with the same brush. They're selfish and amoral and mean. What they want, and can't have, they try to destroy.'

Her face began to crumple. ‘I…I suppose you're right…'

He stepped forward and folded her into his arms before she could burst into tears, holding her close and stroking her hair. ‘We can't let them spoil things for us, Emma. We have to stay strong. And stick together.'

He felt her lungs fill on a deep breath, then empty in a series of small, quivering shudders. ‘It's so hard,' she said.

‘Life
is
hard, Emma. But people sometimes make it harder by picking the wrong partners. Dean was as bad for you as Adele was for me.'

She drew back and looked up at him with glistening green eyes. ‘Did…did you still find her attractive, Jason?'

‘No. Not one little bit.'

‘I find that hard to believe. She's very striking-looking. And so tall and stylish.'

‘I much prefer you, Emma.'

‘Do you still want to wait till our wedding night?'

‘Yes.'

Perversely, she looked put out.

‘Do
you
?' he asked gently.

‘Yes. No. Oh, I don't know.' She pulled out of his arms and began to pace agitatedly around the kitchen. ‘I don't know anything any more. All I know is that I can't stop thinking about it.'

‘It?'

She ground to a halt on the opposite side of the table and threw him a reproachful look. ‘You know very well what I'm talking about, Jason. Don't be cruel. It's all very well for you. You've been there, done that. You don't know what it's like to lie there in bed at night and wonder and worry.'

‘What do you wonder and worry about?'

‘Everything!'

Jason wasn't about to tell her he was a bit worried himself. He wanted to make their wedding night wonderful for her, but her virginity might prove a problem. From what he'd gleaned, a first-time experience could be pretty painful. Yet he wanted to give her nothing but pleasure. She deserved it. He would have to use every bit of knowledge and skill he had to ensure that she would experience
some
pleasure at least.

But first he had to allay her fears. Fear caused tension, and tension often caused more pain.

‘It's going to be fine, Emma,' he said softly. ‘You're a very responsive girl. Worrying isn't going to help things. Making the sex good is
my
job. Leave it up to me.'

Emma stared at him. ‘She…she said you were a wonderful lover…'

‘How nice of her,' came his frosty reply. ‘Are you worried she was lying about that as well?'

‘No. I'm worried you're going to find me a very big disappointment.'

‘I doubt that, Emma.' Hell, he'd been aching to make her his own for weeks now. He'd enjoy himself, no matter what! ‘Just don't expect too much too soon. Really good sex can sometimes take a little time.'

She frowned.

‘And talking about it is the kiss of death,' he added with a wry smile. ‘So shall we stop, and curl up together on the sofa and watch the Sunday movie? It's going on eight-thirty.'

She looked at him as though he was insane. ‘No, no, I don't think so, Jason. I've had a pretty upsetting day, and my mind is too full to watch a movie.'

‘Oh. Oh, all right.' He could never get used to the way women liked to wallow in their feelings. Now that she knew Adele had been lying, she should be happy.
He
was. ‘I'll drop in for breakfast, shall I?'

‘If you like.'

He frowned at her coolness. ‘You're not still angry with me, are you, Emma?'

‘You
did
lie to me, Jason.'

‘But with the best of intentions, darling.'

His using that term of endearment did not go down well at all. ‘Don't try to soft soap me, Jason. You lied. You didn't trust
me
to trust
you
. I hope you won't make a habit of that.'

He blinked at her stern tone, and the uncompromising glint in her eyes. She was a lot tougher than he'd realised. And quite stubborn about some things.

But so was he. ‘I repeat, Emma. I did what I did because I didn't want you to worry. People tell little white lies sometimes.'

‘I understand that. But I won't be taken for a fool. Or some simple country girl who won't ask questions.'

Jason sighed. It seemed Adele's malicious lies could not be wiped away so easily. He would have to win Emma's trust back with actions, rather than words. He vowed never to go anywhere without her for a long, long time. Not that he should have to. Soon, they would be married, and then they would spend every spare moment together.