Forbidden Surrender (5 page)

Pete laughed. ‘Men like him don’t understand coincidence. How did you like Marie?’ he gave her a sideways glance.

‘How did
you
like her?’ She quirked an eyebrow at him. She hadn’t missed their slightly flirtatious manner when she had rejoined them.

‘I liked her a lot,’ he acknowledged softly. ‘It’s strange, the two of you look exactly alike, and yet there’s a difference. You have an air of sexual challenge about you that Marie doesn’t have, and I’m into the innocent look at the moment. Not that I’m complaining,’ he added hastily, ‘but I think Thorne probably spends most of his time fighting men off her.’

‘He certainly watches over her well,’ Sara said moodily.

‘So would I,’ Pete grinned.

‘Lecherous beast!’ She started to relax a little, her indignation about Dominic Thorne’-s treatment of her put firmly to the back of her mind. ‘I doubt if Marie would stay innocent for long around you.’

He shrugged. ‘Marie has these vibrations … and I felt them.’

Sara gave him a worried look. ‘I wouldn’t advise stepping on those particular toes.’ Dominic Thorne would deal far more ruthlessly with a man.

‘If the lady’s willing …’

‘Ah, but is she?’

‘I think she could be,’ he nodded.

She shrugged. ‘Then I wish you luck.’

If Dominic Thorne found out about it then Pete was going to need more than luck!

Her aunt and uncle were already in bed when she got in, although her aunt called to her as she changed into her nightclothes. Her uncle was fast asleep, but her aunt had her own bedside lamp on and had been reading. She put the book down when Sara came quietly into the room.

‘Oh, don’t mind your uncle,’ her aunt said at her questioning look. ‘He can sleep through anything, and often does. Did you have a nice time, dear?’

‘Quite nice, thank you.’ But she wouldn’t be seeing Pete again. They had parted as friends, but he was just another man who found Marie more attractive; Dominic Thorne had already made it known that she in no way compared to his Marie. ‘I’m not seeing Pete again, he’s going to be very busy the next few weeks,’ she excused to her aunt.

‘Were they nice people at this party?’

Sara smiled. ‘Or slightly mad like Pete?’ she teased.

‘Yes,’ her aunt admitted guiltily.

‘They were all—very nice.’

‘Well, I’m glad you had an enjoyable evening.’ She plumped up her pillow. ‘I think I’ll go to sleep now that I know you’re home.’

‘ ’Night,’ and Sara quietly left the room.

For some reason she had been loath to mention her meeting with Dominic Thorne and Marie Lindlay to her aunt.

E
DDIE
wanted to know all about her evening when he took her for her drive the next day.

‘Was Marie Lindlay really like you?’ he asked her.

She smiled. ‘Pete didn’t think so, he found her infinitely more attractive.’

‘The man has no taste!’ Eddie scoffed.

‘Marie’s fiancée seemed to agree with him.’

‘Thorne? Well, I suppose he does—after all, he’s going to marry her.’

‘Yes.’

Eddie quirked an eyebrow. ‘You don’t sound too sure?’

‘Oh, I’m sure they’ll marry. It’s just that—well, they’re an odd couple. Dominic Thorne must be years older than her, for one thing.’

He shrugged. ‘Thirty-five isn’t old.’

‘On him it is!’

Eddie laughed. ‘He certainly hasn’t made a conquest out of you.’

‘Does he usually?’ Sara scorned.

‘Has them queueing up,’ Eddie nodded. ‘Before his engagement to Marie Lindlay this last year he was the most sought after man in town. Come to think of it,’ he grinned, ‘he still is.’

‘Mm, he doesn’t look the faithful type.’ He had been a man completely in command, who did what he wanted when he wanted, and woe betide anyone who got in his way. Besides, he hadn’t hesitated about kissing her.

‘Then they make a good pair,’ Eddie said dryly.

Sara gave him a sharp look. ‘Meaning?’

‘Meaning Pete has a date with the lovely Marie this evening.’

She couldn’t hide her surprise. Dominic Thorne would be furious about that if he ever found out. And why on earth was Marie doing it? Having seen for herself how angry Dominic Thorne had been when he had thought
she
was Marie out with Eddie, then Sara thought Marie ought to have more sense. After all, she must know him so much better than Sara did, must realise the full force of his anger—and the full force of his lovemaking too! No one seemed to wait for the wedding any more.

Except Sara! Barry had constantly tried to persuade her into a more intimate relationship, and she had always refused, something she was glad of when he let her down in that way. How much more awful it would have been if they had been lovers!

There was such a lot of pressure about sex nowadays, from television, advertising, and most of all from society itself. Sara had been thought something of a freak by her model friends because she had no tales of bedroom romps to tell them.

They had found great pleasure in recounting whose bed they had slept in—although from all accounts sleep was the last thing they did!—the evening before, and although Sara had politely listened she had found it all rather sordid, instead of the excitement the other girls insisted it was.

Not that she was a prude, and she certainly didn’t say to herself before she went out with a man, ‘I must not sleep with him’; she just hadn’t ever met a man that she loved, a man who excited her so much she gave herself to him willingly. If that day ever came she would go to him without thought of the future, would give herself body and soul into his keeping.

What her friends in the States didn’t seem to realise was that they were invited out for the evening, perhaps two evenings, and when these men had taken the thing they were really interested in they didn’t want to know any more.

‘Hey, you weren’t interested in Pete yourself, were you?’ Eddie broke into her thoughts.

‘No,’ she could deny with ease. ‘I was just wondering why Marie took such risks.’

He shrugged. ‘For the hell of it, I should think. Thorne must be something to see in a jealous rage.’

Not really. He had treated
her
more like a naughty schoolgirl when he had ordered her home from the casino. And he hadn’t taken her home himself, but had told her to get her escort to take her. Not exactly a jealous rage!

‘Is it almost lunchtime?’ she changed the subject. ‘I’m starting to get very hungry.’

Eddie grinned. ‘I thought you’d never ask! I don’t mind being your chauffeur, but all this green countryside and pure fresh air is making me thirsty.’

Sara felt very guilty, because she had hardly noticed the countryside she had come out to see, being much too wrapped up in thoughts of Dominic Thorne and Marie Lindlay. Not that she ever expected to hear from the other girl; she felt sure her arrogant fiancée would make sure that she didn’t.

‘Where are we?’ she asked with interest.

‘Royal Berkshire,’ he announced.

‘Oh? Anywhere near Windsor Castle?’

Eddie grimaced. ‘Very near. Don’t tell me you want to see that too?’

‘Well … I wouldn’t mind.’ She gave him a coaxing smile.

‘Okay,’ he sighed. ‘But a beer and lunch first,’ he added as her face lit up with excitement.

‘Lunch in a pub?’ Her eyes glowed. ‘Oh, good,’ she grinned. ‘I’m really getting to like your English pubs.’

Eddie drove into a pub car park. ‘For goodness’ sake don’t tell Aunt Susan I’ve taken you to another one. She gave me an earful the last time!’

‘I won’t tell her,’ Sara assured him.

It seemed there were a lot of things she was keeping to herself lately, and not normally being a secretive girl she was surprised at herself.

Lunch was delicious, a lovely prawn salad served to them out in the garden. Sara also enjoyed the lager and lime Eddie bought her. She enjoyed going around Windsor Castle too, and although Eddie moaned about it she thought he secretly enjoyed it too.

‘I bet it’s years since you went there,’ she teased on the drive home. The time was now well on the way towards dinner.

Eddie looked shamefaced. ‘Well, actually, I—I’ve never been before,’ he admitted.

Her eyes widened. ‘Never been to Windsor Castle?’

‘There’s no need to look so surprised.’ He looked sheepish. ‘It isn’t unusual not to visit a place that’s more or less on your doorstep. You’ve probably never been to Disney World!’ he scorned.

‘Wrong,’ Sara smiled. ‘I’ve been dozens of times—I love it. It’s absolutely fantastic. I feel like a little girl again when I go there.’

‘You probably look like one too. You’re very easy to be with, Sara,’ Eddie said suddenly. ‘And I mean that in the nicest way possible.’

‘I know,’ she accepted huskily. ‘I’ve enjoyed today.’

‘So have I.’ He seemed surprised by the fact.

‘It’s just like having a brother,’ she said sleepily, leaning tiredly back against the headrest.

‘It’s okay,’ Eddie laughed, ‘I wasn’t moving in for the kill.’

Sara smiled at her own conceit, then dozed off in the warmth of the car and the monotonous hum of the engine.

She woke with a jerk, a curious feeling of foreboding hanging over her.

* * *

The feeling persisted over the next few days, so much so
that she found she wasn’t sleeping at night. The doctor had warned her of this delayed shock, the long air flight on top of her already weakened state sapping what little energy she had, and she spent the next three or four days resting, not going far from the house.

Consequently she was at home when Marie Lindlay telephoned her, and answered the call herself. The idea of meeting for lunch appealed to her, and the two girls arranged to meet at a restaurant in town.

There was no sign of Marie when she arrived at the arranged time, although the doorman insisted on calling
her
‘Miss Lindlay’. Sara found the situation too complicated to explain, leaving him under the misapprehension that she really was Marie. The poor man would think himself intoxicated when Marie did arrive.

She came into the restaurant twenty minutes later, and the first five minutes of their conversation were taken up with her apologies.

‘It was Dominic,’ she sighed, ordering a Bacardi and Coke from the hovering waiter. ‘Whenever Daddy’s away he seems to think he has to keep checking up on me. It’s nonsense, of course, but he still does it. He kept me on the telephone ten minutes trying to find out where I was going.’

‘When are you getting married?’ Sara asked, wondering what she was doing here now that she was actually here.

‘Oh, not for ages yet,’ Marie dismissed, nodding at the waiter as he put her drink on the table. ‘Dominic’s in no hurry, and neither am I.’

‘But surely you’ve been engaged for almost a year,’ Sara frowned, not seeing Dominic Thorne as the patient type.

‘Just under six months,’ Marie corrected. ‘And to tell you the truth, I’m not sure I’d be very good as a wife for Dominic. He’s such a perfectionist.’

Sara smiled. ‘I’m sure he would make allowances for a new wife.’

‘Maybe,’ Marie dropped the subject. ‘I love your accent. Where in America do you come from?’

Sara told her, also explaining about the accident that had killed her parents and injured her. She found it so easy to talk to the other girl, and Marie seemed to feel the same.

‘How sad!’ Marie looked genuinely upset. ‘I hate death,’ she shuddered. ‘My mother’s dead too.’

‘I’m sorry.’

Marie seemed to shake off her dark mood, and gave a dazzling smile. ‘Let’s order lunch.’

Sara was amazed at the other girl’s capacity for passing from topic to topic, from mood to mood, and it seemed that during lunch they discussed every subject possible. By the end of the meal Sara felt that they were friends.

‘I still can’t get over our likeness,’ said Marie as they went from the restaurant into the lounge for coffee. ‘Dominic’s convinced it’s all a trick on your part,’ she giggled.

Sara stiffened. ‘I’m well aware of your fiancée’s opinion of me.’

‘And he’s aware of yours,’ Marie grinned. ‘Did you really hit him?’

Sara kept her eyes down on her coffee cup. ‘Did he say I had?’

‘He didn’t need to, it was pretty obvious. God, he was in a foul temper the rest of the evening! I’ve never seen him in such a black mood.’ Marie didn’t seem perturbed by the fact, grinning widely.

‘He deserved it,’ Sara said tightly.

‘I’m sure he did,’ Marie nodded. ‘The trouble with Dominic is that he’s perfect himself, and he expects others to be the same.’ She shrugged. ‘I’m afraid that even I don’t meet up to his high standards.’

That Dominic Thorne made her feel totally inadequate was obvious, and that Marie admired him tremendously was also obvious.

‘Dominic thinks you’re trying to get money out of me in some way,’ Marie added guilelessly. ‘Or Daddy.’

Sara frowned. ‘But I’ve never met your father, nor have I made any effort to contact him.’

‘No,’ Marie grinned. ‘But Dominic thinks my father may have met your mother, about nine months before you were born.’

An angry tide of red colour passed in front of Sara’s eyes. Dominic Thorne had a disgusting mind. How dared he imply that about her mother!

Marie laughed at her expression. ‘Don’t worry, I soon disabused him of that—my father was devoted to my mother. That’s the reason he’s never remarried.’

‘And my mother loved my father. Your fiancée really does have a twisted mind! Besides, I didn’t make any effort to see you again, and if I’d been up to something underhand surely I would have done?’

‘Dominic says that was just a clever move on your part,’ Marie shrugged.

Sara drew in an angry breath. ‘Your fiancée says altogether too much!’

‘Actually, he doesn’t,’ Marie said seriously. ‘He doesn’t talk much at all, but when he does you can bet it’s something important. Now I’m the opposite, I chatter on for hours and none of it makes much sense.’

Sara had already noticed that, and she liked it. She liked Marie too, found her bubbly, flamboyant nature the complete opposite of her own more reserved one.

She considered they had talked about Dominie Thorne quite enough for one day. ‘What do you do?’ she asked Marie.

‘For a living, you mean?’ Marie sounded scandalised.

Sara laughed at her expression. ‘By your reaction I take it you don’t do anything.’

‘Is that terribly naughty of me?’ Marie looked like a guilty little girl.

‘No,’ Sara smiled. ‘I wish I could do the same.’ Although she wasn’t sure she really meant that. Her months of enforced inactivity had made her long to go back to work, although she accepted that the injuries to her legs had made it impossible for her to do anything too strenuous. But nevertheless she didn’t think she would enjoy being idle. Her mother and father had been quite well off, and that money had now been left to her, but she had never been encouraged to sit at home and live off that wealth. Even her mother had been her stepfather’s chief assistant at the advertising agency.

‘I’m kept quite busy,’ Marie told her. ‘Daddy’s always entertaining, and I have to be his hostess. And then there’s the sports club, I go there a lot. And then—–’

‘Okay, okay,’ Sara laughingly silenced her, ‘I believe you!’

‘You’re a model, aren’t you?’ Marie said interestedly. ‘Pete told me,’ she explained.

‘Oh yes.’ Sara bit her lip, undecided about saying anything to Marie about her date with Pete. After all, it was none of her business who the other girl went out with. And yet … ‘Did you have a nice evening with him?’ she queried.

Marie shrugged. ‘He’s okay. I—Hey, I didn’t step on any toes, did I? He told me there was nothing between the two of you,’ she frowned.

‘There isn’t. I wasn’t thinking of me.’ Sara quirked one eyebrow.

‘Then who—–? Oh, you mean Dominic,’ the other girl dismissed. ‘Mm, I don’t suppose he would like it much.’

‘He would have a right not to. You are engaged to him,’ Sara gently reminded her.

‘He’s kept very busy, he works very hard. And then
he’s often away on business. I get very lonely. Anyway, I won’t be seeing Pete again.’

That didn’t particularly bother her. Marie could have a hundred other men besides Dominic Thorne if she wanted to, but she had the feeling that he wouldn’t stand too much of that treatment, and unless Marie wanted to lose him she would have to curb her activities with other men.

Marie didn’t seem to agree with her when she pointed that out to her. ‘He’ll forgive me,’ she dismissed lightly. ‘He always has.’

Then Dominic Thorne must be a more understanding man than she would have given him credit for. Maybe he loved Marie more deeply than he appeared to on the surface. He was definitely a deep character.

‘My marriage to Dominie will make things all neat and tidy,’ Marie told her, at her frowning look. ‘He and my father are partners, you see. When we marry Dominic is assured of eventually becoming sole owner. He’s been so good to me, it’s the least I can do for him. And he’s so gorgeous, isn’t he? So distinguished.’