Romance of a Lifetime (7 page)

To her great relief her father had approved of the marriage, although he had requested, due to the fact that he didn't have a son to carry on the family name, that they keep the name Palmer after the marriage. It had seemed a little unorthodox to Beth; in fact she had been practising in her head for weeks how the name Beth Bradshaw would sound once they were married! But Martin had been agreeable to the idea of keeping Palmer, didn't seem to mind changing his name to hers, and in the end it had seemed a small concession to have to make to ensure her father felt happy about the relationship too; the last thing she had wanted to do was alienate him when she had only recently found him again.

Her mother had looked at her searchingly after the wedding as she and Martin were about to leave for their honeymoon in the Bahamas. 'I just want you to be happy, darling,' she had said worriedly.

'And I will be,' Beth had assured her with glowing happiness.

The honeymoon had been her first disappointment.

There had been no question of their consummating their relationship before they were married; the situation had just never arisen. And yet despite the love Beth had felt for her new husband, and the consideration and love he had always shown her, the physical side of their relationship hadn't brought the joy Beth had expected.

But she had assured herself that sometimes .these things took time, needed to be treated with patience and gentleness to bring fulfilment to them both.

Her mother's business had continued to flourish, extending to Hong Kong, the Bahamas, Italy, even that centre of chic, Paris.

Beth was pleased for her mother, knew this was what she had always wanted. But her prolonged absences during those first few months of Beth's marriage had meant she hadn't had her mother to confide in the way she would have wished. She could hardly have blurted out, on one of her mother's fleeting weekend visits, that she found the physical side of her marriage more than a little disappointing!

She had also found that she saw less of Martin now they were married than she had anticipated, always seeming as he did to be busy with work. Well, always was possibly an exaggeration, but, as Martin had insisted that as his wife she didn't continue to work but occupy her time as hostess of the apartment they now lived in, she had found that time weighed heavily on her hands.

And then she had found she was pregnant, and life suddenly had a whole new meaning. Martin had been pleased by the news, her father delighted, and she had suddenly found herself cosseted and cared for by both of them, which was a wonderful experience in itself.

Her mother had been so pleased that the marriage was turning out so well, was greatly looking forward to the birth of her first grandchild, and Beth had been able to tell by what wasn't said that until then her mother had feared for her happiness.

Now there could be no doubting the strength of the bond between Beth and Martin, and her mother had been pleased for her.

And maybe if Beth hadn't overheard the conversation between Martin and the woman who had been his lover for the last three And maybe if Beth hadn't overheard the conversation between Martin and the woman who had been his lover for the last three years, if the shock of overhearing that hadn't made her lose the baby, a son, she would have continued in happy ignorance for the rest of her life!

She was supposed to have been with her mother on a shopping trip for the baby that day, but had felt slightly ill for most of the morning, and by lunchtime she had known she had to go home and lie down, assuring her mother that she would be perfectly well after a short sleep, knowing this from experience.

She certainly hadn't expected to come home and find Martin in
their
bed with another woman!

The couple in the bed couldn't have heard her entrance to the apartment, so engrossed were they in each other, the sound of their laughter filling the air.

When Beth first let herself in she had heard that laughter with a sinking heart, believing Martin was entertaining a guest in the lounge, and hardly feeling in the mood to face anyone feeling as ill as she did, let alone a business acquaintance of Martin's.

But to her puzzlement the lounge had been empty, the kitchen too, and she had followed the sound of the laughter to the bedroom she shared with Martin, surprised, but still totally unsuspecting, at the reason for him having taken anyone in there.

She had believed Martin loved her—they had only been married for eighteen months, she was three months pregnant with their child; why
should
she have had any reason to suspect that Martin was in bed with his mistress?

The two in the bed had been completely naked, Martin lying on his back, the woman draped across his chest, caressing the cleft in his chin as they laughed together.

One look at Martin's face had been enough to tell Beth that he and this woman had already made love, that this was after rather than fore-play. That dark slumbering look in his eyes, that relaxed set to his mouth after he had made love; Beth knew the expression so well. But she hadn't realised, until that moment, that she had been sharing the intimacy with another woman all these months.

She had wanted to speak out, to let them know of her presence there behind the slightly ajar door, but as they had begun to speak she simply couldn't move.

'What if she comes home and catches us?' the woman, a beautiful redhead of about thirty, purred sensuously. She was a complete stranger to Beth; she would have remembered this woman if she had ever met her. 'I know it's exciting making love in the bed you share with her, but it could prove a little awkward if she were to find us here,' she drawled mockingly.

'It's thinking of the times the two of us have made love here that makes it possible for me to bed the little fool at all,' Martin said with distaste. 'She had the sensual imagination and body of a schoolgirl. I suppose she has filled out a little, in certain places, since she became pregnant, but——'

'So you find your pregnant wife exciting, do you?' Dark eyes flashed, scarlet-tipped fingernails raking down Martin's chest with just enough pressure to cause pain.

'Little cat.' Martin laughed his enjoyment of the movement, taking that slender hand in his to provocatively kiss the fingertips.

'You know damn well I've never found her exciting; pregnancy certainly isn't going to change that. In fact,' he added with satisfaction, 'it gives me a good excuse to end the physical side of our marriage completely. We must protect the baby at all costs.'

The woman's mouth hardened. 'That damned baby has cost us enough already.'

'But once Charles's grandson has been born…' Martin caressed the satiny cheek closest to him '… our future will be assured, my position as father of that grandson established. Charles is only interested in his grandson, has used Beth to provide him with that at least, and I'm sure that once the child has been born I'll be able to persuade him that Beth is no longer necessary to our plans. After a suitable period the two of us will finally be able to be together.'

The tiny uptilted nose wrinkled delicately. 'I hope you don't expect me to look after the brat?'

'Of course not,' Martin derided. 'A nanny can be found for him to start with, and then when he's old enough there is always boarding-school.'

The woman frowned down at him. 'You're absolutely sure it's a boy?'

'Absolutely,' Martin said with satisfaction. 'Beth had tests done to make sure the baby was healthy, and we were told the sex from that. I told her there was some history of heart defects in my family so that she would have it done.'

'And she believed you,' the woman scorned.

He grinned. 'My darling Chloe, Beth believes anything I tell her.'

Beth hadn't been able to listen to any more, had already heard enough to make her nausea imminent and her legs feel weak.

She had turned and run out of the apartment, pressing the button for the lift, and, when it hadn't come, escaping down the stairs. -…

And that was when the blackness had engulfed her and she had fallen, fallen, fallen…

She had lost the baby, of course. There had been a complication with the loss, so that she had almost died too, and when she had woken up and been told that her baby was gone and there couldn't be any more she had wished that she had died. She had certainly had nothing left to live for.

Her father didn't even come to see her, and so she had known Martin had been right hi his claim that Charles was just using her; now that he had been told of her inability to ever give him a grandson she was of no further use to him.

Martin hadn't come near her either, and she could well imagine the anger he had felt at having his plans thwarted in this way.

But somehow Beth hadn't cared about their absence, hadn't cared about anything any more, the love she had had for both Martin and her father as dead as the baby she had carried and lost.

Her mother had been the one to take care of her, taking her home from the hospital when it came time to leave, installing her in her own apartment, the only sign of emotion Beth had shown being when her mother had asked if she wanted to see Martin. She never wanted to see him again!

Physically she had healed quickly. And much as she might have wanted to die, to know complete oblivion, to stop the emotional pain, her body had had other ideas on the subject. Yes, physically she had recovered. Emotionally she was scarred beyond healing.

When the divorce papers came she had been shocked out of her lethargy, incensed that Martin was daring to accuse her of adultery. And with a man she didn't even know.

It had to be one of Martin's friends, she had decided, a man with as few scruples as he had proved to have.

She had fought the petition, denied the adultery, but finally her weakened state, and the law, had defeated her, and Martin had been granted his divorce on the grounds of her adultery with a man she didn't even know!

Chloe must have been becoming impatient at being kept waiting, Beth had decided; she could see little other reason for the lying and subterfuge that had gained Martin his divorce.

And so it was finished. Over with. The divorce final several weeks ago.

But Beth would never forget what had been done to her, how she had been used, and then callously discarded when she proved no further use to the two men. She doubted she would ever trust another man again.

And now there was Marcus Craven trying to push his way into her life, a man with as much arrogance as her father and Martin.

She gave a nervous start as a knock sounded on the door, frowning as she went to answer it; surely Marcus didn't have
this
much arrogance?

The waiter who had served them at dinner stood outside the door, a red rose held in his hand, a rose very similar to if not actually the same one which had graced their table during the meal.

Beth's frown deepened. 'Yes?'

'From Mr Craven.' He presented the rose to her. 'To thank you for a wonderful evening.' He spoke carefully, obviously wanting to repeat the message precisely.

Beth slowly took the rose, staring at its perfection, the waiter having silently left when she at last looked up.

Yes, now there was Marcus Craven. And she had no idea what she was going to do about him.

'I'm Glad you decided to join me,' Marcus greeted Beth downstairs the next morning.

She hadn't meant to, had breakfasted on the balcony of her room, lingering over her coffee, hoping ten o'clock would pass and she could forget Marcus Craven had wanted her to meet him then.

But as ten o'clock approached she had become restless, moving about on the balcony, entering her room only to go back outside again. And at two minutes to ten she had finally admitted to herself that she wanted to join him, grabbing up her bag from the bed before rushing from the room, arriving downstairs breathless and bright-eyed.

She had never looked lovelier, her cheeks slightly flushed, her hair lightly mussed by the slight breeze out on her balcony, the green dress with its small white spots looking cool and elegant.

She felt as if she was walking into danger for the second time in her life, but at least this time she
knew
that was what she was doing!

'You promised to show me Venice,' she reminded him, steadily meeting his gaze, willing her pulse to stop racing at how handsome he
looked in the pale blue shirt and grey trousers, the shirt partly unbuttoned to reveal the dark hair on his chest.

Unfortunately, her pulse wasn't taking the slightest bit of notice of her!

'And I will,' he assured her decisively, taking a firm hold of her arm to guide her out into the sunlight.

Now that she was refreshed from sleep Venice looked different again to Beth this morning, the street-vendors out, most of them selling souvenirs, although there was the odd artist trying to capture the beauty around them. A few of them had almost succeeded, and Beth lingered over studying their work.

'We can see them again when we come back,' Marcus teased softly. 'You won't get to see Venice this way.'

'But it's all Venice,' Beth reasoned. 'I'm in no hurry; I have all week.'

Marcus gave an enigmatic smile, and, while they boarded the river bus that would take them around the canal to the Rialto Bridge, Beth wondered how long he intended staying here. He seemed to do what he pleased, go where he pleased, and she felt sure that if he decided to stay the week then he would do so. She couldn't even begin to think how she felt about that.

They got off the river bus at the Rialto Bridge, going up its steps to stand on its middle, small watercraft of every description beneath them as their passengers viewed the bridge from a different angle.

Over the top of the bridge and behind it were small shops and market stalls, and the two of them lingered at one of these to buy pieces of moist coconut, munching on them as they continued to stroll through the crowd gathered there.

As well as its numerous waterways, Venice was a labyrinth of tiny canals and side-streets, little shops tucked away in unusual places, cafes too, the check-cloth-covered tables outside beckoning temptingly as the day began to grow warmer.