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‘I’m asking you that.’

‘Then I can only say you've got the wrong impression.’ She wriggled free. ‘I’m going to wash up now. Isn’t it time you were going?'

‘Now I know there’s something amiss. What is it? Are you afraid of me? Afraid I might take advantage?’ He watched her face closely and saw the involuntary flickering of her eyes. ‘Now we’re getting somewhere. Have I ever given you reason for such thoughts?’ He caught her arms and shook her roughly. ‘Have I?’

‘You know you haven’t,' cried Taryn. ‘I can’t help how I feel!'

‘Or is it that damn Mark fellow?’ he grated. ‘You’re classing me with him. I don’t suppose you objected when
he
put his arms round you; when
he
pulled you close and suffocated you with kisses, but you don’t want
me
to, is that it? Don’t you know I’m human the same as him? That I’m attracted to you the way he was?’

Taryn shook her head dumbly. ‘You—you don’t understand.'

‘I understand only too well,’ he rasped. ‘Believe me, I’m getting a little sick and fed up of having your past lover rammed down my throat.'

‘You brought him up,’ retorted Taryn.

‘But he was in your thoughts, which is the same thing. I think I will go after all. I suddenly feel the need for some fresh air.'

He had reached the door before Taryn spoke. ‘Luke, please—I didn’t mean to upset you.’ She hadn’t meant to say that either—the words had been torn from her.

Luke stopped and slowly turned. He looked defeated and with a little cry Taryn ran towards him. He held her tightly and she could feel the unsteady beating of his heart and the lean strength of his thighs against hers. She lifted her head and his lips came down on hers, crushing and bruising. But she cared no -longer. If his wife didn’t want him here was one woman who did. Her hands crept up behind his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair and pulling his head even more tightly towards her. She felt curiously abandoned. Never before had she felt so moved, even with Mark. His kisses had aroused her, oh yes, but never anything like this. She gave a moan of pleasure and at once Luke lifted his' head. ‘Am I hurting you?’

Taryn shook her head. Almost immediately his lips sought hers again, straining her to him until she felt as though she must suffocate.

At length he stopped, but he did not let her go. Instead he led her to the settee where they sat together, she nestling in the crook of his arm and Luke’s head resting on top of hers. ‘No regrets?’ he asked softly.

‘None at all,' whispered Taryn.

‘I didn’t really mean that to happen, but I won’t say I’m sorry.’

She could tell by his voice that he was smiling, could imagine the dimple in his cheek and the softening of his eyes. ‘Nor me,' she answered.

There was a long silence during which neither of them stirred. It was Luke himself who made the first move. ‘I suppose I must go,’ he said, gently lifting her away.

‘Stay the night,’ she ventured. ‘I’m sure Gammy won’t mind.'

‘I know, but I must leave. I have an appointment in London first thing in the morning.’

‘When will you come again?’ asked Taryn anxiously, suddenly realising that she was going to miss him.

‘I have to go up north at the end of the week,’ he said sadly, ‘so it will be the weekend after before I get down.’

‘Oh.’ The house would be finished by then, thought Taryn, her brief affair would be over.

‘Why do you say “Oh,” like that?’ he asked, smiling.

Taryn shrugged. ‘It seems such a long time.'

‘I’m sure you’ll find plenty to do—and it’s not so long really. I’ll be thinking of you, Taryn.'

Her voice was wistful. ‘Will you?’

‘But of course. Now I really must go.’

She accompanied him to the door. He kissed her tenderly, then walked away down the valley. Taryn watched him go. She might never see him alone again. Next time—if the house was ready—he could bring his wife with him. Abruptly she decided to make sure that the house was not finished in the three weeks he had stipulated. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do at this stage, but she would think of something— anything to delay the time when Mr and Mrs Major moved into Dale End.

Gammy
observed Taryn shrewdly when she came down to breakfast the next morning. ‘You look as though you’ve had a bad night. What’s the matter?'

‘It’s Luke,’ she said reluctantly while realising that her aunt would find out sooner or later. ‘We met in Exeter and he came back here last night.’

‘So?’ prompted Gammy. ‘Why should that cause any problems?’

‘I think I’m in love with him,’ replied Taryn candidly. ‘I tried not to—but I couldn’t help myself.’

‘It’s the rainbow,’ decisively. ‘What did I tell you?’

‘But have you forgotten he’s married?’

Gammy pulled a face. ‘Has he actually told you so?’

‘We—ll, no, but according to Andy ’

‘Wait until he tells you himself before you condemn the man,’ interrupted her aunt firmly. ‘He doesn’t strike me as the sort to deceive anyone—least of all you.’

‘And what is that supposed to mean?’

‘It’s quite obvious he’s attracted by you. Why don’t you ask whether he’s married? He probably has no idea what’s on your mind.’

‘I’ll see,’ murmured Taryn, but she had no intention of so doing. It was not the sort of question she could ask Luke. If he did not volunteer any information about his personal life who was she to pry? If only she hadn’t fallen in love. She had managed to survive one heartbreak—but two? It didn’t bear thinking about.

Immediately after breakfast Taryn made her way up to Dale End. Work was still in full swing and she threw herself wholeheartedly into polishing windows and hanging curtains—a job that she was not obliged to do but one which successfully took her mind off the man who had disrupted her life.

Time dragged interminably during the following days, Taryn’s only consolation the transformation of the house. By the end of the second week the redecorating was complete. All that remained was for the carpets and the rest of the furniture to arrive. As if in answer to her prayers there had been some trouble with the suppliers and it was to be a further seven days before the final touches could be put to Dale End. By Friday evening Taryn had worked herself into a state of nervous exhaustion until even Gammy lost patience and rated her soundly.

And as the weekend passed with no sign of Luke, not even a message to say that he had been delayed, Taryn knew that she was making herself ill for nothing. If he returned her feelings surely he would have found some way of contacting her?

On Monday morning there was no work to do in the house. The men had left, including Andy. Taryn wandered listlessly from room to room, for once experiencing no joy in its newly acquired charm. Eventually she went out into the garden and finding tools in one of the outhouses began to weed the borders from which the roses grew so rampantly along the portico.

So engrossed did Taryn become in her work that she did not hear the sound of a car or soft footsteps approaching. When a hand touched her shoulder she jumped so violently that her hand fell against one of the stems, causing a thorn to drag across the back of her hand and leaving a thin red line in its wake.

Involuntarily she cried out, but the pain was forgotten when she looked up into the tawny eyes regarding her with concern.

‘I’m sorry,’ said Luke. ‘I shouldn’t have surprised you like that. Are you hurt badly?’

‘It’s nothing.’ Taryn was more conscious of her dishevelled appearance. She had on a pair of her oldest jeans and a sleeveless sweater that had seen better days. It had risen up as she worked to reveal a bare expanse of flesh, and she now tugged it down self-consciously.

His eyes twinkled. ‘I’ve seen you in less. Why the modesty?’

But Taryn ignored his bantering tones. ‘I’m sorry I’m not ready,’ she said drily. ‘You should have let me know you were coming.'

In reality she wanted to fling herself into his arms and declare her pleasure at seeing him again. But when she recalled that for two whole weeks he had made no attempt to get in touch with her she knew that he did not regard her in exactly the same way. It could be embarrassing, for it became clear to her now that he had only been filling in the time until his wife was installed at Dale End. He was no better than any other man who, given the opportunity, would not hesitate to indulge in a light flirtation. On this account alone she must keep a tight rein on her feelings, and although it hurt to assume an air of indifference it was the only way she could survive their meetings without revealing her true emotions.

‘Hey, what is this? What have I done to deserve such treatment?’

Taryn’s eyes fell before his questioning gaze and she returned once again to the work in hand, but he hooked a hand beneath her arm and pulled her up.

‘If it’s because I didn’t get here for the weekend,' he said, ‘I’m sorry. I got held up.'

‘Why should that bother me? It’s none of my business what you do.'

‘If it upsets you, then it is. If I’d known I’d have found some way of letting you know.'

Taryn struggled from his grasp, still loth to let him believe she was disturbed. ‘It doesn’t matter.'

‘Then what’s happened to the happy girl I left behind? Not brooding over Mark again? I thought I’d managed to push him out of your mind for good.’

You have, you have, cried Taryn to herself, but aloud she said, ‘I haven’t been sleeping too well, that’s all.' She couldn’t go on denying there was nothing wrong, and at least this was the truth.

Luke frowned. ‘Then why aren’t you resting? There’s no need for you to do this,' indicating the garden with an expressive wave of his hand, ‘I’m employing a full-time gardener. Come on, let’s go inside.' He led her into the kitchen. ‘To quote your aunt, a good strong cup of tea is what you need. Sit down while I do the honours.’

Taryn watched silently as Luke made the tea. She was very aware of the fact that there was only the two of them in the house, and recalled the last occasion they had been in just such a position. Her skin tingled at the thought of his lips against hers and a sudden warmth pervaded her body. Abruptly she crossed to the window and flung it wide open, breathing in deeply the light summer air. She would never rid herself of her fascination for this man—no matter how much she told herself it was wrong.

Luke glanced at her curiously but said nothing. He finished pouring the tea, then came and stood behind her. ‘I wish I understood you, Taryn. You act very strangely sometimes.’

Her heart beat wildly at the feel of his body against hers. She tried to move, but his arms imprisoned her tightly.

‘You’re behaving as though we’re strangers again. I really thought that at last I was getting somewhere, that you’d forgotten all this nonsense about Mark.’

Taryn jerked her head round to look at him. ‘I scarcely think of him these days.’

‘Then you
are
annoyed with me. Oh, Taryn,’ he twisted her round to face him, ‘if only you knew how many times I’ve wanted to see you! If you’d been on the phone I’d have called every day, as it was I had to content myself with thinking about you.’ His eyes searched her face as if looking for some tiny detail he might have missed. ‘Every night you’ve filled my dreams.’

‘Please ’ protested Taryn, but he ignored her cry.

‘Every morning I’ve woken and deplored the thought of another day without seeing you. But never mind, I intend delegating some of my work after all and spending as much time here as I can. I’m training a new man now and once the house is finished I hope to be here every weekend, more often if possible.’

Taryn closed her eyes. It was a tantalising thought, but didn’t he realise that once the house was finished her job would be over too? And as she couldn’t go on living off Aunt Margaret for ever she would have to find another job, which in its turn meant moving out of the valley. This really was the end. Another week at the most was all she could expect, yet Luke was talking as though the whole future stretched before them.

‘I can see you don’t believe me,’ he said softly. ‘I’m truly serious, Taryn. I’ve missed you more than I thought possible.’

‘Me, too.’ Taryn’s voice was scarcely more than a whisper, but Luke heard and crushed her relentlessly to him.

‘Taryn,’ he breathed hoarsely, ‘dearest Taryn.’ He wrapped her hair round his fingers and roughly pulled her head back. His eyes were as dark as coals when he kissed her. There was a pain in their depths such as Taryn had never seen before. She knew she ought to resist, but her desire matched his and she returned his kisses with a wanton urgency that surprised even herself. His lips moved to her throat and her ears and her eyes. Her hands crept up round his neck and she pressed herself against him. This was probably the last time they would be together and she felt as though she never wanted to let him go.

At length it was Luke himself who released her and stumbled away to grope for a chair. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at her with glazed eyes. ‘What have I done? It’s all wrong. I should never '

‘Shh!’ she whispered, placing a finger across his lips. ‘Don’t blame yourself. I wanted you to kiss me.’

Hungrily he caught her hand and pressed kisses into its palm. ‘I didn’t want this to happen—not yet— but when I’m with you I can’t help myself.’ He pulled her down on to his lap. ‘Forgive me?’

‘There’s nothing to forgive,’ Taryn sighed, curling her arm round his neck. ‘We’re both human. It was inevitable.’

‘All the same, I’m sorry. I had no right.’

Silence settled over them and Taryn guessed that he too was thinking of his wife and the wrong they were doing her. It was no good; she would have to leave the valley. For the second time in her short life running away seemed to be the only solution.

They drank their tea and Taryn washed up. Luke then suggested they go into Exeter to see if they couldn’t speed up delivery of the remainder of the furnishings.

‘I’ve promised to take Janice to fetch the baby home,’ declared Taryn ruefully.