Chapter Four

“HOW’Sit going? ”

McAlpine strode through the front door—a lion of a man—bringing with him such a rush of male vigour and vitality it created its own excitement. His eyes, skin and thick auburn hair gleamed with health. She supposed he had the best physique of any man she had ever seen in her life. At any rate, every pulse in her body had jumped to attention. She had been calmly minding her own business, walking head bent, across the tiled entrance hall, a beautiful damask-and-lace tablecloth draped over her arm—one she had chosen from a whole pile that would have been suitable for any dinner party, anywhere. Now this! She was well aware McAlpine had to be extraordinarily intelligent to do what he did, but the good fairy at his christening had really gone overboard with the largesse.

“I’m on top of it already, ” she said crisply. The man always put her on her mettle.

“So I’ve heard. ” His eyes roamed over her, amused by her businesslike attitude. So far as he could see, she wore it like a defensive shield. Obviously she had decided it was the way to go, protecting herself at every level. In rebuilding his fortune Oscar Balfour would have had to work extremely hard. What his daughter Olivia had seriously needed was a whole lot of undivided attention. He wasn’t being sarcastic when he had suggested she craved it. The deep reserve she manifested—the touch-me-not persona—was in his view a defence mechanism.

But the way she was getting on with Kath, Norm and the staff had come as something of a surprise. Obviously with them she had dropped her lady-of-the-manor guise. He took a moment now to give herhis undivided attention. No difficulty there. She was something to see in informal dress—well-cut jeans combined with a simple white tank top. But she looked great! It was all in the height, the ultra-slim body, the long legs, pert butt, flat stomach. Her long elegant bones had a nice cover, unlike Marigole, who wasn’t happy unless her bones were painfully on show. “You’ve really got Kath onside, ” he commended her. “I’m sure you brought your latent diplomatic skills to bear. ”

Don’t let him take a rise out of you. Or failing that don’t let him see it, Olivia’s inner voice chirped up.

“Of course I haven’t! ” she denied calmly, resisting the natural urge to flare up. “You look pleased with yourself. ”

“Spot on. ”

He moved to join her. Olivia found herself swallowing; her throat felt so constricted and dry. Everything about the man was mesmeric. She had never met anyone remotely like him before for sheer physicality. She held the tablecloth firmly to her, uncomfortably aware there was a glitter of amusement in his eyes. Of course he thought her ridiculous, damn him!

“The sale of one of our Queensland stations has gone through, ” he told her.

Without looking back at him she said, “And you’re happy with the price? ”

“Count on it. ” His tone was buoyant. The big-cat gleam was in his eyes. “Your daddy will be too. ”

“Oddly enough my father likes you, ” she said in a tightly controlled tone.

“So you’ve said. ” He wagged a finger at her. “Too bad about you, my lady. What have you got there? ” He glanced at what she had in her arms.

“Tablecloth for Saturday night, ” she returned briskly. She refused to be swept up by the power and magnetism of the man. “It’s quite beautiful. There are napkins to match. ”

“Fine. I don’t need a progress report. I have every faith in you, Olivia. ”

Most women would think the little brackets that framed his mouth were incredibly sexy. She opted to lower her lids. “That’s good to hear. ”

“I’ve come back for something else entirely. ” His tone turned as brisk as hers. Probably in mockery. “You’ve been so on the job, I thought you might like a run around the station. You’ve got the layout of the house and the office. Now you get to see the great outdoors. ”

She couldn’t for the life of her control the spurt of excitement that raced along her veins. “You don’t mean to spring a crocodile on me, do you? ”

A wicked smile slid across his generous mouth. “Not today. Maybe real soon. Do you know anything about guns? ”

She grimaced. “Ican shoot if that’s what you mean. My father and some of his cronies like to bag pheasant in season. So many pounds a bird. That sort of thing. I don’t care to join them. Not for a very long time. Guns are dangerous. ”

“Of course they are, ” he agreed shortly, as if he didn’t need her to give him a lecture. “But it’s necessary to be a fine shot out here. In some ways your world would have been the same as my own. One tends to get taught everything. Ride, shoot, play tennis, even dance. ” He grimaced.

“I’m a very good chess player as well. ”

Was that wry admiration that flickered in his remarkable eyes?

“I don’t doubt it. You’d excel at poker too, I would think. So I can safely take it you could handle a rifle if you had to? ”

“If I had to. ” She nodded. “Rather a croc’s funeral than mine. I don’t hunt, before you ask. No sport whatever in that. ”

“I totally agree with you. We can safely rule the hunt out. I don’t want to get on the wrong side of you. You tend to react as if you grew up with Queen Victoria. Now, are you coming with me, or not? I’m off to Melbourne first thing in the morning. Business. I won’t be back until first thing Saturday morning. ”

“So when do your guests arrive? ” No need to panic. She could handle an outback party. Lord knows she had organised splendid functions at the manor.

“Could you possibly sound anxious? ” He couldn’t resist the taunt, nor the near-overwhelming urge to pull free the yellow ribbon that tied back her billowing golden hair. It reached to her shoulder blades in sinuous curls and waves, unlike the evenings when she reverted to her smooth head-hugging arrangements.

“Do Isound anxious? ” She put on her best formal tone.

“Actually, yes. I’m getting rather good at reading what goes on behind the high-born facade, Ms Balfour. ”

“That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it? ” He flushed with vexation. “I have no inflated opinion of myself or my class. ”

“Of course you have, ” he said. “A whole battery of airs and graces. Some of them I like. But humility is clearly not your scene. Anyway, to get back to business. All of my guests will be flying in by midday Saturday at the latest. I’ll be home by then. ”

“Would you mind putting that in writing? ” she said, fighting for her habitual dignity.

He gave a low laugh. “Why, Olivia—I really like that name—myword is not enough? ”

She felt as though she was on strange new ground. “It’s just that I would like you to be here when your ex-wife and your daughter arrive. ” She wouldn’t tell him she had the dismal notion Marigole would hate her on sight. For that matter so might Georgina, his troubled young daughter. Her father had never warned her about any of this, she thought bitterly. If things turned out very badly at Kalla Koori she didn’t feel she could forgive him.

McAlpine suddenly caught her arm impatiently as though he had had quite enough of her backchat. Every time he did it she had to catch her breath. “Though I’m absolutely certain you can hold your own with anyone, Ms Balfour, I give you my word I’ll be back before the others arrive. ”

She dared to give him a sideways glance. Their eyes held. Neither of them looked away. Shecouldn’t. Much as he got under her skin—took delight in doing it—the man possessed fatal charm. It would throw any woman, even a woman of backbone like herself, off balance. Worse yet, it frightened her. She was a deeply reserved woman at heart.

Wasn’t she?

Before she could react, he stretched out his hand and grasped her hair ribbon, setting the masses free.

She gave a mortified little cry while he watched with evident satisfaction as her hair cascaded around her agitated face. “Tell me, why do you feel the need to tie your hair back all the time? ” He could see her fluster. Dusky pink coloured her cheeks, increasing the beauty she opted to play down. God knows why! “It’s gorgeous hair. Darn nearly turns you into a femme fatale! ”

He was making fun of her, of course. “Oh, stop that! ” she ordered in queenly fashion, vigorously pushing her hair back over her shoulders. “It’smy hair and don’t you forget it. I like to be neat. ” She held out an imperative hand. “May I have my ribbon back? ”

“Not today, ” he said briskly, jamming it into the breast pocket of his khaki bush shirt. “I know the stories about your grand manner are legion, Ms Balfour, but we’re going to have to make an effort to modify it. Reveal the less starchy you. Otherwise you’ll never get a husband. Now meet you outside in five minutes. We’ll take the Range Rover. Don’t forget your hat and your sunglasses. ”

In the act of hurrying away she turned back, blue eyes burning defiance.

“Kindly allow me to look after my own wardrobe, Mr McAlpine. ”

“Delighted to. Especially as it appears to be vast! ” he shot back.

It was the most brilliant of days. Cloudless. So good, Olivia was starting to think she could love this place. Of course, it was hot—no denying that—and they had long records of cyclones, fires and floods, but it appeared to be taken by Territorians as on-again, off-again events. It was simply the power of nature at work. Even the fact that glassy-eyed saltwater monsters lurked in the beautiful lily-festooned pools and lagoons was something Territorians lived with on a daily basis. It didn’t appear to worry them. It was foolhardy tourists and the stupidly intoxicated most likely to ignore all the warning signs—posted in several languages—who came to grief.

McAlpine kept up a running commentary which she had to admit was both fascinating and engrossing. They had agreed to “lay down our weapons, ” as he put it. It was oddly liberating. She had travelled much of the civilised world but Kalla Koori was something else again. As was the force of McAlpine’s presence.

“This is the crocodile’s natural habitat, ” he said. “Man is the invader. From time to time there has to be a cull if they start becoming too much of a threat, but we rather like our crocs. ”

“And to think they were probably around when the whole continent was jungle. AJurassic Park when the great reptiles were dominant and the birds were only starting to appear. ”

He nodded. “The outback is famous for its birdlife. If we can fit it in I’ll take you to one of our Channel Country stations in south-west Queensland. Legions of budgerigar without number colour the sky green and gold. As for the prehistoric reptiles, they may have disappeared—save for the croc—but we have miniatures of the mighty reptiles in our lizards. The Japanese in particular are fascinated by these little lizards. Even I think they look fantastic with their armoury of spikes. We have the frill-neck, the bearded dragons, thorny devil lizards, not to mention the geckos, snakes, goannas and skinks. You might as well call the entire region the land of the lizards. Goannas can look pretty fearless, especially when they rear up on the hind legs. The perentie, our second largest to the Komodo dragon, can grow up to seven feet and more. ”

They were driving across open boxwood-studded savannah, with great flights of birds filling the sky with colour and raucous calls. The sheer vastness of the landscape was having a powerful effect on her. “In many ways I’m reminded of Africa, ” she said, “especially this never-ending sea of tall billowing yellow grasses. Look at the way they sway this way and that in the prevailing wind. ”

“African lions have the perfect camouflage in such grasses, ” he said. “Just little glimpses of the dense mane. I’ve been to South Africa several times. We have great friends in the Cape Colony and Natal. Magnificent creatures, lions, though I’m glad we don’t have lion around here. We have quite enough to contend with. Those great spiky tussocks you see are the ubiquitous spinifex. This is cattle country. No sheep. ”

“But you do have stations where you run both sheep and cattle. ” She felt more settled as he was clearly determined on being pleasant. She couldn’t help knowing he found her—or her manner—an irritant. She didn’t actually like him either.

Did she?

“Read up a bit on us, have you? ”

“Of course. ” So he was back to the sarcasm! She glanced out the window.

“Well, you might know, then, there are fourteen stations in the chain. They’re spread right across the outback—the Queensland Channel Country with its mighty sand dunes and flood plains, the Kimberly in Western Australia and the Territory right up to the much cooler Barkly Tableland. I make it my job to look in on all of the stations and the permanent outstations like Naroo Waters from time to time. ”

She realised he was driving with care over the rougher spots. For her benefit she was sure; he wouldn’t have done it on his own. He wasn’t a complete barbarian. His aim obviously was to protect her from the worst jolting. “The Americans call your stations ranches? ” She turned her head to question. Or could it be just another excuse to study his striking profile. He was an extraordinarily handsome and charismatic man. It would be unnatural not to imagine what he might be like as a lover. She was woman enough for that. But not woman enough to get involved. Such men were difficult to tame, let alone handle.

So be warned!

“We don’t call our stations ranches. ” He glanced across at her, probably catching her out assessing him and the dangers he presented. “It was our early British settlers—the McAlpines among them—who called their vast pastoral holdingsstations. It simply meant one was stationed or situated there. Farm is for something on a small scale, not a few million wild acres. Station was in common use right through the 1800s. We don’t use the termranch. It was the Americans who came up withstampede. Here a stampede is known—or was known—as arush butstampede has caught on. One only has to live through one to appreciate howstampede says it. ”

“I don’t believe I’ll ever ask that question again, ” she said. “I’m on Kalla Koori Station. ”

“You are. Does that account for the little tremble? ”

“What tremble? ” She was worried he would notice. He had.

“Relax, ” he said. “You’re perfectly safe with me. ”

She gave him a long look with her bluer-than-blue Balfour eyes. “I should jolly well hope so. ”

“Then there’s no need to jump whenever I touch you. ”

“I donot! ” she protested strongly. All the more so because he was right.

“Of course you do. Then you become as awkward as a novice nun. ”

“Well, I have to tell you I’m not used to men invading my privacy, ” she huffed.

He only laughed. “Lighten up, Olivia. What say we take a rest? ”

“Why not! ” she retorted shortly. Out in the open she might be able to breathe freely again. She knew he was baiting her. Worse, he enjoyed it.

They had been driving over his land for the best part of two hours. Mile after mile of vast empty distances, broken by broad streams of Brahman cattle, silver to dark grey in colour, en route to the nearest waterhole. Brahmans were better able to withstand tropical heat than European cattle, he’d told her. She could easily identify them from the distinctive large hump and the big droopy ears. Only a few stockmen appeared to be handling these large mobs. She couldn’t imagine what might happen in a stampede.

“Brahmans are docile and intelligent animals, ” he said, “but they can on occasion be excitable. A lot of cross-breeding has gone on to up beef production. These days with the world in recession the public want cheaper cuts of meat. One of the reasons I sold off the central Queensland property to buy another in the Kimberly. With vast areas to cover, the cattle on the boundaries turn into very cunning rogues. They only have to pick up the slightest movement or sound and they scatter, finding shelter in the sand hills. Mustering unmarked cattle is very tough work. We won’t ask you to do it. ”

“How do you know I wouldn’t like to try? You underestimate me, McAlpine. ”

“I don’t. Nor have I ever, ” he said bluntly, throwing her a glittering gaze.

That effectively shut her up.

From savannah, they were traversing a landscape of short green grass that looked for all the world like an infinity lawn. Millions of tiny wildflowers, mostly dark blue to purple with black white-flecked centres, rode the grass. Olivia rolled her window down to see if the wildflowers had any fragrance.

They did. “Oh, that’s wonderful! ” She breathed in their fresh floral fragrance.

“Native ground cover, ” he told her. “We can’t match the sublime displays of wildflowers our Channel Country stations put on after the flood waters subside. And 2009 was a bumper year. Lake Lady Eyre in the Centre received a massive in-flow from our three great rivers system. The best flooding in living memory.

“Right now in case you’re wondering, we’re heading for a cluster of billabongs called Noola Lakes. Back in the Dreamtime, so the local legend goes, an arrogant young warrior named Wapanga was captivated by a beautiful young girl of another tribe called Noola. Noola, promised to another, scorned him. Furious and humiliated Wapanga set fire to the dense scrub that surrounded the place where Noola was camped with her mother and sisters. The fire came down on them so fiercely and with such speed only Noola and two of her sisters were able to escape. When the fire was almost upon them Noola called out to the Great Spirits to help them with their magic. Whereupon she and her sisters were transformed into three lakes and Wapanga was turned into a black crow. ”

“And that’s where we’re going? ” Her face, usually so composed, lit up.

Glancing at her, he realised he was taking a surprising amount of satisfaction from seeing her open up a little. Spread her petals as it were. Here was a genuine nature lover. Marigole had not been one for the bush, although right up to the time he had married her she had kept up an amazing pretence. Marigole was the mistress of devious behaviour.

“Oddly enough, you can always count on a single black crow hovering around the lakes. ” He gave the patrician Ms Balfour a half-smile.

To his surprise she returned it. It made him suck in his breath. She had a lovely smile. His hands on the wheel tightened imperceptively. Crisp-and-cool Ms Balfour could be a very sexy woman if she only knew it. Maybe she did know it and adopted the reserved front as the best way to deal with it. Her father had expected so much of her as his eldest daughter. Maybe too much.

The ground was becoming more marshy, Olivia saw. Strangely gnarled trees like living sculptures rose from shallow water. Around the trunks vivid green fernlike vegetation was sprouting, fanning out in great profusion.

“Noola Lakes are ponds of permanent fresh water, ” McAlpine said. “They have the great advantage of being safe. No salties lurk there, though I’m not recommending a swim today. It’s simply a beautiful place on the station I want to show you. There are plenty of freshwater crocs in the Territory but they’re not in the same league as the salties. About half their size, for a start, with a narrow snout. We consider them harmless to humans unless provoked. ”

“Well, I have no intention of provoking a single one of them, ” she said with an uncontrollable shudder. “I’m not given to rash deeds. ”

“My dear Ms Balfour, I would never have known. ”

She coloured. “How you do love to tease. Of course you’re referring to my disgrace? ”

“Whatdisgrace, ” he said. “Was it such a great scandal after all? Personally I think Oscar has been a bit hard on his daughters. ”

“Maybe, but it wasn’t my finest hour, ” she said quietly. “Bella and I just lost it. ”

“Everyone loses it from time to time, Olivia. I sure have. So don’t keep beating yourself up about it. But surely it was Oscar who brought a lot of the trouble down on your heads. You and Bella meant well. ”

She released a grateful sigh. “Only Bella proved more compassionate than I. I will have to make it up to Bella though—we parted in floods of tears. One would have thought we were never going to see each other again instead of in a few months’ time. I love my sister. I hated to row with her. ” She shook her blonde head rather miserably.

“Get over it, ” he said briskly. “What I saw of you and Bella, any number of rows wouldn’t break the powerful bond. Oscar told me you had been an exemplary daughter and a most caring sister to your siblings. ”

“It wouldn’t have hurt him to tellme, ” she said, shocked into showing her resentment. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t criticise my father. He’s been wonderful to us all. ”

“Sometimes men forget to say what needs to be said. ”

Both of them were silent for several minutes pondering that.

“The land has areligious feel to it, hasn’t it? A quality of time immemorial, ” she ventured.

Her perceptions, her sensitivity, pleased him a great deal, he suddenly realised. “Not so surprising when you think Australia is a most ancient continent. For the aboriginal people the land is sanctified ground. ” He threw her a long glance. Her beautiful skin was glowing, as were her blue eyes. She might have been Sleeping Beauty coming slowly out of her trance. “Some areas the elders regard as too holy to walk on. ”

They were on a winding track the colour of rust. “On the station? ” she asked in surprise.

“We’re talking an area of nearly four million acres, ” he said. “We can accommodate the holy spots. It’s a primordial thing. It goes a lot deeper than Christian belief. The aboriginal tribes have been on this continent for more sixty thousand years as far as we know. They know the power of the land. They believe the land is not always benign. They have their Great Ancestral Beings. There are nurturing spirits and destructive spirits. A person’s special essence, the soul, is a deeply held belief. Death and the afterlife are very important to them. Death is always associated with ritual, far longer and intense than our funerals and wakes. The elders on the station sing sacred songs daily. The chanting that went on after my father died—the sound of it, the wailing and the very real grief—will never leave me. To the aborigines on Kalla Koori my father has passed to the Sky World. He ascended on the bright rays of the setting sun. ” Despite himself he released a pent-up breath. He missed his father greatly.

Very gently she reached out to touch his arm. “I’m sorry. So sorry. I can see how much you loved him. ”

The muscles along his jaw line tightened. Her compassion had both surprised and moved him. “I admired him, respected him. He was a magnificent man. My mother adored him. It was a real love match. They don’t happen as often as one might think. ”

“Well, good men are somewhat sparse on the ground, ” she observed with obvious regret.

He broke into a laugh. “Don’t turn into a man-hater, Olivia. ”

“I can’t afford to, ” she admitted. “I want children. ”

“And you’ll make a good mother. ” She had been an admirable big sister. “May you be blessed with a round dozen. Better get a move on though. Your biological clock is ticking away. You’re twenty-eight? ”

“Not, I would have thought, over the hill, ” she said, incensed.

“Forgive me. ” The amusement was back. “Of course you’ve got time. ”

“You’re at it again, are you? Can’t stop yourself? ”

“I’m just trying to loosen you up. Anyway, I’m no one to talk. All the marriages in our family have been very happy. Parents, grandparents, great-grandparents. Wonderful love matches that lasted. I broke the mould. ”

“Who said marriage was easy? You know my father has been married three times. ”

“If you can’t make it at your third attempt I guess you never will, ” he returned sardonically. “Oscar appeared to have been very happy with his Lillian. ”

“She was a lovely, gentle person, ” Olivia said. “She never had good health. We all mourn her but I wouldn’t be in the least surprised if my father remarries at some time in the future. He hasn’t run out of…energy. ” She meant sexual as much as everything else. “People don’t really change. ”

“I’m not about to agree. Not as yet. You won’t know yourself by the time you’re ready to fly home. Sometimes the mistakes we make in life serve to help us to see more clearly. Has any one man, outside your father, made you dreadfully unhappy? ”

She gulped in a breath. “What do you mean, outside my father? ” She wasn’t ready to confront the whole issue head-on with this big, powerful Australian. “I love my father. ”

“Of course you do. But you did let it slip he wasn’t always there for you. ”

She looked down at her hands. They were locked betrayingly in her lap. “Ido recognise the fact he has always had to work extremely hard, as you made it your business to point out, but I would imagineyou as your father’s heir were always kept in the loop. You were the heir apparent always in training. Men rule the world, ” she said with sharp disapproval. “It will never change. ”

“Oh, come on, Olivia! ” he chided her. “More and more women in all parts of the world—where they’re terribly oppressed and go in fear of their lives—are standing up and fighting from their corners. Even when they stand alone they cry out for freedom and justice. A lot of them are winning, as they thoroughly deserve to. More and more inspirational women are coming into the forefront of public life. That is as it should be. I grant you the revolution is taking overlong but a lot of women are perfectly happy to let men run the world for them. It’s in the very nature of man to lead. In the nature of man to defend his own—his wife, children, family, country. Our women are joining the armed forces in greater numbers. They’re needed. They have special skills. They go into the war zones, but the brass don’t really want to risk pushing their young women into the front line. ”

“Even so, they get killed, ” she said sadly. “You think I’ve lived a useless, overindulged life, don’t you? ”

His expression was serious. “The more I get to know you, Olivia, the more I realise it hasn’t been all that easy for you. Butyou know, as I know, you’re capable of taking on much more fulfilling work than what you’ve been doing up to date. I wonder you haven’t asked your father for a place in one of his many enterprises? ”

“You think I haven’t? ” It was a cry from the heart.

“And he saidno? ” His brows drew together. Marigole had never shown the slightest interest in McAlpine business affairs. A big disappointment to him. Her only interest had been to spend the money, which she did so lavishly he had been forced to rein her in.

“I don’t think he even heard me. It was sufficient for me to stay at home, perform my public duties and be there for my sisters. I was also on hand to act as his hostess when Lillian wasn’t well enough, which was often. ”

“Poor little rich girl. One of thejeunesse doré e. ”

“The gilded youth. That’s the way the paparazzi see us. Bella, in particular. She’s so beautiful and glamorous and out there! ”

“So that’s why you play down your looks? So there’s no competition between you and your twin? ”

She was genuinely shocked. “Thereis no competition. Why ever would you say that? I’m quite happy to see Bella shine. Bella can make or break a function simply by turning up or not. ”

“I do understand Bella is the family wild child, ” he said. “The ‘party queen’—don’t the press call her that? I spoke to her at the wedding. She’s very glamorous, but she’s no more beautiful than you are. The most significant difference is your twin goes all out to dazzle, while you settle for a very dense smokescreen. Maybe it didn’t help that you had to play big sister to your siblings? You should have been out and about enjoying yourself, not taking on much too demanding a role for your years and inexperience. Both of you could be crying out for attention and not fully realising it. Ever think of that? ”

“If I have, I’m not about to say. ”

“Don’t need to. Having everything material in life is no guarantee of happiness. I was blessed with a great childhood. I had all the love and stability in the world. That’s a priceless advantage in life. I’m very worried about my daughter. Georgy used to be a quiet, studious, very respectful child. Sadly that’s no longer the case. She’s full of anger and she’s taking less and less trouble to hide it. ”

Olivia started wondering if she was going to be on the receiving end of adolescent rages. “Perhaps she’s still struggling with the divorce? ”

“A powerful disruption. Sad to say, Georgy and her mother don’t have a good rapport. It has everything to do with Marigole, not Georgina. Marigole is one of those women who dote on their sons. Such women can’t seem to cope with daughters. Here, I think, Oscar shines. He loves you all. With my ex-wife and me, everything changed after Georgy was born. My family was thrilled with our perfect little girl. Marigole saw having a daughter as a failure. She wanted to bear a son and ‘get it over. ’ Her words. She didn’t want any more children. She found childbirth an excruciating experience never to be repeated. ”

“Perhaps she was frightened? Understandable. ”

“What she was frightened of was losing her figure, ” he answered grimly. “I’m telling you all this because you need to know. And there is the strong possibility someone along the way is bound to tell you. ”

“She can’t be that shallow, ” Olivia, the feminist, retorted. “Maybe you couldn’t love her the way she wanted? ”

Try cutting him down to size.

“You’re quite right, Olivia. ” He spoke as if applauding her. “I had a problem with that. We all want to love and be loved. That’s what it’s all about. ”

“Love does make the world go round. ” She wondered what it would be like to have an intense and loving communion with this man. Marigole was a bit of a mystery.

“It’s our loved ones we strive for. Men throw themselves into their work to look after their families. Women run the home and take on part- and even full-time jobs. It’s all for the common good. A man and woman plan their journey through life. I did believe myself in love with Marigole when I married her. I know you’ve got the wrong idea. It’s in the condemnatory way you look at me out of those blue eyes. You can imagine my shock when the period of infatuation wore off. How did the beautiful, charming young woman I married turn into someone else? Was itme? Were my expectations too high? When I came to the full realization Marigole didn’t love our daughter, it destroyed what was left. I hung in as long as I could. I had been brought up to believe marriage was for ever. But there was only one answer really. Divorce. We had to go our separate ways. Marigole doesn’t want any more children. But I certainly do. ”

A swarm of butterflies fluttered in her breast. “A son, an heir? ” What would it be like to go to bed with this man? Even the thought had the blood rushing to her head. To bear him a son! For a moment she was astounded at her own sensuality.

“A son, sure, ” he said. “But I’ll take whatever heaven sends us. ”

“Us? You have a woman in mind? ” In the inner most recesses of her heart how she envied this woman. It came as a revelation, profoundly shocking her. She didn’t evenlike him.

Don’t give us that!

“I hadn’t untilyou showed up. ”

She was so stunned, she stuttered. “You c-can’t mean…You c-can’t be—” She broke off in utter confusion as she encountered the wicked glitter in his golden eyes. “Why do I always fall into the trap? ”

“I don’t know, Olivia. ” He gave her a twisted smile. “But you do. ”

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