The Hawk and the Lamb

'Not even if the guest requests it?'

A shrug, but one that was stubborn rather than helpless. ‘It would not be permitted. The reputation of the hotel-'

'And what about my reputation?' Elizabeth inter­rupted furiously.

'There is much room here. It is very comfortable.' There was no doubt about that. The bungalow was huge and even more blatantly luxurious than any of the guest accommodation she had seen. No, it was not the space, but the company she strenuously objected to.

The young man's liquid brown gaze was lowered, but not before Elizabeth had seen the trace of sly amusement. Her eyes burned with violet fire. Her reputation, at least among the staff, had obviously already suffered considerably!

Elizabeth drew a tense, steadying breath. 'Where is he?' 'Who?'

He knew very well who.

'Monsieur Hawkwood.' So much for her vow after their clash yesterday that she was going to avoid him at all costs!

'Oh...' The brown eyes still evaded hers as the young man quickly down-graded his former air of importance. 'I do not know. I am only domestic staff.'

If his skin hadn’t been so dark Elizabeth was sure she would have been able to see a blush. If he knew, he cer­tainly wasn’t telling.

'Never mind. I'll hunt him to ground myself,' she said grimly, confusing him with her very English metaphor.

'Please, chérie, do try and curb your eagerness for me in front of my staff...'

Elizabeth spun around to find her tormentor leaning lazily against the connecting door between the two ad­joining suites. He was dressed all in white, a short-sleeved shirt hanging open over his chest and white jeans that were soft with age conforming closely to his hard thighs.

Elizabeth immediately felt hot and overdressed in the dress she had hurriedly pulled on when she had been awoken by a hammering on her roof. She hadn’t been able to have her usual morning shower because the water to her bungalow had been switched off. Then Henri had swooped in and started gathering up her possessions, not even giving her time to brush her hair or put on a minimum of make-up before she left.

She lifted her chin and narrowed her eyes accusingly. 'You-'

He neatly cut short her harangue bef

ore it started. "Thank you for doing your job so proficiently, Henri. I'll take care of Miss Lamb from here...'

Elizabeth was barely able to contain herself long enough for Henri's clean bare soles to hit the doorway before she let her frustration fly.

'What am I doing here?'

'As I'm hotel manager it's the least I can do in the unfortunate circumstances,' he purred, cleverly turning yesterday's rash words back on her.

'What circumstances?' demanded Elizabeth sus­piciously, pushing a wayward curl off her face. Since she hadn’t had a chance to wash and blow-dry her hair into its usual sleekness this morning, it waved around her shoulders in glossy abandon.

'Why, the leak in your roof, of course—and the lack of an alternative place for you to stay.'

'Considering that it hasn’t rained since I got here I don’t see how anyone could have discovered a leak in my roof,' Elizabeth snorted sarcastically. She didn’t consider the fine mist of drops that had briefly swept the beach yesterday afternoon rain.

'Actually, we've had several millilitres,' Jack cor­rected her with infuriating punctiliousness. 'And—as I'm manager—it's my responsibility to make sure that every part of this hotel functions perfectly.'

He was going to throw that phrase back in her face at every opportunity, Elizabeth realised angrily.

‘I don’t see why I have to move out!'

'You certainly wouldn’t be comfortable without power or water and with construction noise going on around you. You see, we have discovered, in the process of in­vestigating your leak, that your bungalow requires some extensive structural alterations to bring it back up to the hotel's exceptionally high standard-'

'Piffle!' They both knew the roof was not the real issue here. The workmen were up there for the express purpose of driving Elizabeth Lamb off his island.

'Bless you,' he murmured solicitously, at his most blandly French. 'I hope you haven’t caught a cold by staying in leaky accommodation.'

'How long is it going to take to make these "ex­tensive" alterations?' she asked, already knowing the answer.