Beguiled by Her Betrayer

I love you, she whispered silently as she cradled his head against her breast and let her trembling body grow still and calm in the shelter of his.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Cleo woke in the dawn light and lay watching Quin as he slept beside her. They had woken and made love twice in the night, once gently, once with an explosive passion that shook her to the core.

Now the morning stubble darkened his jaw, his lips were slightly parted and his hair was tousled in a way that would have been endearing if it was not so erotic. Oh, my love, how am I going to manage without you?

As if she had said the words aloud Quin’s eyes opened. He lay without speaking, looking at her. The light waxed and suddenly spilled through the gap in the curtains, across her face. Cleo blinked and Quin came back into focus. He was looking at her as though he had never seen her before, as though she was something strange and wonderful and yet...frightening. But that was absurd, she had never seen Quin frightened.

‘Quin?’ She touched his face and he pulled her to him, rolled on top of her and sank, without hesitation, into her body. Then he lay there, caging her with his body, looking down into her eyes.

‘Oh, Cleo,’ he murmured. ‘What a fool I have been.’ He kissed her before she could speak and kept kissing her as he made slow, achingly tender love to her.

Goodbye, she thought. He is saying goodbye. And then what he was doing with his body, with his hands and his mouth, made all thought impossible.

* * *

‘More toast?’ Quin was watching her with amusement and a tenderness that made Cleo’s heart stutter. He feels even more guilty now we have made love.

‘You have fed me until I am fit for nothing but a day in bed to sleep it off,’ she protested, pretending light-heartedness as she gazed at the wreckage of Godley’s idea of an intimate breakfast à deux.

‘There are things to be done, so I’m afraid that is out of the question. We had best take the carriage out this morning,’ he added and got up from the table, his expression suddenly back to what she thought of as the diplomatic mask.

‘Yes, of course.’ Lawyers and banks, she supposed. ‘I will get ready and find a veil.’

In the gloom of the closed carriage Quin was silent. His profile seemed somehow distant and austere as though he was preparing for some unpleasant task. Cleo gave herself a little shake for Gothic imaginings.

The carriage came to a halt, the groom opened the door and let down the step and Quin got out, then turned to hold out his hand to her.

Cleo stepped down, glanced around, then froze. The house in front of her with its ornate railings and wide front door was very familiar. She looked wildly from side to side, there was no mistake. This was Grosvenor Square and her grandfather’s house.

‘No!’ She tugged at Quin’s hand and he released his grip. ‘No. I trusted you. I believed you.’ Oh, such a fool, such a fool for love. She began to back away. He could run her down in a moment, she knew that, but she was not going to go without a struggle.

‘Cleo, think. You trusted me yesterday, last night. Trust me now.’ Quin made no move to seize her. ‘Listen to your feelings, not your fears.’

Cleo edged a little further along the pavement. Mama used to say, If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. She should listen to her common sense—of course Quin would not sacrifice his brilliant career for her, discard a beautiful, sophisticated bride for her.

‘My feelings? What do you know about feelings other than how to manipulate them? You gave me your word—how have you managed to twist that this time?’

‘Last night I meant what I said, that I would find you a house and give you the means to start a new life.’

‘And now?’

‘I changed my mind. Come, we cannot discuss this here.’ He took her arm and pulled her towards the garden, took a key from his pocket to open the gate and guided her inside.

‘Changed your mind?’ She could hardly speak for the bitterness of the pain. ‘After last night? After this morning?’

‘I realised this morning just why I have been so damnable confused and unhappy about all of this,’ Quin said.

‘You have been confused and unhappy? Well, that at least we share!’

‘I can only ask you to forgive me for not telling you the truth in Egypt, on the voyage. I can only tell you that I never wanted anything but your welfare and hope that you believe me. I did what I thought was right and all those rights made one dreadful wrong, Cleo. But I know this: to let you go off alone to spend the rest of your life in hiding, living a lie—that would be the worst wrong of all.’

‘And so you bring me back to my cage.’