But she knew that she had…
She didn’t turn to face Brice now, drawing in a steadying breath. ‘And what’s that, Brice?’ she prompted mockingly.
‘I’m curious to know what was in that letter you received in the post the other day to have caused you so much obvious distress at the time,” he probed relentlessly. ‘I’m referring to the letter in the green envelope,’ he clarified unnecessarily.
Unnecessarily to Sabina, at least. She had known, as soon as he’d mentioned it, exactly which letter he was referring to!
She had become frozen, as if turned to stone, every muscle and sinew in her body locked in place, her breathing seeming to have become caught in her throat, literally able to feel all the blood draining from her face.
‘Sabina…?’ Brice’s hand on her arm gently turned her to face him. ‘Sabina!’ he groaned worriedly as he saw her obvious physical reaction to his question.
She swallowed hard, trying to speak, but her tongue seemed to be stuck to the roof of her mouth. Her vision was blurring too, Brice’s face no longer clear to her. And although she could see Brice’s mouth moving, knew he must be saying something to her, the rushing noise in her ears prevented her from hearing him.
And then all she knew was blackness…
CHAPTER SEVEN
SHE looked so damned young with her eyes closed, Brice realised frowningly as he looked down at Sabina, the wariness in those deep blue eyes, that could give her such a look of maturity, hidden now behind closed lids, the thick dark lashes that lay against the delicate magnolia of her cheeks making her appear as vulnerable as a baby.
Brice had managed to catch her before she sank to the carpeted floor, swinging her up into his arms before placing her carefully on the sofa, her hair splayed out on the cushion behind her. Despite what she claimed to the contrary, she was as light as thistledown, and as Brice continued to look down at her, the slenderness of her body, the deep hollows of her cheeks and throat, he was sure she had lost weight in the last few days.
Because of him? Because he had kissed her?
Or was it because of that letter he had just taunted her about?
In view of her reaction just now to his asking her about it, the latter was probably a more accurate guess!
But who could it have been from? What could that letter possibly have contained to have this effect on her, days later?
He could try asking her that, Brice realised grimly, but he very much doubted Sabina would answer!
He frowned down at her as she began to stir, lids blinking open, only to close again as she saw him sitting beside her, looking intently down at her.
‘Come on,’ Brice mocked. ‘It isn’t that bad!’
She gave a grimace, as if to say, That’s only from where you’re looking, before slowly opening her eyes again. She swallowed hard, moistening dry lips. ‘Do you think I could have a glass of water?’ Her voice was huskily soft, her gaze avoiding meeting his.
‘Don’t move while I’m gone,’ he warned even as he stood up to go out to the kitchen.
As he might have known, Sabina was sitting up on the sofa smoothing down her tousled hair by the time he returned with the water. ‘Do you ever do as you’re told?’ he rasped, watching as she took one sip of the water before putting the glass down on the coffee-table in front of her.
‘Rarely,’ she grimaced. ‘I’m sorry about that. I can’t imagine what happened—’
‘I can,’ Brice said harshly. ‘You don’t look as if you’ve eaten a decent meal for days!’ And he could tell by the way the colour darkened her cheeks that his guess about that was right. ‘Why haven’t you been eating?’ he demanded to know.
Sabina looked up at him challengingly. ‘I don’t think my eating habits are any of your concern—’
‘You just fainted in my house—so I’m making them my concern!’ he bit out grimly. ‘Well?’ he barked as she made no effort to answer him.
She shook her head, once again glancing at her wrist-watch. ‘I really do have to go—’
‘I went outside after you fainted and told Clive to cancel your engagement for this evening,’ Brice told her softly.
‘You did what?’ Sabina gasped, her eyes widening disbelievingly.
‘I’m sure you heard what I said,’ he drawled. ‘I also told him you wouldn’t be needing him any more this evening.’
Sabina opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it again. Before opening it again. And then closing it yet again.
If the situation weren’t so damned serious, Brice would have found her reaction to his arrogance amusing. A speechless Sabina was certainly something to behold. And maybe he had been rather heavy-handed in his behaviour, but if Sabina wasn’t prepared to look after herself, then someone else would have to do it for her. But considering Latham was such a watchdog in other ways—
‘Where’s Richard this evening?’ he rasped.
‘Away,’ she managed to choke out, obviously still stunned by the way he had taken over her evening for her.
‘Again?’ Brice muttered disgustedly. ‘And what does he think you are—a prize exhibit to be taken out and admired whenever he deigns to be at home?’ He remembered all too clearly David Latham’s opinion of his uncle.
Sabina looked deeply irritated. ‘You’re being ridiculous. Richard is a very busy man—’
‘So am I,’ Brice cut in scathingly. ‘But I certainly wouldn’t leave you on your own to get into this state.’
She glared at him resentfully. ‘What state?’
Oh, she looked hauntingly beautiful, there was no doubting that. But she was so thin she looked as if he might snap her in half, and her eyes were like huge dark pools, the hollows of her cheeks only emphasising the shadows beneath those eyes.
Brice shook his head disgustedly. ‘You’re as skittish as an overbred racehorse—’
‘Thank you very much!’ she scorned.
‘It wasn’t meant as a compliment,’ he snapped.
‘I didn’t take it as one,’ she snapped right back.
‘You—’
‘Dinner is served, Mr Brice,’ Mrs Potter appeared in the doorway to announce, obviously having knocked but not having been heard.
Not surprising really—when Brice and Sabina were as good as shouting at each other!
Sabina became very still. ‘Dinner, Brice?’ she questioned softly.
Brice wasn’t deceived for a moment by the mildness of her tone—Sabina was already furious over his having so arrogantly cancelled her plans for the evening; having the nerve to instruct Mrs Potter to serve dinner to them both here as an alternative was obviously going too far as far as she was concerned!
‘We both need to eat, Sabina,’ he told her dismissively; for some reason his own appetite seemed to have returned to him!
Her eyes flashed her anger at him, but the quick glance she gave in Mrs Potter’s direction showed she was too ladylike to actually say to him what she really wanted to in front of his housekeeper.
Thank goodness!
Brice was well aware that his earlier actions had been arrogant in the extreme, but at the time he had been so worried about Sabina that worry had materialised as anger as she’d remained in the faint, so much so that he had marched straight out of the house and rapped out his instruction to Richard Latham’s driver-watchdog, not even waiting to see if they were carried out before slamming back into the house.
He had merely compounded that arrogance by asking Mrs Potter, when he’d gone to the kitchen for the glass of water, if she could provide dinner for the two of them!
Brice turned to his housekeeper. ‘We’ll be through in a few minutes, Mrs Potter,’ he assured her dismissively.
‘How dare you?’ Sabina turned on him as soon as they were alone again, standing up abruptly to glare across at him accusingly. ‘How dare you?’ she repeated in incredulous anger.
He shrugged. ‘I think you need to eat, Sabina—’
‘I’m not just talking about dinner, Brice,’ she came back heatedly. ‘How dare you cancel my plans for the evening? How dare you send Clive away? One kiss doesn’t give you those sort of rights, Brice,’ she told him scornfully.
After days of tension, Brice could feel himself starting to relax. Because, despite her denials, he now knew that kiss had meant something to her—she wouldn’t have mentioned it otherwise!
Too late for Sabina, he could see that she had just realised that for herself…
He grinned at her unabashedly. ‘Ah, Sabina, but what a kiss!’
‘You—I—you are incorrigible!’ she finally spluttered weakly.
Brice shrugged. ‘Part of my charm.’
Sabina eyed him scathingly, but with none of her earlier anger. ‘Arrogance is not a virtue, Brice,’ she told him derisively.
‘Neither is starvation,’ he dismissed lightly. ‘Shall we go through to dinner?’ he invited, dark brows raised challengingly as he held out his arm for her to take.
Sabina returned his gaze frustratedly, obviously fighting some sort of war within herself.
Brice waited for her to come to her decision. Not patiently. But he did wait. He had probably done enough bullying for one evening!
‘Okay,’ she finally sighed. ‘But only as my driver has been dismissed, and my dinner this evening seems to have been cancelled,’ she reminded pointedly. ‘And under one condition…’ she added huskily, her gaze steady on his.