'I didn't think anything,' she said unsteadily as she climbed down from the stool and took her plate to the tiny kitchen area. 'I told you before, love is a real emotion that does exist. It isn't always comfortable, or even welcome, but that doesn't make it any less real. It would be nice if everything worked out exactly how we want it every time but life's not like that.'
'Miriam?' She hadn't been aware that he had followed her but now, feeling his hand on her shoulder, she steeled herself to show no emotion as she turned to face him. 'You're very lovely and very brave—and, I repeat, that guy was a fool.' He made no attempt to touch her further, for which she was supremely gra
teful— one more word, one more gentle pat and she would either have hit him or burst into tears, neither of which would have served any purpose.
His mouth was straight and tight, his eyes pure silver and as sharp as glass—he was clearly furious with this man who had spurned her affections. As well he might be, she thought with a sudden burst of rage that gave her the strength to shrug lightly and turn back to the washing-up.
They left the house some ten minutes later, Reece carrying her case in one hand and holding onto her arm with the other as he led her over the thick snow to his car. He had hardly said two words since their conversation over breakfast, retreating into a dark, distant mood that Miriam made no attempt to lighten. She felt bruised and raw and desperately sad, and more unhappy than she had ever been in her life.
She glanced at him now as he slid into the car beside her, the hard, masculine face taut and remote, the silver eyes as cold as ice. Sharon would fit into his world perfectly; there was no doubt about that. From the little she had seen of the beautiful blonde she thought that Sharon would be exactly what Reece wanted her to be whenever he wanted it—a lovely living doll to play all the right parts at the right time.
The drive to his house was more hazardous than she had expected, the thick white flakes of snow falling so quickly that the windscreen wipers had difficulty clearing them and the roads lethal with packed snow, huge drifts already mounting either side of the verges.
'Barbara's going to panic.'
As they drew into the long drive she breathed a sigh of relief that the journey had been completed without any mishap and turned to Reece quietly. 'It won't last, and better today than on the actual wedding day.' She touched his arm tentatively as he cut the ignition. 'And thanks for turning out on a morning like this, Reece; I hadn't realised it was so bad. Perhaps my car wouldn't have made it after all, but I could have got a taxi. You shouldn't have come yourself.'
'Yes, I should.' In the infinitesimal moment of time that he looked at her before opening the car door she saw something in his face that made her heart leap into her throat, but then, as he walked round the bonnet and helped her out, she saw that his features were remote and cold, his eyes hooded. 'Have you seen how some of those taxi drivers drive?' he asked drily. 'The chances of you arriving here in one piece to soothe Barbara's ruffled feathers were highly remote.'
He had parked just outside the door leading to the kitchens, and after opening the boot and extracting her case he followed her into the corridor, walking through to the flat's front door, whereupon he put down the case and delved into his pocket for the key.
'You've got a key on your keyring as well,' he said shortly as he opened the door and placed the case just inside. 'And there's a bolt on the front door too, once you've settled down for the night.' He eyed her expressionlessly. 'Just so you feel doubly safe,' he added enigmatically before turning and walking back the way they had come.
She stood quietly for a moment or two, hearing his car start and drive away round to the front of the house, and breathed out slowly, her heart thudding.
She had imagined that expression on his face before he opened the car door—a look of hunger and deep emotion that echoed something in her own heart. He had made it perfectly clear this morning in everything he'd said and done that he had come to fetch her in order to ensure that the next few days ran as smoothly as possible. Barbara was all that mattered to him, she knew that—she knew it, so why did her traitorous heart keep hoping for something mote? She shook her head blindly. And now he'd got her imagining things too. She really would end up in a strait-jacket before this little lot was through if she wasn't careful.
She took a long, deep, tortured breath and forced herself to pick up the case and walk through to the small bedroom, where she began to pack away her few clothes methodically. He'd employed her to do a job, nothing more. If she had been game for a little light affair at the same time then that would have been a bonus for him, but that was all it would have been. His heart was encased in ice and likely to remain that way until someone far more experienced in the ways of life and love than she had the opportunity to break through.
Once the unpacking was finished she walked through to the kitchens to begin work, forcing her mind to concentrate on the job in hand. Mitch and the others were due to arrive about nine, but with the weather conditions set against them they could well be late. She was going to have to work like crazy even to maintain a semblance of the schedule they had worked out so carefully. She shook her head irritably. This job had been doomed from the start.
Nine came and went, followed by a phone call from Mitch a few minutes later. 'Mim?' Her brother's voice was harassed. 'This has thrown us into one hell of a mess, hasn't it?'
'Not at all.' She slipped back into her accustomed role of comforter and optimist even as something deep inside rebelled suddenly. She wanted someone to help her, talk positively and firmly and take the burden off her shoulders. And she wasn't thinking of this damn job either, she added with silent bitterness.
'I've just cleared the drive here at home and phoned Vera and Dave to tell them to let everyone know I'll pick them up in the van,' Mitch continued quickly. 'At least the van's got a better chance of getting through than several cars. We should be with you about ten if you can hold the fort till then.'
'Fine. I won't be twiddling my thumbs for something to do,' she added wryly.
She decided to pop through to the main house to tell Mrs Goode when the others were going to arrive and check when the agency staff were due. Reece had employed three women to help Mrs Goode and Jinny in the main house in view of the number of guests who would be staying over for the weekend and, as long as they arrived, along with the extra hands that Mitch had arranged for the actual wedding day, they should be able to cope.
Jinny, under Mrs Goode's direction, had prepared the main hall the day before and it was ready now except for the fresh flowers due to be put in place early on Saturday morning. Miriam glanced at the walls festooned with ribbon and horseshoes as she crossed the immaculate floor and felt a pang in her heart region as she contemplated how lucky Barbara and Craig were to have found each other despite all the odds stacked against them. Theirs was a love match if ever she had seen one— a meeting of two souls who complemented each other perfectly in spite of being totally different.
She heard the raised voices before she had even gone through the door leading into the main house, and once in the hall outside she recognised that a furious row was in progress. She took a few uncertain steps before hesitating halfway down the hall. Reece's voice was clearly identifiable, although not his actual words, and who the unfortunate individual facing him was she had no idea.
The next moment the door to the drawing room burst open and Craig emerged, his face as white as a sheet as he took the stairs two at a time, disappearing upstairs.
'I'll never forgive you for this—never.' Barbara's voice was quivering with rage but as cold as ice as she, too, appeared in the doorway, her back to Miriam as she faced Reece, who was still inside the room. 'I hate you. Do you hear me? I hate you!'
'There's is no need for such hysterics.' She could imagine how infuriating Barbara found the coolly angry reply, and as Reece's sister's back stiffened she waited for the explosion to follow.
'You insinuate that Craig doesn't really love me, that he's after my money, and then follow that with the idea that I'm marrying him on a whim to satisfy some strange biological urge, and you tell me there's no need for hysterics!' Barbara screamed at the top of her voice. 'How dare you? How dare you, Reece? What gives you the right to think you know how Craig or I feel?'
'I merely asked if it was necessary to make your relationship legal,' Reece said with icy stiffness. 'Situations change, people change. In a few months' time you might feel quite differently, and then you'll have a huge financial settlement to think about if you want to finish the marriage.'
'I shan't want to finish the marriage!'
Well, that was def