And the Bride Wore Black

CHAPTER ONE

‘NOW I’m sure if we’d met before I wouldn’t have forgotten.’

As the narrowed tawny eyes swept over her in warm appraisal Fabia had the strangest desire to bare her small white teeth in a snarl like a tigress objecting to a proposed mating.

‘No...’ As the hard, penetrating gaze came to rest on the dark gold silk of her hair the tall, beautifully dressed man in front of her shook his head slowly. ‘I definitely wouldn’t have forgotten.’ He smiled a slow, predatory smile.

She had felt in her bones that this would happen! History had a macabre way of repeating itself at times! Why, oh, why had she been foolish enough to let Joanie persuade her to come here? He waited a moment for her to speak and then gently lifted her small chin with cool, experienced fingers, bringing her violet-blue eyes up to meet his amused gaze. ‘Does the vision talk?’ he asked mockingly.

It was in that moment of frustrated anger and embarrassment that the idea was born and, once given life, there was no stopping it. ‘Well, landsakes, sure I do, honey...’ She forced her normally clear warm voice into a harsh nasal twang, taking the accent of a Southern belle, the tone a good few decibels louder than normal. ‘Mary-Lou Dixon at your service, honeychild, and I do mean service...’

She saw the shock register for a brief moment in the handsome face and then he recovered magnificently, taking the hand she held out to him with practised ease. ‘Are you with anyone?’ he asked politely. ‘I didn’t see—’

She interrupted him archly with a high, shrill little giggle, fluttering her thick eyelashes with an obviously flirtatious flick of her head. ‘Well, sweetiepie, ya surely don’ think little ole me would be runnin’ around alone, now? Snakes alive!’ She giggled again, squeezing his hand meaningfully and ignoring his attempts to retrieve it. ‘My pa’d be madder than a pig in a poke!’

‘Quite...’ The unusual gold-flecked eyes had a slightly dazed glaze to them now and she saw him turn his head warily, glancing round the crowded room in hopes of rescue.

Not yet, mister, she thought determinedly, biting back the laughter with difficulty. You’re going to squirm for a bit longer yet. ‘Now ah just know ya wanna hear all about little ole me...’

She was still holding his hand and he seemed to have resigned himself to the fact that he was well and truly button-holed, for the moment.

‘Now do ya know much about the deep South, honey?’ she asked loudly as she pulled herself into his side, taking his arm in a way that suggested they had known each other for a good deal longer than two minutes.

‘I’m afraid not,’ he said quietly, the polite smile stitched on his face with noble fortitude.

Thank goodness for that, she thought delightedly, drawing on all the old films she had seen for the next few minutes as she drew a graphic picture of spoilt, empty-headed women and dashing young men. It was hard work to keep the accent flowing but oh, so enjoyable, she thought silently, to fool such a self-satisfied male chauvinist pig!

She had slowly drawn even closer as she had talked, engineering herself into the circle of his arm so that she was standing side-on, and, just as she was deciding, reluctantly, that she really would have to let him go, she caught sight of a tall, slim brunette watching them with narrowed cat-like eyes, her beautiful face tight with irritation.

The girlfriend? Her mind raced. He had tried to make a move on her when his girlfriend was here? Pay-off time, Mr Cade, she thought coldly.

As the woman moved towards them, her motive clear, Fabia drawled to a halt, looking up into the closed stony face with a sweet little smile of satisfaction. He hadn’t liked the last few minutes, he hadn’t liked them at all. ‘Well, ah mustn’ keep ya from all ya other guests now...’ She laughed prettily. ‘But before ya go, honeychild...’ She had reached up and drawn the amazed face down to hers before he realised what was happening, taking his lips in a firm kiss that to anyone watching looked most enjoyable. ‘To thank you for such a truly lovely party,’ she murmured as she let him go just as the woman reached their sides.

‘Alex?’ She left them to it as the amusement that was bubbling to the surface threatened to overflow. She couldn’t believe he had swallowed the outrageous parody so completely, but then, she reflected thoughtfully, in the world of mindless lackeys and shameless sycophants that he inhabited she doubted if anyone had ever tried to actually repel the great man!

Alexander Cade. Her lip curled as she thought of his name. Millionaire a hundred times over, playboy extraordinaire with film-star good looks and a lifestyle to match. She pictured the tall, muscled body clothed immaculately in the best that money could buy, the long—unusually long—rich, shining brown hair cut expertly to lie into his neck in a style that might look effeminate on the average man but on him merely served to emphasise the slanted tawny eyes, straight nose and hard square jaw.

‘Handsome you might be but you don’t do a thing for me,’ she muttered to the tall figure across the far side of the room standing with his back towards her, probably, she suspected gleefully, because he was terrified of catching her eye again. ‘And I haven’t finished with you yet, Mr Cade, not by a long chalk!’

‘Talking to yourself, Fabia?’ Joanie’s soft brown eyes were crinkled with laughter as she tapped her friend on the shoulder. ‘I know you didn’t want to come tonight but there must be someone in all this lot to catch your fancy?’ She waved expansively at the huge ballroom.

‘You must be joking!’ Fabia’s deep midnight-blue eyes were scathing and Joanie gave a little sigh of resignation. ‘And where have you been anyway? You’ve missed all the fun.’

‘Fun?’ Joanie’s plump face expressed her bewilderment. ‘What fun? And I’ve been in the loo for half an hour. I should never have had that seafood in the nurses’ dining-room at lunchtime.’

‘Oh, Joanie.’ Fabia smiled with a mixture of affection and annoyance at the woebegone expression on Joanie’s face. She loved this friend dearly but at times she was sure she had been sent to this earth with the express purpose of providing her life with a little extra turmoil and irritation—like dragging her to this function tonight, for instance.

They had met in their teens when doing A levels at college, Joanie going on to fulfil her ambition to take up nursing and Fabia carving out a promising career in the world of advertising. The first tenuous thread of friendship had developed into a strong supportive bond that neither wished to break, and whenever either one needed assistance it was immediately given, no questions asked. Like tonight, Fabia thought again grimly, but this time Joanie had had no idea what she was asking.

‘What fun, anyway?’ Joanie repeated interestedly, catching the gleam of devilment in her friend’s eyes with a slight feeling of apprehension. Many years of friendship had taught her that Fabia could be a force to be reckoned with. ‘What have you done now?’

‘Well, you did say if I came and stayed for a couple of hours you’d be satisfied, didn’t you?’ Fabia said lightly. ‘Well—I have and I will, but how I spend that couple of hours is down to me, right?’ She smiled sweetly.

‘Fabia, I know that look. What have you done?’ There was definite anxiety in Joanie’s plain face now and Fabia couldn’t resist a wicked chuckle at the undisguised panic in her friend’s eyes.

‘Nothing much,’ she answered quietly. ‘Just had a little chat with the great Alexander Cade himself. I m

ean, the whole point in coming to this fiasco was to gaze adoringly at him, wasn’t it?’

‘Oh, shut up.’ Joanie poked her sharply as her plump face turned pink. ‘I only wanted to see what he looked like in the flesh, and all these other famous people too. It’s one thing to read about them in the papers but quite another to see them face to face.’

‘It sure is,’ Fabia said disparagingly, glancing round the room with a blatant look of disgust marring her beautiful face. ‘I’ve never seen such a collection of painted dolls in one place, and that’s just the men!’

‘Oh, you...’ Joanie’s voice died away as she remembered the original start of the conversation. ‘What happened, anyway? Did he really talk to you? Oh, Fabia, I wish it were me. Still, I knew no one would take any notice of me, not in this crowd. They’re all so—’

‘Pathetic!’ Fabia cut in savagely. ‘Don’t run yourself down, Joanie; you’d make ten of any of these clowns. Can’t you see what these people are like, for goodness’ sake? Open your eyes for a minute and wipe the stardust out. Most of them are weak and shallow and totally selfish. They aren’t fit to wipe your boots.’

‘But they’re all so beautiful,’ Joanie said wistfully, glancing down at her small, heavily boned figure with a gesture of longing. ‘And slim.’

‘Scrawny, half of them,’ Fabia returned scornfully.

‘Well, it’s all right for you,’ Joanie said quietly without a trace of jealousy in her voice as she glanced at Fabia’s tall, slender shape topped by the mass of long thick blonde hair and vivid blue eyes set like jewels in a flawless skin. ‘You’d knock any one of the women here into a cocked hat. Alexander Cade knew that. I bet—’

‘Joanie—’

Fabia’s concerned voice was cut off as Joanie tapped her on the cheek affectionately. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not depressing myself, just stating facts. And I do appreciate your coming tonight. I know you didn’t want to and I know you’ll probably hate every minute but I so wanted to be at something like this just once. When Dr Campbell gave me the tickets after his wife got ill it was like the chance of a lifetime.’

‘Well, we couldn’t have afforded them,’ Fabia agreed wryly. ‘What charity is the great Cade donating to anyway?’

‘Cancer research,’ Joanie said soberly, ‘and they sure need it. Anyway—’ she gave a little shake of her plump body ‘—come on, spill the beans, what’s happened?’

Her good-natured face got straighter and straighter as Fabia recounted the little episode, until her brown eyes were wide with horror. ‘Don’t say, it Joanie,’ Fabia said warningly as she finished the account. ‘I know I shouldn’t have, but it was too good to resist. I shall have to keep it up now, of course,’ she added with an innocent smile. ‘Must be consistent.’

‘Fabia, there are times—’

‘Stand back and watch me in action.’ Before Joanie could stop her Fabia was on her way across the room to where Alexander Cade was deep in conversation with a somewhat austere-looking elderly man, who had an even more severe-looking woman who was clearly his wife by his side. They glanced up as she reached their side and she had to admire Alexander Cade’s self-control. She knew he had been avoiding her since their first encounter and she knew she was unwelcome, but he didn’t betray his thoughts for a moment.

‘Well, hello again,’ he said warily, his smile cool as he looked directly into her eyes, and Fabia registered a slight jolt as the full power of that cold tawny gaze swept over her. ‘I hope you are enjoying yourself, Miss Dixon?’

‘Sure am, honey, but what’s with the Miss Dixon?’ she drawled playfully with a little roguish wink at the dour-faced couple by his side. ‘He’s a fast mover, this guy,’ she continued knowingly as she placed a light hand on the woman’s thin arm. ‘Just been introduced and he’s takin’ honey from the flower, but I sure ain’t complainin’.’ She let her eyes wander over the strong-muscled body saucily, taking care not to meet his eyes which she knew were cold points of steel in the furious face. ‘This sure is one hell of a bee.’

‘Well, really!’ The woman’s outraged murmur of disgust was plainly audible to those about them and she caught one or two interested glances in their direction as she became aware of Joanie sidling round to stand in the background. See what a fool he is, Joanie, she thought bitterly to herself, see what fools they all are! His type were all the same, as she had good cause to know. A pretty face and they were into action like stud stallions! But not this time, Mr Cade! Her eyelashes fluttered pertly as she turned to leave. ‘Ah must leave ya for a minute, honey-pie,’ she murmured slowly into the pregnant silence, ‘but don’ ya go flirtin’ with no more of the girls, ya hear?’ She reached up and kissed the edge of the hard mouth before he had time to resist.

‘Who is that woman?’ The man’s clipped voice didn’t make any effort to speak quietly and as Joanie took her arm and hurried her away Fabia saw that her friend’s eyes were wet with laughter.