Defying Drakon

Blue eyes glittered angrily as Angela turned to Gemini. ‘You do realise that I could have you arrested for theft, as well as for breaking and entering at Bartholomew House?’

‘There has been a break-in at Bartholomew House?’ Drakon was the one to address her smoothly.

‘You know damn well there has!’

He raised dark brows. ‘And why on earth should I know that?’

‘Oh, please!’ Angela snapped. ‘You even arranged for your cousin to take me to dinner last night in order to make sure I was out of the house.’

Drakon turned as he sensed Gemini looking at him incredulously, nodding slightly in confirmation when she mouthed, Markos took her out to dinner?

‘What does your date with Markos last night have to do with me?’ he asked.

‘It worked very effectively as a means of ensuring you could sneak in and do your little Houdini act with certain contents of my safe!’

Drakon shrugged. ‘I assure you I have absolutely no control over my cousin’s actions. Nor do I understand what you mean by my “Houdini act”.’

Angela gave a disbelieving snort. ‘I didn’t even discover there was anything missing until I went to the safe this morning to return the jewellery I wore to go out last night.’

‘And you believe I am the one responsible for those items being missing?’ He raised haughty brows.

‘I know you are!’

‘I am afraid you are under a misapprehension, Mrs Bartholomew,’ Drakon bit out coldly. ‘Neither I, nor indeed Gemini, were even in England last night. We flew to Verona for the evening. For the opera, you know. We returned only a short time ago.’

Gemini looked at Drakon sharply as it became glaringly obvious to her exactly why they had flown to Verona and stayed the night there; by doing so Drakon had ensured that they both had an alibi for the break-in.

Angela seemed to notice their evening clothes for the first time, and her cheeks became flushed. ‘Then you had your henchman do it for you—’

‘I believe this conversation is over, Mrs Bartholomew,’ Drakon cut in repressively.

‘A word of advice, Drakon,’ Angela jeered. ‘Never try to deceive a deceiver.’

‘At last we seem to be agreed on something,’ he replied.

Angela’s face darkened angrily. ‘Why, you—’

‘That’s quite enough!’ Gemini stepped forward to grip Angela’s arm as she swung it with the obvious intention of slapping Drakon’s face. ‘You may have done your best to make me miserable, Angela, but you will never—ever—attack any of my friends.’ She thrust her face in front of the shorter woman’s. ‘Is that understood?’

‘Is that what you call him? ‘Your “friend”?’ Ange

la sneered.

Gemini drew in a sharp breath at the deliberate insult, but at the same time she knew the accusation was far from the truth; Drakon wasn’t, never had been, and now probably never would be her lover, as Angela was implying he was. Unfortunately…

“Not having any of your own, you probably wouldn’t recognise friendship if it bit you on the nose,’ she said coldly. ‘But, yes, Drakon is my friend. And this is my home. As such, you will not insult one of my friends in my home. Is that understood? Is it?’ she pressed.

A grudging respect entered the glittering blue eyes that stared up into Gemini’s. ‘Yes,’ Angela finally grated tightly.

‘Good.’ Gemini released her arm and stepped back. ‘Now, for my father’s sake, not yours, I’m willing to let you walk out of here and take up permanent residence in either the Paris apartment or the Spanish villa you apparently own. If,’ she continued firmly as Angela would have spoken, ‘you don’t do either of those things, then you will leave me with no choice but to go to the police and tell them of your duplicity.’

‘If you did that you would only implicate yourself and your “friends” in the robbery at my home.’

‘Actually, that would be my home,’ Gemini corrected. ‘And, as such, the contents of the safe there would also be my property,’ she added challengingly.

Angela’s face paled. ‘But you didn’t know any of that when the will was taken.’

‘I know it now,’ Gemini pointed out. ‘Which I believe will be all that matters in the eyes of the law,’ she added, with much more confidence that she actually felt. ‘But feel free to challenge my claim if that’s what you want to do.’