His Cinderella Mistress

Her shoulders slumped wearily after his departure, the tears falling hot on her cheeks. Well, she hadn’t ended up in his arms being kissed this time, had she? No, this time she had told him she just wanted him to leave, not just the farm, but the country!

And, with him as Jude Marshall’s representative, she most certainly did want that. But as the man she had fallen in love with—!

She had thought herself in love with Ben last year, had been so hurt when she’d found out that the real motive behind his interest in her, with her father now dead, was with an eye to the farm. Not for the redevelopment Jude Marshall had in mind—just as owner by marriage to one of the sisters. That was probably what had hurt January the most when she’d finally got the full story from him: the fact that he had tried it on with her two sisters, and been kindly but firmly rejected, before turning his attention to the youngest sister. And like an idiot she had fallen for it!

Just as she had fallen for Max, she reminded herself derisively.

Yes, and even knowing the full circumstances of his presence here, she still loved Max. He would just never know that she did.

Perhaps, after all, the sooner Max left the area, the better it would be. For everyone. But certainly for January.

Which was the main reason she was so cool towards him that evening when the two of them finally managed to visit Josh.

Not that it was easy to get in to see her cousin-in-law-to-be, a certain amount of police security around him still, but luckily her Aunt Lyn had already left word to expect at least one of the sisters in this evening.

In fact, January was glad in the end that she had Max with her, so shocked was she at Josh’s changed appearance. Someone had really beaten him badly, a large discoloured gash on his left temple that had obviously needed several stitches, a huge bruise on his jaw, one of his arms in a sling.

‘Hi,’ he greeted brightly enough. ‘You just missed seeing Sara; I finally managed to persuade her that I wasn’t going to die if she went home for a bath and change of clothes,’ he explained ruefully. ‘Hello again.’ He gave Max a smile, although it obviously caused him pain.

January bent to give Josh a kiss on the side of his face that didn’t look bruised, more shaken than she cared to admit—that someone had deliberately inflicted these wounds. Fights and scenes of violence were so often depicted on television nowadays that it was easy to become hardened to them, but to actually see Josh in this terrible state because someone had deliberately attacked him…!

‘Whoever did this ought to be—’

‘Don’t worry, January, Sara has already said it all,’ Josh assured her with a grimace. ‘And to think I never knew she had such a violent streak in her until yesterday!’ he added affectionately.

‘Whereas I already know what January is capable of,’ Max put in dryly.

January gave him a sharp look, the colour entering her cheeks as she remembered the visit she had paid him at the hotel on Sunday evening, when she had quite obviously wanted to hit him for what she considered to be his duplicity.

‘And they call them the gentler sex!’ Josh joined in teasingly. ‘Give me a man to fight any day! Although there wasn’t too much chance of that on Monday night,’ he sobered frowningly. ‘The bast— He hit me on the head with something—’ he held a hand up to the bruised gash on his temple ‘—before kicking hell out of me while I was on the ground!’

‘Obviously no one told him about the Queensbury Rules,’ Max rasped.

Josh gave the other man a grateful smile for his attempt at humour. ‘I wouldn’t say it was part of his vocabulary, no.’

January sat down abruptly in the chair next to the bed, still shocked that someone could have hurt Josh deliberately.

A group of them had always gone around together at school, January and her cousin Sara, along with several other girls of the same age, Josh and a group of his friends usually around somewhere, too. That something like this should have happened to one of them…!

It was testament to how shocked January was that she did not demur as Max sat down in the chair next to her and took her hand into his own, his fingers tightening reassuringly against hers. In actual fact, at that particular moment other human contact was very welcome.

‘Fortunately, Sara has decided that she doesn’t mind me looking like this in the wedding photographs, so the wedding is still on for Saturday,’ Josh said lightly. ‘They’re letting me out of here tomorrow,’ he added with satisfaction.

‘Any leads as to who did this to you?’ Max prompted grimly.

‘Not a one,’ Josh answered disappointedly. ‘The man was wearing a baclava or something, so I couldn’t see his face. The only thing I could tell the police that was of any help was that I thought I recognized his voice.’

January’s eyes widened incredulously. Josh actually knew the man who had done this to him?

‘Did it sound anything like mine?’ Max suggested dryly.

Josh looked puzzled by the question. ‘What?’

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‘Never mind,’ Max dismissed scathingly.

While at the same time not even glancing at January! Leaving her in no doubt that, despite her apology, Max really hadn’t forgiven her for even having had that particular thought. But could she blame him…?