In Need of a Wife

‘We mustn’t—’

‘Be long. OK. Time trial. Starting from now.’

He leaned her against the door and unfastened her jeans as he kissed her. Before Sasha knew what she was doing, her hands were active on his trousers. Desire was terribly consuming. Once it took hold, it took over. Time trials made it all the more exciting.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

‘ENOUGH of these mournful sighs,’ Hester remonstrated impatiently. She slapped the latest report on Sasha’s findings face-down on the table and eyed Sasha sternly. ‘What’s the problem?’

‘I’m sorry...’ Useless t

o deny her distraction of mind. She couldn’t stop thinking that today was Monday, and in two days’ time Nathan was to marry Urszula Budna.

Hester waved dismissively. ‘Nothing to be sorry about. What’s Nathan done?’

There was no evading the acute perception in Hester Wingate’s piercing eyes. ‘It’s not his fault,’ Sasha answered glumly.

‘Of course it’s his fault,’ Hester corrected with asperity. ‘Men are always at fault. Nathan is a man. Ergo, he is at fault.’

‘There’s this Polish woman...’ Sasha started off circumspectly.

‘There always is. Men have two brains. The one in the unmentionable area causes all the trouble.’

A burning rush of blood scorched Sasha’s cheeks.

Hester put her own inimitable interpretation on that. ‘Seduced you as well, did he? Swept you away with passion?’

‘Not exactly. Only a little,’ Sasha demurred, too honest to pretend she hadn’t been a willing participant in their mutual desire.

‘At least you’re better than Elizabeth Maddox. That woman is mad. Megalomania.’ Hester leaned over and patted Sasha’s hand. ‘Don’t you worry. It will all turn out for the best.’

‘It can’t,’ Sasha said hopelessly. ‘He’s contracted a marriage with someone else and he can’t get out of it. He wrote the contract himself and it’s watertight. You see...’

Sasha explained about Elizabeth’s machinations to get both Nathan and Matt back to bolster her image for political purposes.

Hester rose from her chair. Her diminutive form shook with deep emotion. ‘Blood will tell. He’ll find a way. Rotten to the core like his great-grandfather, but essentially a good man. One of the finest. Blood will tell. He’ll find a way.’

Hester could have been speaking Egyptian for all Sasha understood. ‘Are you speaking of Nathan?’

‘He even looks likes his great-grandfather. Got the devil in him. Always had. But I thought he had enough of me in him to correct for that.’

Nathan had never fitted into any family tree Hester had given her. There was one item Sasha could latch on to. ‘Who was Nathan’s great-grandfather?’

Hester looked sharply at her. ‘Haven’t you found that out yet?’

‘No.’ It wasn’t in her brief from Hester.

‘Not much good at digging up the dirt, are you?’

Sasha bridled at the premature criticism. ‘That’s not quite true,’ she defended. ‘I haven’t found out all the ramifications yet, and I wasn’t going to mention it until I’d worked my way through them, but...’

Sasha hesitated, mindful of the security that the nanny’s quarters provided her and Bonnie. She was on dangerous ground with this, but her professional expertise had been called into question.

‘Go on,’ Hester urged.

‘It’s about Seagrave Dunworthy,’ Sasha said slowly.

‘Is it, now?’ The interest kindled in Hester’s eyes took a mega-leap at that name.