Bridal Bargains

When she went downstairs she found Carol alone in the kitchen. The men had apparently already left for work, and it was Carol who drove her to the hospital. Mia spent the morning entertaining Suzanna, who was allowed out of bed today and was walking around although she found it sore to do so.

They had just finished lunch, and Suzanna was resting on her bed while Mia read a story to her, when Alex walked in. He sent Mia a fleeting glance and then directed his attention at Suzanna.

‘You look much brighter today.’ He smiled.

The child smiled, too, her face lighting up like a puppy starved of affection who saw the chance of some coming its way in the shape of this man.

‘I’ve drawn you a picture,’ she told Alex shyly, and asked Mia to pass her a new sketch pad Carol had given her yesterday. ‘It’s to say thank you for my computer game …’

Inside were three pictures, although there was another one, which Mia had already been given for herself, of a church with a bride and bridegroom standing outside it and a child standing beside them, her hand tucked in the groom’s. It said such a lot about the child’s secret wishes that Mia had had to fight the urge to weep when Suzanna had handed the picture to her. Now she had it safely tucked away in the carrier bag in which she had brought Suzanna’s gift—the set of story books they had just started reading. One of the set, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was Suzanna’s favourite story.

Now the child was solemnly handing Alex his picture. It showed blue skies and a large sun, beaming down on a man, a woman, a little girl and a baby around a swimming pool with a pretty house in the background.

More secret wishes unwittingly portrayed for the discerning to read. Mia had told Suzanna all about Alex’s villa on Skiathos, and she had drawn herself there with them because that was where she most wanted to be.

No, thought Mia, Alex was not a fool. The way his eyes were hooded as he studied the picture meant he was reading all the right messages.

‘I have one for the other lady, too,’ Suzanna told Alex shyly.

‘Carol,’ Mia said.

‘Carol,’ Suzanna obediently repeated. ‘She brought me these felt tips and the sketch pad,’ she explained to Alex. ‘She wanted me to draw my operation so I have—do you think she’ll like it?’

This picture was gory in the extreme. When Alex finally managed to drag his attention away from his own offering to look at Carol’s picture, he couldn’t help the rueful smile that touched his mouth. ‘I should think she will love it.’ he murmured very drily. ‘Thank you for my picture.’

From being ready for a nap, Suzanna was suddenly so animated Mia felt something painful clutch at her heart as she watched the little girl hunt in the clutter on her bed to unearth her computer game, which she handed to Alex.

‘Would you like to have a go?’ she offered eagerly, switching it on for him. ‘You press this button here, then—’

It was like watching a light go out. One moment all three of them seemed to be basking in the brilliance of Suzanna’s excitement and in the next, darkness fell in the form of a metaphorical big black shadow. The child had glanced up, that was all—just glanced up distractedly—and, wham, she was a different person.

Mia was sitting on the side of the bed, with Alex seated in the chair on the other side. She looked up, too, and rose jerkily. Alex glanced up, saw who was standing in the doorway and frowned as his eyes flicked to the other two then back to the door again.

Jack Frazier was standing there, transfixed. His eyes were locked on Mia’s body, greed glinting in their cold grey depths as he absorbed the obvious evidence of her pregnancy.

‘So it is done,’ he said with unmasked satisfaction. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ The accusing words were flashed at Mia. ‘When is it due?’ He laughed, and turned to Alex, who was rising slowly to his feet. ‘I can’t damn well believe it! Well done, man. Well done!’

Not seeing or completely ignoring Alex’s grim expression, Jack Frazier walked forward to grab his hand and began to pump it up and down.

‘When do we close the deal, then?’ he asked eagerly.

On the other side of the bed Mia was reaching for Suzanna’s hand as the child’s hand searched for hers. Neither smiled. Neither spoke. As far as Jack Frazier was concerned, they might as well not have been there for all they mattered. Mia only mattered as a vessel required to make him his so-called grandson and Suzanna didn’t matter at all.

‘We will let you know at the appropriate time,’ Alex said coldly. ‘As it is, Suzanna’s health is the main concern in this room.’

As a pointed reminder of his duty, Jack took the hint and at last condescended to notice Suzanna. ‘Got your Mia back, then?’ he taunted drily. ‘The lengths children will go to get their own way.’

‘She didn’t stage-manage appendicitis,’ Mia said tightly, as the poor child lowered her head so she didn’t have to look into those coldly indifferent eyes.

‘No?’ He sounded dubious. ‘Well, never mind about that. I want to know about my grandson. Were you going to bother to tell me at all, or was I supposed to wait until the damned thing was over and done with before I found out anything?’

She didn’t answer—she refused to. She had nothing whatsoever to say to him that he didn’t already know.

‘Like that, is it?’ He grimaced. ‘Well, at least you carried through. I did wonder with this long silence whether you’d chickened out at the last hurdle. But …’ he glanced at Suzanna’s lowered head again ‘… we all have our price, don’t we, Mia? And your price almost became a non-runner. I wonder what you would have done then?’

It was such a cruel thing to suggest that Mia actually swayed in horror. Luckily, the child didn’t understand what he was talking about—but Alex did. In one step he had hold of Jack Frazier’s arm.

‘Let’s go for a walk,’ he suggested grimly. ‘We have a few things to say to each other, I think …’