This time, Celeste had no patience left with him. She grabbed back, flipping him over on to his back on to the marble floor, her boot solidly in the middle of his chest. Though not seriously hurt, he was winded. And undeniably shocked.
'Don't presume to touch me again, Byron,' she warned darkly. 'Not unless you're invited. Now I'm going to call a taxi. Stop me at your own peril.'
He didn't try to stop her, and she left five minutes later.
CHAPTER TWELVE
'WHAT a pickle!' Ava said over breakfast. 'But surely, Byron, once you explain it all to Nathan, he'll understand why Gemma did what she did.'
'Gemma doesn't seem to think so.'
Ava turned puzzled eyes towards Gemma, who had woken this morning with ambivalent feelings. She wanted very much to do what Lenore had urged her to do-fight tooth and nail to put her marriage right, irrespective of the events of yesterday. But there remained in her heart the feeling that Nathan would never believe she hadn't slept with Damian. He didn't trust her. He didn't trust women in general. His mother had left him with this crippling legacy and Gemma wasn't sure if the love he did hold for her was strong enough to balance the scales in her favor.
'He thinks I went from his bed to Damian Campbell's,' she said with a grim honesty. 'He couldn't conceive that Damian might just want to be my friend.'
'Well, you can't blame him for that, surely,' Byron muttered. 'The man's reputation is hardly lily-white.'
Gemma settled her steeliest gaze upon her father-in-law. 'I don't set much store by people's so-called reputations any more. Till I met Celeste, all I'd heard about her were bad things, but she's not like that at all! She's a warm, wonderful woman and I won't hear a word against her. I won't hear a word against Damian, either. He might not be a saint but he's been very good to me and he's never made a pass or done a single thing to offend me.'
Byron scowled at this while Ava leant over to pat her gently on the wrist. 'It's very creditable of you to defend your new-found friends, Gemma. I, for one, agree with you that one can't always believe what is said about others, but please ... understand our concern as well. There's never been any love lost between the Campbells and the Whitmores. And you're a Whitmore. Common sense demands one has to view with suspicion whenever a Campbell makes friendly overtures towards a Whitmore, wouldn't you say, Byron?'
Gemma blinked at the savage look Byron sent his sister across the breakfast table. 'We all have to run our own races in the end, Ava. You, of all people, should appreciate that. '
Ava's returning smile was so self-assured that Gemma was stunned. The word 'transformation' was not an exaggeration when applied to Ava. She'd fairly blossomed in every way, not just her looks. There was a confidence about her person and even her movements that was a pleasure to see. Gemma had always liked her but had also always pitied her. No one was ever going to feel pity for this composed, assertive, attractive woman ever again.
'So what are you going to do, Gemma?' Ava asked.
Byron jumped in before Gemma could verbalize a plan. 'If she's in agreement, I'd like to drive her over to see Nathan first thing this morning. Maybe I could have a word with him first, pave the way, so to speak. Nathan's likely to still feel highly emotional, and maybe irrational, about the situation.'
Gemma closed her eyes. God, if Byron did that, Nathan might tell him what happened yesterday. She didn't want anyone else to know about it. OK, so Celeste knew, but she'd sworn her to secrecy. There was nothing to be gained by blackening Nathan's name to his family. Clearly he hadn't been himself yesterday. Something had snapped in him and he hadn't been able to see reason. Gemma could see that now.
'Is that what you want, Gemma?' Ava asked kindly, perhaps interpreting her shut eyes as an unwillingness to go along with Byron.
She lifted damp lashes to give Ava a small half-smile. 'Yes. The sooner I talk to him, the better. Only .. .I don't want you to talk to him first, Byron. Please. I feel this is something private and personal between Nathan and myself. I know you all want to help but I feel we have to work out our problems ourselves. I must talk to Nathan, and he must be made to talk to me. Really talk, probably for the first time in his life.'
Ava nodded wisely. 'You're quite right. That's always been Nathan's problem. He keeps things to himself too much. He doesn't know how to open up to people.'