The Secret Love-Child

But fate was not going to be kind. He'd barely sat down when she followed him through the front door and marched over to stand in front of him. Rafe looked up from the plate he'd just balanced on his lap, keeping his face impassive despite his instantly thudding heart.

Formidable was the word which came to mind to describe Isabel's mother. Handsome, though. She would have been a fine-looking woman when she was younger. Though she did look trapped in a time warp, her grey hair permed into very tight waves and curls, and her belted floral dress with its pleated skirt reflecting a bygone era.

'Mr Saint Vincent...' she began, then hesitated, not because she didn't know what she was going to say, Rafe reckoned, but because she wanted to make him feel uncomfortable.

Her strategy worked. But be damned if he was going to let it show.

'Yes, Mrs Hunt?' he returned coolly, picking up a sandwich from the plate and taking a bite.

'Might I have a little word with you in private?'

He shrugged. 'We're perfectly alone here, so feel free to go for it.'

Her top lip curled. "That's rather the catch cry of your generation, isn't it?' she sneered. 'Feeling free to go for whatever you want.'

'Good, isn't it? Better than being all uptight and hypocritical, like your generation.'

'How dare you?' she exclaimed, her cheeks looking as if they'd been dabbed with rouge.

'How dare you', Mrs Hunt? I am a guest in your home. Are you always this rude to your guests?'

'I have every right to be rude to a man who's taking wicked advantage of my daughter.'

'You think that's what I'm doing?'

'I know that's what you're doing. Isabel would never normally go off like that with some man she'd only just met: You knew she was on the rebound. But that didn't stop you, did it?'

Rafe decided to nip this in the bud once and for all. He figured he had nothing to lose, anyway. 'No,' he agreed, putting his plate down on the seat beside him and standing up, brushing his hands of crumbs as he did so. 'No, it didn't stop me, Mrs Hunt. And I'll tell you why. Because I'm in love with your daughter. I have been ever since the first moment we met. I love her and I want to marry her.'

The woman's eyes almost popped out of her head.

'Of course, I haven't told her this yet,' he went on. 'She's not ready for it. She won't be ready for it for a while, because at this moment her trust in the male sex is so low that she simply won't believe me. She, like you, thinks I'm only with her for the sex. Which is not true.'

'You mean you're...you're not sleeping with her?'

Rafe had to smile. 'Now, ma'am, let's not get our wires crossed here. I didn't say that. I am a man, not a eunuch. And your daughter is very beautiful. But Isabel has much more to offer a man than just sex. She's one very special lady with a special brand of pride and courage. It's a shame her own mother doesn't recognise that fact.'

'But I do. Why, I think she's just wonderful.'

'Funny. I get the impression you haven't told her that too often. Or at all. I gather she thinks you think she's some kind of slut.'

'I do not think anything of the kind! The very idea!'

'Well, she must have got that idea from somewhere. Get with it, Mrs Hunt, or you just might lose your daughter altogether. She's a woman of independent means now and doesn't need you to put a roof over her head. She doesn't need your constant criticisms and disapproval either.'

'But... But... Oh, dear, me and my big mouth again...'

She looked so stricken that Rafe was moved to some sympathy for her. Perhaps he'd been a bit harsh. But someone had to stand up for Isabel. None of the men in her past had, least of all St bloody Luke!

'She needs you to love her unconditionally,' he went on more gently. 'Not just when she's doing what you think is right. Because what you think is right, Mrs Hunt, just might be wrong. And please...don't tell her what I said about being in love with her. If you do, you'll ruin everything.'

'You really love her?'

'More than I would ever have thought possible. I'm going to marry your daughter, Mrs Hunt. It's only a question of time.'

Her joy blinded him. 'Oh. Oh, that's wonderful news. I've been so worried for her. All her life, all she's ever wanted was to get married and...and... Oh, dear..' She broke off and gnawed at her bottom lip for a few seconds, worrying the life out of Rafe. What now?

'You do know Isabel wants a baby very badly, don't you?' she finally went on. "That won't be a problem, will it? I know a lot of men these days aren't so keen on having children.'

Rafe smiled his relief. 'Not a problem at all, Mrs Hunt. Hopefully, it's the solution.'

"The solution?' She looked mystified for a moment. But then the clouds cleared from her astute grey eyes. 'Oh,' she said, nodding and smiling. 'Oh, I see.'

'I trust Isabel will have your full approval and support if I'm successful in my plan? You won't start judging and throwing verbal stones again.'