Crescendo

'Oh.' Tom was silent for a moment, walking be­side her with his head bent. 'Pity,' he muttered, and gave her a quick look to catch her reaction to that.

Marina smiled at him. 'Thank you.' Her tone did not encourage him to go on, although it was friendly

and polite, and with someone like Tom one did not have to be brutal in order to get a message home.

They had reached the cottage and Marina halted in her tracks, turning to smile her goodbye at him. 'I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay,' she said.

Ruefully Tom smiled back at her. 'It's been nice meeting you again,' he offered, and then they both heard the front door open.

Gideon walked down the path, a harsh frown drawing his brows together. Tom shot him a quick look and took in the poised menace of that face be­fore he nodded hurriedly at Marina and walked away fast without looking towards Gideon again.

She turned and the dark eyes searched her face, probing the cool, remote expression she showed him. 'He's still hanging around, is he?'

Marina faced him coldly. She saw the jealous darkness in his eyes, but she refused to care. He had no business looking at her like that, his glance nar­rowed and hard.

'Stay away from him,' Gideon broke out.

'Would you get out of my way, please?' She moved towards the gate, but he still blocked her path, his hands at his sides but his fingers curled into lists.

'If you're trying to annoy me, take my advice,' he said tersely, through tightened lips. 'Don't.'

'Why should I want to annoy you?' Marina let her eyes drift over him in icy rejection. 'Who I talk to is my business.'

'You're my wife, whether you like it or not,' Gideon told her, the hardness increasing in his face.

'I don't like it, and the sooner it ceases to be true, the better I shall be pleased. I want a divorce and I want it quickly.'

He brushed that aside, concentrating on the sub­ject engrossing him at the moment. 'Don't try to change the subject. Stay away from that boy. I won't have him looking at you the way he does.'

'Don't judge everyone by your own standards! Tom's a very nice young man.'

Gideon's eyes flared. 'And he wouldn't want to do anything but look, I suppose?' Cynicism twisted his mouth. 'I don't buy that. Sooner or later he'd want a lot more than that.'

'Maybe when I've got rid of you I'll find out,' she told him with acid in her voice.

A snarl came into his voice. 'Don't push me too far!'

Her temper rose to meet his and her face flushed darkly. 'Who do you think you are? How dare you come stamping down the path just because I'm pass­ing the time of day with a friendly young man?'

His .eyes were glittering like black steel. 'Friendly? Is that how you'd describe it? He fancies you and you know it.'

'What if he does? That's no business of yours.'

'Like hell it isn't!' He grabbed her arm and she wrenched it out of his grasp, glaring at him.

'Keep your hands off me!'

'You're not to see him again, do you hear?' Gideon was in an explosive mood now, his whole body as tense as a violin string.

Marina saw Grandie hovering at the window, anxiety in the way he peered at them. 'Let me pass,' she insisted.

He drew a harsh, impeded breath, but at last he moved aside and she walked past him into the cot­tage. Grandie hobbled to meet her. 'What's wrong?' he asked, staring at her.

Gideon loomed up behind her, his eyes contemp­tuous. 'She's not a child any more, Grandie. Leave it.'

His arrogance put a match to Grandie's smoulder­ing temper. 'She doesn't want you here and neither do I,' he burst out hoarsely. 'You've done enough to both of us, Gideon. Get out of this house and out of our lives!'

Gideon's eyes were filled with that impassive oriental blankness which he could assume as a cloak when he was pursuing some course of action which others were trying to impede. He eyed Grandie and said nothing, his face immovable. Grandie stared at him, clenched and shaking, before he turned and stamped up the stairs.