A Reckless Affair. Alexandra Scott
Jake, I... I took only a few days off work...’
‘You won’t see my father otherwise. He and my mother are off on a cruise next week, so... you’d best fly down with me if you want to see him.’
They had reached the hotel and went in and sat down in the foyer, deserted now but for the young man who sat yawning behind the reception desk.
‘Besides, apart from that—’ his eyes were signalling a message she hardly dared translate ‘—I want to see you again.’
His swift, unexpected touch, just the brush of a finger against her cheek, brought her heart leaping in wild agitation.
‘More than that, I’m determined on it. You may not know it—’ he leaned forward, his manner becoming more intimate ‘—but Hugo Vanbrugh is a very determined man, used to getting his own way, and I’ m cast in the same mould as my father.’ He smiled as if his words were not to be taken entirely literally—he might even have been amused by her wide-eyed expression of shock.
Yes, she thought numbly, she could see that Hugo Vanbrugh was someone very used to having his own way—she was living proof of that, and she felt a stab of disgust. What kind of man was it who would seduce a lonely young wife? It was convenient to forget her mother’s willing participation... Then Jake’s voice brought her back from her reverie.
‘But you look tired. Why don’t you go up to bed now?’ Automatically she allowed herself to be led to the lift, and stood waiting while it was summoned. ‘Have a good night’s sleep.’ Again a finger brushed tenderly, this time against her mouth. ‘I shall have Karen bring over all the details tomorrow and I shall pick you up here on Saturday morning. Good-night.’
Leaning back in the furthest corner of the lift, she watched the doors slide closed to exclude him. Only then did she release a great sigh, as if, by some feat of courage and daring, she had escaped encroaching danger. And it was a few seconds before her disordered thoughts were sorted to the extent that she could recognise the exact nature of that danger.
There was only one thing for it: she must leave New York at the first opportunity—tomorrow morning if possible. There were many places in the States where she could happily spend the rest of her short stay. Boston or St Louis, even Sioux City—anywhere that the Vanbrugh empire was unlikely to extend, and where, perhaps more to the point, Jake Vanbrugh was unlikely to think of looking for her.
Certainly the present situation was one she could never have envisaged. It had all been so carefully plotted—to come and to make the most discreet contact with the man who had fathered her so many years ago. It was not difficult to visualise how much of a shock such a piece of news might be to a happily married man.
She knew few men would welcome such news, and that was why she had been so cautious, why she had concocted such a misleading explanation. She had meant to cause no anxiety—her first concern would have been to assure him there was no threat of exposure. And then after passing on the few things which might have held some sentimental interest for him, they would have said goodbye, she would have returned to her job in London and any future meetings would have been arranged by mutual consent.
It had been her hope, but no more, that their meeting would settle the deep uncertainty which had troubled her after discovering the truth about her birth. And if it didn’t then she was determined it would be her problem, one she would keep to herself and not expect him to share.
True, there had been the fanciful notion that he might from time to time visit her in the UK, that they could get to know each other, might even find they liked each other. After all, since her mother had fallen so hopelessly in love with him, and he with her mother, Ginny and he were bound to find some common ground. And, in a strange way, she felt she would be doing something for her mother—completing a story which had been unresolved for more than a quarter of a century.
She reached her bedroom and began, listlessly, to unbutton her blouse. Only, the plans she had made had begun to unravel the moment she’d reached New York. For one thing, on finding the company had offices in the city centre, she had rushed off immediately. Experience ought to have told her it was unlikely she would be ushered into the presence of the top man—life in the higher echelons simply did not work like that and, in any case, what she had most certainly not anticipated was meeting not the man himself, but his son. Still less had her wildest flights of fancy expected that, after a few hours’ acquaintance, she would find herself in the gravest danger of falling in love.
There! She had faced up to the dread which had been hovering at the back of her mind all evening. Her knees gave way and she sank onto the bed. Fingers pressed against her mouth, she stared at her reflection in the dressing-table mirror, hardly noticing that her face was drained of colour or that her eyes were wide with shock.
In spite of herself she was reliving that moment in the restaurant when she’d had that yearning to turn her palm up to his, to feel the brush of sensitive skin on... A shudder of something very close to fear ran through her.
With determination she got up and began to walk about the room, putting clothes away as she made up her mind to deal with the dangers.
If she was to keep on reminding herself that Jake Vanbrugh was her half-brother then all these juvenile feelings would die down. It was most likely all down to the intense emotions of the past months, plus the very fact of arriving in New York. The combination was more than enough to knock anyone off balance.
Slightly more relaxed, she pulled her nightdress over her head and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Tomorrow she would leave a polite little note for Jake, letting him know that a distant cousin had flown in from Nova Scotia and had persuaded her to join a trip to Niagara Falls. The permutations were endless.
Ginny pulled the light-cord and stood in the half-dark, dreading that moment when the bedside lamp would be extinguished and she would face the bleak terror of the night. There was a word used to describe illicit feelings between certain blood relatives, one from which she shrank with disgust.
But it was firmly lodged there at the back of her mind and she could drive it out only by seeing Jake Vanbrugh as he was—her half-brother. She had to find the strength to take him up on his invitation, to fly down to Richmond with him. It was the only way she would be forced to face the truth and to see Jake Vanbrugh as her father’s son. That was what he was and always would be. Nothing less, and certainly nothing more.
CHAPTER TWO
GINNY moved among the guests, smiling, exchanging pleasantries, answering the various queries about herself. It was the kind of life to which it would. be dangerously easy to become addicted. Alone for a moment, determined to ignore the strange feeling of discomfort in her chest, she stood back, taking in the sheer elegance of the room.
Three high arched windows were thrown open to the covered terrace, where friends lingered chatting. Beyond that were acres of immaculate lawn. There were rose bushes, each blooming, or so it seemed, at the height of its fragrant perfection. And so many beautifully dressed people, iced drinks clinking, all so animated, friendly and sophisticated.
It was everything that came to mind when one considered these East Coast states. Richmond was very nearly a caricature of itself—the very scene one would have lapped up in a glitzy TV miniseries.
Inside, too, there was so much good taste in the discreet furnishings, which ranged through soft creams to the more subtle gamboge and tawny golds. Pale walls were the perfect backdrop for the small collection of modern paintings, while at the far end the grand piano—music by Chopin on the stand-was waiting for the hostess to sit and entertain her guests.
‘Ginny, my dear.’ The slow, drawling tones of that very woman made Ginny turn and fix a smile firmly on her mouth. ‘I hope my son isn’t neglecting you. I do so want everyone to enjoy the afternoon.’
‘No.’ How breathless and unsure she sounded. Not at all like Mrs Vanbrugh. ‘I’m enjoying myself enormously. It’s a real pleasure to spend time in such lovely surroundings, meeting such friendly people. And I have a drink here.’ She reached for the