Last Stop Marriage. Emma Darcy
was a quixotic twist of fate that these circumstances had arisen. He’d never told Jayne his connection to Monty Castle. By the time they’d met and married, he’d gone way beyond being Monty’s protégé in the explosives field.
It must have come as a heart-thumping shock when Monty had told her to get him. Though not so much of a shock that she had spilled the fact she was his wife. Monty still didn’t know. That was obvious from their conversation at the hospital this afternoon.
It added another burning question to all the others in Dan’s mind, making him pause before committing himself to helping Monty. A decision on the project could wait until he knew all he needed to know. In a professional sense, he’d already repaid Monty for all he’d learnt from him. He didn’t owe him anything, except the caring that came with mutual liking. As for Jayne…
He cuddled Baby closer, rubbing his cheek over her soft black curls, breathing in the sweet scent of her, taking deep pleasure in the innocence of her love and trust in him. She was his first consideration now, not Jayne, and he had no compunction in ramming that home to the woman who had so comprehensively rejected him.
It had given him a great deal of satisfaction to hear the snippy tone creep into her voice when he had made continual reference to Baby on the telephone. It meant that she wasn’t as indifferent as she wanted to be. He hoped it would hit her hard when she saw Baby, make her take stock of all she had walked away from.
The car came to a halt beside a set of steps that led up to the gate of a high, decorative wall that undoubtedly enclosed the gardens of Lin Zhiyong’s home. The driver alighted to open the passenger door for them.
‘Ready to go on show, Baby?’ Dan asked, smiling indulgently at the small, angel face that gazed adoringly at him.
She smacked her lips in a kiss for him and he laughed, releasing some of the tension he was feeling over this meeting with Jayne. Baby was utterly, captivatingly beautiful.
Eat your heart out, Dragon Lady, Dan thought, stepping from the car. He settled Baby comfortably on his arm and went to confront the woman he had once thought he would love forever.
THE aim of a Chinese garden was to create a sense of peace and harmony. At some other time Jayne might have been able to enjoy the ambience Lin Zhiyong took such pride in; the graceful fall of willow fronds into the gently meandering pond, the carefully cultivated waterlilies, the artistic arch of the bridge that serviced a splendid pavilion centred over the water. It was all a visual delight, but Jayne was too on edge to feel peace or harmony.
Any minute now Dan Drayton would arrive with his Baby. Lin Zhiyong had sent his car for them. It was an unusually hospitable gesture for him. It was really her responsibility to arrange transport. She hoped Lin Zhiyong wasn’t playing some secret hand. Dan hadn’t actually signed an agreement with Monty yet.
‘I am to be honoured with a special guest this evening,’ the elderly official informed her. ‘He is travelling from Beijing.’
A higher official from the seat of government? Jayne refrained from comment, not knowing what it might mean.
‘It would appear that Mr. Castle has competition for Mr. Drayton’s services.’ he added enigmatically.
More pressure on her to make good her claim that Dan would do as she asked, Jayne thought, hating the sense of being backed into a corner from which there was no escape, yet determined to play out her hand as best she could.
She smiled, exuding every scrap of confidence she could muster. ‘Mr. Drayton has always been a man of his word. It is regrettable that your honoured guest will be disappointed in his quest. However, I am sure his long journey will be rewarded by your hospitality.’
‘It is best that he sees for himself,’ Lin Zhiyong observed, his eyes glinting over Jayne before drifting toward the ornamental gateway into his garden.
At least her appearance had impressed him, Jayne thought, fiercely hoping it would outshine Baby’s. It was not that she was jealous. This was purely politics. Dan was welcome to some other woman in his personal life. She simply needed a professional boost tonight. Besides, it was satisfying to have an appropriate occasion on which to wear the exotic outfit she had bought in Hong Kong.
At the time of purchase, she’d had no idea that the glamorous evening suit could take on another meaning. She had seen it as wonderfully rich and perfect for her height and colouring. Tonight it had a special impact.
The jacket was highly dramatic with a design of dragons in gold and russet woven onto a lustrous pearl silk brocade. The heart-shaped neckline dipped to a row of five buttons that fastened the bodice to figure-moulding tightness. The sleeves were long and fitted, with the dragon motif featuring below the elbow. The jacket flared out over the hips, giving it a winged effect. Below it flowed a beautiful full-length circular skirt in russet silk, gold thread crisscrossing it in a diamond pattern that made it shimmer like dragon scales.
Jayne had added some complementary costume jewellery; a gold mesh necklace threaded with pearls, and long, dangly earrings of chunkier gold, studded with pearls. The massed red ringlets of her hair formed a fiery showcase for their glitter and gleam.
She had certainly turned the heads of Lin Zhiyong’s other guests. Dragon Lady was making her presence felt tonight. But would Dan respond with the respect she needed from him?
‘Ah, Mr. Drayton has arrived,’ Lin Zhiyong announced, apparently picking up some signal from the aide stationed by the gateway. ‘You will accompany me to greet him?’ he invited, obviously wanting to observe their meeting firsthand.
‘Thank you,’ Jayne accepted, maintaining her pose of absolute confidence as she matched her step to his.
How she didn’t falter when Dan entered the garden was little short of a miracle. Her heart certainly stopped in shock, kicking painfully when it resumed beating again. Her mind locked, one thought only exploding within the jammed compartment.
Baby…
He was holding a baby…a real baby…cradled contentedly in the crook of his arm…a baby with the face of a cherub, chubby little hands waving excitedly, a rosebud mouth blowing bubbles as she gurgled her delight in the glowing paper lanterns strung around the garden.
A baby with black curly hair…
Like Dan’s!
A baby that looked to be about nine months old, certainly less than a year.
It was two years since she had rejected Dan’s idea of having a baby to give her something to do, to keep her happy in their marriage, to hold her with him; ample time for him to father this child with some other woman; the baby she had denied him; denied herself.
The baby was observing her now, wide-eyed with wonder, dark-eyed like Dan…and there was an ache of emptiness in Jayne’s stomach, a heavy, dragging feeling in her thighs, a cramping in her heart.
Somehow her feet kept moving. Dan had come to a standstill, obviously having observed her approach with Lin Zhiyong and waiting for the formal welcome to the Chinese official’s home. It was not until they were virtually face-to-face that Jayne managed to wrench her gaze from his child to look directy at the man who no longer belonged to her, and would never belong to her again.
‘Hello, Dan.’ It was all she could think of to say. Her voice was smoky, insubstantial, barely emerging from the sense of dead ashes, all that was left now of their former relationship.
‘Jayne…’
The bare acknowledgement was spoken in a guarded tone. The face that had once captivated her with its entrancing mobility of expression was unnaturally still, highlighting the distinctive bone structure that had fascinated her when he was asleep; the planes of his forehead, nose, cheeks, chin, all seeming to flow gracefully, one to the other