PAGAN ADVERSARY (27 page)

after a cursory glance at the meter, and ran breathlessly up the steps.

The commissionaire swung the door open, and by some miracle there

was a lift waiting at the ground floor.

Outside the door to Mr Philippides' suite of offices, she paused and

tpok one or two steadying breaths.

He stood up as she was shown into his room, with a welcoming smile

that she did not feel capable of returning.

She said hoarsely, 'Nicky—what's happened to him?'

'Miss Masters—
thespinis
—sit down. Let me order my secretary to

bring you some coffee.'

She moistened her dry mouth with the tip of her tongue. 'I don't want

coffee, I just want to know about Nicky. Please—I've come all this

way. You must tell me!'

His face was compassionate as he looked at her. 'All in good time,

dear young lady. But first that coffee.'

He went past her into the outer room, and Harriet buried her face in

her hands with a little groan. If he really felt so strongly that she

would need a stimulant, it had to be bad news.

She heard the door re-open, and looked up, summoning all her

courage.

Alex stood watching her, his dark face set in grim, accusing lines.

Her lips parted in a soundless gasp. Then she whispered pleadingly,

'Nicky?'

'Apart from missing you, he is perfectly well,' he said harshly.

'Then—why the message?' It was so hard to speak, she felt as if she

was using someone else's voice.

His mouth twisted sardonically. 'If I had said it was myself who

wished to see you, would you have come?' He saw her flinch, and the

dark brows drew together. 'I thought not.'

'You used Nicky,' she accused. 'How could you?'

He gestured impatiently. 'Nicky is at my hotel at this very moment. I

assumed you would wish to see him. Was I wrong?'

Harriet shook her head.

'Then you shall,' he said almost conversationally. 'For a price.'

She lifted her head and stared at him, her face revealing her sense of

shock. Her mouth moved slowly. 'What price?'

Alex gave a short angry laugh. 'Not what you seem to think. Just a

talk—the one you cheated me of when you left Corfu so

precipitately.'

She looked away. 'I think everything has been said already.'

'Well, I do not. Show me your hands, Harriet mow.'

She hesitated. 'I don't understand—why .. .?'

'Don't argue with me.' His voice softened dangerously. 'Just show me

your hands.'

Mutely she extended them, palms upwards. He took them in his, his

fingers closing in a painful grip, turning them over, his eyes flicking

over the slim, ringless fingers.

He said, 'So you are not engaged, or married yet.'

She pulled her hands away, hating the deep aching need that his

lightest touch could engender. 'No, of course not.'

'Then what has gone wrong? Is it possible you confessed something

to your lover which has made him have second thoughts? Perhaps a

dowry might sweeten him?' He reached in his pocket and drew out a

flat jeweller's case. Harriet recognised it at once. He flicked it open

and tossed it into her lap. The sapphires and diamonds in the bracelet

glittered coldly at her. He said smoothly, 'I hope this will compensate

your fiance for the loss of his—virgin bride.'

She shivered, pushing at the box with unsteady hands so that it slid

off her lap on to the carpeted floor. 'I don't want it.'

'Ah,' he said, bitterly mocking. 'You wanted something better,

perhaps. My mother's ruby ring, for example.'

'Manda was right,' she said unevenly. 'You are an insensitive bastard,

Alex.'

'I advise you not to call me names. Since you left me, I have had time

and leisure to think of a few for you,' he said bleakly.

'I don't want to hear them.' Harriet stood up. 'If the talk you spoke of

was just to give you another opportunity to insult me with this --' she

touched the bracelet with the toe of her shoe—'then I'd rather not hear

any more of that, either.'

'Perhaps you had better consult your future husband before you reject

such a valuable gift.'

'I have no future husband,' she said stormily.
'Yes,
I'd like to see

Nicky, but if it means I have to be tormented by you, Alex, then I'll go

home instead.'

He stared at her. 'Spiro told me there was a man in England. He said

he had it from your own lips even though you had denied it to me.

When you ran out on me, I told myself it could only be to return to

him.'

'Yes, I told Spiro something of the sort,' she admitted wearily. 'But

only to stop him getting any ideas.'

'You were afraid he might make love to you.' He shook his head. 'He

would not have done so.'

'What makes you so sure?'

He bit his lip. 'Because he knew that I wanted you for myself.'

'And nothing must stand in the way of what you want. That's right,

isn't it, Alex? And nothing did, because you had me. Or have you

forgotten?'

'No,' Alex said softly. 'I have forgotten nothing.'

The look in his eyes brought her to her feet. Harriet said hoarsely,

'Don't come near me! Don't touch me, or I'll scream the place down!'

He sighed impatiently. 'Harriet
mou.
You are in the London offices of

the Marcos Corporation. You might scream your head off, but no one

would come to your assistance, even if I were to rape you here on the

carpet.' He paused. 'Except that we both know it would not be rape.'

She turned towards the door, aware that her pulses were hammering

tumultuously and afraid that by some sensual perception he would

know it too. She said quietly, 'I would like to go now, please.

Give—give Nicky my love when you see him.'

Before she could reach the door he was at her side, his hand closing

round her arm with a grip that hurt. 'You may give him your message

yourself,' said Alex with a smile which did not reach his eyes.

'Let g® of me!' she panted.

'Struggle or make a scene, and I will carry you down to the car,' he

warned, and he was totally serious, she knew.

The place seemed deserted, but Harriet knew that was only an

illusion. There were dozens of pairs of eyes watching them all the

way to the lift, then across the foyer to the door and the car beyond.

Alex's grip on her arm didn't relax by so much as an iota as he steered

her down the steps and into the car.

She said huskily, 'This is an outrage!'

'You think so? Wait until you discover my plans for the remainder of

the evening.'

He was actually laughing at her, she thought furiously, not deigning

him a reply or even a glance, as she sat rigidly staring out of the

window.

It was no real surprise to find the hotel suite empty, but she felt panic

rising within her just the same.

She said, 'You lied to me.'

'I told you the truth. Nicky is in fact in the adjoining suite with my

mother. We shall be joining her for dinner later. You may see him

then.'

She drew a sharp breath. 'Dinner with your mother? Are you insane?'

He gave her a faint smile. 'I don't think so, Harriet
mou.
You are

thinking perhaps of the last time you spoke to my mother. But then,

you see, she was suffering from a misapprehension—several of them,

in fact.'

She said faintly, 'I don't understand.'

Alex waved her to one of the sofas. 'Sit down and I will explain. My

mother has a godchild to whom she feels a strong sense of duty. A

few years ago she tried to arrange a marriage between the girl and my

brother Kostas, and you know what became of that. So instead my

mother got it fixed in her head that Maria and I would make each

other happy. It has taken me a long time to convince her that the man

capable of enduring Maria and her tantrums probably does not exist

on this planet, but at last she believes me.'

It was very quiet in the suite. Harriet's hands were clasped together so

tightly that the knuckles showed white.

'Her second misapprehension concerned you,
agape mou.
As you

know, I did not want the servants to see me leaving your bedroom.

What I did not bargain for was that Mama had been sitting up with

Nicos and was on her way back to her own room to rest. She saw me.

She was very angry, as you can imagine. She has few illusions about

me, but I have never made a habit of seducing girls under the roof she

shares with me. When she confronted me that morning there was little

I could say in my defence. Besides, she was in a highly charged

emotional state over—Thia Zoe. It seemed wiser to say as little as

possible. But I did let her know that you were not merely a casual

sexual fling.'

He sighed, then said flatly, 'This worried her. She had lost Kostas to

your sister. She was afraid that she would lose me to you, so she

decided to send you away, and use the bracelet she knew I had bought

you from Athens as some kind of—kiss-off payment.' He paused.

'When I found you'd gone, and she admitted what she had done, I

could not believe it. You see,
agape mou,
I had convinced myself that

you were in love with me, and it seemed impossible that you should

have given credence to what she had told you and just—left. I thought

that you would have contacted me somehow, if not from .the villa

then at least when you changed planes at Athens, and asked for an

explanation,

or

told

me

where

you

were

going—an

address—something. If Philippides had not happened to call the firm

you used to work for, who told him where you were staying, it might

have been weeks before I found you.'

Harriet stared down at a minute fleck on one of her nails as if

mesmerised by it. She could not speak.

Alex went on, 'And then Spiro told me reluctantly about this man you

had mentioned, and it seemed to explain why there had been no

message—not even a word of goodbye. I felt sick to my stomach, so I

took myself to Athens and got very drunk.'

She found her voice. 'And your mistress in Athens? What about her?'

'Spiro again,' he said savagely. 'No, Harriet, I did not visit Penelope. I

had already said goodbye to her on a previous occasion. She knew

from the start of our relationship that it would end as soon as I met the

woman I intended to marry.'

'Poor Penelope! Did you get her a bracelet too?'

He swore. 'No, I did not! I bought your bracelet, not as a farewell, but

to fasten round your wrist when I asked you to marry me, you little

fool!'

She said slowly, 'You—wanted to marry me?'

'Why do you speak as if it is in the past?' he asked impatiently. 'Yes, I

want to marry you. Why else should I be here? I told myself that this

man could not mean anything to you, that if he had, you could not

have surrendered to me as you did, my sweet one.'

He took a step towards her, and she shrank back against the cushions.

'Don't come near me!'

For a moment he stared at her, then he gave a slight shrug and sat

down at the other end of the sofa. Perversely, Harriet was

disappointed. She needed to keep a clear head, and if he touched her

again, she would melt, she would die, but on the other hand she

desperately needed him to take her in his arms and kiss away all the

doubts, unhappiness and sheer panic which were making her

wretched.

He had said he was not going to marry Maria, that he intended to

marry her, and she could have been dazzled by that—except that

there still had been no word of love.

That was what she had to remember. And that he had said he thought

she loved him, which meant he was probably convinced she would

fall into his arms without question.

She asked steadily, 'Why do you want to marry me? For—Nicky's

sake?'

He smiled, it would solve many problems, as I am sure you agree.'

She bit her lip. 'And that's all?' she asked tautly.

The smile widened, and his dark eyes moved lingeringly over her

body. 'Why, no,' he said softly. 'Perhaps—also—to give my child a

name.'

'I'm not pregnant,' she snapped, and he threw back his head and

laughed.

'But then you still have not heard my plans for the remainder of the

evening,
agape mou.'

'And I'm not going to bed with you either.' She was back on the

defensive again.

He lifted his brows. 'No? Then it will prove a very frustrating

marriage for us both.'

Harriet snatched up her bag and got to her feet, her heart, thudding

painfully. 'There'll be no marriage,' she said. 'You—you've had the

talk you wanted, so please may I go now.'

Alex was beside her as she reached the door. He twisted the strap of

her bag from her fingers and tossed it aside, then picked her up in his