Kynan nodded. ‘Are you always such a dutiful daughter? You seemed to be quite pleased with the idea.’
‘I’m a good actress.’
He smiled openly at her tart tone. It made him look considerably less formidable. ‘A natural,’ he agreed. ‘So...you don’t really like me at all?’
‘Should I?’
‘Ouch!’ he murmured. ‘What should I do? Go down on my knees?’
She could hardly imagine it. ‘You could start by moving away from the door.’
For a second or two he stayed there, then he unfolded his arms and stood aside, waiting.
Briar took an uncertain step forward, and Kynan leaned over and turned the handle, throwing the door wide.
‘Thank you,’ she said, sweeping past him into the passageway.
He closed the door and came to her side, saying nothing as they returned to the other room.
Some people were leaving, and Kynan took her arm in a light hold, drawing her closer to him to make way for them. Her father and Laura were seeing them out, Xavier casting Briar and Kynan a sharp glance.
‘I should be going, too,’ Kynan murmured. ‘I think I may have outstayed my welcome.’
She gave him a sarcastic look, and he laughed. ‘I’ll go home and find some sackcloth and ashes,’ he promised. ‘Can you bear to say goodnight to me civilly?’
Briar regarded him stony-faced. It seemed to her he was taking the whole thing rather casually. He was doubtless used to charming birds from trees when he took a mind to it, but it would take more than a smile and a careless apology to mollify her. ‘Goodnight,’ she said, and held out her hand.
He looked down at it, smiling faintly, before he took it in his. ‘Goodnight, Briar.’ He turned her hand over, and raised her fingers fleetingly to his lips. She felt the warm brush of his mouth against her skin, and some unidentifiable sensation passed through her body. Then he released her and went to say goodnight to her father and stepmother.
* * *
Next day two huge florist’s bouquets arrived at the house. One was addressed to Laura, with a card thanking her for dinner and an enjoyable evening, signed Kynan Roth. The other was for Briar.
She opened the envelope and read the card. There was nothing on it but his name. She supposed it was a reinforcement of his apology.
‘Aren’t they lovely?’ Laura breathed in the scent of pink roses and carnations as she arranged them in a white porcelain vase. ‘That’s a man with style!’ She looked sidelong at Briar. ‘Did you...get along with him?’
‘Does it matter?’ Briar asked, tucking the card back into its envelope. Her bouquet featured yellow irises and deep creamy roses shading to gold in the centre. She wondered if he’d chosen the flowers himself.
‘Oh, no! Not specially. Your father seemed to think...’ Laura pushed a tall carnation into the vase, and the stem snapped in two. ‘Oh, I’m so clumsy!’
‘You’re not. It was too long,’ Briar pointed out absently. ‘What’s going on, Laura? Has Dad told you?’
‘He doesn’t tell me about his business affairs, you know that. But something has been bothering him.’ Laura twiddled with the broken stem she had pulled from the vase, then dropped it and picked up the piece with the flower on it, regarding the arrangement uncertainly.
‘What did he say?’
‘Nothing much at all,’ Laura said quickly. ‘But I know he’s worried.’
‘Financial problems?’ Kynan Roth had said so, but why should she believe him? Her father had always been successful. Some years ago he had moved from straight accountancy to setting up a financial advice and investment service. He was regarded as a man who knew where the best deals were to be made. Lawyers and accountants often referred to him clients who had some money set aside and were unsure as to where to invest it.
‘I suppose so,’ Laura said. ‘When I asked him what was the matter he said there’s been a downturn in the share-market, but he’s sure things will straighten themselves out.’
‘Is he hoping to attract some investment money from Kynan Roth?’
‘I don’t know. He said more than once that he couldn’t afford to lose Mr Roth, so I was to make sure he enjoyed himself and that there were no slip-ups last night. But knowing how important it was just made me go to pieces.’
‘You did fine.’
‘Do you think so? I must admit that Mr Roth was perfectly nice, although something about the man makes me nervous. It was kind of him to send flowers. Didn’t you like him?’
‘Not specially,’ Briar answered crisply. ‘Did Dad say that he wanted me to...?’
‘What?’ Laura turned enquiring blue eyes on her.
‘Never mind, it wasn’t important.’ Laura was inclined to make a big worry out of quite trivial things. She might have blown up a casual remark out of proportion to its real significance, Briar told herself. It wouldn’t be the first time.
Of course her father hadn’t set her up with Kynan. Not deliberately. He might have had some vague hope that if they took to each other it would make a business arrangement easier to bring about. He certainly hadn’t been asking her to sell herself in return for some of Kynan’s money.
* * *
Over lunch, Xavier asked her, ‘How did you get on with Kynan Roth?’
She looked up from her salad. ‘All right.’ And bluntly she asked, ‘Why?’
‘No particular reason. I thought you might enjoy meeting someone nearer your age...’
‘I meet people my age all the time,’ Briar said. ‘Who exactly is Kynan Roth, anyway?’
‘He’s been overseas for a number of years—he was chief executive of a big Australian steel firm. When his father died last year he came home to take over the family company. Created quite a stir. Bit of a whiz-kid.’
‘Quite a number of whiz-kids lost their shirts in the last crash, didn’t they?’ Briar commented.
‘Yes, indeed. Got caught on the market with their pants down. Young idiots who flew around in their corporate jets taking over companies and throwing champagne parties every time their shares doubled in value.’ Xavier’s lips curled distastefully. ‘Roth’s not that sort. The business has a rock-solid base, manufacturing plants that have been in the family for a long time. He brought new ideas back with him and expanded the original company. Old money and business acumen are a winning combination.’
‘Big money?’
‘Hundreds of millions. Low profile, like his father, but it’s there, all right.’
‘He said you need cash.’
Xavier looked at her sharply. ‘When did he say that?’
‘Last night, when I was showing him the Heaphy. Is that why you asked me to be nice to him?’
A dull flush rose in Xavier’s neck. ‘He’s a useful contact, just like all the others who were here last night.’
‘As a possible source of quick money?’
Laura put down her fork. ‘Do you want some more ham, Briar?’
‘This is business, Briar,’ her father said dismissively. ‘You wouldn’t understand.’
Briar’s glance at her stepmother was apologetic, but she turned again to her father. ‘Just how important to you is this man?’
Xavier replied testily, ‘Nothing to worry about.