She was also aware that the older woman’s harebell gaze had carried out a lightning assessment of everything she was wearing, costing it to the last penny. But she still wasn’t sure she’d passed muster.
I’m just not glamorous enough, she thought, and swallowed.
‘Do come in,’ Mark went on. ‘May we offer you some coffee?’
‘That would be pleasant.’ Mrs Melrose walked into the sitting room and deposited herself decoratively on the sofa. Not many women of her age could pout and get away with it, thought Tallie, but she managed it somehow. ‘I did hope that our conversation would be a private one. Is there any reason for your … little friend to be present?’
Mark looked surprised. ‘She lives here,’ he said. ‘With me. Perhaps I should have made that clear.’
‘Perhaps you should.’ The husky voice had acquired a metallic edge. She gave a little laugh. ‘Well, well. The eternal bachelor caught at last. And in such a young and charming trap. How fascinating.’
Tallie said coolly, ‘I don’t think Mark feels particularly trapped. I’ll fetch the coffee.’
‘You seem to have made yourself quite at home,’ Veronica commented as she returned, placing the tray on the table. ‘Although you clearly haven’t had a chance to put your own stamp on it yet—whatever that might be.’ As she accepted the coffee Tallie handed to her, she flicked a disparaging glance round the room. ‘But it so needs updating.’ She looked at Mark. ‘Kit told me he was astonished you hadn’t brought in a decent decorator by now.’
‘And is he equally amazed by Australia?’ Mark enquired politely. He reached up a hand and pulled Tallie down on to the sofa beside him. ‘I assume you’ve heard from him.’
‘Indeed I have.’ Veronica jerked upright as if a steel pole had suddenly replaced her spine. ‘He’s been telephoning me nearly every day. He’s having the most appalling time, stuck at this vineyard which seems to be miles from anywhere else. The weather’s disgusting—apparently it’s winter—and he actually saw a snake.’
She shuddered. ‘He should never have gone there.’ She gave Mark a look that wasn’t remotely seductive. ‘But I have you to thank for that.’
‘Difficult to see how,’ he returned indifferently. ‘When I was at the back of beyond myself, and in a totally different continent. Besides, didn’t you sweet-talk poor Charles into taking him on at Melrose and Sons?’
Her crimson mouth tightened impatiently. ‘I meant Kit should have taken his rightful place by now in his father’s company.’
‘I didn’t tell him to abandon his engineering course at university,’ Mark said shortly. ‘That was all his own idea. But if he’d stuck to it, he’d have found himself in places he’d have liked even less than Australia.’
‘There must be projects in this country too.’ She waved a vague hand. ‘Hotels, leisure complexes, shopping malls. Something he could have enjoyed.’
‘But we’re committed to roads, bridges and hydro-electric schemes,’ Mark said gently. ‘Long-term developments which will help rather more people.’
Veronica shrugged. ‘Until they choose to blow them up, of course.’ She added with a touch of malice, ‘Isn’t that what happened on your last site?’
‘A temporary set-back,’ Mark drawled. ‘And now that the fighting seems to be over, we’ll be going back to the Ubilisi to finish what we started.’
Tallie stared at him. When she spoke, she found her voice was shaking. ‘But that’s dangerous, surely. The previous government’s been overthrown, and the new regime tried to kill you when you were there before. You only just got out last time.’
There was an odd silence, then Veronica gave a tinkling laugh. ‘Why, Mark, the child is seriously concerned about you. How terribly sweet.’ She looked at Tallie. ‘But a complete waste of time, my dear. Mark is a law unto himself, and he actually revels in charging off to remote corners of the globe, turning disasters into triumphs. No one woman could possibly offer a viable alternative to that sort of buzz.’
She paused. ‘But that does not mean Kit has to do the same. He can’t possibly stay where he is, when he’s so wretched. He needs to come home, and find work in this country.’
She paused again. ‘So, I thought you might offer him a job. It’s full time he learned about the company, especially when you’re still hurling yourself into the world’s trouble spots. After all, Kit is your nearest male relative, and if something were to … happen, he’d be your heir.’
‘You think so?’ Mark’s tone was dry. He slid his arm round Tallie’s waist, smiling down at her. ‘But all that might change very soon.’
‘Good God.’ Veronica’s eyes swept over Tallie’s slim figure with disbelief. ‘You mean …’
‘I mean nothing yet,’ Mark returned easily, as Tallie sat rigidly beside him, not knowing where to look. ‘But we’re working on it.’ He paused. ‘And there are no vacancies at Benedicts that would pay Kit the kind of salary he’d clearly expect, or make use of his extremely limited skills.
‘We market our expertise, Veronica, trouble-shooting difficult engineering projects all over the world. Believe me, your son is better off where he is. And, if he works, he might even get promotion eventually.’
‘I see.’ The coffee cup rattled in its saucer as Veronica replaced it on the table. ‘Then there’s nothing more to be said.’ Her look lasered Tallie. ‘However, I do hope you’re going to make up for my disappointment by offering me a bed for the night. I’m dining with friends this evening and I have an early dental appointment tomorrow morning.’ She looked from one to the other. ‘You do have a spare room? I’m sure Kit has mentioned it.’
‘I’m certain he has.’ Mark shrugged. ‘But Natalie’s currently using it as an office. Besides, I thought you always stayed at The Ritz.’
‘I do, but Charles is being very difficult at the moment. Says we have to cut back on our spending.’ The pout reappeared and the blue eyes rested smilingly on Mark. ‘I didn’t think you’d begrudge me just one night.’
‘Except,’ Mark said gently, ‘that Natalie and I are enjoying our privacy, and really don’t wish it to be interrupted, not even by the most understanding guest.’
‘My dear Mark—such unwonted concentration on one woman. I can hardly believe my ears. I think the best thing I can do is go, and leave you in peace.’ At the door, she turned. ‘And please don’t worry. There’ll be other nights, I’m sure.’
When Mark returned from showing her out, Tallie was still seated on the sofa, staring into space.
She said, ‘That was awful.’
‘It’s also over.’
‘Is it?’ She looked up at him. ‘Your stepmother doesn’t seem to think so. If I was genuinely involved with you, I’d be starting to wonder.’
‘But as you’re not,’ he said coldly, ‘you need not concern yourself.’ He picked up the coffee tray and carried it to the kitchen. After a moment or two, she followed.
‘I’m sorry.’ Her voice faltered a little. ‘That was wrong of me. I don’t really believe that … you … that you and Veronica …’
‘Thanks for the vote of confidence.’ His tone was dry. ‘It’s slightly gutting to find someone thinks you can be that much of a bastard.’
‘Yes.’ The word had a hollow ring, the image of Hugo Cantrell large in her mind.
‘Well,