‘So you have made up your mind?’
‘Yes,’ he said heavily. ‘We are going to announce it at the ball. I thought it only fair to warn you in advance.’
‘That was thoughtful of you.’ Meagan didn’t even try to keep the sarcasm from her voice. Now she was beginning to feel angry. What a fool she had been to believe that he had feelings for her. Maybe he had until she had told him she couldn’t have children. He probably would have been content to have an affair with her, just as long as it didn’t get in the way of what he wanted. Well, she had stood in the path of a man once. She wasn’t about to do it again.
‘Is that all?’ she said, standing and crossing to the door. All she wanted was for him to leave. She needed time on her own to absorb the news and she was damned if she was going to let him see how much he had hurt her.
‘Meagan, I…’ He stood in front of her and, reaching out, traced her cheekbone with a finger. ‘I never meant to hurt you. God knows, you have been hurt enough.’
Meagan smiled bleakly. ‘Don’t worry, Cameron. I’m a lot tougher than you think. And anyway we both knew it wasn’t serious. People have sex these days all the time without it having to mean anything. So you can relax—I have no intention of trying to stop you. Now, don’t you think you had better be going?’
The day of the ball looked as if it was going to be fine. The last thing Meagan felt like doing was going. But she had to. Colin and Peggy were returning from Australia today and would be going to the ball. They’d expect to see her there. Everyone would expect to see her there. And, anyway, she thought, squaring her shoulders, she wasn’t going to give Rachel the pleasure of knowing how humiliated she felt.
The last couple of weeks had been awful. Seeing Cameron every day, knowing that soon he’d be married to Rachel once more, knowing that very shortly he’d be out of her life for good, was almost unbearable. Pretending that everything was OK, keeping her manner light in front of the staff, had been more difficult than she had expected. She couldn’t help it, but every time she saw him, even caught a glimpse of him, her heart somersaulted.
As she dipped her spoon into the lightly boiled egg she had made for breakfast, she was suddenly overcome by a wave of nausea. She only just made it to the bathroom on time. She sat on the bathroom floor, waiting for the nausea to settle. I wonder what caused that? she thought. Maybe she would have a genuine reason not for not going to the ball. But after a few minutes she felt fine. She was brushing her teeth when she heard Jessie’s cheery voice call out.
‘Hello, hello. Is there a doctor in the house? A corny line, I know, but I always wanted to say that.’ She took one look at Meagan and then was concerned.
‘Hey, I hope you don’t mind me saying, but you look dreadful.’
‘Thanks,’ Meagan said. ‘Those are the words a woman always wants to hear. Don’t worry, I’m fine now, although I think I may be coming down with something.’
‘Oh, don’t say you’re going to miss the ball. I’m so looking forward to introducing you to everyone.’
Meagan had to laugh at Jessie’s downcast expression.
‘I gather the handsome Simon has arrived, then?’
Jessie blushed, then grinned. ‘Is it that obvious?’ she asked. ‘Oh, Meagan, there’s no point. He’s rich—well, relatively speaking—and titled, and I’m just a cook with a small child to support. It’s pointless even thinking about it.’
‘You’re not just a cook,’ Meagan exclaimed. ‘You are a beautiful woman who does what she needs to in order to support her child. And, by the way, you are an excellent cook. How many people can say that?’
‘True, having tasted your cooking when I came to lunch the other day. I’m afraid I can attest to the fact that you are many things, Meagan Galbraith, but a cook is not one of them.’
The two women laughed and Meagan felt slightly better. One good thing at least had come out of her return to the island. She had made a good friend in Jessie. Then, as the realisation dawned that she wouldn’t be here for much longer, her smile faded.
‘What is it, Meagan?’ Jessie asked.
Meagan shook her head. ‘I didn’t want to tell you until after the ball but I won’t be staying here after all. I’ve decided a permanent position is not for me. I’ll stay, of course, until Colin finds someone else.’
‘Oh, Meagan. I’m so sorry. I thought you were happy here. Is it the job? Do you find it boring after the excitement of the big city or working abroad?’
‘You’re forgetting everything that’s happened since I’ve been here,’ Meagan reminded her. ‘Air and sea rescues, emergency surgeries. How could I possibly be bored?’
‘I am going to miss you so much.’ Jessie went over to Meagan and hugged her hard. ‘What does Cameron say? I bet he’s sorry you are leaving.’
Meagan stiffened. ‘I haven’t told him yet. And anyway…’ Meagan bit her lip. She had been about to tell Jessie about Cameron and Rachel and that he was leaving. But it wasn’t her place to tell. A thought struck her. With Cameron gone, Colin would be in a difficult position. It wouldn’t be fair to abandon him too. On the other hand, could she stay with all the memories that were here? And when Cameron and Rachel came back on holiday, as they were bound to do? It would be unbearable.
Jessie was looking at Meagan speculatively. ‘I know, Meagan.’
Meagan looked at her sharply. ‘Know what?’
‘I know that Rachel and Cameron are getting married again. And that they’ll be going away. He told me.’
Meagan felt a wave of relief. For one moment she had thought that Cameron had told Jessie about them. But as soon as she thought it, she knew that Cameron wasn’t that kind of man. He would never share something that wasn’t his to share.
‘Were you surprised?’ Meagan asked.
‘Surprised? That’s putting it mildly. More like gobsmacked, disbelieving, incredulous. What on earth is he thinking?’
Meagan didn’t have to ask—it was clear from not just Jessie’s words but her expression what she thought of Cameron’s announcement. But still she couldn’t resist posing the question. ‘You don’t approve, then?’
‘Approve? How could I? I don’t believe for one minute that either of them is in love with the other. If they ever were. I suspect, although Cameron didn’t say, that it has something to do with Ian.’ Jessie stood up, looked around the room and then sat down again, clearly agitated.
‘You don’t have feelings for him yourself?’ Meagan asked, suddenly curious. How awful that would be.
‘Feelings for Cameron,’ Jessie replied slowly. ‘Of course I have feelings for Cameron. I couldn’t love my own brother more than I love that pig-headed man. That’s why I’m so annoyed. I’ve been wishing for years that he would meet the right woman, someone who shared his passions and interests. Someone who would love him to death.’ She stopped suddenly. ‘Someone very like you, in fact.’ She looked closely at Meagan, her green eyes shrewd.
Meagan blushed under Jessie’s scrutiny, cursing her inability to hide her feelings.
‘Well, well,’ Jessie said, giving a low whistle under her breath. ‘So that’s the way the wind blows, is it?’
It crossed Meagan’s mind to lie. But she had never been a good liar.
‘Please, Jessie. Keep it to yourself. It’s nothing really. And as you said, he’s getting married. So there is absolutely no