‘The M11—this is a fast route to Loughton,’ he told her as she looked around in some doubt. Where on earth was he taking her? How much further were they going? Before she could ask he said, ‘Do you know Heston’s wife?’
She gave him a wary look. Was he going to give her a third degree on the subject of Mrs Heston?
‘Not really. I’ve met her once or twice, but she prefers to live in the country, with their children, whereas Don spends the week in town, in his flat, and only goes home at weekends.’
‘From what Sara told me, he goes home very rarely.’
She turned to look at his profile and found it unusually sombre in the bright lightning flashes of the motorway light as they drove very fast along the outside lane. A lock of his light brown hair flopped over his temples; his mouth was straight, his jaw taut, his blue eyes hidden by drooping lids as he stared straight ahead.
‘You know her well?’ She had picked up something yesterday, at lunch. Don had been odd when Matt Hearne mentioned his wife and Bianca’s instincts had prickled with a sense of something not being said.
‘No, I only met her recently, but by a strange coincidence I found out she was at school with my wife.’
So that was it! thought Bianca. If Matt Hearne had loved his wife and still missed her it would have meant something important for him to meet an old school-friend of hers. What irony for Don to target Matt’s firm soon afterwards!
‘Sara Heston’s a very special person.’
Had he seen her again, since that first meeting, or had there only been that one occasion?
‘She deserves better than being married to Heston,’ Matt Hearne murmured, half to himself. ‘But maybe you don’t agree?’
Coldly, Bianca said, ‘I don’t know her, I have no opinion.’ Except that no woman deserved to be married to a selfish bastard like Don, but she would not say that to him.
Don was her boss, nothing more. She preferred to stay out of his private life.
He made no comment on that, slowing down and moving over to leave the motorway. ‘We’re turning off here. It isn’t far now.’
‘I was beginning to wonder if we’d ever get there!’
They were out in the country a moment later, driving between hedges of hawthorn in white flower, a beaten crescent moon rising in the cloudless sky, touching the edge of a forest, giving the dark interior a mysterious gleam, silvering church spires, windows and the roofs of cottages.
‘Magical,’ murmured Bianca, and he gave her one of his slow, charming smiles. Her heart appeared to have developed a disturbing flutter. Or had she swallowed one of the moths that were flying around them as Matt slowed to take another corner?
Before he had completed the turn another car flashed past along the lane they were entering. The driver was going far too fast. Matt had to brake violently to avoid a collision. Bianca was flung forward and almost hit the dashboard; was held only by her seat belt.
‘What an idiot!’ Matt angrily said. ‘Are you okay?’ He moved closer, his face concerned, helping her to sit back again. ‘You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?’
‘No, I’m fine,’ she said huskily, her heart racing with shock. It couldn’t be beating so fast just because this man had touched her?
He looked into her eyes with a slow, sensual gaze that made her pulses flicker and leap.
‘You’re out of breath,’ he murmured, and her mouth went dry.
‘Shock,’ she said hoarsely.
He smiled. ‘I feel the same.’
And neither of them was talking about the near-miss they had just had.
From between their seats a phone began to ring, making her nerves go haywire all over again. After a few seconds Matt slowly leaned down to pick up the receiver.
‘Matt Hearne.’ His voice was curt, breathless.
Bianca couldn’t hear what was being said to him, but she saw his face changing. In the moonlight he suddenly looked pale, or was she imagining that? Was it just moonlight on his skin?
‘How serious is it?’
Another pause while he listened, and he was definitely pale, his features tense.
‘No!’ he abruptly said. ‘Please, don’t do that. I am on my way now; I should be there in about half an hour. Could you stay there until I arrive? Leave her in bed; don’t wake her up.’
He listened again, briefly, then said, ‘Thank you, Mrs Morley. I’ll get there as soon as humanly possible.’
He pushed the phone back down between the seats and started to drive much faster between the high, flowering hedges.
‘Look, I’m sorry, Bianca, I have to cancel dinner. That was a neighbour ringing to tell me my mother has been taken to hospital with appendicitis and will be having an operation at once. But don’t worry; I’ll stop somewhere en route and find you a taxi to take you back to London.’
Quickly she protested, ‘I can get a train. Don’t worry about me. I hope your mother’s operation is successful and she recovers quickly.’
‘So do I,’ he said in heartfelt tones. ‘At the moment, it isn’t just my mother I’m worrying about. My little girl is asleep upstairs in the house. The police wanted to take her off to a foster home for the night. I want to get there fast to stop that happening. She would be petrified. She’s far too young to understand. All she would know was that strangers were taking her away from her home in the middle of the night.’
Bianca could imagine how scared the little girl would be, and why Matt wanted to make sure his child didn’t have such a shock. ‘How old is she?’
‘Three.’ The car roared on along the empty country lanes; he really had his foot down. She watched the needle flickering upwards; he was doing eighty miles an hour.
‘Oh, poor baby!’ Bianca said with sympathy. ‘It would be a nightmare for her, wouldn’t it? Couldn’t your neighbour take care of her?’
He sighed. ‘She’s eighty years old. She couldn’t possibly cope with Lisa. No, I shall have to collect her, take her back to my flat, and in the morning find someone to take care of her for the moment. The problem is, I want to go to the hospital, too, to see my mother, and I can hardly take Lisa with me. And tomorrow’s Saturday; it won’t be easy to find a temporary nanny during the weekend.’
‘What about your sister? You do have a sister, don’t you?’
He gave her a dry look. ‘I imagine you’ve been looking for her in the hope of buying her shares. Yes, I have a sister, but I have no idea where she is at present. She’s probably abroad somewhere.’
‘Haven’t you got a mother-in-law?’
‘I had one, but she died last year. She never recovered from Aileen’s death. She had a heart attack in bed one night and was found dead in the morning. And I have no other relatives to take Lisa, unhappily. Neither my wife nor I came from big families. But I can look after Lisa myself, tonight, although this comes at the worst possible time, with all the workload of the take-over to deal with.’
‘I could look after her tonight,’ offered Bianca before she even knew what she was going to say. Her mouth had opened of its own accord and out the words had popped. Instantly she realised what a stupid offer it had been. What did she know about taking care of small children? She had never had anything to do with children. Hadn’t she got enough to do without taking on such a responsibility?
But it was too late to have second thoughts or doubts. Slowing down, Matt Hearne looked round into her eyes again, smiling.
‘You’re an angel. Thank you. That would be an enormous help.’