After the Affair(33)

'Hugo's a lamb,' Dan countered in mock disagreement.

'More like a wolf in sheep's clothing,' Cassie joined in.

Mrs Bertram cackled. 'Oh, I like that one!'

'Are you women ganging up on me already? Watch it, Mrs B.—I could always hire a male housekeeper.'

Mrs Bertram laughed some more. 'I don't think you will, Mr McKay,' she said, glancing back at Cassie as she walked from the room. 'Not with that lovely bride of yours.'

Cassie blushed as Dan's eyes swung on to hers, their black depths engulfing her with a sudden, hot intimacy. 'She might be right there,' he drawled. 'Maybe I should even hire a woman pilot. What do you think?'

'Your bride might object to that,' Cassie retorted without thinking.

'Would she?' Dan murmured, holding her eyes, probing, as if wondering whether she cared enough to be jealous...or possessive.

Mrs Bertram popped her head inside the door. 'Anyone for more coffee?'

They both declined, but the intimate moment was broken.

'I have to make a few business calls after breakfast,' Dan explained once Mrs Bertram had gone. 'I'm sorry to leave you alone, but I don't want to be bothered with anything while we're away. The helicopter will be here around eleven, and we should be at the Regent in time for lunch.'

Cassie's heart skipped a beat. 'The Regent? Is that where we're staying?'

'Yes... Didn't I tell you before? Sorry. I've been staying there occasionally since ‑' He broke off, his jaw clenched down hard, his chest rising and falling in an impatient sigh.

Since...? Since when? Cassie worried. What was Dan thinking about to give him that strained look?

He looked up at her, his expression now one of schooled blandness. 'It's a very good hotel. You'll like it, I'm sure.'

Her palms were clammy where they gripped the cutlery. 'What...what should I pack? Clothes-wise...'

Dan picked up his coffee-cup and drained it. 'What? Oh, yes...clothes. . Without batting, an eyelid he said, 'As little as possible.'

Her blush was instantaneous. Dan frowned, then laughed. But it was not a light laugh. It had a harsh edge. 'Sorry. I wasn't trying to embarrass you. The helicopter has a weight problem when it carries two passengers. Not only that...' He hesitated.

'What?'

'I couldn't help noticing when you brought over your clothes that you don't own much in the way of feminine finery. I'll take you shopping this afternoon. I know you don't care for extravagances, but I have a mind to see my wife in designer labels.' He smiled, and again the gesture did not carry much warmth.

Cassie's whole insides tightened. 'If that's what you want...'

His black eyes swept over her, and he muttered something under his breath. There was a slight shake of his head as he got to his feet, as if he were annoyed with himself, but when he looked up at her next his smile was quite charming. 'Haven't you got some phone calls to make as well?' he asked. 'I heard you tell your mother you would ring and let her know where we'd be staying. And I suppose you'll want to ring Roger about the horse.'

Cassie nodded.

'Better get a move on, then. It's nearly ten already.'

He turned away from the table and strode from the room, leaving Cassie to sit alone and worry. Why had Dan's moods changed so? First when she'd mentioned the studio, then later, when he'd been telling her about the Regent.

What had he been going to say about the hotel? Probably that he'd stayed there on and off since Roberta died, she decided.

Cassie vividly remembered his pained look, and the way he'd had to choke off his words. Had he loved his wife that much?

Cassie blocked out the surge of jealousy and tried to face facts. What was the truth about their affair all those years ago? Had Dan really been getting a divorce, or had his marriage just been going through a bad patch, with his finding comfort in Cassie's arms, only to race back to his wife as soon as she needed him?

In the light of Dan's new and kinder manner, Cassie now wanted to know, really know, for it was impossible to found a marriage on misunderstandings and lies. Better she know the truth too, ho matter how it hurt.

Had he somehow loved them both, she mused, but had ultimately chosen the woman he'd felt he owed the most allegiance to?

Cassie clung to this most hopeful of the possibilities, reassuring herself that, while Dan had chosen his wife, he had at least tried to let her down as lightly as possible. Under those circumstances, he wouldn't have mentioned his wife in that letter he'd written. Neither would he have dreamt of Cassie getting pregnant. That had been her stupidity!

No...to be fair, Dan was not as black a character as she had believed all these years, Cassie now decided generously.

But, given this line of thought, why had he been annoyed when she'd mentioned the studio?

Cassie sighed. She was doing it again, going round and round in circles. And all because they had never really talked, never opened up to each other. There had been too much hurt, too much bitterness, on both sides. They had both been at fault, because they had both felt betrayed; she by Dan's abandonment, he by her keeping him in ignorance of Jason.