His After-Hours Mistress(13)

Ginny folded her arms and paced up and down. 'Maybe you do, but that  didn't give you the right to follow us. Besides, I can take care of  myself,' she insisted, ending up before him and glaring at him frostily.

Roarke smiled, but it was far from pleasant. 'I'm glad to hear it, but  if I hear him threatening you again I'll knock him into the middle of  next week, and I won't ask your permission first.'

The statement so surprised her that Ginny blinked at him. 'You'll what?'

Roarke continued to look grimly purposeful. 'You heard me.'

Nobody had ever come to her defence before. Ginny had always fought a  lonely battle, for herself and her brother and sister, and to have  someone say what he just had drained her anger and left her more than a  little bemused. She sat down a tad hurriedly on the parapet.

'But I'm not your responsibility, Roarke,' she felt compelled to remind him, to which he shot her a level look.

'You're my responsibility if I choose to make you so … and I do choose to make you so.'

That caused her to laugh mockingly. 'Oh, yeah? You don't even like me!'

Roarke shrugged. 'You're growing on me,' he admitted, and moved round to  rest against the wall beside her. 'So that's your family, huh?'

She pulled a face. 'Not any more. You heard the Brigadier say so  himself.' It felt strange to be talking openly about them after all  these years. Because it had hurt so much to be cut off from them, it had  been easier not to talk about them at all. By overhearing what he had,  Roarke had just broken down that barrier too. Though she hated that he  knew, he was one person she had no need to lie to now. Surprisingly,  that gave her a new-found sense of freedom.

Roarke glanced at her sideways. 'Why do you call him Brigadier?'

'Because he was never a father. He issued orders, or gave us rules and  regulations which had to be followed to the letter and, if we didn't,  privileges were withdrawn. Our friends had to be vetted before they were  allowed in the house. We were his family, but he treated us as if we  were part of the army.'

'Charming man,' Roarke remarked scathingly. 'I'm not surprised you rebelled. I'm just surprised you stayed so long.'

'It wasn't through lack of nerve,' she hastily justified herself. 'If I  had run away they would only have brought me back home, and that would  have been worse. So I decided to wait it out until I was old enough to  leave. It was while I was waiting that I met Mark the Snake,' she added,  keeping her tone level with an effort.

'There are a lot of those around,' Roarke pronounced wryly. 'It isn't  always easy to pick the good guys from the bad guys, sweetheart. For one  thing, the bad guys have good camouflage.'

Ginny shot him a whimsical look. 'Where were you when I needed some good advice?' she asked sardonically, and he chuckled.                       
       
           



       

'Creating my own kind of hell, probably. Do I take it your romance with Mark the Snake followed the usual pattern?'

Ginny had never thought she would find anything amusing about the past,  but Roarke's comments made her smile and eased the remembered sense of  despair. 'You do. I thought he loved me, but the Brigadier was quite  right. All he wanted was the money that would come with me. When I was  cut off he vanished quicker than you can say it.' Leaving her pregnant  and without the means to support herself, but she wasn't ready to talk  about that to Roarke yet.

'Snakes have a habit of doing that. You were better off without him in the long run,' Roarke observed evenly, and Ginny nodded.

'True, but I was still living short term. There were … complications.' She  had struggled on, but it had been a downward path which had eventually  sent her back to her family, only to be rejected because she wouldn't  give up her baby. She shivered at the memory and took a slightly ragged  breath. 'It was the worst time of my life and I prefer not to think  about it.'

Roarke nodded. 'I can understand that. You have to move on.'

His understanding was unexpected but welcome. 'I made another life for myself and I thought I'd left the past behind.'

'Until you discovered your brother is marrying my sister,' he mused thoughtfully.

'Seeing the Brigadier again after all these years was a nasty shock. I couldn't think why he would be here,' Ginny confirmed.

'I can't say I like the sound of the family Caroline's marrying into.'

Ginny could well understand his concern. He cared about his family, and  wouldn't want his sister to walk into the lion's den. She glanced down  at her fingers, knowing it was within her means to put his mind at rest.  It would mean revealing more of herself to a stranger, but the thought  of doing nothing didn't sit easily with her.

'Listen, I can talk to her if you like. Tell her what my father can be  like. She's in no danger, though. After all, she's the good connection  the Brigadier wants for his son. If she produces an heir in nine months'  time, she'll be his pride and joy.'

Roarke glanced at her downbent head. 'A legitimate heir,' he said  gently, and Ginny stiffened at the reminder. Her eyes darted to his, saw  the ready sympathy there, and rejected it. He was going too far. She  jumped to her feet, crossing her arms and taking a hasty step away.

'Don't even think of going there, Roarke. You overheard things that were  none of your business. The subject isn't open for discussion,' she told  him forthrightly, her eyes sending sparks his way as she looked at him.

'I merely wanted to say I'm sorry about your baby.'

Ginny fashioned a shrug of sorts, although her heart twisted painfully. 'It was a long time ago.'

Roarke shook his head. 'Sweetheart, it was only yesterday for you, and  always will be,' he countered gently, bringing a lump to her throat and  tears to her eyes.

She held up a hand to silence him. 'So help me, Roarke, if you say  another word … ' Her throat closed over at that point, and she turned her  face away, closing her eyes, pressing her lips together tightly to still  their trembling.

She didn't hear him rise and come up behind her, just the gentle touch of his hands on her shoulders.

'Forgive me. I'm not usually so crass,' he apologised and his thumbs took up a sensuous circling motion.

'You weren't crass. You were trying to be kind, and I thank you for that, but I'd rather just forget this whole episode.'

Ginny knew she ought to shrug him away, but his touch was giving off an  incredible amount of warmth that was sending tingles through her  bloodstream. It had the strange effect of making her want to lean back  against him. It was very tempting, hypnotically so, and she might even  have done it if a couple hadn't walked out of the open door, laughing at  something someone had said. She was brought back to the present with a  jolt.

'Hey! Cut that out!' she ordered immediately.

Stepping away from him, so that his hands fell to his sides, she asked  herself just what she thought she was doing letting him touch her at  all, let alone leaning in to him! He was the man she loved to hate,  though she had to admit there were aspects of him which weren't as bad  as she had thought. Her heightened emotions were no doubt playing tricks  on her after the encounter with her father.

Roarke held up his hands and backed off. 'Sorry. I thought you liked it.'

She had, but that was hardly the point. 'Look, I know you were trying to help, but keep your hands to yourself in future.'                       
       
           



       

He winced and glanced towards the couple who were strolling towards  them. 'OK, OK, just keep your voice down. We're supposed to be an item,  remember?'

How could she forget? 'We'd better go in,' she suggested.

'Are you still willing to talk to my sister?'

'Of course.' Ginny wasn't about to withdraw her offer. Caroline needed to know what she was taking on.

'Let's go find her, then.' He led the way to the door, but halted short of entering the crowded room. 'Wait a second.'

Ginny halted obediently. 'What's wrong?'

He grinned wolfishly. 'Nothing-just checking you look as if we've been up to something.'

Ginny shot him a withering look. 'Well, do I?'

'Don't worry-only you, me and Sir Martin know what really went on. To the rest you look interestingly mussed.'

'Oh, good!'

Taking her arm, he slipped it through his and laughed huskily. 'Behave yourself, we're about to walk out on stage again.'

Ginny rolled her eyes, then plastered a smile to her lips. 'If I wish  you to break a leg, you won't misunderstand my meaning, will you?' she  hissed out of the side of her mouth.

'Ouch!' Roarke laughed again and they stepped inside.





CHAPTER FIVE




UNFORTUNATELY Ginny and Roarke didn't get the chance to talk to Caroline  before the party wound down. They mingled and waited and watched, but  James stayed firmly by his fiancée's side, making it impossible for them  to speak to her freely.

'We'll catch up with her later, after the others have gone to bed,' Roarke decided as the clock slowly ticked towards midnight.