‘There’s something else we need to discuss,’ she said quietly. ‘Something very serious.’
She looked up at him. ‘Have you been in to the store—to Latimer’s—this week?’
He frowned. ‘No, I haven’t. I’ve been caught up elsewhere. I’ve been ringing in, of course, but my managers are more than capable of holding the fort. Why do you ask?’
Cryssie’s mouth dried. ‘You’ve not heard anything about any…stealing?’ she said hoarsely.
‘Stealing?’ he repeated curiously. ‘Why on earth should you ask that? There’ve been a couple of incidents of petty pilfering, I believe. That’s all. Nothing important.’
Cryssie took a long, deep breath. ‘I’m afraid it is very important, Jed,’ she said. ‘Because it concerns Polly.’ She looked away for a second, biting her lip, knowing that the words she was going to utter would hurt her like a knife wound. ‘Polly stole a scarf—an expensive scarf—on Sunday…’ Now the words came quickly. ‘She was admiring a rack of them that they’ve got by the main entrance door, and in an act of total and utter stupidity she slipped one of them into her bag.’ Cryssie took another desperate sip from her mug. ‘Of course, the security guard saw her, stopped her, and warned her that she might face prosecution. She’s threatened to kill herself if she ever has to go to court.’ She looked up at Jed, her eyes filling with tears. ‘And the thing is, she wanted the wretched thing for me, not for herself. It was to be a present for me.’
There was a moment’s complete silence as Jed took this in, then, ‘Your poor, poor sister,’ he said quietly. ‘How utterly traumatic for her.’
Cryssie was amazed at the kindness of his remark. ‘How can you say that?’ she asked shakily. ‘She stole…actually stole something. And was caught!’
‘Because Polly is in need of help—of support,’ he replied grimly. ‘She obviously lost all confidence after Milo’s father took off, and she must feel so unwanted, so ineffectual—especially with a sister like you as an example of what she could be worth. Doing something completely out of character is typical behaviour for someone who needs consolation and reassurance.’
He shook his head, and Cryssie could almost—but not quite—have thrown her arms around him. She would never have credited Jeremy Hunter with this level of understanding!
She took a hanky from her pocket and blew her nose. Confessing Polly’s crime had been a terrible thing to do, especially to someone like Jeremy Hunter, and she realised that she’d almost begun to sob. ‘So…’ She sniffed. ‘Now that you know our…dark side, you’ll be wanting to reconsider your proposition. We’re in disgrace and I feel freaked out about it, to be truthful—even though I find it hard to blame my sister.’
Now he caught hold of her again, his voice raw. ‘You idiot, Cryssie,’ he said. ‘Do you really think that my opinion of you is altered in any way by what you’ve just told me? For heaven’s sake, give me some credit, woman!’ He folded his arms around her, and despite her tortured emotions she found herself wallowing in the feel of him, of his arms wrapped around her. ‘On the contrary, this makes my—ambitions—even more worthy of consideration, don’t you agree?’ he murmured. ‘Just think. We can arrange the best possible treatment for Polly—which she is desperately in need of. And as for Milo.’ He released her and turned away for a second. ‘Nothing will be too good for Milo. He’ll go to a top school, have whatever is needed to help him grow into a fully-rounded adult. And not totally influenced by over-protective women all the time.’
The tone of his voice was throbbing, urgent, and, despite being stung by some of his remarks, Cryssie felt herself beginning to let her mind think the unthinkable. Could she really go against all her preconceived notions and go along with his request? But what sort of a union would it be? she asked herself. He’d spelt out all the pros and cons in a way that only someone like Jed Hunter could—but, as always, it did make some sense! Could she honestly afford to turn him down? Yet what woman looked for a sensible marriage? Not that there wouldn’t be moments of passion—he’d demonstrated that side of his nature before—but…love? He didn’t know the meaning of the word. And what was the chilling phrase he’d used when describing his ex-marriage? That his ‘terms and conditions’ didn’t tally? What on earth could that have meant?