The Unexpected Baby(37)

‘And ecstatic, I would imagine,’ he went on coldly, ‘to discover you could still bring me to my knees with wanting you.’

He gave her a hard look as her face crawled with colour. ‘Don’t fret about it. I deserved the lesson. I should have known better. A few days ago you “let slip”—’ his mouth curled derisively ‘—that you still loved me. At the time I wondered what your twisted mind was plotting. I stopped believing in your love when I learned of your pregnancy. And last night you let me have the truth right between the eyes. You don’t love me, and you never did.’ He shot another impatient look at his watch. ‘I have to go. And before you start accusing me of cowardice, I do have an important meeting in half an hour.’

At her quick frown he drawled, ‘Check with my secretary if you don’t believe me. I phoned in yesterday afternoon and heard that a gem dealer from Amsterdam is in town. I got her to set up a meeting. A deal with him, provided the terms are right, would be important enough to convince even Catherine that I needed to break into my wonderful honeymoon. I’ll get in touch with Simms and he can pick me up when I’m ready to go back to Netherhaye.’

He was already at the door, on his way, but he told her in the same breath, ‘As you appear to be—amazingly—worried about living a lie, I’ll give you something to think about. I refuse to lie to Catherine about the true parentage of her coming grandchild. Sam was her whole world, so she’ll be delighted to know she’ll be able to hold his child one day. So who’s going to break the news? And how do we square that within the framework of our blissful marriage? Because that is what it will appear to be on the surface—not for your sake, and God knows not for mine. But for hers, and the child’s.’

He looked at her with withering scorn. ‘A tough one, isn’t it? I think I’ll leave it all to you. With your devious mind you should be able to come up with something to convince her!’

She’d had enough—taken too much! She knew her pregnancy had hurt him, and her heart bled for him. But, dammit, he wouldn’t believe her side of the story—just closed his mind to everything but hatred!

Colour flamed on her face, and he was part-way out of the door when she grated at him, ‘I’ll tell her the truth. It will be a relief to speak to someone who’ll do me the courtesy of really listening and believing me, because you dam well won’t. If you had ever loved me you would!’

And she fled into her room, locking the door, flinging herself face-down on the bed, taking her rage, frustration and pain out on the pillows. She heard him knocking but shrieked at him to go away, and eventually he must have done, because when she finally pulled herself together the suite was achingly silent.

Drained of all emotion now, she sluiced her face in the bathroom and tied back her hair. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw defeat.

He had the truth, but he couldn’t or wouldn’t believe it. Her pregnancy meant he didn’t want to.

Quickly, before she could sink herself in a mire of misery, she checked her room. Time to go.

She wasn’t looking forward to the drive. City streets were a nightmare, the roads out of town would probably be crowded, and she’d never driven anything so powerful as that Jaguar.

And the thought of having to act all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for her mother-in-law’s benefit when she finally made it back to Netherhaye made her feel positively ill.

Her mouth firmed. She had to get a grip. Stop being such a wimp. It wasn’t like her to get hysterical, throw childish tantrums, lose all her backbone. She thought of Jed, sitting in that meeting, negotiating yet another dazzling deal, putting her out of his mind quite easily because why think about his devious tramp of a wife when he didn’t actually have to?

It helped. If he could block her out and get on with his life then she could do the same.

Picking up her bag, she went through to the sitting room to collect the car keys, and Jed, sprawled out in one of the armchairs, drawled, ‘Tantrum over?’

Elena felt as if she was coming unstitched. Just when she thought she’d got herself together again, he popped up and undid all her work. She swallowed thickly. ‘You’ll be late for your precious meeting.’

‘I’ve rescheduled it for this evening—a working dinner.’ He shrugged impressively broad shoulders and hauled himself to his feet. He took her overnight bag and told her, ‘I never knew you could get hysterical if you didn’t get your own way. One of the joys of being newly wed? Learning something different about one’s partner every day?’