Читать книгу The Forbidden Mistress - Anne Mather - Страница 7

O LIVER was standing staring out of the long plate-glass windows of his fourteenth-storey office when the intercom on the desk behind him emitted a low buzz.

Sighing, he turned away from the view of the rain-wet Newcastle streets and strode across the wide expanse of dark blue broadloom to depress the button that connected him with his secretary next door. ‘Yes?’ he said shortly, not welcoming the interruption, and Mrs Clements cleared her throat before replying.

‘It’s your brother, Mr Ferreira,’ she said, momentarily stunning him into silence. ‘I told him you were busy, but he insists that you’ll see him.’ She paused. ‘Will you?’

Oliver was still getting over the fact that his brother had had the nerve to come here when he heard the altercation in the outer office. Thomas Ferreira would resent being subjected to any delay and a moment later Oliver’s door swung wide. A tall broad-shouldered man stood belligerently on the threshold with the diminutive figure of Mrs Clements hovering anxiously behind.

‘What the hell is this?’ he demanded, his fair good-looking features flushed with angry colour. ‘Do I need an appointment to see you these days, Oliver? I know it’s a while since we’ve spoken to one another, but for God’s sake, lighten up, can’t you?’

Oliver released the button of the intercom and straightened away from the broad slab of granite that topped his desk. Ignoring his brother, he looked beyond his stocky frame to the nervous figure of his secretary. ‘It’s all right, Mrs Clements,’ he said reassuringly. ‘I know you did your best not to let him in.’

Mrs Clements clasped her hands together. ‘You won’t forget you’ve agreed to see Mr Adler at four o’clock, will you, Mr Ferreira?’

‘He won’t forget,’ stated Thomas rudely, taking charge of the door. ‘And I don’t intend to keep him long, so don’t look so worried. I’m only his brother, not the tax inspector.’

Mrs Clements ignored that comment and managed to wedge herself between the closing door and its frame. ‘Is there anything I can get you, Mr Ferreira? Some tea or coffee, perhaps?’

‘So long as it’s not a bottle of Scotch,’ Thomas interposed caustically, but Oliver disregarded the younger man and said politely, ‘Some tea, Mrs Clements, if it’s not too much trouble?’

‘Of course it’s not too much trouble.’ Thomas mocked the woman’s reply as he closed the door and rested for a moment against the mahogany panels. ‘Honestly, Oliver, surely you know that woman would walk on hot coals, if you asked her.’ He pulled a wry face. ‘Most women would, for that matter.’

‘But not all,’ observed Oliver, feeling a momentary twinge of bitterness in his gut. Then, his dark eyes narrowing impatiently, ‘What do you want, Tom? As you just heard, I don’t have a lot of time.’

Tom’s response was to leave the door and walk towards his brother’s desk, pulling out one of the upright leather chairs used by visitors and lounging into it. ‘Let’s wait until the tea comes, shall we?’ he suggested tightly. ‘I’d prefer it if old Clements wasn’t a party to what I have to say.’

Oliver suppressed his irritation. ‘Mrs Clements is perfectly trustworthy,’ he said. ‘You don’t have to worry that she’ll gossip about anything she hears.’

‘Even so…’ Tom shrugged, looking about him. ‘I’d forgotten what a view you have from this office,’ he continued obliquely. ‘I bet you missed it, too, when you were holed up at the Abbey.’

Oliver’s nostrils flared and he was tempted to eject his brother from the office forthwith. But to do so would arouse more questions than answers and, until he’d heard whatever Tom had to say, he decided to contain his wrath.

But that didn’t alter the way he felt about seeing him again. It had been almost four years since they’d had a serious conversation and, although he resented his gall in coming here, he couldn’t deny a certain curiosity as to why his brother was here.

Yet, perhaps it was time that they put the past behind them. They’d been good friends when they were boys before Tom’s treachery, and the collapse of Oliver’s marriage, had driven them apart. The fact that it had been as much Sophie’s fault as his brother’s that the marriage had broken down was something he’d had to live with. After all, she had been his wife, while Tom had been a free man.

Of course, that still didn’t alter the fact that he would find it hard to trust his brother again. Oliver’s divorce from Sophie had been painful and destructive and for months the only respite he’d found was at the bottom of a glass. Tom’s snide comments about the bottle of Scotch and his reference to Oliver’s stay at Blackstone Abbey—a well-known centre for those needing an escape from either drugs or alcohol—were evidence that his brother wasn’t here to make amends for his behaviour. He probably wanted something, thought Oliver bitterly. That was usually why he’d come to him in the past.

Subsiding into his own chair behind the desk, Oliver leaned back and steepled his fingers, regarding the other man speculatively. Tom looked older, he decided without prejudice. But then, so did he. Trauma—particularly emotional trauma—did that to you.

‘How’s Sophie?’ he asked at last, deciding to get it over with, and was surprised at how little emotion he felt. For months after the divorce, even hearing her name could arouse the destructive desire for oblivion. But now he felt only a trace of regret for what might have been, a rueful reminder of the gullible fool he used to be.

Tom looked surprised at the question. ‘She’s okay, I guess,’ he answered offhandedly. ‘Why don’t you ring her and find out?’

It took an effort but Oliver managed not to look as stunned as he felt. ‘I think not,’ he said, his hands falling away to the arms of his chair as he sat forward. Then, as Mrs Clements reappeared with a tray he managed to summon a smile for her benefit. ‘Thank you.’ He viewed the plate of biscuits with feigned enthusiasm. ‘This looks good.’

‘If you need anything else, just let me know,’ the older woman declared warmly. Her eyes flicked briefly over his visitor, and Oliver could practically tell what she was thinking. Mrs Clements was intensely loyal and she had been shocked and angered by his brother’s betrayal.

‘We will,’ Tom answered now, deliberately bringing a flush of pink to her cheeks. He, too, had to be aware of the woman’s feelings and it was his way of reminding her that her opinion meant less than nothing to him.

The door closed behind her, but Oliver made no attempt to touch the tea tray. If Tom wanted tea, he could help himself, he thought, once again leaning back in his chair. ‘What do you want?’ he asked, with a resigned sigh. ‘If it’s money, you’re wasting your time. Apart from the fact that my ex-wife did her best to clean me out, there’s been a downturn in the housing market.’

‘Don’t pretend your business relies on domestic contracts,’ retorted Tom with some energy. ‘I happen to know you’ve just made a deal to design the shopping complex they’re going to build at Vicker’s Wharf.’ He scowled, his fair features losing much of their attraction. ‘In any case, I haven’t said I want money, have I? Since Sophie invested most of her divorce settlement in the garden centre, it’s going from strength to strength.’ He paused, as if reluctant to continue, but eventually he went on. ‘As a matter of fact, I’ve just bought the smallholding that adjoins the centre and I’m hoping we can sell conservatories, too, in the future. They’re the accessory of choice these days, as you probably know.’

‘Good for you.’

Oliver was glad to hear his brother’s business acumen was paying off. He had no problem in applauding his success. The Ferreira garden centre had been their father’s business before his retirement, but Tom had been the only one of his sons to share his love of the soil. Since Tom had taken over the centre, the interest in gardening generally had enabled him to practically double the profits. That and Oliver’s ex-wife’s contribution, of course.

‘Don’t patronise me,’ muttered his brother now, evidently hearing something other than simple approval in Oliver’s voice. ‘We can’t all be academic geniuses. Some of us have fairly modest ambitions.’

Oliver refrained from arguing with him. This was an old grievance and one he had no wish to revisit. Tom knew full well that he was no genius, nor was he particularly academic. But he’d been good at maths at school and working with computers had been an automatic progression. The fact that his degree in computer science led to a career in design engineering had been just as natural to him as working in horticulture had been to his brother.

‘So,’ he said at last. ‘If it’s not money, what do you want? I can’t believe you’ve come here to enquire after my health.’

‘Why not?’ Tom’s response was swift and resentful. ‘You’re still my brother, aren’t you? Just because we’ve had our differences in the past—’

‘Seducing my wife and breaking up my marriage cannot be dismissed as “differences”,’ retorted Oliver curtly.

‘I know, I know.’ Tom looked sulky now. ‘Like I say, we’ve had our problems. I’m not denying it. And I’m not denying that I was to blame.’ He sniffed. ‘But, dammit, I couldn’t have seduced Sophie if she hadn’t been willing, could I? You were always hell-bent on becoming a partner in Faulkner’s. You neglected your wife, Oliver. Admit it.’

Oliver’s jaw clamped. ‘I have no intention of admitting anything to you, Tom. And if this is your way of justifying what you did—’

‘It’s not.’ Tom interrupted him quickly, leaning forward in his chair, his expression rueful now, appealing. ‘Look, would it make you feel any better if I told you that—that what happened was a mistake? It should never have gone as far as it did.’ He chewed on his lower lip. ‘I was a fool, a selfish, arrogant fool. You can’t regret it any more than I do.’

Oliver’s chair slammed back against the wall behind him as he got to his feet. ‘I think you’d better go,’ he said, the muscles in his jaw jerking furiously. Then he gave a short, mirthless laugh and shook his head disbelievingly. ‘You really are priceless, do you know that? You actually thought that coming here and telling me you’d made a mistake—made a mistake, of all things—would be some consolation to me!’

Tom’s chin jutted. ‘I thought it might be,’ he muttered peevishly. ‘We all make mistakes, don’t we?’

Oliver shook his head again. ‘Just go, Tom. Before we both say something we’ll regret.’

Tom hunched his shoulders then, but he didn’t move, and Oliver glanced down wearily at the narrow watch on his wrist. It was half past three, he saw, half incredulously. Had it only been fifteen minutes since Tom appeared?

He blew out an impatient breath, regarding his brother’s hunched figure with some ambivalence. What now? he wondered. Was the other man going to make him throw him out? He could, if he wanted to, he knew that. Although Tom was broad and bulky, Oliver was fitter and had at least four inches over him in height.

Yet he baulked at the prospect. The idea of propelling his brother through Mrs Clements’ office and along the corridor that was flanked by other offices on either side was not something he relished. It had been hard enough suffering his colleagues’ sympathy when Sophie left him and his subsequent dependence on alcohol that had ended with his sojourn at Blackstone Abbey. He had no wish to revive those memories, or give anyone the impression that he still cared enough to want to do his brother some harm. He didn’t, he realised incredulously. All he felt was contempt that Tom should imagine he was fool enough to believe his lies.

‘Look, I’ve got an appointment shortly,’ he said, realising that getting angry wasn’t going to do him any good. For some reason, Tom was determined to stick it out until he’d said what he wanted to say. And Oliver had the uneasy suspicion that the worst was yet to come.

‘I know,’ said Tom now. ‘I heard what old Clements said.’

‘Then you’ll realise that you can’t stay here,’ declared Oliver crisply. ‘I suggest you go before you make a complete ass of yourself.’

Tom looked up at him with accusing eyes. ‘You don’t care about me at all, do you? You don’t care what happens to me?’

‘What happens to you ?’ Oliver stared at him. ‘Is that what this is all about? You expect me to somehow put things right between us?’

Tom gave a shrug. ‘Not exactly.’

‘I’m pleased to hear it.’

Tom scowled. ‘You’re so smug. Why did I never realise it before? You don’t care about anybody, do you, Oliver? God, no wonder Sophie was desperate for affection. She never got it from a cold bastard like you!’

Oliver was around the desk, with his hand fisted in a handful of the other man’s shirt, hauling him up out of the chair before he could stop himself. ‘You—misbegotten sonofabitch,’ he growled, his fist drawing back to deliver the punch his brother so rightfully deserved. But when, instead of trying to defend himself, Tom merely closed his eyes and prepared to take his punishment, Oliver found he couldn’t do it. With a stifled oath, he flung him back again and strode across to the windows, struggling to regain his composure.

There was silence in the room for several minutes after that. Oliver took the time to regulate his breathing, raking his fingers across his scalp, rumpling the thick mass of dark hair that brushed his collar at the back. He straightened the jacket of his light grey suit, checked that his tie fell smoothly against the pearl buttons of his white shirt. And did his best to remember that he was the victim here, not the apparently humbled man who still sat, unspeaking, in his chair.

Finally, he was forced to turn round again. It was almost twenty minutes to four and he had to get Tom out of there before Sidney Adler arrived. Adler was a local politician who had been instrumental in Faulkner’s being given the contract to design the new shopping complex. He was also a close friend of Oliver’s partner, Andrew Faulkner, and unlikely to be impressed by Oliver bringing his personal problems into the office.

Expelling another heavy sigh, he walked back to his desk and stood for a few moments looking down on Tom’s bent head. Then he said wearily, ‘What do you want, Tom? I can’t give you absolution. And I doubt if Sophie will appreciate hearing that you’ve been here, talking to me.’

‘She won’t care,’ said Tom, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and making a great play of blowing his nose. ‘I’ve probably beaten her to it, actually. She wanted out of our relationship just as much as me.’

Oliver’s jaw almost dropped. ‘What?’ he exclaimed disbelievingly. ‘Did you come here to tell me you and Sophie have split up?’

‘What else?’ muttered Tom, with an indifferent gesture. ‘At present, she’s staying with her mother. Like I said before, it was all a terrible mistake.’

It was almost six o’clock when Oliver left the office.

Adler, he’d found, behaved like an old woman, and he’d spent at least half the time they were together gossiping about other local bureaucrats. There’d been little discussion of a useful nature and Oliver suspected he shouldn’t have shown the old man the bottle of Scotch he kept for visitors. Adler had accepted more than one glass to lubricate his ramblings, and Oliver felt significantly hyper now with the amount of Diet Coke he’d had to consume for courtesy’s sake.

His car was parked in the basement garage. A twelve-year-old Porsche, it had been Oliver’s gift to himself when he’d first gone to work for Faulkner Engineering. It had also been the only luxury he’d refused to sell when Sophie left him. The house they’d shared had gone and most of his possessions. A necessity, in any case, as the loft apartment he’d moved into just didn’t have room for most of them.

Before the divorce, he and Sophie had lived in an exclusive housing development north of Newcastle. It hadn’t been far from the garden centre, which was also situated in a village north of the city, and they had seen quite a lot of his parents and brother then. However, since his father’s retirement, his parents spent at least half the year abroad. They’d bought a villa in southern Spain, where his father’s ancestors had originated, and the old man always boasted he was returning to his roots.

Now, reminiscing about his parents inevitably brought Oliver’s thoughts back to his brother. It hadn’t been easy persuading him to leave quietly, and even now Oliver wasn’t entirely clear what his visit had been about. What had Tom anticipated? he wondered. That he’d be so delighted that Tom and Sophie had parted, all would be forgiven? It was the most naïve kind of reasoning and Tom wasn’t that stupid.

So why had he come? What motive had he had for making the trip? Oliver doubted they could ever be friends again. Not after all that had happened. And if Tom was expecting a different reaction, he was going to be disappointed.

It briefly crossed his mind that Sophie might have sent him. If they’d separated, as he’d said, perhaps she had some idea of resurrecting their relationship. Which was equally ludicrous. Besides, he was flattering himself if he imagined she was hedging her bets.

In any case, he had no desire to rekindle his relationship with his ex -wife. Whatever she thought, whatever interpretation she’d put on the emotional trauma he’d suffered when she left him, he was over it now. And it had never been wholly about Sophie. His brother’s betrayal had meant equally much, he realised now.

Nevertheless, he’d had to agree to see Tom again. It had been the only way to get him out of the office before Adler turned up. Considering Adler’s penchant for gossip, Oliver had had no desire to learn that he’d provided juicy fodder at the next party conference.

They’d agreed to meet the following lunchtime at The Crown in Tayford. It was years since Oliver had visited the pub, which was just a short distance from his parents’ home. Fortunately, his mother and father were away at the moment so there’d be no question of them getting involved. He knew his mother worried about his estrangement from his brother, and she was bound to think they were healing their differences if she knew.

On impulse, Oliver turned in the opposite direction to his quayside apartment. A desire to see the garden centre again had him driving north out of Newcastle, heading towards the airport. But before then, he turned west towards Belsay on the road that delved deep into the Northumbrian countryside.

Although Oliver had been born in the area, it was some years since he’d enjoyed making this journey. But with the rain giving way to the watery sunshine of a May evening, he felt an unaccustomed sense of well-being.

Before reaching Belsay, he turned left yet again onto a narrow country road with high hedges on either side. The garden centre had been signposted from the major road and it was only about a quarter of a mile farther on, on the outskirts of Ridsgate, the nearest village to Tayford itself.

Ferreira’s Plant World looked an impressive place viewed from the road. It had built up a fair reputation in recent years and people came quite a distance to wander round its gardens and greenhouses. As well as the usual ranks of hothouses, there were a shop, a café, a florist and a play area for children. And, although it was already after six o’clock, it was still doing a thriving business.

There were several cars in the parking area and, although he hadn’t intended to stop, Oliver found himself easing the Porsche into a convenient space. He sat for a few minutes, drumming his thumbs on the steering wheel, wondering what the hell he was doing here. And then, deciding he couldn’t leave without satisfying himself that Tom really wasn’t in financial difficulties, he switched off the engine and got out of the car.

He saw her as he was locking the Porsche. She was standing near one of the greenhouses, apparently supervising the loading of sacks of compost onto a flatbed utility truck that she obviously intended to drive to another part of the site.

She was tall, easily five feet nine, and he told himself it was her height that had attracted his attention. But with long legs encased in the tightest jeans he’d ever seen and a trim yet shapely body, she was instantly noticeable. And that without taking into account her warm, luminous beauty and a mane of red-gold hair, secured in a single fat braid that had an impact all its own.

Perhaps it was the intentness of his stare that made her aware he was watching her. Eyes fringed by long, dark eyelashes turned in his direction and for a moment a quizzical expression crossed her face. Then one of the two men loading the truck spoke to her and she looked away, but not before a faint smile of inquiry—invitation?—touched her generous mouth.

Deciding he was definitely letting his imagination run away with him, Oliver pocketed his keys and strolled towards the gardens. By avoiding the shop, he was hoping to avoid being recognised by the older members of Tom’s staff.

There was no sign of Tom, however, and he couldn’t decide if he was glad or sorry. Now he’d have no excuse for not keeping their appointment tomorrow. At the bottom of him he supposed he’d hoped he could find out what was going on without wasting a couple of hours in futile discussion.

He walked to the far end of the site, noticing that his brother had been as good as his word. Already work had started on digging up the land immediately adjoining the garden centre. An excavator was residing amid a clutter of other machinery, and in the distance what used to be the home of the previous owner was being levelled to the ground.

‘It looks pretty ugly, doesn’t it?’ remarked a husky voice behind him. Oliver turned quickly to find the girl he had seen earlier relaxing against one of a pair of stone sundials abandoned beside the fence. Closer now, Oliver could see that her skin was creamy soft, like a peach, her nose straight and not too prominent, wide eyes an incredible shade of green.

Gathering his wits, he said, ‘I guess it does.’ He pushed his hands into his jacket pockets and tried to dilute his gaze. ‘But all building projects are like that in the early stages.’

‘And you’d know,’ she said, surprising him. ‘You’re a design engineer.’ And at his raised eyebrows, she added easily, ‘You’re Tom’s brother, Oliver, I think. He said he might be seeing you today.’

Oliver sucked in his breath. ‘Did he?’

‘Yes. He didn’t say you were coming here, though.’ She smiled, revealing a row of even white teeth. ‘I’m Grace Lovell, by the way. I know he’ll be pleased to see you,’ she went on, returning to her earlier theme. ‘Mrs Ferreira said you’ve been estranged for some time.’

‘Mrs Ferreira?’ Oliver frowned. He hadn’t realised Sophie was still calling herself by that name.

‘Your mother,’ explained Grace, apparently sensing his confusion. ‘I know your parents quite well. They spend a lot of time in San Luis.’

Oliver revised his original opinion. ‘You’re Spanish?’ he asked incredulously, but she shook her head.

‘Not at all, I’m afraid. My father’s an American, actually. But he works for the British government, so I’ve spent most of my life in England.’

‘I see.’ Oliver paused. ‘And the San Luis connection?’

‘My parents own a villa in San Luis, too. That’s where I met Tom, actually. And how I persuaded him to give me this job.’

Oliver absorbed this. ‘And do you like it? The job, I mean?’

She shrugged, straightening away from the sundial, and he was once again struck by her height. But unlike a model, she was built on more generous lines, and, despite the fact that she didn’t appear to be wearing a bra, her breasts were firm and high—

And where the hell had that come from? he wondered, arresting himself instantly. He was getting far too interested in her altogether. Dammit, it was years since he’d noticed a strange woman’s breasts. It was no excuse that the cold air had made them more noticeable. She was probably frozen, he decided, aware of the hard peaks against her thin tee shirt. It was also obvious that the heat he was feeling was definitely not climate-induced.

‘It’s okay,’ she said, and it took him a minute to realise she was answering his question and not excusing his too-personal appraisal. ‘I thought I wanted to teach when I left college, but after six years working in an inner-city comprehensive I decided I needed a change of scene.’

Oliver made a gesture of assent and they started back towards the main building, Grace falling into step beside him with a lithe, easy stride. As he walked he realised he had to revise his estimate of how old she was as well. He’d guessed twenty-two or twenty-three, but now thirty didn’t seem so far off the mark.

Not that it mattered. Just because she was older than he’d imagined didn’t change his own position at all. He, after all, was thirty-four, with a history no one would envy and a current girlfriend. Besides, she probably had a boyfriend. She was far too attractive to remain unattached for long.

‘Have you been here long?’ he asked now, wishing he had an excuse not to go into the shop. He hadn’t corrected her when she’d assumed he hadn’t seen his brother yet, and it was going to be bloody awkward if Tom turned up.

‘Seven months, give or take,’ she said. She grimaced. ‘All through one of the worst winters on record! Two of the greenhouses were flooded. We had to come to work in wellington boots!’

Oliver managed a faint smile. ‘A baptism of fire.’

‘Well, of water,’ she remarked humorously. Then she laughed. ‘What an idiot! Baptisms are usually in water, aren’t they?’

Oliver grinned, and he was just about to ask her what she thought about the north of England when her face changed. Her cheeks turned a little pink and he thought at first how charmingly unaffected she was. But then another female voice spoke his name and he stifled a groan as he turned to acknowledge his ex-wife.