Taming the Rebel Tycoon: Wife by Approval / Dating the Rebel Tycoon / The Playboy Takes a Wife

Masculine hands.

Exciting hands.

A half-remembered line from Donne started to run through her mind: ‘Licence my roving hands, and let them go—’

She snapped off the thought like snapping a dry twig and, feeling the sexual tension tightening, hurried into speech. ‘How did the castle come to have a vineyard?’

‘While my great-grandfather, who was a merchant banker, was staying in a French château in the Loire Valley, he became very interested in wine-making. When he got back to Anders, he planted vines on some south-facing slopes on the edge of the estate and set up a small winery.

‘By the time he passed away he had quite a successful little business which eventually my father took over. But when he became ill it was neglected and after his death I regret to say that it was closed down altogether.

‘I was at Oxford at the time and after I graduated, though my mother begged me to go back to live at Anders, I decided, in the end, not to.’

‘So you prefer to live in London?’

‘No, not at all. Though I’ve lived in London since I left university, it isn’t really from choice.’

‘Oh.’

‘My father died when I was eighteen and two years later my mother married again. She and my father had been very close and it was when she was alone and grief-stricken that she met Bradley Sanderson, a childless widower fifteen years older than herself.’

Seeing Tina’s slightly puzzled frown, Richard explained, ‘My mother decided that she would keep her own name. It seemed like the simplest solution—there is always meant to be an Anders in the castle. Though they had the same surname, he wasn’t a blood relation. When he was five or six he’d been adopted by JonathanAnders, a member of the Wiltshire branch of the family, whose wife was unable to have children.

‘Unfortunately Bradley and I didn’t get along. I disliked and distrusted him and he hated my guts for opposing the marriage.

‘That’s why, after leaving university, I decided it would be better all round if I lived in London. So I bought the house in Pemberley Square and just paid periodic visits to the castle, where I had my own suite of rooms.’

It must have been hard to visit a place he’d always regarded as home and confine himself to a suite of rooms, while a man he disliked intensely was, nominally at least, master there.

Impulsively, she said, ‘It couldn’t have been easy for you.’

For a moment he looked surprised, then he admitted, ‘It wasn’t. Especially when I realised Mother wasn’t very happy…

‘To give Bradley his due, he did a good job of running the estate and she was grateful. But he turned out to be a difficult man to live with and, though she never admitted as much, I think she regretted marrying him, and felt guilty that she did regret it.

‘Shortly after she had been diagnosed with a terminal illness, Bradley was found to have a heart disease which cut his life expectancy to a year or two at the most.

‘I promised Mother that if she predeceased him, I wouldn’t turn him out. But he wasn’t happy with that assurance. He wanted her to put a codicil in her will to the effect that he could continue to live at Anders until his death, and I agreed.’

‘Then your stepfather’s still living there?’

‘He was until he died of a heart attack a little while ago.’

‘So now the castle’s all yours and you intend to keep it?’

Richard’s handsome face looked oddly grim and his voice was steely as he answered, ‘Oh, yes, I intend to keep it.’

The casement clock in the corner struck a sonorous two-thirty and, his voice and manner back to normal, Richard asked, ‘About ready to move?’

Realising that at the rate they were going it would be quite late by the time they got back to London, she said, ‘Yes, I’m ready,’ and rose to her feet.

Apart from some brief embarrassment, it had been a very pleasant interlude and she had learned quite a lot about him and his family.

None of it had given her any hope that she might be lucky enough to fit into his life, but even so, knowing more about him, getting to understand him, was oddly precious to her.

While they continued their journey she mulled over what she had learned and was still thinking about it when Richard said with satisfaction, ‘Almost there.’

A minute or so later they left a quiet country road for an even quieter lane, with open countryside on their right and a high mellow-brick wall on their left. In a few hundred yards they came to an imposing entrance guarded by two huge stone lions crouched on stone plinths.

As they swung between them, the tall electronically operated wrought iron gates slid aside and a moment later the Porsche was purring up a well-kept serpentine drive. On either hand, rolling, lightly wooded parkland studded with sheep stretched away into the distance.

‘Time’s getting on, so I suggest that before I show you the castle we take a quick look at the vineyard,’ Richard said.

She nodded. ‘Whatever suits you best.’

Having agreed to come with him, she could hardly refuse to look at the vineyard. Besides, rather against her will, she was interested. If things had been different, the job would have been ideal.

After about three quarters of a mile they turned down a side road and eventually came to a collection of purpose-built sheds and buildings that housed the wine-making plant. On the nearby south-facing slopes stretched row upon row of vines.

Having stopped the car, he asked, ‘Ankle up to a little walking?’

‘Yes, certainly.’

He came round to help her out and, with an intimate little gesture that made her catch her breath, reached for her hand and tucked it under his arm.

Though the sun was still shining, the air seemed appreciably cooler and a slight breeze had sprung up as they strolled through what had once been a thriving little vineyard.

Now the vines were overgrown and neglected and, through the grass and weeds that partially obscured them, Tina could see purple grapes hanging in great heavy clusters.

‘I presume that a lot of these vines will have to come out?’ Richard enquired.

‘Not necessarily if they’re healthy stock. Though some re-planting might be advisable, depending on what kind of wine you’re hoping to produce.’

‘I see…Well, I suggest that we discuss the whole thing later when you’ve had time to consider exactly what’s involved.’

‘I really don’t think there’s any point in—’

He pre-empted her refusal. ‘Unless, having seen how badly neglected everything’s been, you don’t feel you want to take it on?’

She shook her head. ‘No, it isn’t that.’It was exactly the kind of challenge she would enjoy. Or would have enjoyed had the circumstances been other than they were.

‘Then what is it?’

‘I would have liked the job, but…’

‘But?’

‘In the circumstances, it w-would be awkward,’ she stammered.