Deceit Of A Pagan

It was three days since Templar had posted the letter, and she had received no reply, although she was sure it must have reached its destination by now. And she still hadn’t found anywhere to live! The situation was becoming desperate now, and she was hardly sleeping at night, and worrying incessantly by day. And Keri wasn’t helping either, being particularly fretful the past few days, sensitive to her aunt’s worry.

She went in to her for the third time in an hour, soon quietening her and going back to her magazine. She tried to concentrate on the article she was reading, but the words seemed to make no sense, and putting the magazine down on the floor she curled her legs up underneath her and resting her head back on the chair, she fell asleep.

She was woken up by the knock on the door, pushing back her untidy hair and smoothing down her creased denims. If it was Mrs Marks again, she’d—–

The knock sounded again. ‘Miss Newman! Miss Newman! I have a visitor for you.’

A visitor! Oh, God! Who on earth could it be? It must be someone Mrs Marks didn’t know or she wouldn’t have accompanied them up the stairs. Templar glanced apprehensively at the half-closed bedroom door, but couldn’t hear any movement from Keri. Thank goodness for that; she didn’t think she could stand for her to wake up again.

She opened the door, her eyes opening wide with shock as they encountered the tall alien-looking man standing arrogantly at Mrs Marks’ side. Her landlady looked quite overwhelmed, and Templar wasn’t surprised. The man was looking down his haughty nose at both of them, his suit fitting him as if it had been tailored on him, and it probably had been.

‘You—er—–’ Templar hesitated. ‘You can go now, Mrs Marks,’ she said firmly, watching the landlady as she slowly began to descend the stairs, muttering to herself as she went. Templar looked at the man again, only to find herself the victim of a contemptuous perusal, his blue-grey eyes mentally noting each feature as if for future reference. ‘Would you like to come in?’ she asked nervously.

‘You are very trusting, Miss Newman,’ his accent was faintly clipped, as if English wasn’t his native tongue. ‘Considering you do not know who I am.’ He held himself erect. ‘My name is Leondro Marcose.’

‘Oh, but—–’

He held up a hand for silence. ‘Before you say any more, Miss Newman, I think you should know that my brother Alex is dead.’ He said the words with no show of emotion.

Templar paled. This wasn’t what she had been expecting at all. How could he cold-heartedly stand there and tell her such a thing! Her only chance of a future for Keri now in ruins. Tears filled her emerald green eyes and threatened to overspill. She was going to lose Keri, and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it.

This stranger was still staring at her as if he were dissecting her, and even in her distress Templar could see he was devastatingly attractive. And Alex, Keri’s father, had been his brother. If there had been any resemblance between the two brothers then Tiffany couldn’t be blamed for her attraction. Templar still held the door open for him to enter, and without waiting for her to repeat the invitation he entered the room, looking about him without concealing his distaste.

She saw the shabby room through his eyes and her resentment towards him grew. Who was he to look down his nose at her when she had been struggling for the past year to support his brother’s daughter?—maybe not in the way he would have done, but one thing Keri had never gone short of was love. ‘I see,’ she said tightly. ‘In that case I’m afraid you’ve had a wasted journey. You can’t possibly help me.’

His eyebrows rose arrogantly at her dismissive tone. ‘Please allow me to be the judge of that, Miss Newman. Your letter sounded urgent, otherwise I would not have come here at all. You say I cannot help you. What makes you think my brother could have done more than I?’ His eyes flickered mercilessly over her nervous movements. ‘Will you not sit down, so that I may also?’

‘Oh! Oh, I’m sorry.’ She sat down in the chair she had recently vacated.

‘So,’ he sat opposite her. ‘Would you mind telling me what it was only my brother could help you with?’ His eyes narrowed to two icy slits. ‘Or is it so private you cannot tell me about it?’

Templar’s eyes flashed angrily at his condescending tone. ‘You aren’t being very polite, Mr Marcose.’

‘Am I not?’ he asked tautly. ‘But then you are being particularly obstructive. You sent an urgent letter to my brother and when I come in his stead you refuse to tell me what the matter was you wanted to discuss with him.’ He stood up in one fluid movement, a ripple of pure ripcord muscle the only sign of effort. ‘It seems you are right, and I have had a wasted journey.’

Templar stood up to aid his departure, but was prevented from doing so by an ear-piercing scream from Keri. Without waiting to answer his look of astonishment she dashed into the bedroom, her only thought to quieten her before she disturbed the whole household. Keri raised tear-wet cheeks and Templar couldn’t resist her endearing little face. ‘There, darling,’ she crooned softly. ‘It’s all right, my baby.’

Leondro Marcose stood transfixed in the doorway, his darkly handsome face a shuttered mask. ‘So,’ he said harshly, the voice that she had thought attractive grating with suppressed violence. ‘You have a child.’

‘As you can see.’ Templar still smiled reassuringly at Keri.

Keri’s big green eyes fixed themselves on the tall dark man’s face, and she chuckled delightedly. ‘Mama,’ she chortled. ‘Mama.’

To Templar it was a triumph, but it only seemed to incense her visitor more, if that were possible. Ignoring his censorious look, she smiled happily at Keri. ‘Aren’t you clever, darling. Now are you going to go back to sleep? Mama has a visitor, and you’re being very naughty.’

‘Please do not hurry yourself because of me.’ The man’s voice was like a rapier, cutting all down before him, and at the moment it was her. ‘If this is the reason you wanted my brother’s help, then you are right, I can be of no service to you. You have formed your own destiny, and to involve other people in your troubles is not something I appreciate.’

‘Really, Mr Marcose?’ she asked tartly, taking Keri over to this tall imperious stranger and placing her in front of him. He had little choice but to take the squirming bundle into his strong arms, staring at her intently.

Templar waited with bated breath as Keri played with the buttons on the front of his snowy white shirt, her four tiny white teeth showing between ruby-red lips. Leondro Marcose looked from Keri to Templar and back again, his face pale.

‘This child,’ his voice was husky and curiously uncertain. ‘There is no doubt that you are the child’s mother. And the father—–’ he stopped. ‘The father was my brother, was he not?’

She nodded. ‘Yes, he was. But I—–’

‘Please!’ he said curtly, carrying Keri into the other room where he sat down abruptly in one of the armchairs. Keri looked at him with gleeful eyes, enjoying this unexpected treat. Men didn’t very often come into her orbit, except Ken of course, and as their dislike was mutual he didn’t count. As Leondro Marcose looked at her his face softened, the harsh lines beside his firm mouth dissipating. ‘And what is your name, little one?’

‘Her name is Keri,’ put in Templar. ‘And she’s ten months old.’ She still hadn’t told him that Keri wasn’t her child, but somehow now didn’t seem to be the right moment.

‘I see.’ He looked at her over Keri’s copper curls. ‘And of what assistance can I be to you?’

She looked taken aback. ‘Why, none,’ she said in a surprised voice. ‘It was your brother I wanted to see, and as he’s—dead,’ the word choked in her throat. Poor Keri, both parents dead so young. ‘As he’s dead, I’ll have to solve my problem on my own.’

‘I disagree. Must I remind you that Keri is my niece?’

Templar was dumbstruck. It was an aspect she hadn’t thought of. She shook her head. ‘You only have my word for that. I couldn’t swear Alex was her father.’

‘The devil you can’t!’ he rasped, and Keri’s face puckered tearfully at the harshness of his voice. ‘It is all right, little one.’ He placed her on the floor and stood up to pace the room, taking out a long cigar and a gold lighter. ‘I have your permission to smoke?’ he asked grimly, igniting the lighter at the nod of her head. He didn’t speak again for several long seconds. ‘So you do not know if my brother is your baby’s father, or if she belongs to one of your other lovers,’ he addressed her coolly. ‘Well, let me put your mind at rest. Keri is Alexis’ child, of that there can be no doubt. She is very like him to look at. Have you not noticed the resemblance? Or have you forgotten how my brother looked in the sea of faces that were no doubt your lovers?’

Templar blanched under his insults. ‘And what do you intend doing, Mr Marcose? Paying me off?’

His mouth twisted tauntingly. ‘That is the one thing I do not intend doing, Miss Newman. I’m sure that you expected as much from Alex, but you will find I am made of much sterner stuff than my brother was. No, Keri is my niece and I intend taking her into my care. If I gave you money you would no doubt spend it on things other than the infant, and although I realise you have a certain amount of affection for the child, I am sure you will appreciate that I can give her more than you will ever be able to. No matter how many men you take into your bed.’

She hit out at him instinctively, her only thought to hurt him as he was verbally hurting her. Her finger marks stood out livid against his dark skin and she moved away from him in horror, snatching the frightened Keri off the floor and hugging her tightly against her. The two of them looked at him with apprehensive eyes, Templar noting a strange expression cross his face, but it passed so fleetingly she didn’t have time to analyse it. ‘I do not have a “certain amount of affection” for Keri,’ she said in a low controlled voice. ‘I love her. And no—no stranger is going to take her away from me. Oh, I know you can give her more than I can, you’re obviously wealthy enough to, but I love her. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?’

‘Not a great deal,’ he replied coldly. ‘And as you know I have money I do not think there was any need for that remark about my being wealthy. Alexis must have told you it was so and you obviously thought it was time to play your lead card. As a small baby Keri may not have made the impact that she has now, especially as she has your hair and eyes. But then most babies look alike. But now, now that her features are becoming distinctly like my brother’s you decide the time is right to make us aware of her existence. What is the matter, Miss Newman? Are you tired of caring for a young baby? Do you long to go back to the life you no doubt led before my young brother was gullible enough to fall for your undoubted charms?’

She shook her head. This just couldn’t be happening to her! Oh, she realised the remark she had made about being unsure of Keri’s parentage had sparked off this cold chilling anger, but if he had only given her chance she could have explained that her uncertainty was due to the fact that Keri was not her child. Now it had gone too far. If she told him the truth now he would probably take Keri away from her altogether, and then she might never see her again. ‘Keri is my life now,’ she said simply. ‘And I won’t let you take her from me.’

‘You would not be able to stop me if that were my intention. If none of your—admirers would be willing to come forward I am sure I could find a couple of men who would give evidence against you. I only have to cast doubts on your ability to be a proper mother and Keri will be given into my care. Do you want that?’

‘You think money can buy everything, don’t you, Mr Marcose?’ she said brokenly.

‘Please, call me Leon, anything else would be verging on the ridiculous in the circumstances. And I shall call you—–?’ he paused expectantly.

‘Templar,’ she replied miserably.

‘Unusual,’ came his comment. ‘And no, I know money cannot buy everything. Most things, but not everything. But in this case it will get me what I want.’

‘And what is that?’ Templar asked dully, cradling the now sleepy Keri against her.

‘I wish to make a future for Keri. I cannot do that by taking her into my house as my brother’s child. Everyone will know her for what she is, and that I do not want. She is a beautiful child and deserves to have the sort of background I would wish for her. So I propose to marry her mother and so pass Keri off as my own child.’

CHAPTER TWO (#u436003f1-6311-5575-8127-610d5358cac9)

‘WHAT!’ Templar stared at him in horror. ‘You can’t possibly be serious?’

Arrogant eyebrows rose over heavy-lidded eyes, the firmness of his mouth showing his displeasure. ‘But I am, perfectly serious. The final decision does of course lie with you. You can either give up your daughter or marry me.’