King Of Swords

‘It’s a hell of a thing,’ he said sombrely. ‘Jools, if there was any other way, you know—don’t you …’

‘Yes,’ Julia acknowledged with a sigh, ‘I know.’ She poured out the coffee and handed her father his cup. ‘Although I suppose nothing’s settled yet.’

‘As a matter of fact it is.’ Her father gave her an awkward glance. ‘Alex Constantis telephoned after breakfast to confirm his offer. Polly and I are meeting his lawyers this afternoon to work out the final details. It’s all going to happen rather fast, I suspect.’

‘I’m sure it will,’ Julia agreed drily. Even when he was standing still, Alex Constantis gave an impression of being consumed by restless dynamic energy. Once he had made up his mind he wanted something, he would allow no grass to grow under his feet until he possessed it, she thought, a frisson of unease prickling between her shoulderblades.

‘He’s coming over later,’ her father went on. ‘We spent rather a long time at the Home Farm yesterday, and he wants to see the rest of the estate.’ He paused. ‘I told him you’d be happy to be his guide.’

‘You said what?’ Julia sent him a horrified glance. ‘Oh, Daddy, you couldn’t have done! I never want to set eyes on that man again as long as I live!’

‘Then that’s unfortunate.’ Sir Philip frowned. ‘What I said yesterday, Jools, still applies. I expect you to be civil, and keep any personal antipathy you may feel under control. Nothing’s actually signed yet, after all. And you’re the best person anyway for a job like that. Constantis was asking me last night about the damnfool remarks that silly woman poor Gerald lumbered himself with was making at dinner, and I explained to him how much the estate meant to you. He was very understanding.’

‘I’m sure he was,’ Julia said bitterly. She sighed. ‘All right then, Daddy, I’ll do what you want, on condition it’s the last time I have to meet Mr Constantis. Tomorrow I’m going to London to start job-hunting.’

Sir Philip stared at her. ‘But there’s no need for that. Once the estate is sold, we won’t be penniless. I thought we might move to the Riviera, or somewhere in the sun. These English winters are no good for Mummy’s chest, you know, and …’

‘No darling,’ Julia said gently. ‘You two go ahead and make whatever plans you want. I have to start organising a life for myself.’ She lifted her chin. ‘I’m not a child any more.’

‘No,’ Sir Philip said rather sadly, ‘I suppose not.’

An hour later Julia waved her parents a smiling goodbye. Lydia Kendrick had decided to accompany her husband to London to do some shopping, a decision which Julia suspected sprang from the news that Alex Constantis was due at Ambermere shortly.

Lucky Mother, she thought with a sigh. I wish I could cut and run!

As she went back into the house, the telephone rang, and she reached for it with a feeling of fore-boding. But it was only Vivvy.

‘Where did you disappear to last night?’ her friend asked plaintively.

‘I began to feel like the skeleton at the feast and went to bed,’ Julia excused herself.

‘Not swept off your feet by the dishy Mr Constantis, I hope,’ giggled Vivvy, then she lowered her voice conspiratorially. ‘By the way, Jools, Dad and Stepmother had a mega-row last night over her remarks at dinner. Alastair and I could hear them in their bedroom shouting at each other. I think Dad’s rose-coloured glasses have cracked at last.’

‘I’m sorry,’ said Julia, and meant it.

‘I’m not,’ Vivvy returned with equal sincerity. ‘She’s an utter bitch, and everyone could see it but him. But she’ll have to be more careful in future, which can only be a step in the right direction.’ She paused. ‘Actually, I thought Alex Constantis handled the situation pretty well. He’s incredibly glamorous and sexy, Jools. Pity he’s not looking for a wife, really.’

‘Well, he’ll be here at any minute for a tour of the estate,’ Julia said coolly. ‘I’ll put in a good word for you.’

‘For me?’ Vivvy shrieked. ‘Don’t be an idiot! I was thinking of you. Tricia may have been out to make trouble, but she had a point, actually. If you married Alex Constantis, you’d still have Ambermere.’

‘Thank you,’ Julia said drily. ‘But there’s a limit to the sacrifices I’m prepared to make, even for Ambermere.’

Vivvy giggled again. ‘Some sacrifice,’ she said caustically. ‘Quite apart from his money, I bet he’s fantastic in bed.’

For one frightened moment Julia found herself reliving the reality of being in Alex Constantis’s arms. The remembered scent of his skin, the warmth of his body seemed to fill her senses, as if he had been standing there beside her. A shiver ran through her. She gave a shaky laugh.

‘You’re the limit. Viv! What would Reverend Mother say if she could hear you?’

‘She’d sigh, and offer to pray for me again,’ Vivvy said ebulliently. ‘Poor soul, I bet she’s never off her knees.’

Julia’s hand was trembling as she replaced the receiver on the rest after Vivvy had rung off. Her friend had only been joking, she knew, but her starlit encounter with Alex Constantis had taught her swiftly that any involvement with him was no laughing matter.

‘If I take Ambermere, I shall also take you.’ The words seemed to sting in her brain.

The only reassurance she could draw from the incident was the change of heart he’d undergone once he’d concluded she was a virgin. Although heaven alone knew how he’d guessed that, she thought with embarrassment. But clearly her total lack of sexual experience was a drawback as far as he was concerned.

And a lifesaver to me, she thought, squaring her shoulders, as she heard the sound of a car on the drive outside. She wiped suddenly damp hands on her denim-clad thighs. And now it was daylight, and the sexy party gear was shut away, along with the madness which had afflicted her last night. She was her practical workaday self once again.