that.â
âI only put it on to make you happy,â she replied ungraciously. âSo where is it?â She stared about the light-bathed drive.
âThe Rolls?â
âWhat else? Unless youâve organised a horse and carriage?â
âItâs out in the street. There was no room here.â The drive was packed with luxury cars.
âThen youâd better take a peek outside,â she advised. âThereâs bound to be a photographer hanging around.â
He glanced down at her. âSo youâre going to slip the jacket off? Is that it? Strut your stuff?â
âIâm going to do no such thing,â she said huffily, trying without success to pull away.
They were out on the tree-lined avenue and, just as she had predicted, a man with a cameraâTori recognised him as one of the usual gangâbegan to move swiftly towards them.
Tori snuggled deeper into Haddoâs jacket. It had become her igloo, shielding her from the chill wind and from plain sight.âWhy is it always a man?â she muttered. âIâve never laid eyes on a woman photographer yet. Itâs all men shoving a camera in your face.â
âYou canât blame them, though. The public devours this sort of stuff.â Haddoâs tone lifted a few notches. It was a voice long used to being obeyed. âNo photographs, pal.â He spoke in an unconfrontational way, yet a stone-deaf man would have got the message.
The photographer gave a conciliatory chuckle. âWhoâs the little lady youâre hiding there? Itâs not one of the celebs, is it? Or maybe itâs our own little home-grown heiress?â
âJust do what I tell you,â Haddo returned crisply. âMove out of the way, pal.â
âHey!â
Her head withdrawn like a tortoise, Tori heard the photographer cry out. Agitated, she parted the leather jacket and peered out. The photographer would be no match for Haddo. In fact he was reeling away. Surely Haddo hadnât hit him?
âI donât like cameras being shoved in my face,â Haddo was saying, almost pleasantly. âDonât worry. Iâm not going to damage it. Iâll give it back to you the moment weâre on our way.â
The photographer didnât answer. He simply followed in their wake.
âItâs astonishing how people pay attention when youâre six-feet-three,â Tori commented as they drove off. The photographer was now busily snapping away at whatever images he could get: the back of her grandmotherâs Rolls, the number plate.
Haddo didnât answer for a minute or two. Then, âWhat the hell is happening to you, Tori?â he asked, in a dead serious voice.
Here it comesâthe lecture! She averted her head, staring out of the window at the star-spangled night. âIsnât it obvious? Iâm being kidnapped. Getting photographed goes with the territory, Haddo. Those guys get paid for their pictures. Sometimes itâs quite a lot of money. I donât need to tell you that.â
âAnd itâs you they seem to want to see.â
She blushed hotly. âHey, they wonât want to see me when Iâm old.â
âIf you get to be old,â he rasped. âThatâs one of the reasons Iâm here. I told you, your grandmother showed me all those newspaper clippings about Morcombeâs driving under the influence. The reason it got so much coverage was you. It canât go on like this, Tori. I wonât have it. Rushford has been a well-respected name in this country since the early days of settlement.â
She positively hated him then. âSo what do you want me to do? Sing the National Anthem? Isnât it wonderful the Rushfords are so unquestionably top drawer? You must have hated it when your dad blotted his copybook, running off with that Aleesha, or whatever her name is.â
âI donât want or need your opinion about that,