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“We have just gone into
partnership, my dear.”
    “ But, I can’t repay you at the
moment, and anyway, won’t Ryan go mad when he finds out what you’ve
done?”
    “ My husband doesn’t know about everything I do.”
    Noah chuckled. “I should hope not.” He grasped
her hand. “But seriously, Kitty-Kat, what made you do
it.”
    “ I’m merely repaying you for your
thoughtfulness last week.”
    “ I only did—”
    “ I know what you only did,
Noah, and it was beyond kind. I’m the sort of woman that people
tend to either overlook or dismiss as uninteresting. But you
actually wanted to talk to me and cared about my feelings. I can’t
remember the last time that happened,” she added softly. “And
you’re still so young.”
    “ Yes, but I don’t see what age has
to do with anything.”
    “ No, I don’t suppose you do. The
young always think they can conquer the world.” She paused, her
eyes dancing with rebellion. “Do you know, the only act of defiance
I’ve ever seen through in my entire life was to marry Ryan against
my father’s wishes.”
    “ Kitty, buying me a house just to
get back at your husband seems rather extreme.”
    “ Oh, it’s not only that.” She
dismissed the suggestion with an airy wave. “Ryan treated me well
at first. He said I had class, and liked showing me off to his
friends, but he worked so hard that I didn’t see much of him.” She
paused to take a sip of her drink. “He really was a lot like you
then. By the time he’d established himself sufficiently to have the
time to notice me properly again, he obviously didn’t like what he
saw and that’s when he started on his long line of
tarts.”
    “ Yes, you certainly didn’t deserve
that, but don’t you think—”
    “ What I think is that it’s time to
fight back. Our little chat the other night got me thinking. You’ve
made me realize that I’m a person in my own right, and not just an
extension of Ryan, without entitlement to thoughts and opinions of
my own.” She sighed. “I’ve kept it all buried for too long, and
without you it probably would have stayed that way.”
    “ Are you going to leave
him?”
    “ Good heavens, no!” She smiled
again, her eyes sparkling with resolve. “In spite of everything I’m
still rather fond of the old devil. I intend to play him at his own
game and get him to notice me again, but this time on my
terms.”
    Noah was choked with gratitude. “I can’t find
the words to tell you what this means to me.”
    Kitty waved aside his gratitude. “My father
eventually came to respect what Ryan achieved, but he never liked
or trusted him.”
    “ Perhaps he was a good judge,”
Noah said, still brooding over Watts’s reluctance to help him out.
“Whoops, sorry, shouldn’t have said that about your
husband.”
    Kitty smiled distractedly. “That’s why, when
he died, Ryan wasn’t surprised when I only received a modest
inheritance. What he doesn’t know is that I received a much larger
amount when my father was still alive, to avoid inheritance tax. He
insisted upon investing it off-shore in my name only, swearing me
to secrecy.”
    “ Ah, I see.” Noah flashed a brief
smile. “Clever man, your dad.”
    “ Yes, I rather think he was.” She
shrugged. “Perhaps he anticipated how Ryan would behave toward me,
and wanted to offer me an escape route. Anyway, that was some years
ago now, and the investment’s doing very nicely, thank you. I used
some of that money today to buy your house. We got it at a good
price, didn’t we?” she added, looking thoroughly pleased with
herself.
    “ Kitty, I just don’t know what to
say.”
    Her lips twitched. “How about thank
you?”
    “ That doesn’t begin to cover it.
But I must stress again that I won’t be able to pay you back until
I’ve done the house up and sold it on.”
    “ That’s perfectly all right, Noah.
I expected as much. I suggest that you use your savings as capital
to make the improvements, since