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have the wife of Sandros Thalassis sued for debt. The sums owing, together with what I would have paid her, amount to slightly more than you ask for, so she'll have a very lean year. I've given you my terms, so it's up to you. Take them or leave them.'
    'And—what makes you think I'd even consider…' All Hester's carefully laid plans were crumbling into ineffectual dust and she felt on the brink of tears.
    'Simple,' he broke in on her. 'You want a lot of money and you want it quickly. I shan't ask for your reasons, they don't concern me, not yet, but I can get you what you want, and it has to be on
my
terms. I'll give you half an hour to think it over, and after that you're on your own.' Again, his dark eyes gleamed with a smile and his lips curved sardonically. 'Personally, I don't give much for your chances with Vilma, not if you've a deadline. She'll stall you as long as she can and she'd cut off her right arm before she parted with one diamond or one sable coat—and as I've already explained, she won't have the cash to give you.'
    'Then she can use some of her own.' Hester was sturdy. 'Her uncle left her a small fortune and she's already had one other rich husband…'
    Demetrios shook his head at her naivety. 'Most of that's already spent. If one wishes to catch a prize as rich as Sandros Thalassis, one can't be mean about the quality and quantity of the bait.' There was disillusion in his eyes and a cynical twist to his mouth.
    Hester covered her disappointment well, although her heart had dropped right to the soles of her high-heeled shoes. She gave a slight shrug.
    'I'll need to know a bit more,' she murmured. 'It's rather a big decision to rush into and you really aren't giving me much time.' She pushed her plate aside and shook her head at his offer of a sweet. 'Just coffee, thank you. Do we talk about it now?' Nothing was going as she'd planned and hoped, and she'd been so sure… Dejection settled on her, giving her mouth a sad, weary droop.
    'Over coffee,' he said adamantly, and turned to give instructions to the waiter who was hovering. 'I've ordered some little cakes and there's a wide choice of fruits and cheeses—do you want a liqueur with your coffee?'
    'No, thank you.' Hester chose that moment to remember Flo's oft-repeated warnings about men who tried to get a girl drunk—it struck her as being excruciatingly funny, almost to the point of hysteria, and she choked back a desire to break into wild, uncontrolled laughter. 'But why me?'
    He shrugged. 'I have to make a home here for my daughter—my present arrangements have ceased rather abruptly. Besides, I think it's about time she lived with me, and that means a female to look after her and my home.'
    'But you could employ a nanny and a housekeeper,' she quibbled. 'Surely that would be better than going in for anything as binding and permanent as marriage—especially to me! You can't have a very high opinion of me.'
    'My daughter needs more than a nanny and a housekeeper,' he said flatly. 'Surely you know that? She needs to be part of a family, to be loved, to be made to feel secure—no different from the other children she'll meet. You were fostered, weren't you? And you felt the difference, I'm sure.'
    'No, I didn't,' she protested vigorously. 'My foster-parents were real parents to me. It wasn't until I was eighteen that I knew differently.'
    'But I've no intention of fostering my daughter,' he pointed out. 'She'll live with me, in a household as' regular as I can make it. As for why I've chosen you, I thought I'd made that clear—my opinion of you doesn't enter into it. You'll understand what sort of a home Khadija needs.'
    'Khadija?' Hester raised her eyebrows. 'That doesn't sound Greek.'
    'A name's a name,' he frowned. 'It's of no consequence, and I always call her Katy.'
    'And that's your only reason for offering me help to get the money—and a wedding ring thrown in?' She was disbelieving, and her disbelief was justified.
    'Not entirely.'