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Demetrios leaned back in his chair and surveyed her blandly. 'I shall expect you to give me a son.'
    Hester went rigid, her face paled, but she retained her composure. 'I think this conversation would have been better conducted over a telephone,' she murmured. 'I'd have hung up on you long before now.'
    'One reason I decided to have it in a public restaurant.' His mouth curved into a smile of derision. 'I knew I could rely on your behaviour in public. Are you going to accept my proposition?'
    'I suppose I should be thankful you didn't say proposal,' she sniffed, 'and I suppose I should be equally grateful for your—I can't call it honesty—I think a better word would be "crudity". So it's not just for the look of things?'
    'Certainly not!' This time she was sure of the derision that lit his eyes. 'Such a relationship would be unnatural—it couldn't be sustained. Either of both of us would weaken, and then there would be tearful scenes of recrimination and you'd be awash with either guilt or self-pity.'
    'Neither of which would affect you, of course.' She bit into a piece of something very sweet and cloying which tasted as though it was made of nuts and honey and abandoned it after that first bite, grimacing at the sweetness.
    'I certainly shouldn't feel any guilt,' he chuckled.
    'Why should I, about a perfectly normal need?' He glanced at his watch. 'You've only ten minutes left to make up your mind,' he reminded her.
    Very steadily Hester returned his gaze. There wasn't all that much to think about—there wasn't any other way she could think of to get a very large sum of money and to get it quickly. But she didn't want to appear too desperate; he could easily take advantage of that, reduce the pay-off or something equally disastrous.
    'Make it a quarter of an hour,' she answered him lightly. 'I'll have a cup of coffee to wash away the taste of that thing,' she gestured at the plate. 'A little of it goes a long way, and when my mouth feels clean again, I'll give you an answer. Personally, I think you're asking rather a lot. You drive a hard bargain.'
    'For twenty thousand pounds cash and a lifetime of security?' Demetrios shook his head and his hand reached out to cover hers where it lay on the table. The touch of his long fingers sent what felt like an electric current through her whole body and she drew a sharp breath. 'You set the fashion of time limits, I'm merely following your example, and I think the arrangement should work very well. You don't seem to find my touch distasteful.'
    'You'd accept my word? Me, a self-confessed blackmailer?' Hester raised her eyebrows and watched him smile in a satisfied way.
    'No,' he was bluntly rude. 'I'm a business man and I've found that promises don't pay dividends. Oh,' as he saw her angry look, 'I'll trust you with the money for a few days, but I'll make damn sure you don't doublecross me. Money is only money, but my private affairs are another matter. I'm laying myself open to your type of blackmail.'
    'You're using a pretty potent type yourself,' Hester pointed out.
    'Yes,' he grinned, and chuckled. 'I am, aren't I, but when I do something, I do it properly and I don't leave loose ends hanging about. My way, you get your dues but you'll have no opportunity to capitalise on your knowledge.'
    'Because I've become one of your family?'
    'Because I'll beat you,' he corrected. 'You shall have your retribution, but you're not the daughter of night, to pursue somebody indefinitely.'
    'Daughter of night?' Hester was mystified.
    'Nemesis,' he gave her a wry smile. 'She was the daughter of Hesiod—Night.'
    Hester shrugged, 'Another gem to add to my Bumper Fun Book. I can see I'm going to learn a lot.'
    'You accept, then?' and at her nod, 'Then you will,' he said tranquilly as though the battle was won and he had nothing left but a few mopping up operations, 'finish your coffee and we'll go.'
    Hester drained her cup, getting a mouthful of bitter grounds for her pains, and at her grimace,