Read The Silk Merchant's Daughter for Free Online Page B

for a moment as if to pass his own confidence through to her. ‘You’re the girl who wants to travel the world, right?’
    She nodded.
    ‘You choose your life, Nicole. At least to some extent.’
    Something about the persistence of his gaze unsettled her. How could she resist a man with eyes as blue as his and a smile so irresistible that it lit up his whole face? It affected her so much that she could actually feel it physically. She stiffened and wondered what he thought of her dark, shallow-set eyes and lack of height.
    He let her go and put an arm round her shoulders. ‘Come on.’
    At the cafe, she waited in the queue with him while he ordered. The place looked brighter, more cheerful than usual, though everything seemed beautiful when she was with him. As they went to sit at a window table, she laughed at herself for being fanciful. When she noticed Mark studying her face, she looked away.
    ‘Tell me to shut up, but I can’t help think there’s something wrong.’
    Nicole sighed. ‘I didn’t think it showed.’
    ‘So?’
    She hesitated and gave him a quick glance, but his closeness brought her buried feelings to the surface. ‘It’s nothing. I’m just still smarting over the fact that all I’ve got is the old silk shop whereas Sylvie has been given the entire business.’ She paused and listened to the clink of coffee cups and the conversations happening around her, then glanced out at the street. Even though she liked him, how far could you trust a stranger with your heart?
    There was a short silence.
    ‘So I’m not going to be a buyer after all.’
    He smiled. ‘Give it time. Where is this silk shop, anyway?’
    ‘In the ancient quarter. I’ve decided to make the best of it. I look Vietnamese enough. I love silk. The smell of it. The feel of it. I’m good with silk.’ She smiled. ‘Or rather, silk is good with me.’
    ‘Have you any special plans for the shop?’
    She laughed. ‘First, I’m going to stock up with disinfectant and a mop. The place looks as if it needs a good clean. After that I’d like to make it so enticing that customers can’t resist coming in and buying.’
    Mark touched her hand. ‘Is there anything else you’d like to do?’
    She smiled. ‘Well, I loved singing and acting at school.’
    ‘I meant with me. How about swimming? Or a trip out on the lake?’
    She twisted her face. ‘I’m not so good with boats.’
    ‘I’ll row. All you need do is lean back and look beautiful.’
    She laughed. ‘A tall order.’
    ‘You have no idea, do you?’
    ‘Of what?’
    He leant across and touched her cheek. ‘You are so beautiful and you just don’t know it.’
    It was enough to make the heat crawl up her neck and she lowered her eyes in confusion. Was he laughing at her? She hated the thought that she might be nothing more than a diversion to him. A toy. Someone to joke around with but not to take seriously.
    The rain looked as if it was on its way back, though sunlight still filtered through the trees in patches; one of those strange days when the darkness and the sunlight fought each other.
    ‘Do you believe I can make a go of the shop? I’ve done some stupid things. Embarrassed my father. He thinks I can’t be trusted. Sylvie has never set fire to a marquee, nor taken off on a bus to Saigon without telling anyone. And I was always in detention at school for talking too much and spilling ink.’
    ‘We all do stupid things when we’re young.’
    ‘That makes you sound ancient. How old are you?’
    ‘Thirty-two.’
    There was a crash of thunder and she looked up.
    ‘Trust me,’ he said. ‘It will all work out. Just prove to your father that you can make the shop a success.’
    He smoked a Chesterfield and they talked for a little longer. Too soon he scraped back his chair.
    She was anxious for it not to be over so she blurted out, ‘What are you doing with Papa? It must be something that isn’t silk. Are you working for the French?’
    His look did not change,