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wife. She possessed all the subtle instincts of bringing him to the point. They were both intrinsically impatient, sensual people, and their engagement could be brief. He might not have the romantic allure of Jon, and she would never now be the future Lady Wentworth, but Rick Ferris mattered. She would be envied by many women and life would be an adventure. With tact and a little flattery from her he could be persuaded to give her whatever she wished – materially. Of that she was convinced. And in time, when Jon grew bored with colourless Cassandra, he’d notice his mistake.
    That would be her ultimate triumph.
    And so, reckless from reaction she plunged headlong into a new – and as it proved later – wildly disturbing relationship.
    Kate ’s single-minded determination allied to Rick’s increasing desire for her, brought her wish to fulfilment, and in November amid a lightning blaze of publicity she became the bride of Richard Ferris. Cassandra and the Hon. Jon Wentworth were among the guests present at the ceremony and reception.
    *
    The marriage of Sir William Wentworth’s son to Cassandra Blacksley took place in February of the following year at the family’s private chapel on the Charnbrook estate. Sir William Wentworth and his wife, Lady Olivia, who held the title in her own right being the youngest daughter of a duke, had grudgingly agreed to the union in the face of their son’s stubborn infatuation and determination to take off to foreign climes if any means was produced to thwart him. And, after all, as Sir William pointed out, she would not be without a dowry. Barrington had come up trumps in that direction, and the girl seemed a quiet little thing – malleable. Jonathan might have worse.
    ‘ That’s true,’ his wife had agreed thoughtfully. ‘Yes, we must be thankful, I suppose, the dear boy didn’t choose Barrington’s showy daughter. I can see trouble ahead for Ferris. Mark my words – there’s a wild streak in her. But, of course, he’s no gentleman. They’re well matched in that way. Bourgeois. You could see that at the wedding – all those bridesmaids, and champagne – really !’
    ‘ A good-looking filly, nevertheless,’ Wentworth observed retrospectively. ‘A fine figure too – tiny waist and good hips. Should breed well.’
    ‘ William! I believe you admire her.’
    ‘ Hm! She’s got style whatever you may say, m’dear. But there now. Ferris and his bride are nothing to do with us. We’ve our own son to think of.’
    ‘ Indeed yes. And no vulgar publicity at the ceremony. The number of guests must be kept to a strict minimum. No outsiders at the service, just relatives and staff. Thank heaven for our private chapel. It would be quite odious to provoke any sense of rivalry in the press between the Wentworth and Barrington families.’
    ‘ There can be no question of that, Olivia,’ William remarked drily, ‘financially speaking. As you well know.’
    ‘ I was referring to class, William. Most wealthy people nowadays are of the lower social orders. Unfortunately.’
    One of her husband ’s bushy eyebrows raised itself quizzically, ‘Not for them , my dear. I’ve no doubt Ferris’s millions are already adding more than a touch of spice to his saucy young wife’s experience.’
    *
    At that moment, to be precise, Rick Ferris was watching Kate with considerable satisfaction and mounting desire, prepare herself before her mirror for what was likely to prove a somewhat tricky social occasion – dinner with John Monksley, a newspaper tycoon, and the much whispered about widow, Mrs Linda Wade, who had made herself notorious in the district through her visits to Woodgate, the Ferris home. It was early December, and Rick and Kate had only returned the previous week from their honeymoon in London and the Continent.
    Kate ’s first instinct had been to object. But a gleam in her husband’s eye – a certain wary challenge, had restrained her. Everything between the couple so