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darling. It's cooler there, and you won't catch a chill as you
    might outside.'
    His grip was inexorable. It was like trying to tear free from a vice, and
    Catriona did not have the strength to smuggle any more. She allowed him to
    lead her across the room they had first entered to the French windows. He
    lifted one of the long beige velvet curtains, and she passed through like an
    automaton.

    Ordinarily Catriona would have delighted in the warm exotic scents and
    sights around her. Hanging lamps had been festooned across the glass roof,
    and the lights were reflected back from the banks of glossy leaves and petals
    and from a tiny sunken pool. Small brightly coloured fish darted among the
    pebbles and the lilies, and Catriona stood watching them, her mind
    registering with complete detachment every swift movement and ripple of
    the water. In spite of the more than mild atmosphere, she felt icy cold.
    'Here.' Jason appeared, holding a glass which he thrust into her hand. 'Drink
    this, and don't drop it this time. Caterers' glasses are an expensive item, as
    you being a thrifty Scot should know.'
    Obediently she swallowed some of the amber liquid, then choked as the
    powerful spirit caught her throat. It was a violent revival, but it was what
    she needed, and it gave her the courage to face him.
    'You knew,' she accused, her voice almost breaking. 'You knew!'
    'Of course I did.' He set one foot on the low parapet of the pool, and took a
    brief sip from his own glass.
    'And you didn't tell me?'
    'No.'
    'How could you be so cruel?' she whispered, her eyes and throat smarting
    with the tears she wouldn't allow to fall.
    'I had to be cruel—to be kind,' he said. His dark face was angry as he stared
    at her. 'I did my level best to scare you off, to get rid of you, even. I told you
    to go back to Scotland, but no. Nothing gainsays Miss Catriona Muir once
    her mind is made up, does it?'
    'Why didn't you tell me the truth?' she asked, trying to control her trembling
    voice.
    He looked at her steadily. 'Because nothing on God's earth would have
    convinced you that it was the truth. You had Jeremy cast as the hero, and

    me, most definitely, as the villain of the piece. Any warning I had given you
    about Helen's existence you would have dismissed as having an ulterior
    motive, though God knows what makes you think I harbour any towards
    you,' he added.
    She stood silent for a moment, torn between the justice of what he had said
    and the misery that was threatening to engulf her.
    'Here,' he said quietly, as if he sensed her struggle, and passed her the white
    handkerchief from his breast pocket. This unexpected consideration was
    the final straw. She sank down on to a wicker lounger and let her tears have
    full rein at last.
    To her relief, he made no attempt to touch her, apart from taking the
    remains of the brandy from her. Except for the sudden flare of his lighter as
    he lit a cigarette, she was hardly aware of his presence.
    Eventually, as her self-control returned and the tearing ; sobs began to
    subside, she sat up slowly, dreading that he would be watching her,
    mocking her woebegone appearance, but he was merely sitting by the side
    of the pool, staring down at the immaculate toe of one of his black shoes.
    She forced herself to sound calm. 'Who is she, please?'
    He glanced up. 'Helen? Oh, the original poor little rich girl. Her father's in
    wool—the family live near Bradford. She met Jeremy in Kitzbuhl a couple
    of years ago.'
    'If he's known her all that time, how could he have been | the way he was
    with me?' she said slowly.
    He shrugged. 'As you may have gathered, I've never had much time for
    Jeremy. He was damnably spoiled when he was a child. I don't think Clive
    ever realised how much until it was too late. Marion's a bit of a fool, and
    I've never thought her feelings go particularly deep, so maybe Jeremy j
    takes after her.'
    'Just like that,' she said unsteadily.

    'What do you want me to say?' he countered,