Sandy under the circumstances.’
‘I think I have every right.’ He moved towards the back of the car. ‘If you’ll give me your keys I’ll get Sandy’s bag.’
She rubbed her arm where she could still feel the grip of his strong fingers.
‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘I’m not handing him over like this as if he were some kind of chattel. I agree I was foolish,’ she rushed on, ‘leaving him alone even for so short a time, but he was fast asleep and I knew I hadn’t far to go to reach the phone box.’
‘Did it not occur to you that he might have wakened up and been afraid?’ he asked icily.
‘I thought of that, but it was the chance I had to take,’ she admitted.
‘You appear to take chances easily,’ Charles Moreton pointed out.
‘Not as a rule.’
‘But this time,’ he suggested with deepening sarcasm, ‘you couldn’t resist helping an old school friend? I find that touching in the extreme.’
He held out his hand, but she kept the keys.
‘I don’t intend you to get away with this,’ she decided. ‘I’m not going to hand over Sandy’s luggage just because you say so. He’s my responsibility at present.’
‘And mine.’ A flash of anger sparked in the grey eyes under the beetling black brows. ‘Please let me have your keys.’
He continued to hold out his hand, his angry gaze transfixing her, and foolishly Katherine put the keys on top of the boot. A physical struggle with this man was out of the question, she told herself.
‘Thank you!’
He opened the boot, taking out Sandy’s gay tartan grip and, surprisingly, her own suitcase, laying them aside on the road.
‘The case is mine,’ she pointed out.
‘I gathered that.’ He picked up both case and bag. ‘Have you a coat in the car?’
‘Yes.’ She answered him confusedly. ‘But what has that to do with all this?’ she demanded.
‘You’re coming with me. Obviously your car has broken down and. I’ve told you Sandy is safely installed for the night not too far away.’ He looked at her with a gleam of derision in his eyes. ‘Surely you don’t expect me to leave you where you are in the circumstances? You needn’t worry about your car,’ he added. ‘I’ll send someone to look at it in the morning.’
‘You’re very kind.’ There was a suggestion of sarcasm in her own voice now. ‘If it wasn’t for Sandy I’d refuse, but I don’t mean to lose track of him so easily.’
Charles walked towards the Rover.
‘Make sure you lock up properly this time,’ he advised. Katherine got into the parked Rover because it was the only thing she could do. Her heart was beating strongly as she took her seat beside her captor, belying her outward calm which she wanted him to recognise as determination.
‘I don’t intend to let Sandy go,’ she said belligerently.
‘I wouldn’t expect you to.’ His tone was cold. ‘You had a great deal of courage to come this far after your experience at Beck Cottage. You must have known you were on a wild goose chase by then.’
‘I wasn’t chasing anyone!’ Katherine declared. ‘It was you who was doing the following bit, like some shabby private eye!’
He evidently found that amusing, because he laughed outright.
‘What are you trying to say?’ he demanded. ‘That you have every right to Sandy and I have none?’
‘Coralie has more right than either of us,’ Katherine reminded him. ‘She is Sandy’s mother.’
His mouth tightened again and she found herself looking at him in profile as he drove on without answering her. There was something about the high, arched nose and dark, beetling brows which disconcerted her now, suggesting a bird of prey, although she had formerly admired them in London, and certainly Coralie had used similar words to describe him before they had parted. ‘My ex-husband wants Sandy because he’s the heir to a great deal of money,’ she had said agitatedly. ‘His uncle settled a considerable sum on him when he was one year old and
‘I think I have every right.’ He moved towards the back of the car. ‘If you’ll give me your keys I’ll get Sandy’s bag.’
She rubbed her arm where she could still feel the grip of his strong fingers.
‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘I’m not handing him over like this as if he were some kind of chattel. I agree I was foolish,’ she rushed on, ‘leaving him alone even for so short a time, but he was fast asleep and I knew I hadn’t far to go to reach the phone box.’
‘Did it not occur to you that he might have wakened up and been afraid?’ he asked icily.
‘I thought of that, but it was the chance I had to take,’ she admitted.
‘You appear to take chances easily,’ Charles Moreton pointed out.
‘Not as a rule.’
‘But this time,’ he suggested with deepening sarcasm, ‘you couldn’t resist helping an old school friend? I find that touching in the extreme.’
He held out his hand, but she kept the keys.
‘I don’t intend you to get away with this,’ she decided. ‘I’m not going to hand over Sandy’s luggage just because you say so. He’s my responsibility at present.’
‘And mine.’ A flash of anger sparked in the grey eyes under the beetling black brows. ‘Please let me have your keys.’
He continued to hold out his hand, his angry gaze transfixing her, and foolishly Katherine put the keys on top of the boot. A physical struggle with this man was out of the question, she told herself.
‘Thank you!’
He opened the boot, taking out Sandy’s gay tartan grip and, surprisingly, her own suitcase, laying them aside on the road.
‘The case is mine,’ she pointed out.
‘I gathered that.’ He picked up both case and bag. ‘Have you a coat in the car?’
‘Yes.’ She answered him confusedly. ‘But what has that to do with all this?’ she demanded.
‘You’re coming with me. Obviously your car has broken down and. I’ve told you Sandy is safely installed for the night not too far away.’ He looked at her with a gleam of derision in his eyes. ‘Surely you don’t expect me to leave you where you are in the circumstances? You needn’t worry about your car,’ he added. ‘I’ll send someone to look at it in the morning.’
‘You’re very kind.’ There was a suggestion of sarcasm in her own voice now. ‘If it wasn’t for Sandy I’d refuse, but I don’t mean to lose track of him so easily.’
Charles walked towards the Rover.
‘Make sure you lock up properly this time,’ he advised. Katherine got into the parked Rover because it was the only thing she could do. Her heart was beating strongly as she took her seat beside her captor, belying her outward calm which she wanted him to recognise as determination.
‘I don’t intend to let Sandy go,’ she said belligerently.
‘I wouldn’t expect you to.’ His tone was cold. ‘You had a great deal of courage to come this far after your experience at Beck Cottage. You must have known you were on a wild goose chase by then.’
‘I wasn’t chasing anyone!’ Katherine declared. ‘It was you who was doing the following bit, like some shabby private eye!’
He evidently found that amusing, because he laughed outright.
‘What are you trying to say?’ he demanded. ‘That you have every right to Sandy and I have none?’
‘Coralie has more right than either of us,’ Katherine reminded him. ‘She is Sandy’s mother.’
His mouth tightened again and she found herself looking at him in profile as he drove on without answering her. There was something about the high, arched nose and dark, beetling brows which disconcerted her now, suggesting a bird of prey, although she had formerly admired them in London, and certainly Coralie had used similar words to describe him before they had parted. ‘My ex-husband wants Sandy because he’s the heir to a great deal of money,’ she had said agitatedly. ‘His uncle settled a considerable sum on him when he was one year old and
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