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should he desire to harm her. She must have been mad to come. Brushing off his arm, she rose and stood a few feet away. The safety of distance helped curb her alarm.
    His brows knit together in momentary annoyance. “You’re quite safe. We’ll go outside and talk if you like. I just thought we’d have more privacy here.” Ashamed for doubting his intentions, Lorna nevertheless remained standing. Ashley drew his long frame up beside her. “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” he grinned, appearing to have forgotten his annoyance. “Look, I wanted to ask whether you’d be prepared to forget all you know about me—or what you think you know. You’re too pretty a girl to argue with and I don’t intend going without any more meals to avoid meeting you. What do you say to starting afresh?”
    He looked so eager, sounded so convincing, that Lorna almost believed him. Almost—but not quite. Recollections of the sort of man he really was sprang clearly to mind. This was no man to grovel, to beg for friendship. No, he was disappointed because she was indifferent to his charms and was trying fresh tactics to try and win her over. But he had misjudged her if he thought she wouldn’t see through his little plan. Go without meals indeed! He’d probably had them sent here if the truth was known.
    “Your pride is hurt—is that it?” She looked at him boldly. “You’re afraid to admit that at last you’ve met your match? Someone you can’t wrap round your little finger?”
    The tightening of his lips told Lorna that her words had hurt him, but he spoke softly with no trace of anger or resentment. “Why do you insist on believing the worst? Can’t you accept me at face value? I’ve done nothing to hurt you, so why try your best to hurt me?”
    “You wouldn’t understand in a million years,” said Lorna bitterly, unless she told him about Margo. Then he might realise a little of the damage he was doing. “If that’s all you want there’s no point in my staying.” She turned towards the door. “I shall never like you, Mr. Ward, not as long as I live!”
    She had her hand on the handle when he spun her round to face him. His eyes were dark and a muscle pulsed in his jaw, but his voice was quite even. “I think I deserve an explanation. Never is a long, long time, Miss Ridgeway. Something has obviously happened to cause such a violent reaction. You wouldn’t feel like that on just hearsay.”
    Their eyes met for one long second until Lorna suddenly covered her face with her hands. She felt scalding tears run down her face and was at a loss to understand why. Dumbly she allowed Ashley to lead her back to the settee and silently he passed her his handkerchief.
    What was the matter with her? she thought. Why the tears just because he had asked her a question that she did not want to answer? This merely confirmed that she had something to hide. She would no longer be able to bluff her way out.
    “Okay, you win,” she said, when her tears had eventually stopped. “I’ll be nice to you—on one condition.”
    He quirked a dark eyebrow upwards. “And that is?”
    “No more questions. We start from now.”
    From his expression there were lots more questions Ashley wanted to ask, but to Lorna’s relief he smiled and took her hand. “Right, let’s shake on it.”
    Perhaps it was relief that there were to be no more disagreements, or perhaps it was reaction after her tears, Lorna did not know, but she found herself responding to his smile. A new and totally unexpected warmth filled her body.
    “I’m sure you won’t find it hard once you’ve got used to the idea,” said Ashley, crossing to the cabinet and pouring her another drink. “I’m really quite an easy person to get on with.”
    That remains to be seen, thought Lorna, but as the afternoon passed she discovered that he was indeed good company. He had her in fits of laughter as he related some amusing experiences in the television studios, and she was