it would never occur to him that she might have a perfectly good reason for not wanting her picture to appear in the magazine.
‘ I—I just prefer not to be photographed, ’ she repeated, and saw the stubborn way his jaw set as he eyed her steadily.
‘ Why not? ’ he asked.
‘ I have my reasons and I don ’ t have to give them to you, ’ Louise told him, wishing old Emma would intervene instead of just sitting there taking it all in and seemingly enjoying the exchange.
He shook his head after a moment and a smile just touched his lips, giving his face an oddly lop-sided look that, inexplicably, made her want to laugh. ‘ I just wish I knew, ’ he said, ‘ why a beautiful girl like you refuses to have her picture taken for a magazine. It ’ s not natural. ’
His voice, she noticed with a momentary panic, had dropped to that deep, seductive tone that he had used on Diamond, but she refused to recognise its attraction, tilting her head arrogantly, her nose in the air as she answered. ‘ It ’ s perfectly natural, ’ she retorted loftily. ‘ Every girl isn ’ t just panting to appear in your magazine, you know, some have enough reticence to prefer privacy. You might ,’ she added with a studied malice, ‘ try asking Diamond. I ’ m sure she ’ d be only too pleased to oblige you. ’
It was a jibe she felt he deserved, but instead of the anger she expected as a reaction he laughed. He sat there and laughed at her, and so infectiously that old Emma joined in with her dry cackle of amusement. ‘ Miaouw! ’ The devil of mockery in the brown eyes taunted her and Louise held her hands, tight-clenched, at her sides, barely restraining herself from hitting him as hard as she could.
‘I’ll leave you to interview Great-gran, ’ she informed him stiffly, ‘ since that is what you ’ re supposed to be here for, remember? ’
He eyed her speculatively for a moment, as she hesitated before leaving them alone. ‘I’m here to get a story, ’ he told her, ‘ and I ’ m not sure you couldn ’ t provide as interesting a one as Mrs. Kincaid. ’
For a breathless second Louise looked at him, her eyes wide and questioning, looking and feeling as vulnerable as a child, then she shook her head dazedly and hurried from the room, the colour warm in her cheeks.
CHAPTER FOUR
IT was three days since the snow had started falling, and it had fallen intermittently ever since. Tempers were getting a little frayed and there had been one or two stiffly polite exchanges that fortunately had led to nothing serious. Diamond, with her silly chatter, did nothing to help matters and even her adoring Colin had frowned at her several times.
Stephen ’ s moodiness, always a drawback, had not improved with the enforced confinement and he had let Louise know in no uncertain terms that he resented having to share his room with Jonathan Darrell. She had explained that, in the circumstances, there was little she could do about it, and consequently there was less than the usual cordiality between the two of them.
In all fairness, the two strangers had kept themselves pretty well to themselves, although most of the family had no objection to their being there. Diamond, of course, went out of her way to draw Jonathan Darrell ’ s attention, and it was this as much as anything that had earned Colin ’ s disapproval, mild though it was.
Louise was surprised and not a little dismayed to find that Robert spent as much time as possible with Jonathan Darrell, and she had to admit that on that particular point she and her son did not see eye to eye. That he would miss Jonathan when he went was no longer in doubt, however, for he seldom let him out of his sight if he could help it. The pick-a-back upstairs at night was now an established routine which both of them seemed to enjoy and which Louise took part in only as a spectator.
The snow was deep and dazzlingly white as far as the eye could see from the windows of Cray, and it had
‘ I—I just prefer not to be photographed, ’ she repeated, and saw the stubborn way his jaw set as he eyed her steadily.
‘ Why not? ’ he asked.
‘ I have my reasons and I don ’ t have to give them to you, ’ Louise told him, wishing old Emma would intervene instead of just sitting there taking it all in and seemingly enjoying the exchange.
He shook his head after a moment and a smile just touched his lips, giving his face an oddly lop-sided look that, inexplicably, made her want to laugh. ‘ I just wish I knew, ’ he said, ‘ why a beautiful girl like you refuses to have her picture taken for a magazine. It ’ s not natural. ’
His voice, she noticed with a momentary panic, had dropped to that deep, seductive tone that he had used on Diamond, but she refused to recognise its attraction, tilting her head arrogantly, her nose in the air as she answered. ‘ It ’ s perfectly natural, ’ she retorted loftily. ‘ Every girl isn ’ t just panting to appear in your magazine, you know, some have enough reticence to prefer privacy. You might ,’ she added with a studied malice, ‘ try asking Diamond. I ’ m sure she ’ d be only too pleased to oblige you. ’
It was a jibe she felt he deserved, but instead of the anger she expected as a reaction he laughed. He sat there and laughed at her, and so infectiously that old Emma joined in with her dry cackle of amusement. ‘ Miaouw! ’ The devil of mockery in the brown eyes taunted her and Louise held her hands, tight-clenched, at her sides, barely restraining herself from hitting him as hard as she could.
‘I’ll leave you to interview Great-gran, ’ she informed him stiffly, ‘ since that is what you ’ re supposed to be here for, remember? ’
He eyed her speculatively for a moment, as she hesitated before leaving them alone. ‘I’m here to get a story, ’ he told her, ‘ and I ’ m not sure you couldn ’ t provide as interesting a one as Mrs. Kincaid. ’
For a breathless second Louise looked at him, her eyes wide and questioning, looking and feeling as vulnerable as a child, then she shook her head dazedly and hurried from the room, the colour warm in her cheeks.
CHAPTER FOUR
IT was three days since the snow had started falling, and it had fallen intermittently ever since. Tempers were getting a little frayed and there had been one or two stiffly polite exchanges that fortunately had led to nothing serious. Diamond, with her silly chatter, did nothing to help matters and even her adoring Colin had frowned at her several times.
Stephen ’ s moodiness, always a drawback, had not improved with the enforced confinement and he had let Louise know in no uncertain terms that he resented having to share his room with Jonathan Darrell. She had explained that, in the circumstances, there was little she could do about it, and consequently there was less than the usual cordiality between the two of them.
In all fairness, the two strangers had kept themselves pretty well to themselves, although most of the family had no objection to their being there. Diamond, of course, went out of her way to draw Jonathan Darrell ’ s attention, and it was this as much as anything that had earned Colin ’ s disapproval, mild though it was.
Louise was surprised and not a little dismayed to find that Robert spent as much time as possible with Jonathan Darrell, and she had to admit that on that particular point she and her son did not see eye to eye. That he would miss Jonathan when he went was no longer in doubt, however, for he seldom let him out of his sight if he could help it. The pick-a-back upstairs at night was now an established routine which both of them seemed to enjoy and which Louise took part in only as a spectator.
The snow was deep and dazzlingly white as far as the eye could see from the windows of Cray, and it had
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