The Lawyer's Contract Marriage. Amanda Browning

it. He must be one hell of a poker player, for he knew to a nicety how to play her. It was to be her choice and her answer, because he knew she couldn’t abandon her family to their fate. He probably thought it would be a simple decision, but he didn’t know about Ransom. Nobody did. Only her.

      ‘What other way is there? The debt has to be paid off. If you give up your house and business, you’ll never be able to raise the money through a loan, or pay off the remainder. Whichever way you look at it, I’m your only hope,’ Sam countered with unnatural calmness. ‘What happens to Tony if I agree to this?’

      ‘He’ll go to live with my cousin in Australia. The sheep station is far enough away from temptation to keep your brother on the straight and narrow,’ her father said tiredly. ‘Hopefully it will make a man of him.’

      ‘It will do him more good than going to prison,’ she agreed, and her mother uttered a tiny cry that Sam responded to with a wry smile. ‘It’s OK, I haven’t decided yet. I must have some time to think about it. How long will Leno wait for my answer?’

      ‘Until this time tomorrow. But there’s nothing to think about. You can’t do it. I forbid you,’ her father commanded gruffly, and Sam silently shook her head.

      ‘Thanks for saying that, but it’s my decision.’

      ‘Think of yourself, Sam. Don’t worry about us,’ her father urged, and she hugged them both.

      ‘I love you. Don’t worry,’ she advised them, though she knew they would. ‘How much do the others know?’

      ‘Only that Tony’s in trouble again.’

      ‘Good. Don’t say anything yet,’ Sam advised with an encouraging smile, not wanting them to know how agonised she was feeling. ‘I’d better go. I’ve got a lot to think about. I’ll call you.’

      ‘Don’t do anything rash, darling!’ her mother called after her, and Sam shook her head.

      ‘I won’t,’ she said to ease her mother’s mind, then headed back to the sitting room. Once again everyone looked up as she came in and gathered up her belongings. ‘I have to go. Don’t worry about Tony. It’s being sorted out.’

      ‘How?’ Tom asked tersely as he stood up to confront her. ‘What’s going on, Sam?’

      ‘He’s been gambling again. But as I said, it’s being sorted out. I’m off to settle the details now,’ she told him, looking round the anxious group of faces and trying to be strong. ‘Look after Mum and Dad. They need your support right now.’

      They tried to get her to say more, but Sam shook her head and beat a hasty retreat to the front door, where only Tom followed her.

      ‘Are you OK, Sam?’ he asked in concern, and it was nearly her undoing. She had to swallow furiously in order to answer.

      ‘I’m fine. Really. I’m furious with Tony, and upset for Mum and Dad, but we’ll muddle through as we always do. Now I really must go,’ she insisted, and hurried down the path, feeling his eyes on her back all the way.

      Feeling as brittle as eggshell, Sam climbed into her car. Knowing that Tom was still watching, she drove off, but, having turned a couple of corners, she pulled the car over and turned off the engine. She sat back, and her head dropped in defeat. What could she do? How could she live with herself if she turned her back on her parents and let them suffer for their wayward son? She wished she could do it, for she didn’t want to have to give Ransom up, but it wasn’t in her. Her parents had sacrificed so much to give their children a better life, and it was about time someone did something for them. The burden had fallen on her shoulders, and she had to be the one to make the sacrifice.

      Her eyes burned with the sting of unshed tears as she thought of what she had to do. It was going to break her heart, but when she told Ransom why she was going to marry Leno Grimaldi she was sure he would understand that she had no choice. Her family had to come first. She drew in a shaky breath. Would it be too much to hope they could part as friends? Honesty forced her to admit it probably was. Life simply didn’t work that way.

      Yet she couldn’t dwell on that and do what she had to do. So she took several deep breaths and pulled herself together. She had things to do, and they would set in motion a course of events that would be irreversible.

      Sam knew where Leno Grimaldi lived, and she drove right over there despite the advancing hour. Leno answered the door to her knock himself, and much to her relief he didn’t look the least bit smug or self-satisfied. He was politeness itself as he invited her in.

      ‘Sam, my dear, it’s so lovely to see you. Come in. Come in. You’ll find your brother in the lounge,’ he declared warmly, making it seem as if there were nothing out of the ordinary about this visit. ‘This way,’ he went on, pointing to a half-open door.

      When she walked into the extremely elegant room, her brother Tony shot to his feet, looking pale and worried. ‘Hi, Sam,’ he greeted her, trying to sound cheerful, but it foundered when he met the icy look in her eye.

      ‘Can I get you something to drink?’ Leno Grimaldi asked, but Sam shook her head. She hadn’t eaten, and alcohol on an empty stomach was inadvisable.

      ‘Thank you, no. I’d better keep a clear head.’

      Leno Grimaldi smiled faintly. ‘Always wise when talking business,’ he agreed easily, indicating she should take a chair opposite her brother.

      ‘Business?’ Tony queried, looking from one to the other as they sat down.

      ‘Your sister is here to discuss your future,’ Leno explained to him. ‘And our own.’

      Seeing her brother about to ask more questions, Sam cut him off. ‘For once in your life just sit there and be quiet. You’ve done quite enough,’ she snapped at him, then turned to the older man. ‘Forgive my bluntness, but I don’t think there’s anything to be gained by beating about the bush. Is this offer for real? If I marry you, you’ll replace the money Tony took?’ she asked baldly, and though he winced a little Leno inclined his head.

      ‘It will be my wedding gift to your family,’ he confirmed. ‘You agree?’

      Sam looked at him, seeing a handsome middle-aged man who, for all his good points, was not above using her family’s crisis to his own ends. She felt nothing for him, but for her family she would marry the devil himself. ‘I agree,’ she said flatly, and heard a door slam in her mind, telling her there was no turning back now.

      ‘No, Sam! You can’t!’ Tony protested, suddenly seeming to realise what was going on. She looked at him, and registered the horror on his face.

      ‘I can and I am. But don’t think I’m doing it for you. This is for Mum and Dad. They deserve better than what you were going to put them through,’ she told him coldly.

      Leno said nothing, merely rose to his feet. ‘The money will be replaced in the morning and we will not mention it again. However, there are some papers that I need you all to sign,’ he told her as he went to a bureau that stood against the wall and took a sheaf of papers from it.

      This was something Sam hadn’t expected. ‘Papers?’

      He smiled at her benignly. ‘Nothing serious. I’m sure you can appreciate that it would not be good for business if this incident, and the arrangements made to rectify it, should ever become public knowledge. Therefore this is a simple agreement that you will not tell anyone what has gone on here, with the exception of your parents and your brother. All of you will sign it and be bound by it. No one is to ever speak of it again. Should it get out, the debt will have to be paid in full. It is therefore in your own best interest, and that of your family, to say nothing. Is that understood?’

      Sam realised that she should have known Leno would insist on something like this. He was first and foremost a businessman. He would not want this ever getting out, and that meant that she could not now tell Ransom the truth. The implications of that were something she could not think about right that minute. She had given her