The Marriage Deal. Sara Craven

‘By persuading the board to reject their offer.’

      Ashley put down her knife and fork. ‘But why should they do any such thing, particularly on your say-so?’ she demanded heatedly. ‘My God, you’re not even a member of the Landons board!’

      ‘But I could be.’ The hazel eyes looked coolly and directly into hers. ‘In fact I could be chairman—if you and I were married.’

CHAPTER THREE

      IN a voice she hardly recognised as her own, Ashley gasped ‘That—has to be the most insane idea I’ve ever heard!’

      ‘On the contrary, it makes a lot of sense.’ He even had the gall to go on eating, she realised dazedly. ‘Think about it, and try using your head, instead of your hormones. It was what Silas always intended, after all.’

      ‘I’m only too well aware of that,’ she said rigidly. ‘It was a very nice, businesslike arrangement for you both, until you allowed your other—proclivities to get in the way.’

      ‘Ah,’ Jago said softly, ‘I thought we wouldn’t get far before that thorny subject was dragged kicking and screaming into the light of day. You never gave me a chance to explain at the time. Perhaps now you might allow me a few words.’

      ‘The fewer the better.’ Suddenly she was hurting again, every image from that terrible night etched on to her memory in agonising detail. ‘Although I fail to see what possible explanation you can come up with for your conduct.’ She paused theatrically. ‘Ah, I know. The lady was your long-lost sister—or your maiden aunt twice removed seeking shelter for the night. Is that how it was?’

      ‘No,’ he said, his mouth curling. ‘The situation was exactly as you read it. And before you ask—no, she wasn’t an old flame, either. I’d picked her up in a bar earlier in the evening. Satisfied?’

      ‘Please spare me the sordid details,’ Ashley said scornfully. ‘I don’t want to hear them.’

      ‘What did you want to hear, I wonder?’ he asked cynically. ‘Some cosy lie, designed to make you feel better, and whitewash the whole incident? Not a chance. I offered an explanation for what it’s worth, but no excuses.’

      ‘There is no possible excuse for what you did,’ she said bitterly. ‘And you have no right to walk back into my life, and—proposition me in this insulting way.’

      ‘The word is proposal,’ Jago interrupted sardonically. ‘A proposition has a totally different connotation, although you wouldn’t know anything about that, my little Puritan. You froze me off so many times during our brief but eventful engagement that it was a miracle I didn’t die from frostbite.’

      ‘Oh, I see,’ exclaimed Ashley, heavily sarcastic. ‘Then it’s all my fault. I should have allowed you to seduce me when you wanted to—and then this little local difficulty would never have happened.’

      Jago pushed his plate away. ‘Seduction,’ he said levelly, ‘was never what I had in mind. All I wanted from you, Ash, was a little human warmth—a sign, however fleeting, that when we were married, you’d welcome my arms round you—enjoy going to bed with me. All I got was one terrified hysterical rebuff after another. Is it any real wonder that my courage failed at the prospect of a bride who turned to stone every time I came near her?’

      ‘And human warmth was presumably what the lady in the bar had to offer,’ said Ashley, her heart beating harshly and discordantly.

      His smile was twisted. ‘No, it was slightly more than that. In fact, she made it quite clear that she fancied me rotten, and that was balm to my soul after having you fight me off night after night as if I was the Mad Rapist. I don’t go in for one-night stands as a rule, but she caught me at a weak moment, and I was more than ready to enjoy what she was offering.’ He paused. ‘Now you know everything.’

      ‘What a pity all I had to offer was Landons.’ Ashley drank some coffee. ‘And what a pity you wanted not just the cake, but the icing too. Getting control of the company eventually wasn’t enough for you—you wanted passion as well. It never occurred to you that I might not feel particularly passionate towards a man who was using me only as a stepping stone to being chairman of the board.’

      There was a silence. He said at last, ‘Frankly, no, it never occurred to me.’

      ‘You were clearly too used to finding your attractions irresistible,’ she said savagely. ‘And I was young and naïve, and easily conned, or so you thought. But I soon realised what the score was.’

      ‘My congratulations on your perspicacity,’ he said ironically. ‘But if you expect me to bow my head and creep away in shame, you can think again. It alters nothing as far as I’m concerned. In fact, it almost makes things easier. You came to terms once with being married for Landons. Why not again? After all, you said only five minutes ago you’d give all you had to save Landons. Well, all I’m asking is our joint names on a marriage certificate—nothing more.’

      Ashley laughed. ‘You expect me to believe that?’

      ‘Believe what you please,’ he said curtly. ‘But my little experiment at the Country Club last night told me loud and clear that nothing’s changed between us, that you wouldn’t countenance me as a lover at any price. Well, I can accept that. Three years ago I tried to woo you into becoming my wife in the fullest sense of the word, and failed. So at least now we know where we stand. And didn’t Silas always say his motto was “The end justifies the means”?’

      ‘Yes,’ she said huskily. ‘He always used to say that. But I don’t believe that any result could justify what you’re proposing. Why are you doing this?’

      ‘I’ve told you—I liked Silas, and I respected him and everything he was trying to do. If you hadn’t turned up at the flat that night, we’d have got married and struggled along somehow for the sake of Landons. In fact, if I’d been around to take some of the pressure off him, Silas would probably still be here now, and don’t think I haven’t blamed myself for that. Perhaps this is my way of trying to make reparation.’

      ‘But everyone will know why we’re getting married …’ Even in her own ears, the protest sounded stock and feeble.

      ‘What will they know?’ he asked. ‘They’ll know that we had some kind of rift three years ago, and parted. And now, older and wiser, we’re together again.’ He gave her a wintry smile. ‘Our tender embrace at the Country Club won’t have gone unremarked, you can bet. Anyone remotely interested in our private affairs will take it for granted that our reconciliation began there and then.’ He paused. ‘When’s the next board meeting?’