Sweet Betrayal. HELEN BROOKS

so you needn’t worry yourself on that score,’ she said tightly. ‘If you will go around leaping on women you should expect——’

      ‘Leaping on you?’ He stared at her astounded for a moment and then she was furious to see him throw back his head and bellow a peal of laughter that echoed round the high ceiling. ‘Is that what you’ve decided happened in that busy little brain of yours?’ He had stopped laughing now, but there was a cruel twist to his mouth. ‘Listen, sweetheart, I was there; I know what happened and so do you.’ His voice was punishingly hard. ‘I’ve no intention of labouring the point, but you enjoyed it as much as I did—and I did.’ He eyed her up and down in insulting slowness. ‘Yes, I sure did. You pack quite a punch after that touch-me-not act.’

      She felt the hot colour start in her toes and work upwards. She’d asked for this, but how he was enjoying it! She maintained an icy silence, staring him straight in the eye, and he shook his head slowly as he turned away and walked to the door.

      ‘I haven’t worked all this out yet, but I will,’ he said coolly. ‘And if it’s as I think then some people have got a hell of a lot of explaining to do.’

      ‘What?’ She stared after him, baffled. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

      ‘And in the meantime,’ he continued as though she hadn’t spoken, ‘you’ll keep a civil tongue in your head, young lady.’

      ‘You can’t tell me what to do,’ she fired back quickly, her brown eyes glowing with rage.

      ‘No?’ He paused in the doorway with a cynical smile touching his lips. ‘Think again. You want the school to stay open and you want your father to keep his job?’

      ‘You...’ Words failed her, but the message in her eyes was piercingly eloquent.

      ‘Exactly. I’m the lowest thing that ever drew breath, so just remember that when you feel like defying me.’ She had thought she couldn’t hate him any more, but she was finding new boundaries to her emotions every day.

      ‘I’m having a small dinner party at the end of the week to break the ice with old friends and you’ll be there.’ He looked at her unsmilingly. ‘You’ll be sweet and you’ll be charming and absolutely delighted to have me home. Understand?’

      ‘That’s blackmail.’ Her voice was a disgusted whisper.

      ‘Not quite the word I would have chosen, but I see you get my drift,’ he said caustically. ‘You have done nothing but provoke and insult me since I got back and one thing you need to learn fairly rapidly is that I won’t tolerate it. This can be learnt relatively painlessly or the hard way, and frankly I don’t care which way you choose, but, Candy...’ he eyed her coldly ‘. . . you will learn it.’