His Blackmail Marriage Bargain by Penny Jordan

Author:Penny Jordan [Jordan, Penny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781488028786
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 1982-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

SHE was in the garden when she saw Yorke emerging from the house. He was not alone, and she chided herself for the sense of relief that information brought. The man with him was in his late fifties, his glance admiring as he extended his hand to Autumn.

‘Sir Giles, my wife Autumn. Autumn darling, let me introduce you to Sir Giles Barlow, and of course his extremely beautiful daughter, Annette,’ he added with a teasing smile for the young girl at his side.

Annette ignored her, but the dazzling smile she gave Yorke spoke volumes, and Autumn wondered if Sir Giles was aware that his daughter had a crush on Yorke. She was dressed in tight-fitting velvet trousers tucked into toning leather boots, a thin white vest emphasising the firm thrust of her breasts, and although she was heavily made up, Autumn suspected that she couldn’t be much more than seventeen.

That Annette was less than pleased to meet her, Autumn felt sure must be obvious to both men, and she thought she saw Sir Giles frown faintly as his daughter clung determinedly to Yorke’s arm, leaning provocatively against him so that her breast brushed his sleeve.

‘I’m delighted to hear that you and Yorke have mended your differences, my dear,’ he said to Autumn. ‘A man in Yorke’s position needs a wife, and more important, the right kind of wife.’

A warning to Annette, or Yorke? Autumn wondered. As the two men talked she gathered that Sir Giles was a very prominent member of the Civil Service, and suspected that it was he who had warned Yorke about the possibility of the knighthood.

Sir Giles broke off his conversation to give her an apologetic smile.

‘I’m sorry, my dear. You’ve only been back in this country a matter of days and already I’m depriving you of your husband. What I really came over for, Yorke, was to invite you both to meet Charles Phillips, the P.M.’s private secretary. He and I were at Eton together, and he’s staying with us for a few days. The P.M.’s very keen to get the views of prominent industrialists on this new bill they’re thinking of putting through. All strictly off the record at this point, of course…’

In other words Charles Phillips had been sent to look Yorke over, Autumn reflected dryly.

‘You will come, won’t you, Yorke?’ Annette breathed huskily. ‘If you don’t it will be the most frightfully boring affair.’

Intimating that Yorke’s presence would make up for any amount of boredom, Autumn thought to herself, wondering faintly if her growing dislike of Annette sprang from pure disapproval of her methods or envy of a girl who although half a dozen years her junior, managed to run rings round her when it came to the art of flirtation. What was the matter with her? she wondered irritably. Why should she care if Annette flirted with Yorke?

‘We shall both be delighted to come,’ Yorke replied smoothly, catching her off guard as his hand brushed against her bare arm, his fingers tightening warningly on her wrist as he dropped a light kiss on her forehead.

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