Rebel Bride by Sally Carr

Author:Sally Carr [Sally Carr]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781459269828
Publisher: Harlequin

CHAPTER SIX

CARON sat limply on the sofa and picked unseeingly at a loose thread in one of its big, squashy cushions. Leaning back with a sigh, she thought of the trap Neil had sprung. He had taken his time about it, she realised; played her like a salmon on a line. But then to him she was a prize worth having. Or rather, she thought wryly, her trust fund was.

He had seemed so nice at first, so right, taking her out for the expensive treats she liked. She had been dazzled by him, she knew that now, but when they had had that row, over Kate, he had shown her those damning papers and she had caved in to every one of his demands.

Neil had been right; she could not expose her father. She could not even discuss it with him for fear of sparking off another heart attack. The noose was closing tight about her and however she pored over those papers there was simply no way out. And he’d had no need to put a set of them in her bag—Caron knew them all off by heart.

She was so tired. So desperately tired. She hadn’t slept properly for days. But then she had been so naïve. So unforgivably stupid. How could she ever have thought him attractive when the prospect of marrying him now was nothing less than repulsive?

Caron stared blearily up at the ceiling. It was no use. She could sit here for a year and still not find an escape route. Her eyelids drooped and within five minutes she was fast asleep.

* * *

The nightmare was a familiar one: she was in a burning building and Neil barred every escape route. ‘No!’ she yelled. ‘Get out of my way!’ But strong hands held her and she struggled wildly. ‘I won’t do it. I won’t.’

‘You don’t have to do anything,’ a quiet voice told her, and Caron snapped open her eyes to find herself sitting up in bed, Ewan’s face inches from her own.

‘You were having a nightmare,’ he told her. ‘But you’re quite safe. Relax.’

Caron laid her head on his shoulder and felt his hand stroke her hair. ‘It was awful,’ she muttered. ‘Just awful.’

‘Sounded a beauty,’ he agreed. ‘Want to talk about it?’

She shook her head quickly. Too quickly. ‘No.’ She felt his hand stop on her hair, the easy intimacy of the moment icing over. She pulled back a little. ‘I’m sorry if I disturbed you.’

He shrugged. ‘You didn’t. And I don’t exactly have any neighbours to bang on the walls.’

‘That’s true,’ she said stiffly, the nearness of his body jerking her pulse rate into a sudden syncopated rhythm. She looked around at the softly lit bedroom and then back at Ewan’s face. ‘I don’t understand,’ she muttered. ‘I can’t remember going to bed. The last thing I remember is…’

‘What?’ prompted Ewan.

‘Making a phone call,’ she said slowly.

‘To Neil?’ he asked.

She lifted her chin. ‘If you want to know, yes. Why? Will you be wanting me to work extra hours to pay the telephone bill?’

‘Not a bad idea,’ he mused.

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