‘Don’t think too hard,’ he murmured, dropping his head so that his lips were against her neck.

‘You’re a wicked man, you know that?’

‘Would you like me to go away?’

‘I’m not sure. Do that again and I’ll decide.’

Their first love-making had been full of tender emotion, and because of that it had been perfect. Over the next few days, a new pleasure had revealed itself, love and laughter at the same time, and she discovered that its joy could be as great as any other. She hadn’t known before that she could be a tease, but she was learning it now and revelling in the lesson.

He caressed her, watching her expression intently.

‘Are you any closer to making your mind up?’ he wanted to know.

‘I’m not sure. Some things take longer to decide than others.’ She stretched out luxuriously. ‘But we have plenty of time.’

‘Yes, all the time in the world,’ he said with relish.

As he spoke he was drawing his fingers down her, touching lightly so she took a long breath as her desire rose.

‘I’ve thought about nothing but this since last time,’ he murmured. ‘And the time before.’

‘Neither have I. You’re here now, and I’m going to enjoy every moment.’

‘I intend to make sure you do-what the blazes is that?’

A shrill noise had rent the air, then again, and again and again.

‘Oh, no,’ Harriet groaned. ‘That’s my pager. I’m needed on the lifeboat. I’ve got to dash.’

‘You’re going to run away now?’

‘I don’t have any choice,’ she cried, shoving him aside and making a grab for her clothes.

For a moment he was too stunned to speak, but lay on the bed, his heart pounding as he fought to bring himself under control. This couldn’t be happening. It mustn’t happen. To have the prize snatched from him as the climax mounted-to be defeated at the last moment and told to put up with it. His head was spinning.

‘Bye,’ she cried and headed for the door.

‘Wait!’ he cried, getting command of himself at the last minute, ‘I’ll drive you there.’

‘I can’t wait for you. I’m on my way.’

She was gone. A moment later, he heard her car start up.

Dazed, he wrenched on his clothes and went out into the corridor, to find his children already there.

‘Dad, what’s happened?’ Mark demanded. ‘There was a funny noise and Harry dashed off. She hasn’t been called, has she?’

‘That’s right, she’s on her way to the lifeboat station now.’

‘Oh, wow!’ Both children began to leap about. ‘Let’s go too, please, Dad.’

‘They won’t let us in. They’re doing a serious job and we’d be in the way.’

‘But we can watch from the shore and see the boat go out. Please, Dad, please, please, please.’

They were bouncing up and down, looking up at him beseechingly.

‘All right,’ he said, relenting. ‘Get dressed fast.’

In ten minutes they were sweeping out of the drive. On the journey he switched on the car radio, tuned to the local station, that was carrying news about a small party out on a jaunt who’d sent a frantic radio message that their boat had sprung a leak.

By the time they arrived they were several minutes behind Harriet, who had completely vanished, but the station was buzzing with life. A crowd had gathered just outside, and they quickly joined it. A cheer rose as the lifeboat went down the slipway, hitting the water so that spray rose up high.

‘Was it like this for you, Dad?’ Mark breathed.

‘I don’t exactly know,’ he said wryly. ‘I wasn’t here. I was a few miles out, going down for the third time.’

That was roughly how he felt right now. His mind told him that she’d had no choice but to leave and save others as she had saved him. He had no reasonable complaint.

But that was only his mind. The rest of him was complaining bitterly at losing the prize at the crucial moment. She had laid in his arms, tender and sweet, giving him the look he loved, the one that said he could bring her a pleasure and happiness she’d never dreamed of before. That look had the power to open his heart, inviting her to reach out to him, as he reached out to her more with every day that passed.

Until now he’d shown his growing feelings through touch, waiting until he was sure of the right words. Since the night she’d confided in him he’d felt his defences collapse. The barrier of her husband’s memory, once looming so high between them, no longer existed. She’d trusted and confided in a way he hadn’t expected, filling him with happiness but also with a slight sense of guilt that he hadn’t matched her openness with his own.

Honesty demanded that he admit he already knew the secret she was finally revealing, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to do it. It would involve telling her about his father’s spies, and in her anger and dismay she might have laid some of the blame on himself. Not for the world would he risk damaging the bond between them. At least, not yet.

Soon he would be able to tell her of his feelings. It might even have been that night. But then-

He groaned. There were two Harriets-the passionate loving one, and the brave efficient one who put duty before everything. Tonight, the second one had taken over, leaving him stranded. Life with her would be more complex than he’d ever dreamed. Also more intriguing. That suggested an interesting future.

But tonight he was aching with frustration and thwarted feelings.

Hours passed. Occasionally someone would come out of the station to brief the watchers on how things were going. So they knew that the lifeboat had reached its destination, rescued everyone safely, and was on its way back.

At last it appeared on the horizon, just visible in the faint gleam of the dawn. The children watched, thrilled, as it came closer and was hauled back up the slipway. When Harriet appeared they ran to greet her and be introduced to the rest of the crew. They were in seventh heaven.

‘Gosh,’ Mark exclaimed. ‘Wasn’t that the most wonderful thing that ever happened?’

‘Oh, yes,’ Darius said wryly. ‘Wonderful.’

But his personal feelings vanished when he saw Harriet on the edge of total exhaustion.

‘Let’s get you home fast,’ he said. ‘Leave your car here; you’re too tired to drive. I’ll fetch it later. Let her have the back seat, kids, so that she can stretch out.’

She did manage to stretch out, falling asleep almost at once, and waking to find her head resting in Frankie’s arms.

‘We’re home now,’ the little girl said kindly. ‘I’ll help you to bed.’

With Kate’s assistance, she did, finally emerging to where Mark and her father were waiting in the corridor.

‘All right for me to go in?’ Darius asked.

‘Just for a moment,’ she told him sternly. ‘She needs to sleep.’

Darius gave her a comic salute. ‘Yes, ma’am. Anything you say, ma’am.’

He vanished into Harriet’s room too quickly to see his children stare at each other with an unmistakable message; Dad said that?

Going quietly to the bed, Darius whispered, ‘Hello.’

Silence.

Leaning closer, he heard her faint breathing and realised that she was asleep.

‘I guess Frankie was right to protect you,’ he murmured. ‘You need it sometimes. It’s a pity about tonight because I was going to say…all sorts of things. Now they’ll have to wait until the time is right.’ He touched her face with gentle fingers. ‘Let’s hope that day comes soon.’

He kissed her softly, and left the room without her knowing that he’d been there.


The last few days of the holiday built on the success of the first week. Darius’s relationship with his children was becoming everything he had hoped, and his manner towards Harriet was full of affection and gratitude.

‘Without you, this would never work,’ he told her. ‘However much I want to, I can’t spend all my time with them. I have to keep an eye on what’s happening out there.’

‘I know. You were up almost until dawn last night,’ she said. ‘I don’t know how you manage to stay awake.’

‘I don’t always,’ he said ruefully. ‘Thank goodness for you distracting them. I swear if I nod off they barely notice.’

The end of the holiday was near. The four of them would fly to London, where the children would be reunited with Mary. After that, she hoped she and Darius would have a little time together before returning to Herringdean.

But the day before they were due to leave the financial world began to call to Darius more urgently. Hardly a minute passed without a text, an email or a call on his cellphone.

‘Is it bad news?’ she asked him urgently.

‘Not bad, just interesting. It could go either way, depending on how I handle it. I think we need to change our plans. It’s best if you don’t come to London after all. I’ll have to stay there a few days, sort some things out. So I’ll take the kids back to Mary and stay out of your hair for a while.’ He grinned. ‘You’ll be glad to have a rest from me.’

‘Of course I will,’ she said in a dead voice. ‘Who could think otherwise?’

The children complained bitterly about her not coming with them.

‘I’ve got work to do,’ she said cheerfully. ‘It’s time I took over the shop and I have to go to training sessions for the lifeboat.’

‘But we will see you again?’ Frankie urged.

‘I’m sure you will. Who knows what’s around the corner?’

She spoke brightly, but she couldn’t help being glad Darius wasn’t there to hear. She couldn’t have helped watching for his reaction, and now something in her was warning her to expect the worst.

On the day she saw them off and stood looking up into the sky as the helicopter rose higher and higher, then swung away until it disappeared completely and the sky was empty but for a few seagulls.

How lonely it was now. After the pleasures of the last week, the quiet and emptiness were almost unbearable. Worse still was the fear that what had gone was gone for ever. He had said the news could be good, depending on how he handled it, and she guessed he would handle it with skill, perhaps ruthlessness. The ‘no mercy’ side of him would rise and take over again.