Chapter Six

Aiden stared at the front door that Maggie had just swung shut behind her.

“I should go after her.”

“No, you shouldn’t. In the kitchen, now!” Josie spoke through gritted teeth, ushering him back down the hall.

He could hear his brother join in the laughter with their guests and Aiden seethed, hoping Ben was just trying to schmooze them.

“What the hell did you say to her when you asked her to come?” Josie demanded, her eyes fiery and accusatory.

Aiden frowned. “Surely you don’t think I—?”

“Exactly what did you say?”

He racked his brain. “I just said we were having a dinner party, and would she like to come along? And that you needed some help with it.” As far as he could recall, that was as much as he’d said.

Josie stared at him in disbelief. “We’re having a dinner party, and would she like to come?” She would certainly have shouted had they not had company. Her face was bright red and she looked like she could kill her brother.

“And the bit about needing help,” he added quickly. “I didn’t just invite her to join us.”

“Well, you obviously didn’t make it clear.” She was mad as hell.

“I don’t understand.” He scraped his hands through his hair, messing up the neat style he had perfected earlier.

“Well, that’s makes two of you,” she said to him. “The poor girl didn’t understand either, and now look what’s happened.”

“Yeah, I think maybe I should just go after her and explain—”

“You will not! We’ve got a party to host, in case you’ve forgotten. You’ll have to ring her later. Give her time to calm down first. Now you just get out there and see to the guests. Jeez, they must think we’ve totally abandoned them.”

Aiden was more concerned about Maggie thinking he’d abandoned her. How the hell would she get home? Did she even know where the ranch was?

“Now,” Josie insisted.

He huffed but did as she said. She was probably right about Maggie needing time to calm down anyhow. The way she had stood staring at him while that damn Rossington guy laughed at her had made his heart melt. Why didn’t I say something? He couldn’t believe he’d just stood there gawping back at her.

He’d been taken aback by how beautiful she looked. She was definitely a classy lady, which was apparent in the way she held herself. She sure looked sensual in that dress, too. How the hell Rossington could call her cheap was beyond belief. He was really beginning to hate their guest of honor, and Aiden doubted whether all this upset was worth the land, after all.

“There you are, bro.” Ben’s voice was casual as he greeted him back in the living room, although the look in his eyes was a giveaway to the tension he was feeling.

“Sorry. I was just helping Josie out,” he told his brother, giving him a forced smile.

“Yeah, well it looks like Margaret isn’t much of a help, is she?” Rossington sniggered, much to the surprise of his partner.

Aiden felt his blood boil again, and he tensed up immediately.

“Lorraine was just saying how eager they are to take a vacation,” Ben interjected quickly. “They’ve just got to sort out this business with the land then they’re going to the Mediterranean for a few weeks.”

Aiden bit his lip hard, looking over at the woman.

“Did you say the Mediterranean?” Sylvia Crowthorne, one of their other guests joined them, smiling.

“That’s right,” Lorraine stated with a smug expression.

“How lovely. I‘ve been there a few times. Glorious weather.” Sylvia was an old hand at schmoozing clients, which was why Ben had invited her and her husband, Frank, along.

“Yes,” Lorraine replied noncommittally.

The drinks were coming thick and fast, and by the time they sat down to eat, Rossington was already slurring his words. “So, how do you know Margaret?” he asked as the soup arrived.

That was exactly what Aiden had been desperate to ask him ever since that debacle in the hallway, but he had thought better of it.

“She’s local,” he replied airily. “How about you?”

Rossington sat forward on his chair. “Well, actually it’s a long story,” he said, as though he was about to reveal the mystery of the Sphinx.

Sylvia cleared her throat, making them all look up. Damn. Aiden was keen for the guy to continue, but the look on Sylvia’s face told him it might not be appropriate dinner-table talk. He had to concede she was right, although it was a great pity.

“So, how quickly will you have all this land-business wrapped up?” Sylvia asked, breaking a small piece of bread from her roll. “Your fiancée looks anxious for that holiday.” She winked conspiratorially at Lorraine, who actually smiled back at her.

“Well now, that all depends,” Rossington pontificated, clearly enjoying his moment in the spotlight.

“I should imagine it would be pretty straightforward,” Frank said to him. “As long as you have all the paperwork in place to verify that you own the land and the buyer can prove that he has the funds to pay for it, it should be done and dusted in a matter of hours.” Being a retired lawyer put him in the ideal position to comment on the subject.

“Ah, well…” Rossington suddenly looked uncomfortable and hastily took a rather large sip of his drink.

All eyes were suddenly on him as everyone stopped eating and stared at him curiously.

“You do own the land, I presume?” Sylvia asked jovially, before letting out a polite laugh.

“Well, not exactly on paper,” Rossington spoke slowly, his face turning quite red. Aiden wondered if it was the guy’s conscience or his alcohol consumption that was responsible for his ruddy complexion.

“It’s in my name,” Lorraine piped up, matter-of-factly.

Aiden frowned. “Why is that?”

“It was a condition of Daddy’s will,” she told them. “All his assets were to stay in the family until they were legally sold. When Robert inquired about changing the deeds over to his name, the attorney said he couldn’t do that unless we were married. That’s when Robert had this great idea to become engaged. Well, it would have happened sooner or later, wouldn’t it, dear?”

Lorraine’s big doe-eyes would have been endearing had the situation not been so tragic. The look on Rossington’s face told them all that it was obviously the only reason for the engagement. The drunken fool didn’t even try to hide it. He gave her a wry smile that didn’t meet his eyes, and he continued to slop the soup down his front.

“So, have you named the day?” Josie asked politely.

“Well…no, not really. Robert’s so busy with work and everything. He hasn’t really had time to discuss it properly, have you, dear?” Lorraine turned to him for affirmation again, but shook her head resignedly when she saw he was totally absorbed in trying to pry a chunk off his bread roll.

Aiden spent the rest of the meal watching their honored guest get drunker and hearing him become more vocal.

“Why don’t we sit on the terrace with our coffees?” Josie suggested as their dessert dishes were cleared away.

Despite the time of year, it was quite stifling in the dining room, and Aiden noticed that his pregnant sister looked flushed.

“What a good idea,” Sylvia agreed, rising to her feet.

Aiden watched everyone but Rossington get up and make their way toward the door.

“Perhaps you’d prefer to stay here and have some cognac instead?” he offered graciously, well aware that his guest was probably incapable of standing up right now.

Ben shot him a puzzled frown when he followed the others out, and Aiden winked at him as he took the decanter from the small side table.

“I can see you’re the clever one in the family,” Rossington growled, taking his glass. His chunky fingers cradled the brandy balloon rather clumsily, and Aiden knew he wasn’t as used to all the airs and graces as he pretended.

He nodded politely and took a sip of his own drink, sure that the drunkard had no idea just how clever he was.

“So, how did you meet Maggie…er, Margaret?” Aiden asked once his guest had sat back comfortably in his chair.

“Ah.” Rossington looked around the empty room conspiratorially. “Well now, that’s a bit of a funny story, actually.”

Aiden leaned forward.

“Well now, I notice she’s calling herself Maggie Welch these days, but when we were together she was still Margaret Shepperton-Welch.”

Aiden frowned. He’d seen that name somewhere but couldn’t quite place it. “Sounds very grand,” he mused.

“I’d say. D’you know the Shepperton-Welches? From Penkridge Manor over at Almondine?”

Aiden frowned. “Well, yes of course, but—”

“Disowned her, they did. Probably why she’s changed her name.” Rossington sniffed as he took another sip of brandy.

“But why?” Aiden’s mind reeled at the realization that Maggie was actually part of the richest family in Cavern County.

“Ah, well,” Rossington said smugly, “I might have had something to do with that.” He chuckled.

Aiden seethed but waited eagerly for him to continue.

“I’ve never much liked working for a living,” the older man confided, “so when I saw her picture in the local rag, I thought I’d try my luck. She was doing some charity thing or other, so I tracked her down. I know she’s not much to look at but she was mighty rich back then.”

“When was this?”

“Oh, a couple of years or so. Ha! Don’t let on to Lorraine, though, will ya? Don’t want her figuring out my little game, you know?” He had now started waving his finger around much like an old-fashioned schoolmaster.

“Your game?” Aiden was angry yet intrigued.

“Yep. Love ’em and relieve ’em,” he said with a snigger.

“You mean love ’em and leave ’em?” Aiden corrected him.

“No!” Anger flashed in Rossington’s eyes, taking Aiden by surprise. “I know what I mean.”

For a second it looked as though his guest would happily have struck him in his fury, but it soon dissipated and the older man chuckled again.

Aiden said nothing, but he took another small sip of his drink as he waited for the guy to continue.

“Actually, when I say ‘love’ what I mean is ‘make love’. You know, fuck.” He chortled. “Then I relieve them of their money. I love money.” He gave a satisfied nod, and Aiden guessed he was thinking about a pile of cash.

“And how do you do that?” Aiden tried not to sound too inquisitive, but he had to know.

“From their family. Rich families are always happy to treat each other, so I just become part of that family.” He sounded quite matter-of-fact, and Aiden knew he had long since forgotten who he was talking to.

“So you marry them, these women?”

Rossington looked horrified. “Good God, man, not if I can help it. Nearly had to with Margaret when the family stopped coughing up, mind you. Looked like the only way to get any more out of the tight-fisted lot! I always wondered if they’d cottoned on to what I was up to. That mother of hers is a shrewd woman, believe me. Anyhow, then Margaret hit the jackpot with some book she was writing. Sold millions, it did. Got a hefty advance on it, too—probably ’cause of who she was. Still, the cow kept it all locked up in the bank so I couldn’t get my hands on it. So I came up with some bullshit about her bank manager and got her to withdraw it all. While she was away, I lifted the cash and gave some of it to the local sheriff—or law enforcement officer, or whatever he called himself—who was only too happy to help cover my back, if you catch my drift?” He burst out laughing. “She wasn’t so dumb, though. No, just like her mother.” He grimaced. “Thought I’d got away with it at first, but the dang woman became suspicious once she’d got over the shock. Accused me of robbing her, she did! Me! Well, I just saw red, as you can imagine.”

“You… You struck her?” The words almost stuck in Aiden’s throat.

“You could say that.”

Rossington looked a little thoughtful, and Aiden wondered if he actually regretted his actions.

Then he let out a chuckle, which answered Aiden’s question for him. “Went around to that old battle-ax of a mother, she did. Thing was, I’d got there first. While she’d been away, I’d visited the old bag and told her I was worried about Maggie. That she’d taken to telling the most awful lies lately.”

Aiden narrowed his eyes incredulously. “So you turned her family against her, then when she went around there for help because you’d hit her, they didn’t want to know?” His blood boiled.

Rossington gave him a massive grin. “Yup. Clever, eh? I still keep in touch with them now. You never know when that sort’ll come in handy. Might be good for a decent wedding present, if nothing else!”

“Are you for real?” Aiden shouted as he shot to his feet.

Rossington looked up at him in astonishment.

“Aiden, we need you out here.” Ben was suddenly at the door, calling him over with a face like thunder.

When Aiden didn’t respond, his brother marched over to him and practically hauled him out of the room.

“Sylvia and Frank have to leave now. Say goodnight.” Ben was talking through clenched teeth, and Aiden just stared blankly at him, not quite understanding the situation.

He opened his mouth but Ben spoke first. “Now, bro.”

Their guests were standing in the hall, having put on their overcoats.

“Thank you for a wonderful evening,” Sylvia said as they exchanged air kisses. “Calm down,” she whispered into his ear.

“Thank you,” Aiden replied before shaking Frank’s hand.

“I’ve called a cab for Lorraine and Robert,” Josie said as they waved to the elderly couple. “Should be here any minute.”

“Can he walk?” Lorraine slurred slightly from behind them.

They all turned around to see her clinging to the doorframe of the living room.

“I don’t think you can,” Ben told her, swooping over to lift her into his arms. “Come on. Let’s get you inside.” He carried her back into the lounge and laid her on the sofa, smiling.

“The cab’s here,” Josie called from the front door.

Aiden turned to fetch Rossington, but Josie stopped him. “I’ll get him,” she insisted.

“No, I will. Aiden, you take Lorraine.” Ben’s deep voice called to them, and Aiden did as he was told.

“Who are you?” Rossington looked totally bemused as Ben practically dragged him from the dining room. He glanced around the hallway at the family as though they were all total strangers.

“He won’t remember any of this in the morning,” Lorraine told them as Aiden helped her into the cab.

Aiden sighed. At least there was one good thing about tonight, then.