Rescued by the Brooding Tycoon

CHAPTER FOUR

HARRIET spent the next morning at her shop, which was doing well. She’d recently taken on a new assistant who was good at the job, something she was glad of when Kate rang, sounding frantic. ‘Darius is driving me crazy wanting to do all sorts of daft things.’

‘Hah! Surprise me.’

‘He’s got a nasty cold, but he insists on getting up. He says he’s got to go out and buy another cellphone. He’s ordered a fancy one online but it’ll take a few days to arrive so he’s determined to get something basic to fill in. And then he wants to come and see you.’

‘All right, I’m on my way. Don’t let him out. Tie him to the bed if you have to.’

Distantly, she heard Kate say, ‘She says I’m to tie you to the bed,’ followed by a sound that might have been a snort of laughter, followed by coughing.

‘You hear that?’ Kate demanded into the phone. ‘If you-’

Her voice vanished, replaced by a loud burr. Harriet hung up, very thoughtful.

Before leaving, she took out an object that until then she’d kept hidden away and looked at it for a long time. At last she sighed and replaced it. But then, heading for the door, she stopped, returned and retrieved it from its hiding place. Again, she gazed at it for several moments, a yearning expression haunting her eyes. Her hand tightened on it and for a moment she seemed resolute. But then she returned it firmly to its hiding place, ran out of the room and downstairs, where she got into her car and began the journey to Giant’s Beacon.

Halfway there she stopped, turned the car and swiftly headed back to streak up the stairs, snatch the precious object, ram it into her pocket and flee.

She’d done it now, the thing she’d vowed never to do, and that was that. She told herself it was time to be sensible, but she made the journey with her face set as though resisting pain

Kate was waiting for her on the doorstep, calling, ‘Thank goodness you’re here!’

‘Kate, is that her?’ cried a hoarse voice from the back of the house.

‘I’m coming,’ she called, hurrying into the room he’d turned into an office.

At first she was bewildered by the array of machinery, all of it obviously state-of-the-art. Kate had spoken of wonderful things, but still the variety and magnificence came as a surprise. And one man could control all this?

Darius, in his dressing gown, was sitting at a large screen, his fingers hovering over a keyboard.

‘Don’t come near me,’ he croaked. ‘I’m full of germs.’

‘You shouldn’t be up at all,’ she scolded him, sitting down at a distance. ‘And Kate says you want to go out. That’s madness. It’s far too cold.’

‘I thought summer was supposed to be coming. Is it always like this in May?’

‘The weather can be a bit temperamental. It’s been colder than usual the last few days. It’ll warm up soon, and then we’ll be flooded with tourists. In the meantime, take care.’

‘I just need a new cellphone to replace the one I lost last night. I have a thousand calls to make, and the house phone keeps going dead.’

‘Yes, the line’s faulty and they don’t seem able to repair it. You were lucky it held out last night when you were calling your children. All right, you need one to tide you over. Try this.’

Reaching into her pocket, she handed over the object that had given her such anguish earlier.

‘You’re lending me yours?’ he asked.

‘No, it’s not mine, it…belonged to my husband.’

He took it from her left hand, realising for the first time that she wore a wedding ring.

‘Husband?’ he echoed.

‘He died a year ago. He hadn’t used this for some time because he’d replaced it with a better one. But it might get you through the next few days.’

He seemed uncertain what to say.

‘That’s very kind of you,’ he murmured at last. ‘But-are you sure?’

‘Quite sure. You’ll find it blank. I’ve wiped off every trace of him.’

Something in her voice made him glance at her quickly, but she was looking out of the window.

‘I appreciate this,’ he said. ‘Now I can call my children again. I’ll be in touch as soon as I’m a bit more normal. I still have to thank you properly for saving me. Perhaps we could have dinner.’

‘You don’t need to thank me. I was just doing what I do and I wasn’t alone. What about all the others on the lifeboat?’

‘I’ll show my gratitude by making a donation. But I think you can tell me a lot about Herringdean that I need to know, so I’d appreciate it if you’d agree to dinner.’

‘All right, I’ll look forward to it.’

‘By the way,’ he added as she reached the door, ‘how’s my ghostly friend?’

‘Who?’

‘His name is Phantom, isn’t it?’

She gave an uncertain laugh. ‘You call him your friend?’

‘You assured me he was only being friendly. Tell him I look forward to our next meeting. What kind of bones does he like?’

‘Any kind.’

‘I’ll remember.’

As she left the house Harriet was saying to herself, ‘I don’t believe it. I imagined that conversation. I must have done.’

That evening she poured out her thoughts again to the one friend she knew she could always trust.

‘I don’t know what to think any more. He’s different-well, all right, he nearly died and that changes people-but they change back. In a few days he’ll be talking about showing no mercy again. Hey, don’t do that! Phantom, put that down!-oh, all right, just this once.’

Three days later she looked up from serving in the shop to find Darius standing there.

‘It’s a nice day so I managed to escape,’ he said with a smile. ‘I wanted to bring you this.’ He held out the phone. ‘I’ve got my new one now, but this was invaluable. Thank you. There seems no end to what I owe you.’

‘Did you manage to call your sons?’

‘My son and daughter, yes.’

‘Oh, I thought-Mark and Frank.’

‘Frankie. Her name’s Francesca, but we call her Frankie. It’s a bit like calling you Harry.’

She laughed. ‘Yes, I suppose it is.’

‘And there’s also this,’ he said, reaching into a bag and drawing out a huge bone. ‘This is for Phantom, by the way, not you.’

Her lips twitched. ‘I’m glad you explained that.’

‘About our dinner. Kate’s set her heart on cooking it for us.’

‘Good idea. She’s a great cook, and it would be better for you.’

‘If you say I need to stay indoors for a few more days I shall do something desperate,’ he warned. ‘You two mother hens are driving me crazy.’

‘No, I was only going to say that anywhere else you’ll get stared at. I’ll come to Giant’s Beacon.’

‘You and Phantom.’

‘He’s included?’

‘It wouldn’t be the same without him. Friday evening.’

‘I look forward to it. We’ll look forward to it.’

He thanked her and departed. Outside the shop, he hesitated a moment, then headed for the harbour and the lifeboat station, but after a moment his attention was claimed by a man watching him from across the road with an air of nervousness. Enlightenment dawned, and he crossed over.

‘I know you, don’t I? You were part of the team that saved me from drowning.’

‘I’m glad you remember that,’ Walter said, ‘and not the other thing.’

‘You mean when you advised Harriet to let me drown?’ Darius said, grinning.

‘Ah, yes-’

‘It’s in the past,’ Darius assured him. ‘Look, do you have a moment? There’s a pub over there.’

When they were settled with glasses of ale, Darius said, ‘I want to show my gratitude in a practical way, with a donation to the lifeboat.’ He took out his chequebook. ‘Who do I make it out to?’

Walter told him, then looked, wide-eyed, at the amount. ‘That’s very generous.’

‘It’s not too much for my life. Will you make sure this reaches the right part of your organisation?’

‘It’ll be a pleasure. It’s good to see you on your feet again. Harry said you were in a bad way.’

‘All that time in the cold water. I reckon I was bound to go down with something. But Harriet got me home and took wonderful care of me.’

‘She’s a great girl, isn’t she? Sometimes I wonder how she survived after what she’s been through.’

‘Been through?’

‘Losing her husband. Oh, I know she’s not the only widow in the world, but they had a fantastic marriage. Everyone who gets married hopes they’re going to have what those two had. We all envied them. When he died we thought she might die too, she was so crushed. But she came back fighting. I don’t reckon she’ll ever really get over him, though.’

‘But she’s a young woman, with plenty of time to find someone else.’

‘Yes, if she really wants to. But you only get something as good as that once in your life. It wouldn’t surprise me if she stayed single now.’ He drained his glass. ‘Got to be going. Nice to meet you.’

They parted on good terms.

On Friday Darius came in the late afternoon to collect both his guests. Phantom leapt into the back seat of the car as though being chauffeured was no more than his right.

‘Don’t worry, I’ve washed him,’ Harriet said.

Darius grinned over his shoulder at his four-pawed guest, who nuzzled his ear.

‘Wait,’ Harriet said suddenly, bouncing out of the car. ‘I’ll be back.’

He watched as she ran into her home, then out again a moment later, clutching a small black box.

‘My pager,’ she said, settling into the front seat. ‘It has to go with me everywhere in case the lifeboat gets called out.’

‘You’re on call tonight?’

‘Lifeboat volunteers are always on call. The only time that’s not true is if we’re ill, or have to leave the island for some reason. Then we give them notice of the dates and report back as soon as we return. But normally we take the pager everywhere and have to be ready to drop everything.’

‘Everything? You mean…even if…suppose you were…?’

‘At work or in the bath,’ she supplied innocently. ‘Yes, even then.’

That wasn’t quite what he’d meant, and her mischievous look showed that she understood perfectly. For a moment another memory danced between them, when the edges of his robe had fallen open just long enough to be tantalising. By mutual consent they decided to leave it there.

‘What made you want to be a lifeboat volunteer?’ he asked as he started the car.

‘My father. My mother died when I was very young and Dad raised me alone. When he went out on a call I used to love watching the boat go down the slipway into the water. All that spray coming up seemed so thrilling. He was a fisherman and I often went out with him. He taught me to be a sailor and bought me my first boat. My happiest times were spent on the water with him, and it was natural to follow him onto the lifeboats.’

‘A fisherman? You mean herring?’

She laughed, ‘Yes. There have always been shoals of herring in the water around here. Other fish too, but that’s how the island got its name.’

‘You’ve never wanted to leave it behind and move to the mainland?’

She made a face. ‘Never! There’s nowhere better in the world.’

‘You sound very sure? As simple as that?’

‘As simple as that. It’s the best place on earth, and it always will be; unless something happens to spoil it.’

Darius didn’t need to ask what she meant. He had the power to do the damage she mentioned, and they both knew it. But this wasn’t the right moment.

The drive ran along the shoreline, from where they could see the sun beginning to set.

‘I’d never seen anything like that before I came here,’ he said.

‘Never seen a sunset?’

‘Not like a Herringdean sunset. I haven’t been much by the sea. It’s usually something I see looking down on from a plane.’

‘Stop the car,’ she urged.

He did as she asked and the three of them walked to the edge of the beach and stood watching as the water turned crimson, glittering as tiny waves broke softly. None of them made a sound. There was no need. Harriet glanced at Darius and saw on his face a look akin to the one she’d first seen when they met-absorbed, ecstatic. At last he gave a regretful sigh.

‘We’d better go.’

‘You can see it from the house,’ she reassured him.

‘In a way. But somehow it’s different when you’re out here with it.’

As they walked back to the car he glanced appreciatively at her appearance. Her soft blue dress wasn’t expensive nor glamorous, but neither did it send out the warning he’d sensed from her functional bathing gear. Her light brown shoulder length hair flowed freely in soft waves. She looked relaxed and ready to enjoy herself and he found himself relaxing in turn.

The evening stretched ahead of him, warm and inviting. Another new experience. When had he last whiled away the hours with a friend?

Two friends, he realised, feeling Phantom nuzzle his hand.

‘Just wait until we get home,’ he said. ‘Kate’s got something really special for you.’

‘I’m looking forward to it,’ Harriet declared.

Man and dog stared at her, then at each other. Darius gave a shrug of resignation, and Harriet could almost have sworn that Phantom returned the gesture.

‘You have to explain things carefully to women,’ Darius told him.

Woof!

‘You meant that remark about something special for Phantom?’ Harriet demanded.

‘Who else? Kate’s taken a lot of trouble with his supper. I told her he was the guest of honour.’

Harriet chuckled. ‘I guess you’re learning.’

Kate was waiting at the door, beaming a welcome. For Phantom there was the dog equivalent of a banquet, which he tucked into with due appreciation. Her mind at ease, Harriet left him to it and followed Darius into the large dining room at the back where a table for two had been set up by the French windows. From here the lawn stretched out until it shaded into the stretch of private beach where they had first met.

‘Remember?’ he asked, filling her wine glass.

‘I remember, and I shouldn’t think you’ll ever forget,’ she said. ‘You never did send me the bill for that suit.’

‘Well, maybe I’m not the monster you think me to be,’ he said.

‘Thought, not think. I wouldn’t dare think badly of someone who treats Phantom so well.’

‘Ah, you’ve noticed that I’m grovelling to him. I’m so glad. I knew I had no chance of getting on your right side unless I got on his first.’

Harriet seemed to give this serious consideration. ‘I see. And it’s important to get on my right side?’

‘Well, I can’t let you go on being my enemy. It wouldn’t be practical.’

‘And at all costs we must be practical,’ she agreed. ‘But I have to say, Mr Falcon, that I’m disappointed at how badly you’ve misread the situation. I’d expected more efficiency from “the most fearsome man in London.”’

‘Please,’ he protested. ‘None of that. It was enough of an embarrassment when I could make a pretence of living up to it. Now-’ He shuddered. ‘But how did I misread the situation?’

‘I was never your enemy.’

‘Really? You expect me to believe that when you got a bodyguard for Phantom? Oh, yes, I heard. And then you despised me so much that you made jokes about leaving me to drown.’

‘Well, you got your own back by walking in on me right after, didn’t you? And I didn’t leave you to drown-’ She checked herself, alerted by his teasing look. ‘Oh, ha ha! Well, I guess you’re entitled to make fun of me.’

‘Yes, I think I am as well,’ he said, smiling and raising his glass. ‘Truce?’

She regarded him with her head on one side. ‘Armed?’

He nodded. ‘Safer that way for both of us.’

‘It’s a deal.’

She raised her own glass and they clinked as Kate entered with the first dish.

‘Just in time to save me from your terrible vengeance,’ Darius said.

‘Don’t fool yourself,’ she told him. ‘When I wreak terrible vengeance on you, nothing and nobody will be able to save you.’

‘Then I’d better have my supper quickly,’ he said, leading her to the table.

Kate gave them a strange look and departed, making Harriet say in a quivering voice, trying not to laugh, ‘She thinks we’re both potty.’

‘She’s very observant.’

For a few moments they didn’t speak, concentrating on the food, which was Kate’s best, plain but delicious. Harriet wondered how it tasted to Darius, who must be used to more sophisticated fare, but he seemed happy to devour every mouthful.

‘If I had “enemy” thoughts, so did you,’ she observed. ‘When you came upon us in the garden of the pub you seemed to hate me.’

She thought he wasn’t going to reply, but then he nodded.

‘I did. I heard you talking about how I looked on the beach, “standing there like a king come into his birthright” according to you.’

‘That’ll teach me to jump to conclusions,’ she sighed. ‘You weren’t really feeling anything like that, were you?’

‘No, I was feeling what a glorious place it was. It took me completely by surprise and I just stood there, stunned, trying to believe such beauty existed.’

‘That was what I sensed when I first saw you,’ she admitted. ‘It was only later that I thought-oh, dear, I’m sorry. I guess I got it all wrong.’

‘We both got a lot of things wrong, but this is the moment when we put it all behind us and become friends.’

‘Friends…’ She considered the word for a moment before saying, ‘I must warn you, friends claim the right to ask each other questions.’

‘Fire away.’

‘Why did you go out to sea at all? It was madness.’

‘I needed to see the wind farm, and learn all I could.’

‘But surely you did an in-depth investigation before you bought the island?’ Something in his wry expression made her say, ‘You did, surely?’

‘The first I heard about it was when Kate told me.’

She stared. ‘I can’t believe a smart operator like you bought this place without checking every detail first.’ He shrugged.

‘You didn’t?’ she breathed. ‘But why?’

‘Perhaps I’m not quite as smart as I like people to think. Look, if I tell you, you’ve got to promise not to breathe a word to another soul.’

‘I promise.’

‘Seriously. Swear it on what you hold most dear.’

‘I swear it on Phantom’s life,’ she said, holding up her hand. ‘Now, tell, tell! The curiosity’s driving me crazy.’

‘I didn’t buy Herringdean. Rancing owed me money, couldn’t pay it, so he assigned the place to me, sent me the papers and vanished.’

‘What?’

‘My lawyer says everything’s in order, I’m the legal owner. But I had no chance to study the place, negotiate, refuse the deal, anything. Whatever I learn about the island comes as a surprise. My “investigation” consisted of looking Herringdean up online. What I found wasn’t informative-fishing, beautiful countryside, but no mention of a wind farm.’

‘Probably because it had only just got under way and they hadn’t updated the site,’ she mused.

‘Exactly. So you see I’ve approached everything like a dimwit. All right, all right,’ he added as she choked with laughter. ‘Have your fun.’

‘I’m sorry,’ she gasped. ‘I didn’t mean to but-he fooled you-’

‘Yes, he fooled me,’ Darius said, managing to be faintly amused through his chagrin. ‘And I’ll tell you something else. Before he left, he got a lot of the bigger tenants to pay him several months’ rent in advance, then he pocketed the money and ran. So it’ll be a while before they pay me anything.’

He knew he was crazy to have told her such damaging things. If she betrayed his trust she could make him look like an idiot all over the island.

But she wouldn’t betray him. Instinctively, he knew that he was safe with her.

Harriet was making confused gestures, trying to get her head around what she’d just heard.

‘But the papers always say-you know, the mighty entrepreneur, all that stuff-’

‘Been checking up on me, huh?’ he said wryly.

‘Of course. Be fair. Since you control our lives, I had to find out what I could.’

‘Control your lives? Oh, sure, it looks like it. I arrive knowing nothing, nearly die finding out, get snatched from the jaws of death by you and the others. Some control! So I suppose you know all there is to know about me?’

Harriet shook her head. ‘Only basics. Your father is Amos Falcon-the Amos Falcon. Empire builder, financial mogul-all right, all right.’ She backed off hastily, seeing his expression. ‘And you have lots of brothers. It must be nice coming from a large family. I’m an only child and it can be lonely.’

‘So can being in a large family,’ Darius said.

‘Really? I can’t imagine that. Tell me more.’

But suddenly his mouth closed in a firm line. It was as though something had brought him to the edge of a cliff, Harriet thought, and he’d backed away in alarm. She could almost see him retreating further and further.

‘What is it?’ she asked.

He rose and walked away to the window. She had a strange feeling that he was trying to put a distance between them, as though she was some kind of threat. After a moment’s hesitation she followed him and laid a tentative hand on his arm.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘Of course it’s none of my business. I’m always sticking my nose into other people’s affairs. Just ignore me.’

With anyone else he would have seized this offer with relief, but with her things were mysteriously different. In his mind he saw again the defining moment of their relationship, the moment when she had reached out to him, offering rescue, offering life. The moment had passed, yet it lived in him still and, he guessed, would always do so.

The need to accept her friendship, trust it, rely on it, was so strong that it sent warning signals. Nothing would ever be the same again. But there was no turning back now.

‘I don’t think I’ll ignore you,’ he said softly, taking her hand. ‘You’re not a woman that’s easy to ignore.’

‘I’ll just vanish if you like.’

‘No,’ he said, his hand tightening on hers so suddenly that she gasped. ‘Stay. I want you to stay.’

‘All right,’ she said. ‘I’ll stay.’

He led her back to the table and poured her a glass of wine.

‘People always think big families are charming,’ he said after a while. ‘But it can be an illusion. Most of us didn’t grow up together. My father’s family was very poor and he had a hard life, which he was determined to escape at all costs. Some of the things he did don’t look very sympathetic, but maybe if you have to live as he did-’ He made an expressive gesture with his hands.

‘Was he very-?’ She paused delicately.

‘Yes, very. Still is, for that matter. His family were miners, and he was expected to go down the pit. But his father had died down there and hell would freeze over before he went the same way. He did well at school, got top marks in practical subjects like maths. Not literature, or “the soft stuff” as he calls it. He reckons that’s for fools. But with figures there’s nothing he can’t do.

‘So he ran away and managed to start up his own business, just a little market stall, but it grew into a big one, and then bigger, until he got a shop.’

‘He made enough profit to rent a shop? Wow!’

‘Not rent. Buy. By that time he’d married my mother. She came from a rich family and they met when he made deliveries to their house. Her relatives did everything they could to stop the wedding. They believed all he really wanted was her money.’

‘But they gave in at last?’

‘No way. He simply ran off with her. “If you want something, go after it by the shortest route.” That’s his motto. She gave him every penny she had. I know that because I’ve heard her father complaining about it.’

‘But he probably loved her, and you. Surely everything in his life wasn’t about money? It couldn’t be, could it? There’s always something else.’

‘Is there?’ he murmured. ‘Is there?’

His face had changed. Now it wore a look of pain that made her take his hand in hers in a gesture of comfort.

‘Don’t say any more,’ she said. ‘Not if it hurts too much.’

He didn’t answer. His gaze was fixed on the hand holding his, as it had once before. Then it had offered survival, now it offered another kind of life, one he couldn’t describe. He had no talent for words, only figures. She’d spoken of it hurting him too much to talk, but now he knew that the real pain lay in not talking about things that had been shrouded in silence for too long. Somehow the words must come. But only with her.