Forbidden Night With The Duke

‘Not so much of the little, I think...’

She stared at him for a moment, and then suddenly laughed. ‘Thank you. I don’t consider myself as little either, although I wouldn’t be surprised if my father did. He has a multi-million-pound business to run and much bigger fish to fry.’

It was one more piece in a puzzle that he was becoming compelled to complete. It really had been personal when Megan had walked out on him that first day. She’d thought he was like her own father, and that tough, personal experience had lent an edge to her anger.

‘And you don’t want any part of that?’

‘No, I don’t. I don’t like secrets, and this is his secret, not mine.’

Jaye called her bluff. ‘What’s his name? Maybe I’ve heard of him...’

Megan laughed, shaking her head. ‘Maybe you have, if you read the financial pages in the paper. And I’m not telling you, he has a wife and two sons. It wouldn’t be fair to them.’

He could respect that. All the same, it seemed that Megan was more burdened by the secret than she let on. But there was no chance to ask any more.

Voices sounded, growing louder as the group started to straggle back into the conference room, some still carrying their coffee with them. Megan sprang to her feet, looking around as if someone was going to appear out of nowhere and admonish her for sitting here, talking.

‘I’ve got to go...’

‘I’ll be along in a minute.’ Jaye suppressed the urge to tell her that this was his home, and she could sit here and talk with him for as long as she liked. She was already halfway down the stairs, clutching her laptop across her chest.

He watched through the bannisters as she joined the first of the group to appear in the hallway. Much as he had when he’d been a child, watching the guests arrive at one of his parents’ parties.

Jaye craned his neck, watching the top of Megan’s head disappear. He was no child now, and some possibilities were no longer a part of his future. He’d been scarred by love, and Megan was just making those scars ache a little.

* * *

Every time Megan caught a glimpse of the man behind Jaye’s façade it felt as if she were being swallowed up in the softness of his eyes. As if just talking to him was dangerous and exciting—something secret and delicious. And hadn’t she just been telling him how she abhorred secrets?

She had to get a grip. Talking was exactly what they were supposed to be doing. People were meant to swap experiences and ideas at this conference, that was the whole point of it.

But she still couldn’t resist looking for him, knowing where he was in the room and what he was doing. Even if she caught just a glimpse of him, it made the floor lurch under her feet, and gave her that sickening feeling that everything was spinning out of control.

It was almost a relief to find that he wasn’t joining in with the group discussions the following morning, as he was helping with the arrangements for the party that evening. But it was only a brief respite.

* * *

There was music swelling from one corner of the ballroom, where a string quartet was playing. Four young women in black dresses were clearly having some fun, inserting their own improvisations into some well-known classical pieces. Flickering candles highlighted the sheen of sumptuous fabric that hung at the high glazed doors leading out onto the terrace. Suddenly it all paled into insignificance.

Jaye.

In a dark suit and a crisp white shirt, which was currently goading Megan’s imagination into some very bad thoughts indeed. It was a twist on the ultimate embarrassment, those dreams where she walked into a crowded place and found herself naked. Imagining the smooth ripple of Jaye’s skin made her feel even more exposed.

The room was beginning to fill up, people she knew from the course, along with a legion of other guests, who all seemed to know each other. Megan swallowed hard and marched over to the drinks table. Caroline Perera turned and gave a smiling compliment about her hair and dress, including Megan in the group that she was talking to.

After making sure that everyone had a drink, and that they had all been introduced to each other, Caroline slipped away, greeting more people and introducing them. Megan smiled at the slim, shy-looking man standing next to her, who looked as if he’d just wandered in off the street and stayed for drinks.

‘Is this your first time? Working abroad?’ The man smiled back.

‘No, I was in Africa for a year. I came back four months ago, and I’ve been working as a supply nurse since then.’

‘Africa?’ The man’s eyes lit up. ‘Which part? I’m just back from Rwanda...’

* * *

Tim Gregson was fascinating. He must have been involved in aid work at a high level because his comments were insightful and informed, but he seemed intent on grilling Megan on her experiences and finding out what she thought.

‘You’ve been to so many places. What exactly do you do?’ Megan tried again to turn the conversation back to Tim’s experiences.

‘Oh... I advise. People listen sometimes.’ Tim shrugged vaguely and Megan stiffened suddenly as a quiet laugh came from behind her.

‘Tim’s a parliamentary special advisor. He has his finger on the pulse at Westminster.’ Jaye stepped into Megan’s line of view, reaching forward to shake Tim’s hand warmly.

‘If only. I’m not sure that anyone has enough fingers for that...’ Tim chuckled, clearly pleased with Jaye’s assertion.

‘A voice of sanity, then?’ Jaye shot a sidelong grin at Megan, and she felt a rush of embarrassment. It happened every time. That delicious and yet horribly out-of-control feeling as she stumbled and fell into the warmth of his gaze.

‘That would be nice. Sometimes I wonder,’ Tim responded dryly, and Jaye laughed. Clearly the two men knew each other well. Maybe they wouldn’t notice if she slipped away.

She took a tentative step backwards and Jaye rounded on her. ‘Tim’s far too self-effacing. He’s helped us out with the planning on a lot of our projects.’

‘Caroline doesn’t see things that way,’ Tim joked. ‘She frisked me on the way in to make sure I wasn’t carrying any sharp objects.’

Jaye chuckled. ‘My mother has a much longer memory than I have.’

‘Ask him about the sticking plaster.’ Tim leaned confidingly towards Megan. ‘I’ll lay odds he hasn’t forgotten about that one.’

‘Sticking plaster?’ Megan forgot all about escape and turned to Jaye.

‘That was a very long time ago. When we were kids we decided to try our hands at covert surveillance, like we’d seen on TV. We rigged up a couple of voice recorders and taped them under our shirts...’

‘With the biggest roll of sticking plaster I’d ever seen. Jaye had obviously been taking lessons from his father about how to tape broken ribs, and was extremely thorough...’

‘I think I still have the scars from where my mother ripped it all off to see what was underneath.’ Jaye’s hand wandered to his chest, and Megan swallowed down the impulse to remind him that she was a nurse and could take a look at them if he wanted.

‘The worst thing was that we never actually managed to record anything. We’d put our jumpers and coats on, to hide all the lumps and bumps, and all you could hear was a bit of rustling, and then Caroline, asking us what on earth we were up to.’

Jaye quirked the sides of his mouth down. ‘Yes. That was a big disappointment.’

The image of two boys, play-acting and exploring in the winding corridors and vast rooms, floated into Megan’s mind. The Jaye who made use of the formal entrance and main staircase seemed to have lost something along the way. Or maybe it had been stolen from him. It seemed that Sonia had a lot to answer for.

‘More wine?’ Tim turned and picked up a bottle from the table.

‘No...thanks.’ Megan shielded the top of her glass with her hand. ‘I should go and see where Alice has got to...’ She looked around desperately, hoping that the friend she’d made during the conference wasn’t anywhere in sight.

Jaye was suddenly still and silent, as if this sudden glimpse at something like intimacy was too much for him too. Megan smiled at Tim and made her escape.

Chapter Four

MEGAN LOOKED STUNNING. So much so that Jaye had forgotten to issue the expected compliment about her appearance. She wore a plain dark blue dress, the sheen of which didn’t come close to matching the sheen of her hair, which was caught up loosely at the back of her head. High heels made her legs look even longer than they actually were. The only jewellery she wore, a heavy twisted silver bangle, was obviously one of a kind. She made everyone else here look as if they’d tried far too hard, and in doing so had lost the sartorial plot.

The string quartet had thrown off the precision of Bach and begun to play a selection of popular songs, all with their very own distinctive flavour. In response, Jaye’s father had spun his mother into an empty space at one end of the ballroom, creating an impromptu dancing area.

The idea that Jaye might do the same with Megan was...impossible. He wanted too much from her. Her scent. The feel of her hand on his shoulder. That slightly dizzy feeling that her smile engendered.

‘Very nice party.’ Tim broke his reverie.

‘Thanks. There are a few people I’d like you to meet...’ Jaye resolved the need to mingle with his suspicion that Tim would be standing alone in a corner of the room if he left him here. Tim didn’t do small talk, and if he’d found him with anyone other than Megan, it would have been a surprise to find his friend so relaxed and at ease.

‘Uh... Later? I’m getting a headache, I don’t suppose you have any paracetamol, do you?’

‘In the box in the kitchen. You know where the key is. Are you all right?’

Tim shot him a pained look. ‘Yes, I’m fine. Stop being such a doctor and go and do your duty as a host...’

* * *

Out of the range of Jaye’s smile Megan had begun to relax again. She’d found Alice and they’d joined the group of new friends, laughing and talking by the fireplace. It was almost an hour before Megan saw Jaye heading towards them, a bottle of red in one hand and a bottle of white in the other, obviously intent on refilling their glasses.

She slipped away. A little cool air on her face, maybe some water, would dispel the heat that she felt rising to her cheeks.

A few wrong turns and she found her way downstairs to the kitchen. The light was on, and Megan looked around, wondering if she’d disturbed someone else who was intent on escape.

No one. Megan fetched a glass from the cupboard and held it under the tap. Then the sound of a rasped breath reached her ears.

She jumped, looking around. Still no one. Maybe this place was haunted, only that wouldn’t account for anything because she didn’t believe in ghosts. She walked to the far end of the room, to a brick archway, finding that it led into a small alcove with a couple of easy chairs and a table.

Tim was sitting in one of the chairs, a half-empty glass of water and an open packet of paracetamol on the table in front of him. His eyes were closed and his breathing seemed laboured.

It occurred to Megan that maybe this was one last challenge, designed to test the group of doctors and nurses. But Jaye and Tim would hardly stage such a thing here, and anyway the conference was over now. When she walked over to Tim, touching the back of his hand, his eyes flickered open.

‘Megan...? What’s the matter?’

‘Are you all right?’ She didn’t wait for an answer, leaning forward to lay her hand on Tim’s forehead. He was burning up.

‘Just a twenty-four-hour flu bug. I thought I’d got the better of it, but it seems to have come on again. I’ll be okay in a minute—go back to the party.’ Tim reached groggily for the packet of paracetamol and Megan snatched it up from the table. Two tablets had already been broken from the blister pack, and if Tim had taken them she didn’t want him taking any more.

‘Will you stay here? Just for one moment?’

‘Yeah. Yeah, no problem.’ Tim’s eyes fluttered closed again. Megan turned, hurrying through the kitchen and upstairs to the ballroom. In a room which held more than its share of doctors, there was only one she wanted to find.

* * *

Jaye felt Megan’s touch on his arm, and the warm shiver that ran down his spine suddenly froze when he saw the look on her face. ‘Please come. It’s Tim, he’s ill.’

‘What’s the matter? He was complaining of a headache earlier...’ Jaye dumped the bottle he was holding on the mantelpiece and followed Megan, who was already making her way back out of the room.

‘He says it’s a twenty-four-hour flu. I’m not so sure about that.’

Jaye was much more disposed to trust Megan’s assessment of the situation than Tim’s. She stopped as she reached the main hallway, looking right and then left.

‘Where is he?’

‘In the main kitchen, downstairs.’

‘This way...’ Jaye laid his hand lightly on her back to guide her in the right direction, without thinking, feeling her jump as he touched her. Even now, as they hurried down to the kitchen, electricity was zinging in the air.

She led him to the snug room next to the kitchen. Tim was slumped in one of the chairs, and focussed his eyes on them with difficulty.

‘Oh, no... You didn’t bring the cavalry, did you?’

‘I’m afraid I did.’ Megan smiled at Tim and then turned to Jaye. ‘He had this open packet of paracetamol, and he’s obviously had some water. I don’t know what he’s already taken, so I stopped him from taking any more.’

‘Okay. There’s a log in the medicine cabinet. Sit with him while I check.’ Jaye took the blister pack from her hand, walking back into the kitchen.

When he returned, Megan was sitting on the low table in front of Tim. She’d pushed his cuff back and curled her fingers around his wrist. The clock on the mantelpiece ticked loudly in the silence.

‘Your pulse is steady. Maybe a little fast.’ Megan’s warmth was like a tangible presence in the room, and Jaye almost envied his friend.

She was making no fuss, using her own observations to guide her. Jaye knew it was exactly the right approach to take with Tim, but Megan seemed to have come to that conclusion after only a brief conversation with him.

‘You don’t want to catch this... I thought I had it licked, but it’s got a sting in its tail.’ Tim managed to summon up some of his former determination to be left alone, and Megan thwarted it with a look of mild rebuke.

‘You said earlier you were just back from Africa. Six weeks ago.’

‘That’s past the usual incubation time for malaria...’ Tim had clearly divined the direction that Megan was moving in, and waved his hand towards Jaye. ‘Ask my friend over there. He’s a doctor.’

‘You’ve taken two of these?’ Jaye held the blister pack up. The log in the medicine cabinet had indicated a full box of paracetamol and there were two missing from the blister pack.

‘That was a while ago...’

Tim reached for the blister pack, and Megan caught his hand. ‘You don’t need any more, Tim. Just sit quietly.’

‘You think it might be malaria?’ Jaye murmured.

Megan reddened, as if she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t, turning her gaze up towards him. ‘I didn’t say that.’

Jaye supposed that, as the doctor in attendance, he ought to take over now. But Megan was doing fine on her own—a lot better than fine. She’d thought to take the paracetamol away from Tim before he took another dose, and her firm but gentle way seemed to be working with his friend, who was notoriously unwilling to do anything the doctor told him.

‘You know what to look for.’ He stepped back, motioning for Megan to carry on with her examination.

Megan nodded, laying her hand on Tim’s chest. ‘You have a bit of a wheeze there. When did you say this started?’

‘Tuesday...no, Wednesday. I was over it by Thursday lunchtime.’

‘Three days ago.’ Megan seemed to realise that the best way to get Tim to co-operate was to tell him exactly what was going on.

‘I’ve been home for six weeks...nearly seven.’ Tim started to shiver. He was obviously feeling very ill, and his tone was probably sharper than he’d meant it to be. But Megan didn’t waver.

‘Plasmodium Malariae can take up to forty-nine days to incubate and has different symptoms from the other types of malaria.’ She glanced up at Jaye and he nodded. ‘I think we might look at it as a possibility. Particularly as you may have some level of immunity from the amount of time you’re spent in regions where it’s endemic.’

She reached for the throw that was draped across the back of the chair and tucked it around Tim. Just the right mixture of care and cajoling.

‘Yeah. S’pose so...’

‘In which case we should get you a blood test as soon as possible, then we’ll know for sure. If it’s flu, I’ll be happy for you to say that you told me so.’

‘And if it’s malaria, you’ll tell me you told me so.’ Tim managed a smile.

‘I’ll forgo that pleasure, on condition you take the drugs to get it cleared up.’

Tim nodded. ‘Perhaps the doctor will make himself useful and give us a lift.’

Megan reddened again. ‘We should see what Jaye thinks...’ Her gaze found Jaye, a look of clear apology on her face.

That wasn’t needed. Megan had done exactly the right thing, and she’d charmed Tim into facing the possibilities that he must have already been aware of.

‘I’ll go and get my bag. And call my father.’

Tim groaned. ‘Oh, please. Surely we don’t need any more reinforcements, do we? People get malaria all the time...’

Jaye chuckled, turning away. He imagined that Megan could handle Tim while he was gone.

* * *

It was extraordinary. Five years ago, when she’d seen him at the hospital, Jaye had hardly seemed to notice anyone as lowly as a nurse. But now he was allowing her to take charge and examine his friend.

He must have a reason to act so completely out of character. Then the idea occurred to Megan that maybe he wasn’t acting out of character, that she’d been wrong about him all along. That was a little too delicious to contemplate right now.

‘It’s probably best to go to Gloucester Central.’ Raj had checked Megan’s observations and was writing a referral note for the hospital. ‘They have the facilities for out-of-hours testing, so they can get the blood test done tomorrow.’

He tore the sheet from his pad and handed it to Megan. ‘Make sure the doctor gets this, won’t you? I don’t want him listening to Tim and sending him home with a flu diagnosis.’

‘Doctors...’ Tim muttered under his breath. His cheeks were flushed with fever and he was grumbling quietly. ‘Give me a nurse any day.’

‘My sentiments entirely.’ Jaye shot Megan a grin that made her stomach turn somersaults, and then twitched at the throw that covered Tim’s legs. Tim protested, grabbing it tightly.

‘Come on. Let’s get you to the car.’

* * *

Megan had given Raj’s letter to the doctor at the hospital, who had read the few paragraphs in instalments, stopping every now and then to turn his attention somewhere else.

‘Dr Perera has extensive experience with tropical diseases.’ She tapped her finger on the top of the letter to draw the doctor’s attention back from the Saturday evening bustle that was going on around them, and Jaye allowed himself to smile. She was unshakeable.

‘In that case... I assume the patient’s been abroad?’

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