Diamonds are for Marriage: The Australian's Society Bride

“Does your father know any of this?” Jinty asked through clenched teeth. It was obvious she had difficulty speaking she was so clearly stunned.

“Not as yet. He’s been too busy trying to push Chloe at me. I’ll tell him when I’m ready. Leona will make the most beautiful bride.”

Jinty couldn’t get out of the drawing room fast enough.

“Has everyone taken leave of their senses?” Leona asked when she was quite sure that Jinty had gone up the staircase.

“Well, I’m certainly in possession of mine,” Boyd said. “We’d better get you upstairs before you collapse. And you could tell that cowardly little brother of yours—”

“He’s not a coward,” she said loyally. “He wanted to return the earrings to the Limoges bowl.”

Boyd ignored her. “You know another thing about Robbie? He’s well over his ears in debt.”

“Is he?” She moaned as if it was all too much for her.

“You don’t know?”

Her green eyes were dark with dismay. “Well … he tells me everything, but …”

Boyd cut her off. “He’s got himself mixed up with people who are little more than thugs. The kind who target young idiots like Robbie, a rich kid, an easy mark.”

“Dear God!” Leona let her head fall into her hands. “I blame myself.”

“Well, you would, wouldn’t you?” Boyd returned very crisply. “You’ve been covering for Robbie for years. Where is he now? And don’t, I beg of you, Leona, lie.”

“He’s in my room.”

“What, hiding under the bed?”

“You know why he gets into trouble, don’t you?” Leona made a passionate effort to try to absolve Robbie from some of the blame.

“He has an identity crisis?” Boyd asked, unbearably suave.

“Yes, he does. His father deserted him. Dad doesn’t know what to make of him. For heaven’s sake, he doesn’t know what to make of me. The proverbial cat would make a better mother than Delia. Robbie has suffered.”

“Don’t be absurd!” Boyd cut her short. “Robbie wallows in his suffering when he’s being looked after very well,” he told her grimly. “He has a more than adequate allowance. He buys the best of everything from Blanchards, then forgets to pay off his account. He’s at university. He’s a fine athlete, good-looking and clever. My heart bleeds for him.”

“So what are you going to do?” she whispered.

“Oh, give me a break! I’m going to knock him senseless.”

Leona winced. “You wouldn’t do that.” Was it possible?

“What good would that do?” Boyd shrugged. “You tell Robbie I want to meet him ten o’clock sharp tomorrow morning in the hall. We’ll go for a nice long walk together.”

“Oh, thank you, Boyd. Thank you.” She felt like falling to her knees and kissing his hand.

“Alas, not the end of the story, Leona,” he said tersely. “I meant what I said. That wasn’t a bit of play-acting for Jinty’s benefit. You will make a beautiful bride. My bride. You belong to me. No one else. Consider that our deal. Robbie gets thrown a lifeline. But if there’s a next time when he gets himself into a really bad situation, he can drown. But for now, you marry me. You’re the only one who can give me what I want.”

The more she scanned his dynamic face, the angrier she became. So angry she started to stutter. “So … can … you t-tell me exactly why you want me?” Her green eyes flashed and rosy colour swept into her face. She was maddened by his easy arrogant assumption that she would go along with his grand plan. Robbie or no Robbie, she wasn’t going to accept this sort of proposal when it was clearly as he said, a deal.

“Is it because you think you own me? Or think you can. Is that it?”

For answer, he knotted his fingers through her rose-gold hair, drawing her mutinous face closer. Then he brought his masterful mouth down on hers, almost bruising in its intensity, leaving his indelible mark. “That’s it,” he said. “That’s it exactly.”

“But that’s blackmail!” Her legs were buckling. The fine flavour of him was on her lips and her tongue. No matter what heart, body and spirit craved, it would be spineless to give in to him without a fight.

“You have the choice, Leona,” he told her. “It’s over for Robbie or we start a new life together.”

It was near impossible to calm herself. “What if your father decides it simply won’t do?” She knew that was bound to happen.

His expression hardened. “My private life is a no-go area where my father is concerned, Leona. I pick my wife, Leona. I choose you. I’ve known you since you were a child. I understand you better than anyone else. For your sake I’ll make sure Robbie gets pulled very firmly into line. And it will go no further. In my view, Robbie is more pampered than suffering and it has to stop.” He sounded so incredibly stern she could have wept.

“How long have you been thinking about this?” she asked, considering with a rush of horror that it might be one way of getting rid of all the women who were chasing him.

“Does it make a difference?” he asked suavely. “Let’s just say tonight has brought things to a head. No need for you to say anything to anyone. Not just now, anyway. I’ll handle all the preliminaries.”

“Preliminaries? What the heck does that mean?” she asked fiercely, her redhead’s temper coming to the fore. “And what if I don’t go along with it all? You’ll throw Robbie to the lions?”

“I should have threatened to throw him to the lions sooner,” Boyd answered very crisply. “But you will go along with it, so we no longer have to consider it. I’ll speak to my father some time this weekend.”

“Not frightened of anyone, are you?” she said caustically. “Well, I am. Please wait until I make my getaway before you speak to Rupert. He’ll be furious.”

“Are you sure you’ve got that right?” He was staring down at her with his bluer than blue eyes.

“Of course I’ve got it right,” she retorted, frowning at the question. “Little Leo stealing his precious son away?” She was trying very hard to stare him down, but she couldn’t.

“Why are you trying so hard to throw up excuses?” A vertical line appeared between his black brows. “You’re beautiful. You’re clever. You can be a handful, like now. But, that aside, you’re a real asset to the family. Any family. So why are you so incredibly insecure?”

She flushed with anger. “Maybe it’s an age thing,” she threw back with intense emotion. “You’ve got problems too, though God knows you’ve got the capacity to go about solving them. I’m twenty-four. You’re thirty. One can gain a lot of experience in six years.”

“You’re suggesting I wait until you’re thirty?”

“Thirty is fine for you.”

“I want you now, Leo,” he said. “You’re off your head if you think I’m going to give you even another year. Make it six months.”

That nearly knocked her out. “You sound absolutely mad.”

He sighed deeply. “No one but no one can make me as mad as you.”

“Yet you’re talking about marrying me. Let’s make it clear. Do we live together or do we retain separate apartments?”

“Well, it’s an idea,” he said, then began to laugh. “Don’t you think I can make you happy, Flower Face?”

She looked away from him, fighting tears. “The thing is, Boyd, you can overlook the need for love. Okay, I know we’ve got an emotionally charged relationship. You say you want me. I’m frightened to admit that I want you too. But you’re not the first man to tell me he wanted me. I don’t want to boast, but I hear it all the time. But want? What does that mean? Does it mean simply assuaging a sensual appetite?”

“It certainly does,” he said, his voice deep and sexy. “How can it not?”

“Don’t you dare laugh,” she said. “You’re always laughing at me. I need someone to love me. Really love me.” She was so overwrought she was almost shouting. “Why don’t you, Boyd?” she cried in a fresh upsurge of anguish. “There, you can’t give me an answer.” She totally ignored the fact that she had scarcely given him time to open his mouth. Instead, she spun like a ballet dancer, heading for the entrance hall.

“Leona!” he called after her.

His voice begged her to stop but she wasn’t having a bar of it. She was a woman for whom love was all important. Boyd’s love. She wasn’t a commodity to be bought on the open marketplace, she thought furiously. It was hellish to love someone the way she loved Boyd.

When she arrived back at her room she found Robbie pacing the carpet like a panther caught in a cage. “Well?” He turned to her with anguished eyes, no colour whatever in his cheeks.

Leona crossed the room to fall back on the bed. Her head was whirling with chaotic thoughts. She had to close her eyes and count to ten. After she did that, she said, “You’re off the hook.”

Robbie raised his eyes to the heavens. “Thanks be to God,” he said piously. “I think I’ll go back to church. You were able to put the earrings back?”

“Almost.” She sat up, feeling dizzy, looking more delicately lovely than ever, her chiffon skirt spread out on either side of her.

Robbie’s expression turned to one of dread. “You were caught?”

She nodded. “It happens, Robbie,” she said sombrely, at the same time wanting to put him out of his misery. “Boyd chose that very moment to come downstairs to turn off the lights. He saw me in the drawing room.”

“Holy Mother!” Robbie was so overtaken by weakness he had to slump down on the opulent day bed. “You must have been terrified.”

Even now she couldn’t suppress her feelings of panic. “Of course I was, but I felt enormous relief that it was Boyd. What if it had been Rupert?”

Robbie gave an agitated laugh. “True, we’d have had to emigrate to Antarctica. So what happened?”

“That’s for you to find out,” she said, feeling unable to explain much further. She had to sleep on Boyd’s extraordinary proposal. She was already well into convincing herself that it smacked of a convenient way out for him. When they weren’t striking sparks off one another, they did get along extremely well. Naturally she would in time be expected to produce an heir or heiress, so it was really a marriage of convenience. A lot of people settled for that. Rich people more than most.

“Listen, Robbie. Boyd wants you to meet him in the hall at ten o’clock sharp,” she said, forcing herself upright. “The two of you are going for a little walk. You wouldn’t want him swearing at you in the house.”

Robbie began madly slicking his dark hair back. “Boyd doesn’t swear even when he’s angry. The most I’ve heard is the odd bloody. So you told him? Why not? I am to blame. I should never have let you.”

“You’ll be pleased to hear I didn’t tell him, Robbie,” Leona said. “But Boyd knows me too well. He knows I wouldn’t have taken the earrings. He guessed you had. He knows all about the bad people you’re involved with.”

Robbie remained very still. “So what’s he going to do?” He looked straight at her, awaiting her response much as a man in the dock would await a jury’s verdict.

“I’ve told you, Robbie. Boyd sees you as being cushioned by wealth. Now that I’ve been forced to think about it, you are. Look at that suit. It must have cost a couple of thousand. Dad gives you a comfortable allowance. You’ll get your degree and, if you want it, you’ll be given a good position within Blanchards. I’m very sympathetic towards your personal problems. Why wouldn’t I be? I have them as well. It’s the old story of an unstable childhood, but we’ve survived and we have so much else, after all. You have to liberate yourself, Robbie. Not keep drinking from the poisoned well. Find your father. Confront him. You could go in the summer vacation. For all you know, Carlo might be thrilled out of his mind to see you.”

Robbie gave a bitter laugh. “I’ll ask him why he never invited me. But the big question is—am I going to be free to travel? It was a very bad thing I did, taking the earrings.”

“The only thing worse would’ve been for you to try to wear them,” Leona said, trying for some light relief. “It was a bad thing, Robbie. An insane thing for someone so bright. But you didn’t go through with it. That’s in your favour. It was a moment of madness.” Always protective towards him, Leona slid off the bed to give him a reassuring hug. “We both know Boyd is going to read you the riot act tomorrow.”

“That’s what I need.” Robbie’s voice was filled with self-disgust.

“Well, you’re going to get it and it won’t be pleasant. Take it on the chin. Boyd has assured me the matter will go no further.”

“He’d do anything for you,” Robbie said, then looked her in the eyes. “It’s all about you. Did you ask him?”

Leona hesitated for only a few seconds. “Actually, he asked me to marry him.” She didn’t say that he had more like informed her they were to be married. Not the same thing at all.

Robbie’s woebegone face lit up as his fears virtually disappeared. He put his hands around Leona’s narrow waist and began to swing her around like a child. “But that’s marvellous. Bloody marvellous! I couldn’t think of anyone in the world who would be more perfect for you!”

“No thoughts there might be plenty of girls more perfect for him?” Leona asked breathlessly when he set her down again.

“No way!” Robbie exclaimed, breaking into another delighted laugh. “You two are made for each other. Actually, I was starting to think that Boyd was taking his time.”

“Wh-a-t!” Leona stared back at him, flooded with astonishment.

“Gosh, Leo, you radiate off one another. I’m not the only person to see it, you know.”

“So who’s the other?” she asked in amazement.

“Lots probably.” Robbie shrugged. “But good old Geraldine, for one. She’s a sharp old bird.”

“No sharper than her brother, Rupert,” Leona said. “I’d hate to see his face when he hears.”

“But Rupe is very fond of you.” Robbie frowned.

“Maybe he is in a way. But not as a match for his son.”

“Sweetheart,” Robbie spoke very tenderly, trying to buck her up, “if Boyd wants you, he’ll have you. No one will stand in his way. Boyd’s well on the way to becoming more powerful than his dear old dad. And a damn sight nicer person.”

“And that wouldn’t be hard.”

CHAPTER FIVE

WHEN ROBBIE ARRIVED back at the house around midday he looked numb.

“Are you all right?” Concerned, Leona took him by the hand, much as she had done since he was a little boy. For a brief moment he took comfort from her presence, then he drew a deep breath, steadying himself.

“I’m fine.”

“Then I’d hate to see you when you aren’t.” Quickly, she led him by the quietest route through the house into the garden, bypassing the terrace with its outdoor sofas, armchairs and tables where some of the family had congregated, enjoying the sunshine. A buffet lunch would be served from noon until the main event of the day, the fastest field sport in the world.

Robbie, an excellent horseman, was on Boyd’s team, as was Peter and Peter’s first cousin, James, through his mother’s side of the family. The opposing team was made up of fine New South Wales players. But Leona was far from sure that Robbie should now play. Many polo players, like Boyd, found the element of danger alluring—as did Robbie, for that matter, but he looked as though all the stuffing had been knocked out of him. Predictably, the over-protective Leona felt upset for him, perversely blaming Boyd for having come on too strong. There was no logic to it, but Robbie brought out her protective instincts. Boyd, on the other hand, could look after himself.

When they were a distance from the house she drew him down a long pergola that had been mounted on splendid Doric stone pillars. Long tresses of the wisteria floribunda “Alba” cascaded from on high, softening the grandeur of the pillars. There was a little white trelliswork pavilion at the end of the walk, Mughal in style and embellished with a beautiful old-fashioned deep pink rose that clung to the abundant light green foliage. Here they could talk in privacy.

Robbie sat down beside her, then put his dark head into faintly trembling hands. “Thank God that’s over!” Gratefully he breathed in the calming scent of the roses.

Long entrenched in the business of looking after him, Leona burst out, “Boyd must have been very tough on you.”

“No more than I deserved!” Robbie sat bolt upright, half turning to face her. “Hey, don’t go blaming Boyd for anything,” he exclaimed, obviously surprised and concerned that she had.

“How can I not?” she said, distressed by his appearance. “It’s obvious he’s knocked you for six. How can you play this afternoon? Polo is a dangerous, demanding game. You have to have all your wits about you.”

“Listen, Leo, I’m playing,” Robbie answered emphatically. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I just have to regain my balance. A good lunch will help. Actually, I feel better than I have in ages. Can’t you understand that? It’s like going to confession and receiving absolution. Boyd was much too generous. I don’t deserve it. He’ll get the bad guys off my back. He said a lot has been invested in me to succeed. He also said I have your love and loyalty—hell, he reduced me to tears about that. Anyway, I swear to you, Leo, I’m going to mend my ways. I’m going to turn over a new leaf. I’m going to make you and Boyd proud of me. I know I’ve caused you a lot of anxiety and I’ve leant on you terribly. That has to stop. Both of us have to stop seeing me as your ‘kid brother’.”

“Boyd said that, did he?” She bit her lip.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” Robbie appealed to her. “Why are you trying to find fault with Boyd in this? He’s my saviour. I thought you loved him. You told me you were getting married.” He took hold of her arm. “Hell, I didn’t have anything to do with this sudden decision, did I?”

“Of course you didn’t.” Leona stopped that idea in its tracks. “It’s just that I see Boyd as invincible.”

“We all die, Leo,” Robbie said gently.

She shivered in the golden heat. “Don’t talk about dying!” For Boyd to die would destroy her. “It’s just I’ve spent so many years—”

“Putting up a front with Boyd?” Robbie suggested. “In some ways I think you find loving him the way you do terrifying,” he added very perceptively.

“Isn’t love terrifying?” she asked. “Love also sets one up for loss. The bliss of my childhood was shattered by the loss of my mother. Dad turned into another person. I think he forced himself to remarry. You know, the couples thing.”

“He could have done better than Mother,” said Delia’s only child, betraying the full extent of his emotional dislocation.

“Did Boyd say anything to you about—” she stumbled over the word “—us?”

“He said you’d agreed he’d make the announcement after he’d spoken to his father.”

“Who won’t be at all happy,” Leona repeated, showing her anxiety. The last thing she wanted to do was cause big trouble. For one thing, it might rebound on her own father, who held a high position in the firm. Rupert was not a man to be crossed.

Sharp-eyed Robbie inspected his stepsister’s lovely distressed face. “Why, Leo, sweetie, Boyd won’t give a damn about that. I keep telling you. He loves you. You’re the only woman in the world for him. Hell, I just hope I can find a woman I can love like Boyd loves you. Don’t you know how lucky you are?”

“Did he say he loved me?” Leona asked, so very uncertain of Boyd’s true motives.

“Leo, he doesn’t have to,” Robbie said. “When have you ever put into words your true feelings for Boyd? You’ve spent your time throwing dust in his eyes. I’d say Boyd has acted admirably. He’s given you an opportunity to grow up, stand on your own two feet, carve out a career. He’s very proud of you. We all are. Who cares about old Rupe? To be honest, I don’t think Boyd cares a lot about him either. Well, he is his father, but I have the feeling Boyd has never forgiven Rupe for the hard time he gave his mother. I do remember Aunt Alexa as being the loveliest lady and so kind to me. Then old Rupe ups and marries that gold-digger, Jinty. How he could after losing a woman like Alexa, I’ll never know.”

Leona didn’t know either. “For someone who is only twenty, you’re very perceptive, Robbie,” she said.

“That’s true.” He took the compliment for a statement of fact. “How did beautiful Alexa marry that wicked man? It couldn’t have been the money. Alexa’s family is old money, establishment.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, Rupert is still a handsome, virile man,” Leona said wryly. “If Jinty left him tomorrow—”

“That will never happen,” Robbie assured her.” Being Mrs Rupert Blanchard counts for everything in Jinty’s world. I bet she’s cursing the day Oz cut away from the Queen’s Honours system. She could have been Lady Blanchard. Now, wouldn’t that be something?”

“Actually, there is a Lady Blanchard,” Leona said, referring to the English side of the family. “But my point is that Rupert could have his pick of goodness knows how many women. Some as young as me.”

“Then it’s really a form of prostitution, isn’t it?” Robbie opined. “Selling yourself for money.”

Leona swallowed. “Well, I suppose that’s one way to put it.”

“It could never be you.” Robbie turned to her with his flashing white smile. “You and Boyd are not like them. You’re marrying for love. Hell, I feel like dancing!” He jumped up and held out his hand. “Come on. Let’s go back to the house. I’m starving.”

The three polo fields received constant year round attention from Rupert’s groundsmen to keep the surfaces in fine playing condition. With the more than welcome spring rains, Polo One, with perhaps the most spectacular setting, surrounded by rolling hills and magnificent shady trees was looking in great shape. A crowd of spectators from near and far was seated on rugs, collapsible chairs, bonnets, boots of cars, cushions and so on, right around the field. Those who weren’t early enough to find the choicest spots beneath the trees made sure they brought big beach umbrellas to ward off the brilliant sun.

Each team was made up of four players, wearing a different coloured jersey, bearing the number of the position they were playing. Robbie, who had made a lightning recovery, was wearing a green Number 1 jersey, which meant he was the most offensive player. Peter Blanchard was Number 4, primarily responsible for defending his team’s goal. Peter’s cousin, James, was at Number 2. James was more experienced than either Robbie or Peter. Boyd, as team captain, wore a deep red jersey that for some reason made his eyes look bluer than ever. Boyd, with an impressive armoury of strokes, was the highest rated player so he had the pivotal position of Number 3.

Leona, pre-match, moved freely about the gathering, greeting and being greeted by the familiar polo crowd. All four men on the Blanchard team looked stunningly handsome in their gear, a thought she was not alone in having; the tight-fitting white trousers, coloured jerseys, high boots, knee guards and helmets gave them the glamour of men in uniform. The opposing team looked pretty dashing too. To make it even better for the young female spectators, six of the eight players were bachelors.

In a cordoned off area beneath the deep shade of the trees were the polo ponies … A great polo pony was essential to a fine player’s performance and proficiency. The Blanchard team was superbly mounted. There were twenty-four ponies in all, mostly mares, that had to be made available during a match, due to the extreme demands put on a pony during the six period chukkas. Four minute breaks were taken to enable the players to change ponies.

Polo, one of the fastest, roughest, most dangerous games in the world of sport, was thus a rich man’s game. The upkeep of the teams of ponies alone was sufficient to keep it that way.

Leona was nervous. Nervous and excited too. She loved the game—the speed and athleticism of horse and rider, the strategies the brilliant pivotal players, like Boyd, came up with to clinch a game. But she had two men in her life to worry about. Boyd and Robbie. Dangerous collisions could and did happen even with the “right of way” rule. Robbie, though a fine player, was known on occasion to be downright reckless. Boyd, an even better rider, the far more experienced, subtle and considered player, was nonetheless given to spectacular displays especially on his number one polo pony, the beautiful mare, Andromeda, in play today. Robbie’s opposite number was a player Leona had watched many times before. Without question an experienced player with a big range of shots, he wasn’t above a bit of barging, hooking and blocking his opposite number to slow him down. Mostly it worked. So there was a duel on there. Even Boyd, who relied on thought, action and fantastic speed as opposed to dirty tactics, which actually made him the superior opponent, when the chips were down played his team to win.