Last Stop Marriage

She should probably ask for Baby’s name, but it could be filled in on the paperwork before the flight into China. If it was something like Peach Bubbles, she would probably throw up.

‘Please keep me posted on your journey,’ she said stiffly. ‘I’ll be at Xi’an airport to meet you.’

‘No need for that. We’ll see you at Lin Zhiyong’s party. Baby and I will look forward to it.’

A heated breath hissed between Jayne’s teeth. How could any woman stand being spoken of in such a patronising manner? Did having a free meal and travel ticket compensate for such de-meaning paternalism? Was Baby’s brain dulled by a sexual drive that consumed any rational thought?

‘Is there anything else you want done before you arrive here?’ she asked, keeping her tone crisp and level. ‘Mr. Castle instructed me to give you every assistance with the job.’

‘Yes, I thought he would. Is that hard for you, Jayne?’

‘Not at all,’ she tossed off as blithely as she could.

‘I wouldn’t want to make your life miserable again.’

‘Different circumstances, aren’t they?’ she grated, furious that he would imply such a thing in front of the woman he was bringing with him.

‘Of course,’ he agreed. ‘Then we shall meet once more under a full moon. As I recall, the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated when the moon is at its fullest and brightest.’

The line was disconnected before she could make a comeback. Not that she had one. Better not to acknowledge the memory he had evoked anyway. It was in absolutely rotten taste for him to allude to the heady romance of their very first meeting when he was not only carrying on an intimate affair with another woman, but escorting that woman to Lin Zhiyong’s full-moon party!

She crashed the receiver down on its cradle and glared at it with gathering turbulence. Her lips compressed. Dan Drayton had better keep his mind completely focused on work when he was with her. As fond as she was of Monty, her loyalty to him did not extend to tolerating insidious remarks about the past. If Dan Drayton once tried to put anything on her that was inappropriate to the situation, he would get a demonstration of Dragon Lady the like of which no one had ever seen before!

The fax machine signalled an incoming message. Jayne pushed herself to her feet and crossed the office to watch the transmission roll out. It was the official confirmation she had requested for the purpose of satisfying Lin Zhiyong and the team of Chinese engineers that the replacement expert was on his way.

The prime objective had been attained.

She had, indeed, got Dan Drayton.

The only question was whether she would get past this encounter, unscarred, unscathed and unhitched from the man she had once thought she would love forever.

CHAPTER THREE

DRAGON LADY…

The name the Chinese had given his wife—she wasn’t ex yet—simmered in Dan Drayton’s mind as Lin Zhiyong’s official car transported him and Baby from the hotel to this evening’s party. It put Dan more and more in a dragon-slaying mood.

The Chinese might find Jayne formidable. He didn’t. She could throw out as much fire as she liked. It couldn’t match the slow burn that had been building in intensity inside him ever since her call. The desire to cut the wind out from under her wings and bring her thumping down to earth was uppermost on his agenda.

Jayne Winter. The denial of his name stung. She had been happy enough to be Jayne Drayton when they were first married. Throwing her maiden name at him was like saying their marriage had never been, scrubbing out the four years they had shared together as though it was nothing to her. He was nothing to her.

That was precisely how she had spoken to him, not the slightest acknowledgement of what they had once meant to each other, not even a civil inquiry about how he was or where he’d been or what he was doing now. What had he ever done to her to deserve being treated as though she had never had any personal, let alone intimate involvement with him?

It riled him even more that she had left him and gone to work for Monty Castle. If she had found sharing his life so intolerable, why had she become personal assistant to a man in the same line of work? And here she was in China, apparently contending easily with a culture that was every bit as foreign as that of Iran.

Baby pointed excitedly to the colourful paper lanterns strung from the trees in the park they were passing. It was a perfect evening and the park was thronged with people out to enjoy the festivities with their families and friends. Traditionally Zhongqiu Jie had always been ‘the Reunion Festival’, an occasion for the expression of nostalgic sentiments.

Dan wondered if Jayne knew that. The irony of it certainly struck him. The only reason for this reunion was Monty Castle’s need for him. Dan didn’t anticipate hearing any nostalgic sentiments from Jayne tonight, but he sure as hell intended to stir some memories.

It was a quixotic twist of fate that these circumstances had arisen. He’d never told Jayne his connection to Monty Castle. By the time they’d met and married, he’d gone way beyond being Monty’s protégé in the explosives field.

It must have come as a heart-thumping shock when Monty had told her to get him. Though not so much of a shock that she had spilled the fact she was his wife. Monty still didn’t know. That was obvious from their conversation at the hospital this afternoon.

It added another burning question to all the others in Dan’s mind, making him pause before committing himself to helping Monty. A decision on the project could wait until he knew all he needed to know. In a professional sense, he’d already repaid Monty for all he’d learnt from him. He didn’t owe him anything, except the caring that came with mutual liking. As for Jayne…

He cuddled Baby closer, rubbing his cheek over her soft black curls, breathing in the sweet scent of her, taking deep pleasure in the innocence of her love and trust in him. She was his first consideration now, not Jayne, and he had no compunction in ramming that home to the woman who had so comprehensively rejected him.

It had given him a great deal of satisfaction to hear the snippy tone creep into her voice when he had made continual reference to Baby on the telephone. It meant that she wasn’t as indifferent as she wanted to be. He hoped it would hit her hard when she saw Baby, make her take stock of all she had walked away from.

The car came to a halt beside a set of steps that led up to the gate of a high, decorative wall that undoubtedly enclosed the gardens of Lin Zhiyong’s home. The driver alighted to open the passenger door for them.

‘Ready to go on show, Baby?’ Dan asked, smiling indulgently at the small, angel face that gazed adoringly at him.

She smacked her lips in a kiss for him and he laughed, releasing some of the tension he was feeling over this meeting with Jayne. Baby was utterly, captivatingly beautiful.

Eat your heart out, Dragon Lady, Dan thought, stepping from the car. He settled Baby comfortably on his arm and went to confront the woman he had once thought he would love forever.

CHAPTER FOUR

THE aim of a Chinese garden was to create a sense of peace and harmony. At some other time Jayne might have been able to enjoy the ambience Lin Zhiyong took such pride in; the graceful fall of willow fronds into the gently meandering pond, the carefully cultivated waterlilies, the artistic arch of the bridge that serviced a splendid pavilion centred over the water. It was all a visual delight, but Jayne was too on edge to feel peace or harmony.

Any minute now Dan Drayton would arrive with his Baby. Lin Zhiyong had sent his car for them. It was an unusually hospitable gesture for him. It was really her responsibility to arrange transport. She hoped Lin Zhiyong wasn’t playing some secret hand. Dan hadn’t actually signed an agreement with Monty yet.

‘I am to be honoured with a special guest this evening,’ the elderly official informed her. ‘He is travelling from Beijing.’

A higher official from the seat of government? Jayne refrained from comment, not knowing what it might mean.

‘It would appear that Mr. Castle has competition for Mr. Drayton’s services.’ he added enigmatically.

More pressure on her to make good her claim that Dan would do as she asked, Jayne thought, hating the sense of being backed into a corner from which there was no escape, yet determined to play out her hand as best she could.

She smiled, exuding every scrap of confidence she could muster. ‘Mr. Drayton has always been a man of his word. It is regrettable that your honoured guest will be disappointed in his quest. However, I am sure his long journey will be rewarded by your hospitality.’

‘It is best that he sees for himself,’ Lin Zhiyong observed, his eyes glinting over Jayne before drifting toward the ornamental gateway into his garden.

At least her appearance had impressed him, Jayne thought, fiercely hoping it would outshine Baby’s. It was not that she was jealous. This was purely politics. Dan was welcome to some other woman in his personal life. She simply needed a professional boost tonight. Besides, it was satisfying to have an appropriate occasion on which to wear the exotic outfit she had bought in Hong Kong.

At the time of purchase, she’d had no idea that the glamorous evening suit could take on another meaning. She had seen it as wonderfully rich and perfect for her height and colouring. Tonight it had a special impact.

The jacket was highly dramatic with a design of dragons in gold and russet woven onto a lustrous pearl silk brocade. The heart-shaped neckline dipped to a row of five buttons that fastened the bodice to figure-moulding tightness. The sleeves were long and fitted, with the dragon motif featuring below the elbow. The jacket flared out over the hips, giving it a winged effect. Below it flowed a beautiful full-length circular skirt in russet silk, gold thread crisscrossing it in a diamond pattern that made it shimmer like dragon scales.

Jayne had added some complementary costume jewellery; a gold mesh necklace threaded with pearls, and long, dangly earrings of chunkier gold, studded with pearls. The massed red ringlets of her hair formed a fiery showcase for their glitter and gleam.

She had certainly turned the heads of Lin Zhiyong’s other guests. Dragon Lady was making her presence felt tonight. But would Dan respond with the respect she needed from him?

‘Ah, Mr. Drayton has arrived,’ Lin Zhiyong announced, apparently picking up some signal from the aide stationed by the gateway. ‘You will accompany me to greet him?’ he invited, obviously wanting to observe their meeting firsthand.

‘Thank you,’ Jayne accepted, maintaining her pose of absolute confidence as she matched her step to his.

How she didn’t falter when Dan entered the garden was little short of a miracle. Her heart certainly stopped in shock, kicking painfully when it resumed beating again. Her mind locked, one thought only exploding within the jammed compartment.

Baby…

He was holding a baby…a real baby…cradled contentedly in the crook of his arm…a baby with the face of a cherub, chubby little hands waving excitedly, a rosebud mouth blowing bubbles as she gurgled her delight in the glowing paper lanterns strung around the garden.

A baby with black curly hair…

Like Dan’s!

A baby that looked to be about nine months old, certainly less than a year.

It was two years since she had rejected Dan’s idea of having a baby to give her something to do, to keep her happy in their marriage, to hold her with him; ample time for him to father this child with some other woman; the baby she had denied him; denied herself.

The baby was observing her now, wide-eyed with wonder, dark-eyed like Dan…and there was an ache of emptiness in Jayne’s stomach, a heavy, dragging feeling in her thighs, a cramping in her heart.

Somehow her feet kept moving. Dan had come to a standstill, obviously having observed her approach with Lin Zhiyong and waiting for the formal welcome to the Chinese official’s home. It was not until they were virtually face-to-face that Jayne managed to wrench her gaze from his child to look directy at the man who no longer belonged to her, and would never belong to her again.

‘Hello, Dan.’ It was all she could think of to say. Her voice was smoky, insubstantial, barely emerging from the sense of dead ashes, all that was left now of their former relationship.

‘Jayne…’

The bare acknowledgement was spoken in a guarded tone. The face that had once captivated her with its entrancing mobility of expression was unnaturally still, highlighting the distinctive bone structure that had fascinated her when he was asleep; the planes of his forehead, nose, cheeks, chin, all seeming to flow gracefully, one to the other in a complement of strength, yet the soft sensuality of his mouth hinting at a poetic soul that was at odds with the tensile power of his long, lean body.

His dark eyes clashed briefly with hers before turning to their host, and Jayne was left with a disturbing impression of deep, smouldering anger. She performed the ritual introductions with passable aplomb, yet she was acutely aware of a pins-and-needles sensation firing through her body, an instinctive alert to danger.

Despite the baby, despite whatever he shared with its mother, Dan Drayton was no more indifferent to this situation than she was, and exploding mountains was not the only explosion he had in mind. The life she had crafted without him was on a short fuse. She would have to tread very carefully once she was alone with him.

CHAPTER FIVE

DAN was so used to dealing with officials in foreign countries, Lin Zhiyong presented no problem to him. He exchanged the proper courtesies with the appropriate amount of respect, and Jayne had to admire his deft charm in sidestepping some subtly probing questions from their wily host. Dan was giving nothing away, not his private nor his professional motives for being here.

Having gained no useful information whatsoever, Lin Zhiyong found his presence required by other guests and moved away to observe what transpired between Dan and Jayne at a distance. Jayne had privately decided that if she stuck rigidly to business she was on safe ground.

‘Shall we stroll around the pond?’ Dan suggested, taking the initiative from her with consummate ease. ‘It will entertain Baby. I trust we have some leisure time for entertaining Baby this evening.’

Jayne felt a flush scorching up her neck and quickly half turned to accompany him side-by-side. If he hadn’t exactly misled her about Baby when she had called him, he had certainly not laid out the truth for her. Nevertheless, she hated the feeling of being in the wrong, hated even more Dan driving it home to her.

‘I didn’t realise that Baby was actually a baby,’ she admitted, wanting to clear the decks between them. ‘When I called you I was still in shock from Monty’s collapse.’

‘Monty now, is it? You called him Mr. Castle on the phone.’

‘I didn’t know how well you knew him.’

‘How well do you know him?’

The pointed question startled her into glancing at him. His gaze locked onto hers, holding it. He looked dark and dangerous, his eyes glittering with savage mockery. She stopped walking and confronted him face-on, deeply insulted by what he was implying.

‘Are you asking if I’m sleeping with a man who’s old enough to be my father?’ she demanded, her own eyes projecting twin bolts of blue lightning to sizzle that idea out of his brain.

‘It’s been done by many a younger woman than you, Jayne. They usually have one thing in common.’ His gaze raked her from head to foot. ‘They’re magnificently dressed and dripping with jewellery.’

Jayne almost stamped her foot in outrage at his horribly false interpretation of her dressing tonight. ‘I bought this outfit myself,’ she declared, breathing fire. ‘In Hong Kong where we had a few days’ stopover before coming on here. And the jewellery is costume jewellery, which I also bought myself.’

‘It must have cost a lot.’

‘I earn a lot. And Monty Castle is my boss. Nothing more.’

‘An extremely generous boss.’

‘He happens to value me very highly, which is more than you did. I’m good at what I do.’

‘You always were.’

‘If you think that after you…’ She stopped, appalled at having been goaded so far.

‘Do go on, Jayne,’ he invited silkily. ‘You hold me fascinated. Are you implying that marriage to me put you off men altogether?’

No. There simply hadn’t been anyone with Dan’s sexual magnetism. Not for her. Dressed in a formal dinner suit, as he was tonight, he was as lethally attractive as ever, and Jayne was swamped with the feeling she would never really want any other man.

The reverse obviously wasn’t true for Dan. She reminded herself forcefully of that by looking straight at the child he’d had with another woman. ‘Where’s the baby’s mother?’ she asked point-blank. If he wanted to talk lovers, let him answer to her!

‘She died soon after Baby was born.’

Jayne’s fire wilted. ‘I’m sorry.’ The words tripped out automatically, with no real sincerity. She was plunged into a state of confusion, pain mixed with relief, guilt, shame…

Here was a little baby girl, robbed of her mother virtually from birth. It was terribly, terribly wrong to feel glad the woman was permanently out of Dan’s life. It wasn’t as if she wanted to resume life with Dan, certainly not on the same terms as before. Besides, for all she knew, he could have formed another relationship by now. There might be more babies on the way!

This one didn’t look uncared for. In fact she was beautifully, lovingly dressed in festival clothes. She wore a gold silk tunic with a little Mandarin collar. Underneath it were long pants in scarlet silk. There were beaded gold slippers on her tiny feet and scarlet ribbons tied around her head. She appeared to be as much adored and cherished as Chinese babies were by their parents.

‘Do you have someone to help look after the baby?’ Jayne asked, pursuing her thoughts to their logical end.

‘No. I do it myself.’

‘Everything?’ Jayne’s eyes flew up to his in sceptical amazement.

‘Do you find something wrong with that, Jayne?’

It wasn’t what most men would do. But then, Dan had never been like most men. He was a law unto himself and the only way to deal with him, live with him, was on his terms.

‘I didn’t think you’d take a child this young into the field with you when you’re planting explosives,’ she answered.

‘Why not?’

‘Because it’s dangerous.’

‘Not with me.’

‘The noise…’

‘Baby likes big booms, don’t you, sweetheart?’

‘Boom-boom,’ the baby crowed back at him, clapping her hands as a chorus.

Jayne gave up the unwinnable argument and resumed walking, mortified at the thought that Lin Zhiyong had probably witnessed that incautious little scene. She fiercely vowed she would not be trapped into any more personal conversation. There was nothing to be gained by it and it only inflamed the heartburn that was eroding the composure it was vitally important for her to keep.

Dan wasn’t about to change his rootless way of life. He was even bringing up his child to accept it as normal, carting her with him everywhere as though she didn’t need anything but him. If she didn’t, it made nonsense of Jayne’s contention that children required a proper home base to give them a sense of security. Was Dan proving a point to her? Was that why he had come?

She mentally shook her head. It was far too extreme, even for Dan, to fly from Morocco to China to show her she was wrong. An infant didn’t prove his case anyhow. Wait until Baby reached school age and see how she liked an ever-changing environment!

Dan had to intend taking up Monty’s contract. Jayne felt compelled to pin him down to some firm decision before the competitor for his services arrived. It would not favour her position if Dan appeared to be weighing one offer against another in front of Lin Zhiyong.

‘Monty told me you visited him this afternoon,’ she began.

‘Yes. He was able to curl his left fingers around Baby’s hand. It’s a good sign for recovery.’

‘The doctors say his progress is very promising. He’s well enough now to be flown home to Australia but he wants to settle everything with you first. Do you see some problem with fulfilling the contract?’

‘No.’

‘Monty said you deferred discussing it until tomorrow.’

‘I like to scout a deal before committing myself to it.’

‘What do you need to scout? You said the job was simple.’

‘Other things aren’t so simple.’

‘For example?’

‘Don’t push me, Jayne.’ The warning was spoken in a low, harsh tone. ‘I’ll do what I choose to do in my own time.’

It wasn’t easy to quell her vexation at his elu-siveness but she knew the warning was not an idle one. Persistence would irritate him, any attempt at persuasion would be treated with scorn, and she didn’t have the power to seduce him from his self-set course, She had become bitterly resigned to that last fact before she had made the decision to leave him two years ago.

Their path had circumnavigated the pond and was now approaching one end of the bridge. Jayne looked toward the pavilion where most of the guests had gathered to enjoy the refreshments laid out for them. She didn’t want to join them, not while she was still riven with uncertainty about Dan’s intentions. She would probably choke on the moon cakes she would feel obliged to eat, especially since they were a symbol of reunion.

This meeting with Dan could hardly be classed as a reunion!

She felt sick with tension. Nothing was how she had expected it to be. She was sure she would have coped much better if Dan had been with another woman. That would have killed off any personal element straight away.

The baby really hurt. Dan as a devoted father hurt more. If she had stayed with him…no, she couldn’t start thinking that. She had achieved something for herself over the past two years and she would not let Dan diminish that now. It was important to her to have an identity of her own, to know she was worth something by herself. Although the way things were going, Dragon Lady might very well end up a big fizzle this evening.

Baby pointed up to the full moon that was now dominating the clear evening sky and spurted forth a babble of baby pleasure that brought Dan to an attentive halt. He smiled indulgently at her, then turned his gaze to the object of her delight.

‘If you look hard enough you’ll see the lady in the moon,’ he crooned softly.

‘The man,’ Jayne corrected, reacting sharply to being shut out of their closeness.

Dan slowly turned his head and looked at her with heart-twisting derision. ‘You’re in China, Jayne. Don’t you know the old Chinese legend?’

Wherever he went he habitually asked questions of the local people, interested in their lives, their culture, their history. He picked up knowledge as easily as a sponge soaking up water. Jayne had never mastered the art, too wary of putting a foot wrong and possibly causing offence. For a woman there were many pitfalls in foreign countries that didn’t seem to exist for men.

‘I’m sorry I don’t have your knack for drawing stories from people, and I don’t read Chinese,’ she said flatly.

‘And you’re too self-absorbed to wonder about anything outside yourself.’

‘That’s not true.’ The criticism stung. Was that how he had seen her at the end?

‘Isn’t it, Jayne?’ he retorted softly. ‘You didn’t even ask me how I was when you rang. You thought only of your needs.’

‘Monty’s needs. I was following his instructions,’ she pleaded, realising for the first time that Dan had been deeply offended by her avoidance of ordinary civilities.