Title: Darien's Mistress Chapter 3

Author: Ashley

E-mail: Nuriko56@hotmail.com

Standard Disclaimer Apply

 

 

The gardens of the palacio strangely empty without the tables and their sun 

umbrellas when Serena arrived there the next afternoon. She was still on a 

high, still daring to hope that her luck had changed. The driver had picked 

her up at three exactly from the apartment building where she had been on the 

look-out for him. Not knowing whether Andrew would be there or not, not really 

knowing if she would see any of the family, Serena had nevertheless dressed 

carefully in an outfit left over from her days as hostess at the golf club, 

smart but not flashy, chosen with unerring taste for what suited her.

	A maid opened the door of the house as soon as the car drew up at the 

entrance. The chauffeur hastened to open the car door, and Serena walked 

inside thinking that she could soon get used to all this attention. The maid 

led her to a room at the back of the house. There were sofas and chairs, but 

it was more a working-room, this, with a large desk in the centre and 

bookshelves lining the walls. All three cousins were there. Andrew and Darien 

were seated at the desk, going through some papers, Mina was sitting with her 

feet up on a sofa, reading a magazine. She looked up when Serena was shown in, 

but stayed where she was. Andrew rose and came forward with a smile of 

greeting, but Darien's eyes widened, as if he hasn't known she was expected.

	"Nice to see you again, Serena. Would you like a drink?" Andrew asked 

her.

	"Thank you. A coffee would be nice," Andrew spoke to the maid in 

Portuguese, and Serena said, "Hi, Mina. Darien."

	Darien had got to his feet, but now he half sat on the edge of the desk, 

a slight frown between his brows as he said, "Hello, Serena. A surprise 

visit?"

	"No, I asked her to call," Mina said, getting languidly to her feet. 

"She left her clothes behind last night." She turned to Serena. "You'll be 

glad to hear that the wine came out of your suit; it hasn't left a mark."

	"Oh, good," Serena said with relief. "Will you thank your maid for doing 

it for me?" She reached for her bag. "Perhaps I can give her something…"

	But Mina waved the idea away. "Of course not. It was our pleasure." She 

smiled at Serena, but there was no longer any warmth in it, and Serena braced 

herself to meet some kind of challenge. But Mina began to chat about the other 

festivities they'd arranged for that week, which were to peak with a bull to 

be held at the best hotel in Oporto. "We would have liked to hold the ball 

here, but the hotel is the only place that's big enough to hall all our 

guests."

	She chattered on rather aimlessly, and Serena, who had at first felt 

relieved, began to feel rather uneasy. Mina didn't seem to have all her 

attention on what she was saying; it was almost as if she was waiting for 

something.

	Andrew was gathering up the papers on his desk, putting them into a 

folder. "We'll finish going through these figures tomorrow," he said to 

Darien. The maid arrived with the coffee-tray and set it down on a table by 

the window. "I seem to remember you take yours black, don't you, Serena?"

	"Yes." She smiled at him, inordinately pleases that he had remembered, 

feeling a frission of excitement as she looked at his tall, handsome figure as 

he bent to pour the coffee.

	"Of course, this is really Mina's job, but she refuses to--"

	He broke off as the door opened again. The maid said, "Senhor 

Gallagher," and for the second time Seiya walked in when he wasn't wanted.

	Andrew straightened with the coffee-pot still in his hand, surprise and 

then a frown coming on to his face. Darien, too, was taken by surprise, but 

Seiya's arrival was obviously what Mina had been waiting for, because she went 

to him and said, "Mr. Gallagher. "Thank you so much for coming. We wanted to--

"

	But Seiya had seen Serena, and said, "What is this?"

	"Yes." Andrew put down the pot and looked at his cousin, his chin 

jutting forward grimly. "Just what is Mr. Gallagher doing here, Mina?"

	But Mina waited until the maid had gone before she said, "I asked him to 

come here because our family has done him an injustice and we owe him an 

apology."

	Seiya began to say, "That wasn't why I came here. I--"

	But Andrew held up an imperious hand. "And just why does he deserve an 

apology from us? Surely it should be the other way round? It was Mr. Gallagher 

who abused our hospitality by his boorish behaviour to one of our guests."

	Serena had been standing rooted to the spot, knowing it was all about to 

blow up in her face again, but now she made a faint sound of protest at the 

way he'd spoken of Seiya. "No, please."

	Ignoring her, Andrew said, "Well, Mina?"

	"That's just it," his cousin replied. "Serena wasn't our guest--not 

officially. She wasn't invited, and I very much doubt if anyone passed an 

invitation on to her as she said. Last night I looked in her bag and there was 

no invitation in it."

	"You looked through my bag?" Serena gasped, her face going pale.

	"to find out your address so I could send your clothes on to you," Mina 

answered with a defiant lift of her chin. "Only there was no address there."

	She went to go on but Darien intervened. "Leave this, Mina," he said 

sharply. "Let it go."

	"But that wouldn't be fair," his cousin protested. "And nor was the way 

we treated Mr. Gallagher. It's Serena who's a liar and a cheat. When I began 

to suspect that she'd gatecrashed the party, I tracked Seiya down and he 

admitted that she'd lied about the incident, that he hasn't made a pass at 

her. But he accepted the situation because he didn't want to get Serena into 

trouble--"

	"That wasn't how I remember it went," Seiya cut across her. "As far as 

I'm concerned that incident was closed yesterday. And I don't like the way 

you're doing this, Mina," he said angrily.

	He turned as if to go, but Andrew, his voice very cold, said, "Just one 

moment. I think we need to get to the bottom of this." He paused, his face 

tight, then slowly turned to Serena. "I have to ask you--"

	She interrupted him, her face pale and set. "No, you don't have to ask 

me any questions. I admit it. It's all true. I did gatecrash your party. And I 

did lie about Seiya. I'm sorry about that." Her head came up. "But I'm not 

sorry about anything else. I meant to gatecrash your party and I did it." 

Looking at Andrew, she gave a small smile. "I wanted to meet you, you see."

	"Because you read about the stupid tradition, I suppose," Andrew said 

angrily. "You're just another scheming chit out for what you can get."

	Two spots of colour appeared on Serena's white cheeks. "Yes, I suppose I 

am--in your eyes. But your eyes are very biased, very blasé. All I was looking 

for was a chance. How else is a girl like me supposed to meet a man like you?"

	"Hopefully you never will, if this is how your type behaves," Andrew bit 

scathingly.

	He went to turn away, open disdain in his eyes, but Serena caught his 

sleeve and said furiously, "Now just you wait a minute! What the hell do you 

know about "my type"? You sit here in your icing-sugar palace with two hundred 

years of ancestors stuck on the walls, and you think you the have the right to 

judge me and others like me. What do you know about grief and pain and hunger? 

When did you ever have to go without anything you ever wanted: another car, 

another sail-boat, anything in your life?" her eyes swept round the three 

cousins, her eyes flashing fire. "You're all nothing but rich, spoilt 

parasites. Especially you!" Serena's finger came up to point accusingly at 

Mina. "I hope the Count has more sense than to marry you, because he's too 

darn good for you." Her head lifting proudly, spitting fury, she glared at 

Andrew and added, "Just as I'm too good for you!"

	Her voice came to a stop and for a moment there was a shocked silence in 

the room, then everyone but Darien moved or spoke at once. He just stood 

there, looking stunned. Mina began to say indignantly, "Well, really! Of all 

the nerve. It was you who--"

	But Andrew pulled himself together and swung to face Seiya. "Mr. 

Gallagher, I have to make you the most profound apology. It seems that I have 

been tricked and duped, allowed myself to be taken in by a pretty face. I 

should have known better. I'm grateful of Mina for finding out the truth and 

giving me this opportunity to put things right."

	"I didn't ask for any apology and I don't want it," Seiya returned 

shortly. "Serena, wait for me outside. I'll take you back to town." He gave 

Mina a menacing look. "But first I want to have a word with Mina!" and, taking 

hold of Mina by the wrist, he strode through the open French windows, pulling 

her behind him.

	Ignoring Seiya's offer, Andrew said with a freezing politeness, "I'll 

have my chauffeur drive you home."

	It would have done Serena's pride a great deal of good to have refused, 

but it wouldn't do her dignity any good to try to walk all the way back to 

Oporto, and she certainly didn't intend to stand around waiting for Seiya. So, 

her voice equally cold, she said, "Thank you. Where are my things?"

	"I believe Mina has them ready for you in the room you used yesterday. 

I'll send a maid to get them." 

	"Don't bother; I'll get them myself." And without giving him the 

opportunity to protest Serena ran up the stairs and along the corridor.

	Her clothes had been carefully packed between layers of tissue-paper 

into a large dress-box. Not only the grey silk suit and her handbag, but also 

the outfit she'd worn yesterday afternoon, along with the accessories that 

went with it. Serena pulled out the latter and threw them on the bed; no way 

was she going to be beholden to Mina. She fumbled to do the dress-box up 

again, but found that her hands were shaking and she couldn't see because 

tears of mingled anger and despair threatened to engulf her. "Oh, hell!" She 

stood still for a minute, fighting them back, determined not to let them see 

her cry.

	The door opened behind her and she thought it was Andrew, come to order 

her out of the house. But it was Darien.

	Shutting the door, he walked towards her, saying quickly, "Serena I'm 

sorry it happened this way. I--"

	"Don't lie!" She swung round on him furiously. "Do you think I don't see 

through you? Mina didn't work all that out for herself; she hasn't got the 

brains. You told her! You told her because I turned you down. And you planned 

it to happen this way, to hurt and humiliate me just as much as you could."

	"No! Listen to me; I--"

	"Don't lie!" she yelled at him again. "You were the one who walked Seiya 

out of the house yesterday, talked to him. That's why you were so sure about 

me. Andrew called me a liar and a cheat, but you led to me and you cheated me! 

You said you'd given me a chance with him, but you and your rotten cousin were 

planning this all along. Did it amuse you? Did the two of you laugh about it 

together? Did your cruel, perverted minds get a kick out of--?"

	"Serena, I did not plan this." Striding up to her, Darien took her by 

the shoulders and looked down at her earnestly. "I swear it."

	She laughed at his face, derision and disbelief mingled in the harsh 

sound. A flash of anger came into Darien's eyes and his hands tightened as he 

gave her an impatient shake. "Will you shimmer down and listen for a minute?" 

	"Why the hell should I?"

	"Because I didn't have any hand in this. I didn't have to. It was 

inevitable that you were going to be found it. It was just a question of when 

and by who. I already warned you that Andrew was no fool."

	"So you just sat there and let them get on with it. Thanks a lot!" she 

tried to push him away but he wouldn't let go.

	"Yes. Sure I did." Darien said forcefully. "It had to happen so I let 

it. You knew the score. You knew what would happen when you were found out." 

He gave a short laugh. "Did you really think that Andrew would be so bowled 

over by you in so short a time that he would overlook being lied to?"

	Serena's face tightened in both anger and guilt. "Stranger things have 

happened," she said shortly.

	Darien looked down at her, an odd, ironic look in his eyes. "Maybe they 

have at that."

	Managing to push him away, she picked up the box and made for the door.

	"Serena!" His voice halted her for a second. "You haven't lost out 

completely." She turned and looked at him and he gave a wry grin. "You may 

have blown it with Andrew--but there's still me."

	"You!"

	The way she said it, her voice heavy and disdain, made his mouth 

tightened, but Darien merely gave her back her own words. "Stranger things 

have happened."

	She stared at him, then said, "Is this a proposal of marriage?"

	"Of course not."

	"That's what I thought." Her voice was heavy with contempt, letting him 

know just what she thought of him.

	"What have you got to lose?"

	"A great deal--not that I expect you to understand that."

	The grim look around his mouth deepened, but Darien said, "Think about 

it."

	Giving him a look of loathing, Serena said, "I don't have to--I'd rather 

die." Then she turned and strode away.

	Andrew's car was waiting for her outside but there was no sign of Seiya, 

so Serena got into it. She didn't look back at the house as she was driven 

away; she wished now that she'd never seen it, never agreed to accept the 

assignment, never met Andrew. Not that way, at least. But if only she could 

have met him in different circumstances…Because he had been attracted to her. 

He had. He had! For a moment she let herself imagine what it would have been 

like if Andrew had fallen in love with her and married her. What it would have 

been like to be mistress of that house, to be able to stroll in that lovely 

garden whenever she wanted to, to rest on the stone seats in the hedge walk, 

to reach up and pick a cherries from her own trees. But that was just a 

stupid, impossible dream, as stupid and impossible as her impulsive attempt to 

attain it.

	The driver dropped her of at the apartment block and she had let him get 

out of sight before she walked away. It was too early yet to go back to the 

boarding house; the landlord would still be around, awake from his lunchtime 

sista to stroll down to his favourite bar to eat his supper and drink for the 

rest of the evening.

	Serena took the suit back to the hire shop, got her precious deposit 

back and began to walk aimlessly through the town. It was a thing she often 

did when she had to keep out of the landlord's way, and usually she loved it, 

fascinated by seeing old buildings down narrow alleyways, iron balconies hung 

with washing and with pretty flower-boxes, and tiny cafes like warm, inviting 

caves. But today nothing could lift her spirits, not even the huge central 

market with its hundreds of colourful stalls. A lot of the stalls were empty 

now, the holders having sold their produce and gone home after the morning 

rush, but there were still enough of them and ample customers to make it a 

noisy, echoing place as people bartered for fruit and clothes, for exotic-

looking vegetables and cured meat and fish.

	To cheer herself up, Serena rashly blew some of her money on a bunch of 

pink carnations, and the stall-holder gave her a rose as well, making her 

smile at him. Back in the town again, she passes pastry shops, the windows 

piled with tarts and mouth-watering cakes, making her feel hungry. But she had 

eaten really well yesterday, courtesy of the Brodeys, she thought grimly, so 

contented herself with buying a couple of rolls and some ham.

	She ate them slowly, washed down by a canned drink, sitting on a seat 

that overlooked the river. On the opposite bank, at Vila Nova de Gaia, she 

could see all the port wine sellers owned by the different wine companies, 

many of them with their names emblazoned on the roofs or on huge signs, 

"BRODEY'S' prominent among them. It was there that the tourists went to taste 

the port vintages and to buy wine to take home. It was beyond these buildings, 

further into the hills, that the Brodeys' palacio lay. There was, it seemed, 

no getting away from them. Even when she looked down at the river she could 

see the row of moored barcos rabelos, the boats, shaped rather like Viking 

ships, that used to bring the great barrels of wine down the river from the 

quintas to the wine cellars, there to be matured and bottle. Each of the port 

wine houses owned one of the barges, and every year they had a race down from 

the harbour bar to the main quay in the town. It must be quite a sight, she 

thought, and wondered whether she would ever have anything that could be 

called a future instead of a day-to-day existence.

	Now that she'd blown the magazine assignment, she had absolutely no 

prospect of being able to earn ant money. There just weren't any jobs 

available. There was always the offer that Darien had made her, of course, but 

it only crossed her mind for the briefest moment. Serena still strongly 

suspected that he had had a hand in betraying her to Andrew, even though he'd 

sworn that he hasn't. But you couldn't trust a man's word; Serena had learnt 

that long ago. Although she had to admit that she had been tempted to with 

Darien. He had seemed so genuine. But he had been far cleverer than she, 

exposing her, and then making that offer when she was down. But she wasn't 

that down, yet!

	Resolutely turning her back on the river, Serena determined not to be so 

gloomy. After all, what had she lost? Just the hire of the suit, that was all. 

And she'd gained two very good meals, which was definitely a plus. And maybe 

she could even get a magazine article out of it, about the beauty and décor of 

the palacio, or something. Finding a phone booth, she rang the editor in 

Lisbon and tried to sell him the idea, but he was interested only in the 

Brodeys themselves and turned down the idea, so she was again without hope. 

Waiting until she was sure the landlord would have gone out, Serena got to her 

feet and walked dejectedly to the boarding house.

	It was the middle of the night when the door was flung open and the 

light switched on. The girls sat up, startled into wakefulness, blinking 

owlishly. The landlord stood in the doorway. He gestured to where Serena lay 

on the floor in her sleeping-bag and started shouting and waving his arms 

around.

	Serena had been learning Portuguese but she wasn't fluent enough to 

follow his storm of anger. Not that she needed to; it was perfectly obvious 

that he had suspected she was there and had decided to find out. He seemed to 

be yelling at her to get up and clear out, right now! The three Portuguese 

added their voices, arguing and cajoling, until a heated argument developed. 

Then suddenly the girls fell silent, glaring at the landlord mutinously. 

Knowing he had gained the upper hand, that they were cowed beneath his 

threats, the man shouted a couple of last, triumphant sentences, then walked 

out of the door, slamming it behind him.

	Angry voices shouted from other residents who had been disturbed, and 

they heard the landlord talking loudly to them before he went clumping back 

down the stairs. He must have absolutely crept up them, despite his huge bulk, 

to have surprised them so completely.

	Serena began to get up, saying dully, "I'll get my things together."

	"No, no," Rei said quickly. "We've persuaded him to let you stay until 

tomorrow morning. It would be cruel to make you go tonight."

	"We tried to make him let you stay all the time," one of the other girls 

added. "But he said unless you go we all go."

	"I guessed that," Serena said with a sigh. "It was kind of you. But you 

mustn't risk losing this place."

	"We will think of somewhere you can stay," the girls assured her.

	Serena didn't sleep much for the rest of the night, and when morning 

came she grimly packed her one big suitcase and went downstairs with the 

girls. Usually the landlord was never up this early, but he was waiting to 

make sure that she left. he shouted at her again, but Serena just shrugged. 

"Nao compreenda."

	She turned to Rei. "Tell him I'm sorry but I had nowhere else to go, 

will you? And--and ask him how he found out I was her."

	Her apology made the landlord only a little less surly, and he was 

reluctant to answer her question, but eventually said that "someone had told 

him," but he wouldn't say who, and got angry again when Serena got Rei to 

press him.

	Taking it in turns to carry her heavy case, they walked to the post 

office and Serena waited while they all rang their contacts, eventually coming 

triumphantly out of the booth with the news that they had found her a room in 

a house quite near to the main quay. It was in the very oldest part of the 

town, a place of tall houses crowded together in narrow streets, layer upon 

layer of floors, some decorated with the traditional blue tiles on the walls, 

some painted, most of them with peeling walls and sun-baked woodwork. A place 

that looked quaint and picturesque from the outside, but was not at all 

pleasant to live in. As Serena soon found. 

	The "room" was on the top floor and little larger than a cupboard. She 

had to share the kitchen and extremely antiquated bathroom facilities with 

everyone else in the house. As there seemed to be dozens of little rooms like 

hers, some of them lived in by whole families, she never got more than five 

minutes in the bathroom before someone was banging on the door, demanding that 

she hurry. Some woman or others was always cooking throughout the day, so that 

the smells permeated the walls, competing with the stink from communal 

lavatory. The sheets were visibly unclean, and Serena had t wash them in cold 

water and dry them out the window before she would even consider lying on 

them. The whole house made her cringe with distaste, but there was nothing she 

could do about it; she had been lucky to find the room, and it was all she 

could afford.

	Despite her lack of money, the first thing Serena did was to buy paper 

and string so that she could parcel up the black velvet dress and send it back 

to Mina. That done, she smartened herself up as best she could and set out to 

visit every hotel in Oporto, asking for work. Three days later she was still 

looking. She had been to every hotel within walking and tram distance and had 

spent hours in a phone booth calling those outside the district. Her poor 

Portuguese hasn't helped, it had taken nearly every escudo she possessed, and 

all she had gained was the promise of an interview in a few months' time at a 

monastery an hour's train in journey away down the Douro valley which was in 

the process of being turned into a super-luxury hotel.

	When she went back to her room that night, Serena knew that she had 

reached rock-bottom. She thought of applying to the British Consulate, but she 

had tried them when she was ill with glandular fever, and they had insisted on 

her sending a doctor's certificate, wanted to know how much money she had, 

what she was doing in Portugal, whether she was living with anyone, and on and 

on. It had made Serena feel like a beggar, and the process had been so slow 

that in the end she had recovered before she got any help from them.

	The area was noisy with traffic and the sound of the floating discos 

across the river. Even when they were over she was unable to sleep because all 

the babies in the house seemed to take it in turns to cry throughout the 

night. Wearily, Serena got up in the mornings feeling itchy and unclean, her 

only consolation being that when she'd been to the first hotel to try for a 

job she'd been able to go in the ladies' room and wash all the bits of herself 

she could reach.

	She tried to think of what she could do, whether there was anywhere else 

she could try for work. There was certainly no one to whom she could go for 

help; she had seen Rei and the girls and they had bought her a meal, despite 

her protests, but she definitely couldn't sponge on them again. They had done 

and risked enough for her already. The thought of Seiya Gallagher crossed her 

mind, but she had no right to ask him for help. And anyway, he might have left 

Portugal by now. 

	Which left only one alternative.

	Serena bit her lip, hard, fighting despondency. She gave it another day, 

walking all the way across the long Dom Luis bridge across the river to Vila 

Nova de Gaia to try again at the wine cellars for a job, a route she had last 

travelled in Andrew's limo. She had already them all on the phone--all except 

Brodey's, of course--so it was a last desperate try. But there were enough 

Portuguese people out of work to fill every job, enough who could speak 

English to take the jobs as guides and wine-seller. She came away without 

having had any luck, walked back into town, and tried every shop and business 

place she passed until the shops and offices closed.

	Sitting down in the square by the river, Serena went through her 

handbag, stuffed with everything that was of any value to her because the key 

of her room was lost, took the last of her money from her purse and counted 

it. It didn't take long. She was paying for the room by the day and there was 

just enough for one more night--or for a phone call. For a long time she just 

stared down at the money in her hand, wondering what to do, whether a miracle 

might happen. But the world seemed to be short on miracles, as far as she was 

concerned anyway.

	A man, a middle-aged Portuguese, came up and spoke to her. Serena didn't 

understand what he said, but she only had to glance at the lascivious smile on 

his fat face to know what he wanted. It seemed that there were two choices 

after all. Getting to her feet, she shook her head at the man and strode away 

to the nearest telephone booth.

	It took a while for the phone to be answered. Working out what day it 

was, Serena remembered that there was to be a dinner party for fellow wine-

growers at the Brodey palacio that evening. Presumably it would have already 

have started.

	This was confirmed when the butler answered the phone and she asked for 

Darien.

	"I am sorry. Senhor Brodey is not available."

	"This is a very important call. He will be extremely angry if you don't 

tell him," Serena said curtly.

	The butler protested but she insisted and he eventually went away to 

find Darien.

	It was several minute before he came to the phone and she had to feed 

more money into the box, uneasily wondering whether she would have enough.

	"Darien Brodey here."

	At the sound of his voice Serena almost put the phone down, almost lost 

her nerve. But then she forced herself to say, the words coming out abruptly, 

"I thought about it."

	There was a dead silence on the line. A silence that went on for so long 

that Serena thought he must have changed his mind. But then he said shortly, 

"And?"

	"There are conditions I would need to discuss."

	"Where and when?"

	"The little square in Ribeira, the one with the modern cube sculpture. 

Do you know it?"

	"Yes. When?"

	"Now."

	"Now is hardly convenient."

	"Make it convenient," Serena said shortly, and put down the phone.

	Walking back to the square, she sat down to wait at one of the café 

tables and ordered a coffee with the last of her money. She felt that she had 

condemned her future to fate. If Darien wanted her badly enough then he would 

come, but if he didn't…She shrugged mentally, suddenly too weary and desolate 

to care anymore.

	It took about twenty minutes to drive into Oporto from the palacio, so 

Serena had expected to wait at least half an hour for Darien to come, if he 

came. But it was nearly an hour later, and she had just about given him up, 

when he walked into the square and paused to look round for her. He was 

wearing an evening suit and dress tie, looking completely out of place--not 

that he seemed to care. Coming across to her table, he pulled up a chair and 

sat opposite her. His eyes were on her face, but she didn't care that he could 

see the dark shadows of tiredness around her eyes, the pinched look of her 

cheeks from hunger. It took and effort to raise her own eyes to meet his, 

because she wasn't sure what to expect. Triumph perhaps, pleasure in his easy 

victory at least.

	But Darien betrayed no emotion, either in his face or eyes. His features 

seemed to be as enigmatic as those of a costume mask as he said, "Hello, 

Serena." She nodded but didn't speak, so after a moment he said, "What are the 

conditions?"

	"I want a whole new wardrobe."

	His mouth quirked a little. "Of course."

	"Decent clothes," she warned him.

	"Naturally."

	"And I want a thousand pounds when--when you grow tired of me."

	Something flickered in his eyes, but he said, "All right."

	That had been easy, very easy, but Serena knew that he wouldn't be so 

amenable to her next condition. Lifting her chin defiantly, she said, "And I 

want to go to the celebration ball tomorrow to mark your family's 

bicentennial."

	Darien's eyes came swiftly to her face. "Why?"

	She hesitated, not sure of her own reasons, and Darien said curtly, "If 

you still think you can make a play for Andrew---"

	"No!" Her frowning denial was too emphatic to be false. "I don't really 

know why. For my own self-esteem…" She looked at him and gave an ironical 

laugh. "No, not for that. I just know I need to go there."

	"To make a scene? To spoil the party for us?"

	"No. I promise I won't do that. You have no reason to be afraid."

	Darien looked at her keenly and she returned his gaze steadily until he 

nodded. "All right. I'll take you. Is there anything else?"

	"No, that's it."

	Still watching her, he said on an odd note, "And just what do I get in 

return for all this?"

	She looked at him, swallowed. "I'll--I'll be anything you want me to 

be." Her eyes met his, saw the concupiscence that her answer had awakened and 

quickly looked away.

	He stood up. "Where are you staying? Let's go and collect your things."

	Serena thought of the suitcase of old clothes, and shoe worn down by 

trailing round the town for the last few days. "I don't need them; you've 

promised to buy me new ones."

	His eyebrows rose. "But what about your personal possessions?"

	She patted her handbag. "Everything I value is in here." 

	Disbelief in his voice, Darien said, But no woman could possibly---"

	"Why do you think I phoned you?" Serena interrupted shortly.

	He stared at her and his face became even more shuttered as he said, "I 

was the last resort, wasn't I?"

	"Yes," she answered, not caring, perhaps even wanting to gaod him into 

changing his mind.

	For a moment she thought that he was going to call the whole thing off, 

and she held her breath, wondering which way fate would jump. But suddenly he 

grinned. "Well, I supposed it's as well to knows where one stands from the 

start. Let's go. My car is down in the car park by the river."

	She expected him to have a sports car, but he led her to an ordinary 

saloon, and she leaned back in the seat as he drove away.

	"Don't you want to know where we're going?" Darien asked after a few 

minutes.

	Now that it was settled, the nervous energy that had sustained her had 

drained away, "To a hotel, I suppose," she answered drearily.

	"No. I've arranged somewhere else for you. An apartment. That's why I 

took so long to get here. I had to collect the key."

	Serena was silent, thinking that he must have been very sure of her. And 

of himself. He hadn't even known what conditions she would make when he'd come 

to meet her tonight. So he must want her very badly if he had been prepared to 

agree to anything she asked.

	"I'm afraid I'll have to drop you off there. I have to get back to the 

house," Darien was saying.

	She turned her head away, not wanting to look at him, expecting him to 

say that he would come back after the party. To claim her. To sample what he 

had bought.

	They didn't speak again until they reached the apartment block. It was a 

modern one in the most luxurious part of the town, near the beaches. Darien 

came up with her in the lift and unlocked the door, switched on the lights, 

then waited while she looked into the rooms.

	It was a beautiful place, like a photo-spread in a glossy monthly, all 

neutral shades of beige, with thick pile carpet and deep, comfortable chairs. 

There was a fitted kitchen that looked as if it had never been used, a 

gorgeous bathroom that was almost as good as the one at the palacio, and one 

bedroom--with a very large double bed and lots of mirrors. 

	Closing the door of the bedroom, she said stiffly, "Is this where you 

bring all your women?"

	Darien's mouth tightened a little and he said, "Do you have a problem 

with that?"

	Her eyes came up to meet his, prepared to challenge, but then she 

realised that she had forfeited the right to do so, and looked away, slowly 

shaking her head.

	Taking out his wallet, Darien took out several notes and gave them to 

her. "There isn't any food here. Take a taxi and go out and buy yourself a 

meal. Tomorrow morning I'll open accounts for you at some dress shops. Do you 

know which one you want to use?"

	Serena told him some names, the most expensive places she could think 

of, and added a beauty salon to the list. Darien noted them down without 

turning a hair.

	"OK. I'd better be getting back. Will you be all right for now?"

	"Yes." She licked lips gone dry. "And--later?"

	Darien looked at her for a moment, then reached out and put his hand on 

her neck, let hid thumb run along the line of her jaw. His eyes grew intent as 

he said, "There's only one thing I want from you tonight."

	He waited, but she didn't answer, couldn't, heart beginning to beat with 

nervous tension as she stood and stared at him, her eyes huge in her pale 

face. And what was the point anyway? They both knew what she was here for.

	But then Darien amazed her for the second time that night by giving a 

small laugh as he took his hand away and held it out to her. "Your passport."

	She stared. "My--my what?"

	"I want your passport."

	For a moment she didn't understand, but then it came to her; he was 

making sure she didn't just take his money and run, get on a train back to 

England or something. He obviously didn't trust her. But then, why should he? 

She had tricked her way in his life, so why shouldn't she trick her way out of 

it again?

	"Of course," she said stiffly, and took it out of her bag to hand it to 

him.

	Darien flipped it open, read the details inside, but didn't comment, 

just stuffed the passport in his jacket pocket. Walking over to the phone, he 

took a note of the number, then said, "I'll call you tomorrow and let you know 

when the accounts are open." Going to the door, he opened it and looked back. 

"Have a good meal and get some sleep. Goodnight, Serena."

	"Goodnight." Serena stood there with open puzzlement in her face, having 

expected him at least to kiss her, to make some acknowledgement of their new 

relationship. Darien gave that small smile again, dropped the keys on the hall 

table, then left.

	Glancing at her watch, Serena saw that only an hour and a half had 

passes since she had called him. The course of her life had changed in just 

that short time--and especially her surroundings. Serena put the chain on the 

door, then headed for the bathroom, shedding clothes as she went. Within 

minutes she was under the shower, scrubbing at her skin, washing her hair 

three times over. She hated not being clean, so not being able to have a bath 

or a shower during these last few days had been the hardest thing of all to 

bear, worse than hunger, far worse than sleepless nights.

	When her hair was dry, she counted the money Darien had given her. If 

she forgot about the food, there was enough for her train fare down to Lisbon, 

even down to the Algrave, where there might be a better chance of a job. But 

if not she would be in the same position as before. However, it wasn't that 

point that made her decide to stay; it was because Darien didn't trust her. 

Well, she didn't trust him either, not by a long way. But if she showed she 

could keep her word, then that made her better than him, despite the 

circumstances.

	So she called a taxi, had a meal in a good restaurant, then called 

another taxi to take her to an all-night shop where she bought make-up, tooth 

stuff and an unglamorous nightdress. Then she went back to the apartment, fell 

into the bed and slept until the phone rang the next morning.

	She roused herself reluctantly, but came quickly to her senses when she 

realised where she was. "Hello?"

	"Good morning." There was a note of amusement in Darien's voice at the 

caution in her tone. "I take it you slept well?"

	"Like a dozen logs."

	"I've opened the accounts for you. You can go any time."

	"And the ball tonight?"

	"What about it?"

	"Have--have you got me an invitation?"

	"You don't need an invitation; I can take whomever I please. But if what 

you're really saying I have I told Andrew and Mina you're coming, then the 

answer's no."

	"I--I see."

	"No, you don't--and no more do I," Darien said shortly. "I'll pick you 

up at eight-thirty."

	Serena spent the whole day shopping, and being pampered in the beauty 

salon. She had a sauna, massage, manicure and pedicure, her hair done, the 

works. It cost a lot, but so what? She was a kept woman now, so let Darien 

keep her. After all, she thought with bitter irony, it was all for his 

benefit.

	She bought a beautiful dress to wear that night. It was a pale gold 

colour with a long, straight satin skirt and a lacy top that came down to her 

hips and was hung with hundreds of drop beads. High heels made her taller and 

she had long gloves in the same colour as the dress. She looked cool and 

sophisticated--and very, very expensive.

	When she opened the door to Darien that evening his eyes widened and he 

stood for a long moment, drinking her in. "You look…" He came to a stop.

	Serena had known that where Darien was concerned tonight was going to be 

difficult. After all, she had no experience of how to behave with a man who 

was about to take her as his kept mistress. She had decided to be pleasant but 

detached, so now she said, "Aren't you going to finish?"

	He shook his hand. "No, I don't think I am."

	Despite her resolution, she laughed. "Now how am I supposed to take 

that?"

	Darien grinned. "Maybe I'll tell you some other time." He held out his 

arm. "Come on, Cinderella, let's go to the ball."