Legacy of Desire by Marina Anderson Page A

settled down to sleep. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I didn’t have a row with Jay. I’d never do anything to jeopardise you keeping this cottage, surely you know me better than that.’
    ‘But you’re hiding something from me,’ persisted Davina. ‘You’re a hopeless liar, Phil, you always have been. Come on, tell me what it is.’
    ‘If you must know I was watching those two women. They were both sitting on the summerhouse steps with next-to-nothing on and I watched them from the copse opposite. Pathetic, isn’t it? I wasn’t going to tell you because I was thoroughly ashamed of myself, but since you’ve kept on and on about it you might as well know the truth.’
    Davina felt nothing but relief. ‘Is that all? I wish you’d told me earlier.’
    ‘I thought you’d go mad.’
    Davina nearly laughed. Compared with what Jay made her do, Phil watching Pattie and Tanya was nothing but she couldn’t tell him that. ‘I know you like Pattie,’ she murmured, as she too settled down to sleep. ‘I don’t blame you, she’s a very pretty girl.’
    ‘What do you mean, like her?’ demanded Phil, propping himself up on one elbow. ‘I hope you’re not suggesting that I fancy her.’
    Davina was surprised at his reaction. ‘Yes, I think you do fancy her a little, but it doesn’t bother me.Hardly likely to come to anything, is it? I don’t blame you for looking, most men would.’
    ‘Why do you say it won’t come to anything?’
    ‘What are you on about?’ asked Davina in surprise. ‘I assume it won’t come to anything because you’re with me. I mean, you are faithful to me, aren’t you? Or isn’t Pattie the first blonde girl who’s caught your eye since we’ve been together?’
    ‘Of course I’m faithful to you,’ said Phil, putting his head back on the pillow. ‘I thought you were trying to say that a girl like that wouldn’t be interested in me.’
    ‘No that wasn’t what I meant,’ said Davina sleepily. ‘Mind you, I don’t imagine that she would be.’
    Within a few minutes she could hear Phil snoring slightly and knew that he was asleep. Unfortunately sleep didn’t come so easily to her. She realised that she was already anticipating Monday morning, when Jay would call to collect his rent. She wondered what would happen this time, how far he would go. Would he allow her frantic body any kind of satisfaction, or did he intend to keep her in a state of sexual frustration and desire? In the end she supposed it didn’t really matter, the only thing that mattered was that he came.

Chapter Six
    On the Monday morning Davina waited excitedly for Jay. She was certain that this time he
would
touch her because it seemed a natural progression. She sensed that for him part of the pleasure of the game was the slow pace at which he was taking his strange seduction, but when he finally arrived her spirits sank. It was clear from his dark formal suit and the fact that his car was parked in the drive that he wasn’t intending to stay.
    ‘Did you want to come in?’ she asked.
    ‘Your eagerness is flattering. Unfortunately I gotta go to London for the week.’
    Davina felt very angry, both with herself and withhim. ‘I wasn’t being eager, I was being polite,’ she said icily.
    ‘I will come in for a few minutes, there’s something I need to talk to you about.’
    Thoroughly annoyed, Davina decided that he could sit in the kitchen. Unfortunately it didn’t seem to faze him at all and he sat without hesitation on one of the small wooden chairs, despite the fact that he was really too large for it. ‘I’ll be at the Old Bailey all this week,’ he began.
    ‘They’ve found you out, have they?’
    He gave a thin smile. ‘I’m going to be studying your judicial system. It should be interesting. I can always discuss it with your boyfriend the next time we meet.’
    ‘What did you need to talk to me about?’ asked Davina, determined not to be side-tracked by his small-talk.
    ‘When I come