‘This time I’m seizing you first,’ Darius said firmly. ‘Before I get trampled in the rush.’

‘Nonsense,’ she said tenderly.

‘It isn’t nonsense. Of course it’s nice when the lady on your arm turns out to be the belle of the ball, but it has its troublesome moments too. I don’t like sharing.’

‘Neither do I, but we both have to do our social duty.’

‘Ah, I see. You’ve gone into teasing mode.’

‘Why not? I enjoy new experiences and, after all, you brought me here to help stage a performance. Think of me as a piece of stage scenery. Under this dress I’m just wood and plaster. Hey, what are you doing?’

‘Just checking the stage scenery,’ he said, letting his hand drift around her waist until it sank immodestly over her hips. ‘It doesn’t feel like any wood and plaster I’ve ever known.’

It was shocking and she knew she should tell him to move his hand from where it lay over the smooth grey silk, softly caressing the movements against his fingers. But a little pulse was beating in her throat and she couldn’t get the words out. And probably nobody could see it in the crowd, she reassured herself.

She was suffused by a warmth and sweetness so intense that it made her dizzy. She wanted to dance like this for ever, his arms around her, his body close to hers, and never have to think of anything else again.

The music was slowing, couples were pulling apart. Marcel presented himself expectantly.

‘Go to blazes,’ Darius told him pleasantly.

‘Certainly,’ Marcel said, and vanished.

Harriet was barely aware of Marcel, or any of their surroundings. Lost in a dream, she let herself drift into a new world, refusing to heed the warnings of danger, although she knew that danger would intrude in the end. But let it, she thought. First she would have her moment, and cherish its memory to see her through the dark times.

With a sigh, she felt his movements slow as this dance too came to an end, and she knew that he would not claim her again. The moment had come and gone until, perhaps, another time.

Harriet wondered if it could possibly have been the same for him, but when she looked into his face she saw that it was troubled.

‘What’s on your mind?’ she asked. ‘Something’s worrying you. I know it. Tell me.’

For a moment he hesitated on the verge of telling her about his father and what he’d learned, but then he backed off, unable to risk hurting her.

‘Can’t you tell your friend what’s wrong?’ she asked gently.

Once, younger and more careless, he’d joked that at all costs a man should avoid a woman who understood him too well. How often had he avoided Mary’s piercing mental gaze! Yet with this woman he only felt a renewed sense of comfort, as though her hand had once again stretched out to offer safety.

‘No,’ he said softly. ‘Nothing is wrong.’ And at that moment he meant it.

It was just like his brothers to barge in, he thought, finally yielding to Marcel. But there was always later. Patience would bring him everything.

After that they both concentrated on their social duty. Harriet was never short of partners, until finally she glanced up to find Amos approaching, the very picture of geniality.

‘I’ve been hoping to dance with you but there were so many men ahead of me.’ He held out his hand. ‘Please say I’m not too late.’

‘Of course not,’ she said, smiling and taking his hand.

Heads turned as he led her onto the floor, the crowd parted for them, and there was a smattering of applause as he drew her into the dance. Darius, passing the time with Freya, turned his head casually, then grew tense.

‘What the devil-?’ he breathed.

‘He seems quite charmed with Harriet,’ Freya said. ‘Look at the way he’s smiling, practically welcoming her into the family.’ She gave Darius an amused look. ‘I should be grateful to her, really. It helps take the pressure off me, brother, dear.’

‘Look at them,’ he said distractedly. ‘Why is he laughing like that?’

‘She’s laughing too,’ Freya pointed out. ‘Obviously they’re getting on well. He can be so grim, it’s nice to see him putting himself out to be nice to her.’

But for Darius, who knew what really lay behind Amos’s ‘charm’, every moment was torment. He was trying to lure Harriet into a trap, hoping she would say something he could use against her. Darius had often seen him wear a pleasant mask as long as it could be useful, and had thought little of it.

But this was different. This was Harriet-great-hearted, innocent, vulnerable-and he was filled with desire to protect her at all costs.

‘Dance with me,’ he said, taking Freya’s hand.

She was too astute to mistake his motive, especially when she realised how determinedly he steered her in the direction of the other couple.

‘Is this near enough for you?’ she asked.

‘Only just. Can you hear what he’s saying?’

‘Something about a shop on Herringdean-an antique shop-since when was he interested in antiques?’

‘Since he found out she owned one,’ Darius growled.

‘Now he’s talking money-how much is the shop worth?’

‘Damn him!’

‘Don’t act surprised. That’s always his first thought. Hey, he’s watching us. Let’s teach him a lesson.’

‘How?’

‘Look deep into my eyes, then he’ll think what a good son you’re being. You never know, he might solve all your problems with one cheque.’

‘Yes, but he’d post-date it so that I’d have to marry you first.’

‘Never fear. I’ll avoid that catastrophe with my last breath.’

‘So will I,’ he assured her cheerfully.

They finished the dance with no hard feelings on either side.

When Amos had bid her farewell and departed, Harriet went to quench her thirst with an orange juice. Standing beside a large potted plant, she was only vaguely aware of movement from the other side until she heard Mary’s voice say, ‘Wherever did you find that marvellous girl?’

And Darius’s eager reply. ‘Harriet is marvellous, isn’t she? I’m glad you like her.’

‘Are you surprised? Did you think I’d be jealous? On the contrary, she’s doing me a great favour. If you’ve got her, I don’t have to feel guilty about leaving you. And the children like her, so I can send them to stay with you with an easy mind.’

‘Do you really mean that?’ Darius demanded urgently.

‘I know you thought I was trying to separate you from them, but I wasn’t. It’s just that you hurt them so often with your stupidity.’

‘There was a lot I didn’t understand, but now-’

‘But now things are beginning to change, and they’ll go on changing as long as you stick with her. She’s good for you, Darius. You’ve become almost human.’

‘I never thought to hear you say that, Mary.’

‘I never thought to be able to say it. That’s why Mark and Frankie will be going to my mother while Ken and I are on honeymoon. They’d much rather have come to you in Herringdean, but I honestly didn’t think you’d cope on your own. Now it’s different.’

‘Too late to send them to me?’

‘My mother is so looking forward to having them. I can’t disappoint her now. But there’s plenty of time in the future. Keep up the good work. The kids are really happy about Harriet.’

‘I know, and I can’t tell you how much that means to me.’

‘Well, make sure you keep her for good. You’re a clever man and, believe me, that’s the clever thing to do.’

They moved away, leaving Harriet deep in thought.

The evening was drawing to a close. Bride and groom withdrew and reappeared in outdoor clothes. Cars were at the door. Mark and Frankie said their farewells to Darius and Harriet before being scooped up by their grandmother and swept off to her home on the other side of London.

‘Are you tired?’ Darius asked Harriet, who was yawning.

‘Mmm, a bit sleepy. You did say we’re going early tomorrow, didn’t you?’

‘That’s right. Time for bed.’

On the way up in the elevator he slipped his arm around her. ‘Did you enjoy it?’

‘Oh, yes, it was lovely. Everyone was so nice to me, especially your father.’

‘Yes, I saw the two of you dancing.’

‘I couldn’t believe it when he asked me, but he was terribly gallant and charming.’

‘You should beware my father’s charm,’ Darius said wryly.

‘Oh, I know he was just being polite but…I don’t know…he was nice. He asked me about my antique shop, said he understood antiques were very profitable these days. I had to admit that it’s as much of a souvenir shop for tourists as an antique shop. He laughed and said that was life and nothing was really the way it seemed, was it? Hey, careful. Don’t squash me.’

‘Sorry,’ he said, relaxing the arm that he’d tightened sharply about her. Listening to her innocent pleasure when he knew how misguided it was brought a return of the rage that had attacked him earlier. But now it was a million times more intense, nearly blinding him with the desire to lash out against her enemy.

From the start he’d known of her strength, her defiance, her ability to cope, essential in a lifesaver. Suddenly he was discovering her other side, the one that could be slightly naïve, that believed the best of people, the side she hid behind cheerful masks.

But the face she turned up to him now wore no mask. It was defenceless, the mouth soft, the eyes wide and trusting. He knew it would be a sin to betray that trust by kissing her, no matter how much he longed to. So he contented himself with brushing her cheek with his fingertips, and felt her relax against him.

What he might have done next he never knew, for the elevator reached their floor, the doors opened and the world rushed in on them again.

Now she was smiling brightly in a way that set him once more at a distance.

‘Sleep tight,’ he told her at her door. ‘We have to be up with the dawn.’