Anne Mather - Innocent Obsession

Mills & Boon is proud to present a fabulous

collection of fantastic novels by

bestselling, much loved author

ANNE MATHER

Anne has a stellar record of achievement within the

publishing industry, having written over one hundred

and sixty books, with worldwide sales of more than

forty-eight MILLION copies in multiple languages.

This amazing collection of classic stories offers a chance

for readers to recapture the pleasure Anne’s powerful,

passionate writing has given.

We are sure you will love them all!

I’ve always wanted to write—which is not to say I’ve always wanted to be a professional writer. On the contrary, for years I only wrote for my own pleasure and it wasn’t until my husband suggested sending one of my stories to a publisher that we put several publishers’ names into a hat and pulled one out. The rest, as they say, is history. And now, one hundred and sixty-two books later, I’m literally—excuse the pun— staggered by what’s happened.

I had written all through my infant and junior years and on into my teens, the stories changing from children’s adventures to torrid gypsy passions. My mother used to gather these manuscripts up from time to time, when my bedroom became too untidy, and dispose of them! In those days, I used not to finish any of the stories and Caroline, my first published novel, was the first I’d ever completed. I was newly married then and my daughter was just a baby, and it was quite a job juggling my household chores and scribbling away in exercise books every chance I got. Not very professional, as you can imagine, but that’s the way it was.

These days, I have a bit more time to devote to my work, but that first love of writing has never changed. I can’t imagine not having a current book on the typewriter—yes, it’s my husband who transcribes everything on to the computer. He’s my partner in both life and work and I depend on his good sense more than I care to admit.

We have two grown-up children, a son and a daughter, and two almost grown-up grandchildren, Abi and Ben. My e-mail address is mystic-am@msn.comand I’d be happy to hear from any of my wonderful readers.

Anne Mather

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Cover

About the Author Mills & Boon is proud to present a fabulous collection of fantastic novels by bestselling, much loved author ANNE MATHER Anne has a stellar record of achievement within the publishing industry, having written over one hundred and sixty books, with worldwide sales of more than forty-eight MILLION copies in multiple languages. This amazing collection of classic stories offers a chance for readers to recapture the pleasure Anne’s powerful, passionate writing has given. We are sure you will love them all!

Title Page Innocent Obsession Anne Mather www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Copyright

‘I don’t think I can do it, Margot,’ said Sylvie carefully, breaking off a spear of celery and biting into its crisp heart. Margot’s table was always liberally spread with low-calorie foods, and after a lunch of only cottage cheese and fresh pineapple, Sylvie’s healthy young stomach was still far from satisfied.

‘Why can’t you do it?’ her sister demanded impatiently, fairly snatching the bowl of celery out of Sylvie’s reach and gazing at her penetratingly. ‘What do you plan to do from now until October? Vegetate?’

Sylvie shrugged, causing the corn-gold curtain of her hair to swing forward around her cheeks. ‘I was going to try and find a job,’ she admitted, reduced to blotting up the crumbs of cottage cheese that still lingered on her plate, and Margot leaned towards her triumphantly, pointed elbows resting on the table.

‘There you are, then,’ she declared. ‘This is a job I’m offering you. Go out to Alasyia, look after Nikos for six weeks. I’ll pay you, and I’ve no doubt Leon wouldn’t be averse to—–’

‘No, Margot.’

‘Why not?’

Sylvie shook her head. ‘Margot, Leon asked you. Nikos is your child. Don’t you want to help your own son?’

Margot’s fashionably thin face gained a little unbecoming colour as she sank back in her chair, long, scarlet-tipped nails tapping irritably on the arm. ‘Sylvie, you’re being unreasonable,’ she said, drawing in her breath and expelling it again with emphasis. ‘You know perfectly well that I can’t leave London at this time. Maurice has just found me this part—and it’s a good one. I won’t—I simply won’t be dictated to by you or anyone else!’

Sylvie tilted her head to one side and considered her reflection in the silver-plated coffee pot. As sisters they weren’t very much alike, she acknowledged, without rancour. Margot, nine years her senior, was at least three inches taller, and slender as a reed, while Sylvie’s five feet four inches were infinitely more rounded. Margot’s hair was silver blonde, and she wore it in a gamine cut that gave her a boyish air, totally belied by slanting green eyes and curling lashes. Sylvie, on the other hand, couldn’t afford the expense of a regular trip to the hairdresser, and in consequence, her hair was long and thick, and abysmally straight, and the colour of wheat at harvest time. Still, she reflected, her skin was good, and she tanned quite easily, which Margot never had, and if her looks were only interesting, whereas Margot’s were striking, that was only fair when Margot’s appearance was so much more important to her.

‘I think you should write to Leon,’ Sylvie said now, looking across the table at her sister again. ‘Explain the situation. Tell him that it’s impossible for you to get away at this time. Ask him if there isn’t someone else who could take care of Nikos.’

Margot’s lips tightened. ‘You think it’s that simple, don’t you?’ she demanded. ‘You really think if I write to Leon and explain the situation, he’ll make other arrangements?’

Sylvie grimaced. ‘I don’t see why not.’

Margot made an impatient sound. ‘You forget, Sylvie, Leon isn’t like us. He’s not English, he’s Greek. And Greek men have an entirely different idea of women from Englishmen.’

‘He married you, didn’t he?’ Sylvie frowned. ‘He knew you were an actress.’

‘He knew I was trying to be,’ retorted Margot shortly. ‘I hadn’t actually done anything. As a matter of fact, I was desperate. If Lewis hadn’t suggested I joined his modelling group for that trip, I’d never have met Leon, would I? Never have married him!’

Sylvie absorbed this. Seven years ago, when Margot married Leon Petronides, she had been eleven, and scarcely old enough to understand her sister’s situation. All she remembered was Margot’s elation when she came home from the modelling trip to Athens, her exuberance at having met Aristotle Petronides’ son, and later on, her excitement when Leon followed her to London. The wedding that followed soon afterwards had seemed like a dream come true. Despite his parents’ disapproval, Leon had refused to give Margot up, and their honeymoon in Fiji had been the envy of all her friends. It was only as Sylvie grew older, after Margot’s son, Nikos, was born, that the flaws in their relationship became evident, and although Margot’s life with Leon had seemed idyllic, she had begun to get bored.