Jessica Steele - Married In A Moment

‘Polite conversation, my aunt Fanny!’ she tossed at him rudely, not believing it for a minute. ‘Well, you may make a claim for her, Mr Langford, but I’m having her!’ No way was she going to let the poor mite live with this brute!

‘I’ll see you in court,’ he drawled—and that infuriated her. Just because he had more money, a house in the country, he thought he could ride roughshod over other people. She loved the baby but he didn’t even know her!

‘You won’t stand a chance!’ Surely love came before money?

‘How do you figure that?’

She hadn’t yet. But, thus challenged, she slammed at him, ‘I’ve an unsullied reputation, for one thing!’

His look said, How boring. ‘You mean with the opposite sex?’ he drawled, and she wished she’d kept her mouth closed. But that How boring expression niggled her, forcing her on.

‘Which is more than can be said for you!’ she attacked sniffily.

‘It’s true, I’ve had my moments,’ he admitted mockingly. ‘But are you saying that you’ve never had any member of the opposite sex—er—staying over?’

‘That’s got nothing to do with you!’ she retorted hotly, starting to feel a shade warm around the ears.

‘It has, if you intend to stand up in court and swear to it,’ he derided.

He was infuriating. True, her experience of men was limited, though she was certain that there couldn’t be many around like him! ‘I’m prepared to do that if I have to,’ she told him snappily.

‘Ye gods!’ he exclaimed, seeming to find it incredible that she’d reached twenty-two without being tempted.

And that annoyed her. ‘From what I hear, you were chief practitioner of the love ’em and leave ‘em ethic.’

He shrugged. ‘Charm has its own reward,’ he owned modestly. But, apparently done with ribbing her, ‘Straight up—are you a virgin?’ he wanted to know.

It wasn’t just her ears that felt warm. She was certain her cheeks positively glowed. ‘It’s nothing to be ashamed of!’ she snapped.

‘Did I say it was?’

He hadn’t. But she didn’t want this conversation, though she wasn’t sure if it hadn’t been her who had started it. ‘We’re getting away from the point,’ she said heatedly.

‘Which is?’

Give her strength! ‘The point is, you, with your lifestyle. Well, you’re hardly the type to be responsible for the upbringing of a young girl, are you?’

‘If she’s only four months old, I’d guess she isn’t even walking yet!’

‘She’ll grow!’ Ellena retorted, glaring at him, feeling panickily that she was somehow getting the worst of this.

She was positive of it when, having tired of the argument, it seemed, he decreed, ‘Perhaps we’ll leave it for some judge to decide.’

Ellena did not answer. Suddenly it dawned on her that she and Gideon were talking as if Justine and Kit weren’t coming back—and they were. They were! Whether the same thought had just struck Gideon she couldn’t have said, but she thought she caught a glimpse of a bleak look come to his expression a moment before he turned his head away.

Ellena turned her face to her window too. Conversation between them, polite or otherwise, was done with, and she spent the rest of the flight on trying to keep thoughts that Justine might be dead out of her mind. Instead she endeavoured to concentrate on what must be done to ensure that Violette had a safe, warm and loving upbringing.

From the sound of it, Gideon Langford was fully prepared to go to court to battle for custody of the baby. With his money, he was going to be able to afford to employ the very best of lawyers.

What she must do, she realised, was to get herself in a position to combat everything he threw at her. Had a house in the country, did he? Well, albeit that hers would probably be pokey by comparison, she’d get a house in the country too.

She’d probably got enough money left to put down a deposit on something small. And she was earning more now, so a mortgage of not too vast proportions was within her means. She’d got enough furniture to furnish somewhere modest and—and...

Her thoughts fractured and her mind hurried on to taking the baby’s cot and all necessities from Kit’s flat. She gained control and decided she would only borrow them for the short term, until Kit and Justine came for Violette.

Ellena fought another battle for control—and managed to win. She was making all these plans unnecessarily. Justine and Kit would be back soon. As likely as they were to take themselves off ski-ing in a prohibited area, they were equally as likely—leaving bits and pieces of clothing behind—to up sticks and move on somewhere else, if the mood took them. The very worrying thing about that, though, was that whatever else Justine was or was not, she was scrupulously honest. No way would she dream of doing a flit without paying her hotel bill, Ellena just knew it. It just wasn’t in her sister’s make-up—and yet, that hotel bill had not been paid.

Telling herself that everybody was allowed one lapse, and that, what with having just had a baby and everything, Justine’s hormones were probably still all over the place—sufficiently, anyhow, for her to act in a way she wouldn’t normally—Ellena suddenly had one very bright positive thought, that was startling in its simplicity.

Possession, it was said, was nine-tenths of the law. So what was to stop her from going to Russell and Pamela Langford’s home and taking possession of Violette? To hear Justine tell it, and Gideon Langford too, for that matter, Pamela Langford was only interested in money.

No problem. If Justine had not settled with her and the temporary nanny in advance, then she could easily do so. Did she have any proof with her that she was who she said she was? Of course, she had her passport with her. And both Pamela and Russell Langford, from the two times she had telephoned, would know the name Ellena Spencer. Though, come to think of it, she would have to call at her flat first to pick up Russell Langford’s address and her car.

The plane started to descend. Ellena couldn’t wait to be on her way. Andrea had said, ‘Take as much time as you need...’ There was a lot to do. First things first, though; she was making tracks for Hertfordshire...

Gideon Langford’s organisation was highly efficient, she discovered, after they had landed. Someone—the pilot or whoever—must have notified someone of their estimated time of arrival. In any event, there were two chauffeur-driven cars waiting for them.

‘George will drive you to your home,’ Gideon Langford explained, plainly heading in another direction himself, no doubt to some high-powered business meeting.

‘Thank you,’ she answered politely.

‘I’ll be in touch.’

You mean your lawyers will! But civility cost nothing and, even if Gideon had sprouted horns, give the devil his due, thus far she had reason to be grateful to him. She extended a hand. ‘Thank you for everything,’ she said sincerely.

They shook hands. ‘Goodbye,’ he said.

She turned away. She had urgent business to attend to. She doubted the next time she saw him—in court—that they would be so civil with each other.

In the limousine she gave thought to what must be done. She didn’t want this fight, this tug of war. Please God, Justine and Kit would be back before the fight got started.

She vaguely remembered something in the newspapers only recently, about a magistrate or judge sitting in emergency session of the family division of the court when someone needed an instant decision on what was best for a child. Ellena had only her own love-filled childhood to go on. But surely it was better for a child to be brought up where love was?

Worriedly, she instinctively knew where love was not, and that was with Pamela and Russell Langford. It was possible that in future—if he could spare time away from his other non-work activities—that Gideon might get to know and love his niece. Though she doubted he would see much of her. It went without saying that he would hire a nanny... All this wasn’t going to happen, though. Bearing in mind that Violette’s parents would come home—she must believe that; she must—Ellena sincerely felt she would be letting Justine down if she allowed anyone to have guardianship of the baby but herself.