Witchchild - Carole Mortimer

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what a formidable enemy I can be; I haven’t even started yet!’

      Leonie felt a sinking feeling in her chest; she wished she felt stronger. Before her illness she wouldn’t have hesitated to tell him exactly what she and Laura thought of his threats. Now she was shaking so badly with fatigue it was all she could do not to burst into frustrated tears.

      ‘Can’t you realise—and accept,’ she said weakly, ‘that Hal wants to marry Laura?’

      ‘He hasn’t got any choice now, has he?’ Hawk attacked. ‘Your devious sister took care of that!’

      Laura didn’t have a devious bone in her body. But she did have the strength that Leonie lacked at the moment to stand up to this man.

      ‘You’re right, Hawk,’ she sighed. ‘I think it would be best if you spoke to Laura—–’

      ‘Oh, I intend to,’ he warned, dangerously soft.

      Leonie watched as he strode angrily across the lawn to the driveway, some of the tension leaving her as she heard his car accelerate away from the house with a screech of tyres.

      Holly had tired of blowing bubbles now, her arms waving about in earnest as she decided that it was time for her afternoon tea. Leonie gave a smile of gratitude as June seemed to anticipate the need and came out of the house with the promised bottle. Holly latched on to it eagerly.

      June looked Leonie over critically. ‘Mr Sinclair didn’t upset you, did he?’

      She gave a wan smile. ‘Mr Sinclair never fails to upset me!’

      The housekeeper lingered concernedly. ‘He seemed very—agitated when he left just now.’

      Leonie gave a choked laugh. ‘Let’s not be polite; he was furious!’

      ‘At you?’ June frowned.

      Leonie shrugged. ‘He doesn’t seem to approve of unmarried mothers,’ she evaded.

      ‘Hmph,’ June gave a disgusted snort. ‘In that case I hope he never comes back here.’

      Oh, Hawk would be back, Leonie had no doubts about that!

       CHAPTER TWO

      MY god, thought Hawk, he had been about to apologise, to admit he had been wrong about Laura Brandon’s mercenary intentions! She had taken out the most effective insurance to guarantee that he had no choice but to accept her marriage to Hal: she had had his grandchild.

      He had been about to tell Leonie exactly how often he had thought of her the last nine months, admit how much he desired her. If the housekeeper hadn’t appeared with the child at that moment he would have told Leonie Spencer just how obsessed he had become with her!

      That baby—Holly, Leonie had said her name was—was Hal’s daughter, there was no doubt about that. Hal had looked exactly like that when Amy had brought him home from the hospital; it had only been when he reached six or seven that his hair had darkened to the almost-black it was now. Hal was a father when he was nothing but a child still himself!

      He could forgive Laura Brandon anything but that! Hal was too young to be a father, he had plenty of years before him to take on that responsibility. But Laura Brandon was older than him and had obviously decided that motherhood would assure her of a place in his life.

      And it would. He didn’t doubt that Hal was overjoyed at the child’s existence. Holly was certainly a beautiful baby; she would probably have those cute little freckles on her nose just like her aunt’s in later years—–

      Hell, he wasn’t going to allow himself to think about Leonie Spencer again. She had to have known what Laura was doing, and all these months she had condoned it. She was as morally guilty as her sister.

      Laura had already left her appointment with her publisher when he arrived at the office, and rather than backtrack all the way to the house and find she still wasn’t there either he put a call through to the house.

      The housekeeper greeted him politely enough until he identified himself, and then her warm manner froze over. My God, thought Hawk, you’d think it was his fault Laura Brandon had used such trickery to gain a rich husband!

      The woman informed him that Laura wasn’t home yet, and that Leonie was resting in her bedroom. He only just stopped himself from asking if she was feeling ill again! The welfare of the Brandon sisters was none of his concern.

      He had the shock of his life to see Laura Brandon walking across the reception area of the hotel when he arrived back there after deciding there was nothing else to do but wait.

      Her cheeks flushed guiltily, and his mouth tightened when he thought of exactly what she was guilty of!

      ‘Mr Sinclair,’ she greeted him breathlessly, her hands moving nervously.

      ‘I want to talk to you,’ he declared, clasping a firm hold of her arm. ‘Upstairs in my suite.’

      She gave him a puzzled look as he dragged her along beside him. ‘Is there something wrong?’ she frowned.

      His mouth tightened. Something wrong? Dear God, she and Hal had kept his grandchild’s birth from him, and she asked if there was anything wrong!

      ‘I went to the house to see you, Laura,’ he bit out coldly. ‘I saw Leonie instead. And Holly,’ he added pointedly.

      Laura’s blush became one of anger. ‘So?’ she faced him defiantly.

      His eyes flashed with fury. ‘So I think we need to—talk about her, don’t you?’ he grated softly.

      ‘No, I—–’

      ‘Upstairs,’ he muttered, pulling her into the lift with him, retaining his hold on her arm as she struggled to free herself.

      Strange, although the two sisters were mirror images of each other, from their fiery red hair to their tiny feet, he had felt nothing for Laura Brandon except detached interest from the first. Her sister had been something else completely!

      His fingers tightened in anger—with himself, and with the circumstances that had ever introduced him to the sisters.

      ‘You’re hurting me!’ Laura complained with a pained frown.

      His fingers slackened slightly, but he didn’t release her. ‘I’d like to break your devious little neck,’ he ground out as they stepped straight into the penthouse suite. ‘Leave us,’ he ordered Jake and Sarah as they worked together in the lounge, watching them arrogantly as they packed up the papers they had been working on and left the room without complaint. He felt a moment’s regret that such a good friend and assistant as Jake should want to leave his employment, and then he turned his full attention to the woman at his side. ‘Now let’s talk about Holly.’ His voice was silky-soft.

      Laura rubbed the red marks his fingers had left on her arm. ‘I can’t imagine what you want to know about her,’ she shook her head.

      His mouth twisted. ‘Why do both you and your sister persist in thinking I wouldn’t be interested in her?’

      She frowned. ‘You didn’t say anything to Leonie to upset her, did you?’ she asked sharply. ‘Because if you did—–’

      ‘Believe it or not, I do not, physically or verbally, abuse women who already look like hell!’

      Her cheeks flushed defensively. ‘Leonie has been ill—–’

      ‘I’m well aware of that,’ he stated. ‘But it’s Holly I want to talk about!’

      Laura shrugged. ‘There’s nothing to say.’

      ‘Like hell there isn’t!’ he flared furiously. ‘Don’t you think you and Hal should have told me about her birth instead of just letting me go to the house and finding out about her the way that I did?’ he

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