LITMIR.BIZ

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She frowned heavily. ‘Are you going away on holiday?’

      She was sure that the older woman must have realised that all of her things were packed in those two suitcases—everything she wanted to take with her, which was really only clothes and a few personal things. She wanted nothing that any of the Carlyle family had ever given her.

      ‘Not a holiday, Janet,’ she told the other woman gently. ‘I’m leaving the house for good.’

      The older woman looked stricken. ‘But—’

      ‘It’s for the best, Janet.’ She squeezed the other woman’s arm reassuringly. ‘I think we both know that I should have left seven years ago whenwell, after Simon died.’ She shook her head. ‘I just wasn’t feeling strong enough to make the break then.’

      ‘Would you care to explain that remark?’

      Both women spun round at the sound of Liam’s voice. He stood in the doorway behind them, his expression grim.

      Juliet just stared at him. How had he got here? She hadn’t heard the car in the driveway, but she supposed he must have driven here. Had he known she was here too?

      ‘Well?’ He looked at her challengingly, closing the door firmly behind him.

      She couldn’t even remember what she and Janet had been talking about when he arrived, so shocked was she by his presence here!

      ‘Why weren’t you feeling strong enough to leave seven years ago?’ he prompted harshly, blue eyes narrowed.

      There was so much anger in this house—always had been, Juliet realised now. ‘My fiancé had just died,’ she answered quietly, not quite able to meet the intensity of that probing gaze.

      ‘Simon?’ Liam said scornfully. ‘Was he really any loss to anyone?’

      ‘Master Liam!’ Janet gasped in a shocked voice.

      He looked at her slightly regretfully. ‘I’m sorry, Janet, but you know that there was no love lost between my brother and myself; we just didn’t have anything in common, except the same parents. If we hadn’t been related, we would have disliked each other intensely the first time we met.’ He shook his head disgustedly. ‘Simon was a spoilt child who grew up into a spoilt, destructive man, a man who felt—God knows why!—that the world owed him something.’

      He had so perfectly described the Simon whom Juliet had come to know as the real Simon, not the Simon she had imagined herself in love with. She had thought he was wonderful, a golden-haired Adonis, and miraculously he had seemed to find her equally attractive.

      But it had all been a lie, a deception for his father’s benefit; Simon hadn’t really loved her at all, had just been trying to prove to his father what a steady, responsible adult he had become, so that William would retire and leave the business in Simon’s complete control. She knew now, after what Liam had told her of the past, exactly why William had had reason to doubt that!

      Janet shot her a concerned look. ‘I don’t think it helps anyone to dwell on the past, Liam,’ she told him quietly.

      ‘The past created the present,’ he rasped harshly.

      ‘The past is dead,’ the housekeeper insisted firmly. ‘Along with your father and Simon.’

      A spasm of emotion crossed Liam’s face at those words, but it was too fleeting for Juliet to be able to gauge what it was. ‘But my father made sure, by leaving me half control of the company on his death, that I would have to come back here,’ he bit out angrily.

      Janet shook her head. ‘You didn’t have to come back, Liam. It would have been easy enough just to sell your shares; something inside you must have wanted to come back,’ she pointed out softly.

      His mouth twisted. ‘My curiosity was aroused, I’ll admit that,’ he said grudgingly. ‘Even more so once I had actually met Juliet. She wasn’t quite what I had expected.’

      And had expected from the information he had had on her before he had even arrived in Majorca! ‘What did you expect, Liam?’ She frowned, able to guess, from the things he had said to her since they had first met, exactly what he had thought! She had lived with his father, had been left a halfshare in the company; it was obvious what he had surmised about the relationship. And he was wrong, so very wrong. As she had been too, she now knew, but for different reasons.

      Liam looked at her coldly. ‘Not the waif-like creature you turned out to be!’ he rasped. ‘I thought my father went in for more…shapely women!’ he added insultingly.

      Juliet gasped, looking concernedly at Janet, sure now, even though she had never realised it while William had been alive, that the other woman had cared for him very much. And Liam was the one who had first pointed that out to her, which made his insult to her doubly hurtful.

      Janet had stiffened, looking censoriously at Liam. ‘That is enough, Liam,’ she said steadily. ‘William was a good man, and I won’t stand here and listen to you insult him.’

      He ran an agitated hand through the dark blond thickness of his hair. ‘I know how you felt about my father, Janet.’ His voice had softened. ‘But it doesn’t change the fact that he always protected Simon, made excuses for his behaviour, when Simon should have been made responsible for his own actions.’

      ‘William knew that,’ Janet said wearily, suddenly looking old, her shoulders stooped, her face lined with grief. ‘In the end he knew that only too well, Liam.’ She straightened slightly. ‘And he paid a high price for loving Simon too much and turning a blind eye to his behaviour. Everyone did. Including Juliet,’ she added, with a regretful look in her direction.

      Juliet paled, her eyes darkly pleading as she returned the other woman’s gaze.

      Liam’s mouth twisted. ‘From what I can see Juliet was very well…rewarded for turning a blind eye to Simon’s behaviour,’ he said insultingly.

      Janet shook her head. ‘Liam, you don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she said. ‘And perhaps it’s time you did,’ she added, with another regretful look in Juliet’s direction.

      Juliet’s eyes were huge in the paleness of her face. ‘Please, Janet, don’t,’ she pleaded, tears welling up in her eyes.

      ‘Juliet, I’ve always understood how you felt about this subject.’ The other woman gently touched her arm. ‘And it isn’t something the two of us have ever discussed. I told William I thought you needed to talk it over with another woman rather than building it all up inside you, but he didn’t seem to think you would welcome the intrusion.’ Janet sighed. ‘In retrospect I think he was wrong.’

      ‘It’s all in the past, Janet.’ Her voice was pained.

      The older woman shook her head. ‘It affects the present.’ She glanced across at Liam. ‘And if I’m not mistaken it’s causing a problem between the two of you.’

      Juliet gave a slightly bitter laugh. ‘There’s no problem between Liam and me, Janet; we just don’t like each other!’ She knew that, for her own part, it was a lie, but if she salvaged nothing from this situation she at least needed her pride to be able to walk away.

      ‘You see, Janet,’ he bit out caustically, ‘there’s no problem; Juliet and I both know where we stand.’

      ‘Utter nonsense,’ the housekeeper dismissed impatiently. ‘I’ve watched the two of you together; you like each other well enough—more then well enough, from the little I’ve seen!’ she added knowingly, causing Juliet’s cheeks to blush with embarrassment. ‘It’s time for the truth, Juliet,’ she told her gently. ‘Past time, I would have said,’ she added firmly.

      ‘What good will it do?’ Juliet reasoned agitatedly. She didn’t want Liam to know about the past! It was over, gone forever; talking about it would change nothing.

      Janet shook her head. ‘Perhaps none,’ she conceded heavily. ‘But it’s

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