Stolen Feelings. Margaret Mayo
Читать онлайн книгу.
same house in the village of Barlaston in Staffordshire, England, where the great Wedgwood pottery factory was situated. The Wedgwoods and the Darwins had always been great friends and there had been a lot of intermarriage between the two families over the years—Charles Darwin marrying his cousin, Emma Wedgwood, in the 1830s.
It was this vague connection with Charles Darwin and Barlaston that had increased her brother’s interest, even though Charles Darwin had lived in Shrewsbury as a young man. ‘I’ll never get another chance to work with someone as expert and experienced as Cameron Storm,’ he went on. ‘I shall learn so much—it’s fantastic. Please, please say you’ll come.’
‘It could be what I need, I suppose,’ said Julie. In fact, it was the perfect escape, but she wasn’t telling Ian that yet. Immersing herself in a new job and new surroundings would be a great help in trying to forget her bitter break-up with Roger. It was the deceit that troubled her—pretending to be married; she did not like that one little bit.
‘Didn’t you tell Cameron Storm that you and Julie had split up?’ she asked Ian. It was confusing that her sister-in-law had the same Christian name, though convenient for Ian, now that he wanted her to masquerade as his wife.
‘Goodness, no!’ he exclaimed. ‘The man believes in the sanctity of marriage. He thinks it should be for life.’
‘Is he not married himself?’
Ian shook his head.
‘Why? Is he as ugly as sin? Will no one have him?’
‘Hardly,’ laughed Ian. ‘He’s a handsome devil but he’s dedicated to his work. I don’t think he wants the complications of a single girl on the team. Too many of them make a bee-line for him.’
‘So why doesn’t he get a male secretary?’ Julie asked. ‘And a male cook?’
‘I don’t know,’ replied Ian tetchily. ‘All I know is that he said the job’s mine if Julie comes with me. But Julie can’t come, can she? So I want you to take her place.’ He gave one of his most appealing smiles. ‘We’re so close, Sis, no one will ever know.’
He was right, they were close; they always had been. More so when their parents had divorced fifteen years ago, when she and Ian were only eleven years old. Oddly, there had never been any indication that there was anything wrong with their parents’ marriage—no arguments, no bad vibes, nothing—until the day their father had upped and gone, and that was the last she and Ian had seen of him.
The break-up had remained a mystery, their mother always maintaining a strict silence about the whole affair, but Julie guessed that her father had gone off with another woman. It was only now that Ian had experienced a similar trauma, and she was trying to deal with her own broken affair, that Julie was learning to understand how much her mother had suffered.
‘What if Cameron Storm finds out I’m not your wife?’ she asked her brother worriedly.
‘How will he?’ he fenced. ‘You’ve both the same name, so there’s no chance of a slip-up there, and although I have met Cameron in the past he’s never met Julie. There’s no possible way he can find out. Oh, please, Sis, my life depends on it.’
He was being overly dramatic, but Julie had been concerned about her twin ever since his wife had walked out. She had actually never felt the other Julie was right for him, but he had been besotted, and before they had known each other three months they were married.
He had never stopped loving her either, she truly was the only girl in the world for him, but her eye had strayed after less than eighteen months of marriage, and Ian had arrived home from work one day to discover that she had run off with his best friend.
He had been distraught and had come to his sister in tears. He had even been prepared to forgive his wife but she had announced that their marriage was over, that she did not love him any more and that she wanted a divorce.
Today was the first time Julie had seen her brother show enthusiasm for anything since—but, even though she felt quite excited herself at the thought of going out to the Galapagos Islands, she was still not convinced that pretending to be her brother’s wife was a good thing to do. Surely honesty would be the best policy?
‘Just think of it as one big, long holiday,’ he urged. ‘You’ll be able to completely forget that swine Roger. You’ll be able to relax totally while we’re out in the field, and I doubt Cameron’s notes will be vast. You’ll be able to sunbathe and swim and generally enjoy yourself.’
Finally she had dispelled her misgivings and agreed, and now here she was, sitting beside this big, irritating man, almost melting with the heat, resenting the fact that he looked as cool and comfortable as it if were springtime in England.
‘And who are you?’ she asked, hoping the whole team wasn’t going to be as hostile. She had envisaged a happy, friendly group of people, had let Ian persuade her that the whole thing would be fun. She could only hope that no one else would be this disagreeable.
She had looked the Galapagos Islands up when her brother had first mentioned them—in the Pacific, all volcanic, belonging to Ecuador, straddling the equator, almost totally a National Park, only of significance to people who were interested in natural history.
Thick brows rose. ‘I’m sorry, didn’t I introduce myself?’ A faint mocking smile curved a mouth that was generously wide. ‘I’m Cameron Storm.’
‘Oh!’ Julie swallowed hard. ‘I didn’t realise.’
‘Obviously.’
She tried to think what she had said to him, and hoped she hadn’t jeopardised her brother’s chances.
‘Ian didn’t tell me what a firebrand you were. I have a good team here, Mrs Drummond. I hope you’re not going to disrupt things with your hasty temper?’
There it was again, a veiled reference to her marital status. Julie began to feel worried, but she showed none of it; she had to speak to Ian first. ‘I don’t have a hasty temper,’ she fired back, and then laughed. ‘Standing around for half an hour in this heat isn’t my idea of fun. I’d begun to think Ian had forgotten I was arriving today.’
‘Ian didn’t forget,’ he reassured her. ‘He was desperately worried when he couldn’t get back—you’re a very lucky woman having a man love you so much.’ His eyes were watchful on her face as he spoke. ‘We have a radio system, of course, to keep in touch with each other, and he asked if someone else could pick you up.’
‘You didn’t have to come yourself,’ she pointed out.
‘I was the only man at camp.’
‘I’m sorry if I’ve inconvenienced you.’ She rested her hazel eyes on him for a brief moment. So this was Cameron Storm, the man her brother deeply admired and respected. Ian had said he was handsome and she couldn’t deny that, but he had failed to tell her that he was an impatient man also, that he didn’t like things that upset his routine, and he certainly wasn’t happy about having to fetch her today.
‘Forget it, Mrs Drummond, it’s done now.’
‘Please, call me Julie.’ The deception, which had always bothered her, was disturbing her more with each second that passed.
‘Here we are.’ He brought the Jeep to a shuddering halt at a campsite set well back on a white sandy beach, brown canvas tents pitched in regimental order.
Julie looked at the scene in complete and utter dismay. ‘Is this it? Is this where we’re to live?’ She was unable to hide her consternation, feeling suddenly let down. Ian could have told her. He had let her come out here without giving her any idea at all that she would be expected to rough it for the next twelve months.
Dark, mocking brows rose. ‘What did you expect, the Ritz?’ And he looked her up and down in her obviously expensive white dress and the totally impractical high-heeled sandals.
Her eyes flashed. ‘No