Revenge by Seduction Read online

  Catriona had no idea what his game was, but until she found out she would just have to go along with it. Feeling sick, but forcing a smile to her lips, she said, ‘I don’t mind. After all, I’m on holiday, and there isn’t much else to do around here, is there?’

  Ryan grinned, but only she could see the sardonic twist to his mouth. ‘You’re surely not bored, Catriona! A girl with your talents? I know for a fact that you’re quite a good actress. Isn’t there a local rep company you can join?’

  The remark was lost on her parents, but she knew she was going to have to get him out of this house where she could demand to know just what the hell he thought he was playing at.

  ‘As soon as you’ve finished your tea I’ll walk you down to the hotel,’ she said, stiffly polite. ‘We can talk about the places you want to see on the way.’

  ‘That’s a good idea,’ grinned Ryan. ‘But there’s no hurry. Your mother was telling me all about you just before you arrived. It seems that you were quite a handful when you were at school. Always getting yourself into scrapes of one sort or another.’

  She eyed him stonily, her hands still clenched in her lap and a knot of anger in her stomach. ‘I was no worse than anyone else, Mr Hind. Mothers tend to exaggerate.’

  ‘Not in your case, I imagine,’ he said with a thin smile. ‘Perhaps it’s that lovely red hair of yours. You know what they say about redheads, don’t you?’

  Her eyes regarded him icily. ‘No, I’m afraid I don’t. What do they say about redheads, Mr Hind?’

  Her mother broke in. ‘She gets that red hair from her father. Would you like another buttered scone, Ryan?’ As she offered him the plate she shot Catriona a look of parental disapproval.

  Catriona ignored it and wondered again how on earth he’d managed to unmask her. He definitely had not recognised her through her disguise so someone must have told him. She could confidently rule out Madge, so who else did that leave? No one as far as she could see. In fact no one else but Madge and herself had known. Anyway, what did it matter how he’d found out? The unpleasant fact was that he was here and there was damn all she could do about it. What she had to worry about now was what he had in mind. She could see nothing ahead but trouble and possible disgrace for both herself and her family.

  ‘You’ll be finding it very strange up here after living in London, Ryan,’ her father said.

  Ryan, looking as relaxed and comfortable as if the place belonged to him, smiled easily. ‘Not so strange, Mr McNeil. I spent six months at Assynt after I left university.’

  Her father looked at him in surprise. ‘That’s wild MacLeod country. The Army does a lot of secret training there.’

  ‘Yes…so I believe. These scones are really delicious, Mrs McNeil. I’d forgotten what real home cooking tasted like. I congratulate you.’

  ‘Catriona is a very good cook,’ her mother said quickly. ‘Perhaps you’ll have a chance to sample it before you go back to London. I hear the food in the hotel is not up to much. They haven’t got a real chef because they don’t get that many visitors, even in the summer.’

  Catriona clenched her teeth. Her mother would be offering the wretch the spare room in a minute. She was going to have to have a long talk with her and tell her that Ryan Hind was definitely not her type.

  Ryan gave her a mocking grin, then said gravely, ‘If her cooking is as good as her other accomplishments I’ll look forward to it.’

  ‘And how exactly did you and Catriona meet?’ her father asked him, sounding too much like a dutiful parent quizzing a prospective son-in-law for her liking.

  ‘We met quite by accident,’ Ryan declared airily. ‘You might say that Catriona literally fell into my arms. We had a drink together…then I invited her out to dinner that evening and we became…’ his eyes mocked her coldly ‘…quite friendly, didn’t we, Catriona?’

  She bit back on the comment she wanted to make and had to make do with nodding her head and trying not to look too surly about it. To think that her life had been made so miserable all because of an idiot rollerskating on the pavement. It was enough to make you weep, it really was.

  ‘Well, I’m only relieved that it was respectable company such as yourself that she met,’ her mother twittered. ‘You hear so many stories about young girls going to London on their own and getting involved with the wrong kind of people, getting themselves into all sorts of trouble. Well, I’m sure you know what I mean, Mr Hind.’

  ‘Indeed I do, Mrs McNeil,’ he said with feeling. ‘Like all great cities, London has its fair share of disreputable characters who are only too quick to take advantage of the young and innocent girls who flock there looking for adventure.’

  Catriona glared at him. She couldn’t sit here and take much more of this in silence, she told herself desperately. He’d already made a fool of her. Was he intent now on making a fool of her parents as well?

  ‘It so happens, Mr Hind, that I did meet one particularly nasty piece of work in London,’ she said coldly. She realised the risk she was running in alerting and arousing the curiosity of her parents, but she went on regardless. ‘I’m sure you know the kind of creature I’m talking about. The type of man who’ll lie and cheat and say anything just to get his way.’

  Her mother looked at her sharply. ‘I hope you sent him packing with a flea in his ear.’

  Ryan laughed. ‘I don’t think you need to worry on that score, Mrs. McNeil. I’m sure that your daughter is more than capable of looking after herself. She’s quite a resourceful young lady.’ He grinned at Catriona. ‘You did send him packing, didn’t you?’

  Her blue eyes blazed away at him, but she managed to keep the bitterness from her voice when she replied, ‘Oh…he had me fooled for a while, but when I found out the truth about him I got my own back.’

  ‘Good for you,’ he said with approval. ‘Let’s just hope that’s the last you’ll hear of him. Some people can be very persistent, especially when they feel they have a score to settle.’ He turned to her mother innocently. ‘May I prevail upon you for another cup of your excellent tea, Mrs McNeil?’

  Catriona watched in despair as her mother almost fell over herself in her eagerness to please him. How long had he said he intended staying in Kindarroch? A few days? That story he’d spun her father about his reason for coming here had been nothing but his usual lies. Only she knew the real reason, which was to exact retribution on her. So why didn’t he just leave it to his damned lawyers? She might be able to cope with that, but not this. Did he intend tormenting her, playing her like a fish on the end of a line until he was ready for the kill?

  For the sake of her parents she kept a strained smile on her face, but it was put severely to the test when her mother went to the sideboard and returned proudly with a photograph album.

  ‘Mother!’ she cried in despair. ‘No. Please. I’m sure Mr Hind doesn’t have the time for that.’

  ‘Och, don’t be so silly, Catriona.’ her mother chided. ‘You were a bonnie wee girl. I’m sure Mr Hind would like to see some of the photographs we took.’ Opening the album, she placed it in front of Ryan. ‘Now, here she is when she was only three years old…’

  Catriona gave a silent groan and slumped in her chair.

  The album wasn’t that big, but you could have read the complete works of Shakespeare in the time it took her mother to go through it. Every picture was studied and discussed in detail…when it was taken, where it was taken, who had knitted the jumper she was wearing, who the people in the background were… The only thought Catriona found cheering was that Ryan Hind might drop dead of boredom, but he didn’t. Being the experienced liar and actor that he was, he gave the impression of being utterly absorbed until the album was finally closed and locked back in the drawer where it belonged.

  Ryan finally got to his feet and she watched him with a jaundiced eye. He certainly believed in dressing for the occasion, she thought. No one in the Highlands wore smart business suits, and at the moment he was wearing a dark blue Harris t
weed jacket over a white shirt—though what right he had to be wearing a Stewart tartan tie she didn’t know. The Stewart clan would have disclaimed any responsibility for bringing a knave like him into the world.

  ‘You’re surely not going yet?’ her mother protested. She turned to her husband. ‘Father, where’s your sense of hospitality? You haven’t even offered Mr Hind a glass of whisky yet.’

  Catriona groaned again. If her father brought the bottle out this could go on for hours! Getting to her own feet, she looked at her mother pointedly and said, ‘I’m sure Mr Hind has work to do. And I promised to walk him back to the hotel so that we can talk about the places he wants to see. I’d like to do that before it gets too late.’

  Ryan grinned. ‘Catriona is quite right. You’ve been more than kind and I’m sure we’ll meet again before I return to London.’

  When the goodbyes had been said and they were outside, she waited until they were out of sight of the house before halting and rounding on him furiously. ‘All right, Mr Hind, just what the hell are you doing here?’

  He smiled at her grimly and pretended to be surprised. ‘Do you give all your visitors such a cold reception? And here was I thinking that you’d be overjoyed to see me again.’

  ‘Don’t mess about with me, you bastard,’ she snapped. ‘You might have fooled my parents but I know you for the snake that you are.’

  There was a flash of brittle anger in his eyes, then he commented dryly, ‘You’ve changed. Prettier than ever, I may say, but there’s a rough edge to your tongue which wasn’t there before. And I suggest you keep your voice down unless you want the whole village to overhear our friendly little conversation.’

  She glared at him angrily and hissed, ‘You’re a despicable creature. Don’t think for one moment that I’m afraid of the likes of you.’

  A dark brow rose in a scornful disbelief. ‘Aren’t you? Then why did you leave London?’

  ‘That’s none of your damned business.’ She poked him in the chest with her forefinger. ‘I’m warning you. You stay away from my parents. They’re decent, honest people. I realise that you don’t know the meaning of decency and honesty, but nevertheless I’m telling you not to come back here again.’

  Before she could react he’d grabbed her wrist, and she found herself imprisoned in his arms. Looking up at him furiously, she gasped, ‘Let me go, you heathen!’ She tried to kick his shins but she couldn’t get her foot high enough.

  ‘Quite the little wildcat, aren’t you?’ he said with derision. ‘It must be something they have in the water up here. You were a lot friendlier than this when we first met in London. It didn’t take much persuasion to get you into bed, as I recall. You seemed to be all for it.’

  She struggled in vain to free herself, and, seething with fury and frustration, she spat the words at him. ‘I didn’t know what kind of low-life you were then, did I? Now, if you don’t let me go this instant I’ll—’

  Before she got the chance to finish she was almost jerked off her feet as he yanked her closer and crushed his mouth down onto hers. Numbed with shock and the sheer audacity of the man, she could do nothing but endure the bruising assault until it was over, leaving her dizzy and fighting for breath.

  ‘At least the lips are still as sweet and tender,’ he observed with grim humour. ‘I’m looking forward eagerly and with great impatience to find out about the rest of your sweet and delicious little body.’

  She could hardly credit her ears, and she grated through her clenched teeth, ‘You’ll have to wait till hell freezes over in that case.’

  He let her free from his imprisoning arms and said smoothly, ‘Oh, I don’t think it’ll take as long as that, Catriona. I’ve a feeling that whether you want to or not you’re going to be very co-operative in the matter.’ He grinned. ‘Who knows? You may even enjoy it as much as you did the last time.’

  He was unbelievable! And he looked so sure of himself that for a moment she found herself wondering… ‘In your dreams,’ she scoffed. She dusted herself down, as if to free herself of any contamination, then she narrowed her eyes at him and said quietly, ‘You must be mad. You’re taking a chance showing your face around here, you know. I’ve got at least a dozen cousins and uncles between here and Oban. You could easily find yourself being used for lobster bait if they hear what you did to me.’

  He dismissed her threat with a nonchalant shrug. ‘I doubt it. Now if I’d taken you against your will that would be different, but, as I’ve already said, far from putting up a struggle you were more than eager to make free with your not inconsiderable charms.’

  She tossed her hair angrily out of her eyes and began walking towards the harbour. ‘You tricked me,’ she muttered. ‘You deliberately led me on and made me believe that…that…’ Her voice faltered, then she snapped, ‘You know what I’m talking about. Don’t try to deny it.’

  ‘I haven’t denied anything yet,’ he reminded her sourly. ‘And don’t threaten me again. You’re in enough trouble as it is. I’m the injured party around here, not you. Just remember that in future.’

  ‘You’re the injured party! You mean that just because I—’ She broke off in mid-sentence as she saw the Reverend McPhee waddling up the road towards them. ‘Here’s the minister coming,’ she whispered fiercely. ‘You’re a stranger here and he’ll be wondering who you are so I’ll have to tell him something. Don’t you dare say a word. You just keep your mouth shut and let me do the talking.’

  He taunted her with a sardonic smile. ‘Why? Are you scared that I might turn the tables on you and ruin your reputation as you tried to ruin mine? Afraid he’ll find out that one of his little lambs has gone astray?’

  She swallowed her anger and pinned a bright smile to her face as the minister approached. ‘Good evening, Minister,’ she said cheerfully.

  ‘And a good evening to you, Catriona.’ It didn’t matter whether he was conducting a funeral or a christening, his voice never changed. Always sorrowful and laden with doom. He eyed Ryan mournfully and she introduced him hurriedly.

  ‘This is Mr Hind from London. He can’t speak at the moment. The poor man has a terrible case of laryngitis. He’s under strict instructions from his doctor to rest his voice.’

  ‘Is that so…? Well, tell him I’m sorry to hear that, Catriona. Tell him I hope he gets better soon. I often get a sore throat myself after a sermon on the Sabbath and I find a wee touch of honey in warm milk works wonders.’

  It was time he retired, she thought. He was getting past it. ‘You can tell him yourself, Minister,’ she said politely. ‘I didn’t say he was deaf. He just can’t talk.’

  ‘Aye…just so.’

  ‘He’s up here on business, Minister. He deals in property. I’m just showing him around.’

  ‘Aye…well…it’s nice to have you back among your own kind, Catriona. There are too many young people who leave here only to succumb to the vices and temptations of the big city. But I’ve been praying for you and I can see that it hasn’t been in vain. Sin always leaves its mark, but you are as yet untouched. You’re a credit to Kindarroch and your parents.’

  ‘Well, that’s very kind of you, Minister,’ she murmured, managing not to turn scarlet with shame. ‘I try my best.’

  She heaved a sigh of relief when the encounter was over and Ryan grinned. ‘Does he always talk like that?’

  ‘What if he does?’ she challenged frostily. ‘He’s our minister and don’t you dare make a fool of him. We like him just the way he is. Anyway, he might be getting old but he’s still twice the man you’ll ever be.’

  ‘Well, I’m not going to argue about that, but tell me—am I going to catch laryngitis every time we run into company?’ he demanded. ‘If that’s the case I think we should find some place where we can continue our discussion in privacy. We could go to my hotel room and put a “Do not Disturb” notice on the door.’

  ‘You’ve about as much chance of ever getting me in a hotel room again with you as you have of sprouting wings
,’ she said with feeling. ‘We can continue our discussion out on the harbour entrance. We won’t be disturbed there.’

  Grim-faced and silent, she led the way past the deserted fish market, along the quayside and out onto the granite-built breakwater. The evening sun was turning the unusually calm sea the colour of molten gold and a pair of gulls wheeled in lazy circles overhead. This had been one of her favourite spots as a child. Long, hazy summer days spent barefoot, dangling a piece of string with a shelled mussel and hook on the end into the water below. She’d never caught anything but it had been a good excuse just to sit and dream her childish fantasies. But she’d certainly never dreamed of anything like this.

  When they reached the end of the breakwater she stopped, put her hands on her hips and said truculently, ‘We have all the privacy we need right here, Mr Hind, so let’s get this over and done with. As far as I’m concerned we’re even. In fact, if you ask me, you got off lightly. All I want you to do now is to leave me alone. Get back in your car and get out of my life for ever.’

  He had hitched one leg up on a bollard and now he regarded her thoughtfully, with knitted brows and folded arms. Finally he shook his head. ‘I’ve no intention of leaving you alone. You’ve caused me a lot of trouble, Catriona. One way or another you’re going to make amends for that, and I’m not leaving Kindarroch until you do.’

  She gave a disdainful toss of her head. ‘In that case you’d better be prepared to spend the rest of your life here.’

  He grinned, flashing two rows of white teeth at her. ‘I may be doing that in any case. Since you so successfully ruined my reputation in London I’ve had to consider the possibility of doing business elsewhere. This sleepy little village has good potential for development. How would you like me as a neighbour?’

  She was aghast. He was joking, of course. He had to be. The thought of him living here as a permanent threat and reminder was too much. It had to be an empty threat, just made to frighten her, but she wasn’t going to fall for it.