“Iam your job, and your only job is to make sure I’m strong enough to stand by my son’s side at his wedding. I have waited for this day a long time.”
Just for an instant, something passed across his eyes then disappeared to be replaced by a wicked gleam. “So, what do you think of the charms of our dressmaker?”
The distraction didn’t work, not even a little bit. If anything, it confirmed Adam’s suspicions. Du Montfort knew something was wrong and didn’t want to talk about it. Forcing him would only aggravate things.
So, all he said was, “I don’t know her enough to think anything.”
“Don’t play the innocent boy with me. You must have women falling at your feet, good looking chap like you.”
He sighed. “My looks have never done me any good.”
In the small silence that followed, he regretted his words. Something about Lord M’s needling him had picked at an old wound.
When Du Montford finally spoke, it was with a different voice. “No, not me either.” He sighed. “There was a time, I too was considered a good-looking man. It’s a double-edged sword, and if you ask my son, he’ll gladly tell you of the pain I brought on my family.”
Adam busied himself filling in a chart that didn’t need any filling. Unexpectedly, he felt Du Montfort’s hand on his knee. Looking up, he met the other man’s perceptive gaze.
“Whatever it was, you will get over it, believe me. It just takes time.”
Adam’s heart thudded in his chest. Du Montfort’s comment had come too close.
“And” — the old man smiled suddenly to lighten the mood— “Give our dressmaker a chance.”
And they were back to that.
He made himself laugh. “She’s better off with Liam. I am not interested.”
He wasn’t interested. Not even marginally.
But he would go up to her studio again and explain why he’d told Du Montfort about her work.
Chapter Fourteen
She should not have beensurprised. After all, she’d tested the samples and had chosen this chiffon – palest champagne – precisely because it was the best of all. But working with a twenty-inch square didn’t prepare her for the full effect of the exquisite waterfall. The magic was in the colour of the chiffon, depending on how you looked at it and how the light hit it, it was either palest gold, blush or cream. Laid over the delicate raw silk that would make the lining, it was spellbinding.
She’d had to negotiate very hard with the small supplier in Vienna to buy six meters of their limited stock. She’d even promised to mention them when the press interviewed her. And the press would interview her, because this was going to be a unique dress.
She’d spent all morning admiring it. If she didn’t pack it away immediately, no other work would get done. She forced herself to fold it carefully and hide it with the ivory silk in the lockable chest under one of the tables. No one was going to see this – not yet.
With a sigh she turned to the polyester toile hanging on the mannequin. The white polyester should drape like silk, which would allow her to perfect the shape on this cheap fabric before cutting into the precious silk and chiffon.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Laura, on her knees with a mouthful of pins, paused. She had a good idea who this would be, so she stayed very still and waited.
“Laura? Are you in here?” Adam knocked again.
He’d tried to talk to her a few times over the last ten days, but she always managed to avoid him. She wasn’t interested in hearing his explanations. No doubt he’d say something like he hadn’t meant to cause trouble, blah, blah.
“I know you’re here. I can hear your music.”
Bugger! Her little radio was tuned to classic FM playing a soft piano recital.
She shrugged and stood up, deliberately moving the mannequin so it grated on the floor. Let him know she was here and refusing to talk to him. For good measure, she opened and closed a couple of cupboard doors before going on with her work. OK, call her childish, but she’d compromised enough in the past, swallowed her hurt in order to please people. No more.
Adam waited a long minute before giving up and going away. He wouldn’t try again, she felt sure of it.
Good.
And if there was a small regret within her, she squashed it. The man was far too arrogant, and he suspected she found him attractive. There had been a definite chemistry between them that afternoon. Enough to make her wake up smiling, thinking of his warm gentle voice and his warm strong hand.
