Instant Father

In her agitation she’d almost forgotten Jake Morgan, the man behind her troubles, but as the car turned the corner of the drive she saw him standing outside Strand House, a look of black fury on his face. “I wondered why he wasn’t in court this morning-” she said.

“Say nothing,” Gavin ordered her. “Leave this to me. I’m about to enjoy myself a great deal.”

He was hardly out of the car when Morgan pounced on him. “What the hell do you think you’re at?” he raged.

Gavin regarded him coolly. “If those papers in your hand are what I think they are, you know perfectly well what I’m at,” he responded.

“This woman stole my property, and you dare to try to turn the law around and make me look like a criminal,” Morgan shouted.

Gavin eyed him with distaste. “If the state of that bird is anything to go by, you are a criminal,” he said coldly. “You’ll never get it back, and those papers tell you why.”

“What papers?” Norah asked.

Morgan made a lunge at her, but Gavin got between them. “Don’t force me to repeat what I did to you before,” he snapped, “even though you deserve it and it would give me a lot of pleasure.”

Morgan addressed Norah. “You think you’re very clever, but you won’t get away with it,” he shouted.

“Get away with what?” she asked, bewildered. “What is this masterstroke I’ve pulled without knowing it?”

“You got your lawyer to serve a restraining order on Mr. Morgan, keeping him away from both you and the bird,” Gavin explained.

“Bird? What bird?” she said quickly.

“Exactly,” Gavin said. “You don’t know anything about any bird. But even if you did, that order prevents this nasty specimen troubling you about it.”

She brightened. “Did I really do that? How clever of me!”

“You were even cleverer than that. You issued a summons against him for ill-treatment of this nonexistent bird. What’s more, I dare say a little research would show that he himself acquired it illegally.”

“Certain to,” Norah said at once.

“So it looks as if he’s going to have rather more trouble with the law than you are.” Gavin gave Morgan a freezing smile. “I shall enjoy your trial, Mr. Morgan.”

For the first time Morgan looked uneasy. “What are you talking about? I’m not going to have any trial.”

“Actually you’re going to have two-one for ill-treating the bird, and another for ill-treating Miss Ackroyd. Assault is a serious offense, and she’s got the bruises to prove it.”

“And the cracked rib,” Norah piped up. “Don’t forget that.”

“You don’t fool me, either of you. Why didn’t you go to the police at the start? That’s what they’ll want to know.”

He’d addressed Norah, but she-realizing that only Gavin really knew what was going on-smiled sweetly and said, “You’ll have to ask Mr. Hunter. He’s handling my affairs.”

“Thank you,” Gavin said politely. He was becoming exhilarated by the way he and Norah were passing the buck back and forth between them, their minds working in perfect harmony. She was following his lead without clearly knowing where it was headed, because she trusted him. “None of us wanted to involve the police then,” he told Morgan. “After all, the bird didn’t exist, then.”

“Now look-”

“But you involved them, so that restraint is off. You’re facing jail.”

“You don’t scare me,” Morgan bawled.

“Yes, I do. That’s why you keep licking your lips. But Miss Ackroyd is going to do you a favor.”

“Don’t bank on it,” Norah put in darkly.

“Ah, now that’s a pity. I was hoping a little bargain might be arranged to suit both sides.”

“Get lost!” Morgan snapped.

“Willingly. And as Miss Ackroyd seems to feel the same way, we’ll see you in court, Mr. Morgan.”

“We’ll look forward to it,” Norah confirmed.

Morgan looked uneasily from one to the other. “You’re bluffing.”

“Why should we be?” Gavin asked smoothly. “Miss Ackroyd has everything to gain from having you charged with assault and nothing to lose. In fact, as you heard, she’d rather not make a deal. She’d prefer to see you in the dock-wouldn’t you?”

“Definitely,” Norah said. “I don’t suppose it’s the first time you’ve been charged with assault.”

“You’ve got no right to say that,” Morgan howled. “And anyway, it makes no odds-they’re not allowed to say-”

“It can’t be mentioned in court,” Norah conceded, “but the magistrate will probably recognize you, so it’s goodbye to that advantage.” She’d recovered her cool by now and was enjoying the sense that she and Gavin were conspirators.

“Right. We’ll leave it there, then,” Gavin said affably.

“Now wait, I’m not an unreasonable man. A bargain, you said?”

“He said, not I,” Norah pointed out.

“What kind of a bargain?” Morgan persisted.

“Charges dropped on both sides,” Gavin said.

“Hey, that’s not fair,” Norah objected. “My charges are bigger than his.”

“They’re not,” Morgan snapped.

She squared up to him. “Yes, they are.”

“No brawling, you two,” Gavin said sternly, and was startled by a noise from the direction of his son. It had sounded incredibly like a giggle. He looked quickly, but Peter’s face was blank and angelic. He turned back to Norah. “My advice is to make the deal and get rid of this scum.”

“Hey, who are you calling scum?”

“Shut up,” they told him in one voice. Morgan relapsed into furious silence.

“Okay, I’ll deal,” Norah said. “Charges dropped on both sides.”

“Then you both sign these papers and the matter is over,” Gavin told them, producing a pen.

Morgan swore under his breath, but snatched the pen. Gavin watched him sign the documents that would make Norah safe and silently blessed Bruce Havering. It was less pleasant seeing her make Morgan safe, but it had to be done. He countersigned both documents as witness. “Now get out of here,” he said to Morgan. The man gave them both a look of loathing, but scuttled back into his car without a word and drove away.

Nobody moved or spoke until he’d vanished. Then, with one movement, Gavin and Norah turned toward each other and cried, “Yes.” The next moment they were in each other’s arms while Peter did a dance of delight around them.

Gavin held her as firmly as he dared, mindful of her ribs, but he longed to pull her hard against him and never let her go. She was his recovered treasure, and from now on he’d keep her safe where nobody could harm her. He wanted to say all this, but it would have to wait for later when they were alone. For now it was enough that she’d come spontaneously into his arms.

Mrs. Stone appeared on the steps and for once her bleak features were relaxed in a smile. “Welcome home, miss,” she said. “I’ve got supper ready. It’s your favorite.”

“Thank you,” Norah said eagerly. “I’ve hardly been able to eat a thing and I’m famished.” She took hold of Peter’s hand on one side and Gavin on the other and let them lead her into the house. Gavin exchanged a look of delight with his son, and his heart soared. They’d done it. They’d done it. Together. Soon everything would be all right.

It was a joyful meal. Peter didn’t speak, but he smiled and nodded vigorously as his father described how they’d cared for the sanctuary together. Norah demanded to know where Bruce Havering had come from, and Gavin told the story briefly. Later, when he had her to himself, he would tell it to her again in more detail. He might even tell her how Bruce had joked that he was in love with her, and the look on her face would tell him what to say next. Or perhaps he wouldn’t need to say it. She knew his financial situation and would surely guess that he’d put himself at risk to raise the bail money and free her. She’d understand the truth from that.

But he couldn’t say the things he wanted to with Peter here and Mrs. Stone hovering in the background, and he began to long for time to pass.