‘Maybe I will ask him, one day.’
‘Why not now?’
‘I told you, it isn’t important.’
Velvet wrenched open her car door. ‘I almost hate you at times, Jerard!’ She got into the car, slamming the door behind her. She didn’t even spare him a second glance as she accelerated away with a screech of tyres.
It was only a short drive to her brother’s house, and consequently she hadn’t calmed down much by the time she arrived there. Simon appeared to be alone.
‘Where’s Janice?’ Velvet asked abruptly.
He grinned. ‘Out shopping for something to wear to your wedding. You’re costing me a fortune, love. I—Hey, what is it?’ He suddenly noticed her blazing eyes and flushed cheeks. ‘You haven’t called it off, have you?’ he groaned.
‘No,’ she shook her head. ‘Where is it, Simon?’
He frowned, completely puzzled. ‘Where is what?’
Velvet sighed, some of the fight leaving her. ‘The letter, Simon, where is it?’
He licked his lips, his expression suddenly guarded. ‘What letter?’
‘You must be terrible in court,’ she scorned. ‘I thought all lawyers were supposed to be deadpan?’
Simon scowled. ‘Not all lawyers are confronted by a sister who’s spitting fire.’
‘All right, all right!’ she sighed. ‘I’m sorry. Jerard has just upset me and I’m taking it out on you. But I do want to see that letter. And don’t go all blank on me again,’ she warned. ‘You’re the only one who could possibly know where it is.’
Simon pursed his lips, shrugging. ‘You mean the one from Jerard, don’t you?’
Hope flared in her eyes. ‘Then you do have it?’
‘I have a letter I presume is from him,’ he confirmed.
Her look was sceptical. ‘You mean you’ve never read it?’
Simon’s face flushed with anger. ‘What do you think I am, a Peeping Tom?? That letter is personal, very personal, if your reaction to it at the time was anything to go by. Of course I haven’t read the damned thing.’
She looked at him steadily. ‘I’d like to read it now.’
‘Okay,’ he shrugged, standing up. ‘I’ll go and get it.’
When he returned several minutes later with the long white envelope and handed it to her she took out the letter with shaking fingers. Here was proof, physical proof, that she and Jerard had been in love, that they had been lovers.
It was a long letter, and she sat down to read it, missing words in her haste and having to go back over parts of it on several occasions.
It was all there, all the love and anguish his mother had said he had felt when he wrote it. His wife was very ill, in and out of hospital for check-ups, tests, anything to see if there were anything that could be done to cure her. There wasn’t, and Jerard was forced to go back to living with her, to caring for her, because of Vicki mainly, but also because of Tina herself. She needed him, as she had never needed him before, and he felt honour bound to fulfil that need.
He went on to say how much he loved her, Velvet, but that if he left Tina now to take his own happiness it would destroy their love, for guilt would eat away at them both until there was nothing left of their love but bitterness.
He was right, Velvet could see that. But had she seen it then! Or had she simply married Anthony out of pique, because she couldn’t have Jerard?
There were tears in her eyes as she looked up at Simon, the letter read, the letter from a man passionately in love but denied coming to her. ‘Oh, Simon!’ she choked, going into his waiting arms to sob on his shoulder.
‘It will all work out, love,’ he soothed softly. ‘After all, you’re going to marry Jerard now.’
Yes, she was, and she was going to make him happy if it was the last thing she ever did.
CHAPTER NINE
JERARD was slightly late calling for Velvet that evening. ‘I called in to see how the children were,’ he explained.
The children! It made them sound like ‘theirs’ already.
She pulled down her skirt as he helped her into the car, very much aware of his hard gaze on the long length of thigh that had been visible for several seconds.
‘And how are they?’ she asked as he got in beside her.
‘Tony was already in Vicki’s old cot fast asleep, and Vicki had just announced her intention of going up to keep him company,’ he said dryly.
‘A likely story!’ she laughed.
She could look at Jerard with new eyes now, wished that he could once again be the man who had loved her so deeply he had told her to make a life without him because of his commitment to his sick wife. But that man seemed to be gone for ever, lost behind the harshness and disillusionment. And she had been the one to cause that! Maybe one day she would be able to convince him of her love—she certainly intended to try.
It was a good party, rather noisy, but everyone was in good spirits. It was the first opportunity Velvet had had to meet any of Jerard’s friends. There were several covetous looks given in his direction, but one woman was particularly insistent, and finally came over to them. Jerard introduced her as Marion Walsh.
Velvet didn’t like her on sight, didn’t like her husky way of talking, the way she laughed and joked with Jerard about things that left Velvet completely out of the conversation. Most of all she didn’t like the way the woman kept touching Jerard on the chest and arms as she talked. The truth of the matter was that she was just plain jealous!
She had a sapphire and diamond engagement ring that said Jerard belonged to her, and yet as the evening progressed and Jerard and Marion remained talking together she began to wonder whether that ring really meant anything to him, and whether a wedding ring would mean any more.
They finally left Marion Walsh to talk to some of Jerard’s other friends, although as
