buying them each a present Debra settled for a beautifully carved ivory box, and was annoyed when Liz let him give her a pair of gold filigree earrings set with tiny pearls and jade.
‘They’re not real,’ she said, when they got back to the villa and Debra tackled her about it.
‘That’s beside the point,’ argued Debra. ‘No girl accepts jewellery from a man unless he’s someone special.’
Liz’s blue eyes flashed. ‘Vane is special. He’s good to us, you can’t deny that. He’s the nicest, kindest person I’ve ever met.’
And no amount of arguing is going to make you change your mind, thought Debra, sighing inwardly and leaving the other girl to take a shower and rest before their evening meal.
Debra had not wanted to make a fuss in the shop over the jewellery, but she intended speaking to Vane about it all the same. He was giving Liz the wrong impression, whether intentionally or not.
He had said dinner would be ready about seven. At six-thirty she set out in search of him.
She found him on the verandah, eyes closed, though she felt sure he was not asleep. He had changed into a cream silk evening shirt and a pair of dark slacks, and was half sitting, half lying on a cane lounger cushioned with brilliant yellow pillows.
Deliberately making herself heard, Debra stood over him. ‘Mr Oliver, I want a word with you.’
No indication that he had heard.
‘I know you’re not asleep, so please don’t pretend you are!’
At the angry tone of her voice his lids flickered. ‘Fire away, I’m listening.’
‘Then look at me!’ snapped Debra, wondering if he was deliberately making things difficult for her.
‘I am looking,’ he said, and she realised that he was watching her through the thick fringe of his lashes.
There was a chair beside him and she sat down, feeling that she could talk more easily if they were on the same level. ‘Why did you buy Liz those earrings?’ she demanded.
‘Because she wanted them, isn’t that a good enough reason?’
She shook her head savagely. ‘I don’t agree. Jewellery is personal, usually only given to someone who’s close to you.’
A slow smile widened his lips, annoying her even more. ‘What a sweet old-fashioned thing you are! But it was a trinket, nothing more, something pretty that Liz fancied. Surely you’re not reading anything more into the gift?’
‘Knowing you, yes,’ she snapped.
Very gradually Vane hauled himself up so that he sat facing her. She was aware of muscles rippling beneath the smooth silk of the shirt, and became fascinated by the hidden power.
It was funny, she thought, she had always imagined dress designers to be dapper, effeminate men, nothing like this towering giant who could flatten her with one blow if he so chose.
‘What do you expect me to do?’ he snapped, features suddenly harsh. ‘Ignore the child? Pretend she doesn’t exist?’
‘Now you’re being stupid,’ she cried. ‘You know very well that’s not what 1 mean, but you could try treating her as though she were a child and not some sex object for whom you’ve developed a fancy.’
‘I don’t think she’d thank me for that.’ He pushed himself up and stood over her. ‘Liz doesn’t see herself as a child any longer, and neither do I. Maybe she was before her parents’ death, maybe she’s grown up quickly, I don’t know, but I do know that she would hate it if I patronised her.’
‘Mr Oliver,’ Debra suddenly made up her mind, ‘I don’t think this Hong Kong thing’s going to work out. I think we should go back to England now, before I begin the job, before I feel guilty at letting you down.’
‘And what do you think Liz would say to that?’ Eyes as hard as ice pierced her own.
‘I don’t suppose she’d like it,’ admitted Debra.
‘I know damn well she wouldn’t,’ he came back fiercely. ‘Think about it for a minute, Debra. This trip out here is the best thing that’s happened to her since the loss of her parents. By