Title: Darien's Mistress Author: Ashley E-mail: Nuriko56@hotmail.com Standard Disclaimer Apply THEY were all there--the Brodeys--gathered together in the beautiful gardens of their magnificent baroque palacio near Oporto. All of them had come to celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of the House of Brodey. This lunch party was the first in a week of festivities that would culminate in a grand ball, but today there were only about a hundred and fifty invited guests--and one gatecrasher. Those guests who had received official invitation were mostly in the wine trade: buyers from France, America, Britain, even as far away as Australia; local shippers; expert viniculturists from the Brodey bottling plant in Vila Nova de Gaia and from there many quintas in the Alto Douro. There was a preponderance of men in dark suits, the women mostly wives or daughters invited out of courtesy. The members of the family moved easily among them, working their way through the guests, their presence marked by the eddying circles of people around them. Perhaps the largest group was gathered around the head of the house, Andrew Lennox Brodey; Old Andrew, they called him, in his eighties now and his tall back a little stooped, but his eyes still bright with intelligence and enjoyment of life as he talked and laughed with his grandson and heir, also named Andrew, who ran the family business--or perhaps empire would be a better name for it, so wide were its interests now. A girl--a tall, slender blonde in a flamboyantly coloured outfit that stood out from the dark business suits like a flame tree--broke away from one of the groups and went to take a glass of iced white port from one of the waiters. She was followed by a man in his late twenties, equally tall, with lean features and figure, and an air of suave charm that could only denote a Frenchman. He said something to the girl and put a possessive hand on her shoulder, but she shook him off and went to talk to some guests who were looking a little lost, smiling with warmth and putting them immediately at ease. Her name was Mina de Vieira an she was old Andrew Brodey's granddaughter, and the man with her was a French count, rumoured to be her next husband. There were also other members of the family from the Madeiran branch of the company at the party, but it was these three--Old Andrew and his two grandchildren--that held the fixed attention of Serena Dean as she stood just inside one of the stone archways that led on to the terrace above the rich green lawns on which the guests stood. She knew so much about the Brodeys, had been studying then for the past two weeks, ever since she'd determined to gatecrash this party. There had been plenty of information about them, in the local Portuguese papers, of course, and in international magazines; Mina especially had figured in the latter, her spectacular marriage to an Italian price and her even more spectacular divorce having been grist to the mill for the gossip columnists and the even busier paparazzi. Serena watched her, envious of the bright trousersuit and even more so of the other girl's obviously innate air of self-confidence that could only come from never having to worry about money, from always having the best of everything. The best education, the best clothes--even the best men. The younger Andrew Brodey carried himself the same way, with the same slightly arrogant tilt to the chin that would have singled him out from the crowd even if he hasn't been so tall and fair-haired. All the Brodeys were fair because it was a tradition among them that they always married blonde women--their "English roses", as some romantically minded journalist had called them in an article Serena had read as part of her research into the family. Although she'd had no training, she had herself written a couple of articles for a magazine--light, female-oriented pieces--and her contact there, realising that Englishwoman might stand more chance than a local, had asked her to try and do an inside story on the Brodeys, especially young Andrew. Ordinarily Serena would have refused--such an invasion of privacy wasn't her scene--but circumstances had forced her to accept. The first reason was of course her almost complete lack of money; she had been out of a job for so long that she was already on the breadline and fast becoming desperate. The second was more personal. She remembered her contact, a junior editor, coming to see her and offering what seemed like a huge sum if she could close to Andrew, dig up some new gossip. "With your looks and your blonde hair," the man had said persuasively, "it will be easy for you. Just try to find out what goes on behind the public face they all show the world. There's no harm in it; they're used to publicity and love it even if they say they don't." Serena was shrewd enough to know that that probably wasn't true, and despite her poverty would have refused the assignment. But she had a grudge against the Brodeys. It was through them that she'd lost the job that had brought her to Portugal in the first place. Not that she'd ever come even close to meeting any of them, of course, she had been a very insignificant cog in the large business project of which the Brodeys Corporation was the principal financial investor. And it had been the Brodeys who had been the first to back out when the recession hit, making the other investors follow suit so that the project collapsed, leaving herself and all the other workers out of a job. It was her seething resentment at this uncaring ruthlessness that had finally overcome her scruples and misgivings and made her accept the on-results-only assignment. So she had gatecrashed the party, knowing it was her last chance. Her last desperate throw of the dice. It had been far easier to get into the palacio than she'd dared to hope; Serena had waited until there was a queue of cars at the gate and people had started to get out impatiently and walk down the driveway, then she had merely joined a small group and walked in with them, not even needing the sentence about joining her husband inside that she had carefully rehearsed in Portuguese in case she was asked to show her invitation. But now that she was here she had to think of a way of getting herself introduced to Andrew Brodey, hopefully in a way that would attract his attention. Once he'd noticed her and all she had to do was hold his attention long enough for him to get interested in her. If her luck changed. If he even bothered to look at her. Biting her lip, Serena determined to be positive. Taking deep breath, she walked down the terrace steps to join the party. A waiter came around the side of the house carrying a tray of filled glasses. Seeing Serena without drink, he paused so that she could take a glass. As she did so another hand, male, reached out from behind her to take one. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw a tall, broad shouldered man in a light-coloured suit. She went to walk on, but he said, "Hi, there. You look as if you might speak English." His accent immediately identified him as North American, from the States probably. Serena hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Do you have some kind of problem?" "Only that I don't speak Portuguese and I hardly know anyone here. I saw you standing over there, watching everyone, and figured you might be in the same boat." He held out his free hand and gave her an engaging grin. "The name's Seiya Gallagher." Again Serena hesitated; she didn't want to get stuck with the American, but on the other hand it might be useful to have a man in tow for a while. So she smiled in return and shook his hand. I'm Serena Dean." He gave her an appreciative glance, his eyes running over her slim, petite figure in silk suit it had cost her last penny to hire, and coming back to her face. Amusement came into his eyes as he saw that she raised a cool eyebrow, but he merely looked t his glass suspiciously and said, "What is this stuff?" "Don't you know? It's white port. The "in" aperitif all over Europe. I wouldn't know about the States. Is that where you're from?" "How'd you guess? Yeah, I'm from Wyoming." "Do they drink a lot of the port there? Are you a vintner?" "A wine-seller? Hell, no." "I thought everyone at this party was connected with the wine trade in some way," Serena remarked. But she was making small talk, her eyes going past Seiya, searching the crowd for Andrew Brodey. She saw him momentarily, crossing the lawn to speak to a red-haired woman who seemed to be connected with the caterers. After the woman had nodded and hurried away, he turned back to mingle again. Serena began to move in his direction. Seiya, following her, said, "No, I have a friend who works over here with a shipping company. He couldn't make it today so he gave me the invite. It's quite some party. Much bigger than I expected. Do you know these Brodeys?" She gave a casual shrug. "Everyone does. They're one of the leading families in Oporto. That's the head of the family, over there." She gestured towards old Mr. Brodey. "He's talking to one of his grandsons, Taiki Brodey, and his wife--the brunette, pregnant woman," she pointed. Looking at the couple, Serena felt a surge of wistful jealousy. They looked so happy together, were obviously deeply in love, the woman radiant in her pregnancy, the man opening solicitous for her welfare. Two of the lucky ones, not forever being knocked down by malignant fate until one was too punch-drink to dare to hope any more. She nodded to where Mina de Vieira stood among a small crowd of attentive men. "That's his granddaughter, in the flame-coloured outfit." Seiya followed her glance and she heard his sharp intake of breath. But that, she thought with some chagrin, was the kind of effect the other girl would always have on men. Drawing herself up, Serena fervently wished she was a foot taller, but then laughed rather scornfully at herself; no way was she ever going to grow so she had just better make the most of what she'd got. And her best assets, she knew, were her thick bell of blonde hair and a pair of large, long-lashed blue eyes set above a cute turned-up nose and a wide mouth. Not a beautiful face, but one that made people look twice, especially when she smiled or laughed, her whole face lighting up. Her figure, though unfashionably short in her own eyes, was also good enough to merit a second glance. "Do you live here in Portugal?" Seiya asked her as they walked on again. "Temporarily," Serena replied, in a tone that didn't encourage him to go on. "I know hardly anyone here so I'm afraid I can't introduce you." It was meant to put him off, to stop him asking more questions, to encourage him to go and find someone else, but Seiya said, "No more do I, so I guess we may as well stick with each other." They were in the centre of the throng of guests now, and Serena would have rather been on her own. If Seiya had known people, could have introduced her around, it would have been different, but she certainly didn't want him at her side the whole afternoon. Finishing her drink, she handed him the glass and said with a smile, "It's so hot; do you think you could find me another one of these? But with plenty of ice, please," she added so that it would take him longer. "Sure thing. Don't go away; I'll be right back." He moved toward the edge of the crowd, looking for a waiter. As soon as he was hidden from sight, Serena walked quickly to the part of the garden where she'd seen Andrew Brodey. As she did so another group, consisting wholly of men, broke up amid of laughter. One man turned away, a grin still on his face, and bumped into Serena. "Perdao!" the man exclaimed, putting out a hand to steady her. "Er…Nao tem de que." He laughed. "You're obviously not Portuguese." "Oh dear. Was it that bad?" Serena smiled, her eyes lighting up. "Ten out of ten for effort." "But not for pronunciation, I take?" Serena said ruefully. She glanced at his good-looking features under jet black hair, thinking that his face seemed vaguely familiar. "But you don't sound Portuguese either." "I'm bilingual," he admitted. "Comes of having a mother who's half Portuguese herself." Holding out his hand, he said, I'm Darien Brodey." Of course! That was where she'd seen his face before: in the articles that she'd studied. But as he wasn't in the direct family line Serena hadn't taken much notice of him. She tried to recall what she'd read and remembered that he had a reputation for being pretty wild in his youth. And he was still young, in his late twenties, she guessed, so maybe he still went in for fast cars, fast boats and fast women. But he might be useful. So Serena shook his hand and gave him one of her best smiles as she told him her name. "Serena. That's pretty. And unusual." His eyes went over her and he gave her the kind of smile that let her know he found her pretty and unusual, too. "I'm sure we haven't met before or I'd have remembered. But then, I'm not often in Portugal nowadays." She raised a questioning eyebrow and he explained, "it's my job to open up new markets for our wine, so I travel a lot." "Really? That sounds exciting. And from what I've heard you must be a great salesman," she said flattering. "You sell all over the world now, don't you?" "Not quite." He shrugged that off with a grin. "But I get around." He had an attractive smile, all crinkly and boyishness. It wasn't difficult to see how he'd got his reputation, with women anyway. "Where are you actually based?" she asked. "That's a difficult question. My parents live in Lisbon and I have a villa in Madeira, where I lived while I was learning the wine trade. But now I spend most of my time in New York because the American market is really taking off." "Oporto must be quite a come-down, then," Serena remarked, her interest caught. Darien shook his head. "No, I like New York, but Portugal is home." Turning, he nodded towards the house. "And this is where I live when I'm here- -with my grandfather and my cousin." Turning with him, Serena lifted her head to look at the palacio. It was so ornate, so beautiful. Two deep wings stood either side of a magnificent entrance topped by the Brodey coat of arms, reached by the fairytale staircases that branched on both sides. The walls were stark white but were relieved by the many windows toped with ornate stone pediments. There were statues on the gable-ends and huge pepper-pot chimneys on the roof, and the next to the left wings chapel that looked too delicate to hold the mass of columns and baroque stonework that covered it. And everything was so beautifully maintained, the gravel free of weeds, the box hedges of the parterres clipped to uniformity, the cherubs on the fountain in the lake sparkling in the sunlight. "It's quite a place," Serena said unsteadily, then added quickly, in case he guesses that she overawed, "But a perfect setting to celebrate a bicentennial, of course. Is you’re the oldest port company in the area?" she asked, already knowing the answer but wanting to keep him talking. "No, there are others that are much older. We're comparative newcomers. But you haven't got a drink." He looked round, saw a waiter, clicked his fingers, and the man immediately came over. Darien took one too, and sipped it as he said, "How come you got invited to the party?" "Ah, well…" Serena gave him a mischievous smile and put a delicately fingered hand on his sleeve as she leaned nearer to him. "You promise you won't give me away?" An amused look came into Darien's blue eyes. "I'm renowned for my discretion." Serena didn't believe that for a minute, but she said confidingly, "I wasn't really invited. A colleague couldn't come and passed on the invitation," she told him, borrowing Seiya Gallagher's excuse. "And as I hardly know anyone in Oporto I thought it would be nice to come along and perhaps meet some people who speak English." She smiled up at him. "And you see, it worked; I've met you for a start." "Well, I'm very glad you came. And where do you work in Oporto?" "Down in the commercial district," Serena said airily, adding quickly, "I suppose you know everyone here. Will you introduce me to a few people who speak English? Your family, perhaps?" Darien's mouth twisted a little wryly, as if he saw through her, but said, "Of course. Now, let see who's near." He looked round. Tall, but not exceptionally so, he was still able to see over the heads of the many Portuguese guests. "Ah, yes," he said. "This way." And, putting a hand under her elbow, he led her through the throng. Tapping a shoulder, murmuring, "Com licenca," he came up to where his cousin stood. But it was the wrong cousin. He'd brought her to Mina de Vieira, and Serena was angrily certain that he had done so deliberately. But even the wrong cousin was better than no cousin at all, Serena supposed, so she smiled as the two were introduced and looked at the other girl admiringly. You're so lucky to be tall, Miss Mina de Vieira. "Please, call me Mina. And I don't consider it an advantage. Think what a choice of men you have compared to me." They both laughed and looked at each other over. Serena guessed that they were about the same age--twenty-four--and they were both blonde, but there the similarity ended. Mina was the willow type, thin as a reed, and able to carry off expensive designer clothes with the elegance of a trained model. Her long hair was gathered on top of her head in a style that looked casual with loose strands framing her face, but must have taken a hairdresser an hour to do. She wore chunky costume jewellry round her neck and wrists, along with some breathtaking rings that could only be real. She'd married one rich, aristocratic husband and had another lined up. She was sleek and pampered and, on top of everything else, beautiful. With the great disadvantage of being short, Serena on the other hand had to be careful to wear clothes of soft shades, like the grey suit she'd hired for today; bright, jazzy colours made her look ridiculous. The same went for her hair; it had to be smooth and fairly short otherwise it looked plain untidy. And if she hadn't already sold what jewellry she had, she could never have worn anything that wasn't simple and small. and as for men--well, that was about par for the course where her life was concerned. As Serena looked at Mina she knew she ought to hate her, but she was disarmed by the rich girl's warmth and friendliness. "Serena doesn't speak Portuguese very well and doesn't know anyone her," Darien explained. "So I've taken her under my wing." His cousin flicked him an amused, speculative look. "Didn't you bring her?" Darien returned the look, then glanced at the Count. "No, I hadn't anyone I cared to invite. We met quite by chance." "How fortunate for you," Mina said with irony. Serena realised they were sparring with one another, that they knew each other well enough to tease about their private lives. Mina's French Count realised it too, because he put a possessive hand on her arm. "The buffet is about to be served. Where do you wish to sit?" he spoke in French and Mina answered him in the same language. "If you're hungry, then go and eat. I'll come when I'm ready." And there, Serena thought sardonically, lies the greatest difference between us. She can dismiss a man, who obviously dotes on her, almost rudely, while I must scheme and flatter just to try to get an introduction to a man who might not even like me. But it acted as further goad, and Serena put herself out to be as warm and vivacious as Mina, making conversation with them for the next minutes or so as if she were used to moving in such elite circles, being as witty as she knew how, and letting her personality make up for the inequalities between them. She told a couple of anecdotes in a droll way that made Darien and Mina laugh in genuine amusement, Darien deep, masculine tones drawing the attention of several people around them. Serena hopped it would draw his other cousin over, because the lawn was starting to clear now at the guests moved towards the other side of the house where tables had been set out for lunch. The Count had waited for Mina despite her rebuff, but now she took pity on him. "I suppose we'd better go and eat. Serena, you will come and sit with us, won't you?" She looked round. "Now, where's Andrew?" Thanking her stars that things seemed to be going right at last, Serena smiled and acceptance of the invitation and began to stroll along with them. Andrew Brodey glanced round from the group he was with and crossed to join them. His eyes flicked to Serena, but then he looked at Mina and said, "Remember Grandfather wants us to split up." Mina pouted. "Do we have to? I've seen you or Darien for simply ages. I'd much rather sit with you both." Andrew gave her an indulgent look. "We can catch up on all our news over dinner tonight." "But Grandfather will be there, and you can't really talk when he's listening. The dear old darling gets so upset sometimes if you tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Not to mention the parents," she added with feeling. "You shouldn't lead such a wild life," Andrew told her, but he was smiling as he said it, just as everyone seemed to smile at Mina. "All right, we'll split up." Turning towards Serena, Mina said, I'm so sorry, Serena. Now you'll have to put up with Darien. How boring for you." "Hey!" Darien protested in an injured tone. Andrew laughed and looked at Serena. "I don't think we've met." Serena gave a great sigh of relief and pleasure and prepared to be devastating. But just as that moment Seiya Gallagher strolled up to them. "Serena! So there you are. I'm afraid of the ice in your drink melted so I drank it myself." He looked round the group, all of them regarding him with different expressions, and said a genial, "Hi there." If Serena had been capable of mental annihilation he would have disappeared into dust. Couldn't the stupid man see that he wasn't wanted, for heaven's sake? But he just stood there, grinning amiably, expecting her to welcome him back. She sensed Andrew's withdrawal and said quickly, desperately trying to retrieve the situation, "This is Mr--er--I'm sorry, I can’t remember your name. One of your other guests," she said to Andrew, with a look that disowned Seiya quietly. "It's Gallagher. Seiya Gallagher." Seiya held out his hand to Andrew and Darien, then to Mina. "I guess you're the beautiful Mina that I've heard about." "I guess I must be, at that," Mina agreed, giving him an amused, mischievous look. "Have you been looking for Serena?" "Yeah. I went to get her a drink but she kind of disappeared. Found someone else to talk to, I guess." Darien gave Serena a wry smile. "Sorry, I didn't intend to tread on anyone's toes." Still fighting valiantly, Serena gave him a sparkling smile and said, referring to the way he'd bumped into her, "The only toes you--nearly--trod on were mine." But it wasn't enough. He smiled in appreciation of her wit, but clapped Andrew on the shoulder and said, "OK, if we have to split up, let's go." And the two cousins walked off together. If there had been a cliff handy Serena would have thrown herself over it. Just why was it, she wondered bitterly, that everything always went wrong for her? Just what had she done to make some cruel fate decree that every time she took one step forward she could guarantee to be knocked back to the end of the street? And just why had that same fate provided a man s thick-headed as Seiya Gallagher to cross her path today of all days? Serena was good as hiding her feelings, knowing that all people wanted to see was a pretty, animated face. People had enough problems of their own without being bothered by those of a total stranger. She tried to hide them as she realised that there was nothing now to stay for; she might as well leave. But perhaps Mina noticed, because after looking at her she said, "But we don't have to split up. Come and sit with Michel and me, Serena. And you too, of course, Mr. Gallagher." "Sure thing." Seiya put a hand on Serena's arm and began to walk along with them. She shook himoff, much as Mina had shaken off the Count earlier, and gave him a look of cold dislike. But Seiya seemed immune to that too, merely giving her a lazy grin as he strode along, making her have to hurry to keep up. Serena felt dwarfed by the three of them and was glad when they found one of the large circular tables with some spare seats. But there were other people already there so she and Seiya had to sit on the opposite side to Mina and Michel. At the last guests came into the garden to take their seats, she saw that the caterer, watched by Andrew, was hastily ordering a waiter to lay an extra place at another table. So now the Brodeys would know that they had an uninvited guest. Just great! A trio was playing in the background, the food on the buffet was out of this world, but all Serena could hear was Andrew's voice asking Darien to introduce her, and all she could taste was chagrin at the way Seiya had butted in before he could do so. The table was too wide to walk across it to Mina; the man on Serena's other side was Portuguese and his English wasn't very good. Seiya chatted to her, but she was so angry with him that at first she didn't answer. He glance at her from long-lashed blue eyes, then concentrated on his food. As to be expected at the party given by the wine company, there were three wine glasses and a champagne flute in front of each guest. Waiters came to fill them with each course but it took a couple of glasses before Serena's bitterness melted away and she thought, What the hell? Tomorrow can go hang, just like all the other tomorrows that have come and gone. I'm here so I might as well make the best of it. Turning to Seiya, she said, "Sorry." "Did I mess something up?" she gave a wry laugh. "Not really." Then she sighed. "No, there was nothing to mess up." She smiled at him. "Why don't you tell me about America?" "America is a big country to talk about. Have you ever been there?" "A couple of times, when I was a young child, to Disneyland for holidays. But I haven't been to--where did you say you came from? Wyoming, wasn't it?" "Isn't that cowboy country?" "I guess you could call it that. There are certainly a lot of cattle ranges there." He began to tell her about it and she listened, at first politely, but then with growing interest. Seiya had a way with words, could use them to paint a picture in her mind. He was amusing, too, so that for a while she forgot her troubles and lived in his world, which seemed infinitely preferable to her own. But then, few were not. She laughed at Seiya's description of a rodeo he had attended once and, feeling herself watched, glanced across the table. The Count and the other man beside Mina were both momentarily occupied by the people on their other sides. She had her eyes fixed on Serena and Seiya, her head slightly tilted as she contemplated them and listened to Seiya's deep tones. When Serena looked at Mina raised a suggestive eyebrow towards Seiya, the question clear. Serena shook her head the slightest fraction, letting her know she wasn't interested. Although she could have been, could have really enjoyed Seiya's company, if he hadn't shot her ploy to pieces. Even though he was good-looking and a pleasant lunch companion, she didn't think she'd ever forgive him for that. It had meant so much--this last, desperate chance to earn some money. Lunch cane to an end; people began to get to their feet, to talk in clusters again for a while as they drank a last glass of port, deep amber- coloured this time, then drift towards one or another of their hosts to say goodbye before leaving. A feeling of fatalism stole over Serena: she had absolutely no idea how she was going to get out of the mess she was in. she had given it her best shot but it hadn't worked, thanks to Seiya. Excusing herself, she went in search of the ladies' room, and found that a downstairs cloakroom in the house had been set aside for the purpose. Even the cloakroom took her breath away. There were beautifully draped curtains at the window, ornamental French hand-basins with gold taps, a dozen bottles of god perfume and hand lotion for the guest's use. How the other half lived, Serena thought with irony, remembering the shabby, antiquated bathroom she had to share with a dozen others, and that covertly. By nature fastidious, she thought that that was perhaps the most difficult thing to bear. She washed her hands and applied fresh lipstick, helped herself to a liberal application of perfume and went out, down the long, cool, blue-tiled corridor, into the sun again. The brilliant light dazzled her, so Serena stood for a moment in the doorways, letting her eyes adjust. She made an unknowingly attractive picture, framed by an arch of deep yellow roses that climbed the wall, and drew the eyes of several people still in the garden. Mina was there, holding on to her cousin Darien's arm, almost as tall as he, and laughing at something he'd said. And Andrew Brodey was overseeing the distribution of glases of vintage port, mainly to the male guests. He had just given a glass to Seiya, who saw Serena and walked to meet her as she came into the garden. Seiya smiled, then got a whiff of her perfume. He leaned nearer, his nose close to the delicate column of her neck, and murmured, "Hey, you smell terrific." In that instant an idea leapt into Serena's mind. There was no time to think about whether it was right or what the outcome might be. It was a chance and she immediately took it. Raising her hand, she gave Seiya a hard, loud slap across the face. He jerked in surprise, the hand holding his glass coming up in automatic defence, the contents flying out. But he had no chance to say anything because Serena exclaimed in well-stimulated anger, "How dare you? You can take your disgusting suggestion and--and just go jump in that lake!" she cried out, and pointed dramatically. As she'd hoped, everyone within earshot turned to look. For a moment there was a stunned silence, then everyone seemed to move and speak at once. Seiya exclaimed, "What the hell…?" but she ran in a few steps away from him, in the direction of Andrew who had started towards her. He strode up to Seiya, got between him and Serena, and aid in a voice that was colder than ice, "My cousin will escort you to the gate." And he beckoned Darien over. "Now just a minute here, I--" Seiya began angrily. But Darien put a hand under his elbow. "It's this way." Seiya was bigger than he was, in both height and breadth, and could probably have pushed Darien away, but he looked across at Serena who was standing near Andrew. For a second their eyes met and he must have realised what game she was playing. He hesitated, then, seeing the tense pleading in her blue eyes, he gave an angry, resigned kind of shrug and let Darien lead him away. Mina watched them go, a frown between her eyes, then came over to Serena. Perhaps you'd better come inside with me." "Thank you, but if I could just wait a while until he's gone," Serena said in a distresses voice. "But your suit," Mina said, pointing. Serena looked down and saw that Seiya's port had spilled all down her. She gave a genuine wail of anguish. "Oh, no!" "Come into the house. I'm sure we can save it if we do something quickly." Andrew added his voice. "Yes, please go inside, Miss--er--?" "Serena Dean," Serena said abstractedly, still looking down at her skirt and wondering how on earth she was going to explain this to the shop she'd hired it from. Mina led her inside the house again and up to a bedroom where Serena slipped out of the suit and it was rushed away by a maid, who pulled a pessimistic face when she saw the stained silk. There was a towelling robe hanging in the next-door bathroom. Bringing it for her to put on, Mina said, "Will you excuse me, Serena? I must go and help say goodbye to the guests. I'll be back as soon as I can." "Yes, of course. I'm sorry to be a nuisance." "Nonsense. It wasn't your fault." Mina smiled and hurried away, leaving Serena to realised that she'd got the introduction to Andrew she'd so much wanted, but had had no opportunity to follow it up. It had all been wasted. She'd used poor Seiya for nothing. It was a desperate ploy that had seemed a good idea at the time, but just hadn't worked. The way most of the ideas she had nowadays never seemed to work out. And if the suit was ruined, then she was even worse off than when she'd started. That didn't bear thinking about so Serena resolutely pushed it out of her mind. She caught a glimpse of herself in a full-length antique mirror. The robe was much too big, completely hiding her hands and falling to her feet, looking ridiculous with her high heels. She kicked off her shoes, feeling a mad urge to break into hysterical laughter. It was that or cry. Pulling the robe round her, she sat on the edge of the four-poster bed and fought back tears. Please, please, she thought fiercely, let something go right for a change. Just for once let go right. There was a knock on the door and Mina came in. "The guests have all left and my grandfather had gone up to his room to rest." She hesitated for a moment, then said, "We haven't told him what happened. We didn't want to upset him. He hasn't been very well recently, you see." "Oh, I'm sorry. He looks all right," Serena remarked. "Oh, yes. It's his blood-pressure. Arranging all these festivities for the bicentennial has been a bit much for him. Andrew had tried to take as much of the organisation on himself as he can, but Grandpa has insisted on knowing every detail. It would be a shame if this--incident spoilt things for him on the first day." "I'm very sorry," Serena said, guilt making her voice stiff. Mina mistook the nuance in her voice and sat down on the bed beside her. "Oh, dear, I didn't mean it that way. I'm so sorry, Serena. The stupid men! Why don't they ever learn? You only have to smile at them and be friendly and they immediately think you're willing to leap into bed with them. And Seiya seemed OK, too. Just shows you how mistaken you can be." Serena could only manage a stilted smile at that, and quickly changed the subject. "I don't know how I'm going to get home. Would it be OK to wait here until my suit's dry?" "Of course. But you can't possibly spend the whole of the afternoon in here." Mina laughed. I'd lend you something of mine, but you'd be swamped in it. But I'll see what I can arrange." She stood up. "Andrew wants to speak to you. He's downstairs." And she headed for the door. Serena stared at her. "What about?" The taller girl shrugged, laughed. "He didn't tell me. He never does. Come and see." Serena got uncertainly to her feet and gestured to the bathrobe. "Like this? I can't possibly." "Of course you can. Andrew won't care." With a sigh, Serena followed her. She'd wanted to make an impression on the heir to the House of Brodey, but this definitely wasn't what she intended. Andrew was waiting in a sitting-room looking out over the lawn where the tables were being cleared. Darien was with him. They stood up when the two girls came in. when they saw Serena in the over-sized robe, just her bare feet with pink-painted toes sticking out from under it, neither could resist a grin. She laughed and put her arms as she twirled round. "The latest creation from Paris," she joked. Stepping forward, Andrew took her hand and said, "Miss Serena, I'd like to apologise to you on behalf of my family. We're all extremely sorry that such a thing happened here." There was true regret in his tone, making Serena flush. Something made her glance towards Darien; he was watching them with a faintly mocking curl to his lip, and she immediately knew that she might have deceived Andrew but not Darien. Trying to put things as right as possible, she said lightly, "Oh, please, don't apologise. I probably over-reacted. After all, I had been sitting next to Mr. Gallagher during lunch, and--well, in a way I suppose it's your fault really--you do serve excellent wine!" Everyone laughed, even Darien eyebrows rising in surprise, and the tension was immediately eased. "And such a lot of it," Mina agreed. "You're being extremely good about it," Andrew said, his lean features breaking into a warm smile. "But you must let us make it up to you. Perhaps we could--" But Mina broke in, "I know; you must join us for dinner tonight!" Andrew looked momentarily taken aback, but recovered quickly and smiled. "Of course. Won't you join us for dinner, Miss Dean?" "It was what Serena had hopped and longed for, but she immediately protested, "Oh, but I couldn't. I--" "But you must," Mina broke in. "We need someone to liven us up. Darien, come and persuade Darien to stay," she commended imperiously. But Darien said, "It will be dull with all the family there." "That's why she must come. Serena, please say you will." Pushing Darien's obvious reluctance out of her mind, Serena laughed and indicated the bathrobe. "But how can I possibly?" "Oh, that's easily solved. I'll bring a boutique in the town and tell them to bring up a selection of gowns for you to choose from. They should be here before too long," Mina said with all the confidence of a girl who only had to lift a phone to always get what she wanted. "Now, you don't have any excuse, so please say that you'll stay." But Serena looked at Darien for reassurance, saying, I'm sure you really don't want an outsider at a family party." She got what she wanted. "There will be no others there beside ourselves. And you'll be very welcome, Miss Dean." Giving him one of her best smiles, she said, "Well, if you're sure…" "Quite sure. It will be a great pleasure." "Then I'd love to stay. But only--" she gave him a sparkling, playful look "--if you'll promise to call me Serena and not Miss Dean." She imitated his deep voice, making Andrew laugh. "It's a bargain. I'll go and tell the caterer to change the table setting." "And I'll ring the boutique." Andrew went out and Mina went over to the phone, but glanced at Serena and Darien and then said, "The is in my address book upstairs. Will you excuse me while I go and make the call?" and she hurried away. Not wanting to be left alone with Darien, Serena said, "I'll wait upstairs." She went to follow Mina out of the room, but got caught up in the skirt of the robe and had to hitch it up. As she made for the door, Darien said, "You're wasting you time, Serena." Pretending not to understand, she said over her shoulder, "See you later." But Darien said sharply, "You won't catch Andrew." She stopped, closed the door, which she had half opened, and turned to face him, leaning against it. "I don't know what you mean." Darien laughed unpleasantly, "You know exactly what I mean. Andrew fell for your trick, but he's much too clever not too see through you eventually-- even if no one tells him." He had jumped to the wrong conclusion, but it was impossible to tell him the truth; he would only have her thrown out that much more quickly if he knew she was trying to get a story on his cousin. "Are you--are you threatening me?" she said unsteadily, the future looking a long, empty prospect again. "No." Darien straightened up from the arm of the settee on which he'd been sitting and came over to her. "Just warning you that you'll be wasting your time." Serena thought of bluffing it out, but one look into Darien's eyes told her it would be no use. She didn't admit anything, but instead raised large, pleading eyes to his. "Things have been tough for me lately. You wouldn't begin to understand…" Her fists clenched. "I--I deserve a break." She broke off, her voice unsteady. Darien mouth twisted sardonically, and she didn't think that she'd got through to him at all. But he amazed her by giving a shrug and saying, "If you want to make a play for my cousin, then go ahead. Try your luck. But you'll be disappointed." "You mean you'll tell him anyway," she said bitterly. Slowly Darien shook his head. "No, I won't tell him." Her eyes widened. "But you said… Why won't you tell him?" "I won't need to." He put a hand under her chin. "And maybe it will amuse me to watch you try." She stared at him, realising that he was playing with her. Her chin came up. "All right--so watch." Then she turned and walked out of the room with as much dignity as bare feet and a bathrobe could give her--which wasn't much.