Kitabı oku: «His Brother's Son»

CHAPTER ONE

IT STILL wasn’t too late to change her mind. All she had to do was ask the taxi-driver to take her back to the airport. She might be able to catch an earlier flight back to London and…

And what? The situation hadn’t changed. She was in exactly the same position as she had been in that morning when she’d set out to Mallorca. No matter how much the idea terrified her she had to accept that she needed Felipe Valdez’s help.

‘Senñorita?’

Rebecca Williams started when the taxi-driver turned to her. She looked up in surprise, feeling her stomach churn with nerves when she realised they had stopped. Her grey eyes widened as she looked out of the window and got her first glimpse of the Clinica Valdez.

It was so much bigger than she’d expected. Maybe it was the word ‘clinic’ that had misled her because she’d never imagined it would be so imposing. As her gaze swept over the elegant, whitewashed building set in the midst of several acres of manicured lawns she could feel her heart racing.

Antonio had told her that his brother had founded the clinic two years previously, but she hadn’t realised before exactly what an achievement that had been. Just raising the finance for such a venture must have needed a great deal of determination, plus a ruthless will to succeed. Added to what she already knew about Felipe Valdez, it wasn’t encouraging.

Was he really the kind of man who would be prepared to help her financially without expecting something in return?

Becky bit her lip as a wave of panic threatened to engulf her. She could be making a big mistake…a huge mistake…if she went in there and asked to see Valdez when she had no idea how he would react to what she had to tell him. Announcing that his brother had had a son would be bound to come as a shock to him. Then there were the circumstances surrounding Josh’s birth.

Whilst Felipe Valdez might accept that his brother had been right to protect his unborn child, would he approve of her role in the baby’s life? What if he decided to use his money and influence to take Josh away from her?

It might not be enough that she was Josh’s legal guardian. The courts would need to take account of all sorts of issues if there was a battle for custody. She barely earned enough to meet their bills, and the fact that she had needed to return to full-time work at St Leonard’s Hospital might also go against her. What chance would she really have of keeping the little boy when she wasn’t his natural mother…?

‘Senñorita! Por favor!’

Becky jumped when the taxi driver spoke sharply to her. It was obvious that he was impatient for her to get out so that he could find another fare. She quickly pulled some money out of her bag and paid him, thinking that she may as well get out now that she was here.

She just needed a little more time to think everything through properly. She couldn’t afford to make a mistake. She had to be sure that she was making the right decision—for Josh’s sake.

Felipe Valdez sighed as he got up from his desk. He’d spent the best part of the morning dealing with paperwork. It was an aspect of his job which he particularly loathed but there was no way to avoid it.

As director of the Clinica Valdez, his say-so was needed before any decisions could be taken. Oh, he had some excellent people working for him, but he preferred to keep his finger very firmly on the pulse. He knew that his staff considered him to be something of a control freak, but they didn’t understand. The Clinica Valdez was not only his greatest achievement—it was the main focus of his life. He had worked too hard and made too many sacrifices to take a chance on anything going wrong.

A frown drew his thick, black brows together because that thought had caused him more than a little pain. He tried not to think about the mistakes he had made in his life, but sometimes it wasn’t easy to block them out. Now, as he looked out of the window at the sunlit grounds of the private hospital, he felt a familiar ache settle in his heart as he thought about his brother Antonio.

If he hadn’t been so busy opening the clinic, he might have realised that something was wrong with Antonio. Maybe he would have been able to make his brother understand that he had to continue to receive proper medical care. Antonio should never have been allowed to leave hospital when he’d been so ill. With the right kind of treatment he could have lived for another six months at least.

Not that he blamed Antonio, of course. He had been too ill to realise what he’d been doing, too ill and too much under the influence of that woman. No, if anyone was to blame for Antonio’s premature death, it was Rebecca Williams!

Felipe’s mouth thinned. With his austerely handsome features he looked even more forbidding as he stared out of the window. He tried not to think about Rebecca Williams very often because it was pointless getting upset. However, sometimes he found himself wishing that he’d gone to see her in London after Antonio’s funeral and told her exactly what he thought about her.

Only close family and friends had attended the service in Mallorca. Rebecca Williams certainly hadn’t been invited so they’d never met. He had seen a photograph of her, however, and even though he’d torn it up he could still recall every detail, from the long blonde hair falling softly around her oval face to those huge grey eyes. She had looked like every man’s vision of a ministering angel, but he knew how misleading appearances could be. Was it any wonder that poor Antonio had been deceived?

A woman suddenly walked along the path beneath his window and Felipe blinked. Just for a moment he felt his mind spin as he stared at her. Her blonde hair was caught up into a knot on the top of her head and her face was in profile, but there was something strangely familiar about her…

His heart began to pound as he turned and strode to the door. He wrenched it open, startling his secretary who had been about to knock. Felipe shook his head when she opened her mouth to speak.

‘Later!’ he ordered in a tone that brooked no argument.

He hurried into the corridor, taking the stairs two at a time as he raced down to the ground floor. There was a queue of people in Reception but he didn’t pause as he made his way to the entrance. His heart was pounding, the blood drumming painfully in his ears, the need to check if he’d been right urging him on. If it had been Rebecca Williams walking past his window just now then, by God, he didn’t intend to let her escape!

She was sitting on a bench outside the main doors. Felipe ground to a halt, feeling his breath coming in laboured spurts. There was something almost tragic about the way she sat there so still, so alone. When a wisp of pale blonde hair blew across her face, he was shocked when he saw how her hand trembled as she tucked it behind her ear.

He was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of compassion that stunned him because it was the last thing he’d expected to feel if they ever met. She looked so sad, so lonely, so deeply unhappy that his heart was immediately touched before he forced himself to remember who and what she was.

This was the woman who had hastened Antonio’s death because of her own greed for his money. Did he really have any sympathy to spare for someone like her?

He must have made some small sound of disgust because she suddenly glanced round and he saw the colour drain from her face. She rose to her feet and he could see the tremor that passed through her slender body and was pleased. He had no idea why she had come to see him but it didn’t really matter. It was enough that he would have the chance to tell her what he thought of her at last.

‘You’re Antonio’s brother, aren’t you?’

Her voice was low and surprisingly sweet. He frowned because it surprised him that he should have noticed a thing like that.

‘I am Felipe Valdez,’ he said harshly, and saw her flinch. He took a few quick steps and stopped in front of her, surprised once again when he realised how tiny she was. For some reason he’d imagined that she would be much taller and far less fragile-looking, so it threw him off balance for a moment to realise that the image he’d formed of her hadn’t been wholly accurate.

‘You probably don’t know who I am,’ she began in that low, sweet voice, but he curtly interrupted her, irritated that his mind should start running off at tangents at a time like this.

‘You’re Rebecca Williams. My brother’s girlfriend, for want of a better description.’ He smiled thinly when he saw her surprise. ‘Antonio sent me a photograph of you. He said that he wanted me to see the most important person in his life.’

‘I didn’t know…He never told me…’ Her grey eyes filled with tears and she turned away while she hunted a tissue out of her bag.

Felipe’s hands clenched because the urge to touch her then was so very strong. It shocked him to the depths of his being that he should feel such a need to comfort her, shocked and angered him because wasn’t it an indication of her power? If he could be manipulated like this, how much easier must it have been for her to persuade Antonio to do what she’d wanted?

The thought was just what he needed. Placing his hand under her elbow, he briskly steered her away from the main entrance, ignoring her murmured protest as he led her along the path until they reached a sheltered spot well away from any prying eyes. He had no idea what she wanted but he preferred to keep their dealings private if possible.

He had never spoken of his feelings about this woman to anyone, and certainly hadn’t shared the contempt he felt for her with any of his colleagues. He preferred to keep his own counsel when something affected him deeply. Only once in his life had he ever opened his heart to anyone, and look how badly that had turned out.

He was surprised when that thought crossed his mind because it had been years since he’d thought about his engagement to Teresa and how it had ended. He had no time to dwell on it, however, as Rebecca Williams wrenched her arm out of his grasp. There was a touch of colour in her face and a glint in her grey eyes that told him she was angry about the way he’d behaved towards her, but she had forfeited her right to be treated with courtesy after what she had done to Antonio.

‘I don’t know what you think you’re doing—’ she began hotly, but he brusquely interrupted her once more.

‘What precisely do you want, Miss Williams?’ He smiled sardonically when she fell silent and stared warily at him. ‘You must have had a reason for coming here, so why don’t you tell me what it is? What is that wonderful phrase you use in England? Ah, yes, beating about the bush. I can see no point in us beating about the bush. Sí?’

‘Who said that I wanted anything?’ She walked a little way across the grass then turned to face him. ‘I might have come here purely and simply because I wanted to meet you.’

‘You might, but I don’t think so.’ Felipe folded his arms and studied her closely, knowing that all the contempt he felt must be clear to see in his sherry-brown eyes.

She was beautiful, all right, with that silky, pale hair, those delicate features, that air of innocence, but he wasn’t fool enough to be taken in. Rebecca Williams was a cold-hearted, mercenary gold-digger, and it broke his heart to know that his brother had fallen into her clutches when he’d been at his most vulnerable.

Anger burned hotly inside him but he’d learned a long time ago how to use it to its best effect. He continued to study her, watching the play of emotions that crossed her face before her head suddenly bowed. When she spoke this time her voice echoed with a pain that sounded almost real—if he’d been foolish enough to believe that a woman like her was capable of any genuine emotions.

‘You hate me, don’t you? I can hear it in your voice, see it in your eyes.’

She suddenly looked up and Felipe felt his stomach clench when he saw the bewilderment in her beautiful grey eyes. ‘Why? I don’t understand why you should feel like that. I’ve never done anything to hurt you. We hadn’t even met until today. So why do you…you loathe me like this?’

‘Why do you think, Miss Williams? The answer isn’t all that difficult, surely?’

He closed his mind to the swift stab of guilt that had speared through him. Rebecca Williams was a consummate actress. She must be if she’d managed to fool Antonio for all that time. How long had it been that she and his brother had lived together?

He was rather hazy about the details because it had been a while before Antonio had written to tell him the address where he was staying in England, and even then all he’d said in the letter had been that he’d met someone and that they were living together in London. Felipe hadn’t heard from him again for many months, not until after Antonio had signed himself out of hospital after refusing further treatment. By the time that letter had reached him, his brother had been dead.

‘Because of Antonio, you mean? But why? I don’t understand. I never did anything to harm your brother. All I ever wanted was to help him!’

He pushed the memory to the back of his mind because he couldn’t deal with it right then. Rebecca Williams was staring at him, and if he’d been gullible enough he might have believed that she really was as shocked as she was making herself out to be.

‘Really? How touching.’ He treated her to a contemptuous smile and saw her flinch. ‘So you had Antonio’s welfare at heart, did you?’

‘Of course! I don’t know why you need to ask me that. Everything I did was aimed purely and simply at making his life more…more bearable.’

Her voice broke and she looked away. Felipe’s hands clenched because he wasn’t sure if he wanted to shake her or hug her at that moment. She’d sounded so sincere and yet how could he believe a word she said when he had indisputable evidence to the contrary?

It shocked him that he should feel this strange mixture of emotions when the situation was so clear cut. He knew what she’d done so maybe it was time he let her know that rather than allow the situation to turn into a complete farce.

‘And the fact that you managed to greatly improve the quality of your own life was your reward for making my brother’s last few weeks on this earth bearable? Is that what you are saying, Miss Williams?’

‘I don’t know what you mean…’ she began, then suddenly stopped. He saw her take a deep breath that made her small breasts rise and fall beneath the soft cotton of her blue dress, but her voice sounded strangely thin when she continued, as though the accusation had sucked all the strength out of her. Maybe it was difficult to be forced to admit the truth, even for a woman like her.

‘You’re talking about Antonio’s will, aren’t you? And the fact that he left me all that money?’

Becky could feel the tremor that was working its way through her body but she made herself stand rigidly still. Felipe Valdez was watching her and the contempt in his eyes should have hurt or angered her, but in a funny sort of way she suddenly felt detached from what was happening. It was as though she had stepped outside herself and was watching the scene that was being played out in the sunlit grounds of the hospital.

There she stood in her best dress—the one she had chosen especially because she’d hoped it would make the right impression—and there was Felipe standing so tall and straight, his mouth curled into that arrogant smile which a moment ago had seemed to chill her soul.

She found herself wondering what would happen if she blinked—if she would open her eyes and find herself back in the flat in London, waking to the sound of Josh’s noisy shouts as he clamoured for her to lift him out of his cot…

She closed her eyes then opened them again, but the scene was just the same. The only difference was that Felipe was now speaking. It was an effort to make sense of what he was saying.

‘I see we have made a breakthrough at last. This reluctance to talk about money is so very English. But why pretend that it means nothing when we both know that it is the driving force behind so much that people do?’

He shrugged, his broad shoulders moving lightly beneath the fine wool of his dark grey suit. It was obviously expensive, Becky thought inconsequentially, because it fitted him to perfection, the jacket tailored to accommodate the width of his shoulders and chest, the trimness of his waist.

Her gaze swept lower, taking stock of the long trouser-clad legs, the polished black shoes on his feet. They were handmade, from the look of them, and cut from the softest leather—luxurious, costly. Felipe Valdez obviously saw no reason not to indulge himself and yet he’d seen fit to query what Antonio had done with his inheritance, to question whether his brother had had the right to spend it as he’d wished. Was that what all this antagonism was about—money?

Her eyes rose to his face and she made no attempt to hide her scorn. ‘Your brother knew exactly what he wanted to do with his inheritance, Dr Valdez. It was his decision.’

‘And you’re prepared to swear that you didn’t try to influence him in any way? That you didn’t take advantage of the fact that he was sick? That you never, ever, thought to yourself how wonderful it would be to have all that money at your disposal?’

He laughed when she gasped, deliberately closing his mind to how shocked she looked because he didn’t want to have to consider whether or not he was hurting her. ‘Or that it would be so much better if Antonio died sooner rather than later so that you wouldn’t have to wait quite so long to get your hands on it?’

‘No! I can’t believe you’re saying such things. I never wanted Antonio’s money! I never tried to influence him to name me in his will. It was his decision, and his alone!’

Becky could feel the bile rushing into her throat and turned away when she realised that she was going to be sick. Stumbling to the flower-bed, she bent over and retched, but she’d had nothing to eat since the previous night so her stomach was mercifully empty.

‘Here.’

A tanned hand suddenly appeared, offering her a clean white handkerchief, but she shook her head. She wanted nothing from this man, nothing at all. What a fool she’d been to consider asking him for help. Hadn’t Antonio told her that everything had to be on Felipe’s terms, that he always had to be in control? Was she really prepared to run the risk of him taking charge of Josh, taking Josh away from her?

The thought steadied her and she stood up straight. Felipe Valdez was watching her and she saw the oddest expression cross his face before the mask of indifference slid back into place.

‘Are you feeling better?’

‘I’m fine.’ She turned and walked towards the path, but he stepped in front of her, putting out a detaining hand when she tried to step around him.

Becky shivered when she felt his cool fingers fastening around her wrist, but she refused to let him think she was afraid by snatching her hand away. She looked up at him with steady eyes and was surprised when she saw a thin line of colour run along his angular cheekbones.

‘It would be better if you came into the clinic and rested for a while,’ he said shortly.

‘I’m fine,’ she repeated. She tilted her head so that she could look him straight in the eyes. ‘Thank you for the offer, but I have a plane to catch. I shall go straight to the airport. I apologise for disrupting your morning, Dr Valdez.’

She gently withdrew her arm and this time he made no attempt to stop her. Becky walked back along the path and she could feel him watching her every step of the way. She paused when she reached the corner, but the desire to look back was too strong to resist.

He was standing exactly where she’d left him and she felt her heart curl up when she saw the expression on his face. Even from that distance she could see the contempt in his eyes, the disdain.

Her eyes filled with tears but she refused to let him see that he’d upset her. She raised her hand in a mocking salute then carried on, waiting until she was out of sight before finding a tissue and wiping her eyes.

As luck would have it there was a taxi dropping off a fare outside the clinic. Becky flagged it down and asked the driver to take her to the airport. She caught a glimpse of Felipe Valdez as the taxi headed back down the drive, and quickly averted her eyes when he glanced her way.

This would be the first and the last time they ever met because she certainly wouldn’t come here again after what had happened today. She was only grateful that she hadn’t made the mistake of telling him why she’d come.

Becky sighed as she thought back to that dreadful day when Antonio had told her that his former girlfriend, Tara Lewis, was pregnant with his child and that she intended to get rid of it. It had been a shock for her as well as for him.

Antonio’s affair with Tara had been over for some time by then, and he had made no secret of the fact that he regretted having got involved with her. Becky had been a little concerned that he might have been rushing into their own relationship too soon, and had insisted on them taking things slowly at first.

Antonio had had no such reservations, however. He had told Becky that he loved her and that he hoped one day that she might grow to love him in return. Becky had appreciated the fact that he hadn’t tried to rush her. She had sensed that she’d been falling in love with him and that all it had needed was a little more time for her own feelings to become clear. Then, just six weeks after they’d started going out together, Antonio had discovered that he had cancer and everything had changed. Time had been the one thing they’d no longer had.

Becky had known from the outset that she wanted to be there for him and had never once wavered in her decision. Antonio had been the sweetest, gentlest man she’d ever known and she’d loved him dearly. When Tara had dropped her bombshell it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Antonio had just been told that the treatment he’d needed so desperately would make him sterile, and there Tara had been, telling him that she wanted to abort his child.

He had been close to despair as he’d poured out the whole story to Becky, and that had been when she’d come up with the plan to pay Tara to have the baby. Antonio had inherited a large sum of money on his birthday, so she’d suggested that he use some of that. And then she’d told him that, no matter what happened, she would always take care of the child. It had been that which had convinced him to go ahead.

He and Tara had struck a deal. He would pay her fifty thousand pounds immediately with another fifty thousand when the baby was born, plus an allowance of five thousand pounds each month she was pregnant. If Tara had only stuck to their bargain there wouldn’t have been a problem, but there had been constant demands for more money. Becky had hoped that once Tara had received her final payment, that would have been the end of it. But two weeks earlier Tara had turned up at her flat and demanded a further twenty thousand pounds.

Becky simply didn’t have that kind of money and had told her so, but Tara had refused to believe her. She’d issued Becky with an ultimatum—either find the money or she would take her to court and claim that she’d been coerced into signing over custody of the baby.

Horrified by the thought of what might happen, Becky had tried to make her see sense. However, Tara had just laughed and told Becky that the courts would probably take Josh into care and then neither one of them would end up with custody of him. As Tara had pointed out, she didn’t care what happened to him. She never had. She’d only agreed to give birth to him because Antonio had paid her not to have an abortion.

Becky took a deep breath. She had promised Antonio she would take care of Josh and she wouldn’t let him down. Somehow, some way she would find the money she needed without asking Felipe Valdez for help.

‘Everything looks fine, Miss Prentice. There will be some tenderness for a few days, but once the drainage tube has been removed I am confident that you won’t have any further problems.’

Felipe stepped back as a nurse drew the sheet over the young woman. Lisa Prentice had been rushed into the Clinica Valdez with a seriously inflamed appendix. Felipe’s colleague, Silvia Ramirez, had performed the operation, and now he turned to her.

‘An excellent job, Dr Ramirez, performed under very difficult circumstances. I believe the appendix was ready to burst.’

‘That’s correct, sir,’ Silvia replied, smiling with pleasure at the compliment. She was an attractive brunette in her thirties, engaged to be married to another doctor on the surgical team which Felipe headed. He appreciated the fact that neither of them had allowed their relationship to intrude into their work, although he would have had no hesitation in doing something about it if it had. The welfare of the patients they treated at the Clinica Valdez came first and foremost, and always would.

‘Another half-hour and the outcome might not have been quite so fortunate. Sí?’ He turned to the young woman in the bed once again and frowned.

‘Did you have no indication that there might be something wrong before you set out on your holiday, Miss Prentice? I find it strange that you experienced no discomfort.’

Lisa flushed when she heard the scepticism in his voice. She was a pretty girl in her teens and had come on holiday to Mallorca with a group of her friends. Felipe couldn’t fail to see how uncomfortable she looked about having to answer the question.

‘I did have a few twinges the night before we were due to fly over here,’ she muttered. ‘I just hoped it was indigestion or something.’

‘I see.’ His black brows swooped upwards as he regarded her with cool, brown eyes. ‘It never occurred to you that it might be something more serious and that perhaps you should visit your doctor before you set off on your holiday?’

‘Not really. I mean, if Mum had found out that I wasn’t feeling too good she might have stopped me going…’ She tailed off uncertainly.

Felipe bit back a sigh. The young woman had preferred to run the risk of being seriously ill rather than cancel her holiday. It would take more than the promise of two weeks in the sun to get him on a plane if he were feeling under the weather.