‘But this is Nina’s day,’ Madeline reminded Perry.
‘And Nina has had a wonderful day, haven’t you, dear?’ Perry enquired of that sweetly bewildered bride. She nodded mutely, afraid to say a single word and instead stepping back into the sure comfort of her bridegroom’s arms. Perry’s eyes mocked the whole group. ‘Look at their clasped hands, for God’s sake!’ he sighed out impatiently, but while everyone dutifully stared at their hands where the rich glow of gold mingled with the brilliant glitter of diamonds and sapphires, Perry was laughing into Madeline’s and Dominic’s rueful faces.
‘We have an announcement to make,’ Dominic said, and with the minimum of effort gained the full attention of the whole room. Madeline moved even closer to him, cheeks warming with a new and alluring shyness, and Dominic lifted their clasped hands to his lips, drawing her gaze up with them so that his eyes as he kissed her fingers showed her the burning depth of his love.
‘Madeline and I…’ he began, only to pause a second time, his smile taking her breath away before he gave his attention to their captive audience. ‘Madeline and I….’ he began all over again, his deep voice ringing out clear and proud across the silent room. ‘…married each other quietly a week ago…’
* * *
The low black Ferrari pulled up at the front of the old Courtney place, and Dominic withdrew the keys from the ignition and turned in his seat to look at the woman beside him. She was yawning, her head resting tiredly against the leather seat, eyes closed.
‘Home,’ he said with unbidden satisfaction.
‘Mmm.’ Her lips stretched into a sleepy smile. ‘At least we didn’t have to sneak off in the end.’
The news of their marriage had been supposed to be delivered by Perry after the celebrations were over and Dominic and Madeline had managed to make their escape. Things hadn’t turned out quite like that.
A hand came to touch her cheek, gently caressing the satin-smooth skin so that her smile deepened into pleasure. ‘Perhaps it was better that it turned out the way it did,’ he pondered reflectively, ‘even if we did succeed in causing yet another scene!’
‘I suppose they’ll blame it all on me,’ Madeline complained. ‘When this time, Dom, it was all your fault!’ At last she managed to open her eyes so that she could glare at him.
He just smiled lazily. ‘Sorry, darling.’ The caressing fingers moved to her lips. ‘I promise to make it up to you later.’
‘We couldn’t even manage to keep this place a secret,’ she sighed.
‘The house, you mean?’ Dominic glanced into the darkness where the black and white painted house stood sheened by a silver moon. It still looked a rickety old place, even after all the work already done to it.
It had been Madeline’s father who’d made the connection, turning to Dom with eyes turned as wicked as his daughter’s as he murmured sardonically, ‘Well, you must love her, Dominic, if you were willing to buy the Courtney place for her. Madeline always did love that funny old house.’ And while the two men smiled ruefully at each other everyone else was gasping in horror, murmuring, ‘The Courtney place? They’re going to live in the old Courtney place?’ as if they couldn’t believe anyone with any taste could want to live there.
‘It was only a matter of time before they eventually found out,’ he pointed out, then, ‘Come on.’ He tapped her on the cheek. ‘Let’s go in.’
They met at the side of the car, Dom’s arm going to rest across her shoulders as they stood staring up at the house. ‘I’m sorry we don’t have a resident ghost. It really does seem to need one,’ he opined.
‘And still could have,’ Madeline declared with her usual optimism. ‘After all, what self-respecting ghost would want to live among the tip we’ve made of it?’ She waved a deprecating hand meant to encompass the whole inside where the dust lay thick and heavy over virtually everything but their bedroom. ‘They’ve probably taken a vacation until all the work is finished, but they’ll be back.’ She turned in her husband’s arm to gaze up at him, her blue eyes shining with wicked humour. ‘You mark my words, the moment the last workman leaves here, our ghosts will return—and they’ll haunt you, Dominic Stanton, for seducing a poor innocent maiden like me!’
He laughed, pulled her fully into his arms and leaning back against the car so that he could study her mischievous face. ‘You’re the one who haunts me, Madeline,’ he confessed ruefully, ‘and have been haunting me since the day you cast one of your wicked spells on me in my own swimming-pool!’
‘That long?’ She blinked up at him, black lashes flickering over her bright, teasing eyes. ‘My poor darling.’ Reaching up on tiptoe, she placed a consoling kiss on his smiling lips. ‘How ever did you survive it?’
‘Oh, I didn’t mind,’ he drawled. ‘I used to let her phantom make mad passionate love to me every night—I rather enjoyed it, as a matter of fact,’ he added lightly. ‘I think I may even miss her now I’ve got the real thing to make love to me.’
‘You prefer fantasy to the real thing?’ she cried.
‘I suppose it all depends on how the real thing measures up to her phantom,’ he drawled provokingly, moulding her soft body into the hardness of his own. ‘I’ve barely had a chance to compare them as yet.’
‘Your fault,’ she instantly laid the blame. ‘You wanted us to marry in the crazily unconventional way. In fact, you insisted on it.’
‘I wanted you!’ he corrected gruffly, and suddenly humour had left him and in its place was a man full of grim-faced passion. ‘And this time I wasn’t taking any chances. Time and people and our own stubborn natures were our worst enemies four years ago. This time I was determined to get you tied to me before anything or anyone could so much as whisper an opinion! But,’ he added heavily, ‘it was only as I watched Nina walk down the aisle in her lovely dress that I realised what I’d deprived you of. I had no right to rush you into that civil wedding; you deserved the same fuss and—’
Her fingers covering his mouth stopped him. ‘We had a lovely ceremony,’ she assured him softly, her eyes warm with her love for him. ‘Just you and I making our vows to each other with no one to intrude on the beauty of it. I don’t feel deprived of anything, Dom—except perhaps having you hold me in your arms for the seven lonely nights since we married.’
‘Then we have a lot of making up to do,’ he agreed as he bent and scooped her into his arms. ‘So let’s get to it!’
The big black door opened and closed behind them. No lights came on inside. They didn’t need them; their love was all they needed to light their way.
Outside the moon shone down on the old Courtney place, bathing its black and white walls in a pale silver sheen—and suddenly it didn’t look such a rickety old place any more, but more like the proud and elegant dwelling the artist had captured on canvas all those centuries ago.
And, as if it knew that with these two caring people it would one day look