Page 61 of A Good Heart is Hard to Find
Tall and gaunt Dante might be, and dressed in baggy sweater, jeans and the leather jacket that was so scuffed it was practically suede, but Max looked like a desiccated old man in his Sunday suit in comparison.
And whatever Dante’s rating on the Richter scale, aftershocks were still rippling up and down my spine.
‘I’m Dante Chase, and very pleased to meet you, sir,’ he continued, not giving Max a chance to say a word. ‘You have a lovely daughter. Did she tell you about that amazing night we spent together? I can tell you now, it was somethingI’llnever forget! But I’ll leave you two alone, because I’m sure you must have lots to talk about. Catch up with you later, Cass!’
He walked away, leaving Max lookingas if he’d been stuffed with cactus and me speechless between anger and a hysterical desire to laugh.
‘Who the hell is that? What did he mean?’ demanded Max, fixing me with an accusing stare.
‘Nothing,’ I said weakly. ‘He’s inherited Kedge Hall, and I – er …’
‘Spent the night with him? Hence your lack of interest in me? I see!’
‘I met him while I was out ghost-hunting, that’s all,’ I saidhastily, but probably looking as guilty as hell, mainly, I suppose, because Iwasas guilty as hell.
‘You seem on very friendly terms. Intimate, even,’ he said nastily.
‘Not really. In fact, I don’t even like him. He came over simply to try and annoy me, because he wants to hire me to haunt the Hall and I won’t.’
My eyes met Dante’s again where he now sat next to Orla, and he raised his glassand grinned like a shark.
‘Haunt the Hall?’ Max said incredulously, dividing a jealous gaze between me and Dante as if he was quick enough he might find us communicating with mirrors.
‘You know, like the Crypt-ograms, only without the singing? Or the teeth. To frighten his guests.’
‘Darling Cassy,’ Max said softly, moving his chair up close to mine and taking my hand in his dry, warm clasp.‘All this business with poor, unbalanced Rosemary has preyed on your mind, hasn’t it? And perhaps I was a bit insensitive not realizing that, but it has all been so difficult. But you know how much I’ve missed you since I’ve been away, Cassy, don’t you? I feel sure that when this has blown over a bit you could come and spend a week or two in California with me, and we can sort things out.’
Hissoft, mesmerizing voice and earnest hazel eyes gazing into mine were exerting their usual effect …almost. If his persuasive lips hadn’t been surrounded by topiary hairclippings it might just have worked – or maybe not.
Perhaps it was the quick glance over his shoulder of dog-in-the-manger possessiveness to check how Dante and Jason were taking our closeness that ruined the beginnings of thefamiliar spell.
‘Look, if we left now we would still have time to go back to the cottage and spend some quality time tog—’
‘No!’
It came out flatter and way louder than I intended and he recoiled.
‘Sorry, but I need space to think, Max. Time to work things out.’
His lips went all tight and he pushed his chair back, so I could once more see Dante’s sardonic face watching us. It was strangelyunnerving.
We walked back to the cottage soon after that and Max, angry and ruffled, got into his car and drove away: unsatisfied, unsated, and unloved.
I walked on up to the graveyard, which suited my mood admirably, plotting to thwart and punish both Sylvanus and Vlad no end in the next chapter as a sort of general revenge on all mankind.
If they weren’t already dead I’d have killed them.
