Tears of the Moon - Di Morrissey [126]
‘Are you crazy, Olivia? Don’t be so rash. And what about Star of the Sea? It’s half your company. You can’t walk away from it.’
‘I’ll be a long-distance partner. If you’d rather buy me out … ’
‘Olivia, stop this, please … ’
‘John, I think it best if you leave me be. You aren’t going to change my mind. You’ve hurt me deeply, I have to come to terms with this. It is all very … difficult. And just how are you going to handle this publicly? What about my reputation? This will give everyone something to talk about.’
‘Olivia, if that’s what’s worrying you, I’ll make sure everybody understands the situation.’
‘It doesn’t change matters though, does it?’
‘I’ll get a divorce, and then we can go back to where we were.’
‘No, we can never do that. And has she agreed to a divorce? “Why has she come all this way, if not to be with you?’
Tyndall had no answer and he mumbled unhappily, ‘She only just arrived. I wanted to make sure you heard about it all from me first.’
‘Oh, they’re already talking about us are they? John, please leave.’
Tyndall moved towards her, his arms outstretched but Olivia shrank back. ‘No!’ She turned away from him, her face and body stiff and tightly held.
Looking wounded and dazed, Tyndall walked slowly from the office. Olivia heard him go, her heart breaking, swamped by the knowledge she might never again touch the man she loved.
The glaring light seared into Tyndall’s eyes. He pulled his hat down to shade his face and found his vision was blurred by hot tears. He still thought Olivia’s reaction unreasonable. Why should he have mentioned what was, to him, a brief incident in his past that he felt was of little significance? All he wanted now was to spend the rest of his life with Olivia.
A seething resentment of Amy drove him back to his bungalow. How dare she just settle in under his roof? She was a total stranger. He couldn’t remember any treasured moments they’d shared. He had been lured by first-time sex with a girl who knew more than he did. It never occurred to him at the time to wonder at her experience, but he simply lost himself in his own fulfilment and release with a willing and eager partner. After their hasty wedding, a mere formality, he recalled several blazing rows, tearful tantrums and a determination that he try to make a better life for them. What a load it had been on his bewildered twenty-year-old shoulders.
He slammed back into his house, bellowing for Rosminah. ‘Where is mem?’
‘Mem Amy resting, tuan. She make me unpack clothes, I no can say no, tuan,’ she said miserably.
‘Then start packing them again. She’s not staying here.’
He banged on the door of the guest room and flung open the door when Amy coolly called ‘Come in’ as if she had been in residence for months.
She was sitting at the dresser, brushing her long blond hair, a satin wrapper about her white shoulders. She gave him a coy look. ‘You shouldn’t barge into a lady’s boudoir, Johnny. But then, you are my husband.’
‘I’ve ordered Rosminah to repack your things. You’re not staying here.’
‘I’m your wife. The whole town must know it by now.’
‘A bit of paper back in Ireland might say so, but that is all about to change. I want a divorce as soon as possible.’
‘On what grounds? I don’t want a divorce and you’re going to look pretty foolish, not to say a blackguard, for treating me this way.’ She turned back to the mirror and glanced at his reflection. ‘And what did your ex-fiancée have to say?’
Tyndall simply glared at her. ‘Amy, I want you out of this house. I will pay your expenses.’
‘I know you will, Johnny. But nonetheless, I’m staying here. This is my home too, now.’ She gave a tight smile but there was a malicious dare in her eyes that sent a shiver through Tyndall.
‘Very well, I shall move into the Continental.’
‘That seems an unfortunate waste of our money, Johnny. I shall be here a very long time. Why