She made no demur as, once he had settled Courtney and herself into the house, Alex left almost immediately for London. He had made it more than plain that he needed to be away from her, to be with someone other than her after their seclusion. And while she missed him unbearably she understood that there were some men who needed more of a challenge in conversation and ideas than she, as a woman, was able to give. She just hadn't thought Alex was one of those men . . .
Courtney kept the rest of her day occupied. He was taking an interest in things about him now, able to concentrate for short periods of time as she played with a toy with him, and he fell asleep as she softly sang to him.
'Mr Hammond called about ten minutes ago, madam,' the middle-aged housekeeper Alex had employed told her as she came downstairs. 'When I told him you were with the baby he said not to disturb you.'
'Did he leave a message?' she asked impatiently, wishing she could have talked to Alex herself, wanting desperately to bridge the gulf that had yawned between them.
'He said he had been delayed in London, and—and for you not to wait dinner for him,' Mrs Whitney smiled with relief as she finished reciting the message.
'Thank you,' Morgan said dully. Suddenly she hadlost her own appetite. 'Don't bother with dinner then, Mrs Whitney. I'll have something later if I get hungry. But she knew she wouldn't, the thought of eating nauseated her.
She was totally bewildered by Alex's coldness, this not wanting to be with her. An afternoon at work she could perhaps accept, but an evening too! No, she didn't believe for a moment that Alex was staying in London this evening on business.
He hadn't returned at ten-thirty when she had given Courtney his late night feed and settled him down until morning, having got to the stage, at six weeks, where he slept through. She decided she might as well go to bed herself. Alex might not come back at all tonight!
Their bedroom had been decorated in a soft green and cream, very restful, and yet Morgan didn't feci in the least sleepy. How could Alex do this to her on their first evening in their new home! Anger took over from hurt, and by the time she heard the Mercedes coming down the driveway and pull up outside the house she was at boiling point. She would not be treated like this!
She was standing in the middle of the room when she heard Alex's ascent up the stairs, her black nightgown clinging seductively to her rose-tipped breasts, the sheerness of the material clearly showing the rest of her body. If Alex expected her to be the son of wife who cowed in bed pretending to be asleep rather than risk confrontation then he was mistaken; she wasn't the one arriving home at eleven o'clock at night after supposedly going to the officel
Alex came to a halt in the doorway as he saw her standing proudly in front of him. 'Morgan,' he drawled, then recovered quickly, closing the door quietly and coming in to remove his tie. ' thought you'd be asleep,' he raised dark brows questioningly.
'Did you?' she snapped. 'I wouldn't have thought you'd had the time to think of mc at all—or that you would want to.'
His mouth tightened. 'Morgan '
She glared at him with sparkling green eyes. 'If you want to discontinue the physical side of our marriage, Alex, then just say so,' she told him abruptly. 'If I failed to give you pleasure then tell me so. You don't have to stay out of your own home just to avoid me. I—Oh!' she gasped as she was pulled roughly into his arms.
'Discontinue the physical side of our marriage!' he repeated fiercely, shaking her. 'You can talk in such a businesslike way of the explosion of the senses we share?' he grated.
'You seem to want it businesslike,' she choked emotionally.
'I want you. God . ..!' he groaned as he pulled her against his chest. 'You give me pleasure unspeakable, unimaginable. And I wasn't avoiding you,' he spoke into the softness of her hair. 'At least, not voluntarily. I was giving you the chance to end the physical relationship, to end the honeymoon if you wanted to.' He pulled back to look at her tear-wct face. 'You don't want to, do you?' he realised huskily.
'Never!' She buried her face against his chest. 'I want you so much!'
'And I want you,' he admitted savagely, stripping off their clothes without concern for their welfare, tearing them if they wouldn't come off quickly enough, taking her fiercely, possessively, but knowing she was with him every minute, that she even revelled in his savagery.
CHAPTER EIGHT
FOR a woman who had been married a little over two months Morgan had a glow about her that made her blush whenever she happened to catch sight of her reflection in a mirror. Two months of being Alex's wife, of spending every night in his arms, bathed in his never-ending lovemaking, had given her a happiness she could hardly believe was possible.
There had been no repeats of their first evening back, no more late nights in London or anywhere else. She had never questioned Alex as to his whereabouts that night, and he had never offered the information. It was enough for her that there were no repeats of it.
And Courtney, at three months old, seemed to react to the air of happiness that surrounded the woman he considered his mother. He was the most placid of babies, starting to smile now, loving it when his daddy played gently on the bed with him.
They were so much like any normal family, with none of the tragic circumstances that had brought them all together overshadowing the relationship, that she felt no qualms about inviting Rita Hammond over to tea one afternoon. Alex had taken Courtney over to see his mother once a week for the last six weeks since their return from Barbados, but never once had he invited her here, possibly sensing Morgan's reluctance from their last meeting.
But today she was feeling very happy with the world, andl had invited the other woman over this afternoon for tea. Rita Hammond had seemed rather stunned yesterday on the telephone by such a formal invitation to her son's house, but she had accepted
anyway. Alex had merely raised his brows when she told him of the invitation, a habit she had learnt meant he was puzzled. She was a little puzzled by this herself, had felt herself well rid of Rita Hammond the last few weeks, but she was after all Alex's mother, and they couldn't keep up this vendetta of hatred for ever. At least, she couldn't; she had a feeling Rita Hammond could, though!
Her mother-in-law arrived promptly at four-thirty that afternoon, had driven herself over in the Rolls. Morgan felt relieved when she saw the other woman's appearance that she had changed for the occasion, putting on a royal blue pants suit. Rita's pure silk dress was an attractive shade of silver-grey, very attractive on the older woman, although Morgan eyed the expensive dress with a sense of unease. She had learnt that although she liked to dress attractively herself it wasn't always wise to dress expensively, not with a young baby about. Obviously Rita Hammond had forgotten what it was like when her children were babies!
The other woman looked critically about the lounge, at the rust-coloured suite, the mottled gold carpet, rust-coloured curtains, the beautifully ornate coffee-table, several lamps placed about the room. Morgan tried to see the room through the other woman's eyes; and could find no fault with it.
'You have an attractive home, at least,' Rita said grudgingly after several awkward minutes. 'You had professional help with the decor, no doubt.'
'No,' Morgan smiled at the other woman's attempt to belittle what she had done with the house. 'Before I became an actress I studied interior decorating.'
'How useful!' Rita said disdainfully.
'Yes. Would you like me to bring Courtney down now?'
'Well, that is why I'm here!
She raised mocking brows. 'I thought you were here for tea,' she derided before going upstairs to get Courtney as he awakened from his nap. She was glad she could find something amusing about Rita's attitude; she had a feeling she was going to need a sense of humour during this visit from her mother-in-law.
Luckily Courtney managed to bridge some of the awkwardness, both women obviously doting on him. They watched in amusement as he lay on the floor moving his arms and legs about in an effort to crawl, becoming red-faced with anger as he didn't move a fraction of an inch.
'The exercise is good for him,' Morgan said laughingly as she gathered the baby up in her arms, soothing his indignant wails, almost as if he had been sure he had been about to crawl if she hadn't picked him up. 'It will strengthen his muscles, the health visitor told me.' She nuzzled into Courtney's neck, soon hearing his delighted gurgles.
'I have no doubt about Courtney's health,' Rita said haughtily. 'I'm just wondering when you're going to tire of this latest role.'
Morgan blinked her surprise. 'Role?'
'As doting wife and mother,' the other woman derided. Tfou may be a competent actress, but how much longer do you think you'll be able to keep up the act?'
She drew in a steadying breath. 'Mrs Hammond, I invited you here today to have tea and visit Courtney, that doesn't entitle you to insult me.'
'I merely asked——'
'An impertinent and ridiculous question!' Morgan stood up in her agitation, Courtney clinging to her hair as he sensed her anger. 'I am not acting as Alex's wife and Courtney's mother, I am both those things. I would have thought that by now you would have been able to forget your prejudice and accept me as such.'
'I've suffered you only because my son has chosento ruin his life by marrying you,' Rita
scorned haughtily, 'and because you have joint I of my only grandson. Otherwise I wouldn't give yxw the time of day!' Two bright spots of colour flared in her cheeks as she glared her dislike. 'I'm well aware that it's been your influence that has prevented my son inviting me to his own home, that you have also prevented my seeing Courtney as often as I would like '