CHAPTER ONE
âTHE account no longer existsâ¦â Star repeated that shattering announcement shakily under her breath as she walked back out of the bank.
In her hand, she still gripped the cheque she had tried unsuccessfully to cash. Beneath her shining fall of copper hair, her delicate features were stamped with shock, her aquamarine eyes bemused. She climbed back into Rory Martinâs elderly classic car.
âWhy were you so long?â Rory asked as he drove off.
Twisting round in her seat to check that the twins were still fast asleep in their car seats, Star muttered, âI had to see the assistant managerââ
âThatâll be because youâre a lady of substance now,â Rory teased, referring to the money which Star had proudly paid into the bank only a few weeks earlier.
âAnd he told me that the account no longer exists,â Star confided abruptly.
At the traffic lights, Roryâs fair hair swivelled. âWhat are you talking about?â
âJuno has closed the accountââ
âYour motherâs done what?â Rory interrupted incredulously.
âThere must be something badly wrong, Rory.â
âYouâre telling me. How could your mother close your account?â he demanded.
âIt was her account.â
At that revelation, Rory sent Star a bewildered glance. âWhy didnât you have a bank account in your own name?â âBecause until last month when I sold those canvases, I wouldnât have had anything to put in an account of my own,â Star stressed defensively. âJuno was keeping me!â
Looking unimpressed by that argument, Rory pulled away from the traffic lights again. âIt was still your money in that account, the proceeds of the first couple of pictures you soldââ
His persistence made Star bristle with annoyance. âJuno and I work on a âwhatâs mine is yoursâ basis, Rory. Weâre family. We stick together. If she drew out that money, she mustâve needed it.â Then a further cause for alarm assailed her. âDo you realise that itâs over two weeks since I even spoke to my mother? Every time I call, all I get is that wretched answering machine!â
âI wouldnât be surprised if sheâs simply moved the account elsewhere and just forgotten to tell you about it,â Rory suggested in a soothing tone. âLetâs stop worrying about it. This is my day off. Where do you want to go next?â
Still in a bemused state, Star slowly shook her head. âI canât go shopping without moneyââ
âSo, Iâll give you a loan to tide you over,â Rory slotted in with an easy shrug.
âNo, thanks,â Star told him hurriedly, determined not to lean on him that way. âYouâd better just take us home again. I need to phone around and try to get hold of Juno to find out whatâs happening.â
âBe sensible, Star. Sheâs hardly ever at home. Meanwhile, you still have to eat,â Rory pointed out with all the practicality of a male whose considerable family fortune was built on that same fact of life.
However, Star was immovable. Half an hour later, Rory drew up in the cobbled courtyard of a dilapidated fortified house complete with a tower surrounded by rusting scaffolding. Star lived rent-free as caretaker at Highburn Castle. The owner lived abroad. A friend of Junoâs, he didnât have the money to maintain his inheritance, or the interest to apply for the grants available to repair a building listed as being of historical significance.
Star detached the belts from the baby seats in the back of the car. Rory unlocked the sturdy rear door of the castle and transported the first twin inside. Venus sighed in her sleep but remained comatose. Mars loosed an anxious little snort and shifted position. Both Star and Rory stilled until her restive son settled again. Mars had yet to prove the perceived wisdom that a baby could sleep through anything.
âTheyâre great kids.â As they entered the big basement kitchen, Rory scrutinised the sleeping babies with the interest of a male who, as an only child, had had little contact with young children. âI can never get over how tiny they are. When you think how premature they were, theyâre a right little pair of miracles!â