Legacy of Desire

Legacy of Desire Read Free

Book: Legacy of Desire Read Free
Author: Marina Anderson
Tags: General Fiction
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looked after her until Phil finally arrived, having left his London office the moment he received the telephone call.
    ‘You look a little better now,’ said Phil encouragingly as Davina listlessly ate a plate of scrambled eggs that he’d prepared for her. ‘Have a glass of red wine, it will bring the colour back into your cheeks.’
    ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ said Davina. ‘I’m pale because Uncle David’s dead. Red wine isn’t going to change that.’
    ‘Of course not,’ said Phil, and she could tell that he was startled by her unusual sharpness. ‘Just the same, you’ve got to take care of yourself, Davina. After all, everything’s yours now.’
    Davina looked at him in bewilderment. ‘What do you mean everything’s mine?’
    ‘Exactly what I say. The house, the estate, it will all go to you, won’t it?’
    ‘I’ve never thought about it.’
    ‘You must have known that it would be yours one day, although naturally you wouldn’t have expected it to be this soon,’ said Phil.
    Davina shook her head. ‘I can’t believe we’re talking like this. Uncle David’s been killed and all you’re interested in is what I’m going to gain from it. Is that why you’ve been coming down here every weekend? Tomake sure that my future inheritance was being well looked after?’
    Phil gave a nervous laugh. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Davina.’
    ‘But you had thought about it?’
    ‘Naturally. Anyone could tell that your uncle was grooming you to take over the reins. I half expected him to move abroad in about ten years’ time, especially after he started getting arthritis. He’d have been better off in a warmer climate, and you’d have been here to take care of things for him.’
    ‘Well, he didn’t live that long, did he,’ said Davina, her eyes filling with tears.
    Phil put an arm around her, but despite her need for comfort Davina stiffened beneath his touch. The rather unpleasant and totally unexpected mercenary streak he’d revealed had shaken her to the core.
    ‘You need to sleep.’ Phil’s voice was soothing. ‘You go on up now and I’ll join you when I’ve tidied things away.’
    She was too exhausted by the emotions of the day to argue, but when he finally climbed into bed beside her and she felt him snuggle against her back, his erectionnudging between the cheeks of her bottom, she twisted away from him. ‘How can you, Phil? You can’t imagine that I’m in the mood for sex.’
    ‘I thought you might like some comfort.’
    ‘Just hold me,’ she murmured.
    ‘Sometimes I think that’s all you ever really want,’ muttered Phil.
    Davina ignored him. She wondered why it was that tragedy was said to bring out the best in people. It certainly wasn’t bringing out the best in Phil.
    The following Wednesday, six days after his death, David Wilson’s funeral was held. It was a beautiful August day and the local church was packed. Davina and Phil travelled alone in the black car that followed the hearse and Davina, dressed in a short-sleeved tailored grey dress and matching jacket, wished that it was all over. Her uncle wouldn’t have wanted her to be so upset, she knew that, but it seemed extraordinary that he should die so suddenly, and so soon after their first truly meaningful conversation. It had etched his words even more firmly on her mind, and she realised that this was partly why she had found Phil soirritating over the past week. Uncle David had been right – there was no passion between her and Phil, yet she still felt she needed the security he offered.
    ‘A good turn-out,’ Phil muttered, as he walked down the centre aisle behind the coffin.
    Davina thought he was making it sound like a local fête rather than a funeral, but he did have a point. Every pew was full and when she glanced around her she saw familiar faces everywhere, both local people and her uncle’s friends, some of whom had flown in from distant parts of the world. As she took her place in the front

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