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  An eagle swooped

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  Tags: Romance - Harlequin

  Tessa had loved Paul Demetrius from the start, but from the moment she introduced him to her beautiful sister Lucinda he had had eyes for no one else. At last, unable to bear seeing the two of them together, Tessa had gone away.

  Now, two years later, she was home again, expecting to hear that they were married -- only to learn that they had never in fact married, that after a terrible accident in which Paul had been blinded, Lucinda had walked out on him and he was now living the life of a recluse in Cyprus. So Tessa took her courage in both hands, went out to Cyprus pretending to be Lucinda, begged Paul's forgiveness -- and married him.

  Would her love be strong enough to stand the strain of living such a lie? And what if Paul ever found out?

  Anne Hampson

  AN EAGLE SWOOPED

  ••

  Tessa had loved Paul Demetrius from the start, but from the moment she introduced him to her beautiful sister Lucinda he had had eyes for no one else, until at last, unable to bear seeing the two of them together, Tessa had gone away. Now, two years later, she was home again, expecting to hear that they were married only to learn that they had never in fact married, that after a terrible accident in which Paul had been blinded Lucinda had walked out on him and he was now living the life of a recluse in Cyprus. So Tessa took her courage in both hands, went out to Cyprus pretending to be Lucinda, begged Paul's forgivenessand married him. Would her love be strong enough to stand the strain of living such a lie? And what if Paul ever found out?

  Mills & Boon Classics

  A chance to read and collect some of the best loved novels from Mills & Boon the world's largest publisher _ of romantic fiction.

  Every month, four titles by favourite .Mills & Boon authors will be re published in the Classics series.

  Alist of other tides in the Classics series can be found at the end of this book.

  All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the Author, and have no relation whatso(J'{}cr to anyone bearing the same name or names. They arc not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the Author, and all the incidents are pure invention. The text of this publication o'r any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical) including photocopying, 'recording, storag? in an information retrieval system, or otherwise,

  tsithout the uniuen permission of the publislrer.

  CHAPTER. I

  HOME from her wanderings, but for how long? Turning her car into the drive Tessa covered the last few yards of her journey from Greece. The whole family or nearly the whole farnily came out to welcome her.

  Tessa hugged her mother, and' her two young brothers in turn. Her father, tall and greying and with a permanent expression of wistfulness on his lined and sallow face, was the last to take her in his arms.

  'Home for good?' he asked hopefully.

  'Perhaps—Oh, Mum and Dad, it's so marvellous to see you.'

  'And us.' said Tommy and Billy together,

  'And you, my pets—I almost said little pets, but how you've grown!'

  They entered the house; Mrs. Blane went into' the kitchen to make tea and the boys went off to finish their homework which Tessa's arrival had interrupted. She and her father sat there for a while, talking about Tessa's job and her friends abroad and the places she had seen. And then, during a lull, she said hesitantly, 'Lucinda ... she's .. , they're living somewhere closer'

  Before her father had time to reply Mrs. Blane appeared with the tea tray. 'You have it with Dad, while I go and see to your bed. I haven't made it up, because you didn't say today. We expected you tomorrow.'

  'I didn't make' as many stops as I intended to.' She 'smiled up at her mother. She was just the same, thought Tessa; her hair, white in places but attractively styled. her soft brown eyes ... and of course her voice. It was always the voice one noticed about Mrs. Blane. 'Something went wrong with the vocal chords.' the doctor had once said, laughing. 'A mutation, but of the most attractive kind.' Clear and low and sweet, like music on the still night air. And Mrs. Blane had passed that beautiful voice on to both her daughters, Her looks she had passed on to Tessa only. Lucinda had her inheritance from her grandmother, in her youth a lovely young goddess with pale gold hair and eyes like cornflowers newly opened.

  'I'll do your bed.' Mrs. Blane repeated. 'You're in your own room, with Lucinda.'

  'Lucinda?' Tessa's face paled and a sudden trembling seized her. 'They're not married yet!'

  Her parents shot a glance at each other and then Mrs. IBlane said hastily, 'I'll leave you to get your tea—'

  'But, Mother—' her husband began in urgent tones.

  'You're much better at explaining than I,' she interrupted, and a moment later the door closed quietly behind her.

  'Father, what is it? Is Lucinda still engaged to to Paul?'

  'She's engaged, but not to Paul. Er are you going to pour the tea, Tessa?'

  Mechanically she picked up the teapot. 'Tell me what happened? Where's Paul?'

  'My girlie.' her father sighed, 'you've been away two years. You told us, No, you actually forbade us to send you any news of Lucinda and Paul—'

  'You know why that was. I couldn't bear it.' She put the 'teapot down again and picked up the cream jug. 'Lucinda married ... Lucinda expecting a baby ... Paul a proud father.' She shook her head emphatically.

  'No, I didn't want you and Mum to write to me about those things.'

  'And so we did as you requested, and never mentioned either of them. You see, child, they were out driving together and there was a dreadful accident—' '

  'An accident I' Her eyes dilated. 'He's he's ... dead?' 'Not dead.' He gave a deep sigh and looked at her searchingly. 'You still love him? Surely, my Tessa, you've got over it by now?'

  'Tell me about the accident she urged, the tea forgotten. 'If he isn't dead, then why aren't they married? How can 'she be engaged to someone else?'

  'He's blind, Tessa.'

  She stared, unable to take it in. Paul, so perfect in body, so proud and self possessed, with the superior confidence of some Greek god. Tessa shook her head. 'No, ... no, he can't be!'

  'Incurably blind, as a result of the accident.' Mr. Blane", voice shook. 'Lucinda gave him up.'

  Tessa half rose in her chair and then sat down again.

  This wasn't true! Lucinda had cared too much. 'They were madly in love—' She broke ~as her father shook his head.

  'One sided, as it turned out. We were all angry and disgusted with Lucinda at the time, but after a while we became resigned to her action. And perhaps it was asking too much to expect her to be bound to a blind man for the rest of her life. She's such a beautiful girl.'

  Beautiful, yes, and Tessa herself so plain. That was why, after he had met Lucinda, Paul had eyes for no one else.

  'What exactly happened?'

  'It's just a year ago now. The car overturned. Paul was driving too fast—'

  "Paul never drove fast; he was a very careful driver!'

  'This time he was apparently driving too fast.' He' paused and a frown creased his brow. 'Lucinda wouldn't say much at all. But she did insist he was driving too fast.'

  Tessa thought about this, Lucinda wouldn't lie, and yet, , , Tessa recalled the night she had met Paul, the night that had changed her whole life and brought untold misery in its wake, Paul had offered her a lift home, and she had mentally noted his care on the road and the safe speed at which he drove,

  'The car overturned, you say? Lucinda wasn't hurt, apparently?'

  'She was flung clear, 'The car burst into flames and Paul was badly burned.'


  'His face?'

  'No, strangely nothing but his hands.' 'But his sight?'

  'Shock, so they said, It appears a severe shock can cause blindness.'

  'Shock?' Somehow Tessa felt there was something wrong, but although she questioned her father she learned no more, for as he had said, Lucinda was reticent about the accident, both at the time and since, 'It's definitely permanent?' Blindness resulting from shock could often be cured, '

  'Paul's a wealthy man, as you know, and every doctor of any note was called in, He had a period of treatment in hospital, but it proved fruitless, All the doctors were unanimous in their verdicts; there's no cure.'

  'And so Lucinda threw him over?' Tessa said almost to herself. Her father's face clouded, but he made no reply, and Tessa went on to ask where Paul was now. 'Does he still have his flat in London?'

  'No, he went away somewhere to live on a Greek island, I think.' He poured the tea and put Tessa's cup in front of her,

  'A Greek island? Which one?'

  'I couldn't say.' He glanced anxiously at her, 'Forget him, girlie, Find yourself a nice young man and settle down, As things have turned out Paul is not for either of you.'

  She looked into her cup, a sigh escaping her. 'Lucinda's now engaged again, you say?'

  'To a very nice boy well, he's not a boy exactly, He's a year older than Lucinda twenty seven, He adores her.'

  Everyone adored Lucinda, with her pale beauty and that ability to appear so sweet and unsophisticated, 'They're to be married soon?'

  'In June.' He shook his head at her. 'You should have let us give you the news, girlie,' he said on a note of reproof,

  'Yes, I should, But you see, I thought they'd have been married long ago.' She paused, 'This Greek island, Have you no idea at all which one it is?'

  'Not the faintest, It might not even be a Greek island but it's definitely an island.'

  She frowned, Why this urge to know where Paul was?

  What had he done to her in those few brief hours? A happy, carefree girl she had been until that fateful evening when he had entered into her life,

  'Is there no way of finding out about this island?'

  'Tessa, my love, forget him, You'll marry a nice—'

  'Father,' she said, a break in her voice, 'I'll. never marry,'

  'This isn't a very sensible attitude.' he began, when the door opened and in walked Lucinda, saying, 'That car" .whose is it ? Tessa, how good to see you And how brown you are, Why, it makes you look quite attractive ' Lots of questions, effusive smiles and much hand waving and yet Lucinda had never taken the trouble to write even one letter to her in two years.

  Lucinda suddenly stopped speaking, and she and her father glanced at one another. But no more was said about Paul until the two girls were in their bedroom Lucinda getting ready for her date with Gerald, and Tessa changing in preparation for a visit to one of Paul's friends. She had rung joe earlier and made the date, for her parents had previously arranged to attend a concert, 'and the two boys were going to the Scouts.

  'We'll not go.' her father had said, but Tessa would not hear of their cancelling the arrangements. It suited her to have the evening free, for she had an irrepressible desire to find out where Paul was living.

  'I expect they told you all about it' Lucinda had put on her dress and was busy with her hair. 'They kept it from you because you said you didn't want to hear anything about Paul and me.'

  'It would have hurt too much.' admitted Tessa frankly. She watched her sister with the comb. 'The accident Father didn't seem to know what had happened.'

  'Because I couldn't tell them very much. I was unconscious.' A pause and then, 'Paul's blind, Father would tell you that'

  Tessa flinched at the casual manner in which Lucinda spoke of Paul's tragic affliction.

  'How could you throw him over' she Whispered huskily. .

  'For heaven's sake don't preach! I had enough of that from Mum and Dad. You'd all have had me marry him, but I'd have been the one to suffer. Just imagine spending your life with a man who can't see you ' She patted a stray hair into place and surveyed herself in the mirror, 'What's the use of looking like this if you can't be seen ?'

  Yes, so very beautiful. .. , No wonder Paul had never spared a glance for Tessa from the moment she had introduced him to her sister.

  Moving alongside Lucinda, she faced herself in the mirror and took a dispassionate assessment of her looks. High cheekbones, it was true, but somehow nature had not formed the contours attractively. A mouth the same size and shape as Lucinda's, yet lacking some indefinable thing that made all the difference to its appearance. But her eyes were widely spaced and honest, with a tender light in their soft brown depths never seen in the eyes of her sister. And she did have lovely hair, Tessa owned to herself. The colour of deepest honey, with tints of copper and gold, it fell in half waves on to her shoulders. No, not exactly plain, she decided, touching her nose and wondering what difference it would make to her appearance were it to be turned up not quite so much. No, not plain, but by comparison to Lucinda ... It was no wonder the boys passed Tessa by when her beautiful sister happened to be around.

  'I still don't understand how you could give him up.' Tessa spoke almost to herself. 'He's still the same man, even though he's blind.'

  Lucinda turned angrily and Tessa stepped back, away from' the mirror.

  'I'd no intention of being tied to a blind man all my life, and that's all there is to it!' exclaimed Lucinda, her colour rising. 'Besides, there were his hands..—' She broke off, shuddering, and Tessa said with difficulty,

  'Were they badly burned?'

  "Terribly oh, they must be so hideous I've never seen them, because they were bandaged, but I can't bear to think about them and 'I could never bear him to touch me!'

  Tears welled up in Tessa's eyes; surreptitiously she brushed them away before her sister could see.

  'They're the same hands that once touched you,' she quietly reminded her, and Lucinda shuddered again. 'How was it that his hands were burned, and no other parts of his body?' Tessa asked, and now an angry glint entered Lucinda' s eyes.

  'I've told you, I know nothing about it!'

  'Couldn't Paul tell you anything? You saw him in hospital, I presume?' .

  'I saw him, yes, but he told me nothing.' .

  'It all seems most strange,' Tessa murmured thoughtfully, and It flashed across her mind that Lucinda was lying.

  'Strange? Why should it seem strange?' Suddenly a harsh laugh broke. 'If he burnt himself it was his own fault, and that's all I'm going to say about it! Oh, for pity's sake don't look at me like that! You'd have married him, wouldn't you? You would have been all heroic and sacrificed yourself? Well, I wasn't being such a fool—' She laughed again as a thought occurred to her. 'Why don t you go and offer your sympathy? He might be interested in you now even glad to marry you, for I'm sure no one else will have him.'

  Although she flinched at her sister's words Tessa managed to say calmly, .'At the end ... when you told him, what did he say?'

  "Oh, Just acted as I expected him to, that is, pretended to be so incredulous, as if he couldn't take it in but of course it was all an act.'

  'I don't think Paul would feel like putting on an act at a time like that.'

  'Can't see anything wrong in him, can you?' sneered Lucinda with the light of humour in her eyes. 'Well,

  perhaps this will convince you of his pomposity. He said if I ever changed my mind and asked his forgiveness he would take me back. Now, what do you think of that for self conceit'

  'He must love you very much, to be able to forgive what you've done to him,' Tessa said, her eyes pensively watching Lucinda as she applied the last touch of makeup to her face. Lucinda merely shrugged, and Tessa swallowed a tight little lump in her throat.' To be so dearly loved, and to toss that love so carelessly' aside .... 'Gerald,' she said, 'what's he like?'

  'Wonderful! ' Lucinda's eyes glowed. 'We're madly in love!'

  Feeling suddenly quit
e sick, Tessa glanced at the clock . Yes, there was time for a bath. She wanted to get

  away from Lucinda, and a few minutes later she was lying in the water, her mind going back to that day when she had known she must leave her home, go somewhere where she would not see Paul and Lucinda together. Most opportunely the post had come relief teacher in Germany. From there she had gone to Turkey, then the Lebanon and finally to Greece. This last was a private post lasting a mere three months. Then the desire to return to England ... even though she knew the first sight of Paul would probably undermine her determination to settle down again in a comfortable teaching post in her own country. Going to Greece had not been a good idea either, for it was his country, although he had, until the accident, lived in England for a numher of years".

  Getting out of the bath, Tessa wrapped herself in a towel and went into the bedroom, having heard Lucinda go down some five minutes or so previously. The two divans were covered with beautiful lace quilts which Tessa had sent over just a few weeks before coming home herself. The carpet was thick and the furniture good and highly polished. This was the room she and Lucinda had shared since they were quite small.

  She had dropped the towel when she swiftly retrieved it and wrapped it around her again. Lucinda had come" back for something—

  'Can I corne in?' A man's voice, accompanied by a loud knock.

  'No certainly not! '

  'Oh, now, why the modest pose all at once? I'm coming in, my lovely Lucinda! '

  Gerald, Lucinda's fiance.

  Tessa sped to the dressing room and entered, slamming the door behind her and turning the key. What had prompted this act she could not have said. She had merely to inform him of his mistake and he would instantly go away again. The bedroom door opened. A soft whistle was all Tessa heard for a moment, and then, 'What perfume! Come out of there, and don't be so silly.'

  'I'm dressing.''

  'So what?'

  'Mum and Dad—'

  They've gone out, or I wouldn't have come up. Who's is the car outside?'

  'Never mind. Go away.'

  'What is the matter with you?' The door handle turned; Tessa's eyes were fixed fascinatedly upon it as if expecting the lock to become ineffective. She gathered the towel more tightly around her, realizing she was trembling from head to foot. 'My lovely Lucinda, you baffle me. So shy, after all we've been to one another—'