"But for them to gain the chateau someone else must have been dispossessed," Sarah remarked.

"Yes, that's true. It's rather a romantic story though. The tale goes that all the male members of the family d'Anterre perished during the revolution but one member of the family, a girl, was saved and brought up in the village by her nurse. When Jacques' ancestor came to see the chateau Bonaparte had given him he saw this girl and fell in love with her without knowing who she was."

"Mmm...1 suspect their marriage owed more to French practicality than genuine romance," Sarah said wryly, 'but it does make a pretty story.

She was looking at the map as she spoke and looked up, suddenly conscious of Joss's attention focused on her.

"Don't you believe in such a thing as love at first sight then, Sarah?"

Suddenly she was tongue-tied. What could she say?

"I suppose it can happen," she admitted reluctantly at last, hoping that he wouldn't guess the reason for her burning cheeks and trembling hands.

"But you yourself have never experienced it?"

Why was he goading her like this? He must know by now how she felt about him. Luckily before she was obliged to reply they came to a crossroads where they had to turn off the autoroute they had been travelling along, and by the time she had finished giving Joss directions, he seemed to have forgotten his earlier question.

At some time or another, Sarah couldn't have said when, sleep overcame her, and it became increasingly hard to fight against the hypnotic hum of the engine and the overpowering desire to close her eyes.

She fought against doing so, but the struggle became too much for her.

Her head slumped to one side and came to rest against Joss's shoulder but she was too deeply asleep to realise it.

"Wake up, sleepyhead, we're here..."

Sarah was having the most delicious dream. She was asleep in Joss's bed. Joss's voice a vibrant purr against her ear. She wriggled and muttered a protest, not wanting to abandon her dream.

"Sarah ... wake up." He was shaking her now.

Unwillingly, Sarah opened her eyes, blinking when she realised that at least some of her dream had been real. She might not be in Joss's bed, but she was curled up against his side, her head resting on his shoulder, one of his arms supporting her as his other hand gently shook her.

"You shouldn't have let me sleep for so long," she protested.

"You must be exhausted." She struggled to pull away from his shoulder, wondering why his mouth should tighten so ominously but before he could say anything light streamed out of the door suddenly opened in the building ahead of them. Apart from realising they were in an enclosed courtyard, Sarah could see very little of their surroundings, but the man who came out to greet them was typically French. Dark and wiry with mobile features, and dark brown eyes that caressed her with warm sensuality, he exclaimed in English:

"Joss ... mon ami... who is this lovely lady you bring with you...?"

"Hands off, Jacques," Joss drawled, getting out of the car and embracing his friend.

"Sarah is strictly out of bounds..."

"So." Amus.e.m.e.nt crinkled fine lines around his eyes as Joss went to help Sarah out of the car. She felt stiff after travelling for so long and she stumbled against him, her heart pounding with fierce excitement as his fingers bit into her waist and she felt the warmth of his breath against her skin.

"Louise begs to be forgiven but she has already retired," the host told them as he escorted them inside.

"My wife, Louise, is enceinte... how do you say.. with child," he explained to Sarah, 'and in these last few weeks she tires very easily.

"What are you hoping for this time, Jacques... another boy?"

They were in a very traditional and enormous French kitchen of cavernous proportions, everything in it shining clean. A simple supper of bread and cheese was laid out on the well-scrubbed table, a bottle of wine opened next to it.

Won. non. I already have two sons. this time I should very much wish to have a daughter . and Louise also, although we shall be happy with whatever Ie bon dieu sends us. But what about you. Joss? "

Jacques teased his friend.

"Is it not time you were producing sons of your own? What do you say, Sarah?" Jacques asked Sarah with a liquid smile.

"Do you not think Joss would make a good papa...?"

Pain seized her heart in a cramping grip, unwanted images of Joss holding a child with Helene's fair hair and delicate features tormenting her mind. It astounded her that she should experience this primitive, driving need to conceive his child herself; the strength of the impulse so strong that she could actually feel the ache of loss inside her because she knew it was impossible. Why didn't Joss explain to his old friend that she was simply his a.s.sistant? It was plain to Sarah that Jacques had misread the situation and thought that there was a much more intimate relationship between them.

"I'm afraid Sarah is rather tired," she heard Joss saying when she made no response.

"It's been a long drive."

"But, of course. Let me show you to your room. And you. Joss ... do you too wish to seek your bed, or will you join me in a late supper and perhaps a discussion of the kind we used to have when we were correspondents together?"

"Supper sounds a great idea," Sarah heard Joss saying.

"I'll go out and get our bags before you show Sarah to her room."

He was gone only briefly, returning carrying two cases, and then Sarah was following her host down what seemed like miles of pa.s.sages, and then up several flights of stairs until he stopped outside a heavy wooden door.

"We have put you and Joss in the Tower suite separate rooms I'm afraid and neither of them large enough for a double bed, but there is a connecting door either side of your shared bathroom. It was Louise's idea to put you in here. She thought you would like the view..."

Scarlet cheeked and embarra.s.sed, Sarah waited for Joss to explain that they were not lovers, but to her surprise, he simply shouldered open the door and dropped her suitcase inside it, emerging again to say lightly, "Sweet dreams, Sarah," and then, dropping a brief kiss on the corner of her mouth, he turned to follow Jacques to another door, and having deposited his case, followed their host back downstairs.

Thoroughly bemused, Sarah wandered into her room. As Jacques had said it was only small, but completely round and she realised with a tiny thrill of delight that she was in a tower room. Another door led out of the room and she opened it to discover a bathroom on the other side, with a door in the opposite wall which she guessed must lead into Joss's room. She didn't open it, locking the door on her own side, and running a bath. She suspected that it would be quite some time before Joss came to bed, and she had no fears that he would disturb her when he did. Probably he hadn't corrected Jacques' mistaken a.s.sumption that they were lovers because he didn't want to embarra.s.s his friend, and after all they were only staying the one day. Tomorrow evening they would be continuing their journey to Cannes, and she very much doubted that they would be given adjoining rooms in Helene's villa!

"Sarah, wake up!"

Sarah opened her eyes reluctantly, blinking in the strong morning sunlight, totally disorientated for several seconds, filled by a tidal wave of bliss as she looked up into Joss's eyes.

"Joss..." Her voice was sleepily sensual, her pleasure at discovering him there too intense to be concealed.

He was only wearing a to welling robe tied loosely round the waist and she longed to reach up and slide her hands into its deep vee opening and caress the tanned warmth of his skin.

"Sarah, you locked the bathroom door on my side last night and I can't get in to shower."

Joss's curt words brought her back to reality with brutal speed.

Immediately she cringed back from him, horrified by how close she had come to thoroughly embarra.s.sing them both. Another second and she would actually have been touching him . caressing him. "I'll go and shower now," Joss said curtly as he stepped back from her.

"Give me fifteen minutes and then you can have the bathroom. I thought I'd better warn you that I was using it."

No, he wouldn't want her walking in on him, Sarah thought achingly, her mind tormenting her with mental images of his naked body.