Free Heart of the Outback by Emma Darcy

keep remembering that. She wondered how much Gareth would give in to her if she kept holding him off. Would he have chased after her today if she had shared her bed with him last night? Would he have asked her to meet his daughter if he had already got what he wanted? How far would he go to satisfy his need for her?
    It was an interesting question, and Alida pondered it as Gareth escorted her to a white Mercedes. “My sister’s car,” he muttered dismissively as he opened the passenger door.
    “Not your style?” Alida mocked.
    He shrugged. “For getting around the city, it’s fine.”
    It meant nothing to him as a status symbol, Alida thought. Gareth Morgan would always scorn status symbols as totally meaningless. He was complete unto himself—except for his present aggravating desire for her. Which he wanted to dispense with at the earliest opportunity.
    She waited until they were both settled in the car before asking, “What school does your daughter attend?”
    He slanted her a half smile. “Stacey… her name is Stacey. And she’s at Heatherton.”
    It was the most expensive private school in Perth. And the snobbiest, Alida recollected, if it was still the same as when she had attended one of the cheapest boarding schools. She supposed Deborah Hargreaves would have recommended it to her brother.
    “Is Stacey expecting to meet me?”
    He hesitated. “Not exactly expecting.” He cocked an eyebrow at her. “How could she when I wasn’t sure what to expect myself? But she knows we were together last night.”
    That surprised Alida. “You talked about me?”
    “Briefly.”
    “What did she think?”
    He cast her a simmering look. “She thinks you’re very beautiful.”
    The compliment brought a flush of pleasure before Alida thought to question, “How does she have any idea?”
    “From the photograph in this morning’s newspaper.”
    Perhaps the award had been worth winning after all, Alida thought, if it meant winning a ready approval from Gareth’s daughter. If the girl was disposed to like her, Alida was more than willing to meet her halfway. Hope blossomed anew. With Stacey on her side, Gareth might come to view the situation differently. A girl of Stacey’s age was in need of a woman’s guidance and sympathy.
    As they drove through the impressively pillared gateway to Heatherton, it was obvious that the girls had already been released from their last lessons of the day. They were streaming down the paths leading from the classroom block to the various boarding houses in the beautifully kept grounds.
    Manicured lawns, rose gardens, tennis courts, hockey fields, old brick buildings dressed with ivy… Heatherton lived and breathed old money, and a great deal of it. Perhaps it was easy to ignore status symbols when you’ve belonged to old money for generations, Alida mused. Perhaps you simply took them for granted.
    Gareth Morgan and his daughter were of that class. One of the great landowning families, established as such since the territory was opened up for settlement. It was not surprising that Gareth considered her business trivial, but she wished he wasn’t quite so dismissive of it. Her work was worth more respect than he gave it. Gareth’s lack of respect for it reflected on her personally, and she didn’t want that to rub off on his daughter.
    “Just in time,” Gareth muttered, swinging the Mercedes into a parking bay in the visitors’ area. He swiftly alighted and strode around the car to Alida’s side.
    She felt a flutter of nerves as he opened the door for her. “Stacey won’t know which car I’m using so it’s better if we get out,” Gareth explained. “Easier for her to spot us.”
    Alida had no sooner joined Gareth than a couple of high-pitched squeals drew their attention. A huddle of young schoolgirls stared at them from the nearest path, their eyes agog, their mouths moving in busy whispers to each other. Two broke away from the group and scuttled up the path while the