Free Outsider by Sara Craven Page A

tell you...' Grantham's voice was rising to
    ominous levels.
    Natalie pushed the door wide and walked into the room. Grantham, red with
    anger, turned on her. 'And what do you want?'
    Natalie lifted her chin and looked him straight in the eye. She said, 'If Sharon
    goes, I go. Ben Watson didn't confine his attentions to her alone, Dad. And I
    can promise you, I certainly didn't encourage him, and I'm sure Sharon didn't
    either.' She touched the tip of her tongue to dry lips. 'Eliot is quite right.'
    Eliot glanced down at the riding whip he was holding, his face
    expressionless.
    Grantham sat down heavily in his chair. She saw with relief the worst of the
    florid colour-begin to fade from his face.
    'Are you telling me that—scum dared to make advances to my daughter?' He
    struck the desk with his clenched fist, jarring a silver tankard stuffed with
    pens. 'If I could get my hands on him ...'
    Natalie glanced at Eliot in alarm, and was reassured by his faint shake of the
    head. Ben Watson, it was clear, had already left Wintersgarth.
    She said steadily, 'Sharon may not be your daughter, but she's an employee,
    as I am, and entitled to the same kind of respect and protection. If it's not
    forthcoming, there's no point in my remaining here either.'
    Grantham glared at her. 'Don't you dictate to me, my girl!'
    'I wouldn't dream of it. But Beattie will—if I tell her that you've been getting
    worked up and shouting your head off, in spite of all the promises you made
    the consultant.' She put a teasing note in her voice, but Grantham was not
    mollified.
    He said heavily, 'I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be crossed by a lad
    half my age.' He gave Natalie a look. 'And blackmailed by my own flesh and
    blood.' He pointed at the papers on his desk. 'I came down to do the entries
    for Wetherby, but you might as well take over—as you seem to be doing
    with everything else!' He got up and strode out of the room, slamming the
    door behind him. The heard the outer door bang shut too.
    Eliot said drily, 'The honeymoon would appear to be over.'
    Natalie said defensively, 'You can't blame him. He's always been in
    charge—always number one. He's never deferred to anyone, not even the
    owners. It's hard for him. You have to make allowances.'
    'I thought I had been doing,' said Eliot. 'Otherwise this little blow-up would
    have come much sooner, believe me. If Grantham wanted a yes-man, a
    subordinate rather than a partner, he should have approached someone else.'
    He paused. 'But thank you for your unexpected support.'
    Natalie looked down at the floor. 'It seemed the least I could do—after last
    night.' She swallowed. 'I—I was very relieved to see you.' Her voice became
    husky. 'And I'm sorry that Beattie—jumped to conclusions about where I
    was. It won't happen again.'
    'How true,' he said sardonically. 'I'm sure you couldn't wait to disabuse her
    mind of that particular notion.' He paused. 'Tell me, did you know that
    Watson was going to be your uninvited guest?'
    'I didn't know,' she said. 'I couldn't be sure. But I had this feeling about him
    that I couldn't explain—a prejudice, really.'
    Eliot flicked his riding whip gently against his gleaming boot. 'It didn't occur
    to you to—share this feeling with anyone?'
    'It didn't seem fair when I had no proof,' Natalie said defensively. 'And
    naturally, I didn't want to agitate my father unnecessarily.' She stopped
    suddenly. 'Oh!'
    'Precisely,' he said levelly. 'I've just had to remind Grantham, and now it's
    your turn. Whether you wish it or not, Natalie, I'm here, and I intend to
    remain herd. The sooner you come to terms with that fact, the better it will
    be for all of us.' The hazel eyes looked at her coldly. 'Life is complicated
    enough without having to cope with your resentment, silent and verbal, day
    in, day out. I thought I'd warned you off involving yourself any further in
    this Peeping Tom business, but I should have known that after one word
    from me, you'd do