In Bed with the Enemy by Janet Woods

he said?’
    ‘No ... tell me.’
    ‘I’m doing this for you. We’ll lead a new life in Sydney. You won’t be so isolated there. You’ll meet people of your own age, perhaps fall in love and get married.’ Her voice broke and tears flooded her eyes as she leaned against his chest for comfort. ‘He did it for me. Didn’t he know places don’t isolate you? It’s not having someone to love that does that. I’ve never felt so lonely in my life as I do now.’
    ‘I know.’ Leon did know ... he knew only too well. Picking up her suitcase he urged her towards the car. ‘Come on, let’s go home.’
    ‘I have no home.’
    ‘Yes you have. It’s ... with me.’
    Giving an odd, twisted smile, she gazed up at him then. ‘Ah, yes ... I made a bargain with you, didn’t I? Heads you win, tails I lose. Which side of the coin did you chose, Leon?’
    ‘Let’s talk about this later.’ He allowed Georgie to bound into the car, then settled her into the passenger seat and secured her belt. ‘Have you eaten today? You must be starving.’
    ‘Not starving, just empty. Stop playing nursemaid, Leon. Let’s talk about it now. My father would be pleased that I got such a good catch.’
    Being categorized as a commodity was uncomfortable for Leon. She knew where to prod even when she was down for the count. I could buy and sell you a thousand times over he’d said, and he closed his eyes for a second, experiencing shame. Though it went against the grain, he had to give her some breathing space.
    ‘The bargain is off. I won’t hold you to it.’
    ‘But I intend to hold you to it,’ she said quietly. ‘I intend to do my best in the kitchen ... but if I fail, as you seem to think, then I’ll become your wife.’
    “ ... and rent your clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes? ”
    ‘Don’t spout the bible at me.’ Her eyes were sparking with anger as they met his. ‘I have nothing to lose, do I? But I warn you. Leon, don’t think you’re going to get a subservient little woman tied to the kitchen sink - and from now on ... you can sew your own damned buttons on your shirts.’
    This was one contrary woman! What did she imagine she’d be doing in the kitchen - and how did his shirt buttons get into the conversation?
    He found it hard to suppress a grin. A little goading worked wonders. She was snapping out of it fast, coming after him with her gloves off. That , he could handle.
    ‘Perish the thought,’ he murmured, vowing he’d make her fall in love with him if it was the last thing he did!
    * * * *
    Darcie hadn’t known what was expected of her in the kitchen - but this huge pile of onions to peel and chop wasn’t it. Eyes streaming with tears she wiped them for the hundredth time, blew her nose, washed her hands and picked up another onion. Her fingers were stained yellow from them, as if she was a chain smoker.
    ‘Do them under water,’ the chef grunted in passing.
    Now, he tells her! She threw a glare at his departing back. After the onions came hundreds of carrots - then a million tiny potatoes.
    ‘Don’t forget to remove the eyes.’
    She savagely blinded them all with the point of her knife.
    ‘Cut the broccoli into florets and put them in soak. When you’ve done that you can have a five minute break before you wash the dishes we’ve used. I’ll need them again.’
    Delicious smells began to drift from the stoves and her mouth began to water as she hastily swallowed the remains of a cup of coffee. She’d been up since six and was starving. One hour before lunch - and was she looking forward to it.
    ‘If you’d put those dishes in to soak it would have made it easier.’
    Hasn’t anyone in this kitchen heard of non-stick cooking utensils? She glowered as she scrubbed at the baked on contents of the stainless steel dish. What had the chef been cooking in this, cement?
    Two hours later she still hadn’t had lunch and a big pile of plates were stacked next to a monstrous dishwasher.
    ‘Leave the