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There was a slim chance she could stop the development, but she balked at taking it. If Ben found out, he would never believe it wasn't another attack on Rick's wedding plans.

She felt the corners of her mouth edge up into a bitter smile. Since he already believed it, she had nothing more to lose. And the environment had everything to gain.

Loading her four-wheel-drive vehicle with supplies for a long drive took very little time. Jessie and Robyn were both preoccupied with their work, so no one saw her drive off. She wouldn't have told anyone where she was going, but basic survival in the bush demanded that someone know her destination and expected time of arrival, so she left a message on the computer for Robyn to find when she finished work.

Fortunately, she knew the area well enough to know which of the maze of unmade roads led towards Red River Homestead. As a teenager staying at Kinga Downs she had been there years ago when she and the Champion family had attended Persia Redshaw's eighteenth birthday party.

Soon afterwards, Persia had gone to Switzerland to attend an expensive finishing school and Keri hadn't seen her since. What was she like now, she wondered? In the driving mirror, she saw her mouth tighten. What she really meant was, what kind of woman would consider marrying Rick Champion?

The drive took several hours and by the time Red River homestead came into sight, Keri was worn out from battling with the heavy vehicle over the tortuous roads. She trusted to luck that Persia would be at home, not wanting to explain her mission over the telephone in advance.

Luck was with her. The woman who appeared on the front veranda to watch Keri drive up was Persia herself. She came out to the car as soon as Keri had parked it. 'This is a surprise. I wasn't expecting visitors.' She stopped in her tracks, her hand extended. 'Keri Donovan? It is you?'

'It's me,' Keri agreed, shaking the other woman's hand. 'I didn't think you'd remember me, Miss Redshaw. It's been a long time.'

'My eighteenth birthday,' Persia confirmed, proving that her memory was indeed sound. 'Call me Perry, won't you? I got sick to death of Persia and Miss Redshaw in Switzerland. Only my mother insists on my full name these days.'

Keri could hardly believe her ears. Persia was still the same porcelain-pretty doll of a woman she remembered, with candyfloss blonde hair and impossibly blue eyes, but she sounded so sensible and approachable. How on earth had she got mixed up with Rick?

At Persia's invitation, she followed the other woman into, the house, welcoming its dim coolness after the heat of the day outside. Like Kinga Downs, Red River was a century-old homestead surrounded by a cluster of other buildings. It was framed by a gracious veranda with a sloping corrugated roof. The village-like atmosphere was accentuated by a clay tennis court and swimming-pool beyond which Keri glimpsed an inviting fern grotto. It was plain to see that Persia wasn't marrying Rick for his money.

Persia—Perry—rang for tea which was brought by a strikingly beautiful part-aboriginal housemaid. When they had drunk some and sampled the scones which were served with it, Perry leaned forwards. 'Now what brings you to Red River? I hope it wasn't to see my folks, because they're away at a christening in Darwin.'

Keri shook her head. 'I came to see you, actually.'

Perry, nodded. 'That was kind of you. I've had half the district calling in since I got back.'

Guiltily, Keri remembered the Redshaws' recent loss which had slipped her mind until now. 'I was sorry to hear about your grandmother,' she offered belatedly. 'I lost mine a couple of years ago and it's still a dreadful shock, even when they're very old, as she was.'

Perry's eyes grew misty. 'I know. My gran was special to me, too. I'm glad I could spend those last weeks with her and Rick didn't mind postponing our wedding too much. How is he? I haven't seen much of him since I got back. He tells me they're flat-out with the cattle muster.'

Keri almost choked on her buttered scone. 'I haven't seen much of him either, because of the muster, I suppose,' she added. Now she knew how Perry could consider marrying him. He had fooled her as thoroughly as he had tried to fool Keri when she was a naive teenager. Perry evidently thought he was the dedicated, hard-working property-owner. She recalled Rick saying they didn't know each other very well. It explained a lot.

Persia nodded understandingly. 'Ben must be caught up in it too. He'll be so relieved when Rick can take over some of the responsibility. Rick explained to me how his father's death nearly destroyed him. He couldn't face going home to Kinga Downs at first, so he travelled around trying to come to terms with himself. But you must know all this already, being engaged to Ben.' Her smile widened. 'Do you realise, that will make us sisters- in-law?'

'It will, won't it?' Keri agreed absently. Keri and Perry. They sounded more like a comedy act than potential sisters. She was stunned by how completely Rick had misled his future wife. Jake's death hadn't destroyed him at all, unless it was because the terms of the will had left Rick out in the cold. His free- spending travels had nothing to do with recovering from any grief. But Persia obviously believed the tale and it wasn't Keri's place to disillusion her, no matter what Ben expected of her. She took a deep breath. 'I did have a reason for coming here today.'

Persia gave her an expectant look. 'I'm listening.'

As directly as she could, Keri described the plans Theo and Rick had made to develop a tract of Casuarina land into a tourist resort. 'They intend to put a casino on the river bank, beside Ben's crocodile farm,' she concluded.

Persia refilled her coffee-cup and held out the pot to Keri. When she shook her head, Persia set the pot down and sipped her drink thoughtfully. 'I see. I had no idea what he had in mind for Casuarina.'

Keri sat forward. 'But you can see the harm it will do to the environment?'

Long lashes fluttered down over Persia's wide blue eyes. 'I suppose so, but it is Rick's land. Surely he can do what he wants with it?'

Frustration welled up inside Keri, but she held it carefully in check. 'You're right, of course. But your children's' future is at stake as well. Surely you don't want them to inherit a ravaged land?'

Unexpectedly, Persia's face darkened. 'Maybe they won't want the land at all. I grew up here with the heat, the dust and the flies, yet I'm expected to love it and be content with it for the rest of my life. But I'm not.'

'I don't follow you.' But she was very much afraid she did.

A hard glitter sprang to Persia's eyes and she blinked rapidly. 'Why should you? I haven't told anyone how I feel. But the truth is, I wish I'd stayed in Switzerland when I had the chance.'

Understanding began to dawn on Keri. 'Did you meet someone while you were over there?'

Persia wavered, as if deciding whether or not to answer. Then she gave a deep sigh. 'I've said this much, you may as well know the rest. It doesn't matter now anyway.'

'I won't say anything, I promise,' Keri encouraged her.

'I met a French banker who lives permanently in Zurich. We fell in love and he wanted me to stay in Europe. Mum and Dad would die if they knew. All their lives, they've dreamed of me marrying a local man and carrying on the family traditions.'

'I take it they approve of Rick Champion?' Keri speculated aloud.

Persia's laugh was brittle. 'Oh, sure. He's tailor-made. Plenty of land, a good family name, and, for my sake, not too repulsive to look at.'

'Is that enough for marriage?' To Keri it sounded more like a shopping-list.

A shrug lifted Persia's fine-boned shoulders. 'It has to be. Dad has serious angina. I can't please myself if it's going to kill him, can I?'

There was nothing Keri could say. It was clear now why Persia intended to marry a man she didn't love, and who didn't care for her, except as a ticket to financial freedom. To Persia, if she couldn't marry her French banker, one man was as good as another, provided her parents were satisfied.

Keri felt her heart go out to the other woman. Her own parents had encouraged her to live her own life, never expecting her to fit their mould. It was difficult to understand the kind of pressure Persia felt herself under.

Still, she had to try one last time. 'Won't you at least talk to Rick about the development? You might make him think about the consequences.'

'Sound advice I could give to you as well,' came a deep masculine voice, intruding between them.

She started, astonished to find Ben framed in the doorway. She had been so engrossed in her talk with Persia that neither of them had heard his car drive up.

Persia jumped to her feet. 'Come in, Ben. Join us for tea.'

With a smooth gesture, Ben swept his Akubra hat off his head and tossed it on to the arm of a chair, then sat down and took the cup Persia handed to him. 'I knocked, but you didn't seem to hear me.'

'It's not surprising. I was telling Keri about my experiences in Switzerland and we got carried away.' The look she directed at Keri implored her to keep Persia's confidences to herself.

Over the rim of his cup, Ben's eyes met Keri's, his look accusing. 'Funny, I thought I heard you mention Rick as I came in.'

'Oh, that. Keri told me about his plans to develop Casuarina. She seemed to think I could influence him to change them.'

'Did she now.' The coolness in his voice sent a shiver down Keri's spine. She had known he would misconstrue her visit here and she thought she was prepared for the consequences. Now, his obvious condemnation stung her. 'What did you decide to do, Persia?' The question was asked idly but Keri had a feeling he was keenly interested in the answer.

'I don't know. It's his land, as I told Keri. Who knows? Maybe a casino will liven things up around here.'

'Maybe.'

'How did you get here so quickly, Ben?' Keri asked.

She knew why he had come, to stop her causing problems between Rick and Persia. He must have returned to the homestead early and read the message she had left for Robyn. But it didn't explain how he had caught up with her so quickly.

'I hitched a lift with a road train which was heading this way. I was worried about you driving all this way then having to drive back the same day, so it was a bit of luck that the trucks were coming here, wasn't it?'

'Very lucky.' She echoed his words but not the sarcasm with which they were overlaid. Now she would have to drive back to Kinga Downs in his company, since he didn't have a vehicle of his own. He knew she would consider it anything but luck, but couldn't admit it in front of Persia. Her role in the family meant they had to keep up the pretence of being happily engaged, in case word got back to Robyn before they were ready to tell her.

'I haven't congratulated you two, yet,' Persia said, missing the. undercurrents between them. 'When's the happy day?'

'We haven't set a wedding day yet, have we, darling?' Ben asked, emphasising the endearment. 'But it will have to be before the dry season ends, so everyone can get here before the monsoons make the road impassable.'

Keri shot him a venomous look. Did he have to embroider the lie so much? 'Maybe we'll wait a while,' she interjected smoothly. 'After all, it was a sudden decision and we don't want to make any mistakes.' There, she had managed to plant at least a seed of doubt in Persia's mind.

'What about you and Rick?' Ben asked. 'Maybe we could arrange a double wedding.'

'Ben!' Keri cried out, appalled that he could suggest such a thing, even though she knew he was only doing it to infuriate her. He was succeeding admirably.

Persia came to the rescue. 'No, Ben. Every woman deserves her own wedding day.' Her voice sounded far away, as if she was picturing how she would have liked things to be.

Ben must have caught the wistful note in her tone. 'Is everything all right between you and Rick?'

Persia's eyes went to Keri but she shook her head imperceptibly. Persia was afraid that Ben had somehow discovered that she loved someone else. More likely, he was trying to gauge how much damage Keri had done by her visit. If only he knew the truth. 'Everything's fine,' Persia assured him. 'Why do you ask? Has Rick . . .?'

'No, Rick has said nothing to me, except how hard he's been working to get Casuarina homestead ready for the two of you.'

'That's good,' Persia sounded relieved.

'Why don't you come and see for yourself?' Ben invited. 'You and Rick haven't had much time together since you got back and Robyn would love to have you stay with us. You know how much she loves company.'

'I remember, but I promised my parents I'd keep an eye on things at Red River while they're away. I might be able to come in a few days, after they get back.'

'Sounds good to me,' Ben confirmed. 'How is your father?'

Ben sounded as if he was aware of her father's heart problem.

'He's OK,' said Persia. 'He hates being so inactive but he hasn't the strength to work the property any more, although the nitro-glycerine pills help a lot. He's seeing a specialist while they're in Darwin, so maybe something can be done to help him.'

If it could, would Persia still feel bound to marry Rick, or would she be free to return to her banker in Switzerland, Keri wondered?

Ben gave her no chance to see Persia alone and ask her. He stood up, taking her arm, so she was forced to her feet alongside him. 'We must be going. It's a long drive back and I'd prefer to get home before dark, don't you agree, darling?'

If he called her darling once more, she would scream, she told herself. She fixed a smile to her lips and nodded. 'Of course. Thanks for the tea, Persia.'

Persia leaned closer. 'Thanks for listening to me. It's been such a relief to talk to someone. But you'll keep it to yourself, won't you?'

'I promised,' Keri reminded her, slightly irritated. If anything happened between Rick and Persia, she was bound to get the blame, yet the foundations of their relationship were already crumbling, through no fault of Keri's.

At the door, they said their goodbyes and Ben walked ahead to bring the car around to them. When he was out of earshot, Persia said, 'You're so lucky to have a man who cares about you the way Ben does. Coming all this way because he was worried about you driving back alone.' She sighed, finding the idea romantic. She wasn't to know that Ben's reasons for coming after her were anything but romantic.