When the Devil Drives

Know your enemy, had been one of Jonas's favourite maxims, but hehad totally underestimated his former overlooker's sheer force of willand determination to succeed. Just as Simon had failed to assess CalBlackstone's deviousness of purpose in offering to help the CraftCompany financially.But then Si had never taken the family feud too seriously anyway,Joanna recalled.'Isn't it time we started to live and let live?' he'd demanded angrilywhen Joanna had flatly refused to attend a dinner party to which CalBlackstone had also been invited.'Not as far as I'm concerned,' Joanna had returned with a toss of hertawny hair. 'If people invite that man, they needn't bother to ask me aswell.'But, as she'd grown up, she'd found it was well- nigh impossible toavoid Cal completely. The Chalfonts were no longer the powerfulsocial mentors they'd once been, and Cal, single, wealthy and darklyattractive, was a welcome visitor to every household in the areaexcept theirs.Joanna had found to her exasperation that to keep out of CalBlackstone's way entirely was to risk social isolation. More and moreshe'd found herself running into him at point-to-points, parties andcharity functions. To her annoyance, she'd actually been introducedto him a number of times by a series of well- meaning people whoclearly shared Simon's view that it was time a truce was called in thisfamily war.But none of these people had been hounded and cheated by theBlackstones, Joanna thought violently. To them, Cal Blackstone wassimply a charming young man, if a trifle sardonic, who drove a seriesof fast cars, dated all the most attractive girls in the West Riding, and