Conquest of the Heart (38 page)

Faith’s parents came over to visit later that
afternoon. While Faith and her mother, Vivian, chatted and cooked
dinner together in the kitchen, her father slipped away to speak
with Emile.

He knocked on the bedroom door.

“Come,” said Emile.

“Good afternoon, Emile. We came as soon as we
could. What did you want to talk to me about?” Morgan walked over
to the window and pulled the chair closer to the bed.

“I need your help with Faith. I want her to
go back to work.”

“That’s easier said than done, Emile. She’s
devoted to making sure you’re well cared for. You know I can’t make
her stop doing that.”

“I want her to choose of course, but it has
to be an offer she can’t refuse. When I married Faith, one of the
things that I fell in love with was her love for life. She was so
active, even in my healthy state I could barely keep up with her.
Now, she can barely stay awake during the day, and have you noticed
how thin she’s gotten? She barely eats. I’ve watched her slowly
lose the glow she once had. Her smile still brightens my day, but
she’s become frail. I don’t want her to die with me. Unfortunately,
that’s what’s happening. She needs to get out of this house.”

“She has gotten thin, you’re right,” said
Morgan. The situation seemed hopeless, but he looked at his
son-in-law and said, “I’ll see what I can do, okay? I can’t make
any promises.”

Emile nodded, “Thank you.”

“Now, enough about Faith. How are you, son?”
Morgan gently touched his shoulder.

“I’m as good as I can be. I’ll be much
happier when Faith is back to normal. I hate seeing her like
this.”

“You’re amazing, you know that? You’re sick
and yet you’re more concerned about how Faith is doing.”

“She’s my wife. I love her deeply. There’s
nothing I can do about this disease in my body, but I can do
something about her welfare.”

“I understand,” Morgan said.

Faith called from downstairs to let her
father and Emile know that dinner was ready.

“Well, let’s get you down to dinner, shall
we?”

Morgan helped Emile out of bed. He would be
able to walk on his own after a day or so, but he was still weak
from the chemo he’d had earlier. Emile leaned on Morgan as they
walked downstairs. All of them sat down and enjoyed a nice dinner
together. It was the first time in a few months that Emile saw a
slight hint of brightness in Faith’s face.

A week later, Adrian called Morgan to let him
know he was in France.

“Morgan, I’m in town to see you. I need your
help with something.”

“It’s good to hear from you, friend. How are
you? What can I help with?”

“I’m fine. Listen, C&A needs a better
community presence. From what I’ve read, Spring is well known in
its area. I need to know your secret and how I can go about
implementing something similar. We need your help.”

Morgan couldn’t believe that his prayers had
been answered so quickly. “Adrian, meet me for lunch. There’s
someone you should meet.”

A few hours later, Adrian and Morgan were
sitting at a table, catching up on family, business, and old
friends.

“I thought you said there was someone you
wanted me to meet,” said Adrian.

“There is. She should be here any minute.”
Morgan looked up, nodded and said, “Here she comes.”

Faith approached the table. “I’m sorry I’m
late, Dad. Traffic was a little backed up,” she said leaning down
and kissing her father on the cheek.

Adrian was surprised at how much she had
grown. “I don’t believe my eyes.”

Faith looked over immediately, recognizing
his voice. “Adrian?” she smiled. “Adrian Carlisle, how are you?
It’s been way too long.” He stood and gave her a big hug. “What are
you doing here?” she asked as they sat down.

“Your father,” Adrian motioned to Morgan,
“told me to meet him for lunch because he wanted me to meet
someone. C&A needs his help. He didn’t tell me I was here to
meet you.”

“What kind of help does C&A need
exactly?” she asked, looking at the two men.

“Spring is ranked first in Europe for its
community presence. C&A needs to increase its exposure. I need
to know what their secret is,” said Adrian.

“You’re looking at her,” smiled Morgan.

Adrian looked at Faith, “I don’t
understand.”

“Faith is the reason that Spring is so
well-known and respected among the people. She’s the best. You
wouldn’t believe how many companies have tried to steal her from
me,” replied Morgan.

Faith smiled, “Dad, you’re biased. I’m not
sure I can be of any assistance to you, Adrian. I’m not working any
longer.”

“That’s too bad. We could really use your
expertise. I only like to employ the best. Are you sure you won’t
reconsider?”

“I really need to care for my husband,” she
replied.

“Faith, it would do you some good to work
again. Emile sleeps most of the day. There’s a family friend in New
York whose specialty is in-home care. I’m sure she’d be more than
happy to help out.”

“New York? We’d have to move? Absolutely
not,” she shook her head. “Emile is in no condition to travel. We
don’t know much about America. We don’t have a house, or a car. We
don’t even know if there’s a center there that specializes in
prostate cancer treatment.”

“Cancer? Oh Faith, I’m so sorry. I hadn’t
heard,” said Adrian.

“Emile has already been cleared for travel.
I’ll have a car ready for you when you arrive, and we can purchase
a house as soon as you find one you like. Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center is the best center in New York for prostate cancer
patients. I looked into it this morning,” said Morgan.

“I see. My husband wouldn’t have anything to
do with this, would he?” asked Faith, suspiciously.

“Faith, a friend called this morning and
asked for help,” he pointed to Adrian with his head. “You’re the
best at what you do. Are you going to tell him no?”

Faith sat quietly, not sure whether she was
angry, relieved, or both.

“This will be good for you, Faith. You need
to be distracted from all that you’ve been through. We’re starting
to get concerned for your health.”

She sighed, feeling helpless and cornered.
She sipped on some water, saying nothing for a few moments. Finally
she said, “Adrian, I’d love to help. It’ll take some time to
prepare for the move. Can you give us a month or two?”

“Absolutely. Let me know what we can do to
help.”

Faith nodded. She looked at her father
without speaking. “Please excuse me, gentlemen.”

She stood, left the restaurant, and went to
see her mother. The two men watched her leave.

“I hope I didn’t cause any trouble. I had no
idea.” Adrian was concerned for her.

“No worries, my friend. She will get over it.
Let’s finish our meals. I’d like you to meet Emile. He’ll want to
know of my progress.”

“So her husband is behind this after all?”
asked Adrian.

“Yes, but Vivian and I both agree with him
that Faith needs a healthy distraction. Your timing couldn’t have
been more perfect. Emile and I just talked about this a week
ago.”

“Won’t Faith be home? She’ll suspect - ”

Morgan shook his head. “She’s upset with me.
Whenever that happens, she goes to see her mother. We should have
plenty of time.”

They finished eating, paid for their meal,
and went to see Emile. Morgan called ahead to let him know they
were coming.

At Emile and Faith’s house, Morgan and Adrian
joined Emile in the family room.

“Emile, this is Adrian Carlisle, a close
friend of the family,” said Morgan.

Emile extended his hand, “Nice to meet you.
Sit, sit.” He motioned to the sofa.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry to hear
about your condition,” Adrian said.

Emile nodded.

“Adrian is actually on a business visit. He
had a position created for Public Relations Director at his
company. They want to increase their community presence in New
York. He’s offered Faith a job.”

“So soon,” Emile’s eyes lit up.

“Yes. If you’re up to it, you’re cleared to
travel to New York. There’s a center there that specializes in the
treatment you need, possibly better than the one here.”

“Did Faith accept the offer?” he asked
looking at them. They were sitting across from him.

“She did. She didn’t like it, but she did.
She asked if you had anything to do with it, but I took
responsibility, which to an extent, was true,” replied Morgan.

“Thank you, Morgan.” Emile paused. “I do have
one more request.”

“What is it?” asked Morgan.

“I don’t want Faith to be alone when I’m
gone.”

“She won’t be. We’ll be here for her, and so
will your family, and her friends. The two of you have never been
in this alone,” said Morgan.

“That’s not what I mean. I want her to meet
someone, someone special who can capture her heart.”

“This is an even harder task than the job,
Emile. You know Faith loves you with everything she is. She will
never allow anyone near her. She values your marriage too
much.”

Adrian was overcome by the love that Emile
had for Faith. His love was so strong, he was willing to let her
go, due to his sickness.

“Morgan, you and I both know that Faith
should never have married me. Perhaps with the move, and working,
she will have a good chance of meeting the right one.”

“That would be a long shot.” Morgan sat
quietly, and then a light came on.

Looking at Adrian he said, “Adrian, is Gavin
still single?”

Adrian looked down in disappointment. “I’m
afraid so. Juliet and I don’t approve of his current activities,
but there’s not much we can do.”

Morgan and Emile sat and stared at Adrian. It
took a moment for him to realize where Morgan was headed with his
question.

“I see where you’re going. Gavin would
definitely be attracted to Faith. Based on what I know about her,
she wouldn’t make things easy for him. He would find that
challenging.”

Emile was still concerned. “What about her
sensitivity? She can’t be won over by just anyone.”

“Emile, all we can do is try. There’s no
guarantee,” Morgan answered.

Adrian was perplexed. “What sensitivity? I
only recall that she speaks in uncontrolled French when she’s
uncomfortable.”

“It’s complicated. We don’t need to go into
that right now. Let’s just hope that Gavin is persistent. He’ll
have to be,” said Morgan.

“He is,” said Adrian. “Maybe Faith will turn
out to be the one he needs as well. He hasn’t been serious about
anyone since Aubrey.”

“Let’s hope for the best,” said Emile.

* * *

“I’m afraid you were set up, son,” Adrian
finished. “So was Faith. Of course, we had no idea if it would work
out. I’d say so far it has. When I wasn’t sure what was going on
with you two, Agnes filled me in. I called Emile weekly to update
him.”

“Emile has been behind this the whole time
without Faith knowing?”

“Yes, and she can’t know. She’s been through
so much already with the attempted rape, Emile dying, and the
possibility of losing you. I don’t think she can take much
more.”

“She’s not losing me. I love her,” Gavin
said.

“Did you tell her that?”

“I did. Given the circumstances, I felt she
needed to know.”

“Good. I told you that time would come.”

“What happens now?” Gavin asked.

“I believe that’s up to you and Faith. She’ll
need you more than she’s ever needed you. Oh,” Adrian remembered,
“how does she react to you touching her?”

“She can’t resist my touch, and that’s not me
being arrogant. She told me. In fact, just hearing my voice does
something to her. Why?”

“That, she’ll have to explain. Is she still
here?”

“I had to send her home. That’s the other
matter we need to talk about.”

“Why? What happened?”

“I didn’t find out from Faith that she was
married. Chandler told me.”

Adrian shook his head in disbelief. “How the
hell did she find out?”

“I’m not sure. When Faith figured out how I
knew, she confronted Chandler about it. She slapped her pretty
hard, almost twice if I hadn’t stopped her. Chandler’s on leave
with pay until further notice. I suspect we might have a civil suit
coming if we don’t tread lightly with this one.”

“You’re right. Let her stew a bit, then we’ll
call her in. If she wasn’t so talented I’d fire her myself. She’s
been nothing but trouble since she got here.”

Gavin was still in disbelief, and really
wanted to see Faith. “My mind is still reeling from this. Can you
handle the rest of the day without me?” he asked as he stood.

“Absolutely. Take all the time you need. I
only ask that you take any contracts or paperwork that need to be
signed with you. We have deadlines to meet.”

“I was planning on it. I’ll see you
tomorrow.”

Gavin turned and walked out of Adrian’s
office, went back to his own and put all of his paperwork in his
briefcase. Before leaving, he sent a text message to Faith.

“Meet me at my house,” his fingers typed. He
left for the day, hoping that she would respond or just be there
when he got home.

Faith was relaxing at home, talking to Mara,
the nurse, about the morning’s events before she got the text from
Gavin.

“Yes, she came to the door and asked a lot of
questions. She never said who she was,” said Mara.

“I can’t believe she did this, though I’m not
surprised. She must have been following us to find out where I
lived.”

Faith’s phone chimed. She picked it up and
read the message. She looked up and said, “Mara, Gavin wants me to
meet him at his house. Do you mind staying?”

“Of course not, Faith. I was scheduled to be
here. Emile is sleeping anyhow. That’s all he does nowadays. He’s
very happy for you and Gavin, though. He talks about it all the
time.”