Lancelot's Lady (27 page)

Chapter 27

The morning sun awakened Rhianna early. With a heavy heart, she left the sanctuary of her bedroom and went downstairs, unsure of what she
'
d say to Jonathan. But she didn
'
t have to worry about that. The house was quiet. Empty.

In the living room, she stared at the photographs of Misty and her father on the fireplace mantle. She
'
d miss them both when she was gone. With Jonathan out of her life, there
'
d be a huge hole in her heart. It wasn
'
t so much that she craved the excitement of spending the nights with him. She craved everything about him. He had awakened something in her. A need for human contact. A desire to feel something more. He
'
d shown her love, even if he
'
d never said the words.

Tears gathered in her eyes, but she blinked them away.
"
No more crying.
"

Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders. If she was going to be alone for the day, she might as well make herself useful. Besides, if she kept busy, she wouldn
'
t have as much time to dwell on the fact that Jonathan despised her. He was probably counting the days until she left.

Books were stacked on the floor in the den, so Rhianna started there, shelving them while dusting. When all the shelves were clean, she grabbed a sturdy kitchen chair in order to reach the top of the bookcases. As she was dusting, her rag caught on a pile of loose papers. She pulled them down, planning to replace the papers when she was done.

But luck wasn
'
t with her.

As she strained on her tiptoes, she heard footsteps approaching.

"
What the hell are you doing?
"
Jonathan demanded from the doorway.

She twisted around, about to give him an explanation, but lost her balance. She let out a shriek and toppled sideways, as the papers in her hand fluttered to the floor.

Lucky for Rhianna, Jonathan caught her.

"
I
'
m sorry,
"
she murmured, unable to look at him.
"
I needed something to do.
"

"
So you thought you
'
d come poking around in here?
"
he asked, setting her on her feet.

She could feel the heat in her cheeks.
"
I wasn
'
t poking around. I was trying to dust up there.
"

Ignoring her, he leaned down and began gathering the papers on the floor.

A couple of yellow-edged photos caught Rhianna
'
s eye and she plucked them from the carpet. In one picture, she recognized a younger version of her employer. JT
stood beside an attractive, dark-haired woman―Jonathan
'
s mother, probably. The next photo showed a happy boy of about six.

Jonathan,
she guessed.

She flipped over a third photo.
"
Oh my God…
"

"
What
'
s wrong?
"
Jonathan demanded.

Her hand trembled as she turn
ed the photo toward him.

He shrugged.
"
What about it?
"

Rhianna choked back a sob.
"
Why do you have a picture of my mother?
"

~ * ~

Jonathan was speechless. Had he heard Rhianna correctly?

Clearing his throat, he said,
"
That can
'
t be your mother.
"

"
Well, it is. I have the same photo at home. At your father
'
s house.
"

"
This,
"
he said, plucking the photo from her hand,
"
is the picture of the woman my father was having an affair with. I told you about her. I took this from my father
'
s jacket pocket before I left home.
"
His jaw clenched.
"
I kept it to remind me of how much the mighty JT Lance values family. This woman tore mine apart, with his help.
"

Rhianna
'
s face went ghostly white.

"
I
'
m sure she just looks like your mother,
"
he said, frowning.

"
I
'
m telling you, that
is
my mother.
"

"
I don
'
t believe this,
"
he muttered.
"
First, the photo of my father in your room, and now this.
"

If this woman was Rhianna
'
s mother and his father
'
s mistress, then he and Rhianna were connected in ways they
'
d never imagined.

"
I don
'
t want to talk about this right now,
"
he said, heading for the living room.

"
Wait!
"
Rhianna yelled after him.
"
You can
'
t just walk away. We need to talk about this, figure things out.
"
She followed him to the bar and poured a drink.
"
I don
'
t believe my mother would betray my father. She loved him. I know that.
"

"
How would you know? They died before you were born.
"

He could tell by the hurt look in her eyes that he
'
d cut her deeply.

"
My aunt told me they loved each other,
"
she said.
"
They only had eyes for each
other.
"

Jonathan let out a frustrated sigh.
"
My father kept this picture on him for years. It tore my parents apart.
"

Rhianna was crying now.
"
I
'
m sorry about that, but I still can
'
t believe she―I won
'
t! My parents were happy together.
"
She downed the drin
k in one gulp and slammed the glass on the counter.

Jonathan
'
s head throbbed.
What a mess!

"
I don
'
t believe JT would sleep with my mother, then years later send me an invitation to care for him,
"
Rhianna said coolly.

"
My father has always been a ruthless business man.
"

"
But this isn
'
t business, Jonathan. This is personal. If your father slept with my mother, then they were both adulterers.
"
Her voice grew sad.
"
And it means JT has been lying to me since day one.
"

He was unable to offer any words of comfort.
What could he say? There was only one person who knew the truth, and he was busy dying nearly two hundred miles away.

"
Listen, Rhianna, we don
'
t know for sure―
"

She held up a hand. When she finally spoke, her voice was listless, emotionless.
"
I
'
m going to
lie down.
"

When Jonathan was alone, he released a pent-up sigh.

"
Damn you all to hell,
Dad,
"
he said under his breath.

But if his father was going to hell for what he
'
d done, he wouldn
'
t be alone.

I
'
m right there with you,
Jonathan thought.

He tried to get Rhianna
'
s face out of his mind. Even with these new developments, his feelings for her were strong. That was probably what his father banked on. The old man had sent Rhianna here like the proverbial lamb to a slaughter, and Jonathan took no pleasure in being the executioner.

He recalled the last conversation he
'
d had with his father. The one where JT had told him he
'
d made a huge mistake marrying Sirena.

"
She
'
ll leave you as soon as someone dangles something better in front of her nose,
"
his father had warned.
"
It won
'
t matter if it
'
s a role in a major film, more money, or other fringe benefits. Sirena is a classic gold-digger.
"

"
She loves me!
"
Jonathan had yelled.
"
And I love her. That
'
s all that matters.
"

How naïve he
'
d been back then. Love didn
'
t guarantee a happily ever after. Nothing could.

Just like now.

He loved Rhianna. There was no use denying that now. He loved her with every fiber of his being. If that blasted photo wasn
'
t standing between them he would have asked her to stay. Not that he could guarantee marriage. He couldn
'
t. Not yet. But the thought of Rhianna leaving him, walking out of his life, hit him hard and left him feeling empty.

"
How do I fix this?
"
he said with a groan.

Could he salvage their relationship?

He flipped through the papers Rhianna had found and removed the photo of his parents. They looked so happy. In love? Maybe. But definitely happy. The back of the photo was stamped with a date. Jonathan had been five when the photo was taken.

"
Were you happy?
"
he asked.
"
Did you really love each other?
"

His father smiled back at him.

Jonathan closed his eyes.

There was only one way to get at the truth and it meant facing the man who had betrayed him
―
and
his mother. Maybe if he faced his father and asked him point blank about Rhianna
'
s mother, the old man would finally tell the truth.

But would the truth set Jonathan and Rhianna free? Or would it act like a guillotine, severing their relationship and
any chance of a future together?

"
I have to find out,
"
he said, opening his eyes.
"
Besides, he owes us that much.
"

And I owe it to Rhianna to clear up this mess once and for all.

Jonathan glanced toward the stairs. It would be an awkward week or two before Roland returned with the boat. If they could make it until then
―without pissing each other off completely―he
'
d make arrangements to go back with Rhianna.

A knock on the door jolted him from his thoughts.

Frowning, he strode to the door and flung it open.

"
I brought Misty back,
"
Marvin Atkinson said, stepping inside.
"
She wants a popsicle.
"

Misty grinned and immediately went into the kitchen.

"
Thanks,
"
Jonathan told the older man.

"
No problem.
"
Marvin
'
s eyes narrowed.
"
Okay, what
'
s wrong, Tyler?
"

"
Nothing.
"

"
Yeah, right. You
'
re not a very good liar.
"

"
I guess that
'
s one thing I never inherited from the old man.
"