Lancelot's Lady (29 page)

Chapter 29

Rhianna opened her eyes and found two worried faces watching her.

She blinked.
"
What happened?
"

"
You fainted,
"
Jonathan replied.

Behind him stood the stranger, Charles Duke. The heavyset man had small, beady eyes, presently trained on Rhianna with the precision of a marine sharpshooter. His bulbous nose was honeycombed with enlarged pores, suggesting a man who imbibed in too much alcohol, and the smile he gave her was thin-lipped and stiff.

Not the friendliest looking man she
'
d ever seen.

He
'
s a lawyer,
she recalled.
For JT.

She struggled to sit up, but Jonathan gently restrained her.
"
Just stay there for a minute, Rhianna. You
'
ve had a shock.
"
His voice faded.
"
We both have.
"

"
Do you know Mr. Lance too?
"
Charles asked. He seemed surprised.

"
You could say that, Mr. Duke.
"

Rhianna took a deep breath.
"
Let me up. I have to start packing.
"

The thought that JT had relapsed spurred her into action. No matter what he might have done in the past, she knew now that she had to stay with him. JT had done so much for her. At the very least, she owed him a chance to explain his connection to her mother. Hopefully it was one that everyone could live with.

"
Wait a minute,
"
Jonathan said, turning to the older man.
"
I
'
m not going to let you whisk her away without some kind of confirmation.
"

"
Let
'
s call Mr. Lance then, shall we? He
'
ll confirm why I
'
m here.
"

Rhianna shook her head.
"
There
'
s no phone here.
"

Charles wiped his damp forehead.
"
I can show you the letter he sent me.
"

"
That
'
ll be fine,
"
Jonathan said.

Rhianna let out a huff.
"
Jesus, Jonathan. He
'
s JT
'
s lawyer, for crying out loud.
"

"
No worries, Ms. McLeod,
"
Charles assured her.
"
I have the letter with me.
"

She watched the man as he lumbered to the door and retrieved a leather briefcase. He popped it open on the coffee table in front of them.

"
Here we go.
"

Charles passed a single sheet of paper to Rhianna. She recognized the Lance letterhead immediately. The letter itself was a request for the lawyer to find Rhianna and bring her home. It was typewritten and bore JT
'
s signature.

"
I
'
ll pack right away,
"
she said, moving to the stairs.

As she headed up to her room, something made her look over her shoulder. Charles was staring at her, a peculiar expression on his face. One that suggested he knew something she didn
'
t.

She gasped.
Is JT already dead? Is that what he
'
s not telling me?

With a shake of her head, she forced the thought from her mind and continued upstairs. In her bedroom, she quickly packed and tried not to think about the fact that she was leaving Jonathan, Misty and Angelina
'
s Isle for good.

"
Focus on JT,
"
she berated herself.
"
He needs you.
"

She thought of Charles Duke. There was something off about the man, but she couldn
'
t put her finger on what. She knew one thing though. She didn
'
t like him. There was a coldness that emanated from him.

Don
'
t be so ungrateful,
she thought.
He
'
s taking you home. To JT.

Would she uncover the truth about her mother before death came to claim him? She sure hoped so.

Lugging her suitcase downstairs, she was surprised to find the lawyer still standing in the living room. Jonathan had even offered the man a martini.

"
I
'
m ready,
"
she said with a nod to Charles.

"
Very well then. I
'
ve booked a flight back to Miami. It leaves in…
"
Charles glanced at his watch, spilling his drink on his jacket in the process.
"
Damn it! I
'
m so clumsy sometimes.
"
His face puckered and reddened.

"
I hope it doesn
'
t ruin your suit,
"
Rhianna said, handing him some paper towel.

Charles snorted.
"
It
'
s only alcohol.
"

"
How much time until your flight leaves?
"
Jonathan cut in.

"
Just over two hours,
"
Charles replied.

"
That doesn
'
t give you much time. Or me.
"

"
Why do
you
need time?
"
Rhianna asked, surprised.

"
I was hoping to go back with you.
"

"
That won
'
t be possible,
"
Charles cut in.
"
The flight is booked solid. I was lucky to get the last two seats and only because I claimed a medical emergency.
"
He rubbed his two chins.
"
You could take the next flight, Mr. Tyler. I believe it leaves about four hours after ours.
"

Jonathan frowned.
"
I guess that
'
s what I
'
ll have to do then.
"

"
Excuse me for a moment,
"
Rhianna said to Charles. Turning to Jonathan, she said,
"
Can I speak to you?
"

"
Sure.
"

She pulled him into the kitchen.
"
Why are you being so rude?
"

"
I
'
m not. I just don
'
t like some stranger showing up on my island.
"

"
Oh right. Like me.
"
She scowled.
"
JT asked him to bring me back, so I
'
m going.
"

"
Then go back with me. On the later flight.
"

"
What
'
s gotten into you? Not that long ago you didn
'
t want anything more to do with me, and now you want to take a trip home together?
"

"
I wouldn
'
t exactly call it
home
.
"

"
Well, I would,
"
she snapped.
"
And I do.
"

Jonathan grabbed her arm.
"
Listen to me. Something about this Duke guy doesn
'
t feel right.
"

"
What?
"

"
I don
'
t know. Maybe JT
'
s worse than he
'
s saying. I just don
'
t want to see you get hurt.
"

"
Why would you care if I get hurt? You
'
ve hurt me plenty lately.
"

"
Rhianna…
"
He shook his head.
"
Look, I
'
m sorry about going off on you like that. I was in shock. First my father sends you here. Then
I find out about him and your mother―
"

"
Stop right there. We don
'
t know what happened between them.
"

"
You
'
re right.
"
He released her arm and his palm stroked the side of her face.
"
And now it doesn
'
t even seem to matter. All I can think of is that I don
'
t
want you to leave.
"

She couldn
'
t breathe.

"
I care about you,
"
he continued.
"
A lot.
"

She glared at him.
"
You
'
re unbelievable. I guess it
'
s true. Guys always want what they can
'
t have. Now that I
'
m leaving, you decide you care about me.
"

Jonathan muttered a curse.
"
Why does everything have to be so difficult between us?
"

"
I don
'
t know.
"
She paused, collecting her thoughts and wishing that he
'
d told her how he felt earlier.
"
Do me a big favor, Jonathan. In fact, do yourself a favor. Go back to Miami and make things right with your father. For his sake, yours and Misty
'
s.
"
She turned and walked away.
"
I
'
ll go back with Mr. Duke and tend to JT.
"

"
I
'
ll be on the next plane,
"
Jonathan called after her.
"
Make sure you send Roland back with the boat. Tell him it
'
s an emergency.
"

Tears welled in Rhianna
'
s eyes.
"
Goodbye, Jonathan.
"

"
We need to hurry,
"
Charles called out.

Rhianna glanced upstairs. There wasn
'
t even time to say goodbye to Misty.

"
Yes, of course,
"
she said.

As she left the house and followed JT
'
s lawyer through the trees, she peered over her shoulder. Jonathan stood in the doorway, watching her leave.

He almost appeared heartbroken.

~ * ~

Jonathan clenched his jaw and fought the impulse to run after Rhianna. When she turned around, he almost called out to her.
I love you. Don
'
t leave me.

However, he didn
'
t, and now he was kicking himself for his cowardice.
"
Way to go,
"
he muttered.

He wondered if he
'
d ever get the opportunity to tell her how he felt. Maybe it was too late. Maybe their time had come and gone.

Rhianna disappeared into the trees, setting Jonathan into motion. His first stop was the Atkinsons
'
cottage. He knocked on the door. As soon as Marvin saw his expression, he was ushered inside.

"
A lawyer came for Rhianna,
"
Jonathan said breathlessly.

"
What would a lawyer want with her?
"
Marvin asked.