Lotus Blossom (18 page)

“Charades,” Lotus guessed, wondering how Todd could suspect someone so close.

“Right. Stop interrupting.” Todd took a deep breath, ignoring it when Lotus poked him in the arm. “Then tonight when I kept all the pieces of paper ...”

“With the initials on them . . Lotus interjected, excitement in her voice.

“Do we have to gag you?” Will leaned over from the backseat.

Dash said nothing but he folded her even closer to his side, his chin on her head. “So you feel you have someone whose handwriting fits the file?” Todd nodded. “I sure didn’t want to believe it, but I think it fits. I brought some other samples of his writing from my briefcase and . . .

“Someone in our family?” Lotus pronounced in horror. “I don’t believe it.”

Will put his hand on her shoulder. “Neither did I, but I’m coming around to it . . .” His hand squeezed her. “And if I find out that my father went through this because someone we trusted . . .” “You’ll do nothing,” Dash interrupted, his voice like steel. “The police will be called and they’ll take it from there. My advice is that you, Will, stay away from the firm tomorrow. Let Todd handle it.”

“What are you saying?” Lotus whispered.

“Jeremy.” Will choked. “It’s his handwriting that seems to match the file. Dash called his people out in Las Vegas . . .”

“I called Hans. He has run an investigation of his own, and it seems that the man who called himself Sinclair had gray hair, but he was quite youthful-looking . . .” Dash paused, looking down at her stunned face. “One of the showgirls remembers him . . . without the wig.”

They talked some more. Lotus heard them say that it must have been a wig he wore because he couldn’t just dye his hair. She heard their words, but she wasn’t really listening. “Could he really have done that to Uncle? To all of us?”

“Honey, having gambler’s fever is every bit as deadly and addictive as being a heroin addict or an alcoholic,” Dash said in a low voice.

“That’s what they say,” Lotus answered listlessly. “I can’t believe I dated him . . . and never knew him.” She choked. “My God, what if I had been serious about him?”

“No chance. We were meant to find each other, angel,” Dash whispered in her ear. “I’m going to take her back to the house. Todd, I think you should handle this in the morning and as soon as possible.”

“I will. It won’t be easy convincing Rob. They were roomies at the university.”

“I’ll kill him.” Will pressed his hand to his eyes. “Willy, don’t.” Lotus got out of the car, then climbed into the backseat with her cousin. “Don’t be foolish. Uncle Silas couldn’t take that, could he?”

“No.” Will put his arms around her and pressed his face into her shoulder. “You did it. The rest of us knew he couldn’t have done it, but we didn’t do anything about clearing his name. You did that. I love you, little cousin.”

“Oh, Willy, Willy.” Lotus held him.

“Come on, sweetheart.” Dash edged her out of the car, then looked over the roof at her brother. “Maybe you should stay with him tonight.”

Todd nodded, then muttered something to his cousin, who got out of the car and walked with him toward his home.

Lotus leaned on Dash as he walked her home. “Will thanked me, but he should have been thanking you. Hans took a great deal of time to question so many people, and it was under your direction that it was done. Thank you.”

“I knew that you believed in your uncle. That was enough for me.”

“I don’t suppose you’d believe me when I tell you I love you.”

“I believe you, not just because you are a very truthful person but because I find that I have to believe that if I’m going to feel whole.”

“I will love you forever, probably.”

“Not just probably, I hope.” Dash kept his arm around her as they walked through the gate in the hedge. “Love, I know we have to stay here while this mess gets ironed out, but I believe the outcome will be ultimately a happy one. So ... I was wondering if you would like to marry me before we meet my family? What do you think of that?” Lotus was going to remind him that they were going to table any discussion like that, but when she looked up at his face, silvered by the moon and starlight, her heart thumped in rough cadence at the look of love on his face. “I think I would like to be married before we go to Boston, or is it Worcester where the fishermen are? Dash? What is it?” She stared at him.

His jaw felt paralyzed, his tongue and lips wouldn’t work. He had never felt so helpless in his life. She said she’d marry him. “Darling . . . he breathed, then swept her up into his arms so that she was high above his head. “Darling. I’ll call tomorrow and make the arrangements. Don’t change your mind.”

“No.” She leaned over him, feeling a shivery delight. Could something part them? She clutched him to her, letting her hair swing around his face.

No. I want to marry you right now.”

“God. How can I leave you tonight?” Dash groaned, his mouth moving over hers as though by touching her his life would be sustained.

“I think I’ll be taking cold showers too.” Lotus half laughed, half groaned, pushing back from him.

“I’ll be here as soon as I make a few calls in the morning. Will you prepare your folks or shall I? I don’t want anyone changing your mind.”

“I’ll tell them. Father will balk a little, but we’ll talk. Mother will listen to Father.”

With one last lingering kiss, Dash was gone. Lotus didn’t expect to sleep right away. She hugged her pillow to her, pretending it was Dash. Her eyelids drooped and she was gone.

She heard the voice before she opened her eyes and knew who it was. “Lee! What are you doing here?” She blinked open her lids to squint at her cousin who was crouched on the end of the bed.

“Is it true? Did you dear Daddy, Lotus? Oh, Lotus, he’s smiling this morning. He wants to see you. The police were here,” Lee chattered, her moist eyes shining with happiness. “I can’t believe the nightmare is over. Daddy says that if Jeremy clears out and repays the money, he won’t be prosecuted. I think they should throw him in a dungeon. Oh, Lotus.” Lee threw herself on the bed, hugging Lotus. “Hurry, get dressed. J.D. is here too.”

“What!” Lotus shot to a sitting position but Lee was gone.

She scampered into the bathroom taking a fast shower and shampoo, then scuttled back into the bedroom. She took the time to get out her best ultrasuede vest suit in pink with a pink silk blouse dotted in turquoise to match it. With the outfit she wore medium high leather slings that were almost the color of her hair.

She ran out of her bedroom and down the stairs, taking them two at a time.

“Whoa.” Dash caught her as she catapulted down the last steps. He held her and kissed her, then pushed her back from him so that he could look at her. “Lovely. You look wonderful in that color. I have something for you.”

“You do?” Lotus felt out of breath with him.

“Yes. Here’s part of it.” He pushed a filigreed gold ring on her finger, the gold swirled high around one very large round diamond. “Do you like it?”

“It’s beautiful. It looks old.” Lotus looked up at him, feeling the shimmer of tears in her eyes. “I do love it. Thank you.”

“Thank you for wearing it.” Dash kissed her again. “It belonged to my grandmother. She gave it to me after my divorce, and told me to find someone' to love.” He touched her lips with his index finger. “Now I know what she meant.” "Ahem.” Mrs. Sinclair coughed to get their attention. “I don’t want to interrupt.” She smiled at her daughter who was now in Dash’s embrace.

Lotus didn’t move from Dash’s arms. “Mother, we’re in love. We’re being married soon.”

‘Tomorrow. Here. By a judge,” Dash stated softly.

“I wanted her to be married in a church,” her mother faltered. “But I want her to be happy too.” “I will spend my life making her happy, Mrs. Sinclair. I promise you that.”

“You must call me Mother then.” Lotus’s mother’s smile was tentative. “Or something like that.”

“I would be pleased to call you Mother,” Dash told her.

It delighted Lotus when her mother smiled and nodded. “I never expected it to be this fast.” Mrs. Sinclair laughed when Lotus looked puzzled. “I mean that I knew you would tumble into love all of a sudden, child, but you’ve surprised even me.” “Mother.” Lotus went to her parent and hugged her. “I do love him.”

“We should tell your father. My goodness we have so much news today.” Lotus’s mother paused and looked at her. “I must tell you, child, that neither your father nor I ever thought you were in love with Jeremy, but we did like him.” She looked sad for a moment. “Rob is very upset this morning.”

Lotus felt stricken as she hurried after her mother. She almost fell into the large country kitchen and ran straight to her brother, Rob, who stood in one corner of the large eating area watching her. She threw her arms around his neck. “None of us would have ever guessed it could be him.”

Rob sobbed into her neck, hugging her close. “God! I wanted you to marry him someday! I was sure he would make you happy.”

“We all liked him,” Lotus murmured, aware that the family was watching them, listening. “What will they do to him?”

Rob shrugged. “I saw to it that he had a lawyer. I don’t think the family wants to prosecute as long as Uncle Silas’s name is cleared and the money is repaid.” Rob sighed, his eyes sliding toward the window where a proud, male cardinal sang his heart out in the backyard. “It’s been a nightmare, Lotus.” He looked back at her. “I should have paid more attention when I gambled with him. I should have checked out his debts and I never did.”

“Robbie, don’t say that. I was stunned when Todd and Dash told ...”

“Dash? You mean J.D.?”

Lotus turned around and held out her hand to Dash.

He was at her side at once, taking her hand in his. “What is it, love?”

Lotus reached up to kiss his chin, aware that her cousin, Lee, and her parents were looking at her. She smiled at each of them in turn. “I wanted to tell you this before, but we thought we should keep it a secret. J.D., as we have called him, is Dash Colby, and he owns the Cicero and Xanadu in Atlantic City where Jeremy did his gambling. . .”

"Oh, dear, she’s marrying a gambler, David.” Lotus’s mother’s voice was faint.

Now, Ginna, he’s proved himself a good man. He helped clear Silas,” her husband soothed her, but there was a crease of worry on his face.

Todd walked in the back door in time to hear
his
father speak. He walked over to Dash and
shook
his hand. “He has my vote, Father. He’ll make our Lotus doll happy ... or he’ll have us to deal with.” Todd’s grin was broad when he said
this
.

"She’ll be happy,” Dash said quietly, his arm sliding around Lotus’s waist. “But I think you should all get ready, since we are marrying at three this afternoon.” While the others gasped, and her father came forward to hug Lotus, Dash turned to Ginna Sinclair. “And if you like, ma’am, we can be married again by a minister if it would please you, but I used all my powers of persuasion to get the waivers for our marriage today. But we could have another ceremony.”

“I’d like that,” said Mrs. Sinclair, who looked pleased. “Are you to be married in the judge’s chambers?”

“I thought that would be nice, but then he said that he could arrange to marry us in the park nearby . . . ah . . ."

“Durand Eastman Park?” Both Lee and Lotus spoke at the same time.

“Yes.” Dash grinned when he saw the look of happiness on Lotus’s face.

“Darling, that’s wonderful. You can wear that dress that Lela made you for the country club dance that you never attended.” Ginna Sinclair looked at Dash, her lips pursed. “She came down

with the most awful sore throat last spring. She had a fever of one hundred and . . ."

“Mother . . ." Lotus pleaded, rolling her eyes at her father. “Daddy, stop her.”

“I’ll try. Ginna, dear, we should get this place spruced up a bit. Everyone will be coming back here. . ."

" . . . And when she was a girl she always had things harder than the other children. She had measles in the most unlikely places. .  .”

“Mother,” Lotus moaned, glaring at Lee, who was covering her mouth, and her brothers, who were nudging each other.

“Don’t forget the time she fell off her bike and had stitches . . Rob offered helpfully, earning a baleful stare from his sister.

“Twenty-six stitches,” Ginna said stoutly, taking Dash’s arm and leading him to the table, then picking up the silver coffee pot that had belonged to her mother and pouring some coffee for him. “Now the boys never seemed to get as badly hurt as Lotus.”

“That’s because you were usually the cause of my getting hurt,” Lotus muttered, glaring at her laughing brothers. Then she implored her father. “Stop her, Daddy, or I won’t get married today or tomorrow!”

“Don’t stop her, Uncle David. She only has five hundred pages of diseases and injuries to go. .  .” Lee giggled.

“Very funny. Well, if you want to be my maid of honor, you had better stop this,” Lotus threatened, looking at her mother as she sat adjacent to Dash at the table, her chin in her hand, her eyes dreamy as she recounted in minute detail all the misadventures of Lotus’s life. Lotus rounded on Todd  when she heard him guffaw. “Just wait until Kate comes today and you want to make a big impression. I’ll get Mother started on the time you and Rob built the tree house and you fell and broke your collarbone.”

Todd held up his hand palm outward. “All right, all right. I won’t say any more.”

When Ginna Sinclair was finally pried away from Dash, he came to Lotus’s side at once. “I’ll be back in an hour. In less than two hours you’ll be my wife . . . and I want that very much.” In front of her family he gave her a deep kiss, then sauntered out the back door to get to his car.

Lotus had such a ringing in her ears, she didn’t even notice her brothers’ teasing.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Lotus’s wedding was a rainbow of greenery and pastels. Her dress was almost the same green as her eyes. It was a silk cheongsam that her aunt had made her from material brought back from China by Will when he had been on a business trip to the Orient. Her delicate, fine-boned body seemed to give the silk the essence and mystery of the East. Lee had caught her hair up high on her head in a tight bun. Her only adornment was the ring Dash had given her which she now wore on her right hand, and long twists of gold that had belonged to her Chinese mother. She wore the garter that Ginna Sinclair had worn at her wedding and carried cymbidium orchids on a small bible that had belonged to Great-grandmother Sinclair.