Magnate (Acquisition Series Book 2) (20 page)

I didn’t remember how I got to my bed, but I woke the next day to torrential rain. I glanced at the clock. It was already past noon. I lay still for a long time, letting my body slowly wake up, each sting of pain a reminder that I was alive, just like Gavin said I would be.

Gavin
. I rolled to my side, the effort making the muscles in my legs try to seize. The hurt subdued me, and I focused on breathing through it. A tray was at my bedside with a sandwich, an apple, some chips, and a glass of tea. It looked like it hadn’t been there long.

“Renee?” My voice was hoarse, but plenty loud enough.

I heard the creak of a floorboard and then heavy footfalls. Not Renee’s. My door opened and Vinemont came into view. He flipped on the light. I closed my eyes against the sudden glare. The light flicked off again, and he strode to my window where he pulled back the curtains and let in the soft glow of sun through rain.

“Better?” His deep baritone washed over me.

“Yes, thank you.”

He stood over me, inspecting my face before moving to the foot of the bed checking the bandages on my feet. Seemingly appeased, he returned to my side.

“You need to eat.” He put his hands under my arms and pulled me into a sitting position before placing a pillow behind my back and resting me against it.

I ached all over, groaning even though he was gentle with me. Once I was settled, he drew the blanket back up and set the tray in my lap.

“Where’s Renee?”

“Just eat. I’ll have the doctor come in when you’re done and fix you up proper.” He opened the little bag of chips and placed it back in front of me.

“Will you just tell me if she’s all right?” I placed my hand on his arm and wondered if the rest of him was as warm.

“Take a bite and I’ll tell you if she’s buried out back, okay?”

My eyes grew large, the loss too much for me to bear, but then I saw his mischievous look, the corners of his mouth turned up.

“Are you
teasing
me about killing Renee?”

“Maybe. Now take a big bite since you didn’t do it when I asked the first time.”

I did as he said. The sandwich was actually delicious, made just the way I liked with fresh tomatoes and turkey.

“She’s fine.” He slid his arm down, and I thought he was going to pull away, but instead our fingers met and he entwined them. “She’s here. She’s just occupied elsewhere.”

I swallowed, relief flooding me, before taking another bite. I was suddenly ravenous. Vinemont smiled and handed me a napkin. I took the hint and wiped my mouth, Dijon mustard coming away on the cloth.

“Elsewhere?” I asked between bites. “Do you mean upstairs?”

His fingers tightened on mine. “You know, then?”

“I know your mother’s alive. Not much else. Feel free to fill me in.” The chips were salty and perfect, and I downed the sweet tea to finish it all off.

“There’s nothing to tell. She’s been up there for years.” He stared out the window at the sheets of rain, milky white in the gloom. He slipped his fingers from mine and took the tray before standing. “I’m going to send in Dr. Yarbrough and Laura. Keep resting.”

When he got to the door, my emotions got the better of me. “When are you coming back?” I knew I was a fool for wanting him, for my weakness. I couldn’t stop it any more than I could stop what happened to Gavin and Brianne.

“Soon.” He walked away, and not long after I heard more footsteps—the doctor and Laura as promised.

Laura stripped my gauze and helped me bathe, then she ushered me back to the bed so Dr. Yarbrough could clean my injuries and re-bandage them. He laid out some pills on the bedside table and made sure I took one.

“For the pain.” He didn’t have much of a bedside manner. Perhaps he’d seen too much. With his age, I suspected he may have doctored Renee during her Acquisition year. He must have seen it all, become numb to it. Competent and distant—maybe it was the smartest way to be around these people.

“I’ll be back around tomorrow.” He picked up his black leather bag and left while Laura puttered around my room, a certain nervousness in her quick movements.

“What is it?” I asked as the faint rumble of thunder rolled over the house.

“Nothing.” She straightened my blanket, even though I would just kick it off once I was asleep.

“Something.” I tilted my head at her and patted the bed. “Sit. What is it?”

She paused and then slowly walked over to me and sat, her small frame barely making an indention in the bed. The thunder grew louder, the rain pouring over the higher eaves, making a small waterfall outside my window.

“It’s Renee.”

I sat up. “What about her?”

“It’s just,” she glanced to the closed door and back to me, “I’m not supposed to talk about…” She looked up.

I took her meaning. “About Vinemont’s mother?”

She nodded and dropped her voice to a whisper. “But I’ve heard things when I’ve been in Teddy’s room.” Her cheeks pinked. “Cleaning in Teddy’s room,” she corrected herself.

“Like what?”

“Bangs and yells and crying. All sorts of things that never happened before. I’ve never been allowed up there, and I know neither of us are supposed to go and see. But I know that’s where Renee is. I prepare meals for two now instead of one, and send them up with Mr. Farns.”

I gripped her arm. “Do you think Mrs. Vinemont is hurting Renee?”

“I think so.” She shrugged, her narrow shoulders carrying more weight than seemed possible. “It’s worse up there now. And it’s worse down here, too. Teddy hears it and he sort of, I don’t know. He just gets so sad, and it doesn’t matter what I do or say; I can’t help him.” She wiped at her eyes with the hem of her white apron.

Something upstairs had changed. The silent partner in this Acquisition mess was making plenty of noise all the sudden. I moved my feet under the blanket. I winced as a stinging pain erupted along my injured skin. I didn’t have a chance of getting upstairs anytime soon, especially not stealthily. Maybe a week or so. Then I could investigate.

“Why tell me?”

She sniffed and brought her gaze to mine. “You’re the only one I’ve ever seen get to them. I mean, Teddy talks about you like a sister.” She laughed. “I was even jealous at first when you came.” Her giggle died on her tongue. “But then that morning in the dining room, when Mr. Sinclair made you stand and m-made Teddy watch. I didn’t envy you. I still don’t fully know what the Acquisition is—”

“Join the club.”

“But I know it’s ripping them all apart. I don’t want Teddy hurt. I lo—” She stopped herself.

“It’s okay to love him, Laura. He’s a good boy. Man, I guess. He’s a good man.”

The two of them wouldn’t have an easy road, but the love they shared was obvious. I hoped that one day they could leave the Vinemont legacy behind entirely and strike out on their own.

Tears rolled down her round cheeks. “I know. I’m worried about him. I’m worried about Renee.” She picked at the hem of her apron. “I just don’t know what to do. I would march right up to the third floor, but then I’d lose my job and my chance to see Teddy.”

I patted her arm. “I’m already in hell. Going down another circle won’t hurt me too much. I’ll check it out as soon as I’m able.” I waved at my legs and feet.

She turned her body toward me, staring at me head on. “How are you so brave? How do you do it?”

Brave
? That’s not a word I’d ever associated with myself. “I’m just surviving.”

“You
are
brave.” Tears still shone in her bright eyes. “I know what they did to your back. I heard a rumor about where you went the last couple of days, what they were going to do to you.” She dropped her gaze. “I would have given up if I were you.”

“No, you wouldn’t.” I leaned my head back, the pill starting to do its work. “You would do what you had to do. You would go through hell. But you would be alive on the other side. You’d be different. I’m different. But I’m alive.”

“Brave,” she said again, and rose. The thunder boomed right overhead, the sound vibrating in my lungs, my mind.

I turned my head and stared out the window, the streaking rain becoming nothing but a gray blur as she left and clicked the door shut.

The next few days were spent in bed, Laura visiting more and more frequently. I sketched and sketched. Most of my drawings were of the wisteria in bloom from the house in New Orleans, or skeletal trees spiking in a desolate landscape.

I didn’t see Vinemont or Lucius, though Laura told me they were out of the country on business. I wondered if that meant Cuba. Teddy came by to visit, though he avoided any questions about how I came to be laid up like I was.

By the third day, the weather had turned frigid, and Laura said we had a chance at some snow that night or the next day. It was Christmas Eve. I’d been up and around a few times, the pain in my feet subsiding and my bruises maturing into light yellow hues.

I sketched some more, this time a man’s face. I roughed in the first few harsh lines and kept going. More strokes, and lines, and shading, until a familiar, square jaw emerged, and then full lips, and the sharp line of a nose. His eyes were difficult. They could be so emotive at times, so impassive at others. In the end, his look was something warm. The way he’d looked at me after the lightning strike, or when he cradled me in his lap on the way back from the woods. He’d worn the look enough for me to picture it, to capture it in charcoal.

The day grew late, the sun setting through a bevy of high, billowing clouds. Music began drifting through the halls. I halted my drawing and listened. At first it was just the rumble of drums, the whine of a guitar, and the tinkling of piano keys—all of it a discordant mosh. Then, a song took shape, the drums setting the rhythm and the guitar playing the melody while the piano filled out the sound. Was there a party?

I set the drawing aside and swung my legs out of bed. The muscle soreness had thankfully diminished, but my feet were still tender. I snugged them into the fluffy slippers Laura had brought me and stood. I could stand the twinges of pain, so I slowly maneuvered around the room, slinging on a bath robe to cover my pajamas before creeping into the hallway.

The sound came from downstairs. The music room off the foyer. It took me a while, and the song seemed to be almost finished by the time I reached the bottom step, but I relished the feel of finally moving. By the time I turned the corner, the song was over and a new drum beat began. Lucius sat at the drums and counted off before Teddy began riffing on the guitar. Vinemont sat at the piano, his back straight, and his fingers at the ready.

I smiled. It was a genuine grin that I couldn’t contain. It grew even bigger as the piano joined in, Vinemont picking up and playing to Teddy’s notes. I eased into a high-backed chair and Vinemont looked up, his fingers still working the keys. He didn’t miss a note, and his answering smile made my chest warm. Shots were lined up across the top of the piano, three sets of five glasses, though one of each had already been drained.

Teddy’s nimble fingers ran back and forth on the frets and strings like he was in an eighties hairband. They played well together, following the squeals and improvisation of the guitar, but staying within the parameters of Lucius’ beat. We all laughed when Teddy went even more over the top, started a run toward me, hit his knees and slid up to my chair, still wailing on the guitar.

“Big finish!” He hopped to his feet from his knees and bopped his head along to the beat before letting his fingers fly so fast over so many notes that Vinemont threw his hands up and leaned back, grinning at his brother.

With the piano out, Lucius kept the beat going until Teddy ended on a screechingly high pitch that made me want to cover my ears. Then he tossed his pick at me. I was more surprised than anyone when I actually caught it.

I applauded and heard more clapping; Laura and Farns stood in the doorway at my back.

“Another,” I demanded.

“What would the lady like to hear?” Teddy swiped his hair off his forehead.

I glanced over my shoulder at Laura. “Requests?”

“Well, seeing how it’s Christmas Eve, can we do a carol or something Christmasy?”