Mardi Gras Masquerade (18 page)

“I didn’t follow you back to the house last night,” he replied in a barely controlled fury.
 
“I didn’t force you to do anything!”

“I couldn’t stay,” was all that Maria could manage to say in return.

After a moment, Steve said, “I saw through you right from the start, you foolish girl.
 
I knew you didn’t want to marry Tienne.
 
That’s why I brought you to the house.
 
You came down here
feelin
’ no regard for his
feelin’s
at all, and you thought I would let you get away with that?
 
Well, I won’t.
 
You’re going to stay here and get married if I have to tie you up until the
weddin
’!
 
Do you understand me, Maria?
 
I won’t let you go!”

Maria trembled, but he held her fast.
 
It was too late to make any explanations that Steve could possibly believe, so she gave him a piece of the truth.

“It’s not your brother that I’ve fallen in love with.”

“Oh, I see.
 
You think that you can soften me up by
pretendin
’ to be in love with me.
 
Is that it?”

“No,” Maria replied, with tears of fear and humiliation streaming down her cheeks.
 
“You have this all wrong.”

“Your denials mean nothing to me.
 
If you loved me, as you would have me believe, you would never have tried to run away from me.”

“That was probably a mistake.”

“Enough!
 
You’re
comin
’ back to the house with me now, and you
are
goin’ to go through with the
weddin
’ as planned.
 
At this point, I don’t know why Tienne has such regard for you, but I won’t allow you to break his stupid heart.”

Steve released Maria’s hands to grab her arm and lead her back to the car.
 
They drove in silence until they reached the house.

Stopping before the front door, Steve hissed out, “Not a word of this to the servants.
 
You’re going to look exhausted, like you got lost somewhere along the road and I found you.
 
Isn’t that right?”

Maria nodded slightly, and Steve continued, “You’ll go straight up to your room.
 
I’ll have your dinner sent up to you later.
 
You’re not
feelin
’ well and you want to rest.
 
Got that?
 
This isn’t over, Maria.
 
Tomorrow, you’ll have to pay for your transgression.”

CHAPTER 8

After one of the servants set Maria’s dinner on the table in the corner of her room, she said, “There you go, Miss.
 
I hope you’re feeling better.”

Maria realized that Steve must have told his staff that she was feeling ill to explain why he had driven her home.

As the woman turned to go, Maria asked, “Is Mr. DuPont in the dining room?”

“No, he had to go out to finish his business at the office.
 
You can call him there if you want to speak with him.”

“No, thank you,” Maria replied.
 
“I was just wondered where he was.”

When the servant was gone, she sat down at the table, but she had no appetite.
 
All of the anxiety she had experienced that day had left her feeling too upset to eat.
 
Steve’s angry words still burned in her mind.
 
It troubled her to think of what punishment he might have in store for her.

Without doubt, he had instructed the staff to see to it that she did not leave the house.
 
Now that she had tried to escape and failed, greater precautions would undoubtedly be taken to keep her there.
 
There would be no way that she could satisfactorily explain anything to Steve while he was in such a temper.
 

Maria idly wondered if he had made plans for them for the evening.
 
Even if Steve got back within a reasonable amount of time, he had made it clear that he did not intend to entertain her that night.
 
What a mess she had made of the whole situation!

Would Steve ever forgive her for trying to escape?
 
Probably not, and any cordiality that might them would be gone.
 
Maria could not decide if this would make her plight worse or easier.
 
Sadly, it still hurt her to have the man she loved believe she was a bad person.

With such thoughts to keep her company, it was a long and bitter evening for Maria.
 
After a restless night, she awoke late the next morning.
 
When she finally went down to the dining room, she was informed that Mr. DuPont had waited for her as long as he could, but he had been forced to go out on business twenty minutes ago.
 
He would be back later in the day.

When the woman asked her if she would like to have her breakfast served to her in her room, Maria politely refused, saying she was feeling much better.

What was left of the morning dragged on for
Maria.
 
While she was afraid to see Steve, she also wished she could get this anxious waiting period over with.
 
Her nerves were starting to crumble under the suspense.

In the early afternoon, the dress designer’s assistant delivered her freshly pressed wedding gown.
 
That was the only incident to break the tedium of the day.
 
After the dress was carefully stored in her closet, Maria sat down on her bed and wondered what she could do.

Then, it occurred to her that it was Saturday.
 
Her roommate usually did not work on the weekends.
 
Marla might be home if she tried to call her.

Maria walked to the study with quick steps that defied anyone to stop her.
 
She dialed the number of the apartment and waited for her friend to answer the call, wondering what Marla would say when she told her that she still hadn’t had the chance to deliver her message to Tienne.
  

She let the phone ring for a full five minutes.
 
No one answered.
 
Apparently, her friend had turned off her answering machine and voice mail.
 
Once again, she had come up against a blank wall.

In weary resignation, she walked back to her room and on out onto the balcony.
 
It was a clear and lovely day, but it held no joy for Maria.
 
She sat on her chair and watched the waterborne traffic make its way along the
Mississippi
.

A little after
four o’clock
, she was startled to hear footsteps approaching along the balcony.
 
It was Steve, and his face showed no welcoming warmth.

“I wondered where you were,” he said without preamble.
 
“You’ll be goin’ out with me in about half an hour, so do what you need to get ready.”

“Where are we going?” Maria asked hesitantly.

“You’ll find out.”

“But I need to know so I know what to wear.”

“What you have on is fine.
 
Bring a jacket.”

Without saying another word, Steve walked away.
 
Maria stared after him in alarm.
 
Where could he plan to take her, wearing slacks, a plain, cotton shirt, and a pullover sweater?
 
Such casual attire might be appropriate if they were only going to Mardi
Gras
, but if that was their destination, wouldn’t Steve have suggested that she should wear one of her costume gowns?
 
It made no sense.

After shaking her head, Maria went inside.
 
She brushed her hair and applied fresh lipstick.
 
As she glanced down at her rubber-soled running shoes, she considered putting on something else, but then changed her mind.
 
Steve had said she should wear what she had on.
 
If he felt differently when he saw her, he would say so.

After slinging a jacket over her arm, she picked up her purse and went downstairs.
 
Steve was waiting for her in the front hall.

He eyed her carefully from head-to-toe, and then commented, “Something’s
missin
’.”

“What?” Maria inquired as she looked down at her apparel.

“Can’t you guess?”

“No.”

“You seem to have forgotten your engagement ring.”

“I left it in the room,” Maria explained defensively.
 
“After what happened yesterday, I didn’t think you would want me to wear it.”

“Come on,” Steve said in a commanding tone, as he grabbed her hand and led her back upstairs.

Once they were in her room, he looked around and spotted the ring on her vanity table.
 
Without a word, he dragged her forward to get it.

Maria was tempted to protest against this rough treatment, but she held her discomfort inside.
 
After picking up the ring, Steve lifted her hand to thrust it back on her finger.

“Don’t take it off again!” he warned her harshly.

The man did not release her hand as he pulled her along behind him down the staircase.
 
Instead of walking directly to the front door, as Maria had expected, he turned and walked toward the garden door through which Maria had made her escape the day before.
 
It felt eerie for her to pass through that doorway again under such different circumstances.

As they strode on through the garden, Maria could not help asking, “Where are you taking me?”

“For a ride. “

“But the car is in the other direction.”

“We’re not takin’ the car.”

The sun was nearing the horizon as Steve walked on toward the river.
 
Maria had no choice except to follow him.
 
His hand held hers in a strong grip that would tolerate no defiance.

As they approached the water, Steve veered off to the left.
 
As they walked past a clump of weeping willows, Maria saw a dock that extended out into the water.
 
Beside it was a boathouse.
 
She had noticed it once before on one of her afternoon walks.

As they came closer, Maria noticed that a small motor boat was tied to the dock.
 
A dark-skinned man, who was bare to the waist, was standing in it, watching them.

Steve did not speak as he pushed Maria in front of him to step into the boat.
 
The man offered her his hand for assistance in stepping down into the small craft.

Maria thanked the stranger for his help, but her eyes looked up to plead with Steve for information about what was happening.
 
His stony face told her nothing.
 
Once she was settled on one of the wooden benches, he jumped down and sat beside her.

The other man swiftly untied the ropes that held the boat against the dock, and then moved to the stern to start up the engine.
 
With sinuous ease, the craft glided out into the current.

Maria immediately noticed that they were going upstream.
 
There was another far larger craft out across the water, but it quickly outdistanced them.
 
Then, they were alone.

Steve remained silent, looking forward as they pushed on through the muddy waters of the
Mississippi
.
 
His shoulder touched Maria’s slightly.
 
She would have moved away to break the physical contact if the boat had been wider, but as it was, she was afraid to do anything to upset her balance and topple over into the cold waters.