Midnight Rose (35 page)

Ebner continued. “Eliza said Miz Victoria said that I’m to let her know when you got here, and to tell you to go to yo’ study and wait fo’ her there.”

“Fine. Do that.” He wanted to get the encounter over with as quickly as possible.

In his study, he filled a glass with whiskey to brace himself for what he felt was going to be an unpleasant scene.

He did not have long to wait. He had just sat down behind his desk when his mother appeared.

He stood in polite greeting. “Welcome home,” he began with forced geniality, but immediately fell to stunned silence as she burst into tears. He had never known her to cry. Not even when his father died.

He watched uncertainly as she sank to the leather sofa to cover her face with trembling hands. This was a side to her he found himself totally unprepared for. He’d expected screaming, yelling, anything but tears.

Not knowing what else to do, he went and sat down beside her, awkwardly putting his arm about her quaking shoulders. “Listen. I didn’t mean for it to be a shock to you. I wish I’d been here to tell you myself, and—”

“No!” she cried sharply, raising misty eyes to look at him in anguish. “It’s not your getting married that hurts, Ryan, though, dear God, I pray you won’t live to regret it.

“I can accept that,” she rushed on, “but what hurts me so is thinking how you must hate me to turn your wife against me, before I even had a chance to meet her and try to accept this marriage.” She summoned a fresh attack of grief, shook her head wildly in pretense of being too upset to go on.

Ryan was not only baffled, he was fast becoming agitated by all the mystery. “Will you please stop crying and tell me what this is all about?”

She cried even harder.

He looked up then to see Eliza outside the door, apparently reluctant to intrude. With a sigh, he got to his feet. “Well, Eliza, maybe you can tell me what’s going on.”

Eliza recited, as she had been coached. “I heard Miss Victoria crying. I’m afraid she’s going to become ill if she doesn’t get hold of herself. It was a terrible, terrible scene, Master Ryan. I wish you had been here for her.”

“Well, if somebody doesn’t tell me what the hell is going on, I’m going to get ill, too—in a different way,” he added grimly.

Eliza continued her recitation. She explained that Miss Victoria, unaware of his marriage, went to her room, like always. “Miss Erin”—she lifted her chin in a gesture of disdain—“was still asleep, and when she woke up and saw your mother, she had a fit and started cursing and screaming at her to get out.”

As planned, Victoria took over at that moment to wail, “Oh, it was awful. Just awful. I’ve never had anyone talk to me like that in my whole life. Such filthy language! I didn’t know what was going on. All I could think of was that you’d brought one of those—those street women home with you, and she was in my bed.”

Ryan glared at Eliza, then, and wondered if she’d told about him having Corrisa Buckner sleep in his bed. If she hadn’t, she would, but for the moment, she was not meeting his accusing eyes, because she probably knew what he was thinking.

Victoria prattled on. “I asked her to leave, and that’s when she started after me, saying I was the one who had to get out, because she was your wife, and I had no right to be there. She said things were different now, and I’d find out soon enough who’s in charge now, and…oh, dear, dear Jesus. Your father would turn over in his grave if he knew you’d let anyone treat me this way.”

She gave a loud gasp, began to shudder convulsively as Eliza, right on cue, rushed to comfort. Cradling Victoria in her arms, she looked up at Ryan to say worriedly, “I think you’d better send for a doctor. She’s real bad. Real bad.”

Again, as planned, Victoria threw up a hand in protest and took deep, rasping breaths, as though fighting to get hold of herself. Swallowing hard, gulping, giving her head a brisk shake, she protested, “No. No doctor. I won’t air the family’s dirty laundry for all of Richmond to gossip about. We’ll make the best of all this. Somehow. Eliza, get me some brandy. A big glass.” She leaned back against the sofa and closed her eyes as Eliza rushed to obey.

Ryan sat down behind his desk again and tried to sort it all out. It just didn’t sound like Erin, but he didn’t know what to believe, especially since he hadn’t heard her side yet.

Victoria sniffed and blew her nose in the lace handkerchief she drew from her pocket before going on with her tale. “I just ran out. I was afraid she was actually going to strike me. She did throw something, a pillow, I think, and she had her hand on the lantern when I ran out the door, getting ready to throw that at me. She just went crazy. If only someone had told me, prepared me for all this, I’d have waited till you got home and talked to you first. But I had no way of knowing you’d moved her into my room, or I’d never have intruded.”

“Eliza could have told you.”

“She said she didn’t think it was her place—”

Ryan couldn’t resist a sarcastic sneer. “Well, that’s the first time she’s ever worried about her place when it came to my business.”

Victoria let that pass. “Eliza took me to where you’d moved me.” She made her voice tremble as she asked pitifully, “What’s to become of me now, son? Where is my place in your life? If I’m in the way, I’ll move out.”

“That’s not necessary,” he said tersely.

“I don’t understand any of this, anyway. You know I had my heart set on your marrying Ermine. Poor thing! Her heart is probably broken.”

“Don’t worry about her. She’ll be engaged to somebody else by Christmas.”

Victoria’s eyes narrowed. He might be right. Ermine was a lovely girl, and when word spread she was no longer engaged, the young bachelors of Richmond would beat a path to her door—all the more reason Victoria knew she had to move quickly. “So, tell me about Erin Sterling,” she prodded, pretending not to know anything about her. “Who is she, anyway? Where does she come from?”

“Not far from here. Sterling was her real father’s name. Her mother remarried.”

Victoria wanted to make him say it, “And her mother is…?”

“Arlene Tremayne. She’s married to Zachary Tremayne.”

“Oh, dear God!” Victoria began to
sway to and fro, feigning surprise. “Oh, dear, dear, God! That dreadful man! And his wife! I’ve seen her. Always pushing herself on people. No one knows anything about her background. Why, there’s no way of knowing what kind of heritage your children would have, and—” She looked up sharply. “Oh, no! Don’t tell me that’s the reason you did this. Tell me she’s not carrying your child!”

“Not yet,” he replied coolly.

“Well, I find it hard to believe you married her because of love, not when she comes from such questionable background.”

He surprised even himself by his quick retort. “Actually, I did.”

That was a jolt, and she wouldn’t let herself believe it, but offered instead, “I can get you out of this trouble.”

“There’s no trouble, Mother.”

A smug smile touched her lips. “I’d say you’ve got a lot of trouble with a wife who curses your mother.”

“I’ll talk to her. I’m sure it was just a little misunderstanding.”

“I just wish you’d help me to understand what brought all this about,” Victoria begged again, taking the brandy Eliza brought.

Gently he asked a question of his own. “When have you ever understood anything I did, Mother?”

Victoria knew she’d get nowhere by arguing. Continuing with her plan, she whispered pitifully, “Then at least tell me what’s to become of me now.”

“Nothing has changed,” he assured her wearily, wanting to end the conversation so he could go find Erin and hear her side. “You’re the mistress of Jasmine Hill. Erin knows that. I made that clear to her. As for taking over the master suite, I felt it was the right thing to do. You know I’d planned to when…” He let his voice trail, not wanting to bring up the past.

“Yes, yes, of course.” She nodded vigorously, hoping she sounded completely submissive, while inside she was burning with vengeful rage.

“Rest till dinner,” he urged. “I’ll get it all straightened out by then.”

For the first time, Victoria allowed a tightness in her voice. “If we’re all going to live together under one roof, I can’t tolerate her talking to me that way. If she’ll apologize, it will be forgotten.”

Ryan was quick to say, “I’m sure she’d like to make peace, too.”

“Let’s hope so.” She paused at the door to give him a glance filled with pity.

Ryan found Erin in his bedroom, pacing about in agitation. He couldn’t resist the barb, “Well, I guess this is one way of getting you to come to me.”

She whirled on him at once. “I don’t have the patience for your sarcasm. Ryan, where have you been all day? Why weren’t you here when your mother arrived? She went absolutely crazy and charged into the bedroom and accused me of being one of your whores!”

He glanced up to see the way she looked at that moment, hands on her hips, legs apart in some kind of self-defensive stance, he supposed. In her anger, she was even more beautiful. Dark hair tousled wildly about her face. Long, silken lashes fringing coffee-colored eyes that sparkled with fire. Cheeks flushed with anger.

“Well?” she demanded. “Are you going to help me with this? I tried to tell her we’re married, but she wouldn’t listen, and—”

He reached out to pull her roughly onto his lap. She resisted, but he tossed his empty glass away and used both arms to hold her tightly. “Now you listen.” He nuzzled her forehead. “I don’t know what happened between you two, but whatever it was, it’s best forgotten. We both knew she’d be shocked, and her suddenly showing up no doubt took you by surprise. Frankly, I don’t think either one of you knew what you were saying. So now I’m going to ring for Ebner and send word to the kitchen that we’re going to have a very nice, and very formal dinner tonight to celebrate her return. You apologize, and we start out fresh.”

For an instant, Erin could only stare at him incredulously, and finally she was able to find her voice and stammer, “Are—are you out of your mind? I apologize? For being awakened by someone screaming I’m one of my husband’s whores? Oh, no!” She shook her head furiously from side to side. “I’ve nothing to apologize for!”

“Even if it
means forgetting the whole damn incident so we can live in peace under one roof?”

“I think we should all sit down together and talk about it, and—”

He released her, nearly spilling her to the floor as he abruptly stood. “Mother isn’t the kind who can talk things out, Erin. Even though you might not think it’s fair, it’d be best for everybody if you’d swallow your pride, apologize, and get it over with.

“You knew,” he went on, “when we got married, that she was still going to run the house, and you had no business flying off the handle and telling her she’d learn who’s in control now, and—”

“She told you that?” Erin said. “Well, that’s another lie, and I’m not listening to any more.”

She started to leave, but he grabbed her and spun her around. “All I want to do is smooth things over, Erin. We’ve got enough problems without this.”

“What about when my mother moves in with us?” she reminded him. “She’s not well, Ryan.”

“I know that, but we can’t have an outsider here right now, anyway. Mother needs to adjust to our being married.”

“My mother may not have that kind of time.” Tears stung her eyes, and she blinked furiously, determined he would not see her cry.

Wearily, he murmured, “I’ll do what I can, if you’ll just cooperate.”

“I won’t apologize for something I didn’t do.”

He lashed back. “Well, I guess I’m a fool, anyway, to think you’d even give a damn. Hell, you can’t stand the sight of me, anyway. Isn’t that why you left my bed last night?”

How she ached to tell him the last thing she’d wanted to do was leave his tender, loving arms. The only time she felt safe was when he held her. The only time she knew real joy was when he was near. Yet she dared not say those things, refused to yield to her heart, silently crying out to him with love. Finally, she drew a ragged breath and lied, “I just like to sleep alone, Ryan.”

He raked her with wretched eyes and hotly proclaimed, “It’s well I did take you for my wife instead of my mistress. I’d probably have had to find a replacement by now.”

Erin gritted her teeth, clenched her fists. “Yes, I suppose it’s easier to find another mistress than a wife.”

“You aren’t very good at either position, my dear.” He began to undress.

She retreated, enraged.

Eliza, her ear pressed against the door leading into the hallway, also took her leave. Miss Victoria would be eager to hear how upset Master Ryan was over his wife’s refusal to sleep in his bed. It meant they were having trouble, and that was what they were both hoping for between the newlyweds. Miss Victoria would also be very interested to hear how Miss Erin was planning to move her mother into Jasmine Hill.

Erin stewed the rest of the afternoon, trying to decide what she should do. On one hand, she wanted to stay in her room and refuse to come out until Victoria agreed to some kind of meeting among the three of them. But, as the dinner hour approached, her pride would not allow her to hide away as though she were ashamed. Failing to appear would be the same as an admission of guilt. And perhaps more important than anything else was the fact this was her home now, and she had every right to show up at dinner.