Rebel Temptress (Historical Romance) (31 page)

He staggered to his feet. "Hell yes, I am drunk, but it does not help." He grabbed Vanessa's chin and looked down into her face. "Not even you can help me. God, I must be mad when a woman as beautiful as you offers herself to me and I am unable to perform."

Vanessa was seething inside. "Perform, is that what you call it? I never thought I would see the day when the mighty Adam O'Roarke was unable to please a lady. You are slipping, Adam."

"Go to hell," he said as he staggered backwards and landed on the sofa.

"I will see you in hell, Adam," she yelled, but he was not listening. Adam had passed out cold. Vanessa stood looking down at him for a long time. She did not know who this woman was who had stolen Adam from her, but she vowed that whoever she was she would pay. Somehow she would make her pay.

20

Meagan wanted to leave, but days passed into weeks and still she stayed on at Green Rivers. Jordan had returned home, but he spent most of his time shut up in his study, and he avoided everyone whenever possible.

Honor grieved for little Aaron, but she did it quietly, and her strength was such that those around her were unaware of her grief. And only Meagan knew how her heart was breaking over Adam.

It was common knowledge that Adam had returned to Boston. The house at Landau had been closed up and now stood empty.

When spring came, Meagan still could not leave. She was concerned for Honor and felt it was her duty as her older sister to try to help her get her life together once more.

Honor was busy supervising the clearing of the land for the spring planting, for Jordan showed no interest in his home or the land. Honor began her campaign to involve him in the running of Green Rivers. She started off slowly, going into his study to ask his advice or to get his opinion. At first it had been a thankless task that usually ended with his shouting at her, but eventually she began to see some progress.

Jordan began taking his meals with the rest of the family, and then he began riding out into the fields with Honor. By midsummer, without Jordan's even being aware of it, Honor had turned the whole operation of Green Rivers over to him.

The crops were the best ever this year. The corn was ripe and sweet, and the apple crop was at its peak. The South was beginning to recover, and once again there was a growing market for the products provided by the farms and plantations of the Shenandoah Valley.

One night after dinner, Jordan asked Honor into his study. When she was seated he handed her an envelope containing money. There was a look of satisfaction on his face.

"What is this?" Honor asked.

"It is partial payment on what I owe you for the sale of Landau," he told her.

At first Honor wanted to refuse, for it was a great deal of money, and she feared Jordan could ill afford it, but the look on his face caused her to change her mind. Jordan needed to feel he was repaying her for the sale of her home if he was ever to recapture his self-esteem.

"I did not realize you were doing so well. I am very proud of your efforts, Jordan."

"I doubt that you are unaware of anything, Honor, and do not think I don't know what you have been up to."

"I am not sure I know what you are talking about, Jordan."

He laughed. "Do you not? One day I might have risen out of the hole of self-pity I had dug for myself, but you prodded me into it a bit sooner, and damn me if it doesn't feel good."

"I am pleased for you, Jordan. You are a fine person, and I like what you have done with your life lately."

"Does my new life include you, Honor?"

Looking at him quickly, she could not keep from blushing at the look of longing she saw on his face. "No, Jordan, you and I were a mistake from the beginning. It is as if we bring out the worst in each other."

"I love you. I think I will always love you."

"I have come to have great regard for you, Jordan, and I am very proud of you."

"But you do not love me?"

"I cannot lie to you. What I feel for you is the fondness I would feel for a friend."

"That is at least something. For so long I had your contempt. I will settle for being your friend for the moment."

Honor had never liked Jordan better than at that moment. She stood up and put her arms around him. "You have had to endure a great deal from me, Jordan. I have felt such guilt where you are concerned."

His arms tightened around her. "We have both punished each other sorely. Where do we go from here, Honor?"

"Now that you do not need me, I shall move into town. Meagan has asked me to go to New York with her; perhaps I will consider that."

"Wherever you go and whatever you do, I shall wish you well, Honor." There was such sincerity in his words that Honor knew he spoke the truth.

There was a knock on the door and Honor and Jordan moved apart as Chauncey entered.

"Master Jordan, there is a gentleman here, says he wants to see you and Miss Honor directly."

"Who is it, Chauncey?" Honor asked.

"I ain't never seen him before. Says his name's Mr. Wade."

"He was Aunt Amanda's lawyer. I have not seen him since I sold Landau."

"Shall we see what the man wants?" Jordan said. "Show him in, Chauncey."

Honor held out her hand to Mr. Wade and smiled brightly. "Mr. Wade, it is a pleasure to see you. It has been a long time."

"Yes, ma'am, it has." He nodded at Jordan. "Pleasure to see you, Jordan."

"What brings you to Green Rivers? Did someone die and leave my wife a fortune?"

Chance Wade frowned. He had heard many wild stories about Jordan and he never put much stock in rumors, but he had seen a few things with his own eyes. "No. I am afraid I have some rather disturbing news."

"Sit down, Mr. Wade," Honor offered. "Would you care for some tea?"

"No, thank you. I am pressed for time, and I will get right to the point. Were you two married by a circuit rider going by the name of Butler Smith, the same man who presided at your aunt's funeral?"

"The same man who spoke at Aunt Amanda's funeral was the one who married us, and I believe that his name was Butler Smith, was it not, Jordan?"

Jordan nodded. "Yes, that is right. Why?"

Chance Wade sighed. "I was afraid of that. I do not quite know how to tell you this, but you are not legally man and wife."

Honor looked quickly at Jordan, who looked thunderstruck. "What kind of game are you playing, Chance? Honor and I were legally married."

The lawyer shook his head. "I am afraid the marriage was not legal. You see, this Smith, whose real name is Butler Dawson, was a fraud. He has six bigamous marriages that we know of and he has posed as a doctor, a lawyer, and sometimes a circuit rider."

"That is impossible," Jordan said.

"Could there be a mistake, Mr. Wade?" Honor asked.

"I am afraid not, but you need not worry. I have been very discreet, and the two of you can go into Richmond and make your marriage legal without anyone's being the wiser. You can count on me to keep it a secret."

"How did you find out about this man?" Jordan asked.

"I have a friend who is a judge in Richmond, and he told me about a man he had just prosecuted. I thought his name sounded familiar, and when I realized he was the man who had performed Amanda Landau's funeral, I thought he might have been the one who had supposedly married the two of you, since there was no preacher in the area at the time. I checked through some of your legal documents and there was the name of the preacher, Smith. I only needed you to confirm his first name."

Honor tried to digest all that Chance Wade had told her. She was not married to Jordan, nor had she ever been. She had borne his child and lived in his house as his wife, but it had all been illegal.

Chance Wade stood up. "Honor, as you know, I was a friend to your Aunt Amanda, as well as her lawyer. I stand ready to help you in any way possible."

She was very confused. Standing up, she offered Mr. Wade her hand. "Thank you for informing us about the circuit rider. I will be in touch with you."

Jordan watched as the lawyer took his leave. He was shocked into silence. Honor was not his wife. She did not belong to him, and now she probably never would. He walked over to the window and jammed his hands into his pockets and stared out into the garden. He felt Honor's hand on his shoulder and turned to face her.

"We can do as Chance suggested and make our marriage legal, Honor." He reached out his hand and touched her face softly. "I love you, and every time I have hurt you, I believe I did it to punish myself more than you. If you will marry me, I will strive to be a good husband to you. I cannot bear to lose you for good. We can start over and forget the past."

"No, Jordan, with Aaron gone, there is nothing for us. I believe that with the right wife you will find the happiness I cannot give you."

Jordan wanted to beg her not to leave him. He loved her so much, but he knew they really were not right for each other. But what would he do without her?

"Will you go to Adam O'Roarke?"

"No, I do not yet know what I will do, but I do not think I shall ever many. I seem to destroy the ones who love me."

"It is not intentional, Honor. It is just that you are so strong that you bring out the weakness in others. Your strength is not apparent. You are like a soft wind blowing across the land, bending the tree branches. If the tree is weak it will snap and break. If it is strong it will bend and not break. O'Roarke is strong, and he loves you."

"Are you going to be all right, Jordan?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, Honor, I believe I am."

Honor looked into his eyes and kissed his cheek. "Goodbye, Jordan. I'm going to leave. You can reach me in town at the hotel if you need to get in touch with me in the next few days. Perhaps I will go with Meagan to New York and then to Paris as she has urged me to. It will not take me too long to pack, I brought so little with me when I left Landau. I must find your mother and tell her good-bye, and then I will make arrangements to have a preacher go to Landau and pray over Aunt Amanda's grave. I suppose after all this time it shouldn't matter, but I feel the need to have a man of the cloth recite the last rites. I believe she would want that."

Jordan watched her walk away, and he felt the sting of tears in his eyes. "Good-bye, my little one," he whispered. He knew he would always love her, but the best thing he had ever done in his life was to let her go. Maybe there was hope for him, after all.

* * *

Adam sat staring at the letter from Meagan. He tossed it on his desk, thinking he did not want to know what it contained. His secretary came in, followed by his brother-in-law, Brad Hollingsworth.

"Mr. O'Roarke, could you sign these documents before you go to lunch so I can get them in the morning post?"

Adam motioned for Brad to take a seat while he signed the papers. When that was completed, he stood up. "Shall we go, Brad? I confess to being hungry." Adam turned to his secretary. "I should not be more than an hour."

Adam picked up Meagan's letter and tossed it into the wastebasket unopened. He then followed his brother-in-law out to the street, thinking it was best not to hear anything concerning Honor. When he had first left Virginia, Meagan had corresponded with him regularly, but he had not answered her letters and soon the letters stopped all together until this morning when her latest letter had come. Adam had no intentions of opening it.

The Duck and Hound was Adam's favorite eating establishment. It was generally patronized by men in the legal profession. He and Brad sat down at his customary table, and the waiter took their order.

"How is Suzanne?" Adam asked, his mind wandering back to the letter he had thrown away.

"She has been busy trying to redecorate the north bedroom, but she had a fever last week and the doctor put an end to her redecorating for the moment," Brad answered.

"That's nice," Adam said absent-mindedly.

Brad frowned. "You are not with me, are you, Adam?"

"That's nice," Adam said once more, as he traced the rim of his glass with his finger and stared off into space.

"I saw the doctor last week and he gave me two days to live," Brad said, trying to regain Adam's attention.

Adam smiled slightly. "I am glad," he said, not really hearing Brad. He frowned. What if his secretary had emptied the wastebasket? Meagan might have written to tell him that Honor was ill.

"Excuse me, Brad, there is something important I must do," Adam said as he rose and made his way through the noonday crowd to reach the door.

Brad watched Adam, puzzled by his strange behavior.

Adam practically ran the two blocks to his law office, and as he burst through the front door his secretary scrambled to his feet.

"Did you empty the wastebasket, Owens?" Adam demanded.

The man looked at his employer in surprise. "Yes, sir, I always empty the wastebasket and straighten your office while you are at lunch."

"Damn!" Adam said as he entered his inner office and sat down at the desk. He cursed his shortsightedness. What could have been in Meagan's letter? Why had he acted like a proud fool by throwing it away?

His secretary had followed Adam into his office and stood in front of him. "I found this letter. It must have fallen in the wastebasket by mistake, Mr. O'Roarke," Owens said, handing the letter to his employer.

There was relief on Adam's face as he reached for the letter. Owens looked at the letter curiously, and Adam dismissed him with a curt nod. He ripped open the letter and began to read:

Dear Adam,

I am writing to you, hoping that this letter will reach you in time. I am going to Paris on a ship that leaves August 1, and Honor is accompanying me. We shall arrive in New York on July 26 and remain there until the sailing date.

I want to inform you of the events that have occurred, which may or may not be of interest to you. It seems that the man who married Honor and Jordan was a fraud, an imposter. I will not go into detail, I only wanted to let you know that Jordan and Honor were never really man and wife.