Part 52 (1/2)
As they left Cliff went over to Devlin. ”Don't let him provoke you,” he said.
Devlin didn't respond, staring furiously out the window at the dusky night.
Cliff turned to Virginia. ”Are you all right?”
She nodded her head in the affirmative, but it was a lie. ”Perhaps you should leave us,” she managed.
He hesitated, glancing back at his brother, but then he nodded and went out.
She and Devlin were alone. He remained at the window now, and it was as if he was unaware that she remained in the room. She looked at his rigid shoulders and back. She could feel his hatred. Worse, she knew he was planning some terrible deed now.
She was ill.
Trembling, she walked up to him. ”He tried to a.s.sa.s.sinate you?” she asked.
He finally glanced at her. ”I'm sorry you had to learn of it. It doesn't matter. He failed.”
”Of course it matters!” she cried.
”Virginia, I survived the foolish attempt.”
”This time!” She knew she was hysterical, but she was so afraid now for Devlin that she could not think straight. And she was even more afraid for their child. ”But what about next time?”
”He is not my first enemy to wish me dead-or attempt to do it, either,” Devlin said grimly, reaching for her hand.
She jerked it free and backed away, hugging herself. ”This has gone too far! You started this and look at what has happened-you are now in jeopardy!”
Anger blazed. ”I did not start this, my dear, he started this fifteen years ago!”
”And that makes it right?”
He was flushed. ”I am not in any real jeopardy, Virginia,” he warned. ”I have been living by my wits for a long time now. No hired thug shall bring me down.”
Virginia wanted to weep. So this was how they would live? With Devlin hounding Eastleigh, and Eastleigh hiring a.s.sa.s.sins to kill him in return? And what would happen when the baby was born? Would she one day find an a.s.sa.s.sin in her room, too? What if Eastleigh took his hatred of Devlin out on their child?
She inhaled but she could not breathe. She could not live this way.
Devlin turned abruptly back to the window, clearly angry with her. Virginia turned as abruptly and hurried out of the salon, beginning to cry. She found herself next door in the library. It was filled with Devlin's powerful and masculine presence, but she needed no reminder to know how much she loved him.
If she told him about the child, would he change his ways?
Surely he would be able to see that they could not bring their child into a world filled with hatred and revenge.
She was so afraid.
DEVLIN STARED OUT OF THE window but saw nothing but blackness. He was shaking with rage and could not stop, but there was a hollow feeling in his chest. He understood the feeling-it was dread. Although he hadn't turned, he was well aware that Virginia was distressed and that she had run from the room and him.
Did she finally see him as the man he really was? A man filled with ice-cold blood and a heart of hate?
The past few days had seemed like a fairy tale or a dream. He had not recognized the man who laughed and smiled so frequently and who thought of little other than his wife. He had tasted happiness; he had even felt the glimmer of joy. The feelings had been unfamiliar and strange, at once frightening yet oddly welcome, too. For the first time in his life, he felt cherished, and more important, for the first time in his life he knew he was not alone.
And now Virginia was upset and afraid. The most courageous woman he had ever met wanted love and laughter, not war and hate. He had seen the truth in her eyes a moment ago. She had just run from him, and if he dared face his own truth, he was terrified that he would lose her now, when he had only just found her.
He knew he did not deserve such a life. He knew it was a dream, and he would one day open his eyes to find it all gone-the joy, the peace, Virginia.
He reminded himself that he was a soldier first and last, that he knew only a life of constant battle, constant war. He had married her intending to change nothing, and in the few days they had been together everything had changed-almost. She had shown him a different kind of life, and a part of him desperately wanted to seize it. But that other part of him felt stronger, more ruthless and more dedicated to revenge than ever. That part of him knew he must finish Eastleigh once and for all and finally allow his father peace.
He had never been more torn. Inhaling harshly, he started after his bride. He could not allow her to weep over her d.a.m.ned uncle in the other room.
Devlin paused on the threshold of the library. Virginia stood by his desk, gripping it as if for support. Tears streaked her face when she turned to meet his gaze.
He wanted to take those tears away, but he made no move to do so, as if his body refused to obey his mind. ”I am sorry your uncle had to ruin your birthday, Virginia,” Devlin said cautiously.
She wet her lips, the knuckles on her hands turning white. It was a moment before she spoke, and then, she did so hoa.r.s.ely. ”Devlin? These past few days have been wonderful, have they not?”
He started, wondering what this tack meant. ”Yes, they have.” Wariness filled him now.
She forced a smile. ”Isn't it time to forgive and forget? Isn't it time to think about all that we have-all that we could have? A wonderful future awaits us-”
”You go too far,” he warned abruptly. Did she think to deter him now? He was not a man to be led around by his bride as if a puppet on a string!
She stiffened. ”You haven't heard me out.”
”There is nothing to discuss. Not on the subject of Eastleigh. That battle must be waged-and it must be finished, Virginia, to my satisfaction.”
She stared at him with her huge, moist eyes, impossibly pale.
He wished he had spoken in a softer, less masterful tone. ”He wanted to distress you,” he began, but she interrupted.
”Devlin, there is something I haven't told you.”
His heart lurched. He did not like her tone or expression. What terrible news did she wish to impart? And he retreated instantly, closing his expression as if she were his worst adversary and not his beautiful bride. ”Do tell,” he said formally.
She clung to the desk. ”I am having our baby.”
For one moment, he felt that he must have hallucinated. His heart raced. ”What?”
”And I beg you,” she said hoa.r.s.ely, ”to promise me a life of peace and happiness. To promise us that life!”
He jerked, barely able to comprehend what she had told him. She was with child. But how? When? His mind raced, calculated. Their child must have been conceived after their marriage in December. Dear G.o.d, he was going to be a father-it was too soon!
And Eastleigh's mocking expression as he had stood in Adare's salon just a moment ago filled his mind.
”I beg you to give up your need for murder and revenge!” She began to cry. ”I can't bring our child into such a life! Don't you see? We are about to become a family, and I need you to choose.”
Once again, it was a moment before he understood her. He was shaking and his knees felt weak and all he could think of was the baby and the fact that he had a ruthless enemy in the world. He stared at her as she wept. Choose? She wanted him to choose? And the ugliest comprehension came.