Breath of Scandal (20 page)

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good life, to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. He made an oath never to ask for anything ever again, if this one small favor could be granted-"Let her live.

"Monsieur Burke?"

Dillon's head snapped up. A doctor was standing a few feet from him. "Yes? My wife? is she-"

"She is going to be all right."

"Oh, Christ," Dillon sobbed as his head fell back against the cold tiles of the waiting-room wall. "Oh, God." "She had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic Dr. Gaultier

Prescribed. It is no one's fault," he was quick to add. "We consulted Dr. Gaultier. There was nothin in her medical

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records sent from the United States to indicate that she had an allergy to this particular-"

"Look, I don't intend to sue anybody," Dillon interrupted him, coming to his feet. "Debra's alive and is going to be okay. That's all I care about.-

Dillon was so relieved, his knees felt robbery. It had all happened so fast. Life was precious. Life was fragile. Here one moment, gone the next. Every second should be milked for all it was worth because you never knew when the bottom was going to drop out. He would have to remember that. He would have to tell Debra about this revelation. They would make it their philosophy, live by it, hand it down to their-

His happy thoughts came to a sudden standstill. "Doctor," he Croaked . He knew before asking what the answer was going to be, but he had to ask. His lips were Parched and his mouth was dry with dread.

"Doctor, you haven't mentioned the baby. Is the baby all right?"

"I am sorry, Monsieur Burke. There was nothing we could do for the child. It was dead when Madame Burke arrived. "

Dillon stared at the doctor without really seeing him. He had bargained for Debra's life, but had left the terms openended. Now he knew what the price had been.

CHAPTER

Ten

Morgantovm, South Carolina, 1977

Dr. Mitchell R. Heaton, Dean of         Student Affairs and Financial Aid at Dander College in         Morgantown, South Carolina, opened Jade Sperry's application folder and passed her a slip of paper across his cluttered desk. "That's a voucher. Present it at the bursar's office on the day you register. "

Her eyes moved from him to the stiff card he had handed her. Printed across the background etching of the college           Is administration building was a check made out to her. She tried to blink the figures into focus, but even that was beyond her.

"'I"he amount will cover your tuition, books, and all fees," the dean said. -You'll be responsible for your living expenses, although the college will be happy to supply you with a list of available low-budget housing - "

She could barely hear him over the clamor in her ears. I don't know how to thank you, Dr. Hearon - " "You can thank me by doing your best. Study hard.

Apply yourself. Make your goals realities."

"Yes, yes. I will." Relief and joy burst from her in the form of a laugh. She stood up abruptly, almost unbalancing herself. -Thank you! You won't be sorry. You"

"You're very welcome, Miss Sperry. I think you'll be an asset to Dander College. We're small, but we have a sterling academic reputation. We pride ourselves on the diligence and integrity of our students."

Circumstances had forced Jade to forfeit the scholarship

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to South Carolina State. After working for more than a year in a large discount store in Savannah, she had begun applying to other universities and colleges for financial assistance. Again she glanced down at the check in her hand, barely allowing herself to believe that it was genuine.

To conclude the interview, Dr. Hearon stood and extended his hand. "I would appreciate a visit once you've been matriculated. I'll be interested to see what courses you choose for your first semester. The faculty takes a personal interest in each student. "

"I'll come see you, I promise. Thank you again." Jade rushed to the,door. After pulling it open, she glanced back at him over her shoulder. "Oh, and thank the other members of the scholarship committee, too."

"I will. Goodbye, Miss Sperry." "Goodbye. I I

The long corridor beyond his office suite was empty and hushed. Jade wanted to shout her elation toward the Gothic arched ceiling but managed to contain herself. Nevertheless, she ran for the doors at the end of the corridor with far more abandon than the stateliness of the architecture ordained.

Once outside, she gave her exuberance free rein. She leaned against an imposing, fluted column and stared at the voucher before clutching it to her chest like a gleeful miser. Then, tucking it safely inside her handbag, she left the shade of the colonnaded porch of the administration building and walked into the late summer sunshine.

It seemed brighter and friendlier than when she had nervously entered the building. The flowers blooming along the landscaped sidewalks were brilliant. The sky was exceptionally blue, the clouds white and without blemish. She had never noticed how intensely green grass was, or was the grass on the campus of Dander College inordinately verdant?

It was as though she, like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, had suddenly been thrust from a world of black and white into one of vivid Technicolor. She had been through pure hell, but had emerged on the other side to discover that life might be worth the struggle after all.

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The Westminster chimes in the campus chapel's bell tower struck the hour as she jogged past the library. She was imbued with a sense of peace and optimism that she hadn't experienced since before the rape. Today, she had been granted a new beginning.

Her car was reluctant to start and even more reluctant to go over thirty miles an hour without the heat indicator flashing on. It had barely survived the trip from Savannah. Since the drive took several hours, they had come the day before. After checking in to the Pine Haven Motor Court, Jade had used the remaining daylight hours to acquaint herself with the college community.

The campus formed the nucleus of the town, which Jade thought had charm and character. The only local industry was the college, and the domed administration building was the town's only skyscraper. Surrounding the campus were gracious neighborhoods comprised of stately homes that housed faculty members. Morgantown's commercial district was compact and sufficient to fulfill her needs.

Where would they live? Would they be able to find an inexpensive apartment close to campus so that she could walk to classes and keep the car free for Velta's use? The fall semester wouldn't begin for another month, but there was so much to do before that. Which should she look for first-a part-time job or a place to live?

She parked the car in front of cabin number 3 and, with a laugh of self-derision, chided herself for falling into her characteristic pattern of worrying. Today she would relax and celebrate. Being awarded this scholarship was the first positive step toward achieving her ultimate goal-seeing Gary's murderers punished.

As surely as Neal Patchett, Hutch Jolly, and Lamar Griffith had raped her, they were responsible for Gary's suicide. If her resolve to see justice done was ever shaken, she had only to recall the sight of Gary's body dangling at the end of that rope. With their violence and treachery and lies, Neal and his cronies had driven him to suicide.

Jade wouldn't rest until they had paid for their crimes. Revenge wouldn't come quickly. It would be a slow, pains-

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taking process that might take years to fulfill, but she was prepared for that. Thanks to Dr. Hearon and his committee, she was on her way.

Expecting the cabin door to be locked, she was surprised when it swung open. "Mother? I got it!"

Jade stepped into the small, musty room. The air-conditioner in the window labored to put out cool air but to little avail. Her brain registered three things immediately. There was a packed suitcase at her mother's feet. A man Jade had come to loathe was standing on the other side of the suitcase. And Graham, her baby son, was crying in his Portable crib.

Jade pausea on the threshold and tried to puzzle through what the packed suitcase implied. Velta's stare was stony and defiant. The man's eyes were shifty and wouldn't meet Jade's. She wanted to demand an explanation, but maternal instincts won out. Dropping her handbag on the bed, she moved to the crib and lifted the crying baby into her arms.

She cuddled Graham against her chest. "Shh, darling. What's wrong? Mornmy's here now. Everything's okay." She rocked him until he stopped crying, then addressed her mother. "What is he doing here?"

The man's name was Harvey something, or something Harvey. Jade couldn't remember. She had intentionally blocked it from her mind after ripping up his business card and hurling the pieces at his face. She had insisted that if he didn't leave the maternity ward voluntarily, she would have him evicted. Although he presented himself as the founder and director of a private adoption agency, Jade had a different interpretation of his career. He was to an adoption agency what a drug dealer is to a pharmacist.

Harvey had been Velta's find. She had told Jade that he was the answer to all their problems-namely, Jade's illegitimate child. Without consulting Jade, Velta had brought him to the hospital the day after Graham was born. Harvey had offered her several thousand dollars for her baby boy.

"A white, male newborn without any defects brings the highest price in the business," he had said.

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That's when Jade had raised a hue and cry that had disturbed other patients and alerted the nursing staff.

Jade clutched Graham tighter now as she glared at her mother. "I told you long before Graham was born that I would never put him up for adoption. I repeated it after he was born. I meant it then, and I certainly mean it now. Ask your friend to leave, or I'll call the police."

"Harvey isn't here on account of you or your baby," Velta said.

Jade divided a wary glance between them. "Then what's he doing here? How did he know where to find us?"

"I called him last night and told him where we were." "Why?"

Graham was beginning to wriggle within her tight embrace, but she didn't relax it. Despite what her mother had said, Jade was afraid she might snatch the child away from her. Unfortunately, their troubles hadn't drawn her and her mother any closer together. Over the last year, their tenuous relationship had steadily deteriorated. Jade's preoccupation with getting an education annoyed Velta. In her opinion, the solution to an illegitimate baby was a husband.

"Let's go back to Palmetto, Jade," she had suggested one day in early summer, when temperaments were as turbulent as the sultry weather. "At least there we would be outcasts in familiar surroundings. If you'd act halfway decent to them, I'm sure you could get one of those three boys to claim Graham and many you."

Jade had almost struck her. "Preferably Neal Patchett?" "Well, living in that fancy house of his would be a world better than this dump!" Velta had cried, flinging her arms wide to encompass their shabby apartment in Savannah. "It wouldn't have happened in the first place if you'd been nicer to him."

Jade had picked up Graham, run outside, and hadn't come back until the thunderstorm broke. Velta never brought up returning to Palmetto again, so Jade assumed she had finally given up on the idea. Apparently she had, but had formed another plan that somehow involved Harvey.

"You still haven't told me what he's doing here," Jade said.

"Ever since that day at the hospital, Harvey and I have been seeing each other on a regular basis. Secretly, of course. "

Jade hugged Graham even tighter. Had they cooked up a scheme to have Graham taken away from her? Would they try to have her declared an unfit mother? She would not let that happen. No one was ever going to take her child from her.

"Harvey had the decency to overlook your rudeness," Velta said. "Remembering the scene you caused in the hospital, I can't imagine why he's being so forgiving, except that he's got a good heart." Velta turned to the man and smiled. "Anyway, I could see when we got here yesterday that you fell in love with this place. Regardless of what I want, you're danmed and determined to go to school here. So, last night when you went to get the hamburgers, I called Harvey in Savannah and accepted his proposal."

Shocked, Jade echoed, "His proposal? You mean a marriage proposal?"

"That's right," Velta replied defiantly. "We were waiting for you to get back so we could leave."

Jade gaped at them incredulously, then burst into laughter. "Marna, you can't be serious! You're actually eloping with this character? Tell me this is a joke."

"It's no joke, I assure you. Harvey cleared my things out of the apartment in Savannah and brought them with him. Whatever is left, you can have. Come on, Harvey. We've waited long enough."

Harvey, who hadn't said a word, picked up the suitcase and turned toward the door. Velta followed.

"Mama, wait!" Jade put Graham back in his crib and ran after her mother, catching up with her at the side of a gray sedan.

"Are you out of your mind?" Jade asked. "You can't just run off like this."

"I'm an adult. I can do whatever I want to."

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jade fell back a step. Velta was throwing up to her words she herself had recently spoken, and on more than one occasion, particularly when she had informed Velta that she had every intention of keeping the baby.

"Don't do this," Jade whispered urgently. "I know you're only doing it to spite me, Mama. I need you. Please don't go."

"You need me all right. But that's just too bad, Jade. You brought all your troubles on yourself. I'm not going to babysit while you trot off to college every day. "

Jade took another tack. "Forget that I need you to help me with Graham. I'll make other arrangements," she added quickly. "But, Mama, please think about what this means to YOU."

"Is it hard for you to accept that a man finds me attractive?"