Crimson Palace (34 page)

Soaked with perspiration, she lay in the tousled bed, gazing sightlessly at the ceiling. Tears of frustration and revulsion trickled silently to her pillow.

What has he done to me, she asked herself? As much as I hate him I still crave his body! Even now I want him here beside me. Knowing full well what a despicable human being he is, I would give anything to have him here making love to me just once more.

It was then that the full realization of her torment hit her. It came to her in a blinding moment of truth, no matter what he asked her to do sexually, no matter how offensive it might be to her, she would gladly do it if he would just make love to her again.

Having neither the courage nor the strength to face the day, she lay for hours curled in a tight ball, hiding her face under the covers. She didn’t want to think. If she could only sleep forever! But the thoughts would not go away. They traveled in a circle in her brain.

She recalled how charming Clay had been while he courted her. How could she have seen through him, she wondered? What had she missed that should have given him away? Why couldn’t she have listened to Alex when he tried to warn her?

And her mother. How hard Shinonn had tried to steer her toward Ned and away from his evil brother.

But did she appreciate her mother’s loving concern? Never. And now look where her stubbornness had gotten her!

Time and again her thoughts returned to their lovemaking. Why had she ever allowed him to make love to her? Allowed him! As she remembered it, she had practically begged him! Her face flamed with shame when she remembered all they had done together. What had once seemed daring and thrilling now seemed depraved.

And yet still she craved his touch! How quickly her body responded to the mere thought of their more erotic sexual exploits.

As the daylight finally faded, she became restless. She rose and dressed. Sometime during the long day she reached a decision, the only logical solution to her situation. She would commit suicide. She hadn’t a clue as to how she would do it, but she was certain she would find a way.

Overwhelmed by despair, she walked the streets aimlessly, totally unaware of the dangers surrounding her. If she had thought about it, she would have welcomed an attack, hoping that she would be murdered and put out of her misery. She walked for hours, the tapping of her heals echoing along the deserted streets.

When the sun rose, her clothing was completely saturated with dew. Her hair, always so neatly twisted in a knot at the top of her head, fell in damp tendrils around her face. Thoroughly dejected and chilled to the bone, she trudged up the steps to the boarding house.

Mabel could not hide her shock when she saw Jenna return, realizing that the girl had spent the night on the streets of San Francisco. This was intolerable. How much more of this behavior would it take before the girl ended up at the hand of some cutthroat? She worried that if anything happened to the girl, Jenna’s blood would be on the boarding house owner’s hands.

Shushing Jenna into the kitchen, she put a cup of steaming coffee into her hands. She sat the miserable girl down at the table, intent on putting an end to this nonsense.

"We’re going to talk, young lady. This cannot go on. I will not let you get yourself killed while you’re living under my roof. You’ve got to get some help. A girl like you, there must be somebody in your life you can turn to."

Tears welled up in Jenna’s eyes as she slowly shook her head in the negative.

"Think!" Mabel said. "There’s got to be somebody who cares about you enough to get you out of this mess you’ve gotten yourself into. Now think!"

One face flashed before Jenna’s eyes. Ned Turner. Ned was the only person she knew who would help her with no questions asked. She knew he loved her. Would he love her enough to come to her aid after she had run off with his own brother?

At Mabel’s insistence, Jenna sat at the table in the kitchen and wrote Ned a letter begging him for help.

"There now, I’ll see that this is posted while you get a nice hot bath. You’ll feel better after you’ve had a bath and a long nap."

Jenna felt completely drained of emotion as she rose from her chair. Nodding her acquiescence, she slowly climbed the steps, placing one foot before the other with no thought of her destination. It seemed that her last ounce of resistance had been drained out of her when she handed the letter to Mabel.

Jenna had no idea of how many days she waited for Ned. Twice each day Mabel labored up the stairs to her room and insisted the girl come down for meals. Other than that, Jenna never left her room. She sat for hours in the rocker by the window, her book in her lap as she sat staring sightlessly at its pages.

Even with the failing light of evening, unable to make out the words, she sat in her room, her book clutched in her hands.

And that was how she sat when Ned saw her from the street below, looking out the window, staring off into space. He passed directly into her view, but she made no indication of recognition. He stopped in his tracks when he first saw her, shocked to see her beautiful face at the window.

As he drew closer he could better see her perfect features. She looked just as beautiful as ever to him, but even from down on the sidewalk he could see the vacant look in her eyes. At first her expression appeared peaceful, serene, but his heart nearly broke when he realized that her eyes reflected only emptiness.

He felt sick as he gazed at her perfect but immobile profile. And yet his heart swelled with love when he reminded himself that he was the one person she had called upon when she needed help. He vowed that no matter what had happened, he would never let her down; she would always know she could put her trust in him.

Suddenly he was overwhelmed with hatred for his brother, Clay. This is his doing, he thought. Clay would do anything to hurt Shinonn Bradley, and destroying Jenna would be his way of settling the score.

Without being told, Ned was certain that Clay had used Jenna in his selfish scheme, with not the least concern of what it would do to the girl.

Mabel gratefully led Ned up to Jenna’s room.

"She owes me for a couple day’s rent, but I’d be willing to forget it if you’ll just get her out of here.

She’s sure got me spooked. I was certain she was going to jump in the ocean or go and get herself murdered when she went wandering the streets at night. Makes me nervous having someone like her around.

"Not that I don’t like her, you know. She’s a nice girl, real nice. But just the same, I’ll sure be glad when she’s out of here."

Her gravelly voice ground to a halt as they reached the top of the stairs. Mabel knocked lightly on the door, then pushed it open when Jenna failed to respond.

"Got your friend here for you," she called out, trying to sound pleasant.

"You go on in, she directed Ned. "See if you can’t get her out of here."

"Jenna?" Ned felt as if he should whisper in the deathly stillness of the room. She turned and faced him, the vacant expression still in her eyes.

"Jenna, I’ve come for you."

Her eyes gradually focused on him. She sat perfectly still as tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks.

"Ah, Jenna, don’t cry. Everything will be all right, you’ll see."

"No, Ned, nothing will ever be all right again."

"Now don’t say that, sweetheart. I’m going to make sure nothing bad ever happens to you again. I’ve come all this way just to take you home."

Panic filled her eyes as she rose in agitation.

"But I can’t go home. Don’t you see that? I can’t ever go home again!"

"But you’re wrong, Jenna. Everything’s going to be fine now."

"No! They all think I was in with Clay when he stole the money from the Crimson Palace. They’ll put me in prison if I ever return to Reno."

"Nobody ever believed that. Oh, sure, your mother was frantic when you turned up missing, but she never for a minute believed you’d conspired with Clay to steal that money.

"Clay thinks he’s so clever, but they saw through his ploy from the beginning. We all figured that he duped you into running away with him, but no one ever believed you were in on the theft."

"But I’m so ashamed. I can’t go back and live in my mother’s house again. Not after how I treated her and all that’s happened since I left! I’d never feel as if I belonged in that house."

"Then come to mine."

She looked at him in silence, unable to comprehend his meaning.

"Come back with me as my wife, Jenna. You know I love you. I don’t care what happened between you and Clay. That’s all past now. All I care a