Savage storm (34 page)

Jason looked down at his agitated friend. "So? Maybe they met only once and he's jdst forgotten him. Let's wait until Joshua arrives and we can judge him on his own merits. There's no sense in looking for problems. Clay. We're trying to help the men relax and have a good time tonight. Just concentrate on being a good host."

"Yes, I am," Clayton responded bruskly. "Still, the numbers have to come out even or we're in serious trouble."

"Look, you and I are here. We can dance with the girls. Once everyone arrives it will be so crowded they'll never notice if there are equal numbers of men and women or not. There's the doorbell again. You'd better go answer it and I'll see what's keeping our ladies."

"Why don't you get the door?" Clayton asked slyly.

Jason just laughed and started up the stairs. He didn't intend to go into the bedrooms but simply to stand on the landing until one of the brides appeared so he could send her for the others. To his amazement, he found the hall nearly filled with young women who were trying desperately not to giggle and give away their presence. With a wide smile, he whispered, "The men have started to arrive. It would be very nice if you were all downstairs in the parlor to greet them." Offering his arm to the nearest young woman, he led the group down the

stairs, but as he stepped aside to let them file into the parlor, he saw that Cabrielle was not among them.

"She's still doing her hair," Erica whispered for she saw his anxious glance and rightly guessed its cause. "She'll be down in a minute."

Jason nodded, accepting her explanation. However, when Cabrielle had not appeared in five minutes' time, he went up to get her. The door of her room was closed, but as he lifted his hand to knock Cabrielle opened it, ready to step out. With her hair pinned up in a bright cascade of lustrous curls, she was so stunning he could not think what to say and only stared, unable to come up with any lucid comment let alone the extravagant compliment he knew she deserved.

Cabrielle stepped forward to take his arm. "If you have come to escort me to the party, I am ready, Mr. Royal. May I take your shocked silence to mean you approve of my appearance?"

"I have always thought you very beautiful," Jason finally managed to mumble. Then, becoming angry with himself for behaving like such a fool, he spoke more forcefully. "But you are late again. Miss MacLaren, and our guests are waiting."

Cabrielle's pretty smile vanished when she realized that Jason couldn't wait to introduce her to another man, a whole roomful of men in fact. "Forgive me. I did not realize a few more minutes' time would make me appear so rude." She walked off and left him then, not content to let him escort her down the stairs when his purpose was such an obvious one. Attempting to smile as she entered the parlor, she found it a simple matter to recognize the bachelors from Jason's sketches, but when one man walked up to her she was taken aback by his enthusiastic greeting.

"Miss MacLaren? I am Michael Jenkins and I've been waiting months to make your acquaintance."

"How do you do, Mr. Jenkins?" Cabrielle felt a curious sense of detachment now that she stood face to face with one of the bachelors. Michael was an earnest young man, rather nice

looking, tall with light brown hair and brown eyes. His smile very pleasant, but she felt not the slightest bit of excitement as his hand touched hers in a polite handshake. It was as though a chill wind had swept all emotion from her slender body, and although she returned his smile she knew her response was no more than a polite reaction she had been taught to affect. As he began to inquire about her trip, she scanned the room distractedly, mentally attaching names to the men's faces. There was no stranger present. Not one of the men appeared to be the Joshua Taylor she'd included so faithfully each night in her prayers.

Jason was so infuriated by Gabrielle's rebuff that he was tempted to leave before the party had even begun, but knowing that would be unfair to Clayton, he forced himself to remain. They had removed the furniture from the dining room so it could be used for dancing—the two musicians they had hired proved to be very accomplished—but Jason had no interest in dancing himself. He wandered through the first-floor rooms of the large house, making certain Clayton's housekeeper and the two maids they'd hired kept providing plentiful refreshments, and seeing that everyone was having a good time, but he had never enjoyed a gathering less. Far too often he found himself simply observing Gabrielle. Her dress was a vivid sapphire blue, the crisp taffeta the exact color of her eyes. In the prevailing style, the gown revealed a creamy expanse of fair skin at her shoulders, while the tight-fitting bodice showed off her tiny waist to every advantage. The deep ruffle of the full skirt swished musically with each of her steps, and he thought her such an attractive sight he found it difficult to appear interested in anyone else in the room. She had such a gracious manner. On more than one occasion when two men appeared at her side he had seen her gracefully guide them across the room to where a less popular young woman stood alone. Iris, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy drawing men to her as though she were pulling in fish with a net. She flirted openly

with them all, alternating bright smiles with coy glances but clearly giving the greater portion of her attention to the men who were the most expensively dressed. What was obvious to Jason seemed to escape the men, however, so each time Iris became surrounded he walked over to quietly suggest his friends not neglect the other young women at the party.

While Jason tried to remain on the edge of the noisy gathering, he frequently saw Gabrielle glance about the room as though she were looking for someone. On those occasions, when their eyes met she would look away quickly, as if the mere sight of him were painful. When the musicians took a short break, he strolled outside with them, happy for an excuse to get some fresh air. Nothing was going as he'd expected. Gabrielle was having a wonderful time and he was miserable. He'd never been jealous, not in his entire life, and scarcely recognized the emotion, but he knew he didn't like seeing her in other men's arms. She was one of the best dancers. Displaying the elegance of a prima ballerina, she was so light on her feet that she seemed to dance on air regardless of how clumsy her partner might be. Most of the men were awkward, he realized. They'd had little opportunity to dance in recent years and couldn't be expected to know the latest steps. Indeed, he'd seen Iris leave more than one man in the middle of the dance floor rather than suffer through a musical number with a poor partner, but Gabrielle, he'd noticed had continued to smile no matter how often her partner stepped upon her feet. As usual her compassion seemed to extend to all men but him, and he looked up at the stars, thinking their cold brilliance far warmer than her heart.

By ten o'clock, Gabrielle's earlier detachment had turned to sheer terror. She had tried, truly she had, but with each man her reaction had been the same. She felt nothing for any of them, only a rapidly increasing sense of dread as each man appeared at her side. They were all polite, well mannered, and so eager to impress her she could not help but feel honored.

However, there was not one whom she cared to see again. When she saw Jason step through the door which led to the back yard, she followed him at her first opportunity.

"Jason!" she called in a hoarse whisper, hoping he would not send her back inside before she said what she had to tell him.

Jason spun around, shocked to see Gabrielle rushing toward him. "What are you doing out here? It's too cold for one thing and for another—"

"Please listen to me for just a minute, I won't need more." Gabrielle did not even wait to see if he'd agree to her request before she began. "Where is Joshua Taylor? Why hasn't he come to this party with all the others?"

Jason shrugged. "I really couldn't say. I told you I don't know the man. Why is it so important that he be here? It looked to me like you had plenty of other company."

Gabrielle looked back toward the house to be certain the musicians were engrossed in their own conversation before she attempted to explain. "I have said a prayer for him every night and have wanted to meet him, that's all. I am sure he will be no different from any of your other friends, Jason, but if he doesn't appear tomorrow night I'm not coming downstairs."

"What?" Jason could make no sense of her remark.

"I counted twenty men here, I am the extra woman and it's not fair for me to receive the attention which rightfully belongs to the others. I won't join in the parties if I am one too many. I simply can't."

Realizing how greatly upset Gabrielle was, Jason took her trembling hand to lead her over to a small bench. "Sit down here for a moment and tell me exactly what is wrong. I thought you were enjoying the party. Aren't you having a good time?" It truly had seemed to him that she was having a marvelous evening.

"No!" Gabrielle responded with an anguished cry; then seeing his startled expression, she attempted to explain. "I mean yes. The men couldn't be nicer, Jason. They are sweet

and some even had tears in their eyes when they told me they did not expect such pretty young women to come so far to get married. I don't know what they expected, but clearly we have provided a most wonderful surprise. I should say you have, since you and Mr. Home chose us."

Jason had seen Gabrielle throw screaming fits of temper all too often but never had he seen her so beside herself with anxiety. He did not really understand what was causing her discomfort. "Now let me see if I understand you before you go any further. You find the men's compliments flattering; is that at least true?"

"Yes, but I don't deserve such attention, Jason, nor do I want it. What I mean is, I can't accept it. It seems years ago that I spoke with you in Kansas City. I truly thought I could marry one of these men then, but now I know that's simply impossible. I have some money, I'll give you whatever the man paid and you can refund it to Joshua or to one of the others. But I am never going to be able to marry one of these men when I know I will never come to love him." She bit her lip savagely to force back her tears, for having to make this declaration only increased her distress.

"I seem to recall love wasn't all that important to you at one time. Are you saying that it now is?" Jason asked hopefully.

Gabrielle shook her head. "I can't love any of those men; that is important. I thought I could hide my feelings so my husband would never know I didn't love him, but I can't do that. I simply can't! I would make the worst of wives. My husband would be as miserable as I would. I can't do that to any man. I want to be released from the agreement I made with you and Mr. Home, right now, tonight. I will leave. I won't stay here in Mr. Home's house. It would cause comment if I were to remain when I'm no longer one of the brides."

Jason took a deep breath and then held it until he thought he could speak in a reasonable tone of voice. "I want you to listen to me because I'm going to say this only once. Beau is dead and

no amount of hysteria on your part is going to bring him back. That's what you're doing isn't it, comparing each of the bachelors with Beau and finding them woefully lacking? I don't care how good-looking the man was, or how smart or clever. Whatever it was you found so attractive about him no longer matters. I am going to take you right back into that party, and you are going to be every bit as charming as you have been for the first part of the evening. I have your signature on a contract which states you'll give these men every chance to impress you favorably, and I intend to see you honor that promise. Is that clear?"

Gabrielle was afraid she was going to faint, simply pass out right there across his lap rather than agree to such an unreasonable demand. Why he continually dredged up Beau's name she didn't know. It made her feel that a dagger had been thrust deep into her heart and then twisted. She had not even thought of Beau that evening. She had thought only of Jason, of how handsome he looked and of how cruel he had been to leave her to fiend for herself when she wanted so badly to be with him.

"I have asked you before and I'll do so again, please do not mention Beau's name. It hurts me more than I can say. I know I signed one of your contracts, but you can't force me to marry against my will. You can't do that!"

"No one is going to force you to do anything, Gabrielle. I am merely insisting you keep your promise to give these men a fair chance. How can you make any decision when you've barely spoken with them? You told me yourself two weeks wasn't long enough to pick a mate and now you've decided one evening is enough time to dismiss twenty men after no more than a few brief words of conversation? I certainly hope none of the others is as fickle as you."

"I am not fickle!" Gabrielle protested sharply. "I simply did not know what a man would expect from his wife, the closeness that should exist between them, but now I do!"

"So this is all my fault, is that it?'' Jason got to his feet and when she made no move to rise he reached down for her elbow and yanked her to hers. "It is your aunt's fault, if anyone's, that you were so ignorant. It did not even occur to me when you told me your views on marriage in Kansas City that you had no idea what you were talking about! I think you say exactly what suits your purpose at the moment without bothering to consider the consequences, but you will damn well learn to be more thoughtful in the future! For tonight you need only keep the bachelors amused. You dance so beautifully I doubt that any man recalls what you said while you were in his arms, so just keep dancing if making simple conversation is too difficult for you!"

With that piece of scathing advice, Jason escorted Gabrielle right back into the party and left her with the first man they encountered. He then walked out the front door, strode back to the hotel, and slammed the door of his room so soundly he nearly tore it from the hinges. His emotions were under no better control than Gabrielle's, but at least he didn't have to stand in a crowded room for the rest of the evening and watch her make polite conversation with men so eager to make her their bride it showed in their every expression and gesture.