The Letter (15 page)

When her gaze locked with his, William smiled warmly and walked to the bed.

Too weak to respond, Victoria wordlessly stared at him as he approached.

“
Good morning beautiful,” he said softly.

When she opened her mouth to respond, Victoria discovered she could only croak through her parched, scratchy throat.

She looked with longing at the pitcher of water and a drinking cup on the bedside table.

Thirsty are you? Well, we can take care of that.” William poured water into a sparkling, crystal glass. She inhaled taking in his delicious scent as he sat down on the bed holding the glass.

Gently, William lifted her tormented head and raised the glass to her lips.

After Victoria took a couple of long thirsty swallows, he gently eased her back onto the pillows.

The throbbing in her head began easing in small increments.

“
Where am I?” she asked in a barely audible whisper staring up at him.

“
My home, darling. You have been very ill,” he answered his eyes moving over her face.

Color flooded her cheeks.

He had called her darling. Why was he taking such liberties with her?

“
Oh my gracious,” she whispered her memory surging into her mind.

Memory of the brothel, the red room and Will finding her, all saturated her head but the remaining memories were only fragments surrounded by a thick fog.

“
I followed you,” she stated, her voice a little stronger as the throbbing in her head abated.

“
You did indeed follow me,” he said, his low voice sending a light shiver across her skin.

“
You went to a brothel,” she accused. A small inflection of outrage was unavoidable in her voice. She would never admit she was jealous.

“
Yes, I did, and it is my right to do so,” he informed her, a devilish smile forming on his too-delicious-looking lips. “But I will assure you that nothing happened there with Lotus. My thoughts were too occupied by a certain beautiful young lady.”

His words sent pleasure rippling through her and a smile to her lips.

“
You look very satisfied my beautiful, but when you realize my need for you is so great that I might spend the better part of a week in the bed with you, once I get you there, you might not be so self-satisfied.”

A deep flush flooded her cheeks and her eyes slid shyly away from his.

“
You should not say such things,” she whispered over her fluttering heartbeat.

“
Do you remember why you came to see me?”

Her eyes flew to his and the memory flashed through her mind.

“
Oh God. Yes, yes, I came to see you to agree to your terms!” Her heart lodged in her throat.

How could she have forgotten something so utterly significant?

“
Still, you should not take such liberties with your words, it is not very gentlemanly!” She cried.

He laughed and said softly, “So shy, after chasing me through half the city to tell me?”

“
Please,” she said, as her face grew hotter.

“
Unless, of course, you have decided to back out on our agreement,” he whispered the challenge.

He was daring her to back out. He was daring her to be a coward.

“
No, no, I haven’t changed my mind,” she said firmly, resisting the urge to fan her sizzling face. “I am no coward. And I never make an agreement unless I fully intend to see it through.”

Even in the bright light of day, even filled with this terrible girlish shyness and a horrible aching head, she would do what she had set out to do no matter how momentarily formidable it was.

He smiled tenderly, “Not to worry sweetheart, everything will be just fine.” He gently smoothed her hair back from her cheek.

“
My little love, I promise it will be an exquisite experience for both of us.” His words, filled with promise and pulsating desire beckoned her to shameful lust.

“
I am more pleased than you know that you have decided to accept my offer,” he continued, seemingly unaware of her betraying thoughts.

“
I . . . well, we barely know each other . . . I just hope this is the right thing.” she paused. “But I know it is what I want,” she added, quickly plowing through her nagging doubts.

Pray for her eternal soul she shouldn’t want this, but she did.

Exhilaration bolted down her spine. Anxious desire quivered in her belly.

“
We know each other well enough and we will know each other much better very soon. All will be well,” he told her cupping her chin in his hand where her pulse beat furiously.

“
What happened to me?” she asked, changing the subject entirely and pulling her gaze from his.

“
The tea Li gave you had a drug in it. She thought she was doing something nice for you,” he said with an angry edge to his voice and removing his hand from her face.

“
A drug?” Her dark eyebrows arched up. “Like medications?”

“
Like alcohol only it is much more powerful and it is often extremely addictive,” he replied.

“
That is horrible!” Why would anyone do such a thing?”

“
I presume the drugs have not made their way to Texas then?” he asked.

“
No, of course not. Why on earth would anyone take medication that they didn’t need? How awful that she would give them to me without telling me. How could she have thought she was doing me any good at all? I don’t like medications even when I am truly ill,” she said, outraged and confused.

“
I don’t know, I think some people want some escape from reality and drugs provide the escape. Continued use generally ends in death. But don’t worry about it. I think you will be alright. Once certainly can’t do too much damage,” he assured her, his eyes roving over her face for outward signs of lasting damage.

“
Now I am going to let Mina come and help you bathe and get you something to eat. How do you feel?”

The throbbing pain in her head was almost gone. Only a small twitch behind her eyes lingered to remind her of how she felt when she first woke up.

“
I think I am much better now and I don’t need any help,” she said.

Victoria suddenly became starkly aware that she was not wearing her own serviceable, cotton gown. Instead, she was wearing a beautiful pink lacy concoction that certainly didn’t belong to her.

“
Who dressed me in this?” She asked.

William’s long silent pause and hot silver gaze was the humiliating answer that sent fresh heat rushing to Victoria’s face.

“
I did,” he confirmed his voice low and provocative.

“
Oh.” Her eyes skidded away from his to concentrate on the silken sheets. Despite her agreement to his scandalous terms, she was utterly mortified that he had seen her undressed and she had been completely unaware of his scrutiny.

Smoothing the silky sheets under her hand, Victoria did not look up when she heard William’s steps retreating toward the door.

She only dared to look up at him just as he reached the door and opened it.

He paused in the open doorway, turned to her and said, “Victoria, don’t worry about what I saw. You are an incredibly beautiful woman.”

CHAPTER 13

Bathed and dressed in an elegant, powder blue, silk gown that fit her surprisingly well, Victoria attacked the meal that one of the maids had brought up for her.

The maid, Mina, had helped her into a bath and later into the gown she claimed belonged to William’s cousin. Victoria had resisted the gown at first, but gave in when Mina insisted. Clearly, she could not wear a nightgown all day and her own wardrobe was still at the hotel.

Then Mina had kindly set about brushing Victoria’s hair in front of the giant stone fireplace in her room until it was nearly dry and fell in fluffy waves down her back.

“
You hair is so lovely,” Mina told her as she brushed.

“
Thank you so much, but you should see my sister Mandy’s hair. Of course, everything about Mandy is gorgeous.” Victoria said fondly, as a pang of melancholy hit her. “Her hair is especially beautiful and is the color of spun gold.”

What would Mandy be doing now? There was always so much to do at the store. Was she going to be able to manage for an extended amount of time alone? Well, she did have Johnny for moral support and to help her with some of the work, so they would manage.

At least Victoria had the comfort of knowing Mandy wouldn’t be hungry anymore or unable to pay bills. That thought warmed Victoria to her very bones.

“
You wish to go home,” Mina suggested with a warm smile of understanding. She replaced the brush back on the dresser. “You miss your sister.”

“
Yes, I do wish to go home. I like it here, it is beautiful, but I miss Mandy and, well . . .I miss my home” her voice trailed off. How could she explain? Even if she could, what words would she possibly use?

“
I understand,” Mina said. “Now you need some lunch to get your strength back. Mr. Worthington is very worried about you.”

Victoria did not know why, but the notion of Worthington’s concern made her feel a little euphoric.

Sometime later, after seeing to her lunch, Mina left Victoria to ponder her thoughts alone.

Victoria’s thoughts unwillingly, but immediately went to William as she ate the light meal of chicken soup with toast. Victoria recalled vague memories of what happened the previous evening. William’s gentle hands and kind words came immediately to her mind.

She spooned another hot savory mouthful of soup just as the sound of raised voices brought her out of her deep thoughts.

*****

“
Where is she?” a woman’s shrill voice echoed through the large house and up the stairs. It didn’t take a great mind to figure out the owner of that voice was talking about her, Victoria thought, putting the tray aside.

“
Mr. Worthington said she wasn’t to be disturbed,” Victoria heard Carter say in his thick Scottish burr.

“
Shut up, Carter, or I will have you thrown out to the street. You Scotts are a bit too high handed if you ask me. Arrogant you are, forgetting yourself.”

Bathed and dressed in an elegant powder blue silk gown, procured by Mina, that fit her suspiciously well, Victoria was in the middle of her lunch from elegantly set tray, when the commotion started downstairs.

The stairs creaked and Victoria heard the heavy tap of shoes clicking over the polished wooden floor. Whoever this angry woman was she was getting closer by the second.

“
Where the hell is she?” the woman demanded in a shrill voice. Victoria heard a heavy door slam shut just down the hall.

“
Maam . . . . she is in the Gold Room,” Lolly murmured hesitantly in response. “But she has been very ill . . .”

“
The Gold Room! What utter nerve! What must William be thinking to put a strumpet...a tart, no less, in there?” the woman shrieked.

The door swung open and hit the wall with a thud and before bouncing back. Victoria winced.

A handsome, tall, mature woman of solid build stood in the doorway. Her silver-blue hair was swept up and held with jeweled combs into a fashionable style that enhanced her aristocratic features. Her pinched expression demurred her features and diminished any impression of kindness.

Victoria stood slowly, her stance defiant.

“
Who are you?” the woman demanded, her chin rising and her eyes flashing in an expression that was vaguely familiar.

Victoria realized that the intruder possessed William’s silver eyes. But that is where the similarity between them ended. Where William’s eyes were like molten silver fire, this woman’s eyes were as cold as hard gray stone.

“
Who are
you
?” Victoria responded with the same question. She wouldn’t back down from this angry woman, or feel shame about her current scandalous predicament.

How dare you ask me who I am! As if you have any right at all. I am William’s mother of course!” The woman screeched in toned outrage. The sound sent a sharp pain bolting through Victoria’s aching head. Victoria sat down as a wave of dizziness sopped her strength.

Despite her need to sit, Victoria stiffened her spine. She might have sold her soul to the devil, but Victoria wasn’t going to go around wallowing in her shame. Folding her hands together she looked up at the woman with a steady, direct glare.

“
I have as much right as anyone I suppose,” Victoria answered calmly.

The woman’s pale features turned the shade of a ripe plum.

“
What are you doing in my son’s house and sleeping in the bedroom that is specifically designated for his wife?” The woman’s fire and brimstone voice shook with chin-wobbling fury bouncing off of the walls like thunder from a gathering storm.

“
I am here because Will brought me here,” Victoria answered in an even tone, while inside she seethed.

The woman’s eyes narrowed and her mouth fell open like the guppy fish Victoria once saw in Sally Broomfield’s bowl of pet fish.

“
Why did he bring you here? You do not belong here!” the woman declared, advancing into the room with a sharply assessing glare.