“Pandora, listen to me!” he implored. “It isn’t the end of the world. Painful as they are, these things happen. We survive. Life goes on, I promise you.”
“Spare me your clichés, Mr. Gabriel!”
Pandora was fighting for her life now. She could not, would not believe what he’d told her. The tears she’d been battling back suddenly rushed to the surface. Ward was telling her the truth. Why would he lie about such a thing? He had nothing to gain by hurting her so; he was not a malicious man. He spoke the honest truth. And this terrible truth meant that her entire, well-ordered destiny lay about her now in crumbled ruins, like the tumbled walls of Maison Rouge.
As her choked weeping turned into pathetic sobs, Ward put his arms around her and drew her close, trying awkwardly to comfort her. “Please, Pandora, don’t.” He could think of nothing else to say. They sat there for a long time until finally Pandora had cried herself out.
With great dignity, she withdrew from Ward’s embrace, sat up straight, and smoothed the skirt of her gown.
“You haven’t told me the woman’s name,” she said, her voice steely quiet. “Do I know her?”
This was the moment Ward had dreaded most of all. But he couldn’t ignore her question, not even to spare her more pain. “Jacob is marrying Angelica.”
Sitting as straight and rigid as one of the palm trees that lined Broadway, she inclined her head slightly, unable to speak a word. Angelica! How like her cousin this was. Angelica, who had all the beauty, all the attention, all the love she could ever want, was never satisfied with what she had. She was never satisfied until she had what was Pandora’s, whether it was a party dress, a piece of jewelry, her parents’ attention, or a man to marry.
“I should have guessed,” Pandora said softly.
“What will you do now?”
They had drawn up in front of the Sherwood mansion on Broadway, but Ward still held the reins poised in his hands as if he was ready to speed away should Pandora request such an escape.
“Now?” she said wistfully. “Now is not the problem; I shall do what I must do. It’s the future that stretches ahead like a great, arid desert.” She put her hand on his and looked directly at him. “Thank you, Ward.”
“For what?” he asked, astounded.
“For everything!”
He watched, feeling Pandora’s hurt in every muscle and sinew of his own body, as she climbed out of the buggy. Her back straight, her regal head held high, she moved along the walk with great dignity.
“Pandora?” he called after her.
She turned slightly to glance back at him.
“If you need me…”
She nodded, then approached the steps.
Pandora’s walk from Ward’s buggy to the front door seemed to her like a condemned felon’s last mile. She still felt in shock as her mind gnawed at the problem facing her. She had no idea how this had happened. Jacob had squired her cousin about while she was away—with her full approval—but she’d been gone only three months. How could Angelica have stolen Jacob so quickly?
More importantly, how should she react? What should she do? Her first impulse, of course, had been to tear into the house, find Angelica and “snatch her baldheaded,” as Cassie would have said. But what good would that do?
Her aunt and uncle could not be counted on to intercede in her behalf. After all, Angelica was their only child—pampered, petted, granted her every wish and whim. She was sure that the Sherwoods must have tried to head off the romance somewhere along the line. But, with the wedding scheduled for the day after tomorrow, their attempts had obviously failed. Now they would be on Angelica’s side, not wanting Pandora to stir up needless gossip by disrupting the happy couple’s announced plans.
As her hand touched the cool brass of the doorknob, Pandora suddenly knew what she must do. There was nothing left for her in Galveston. She would get through the next few days and then she would simply vanish. The old Pandora was dead. Now she must set out in search of some new identity.
Perhaps she might even find the man who was Jean Laffite. But first, she must find herself.
Chapter Thirteen
The first person Pandora saw when she opened the door was Aunt Tabitha. The woman’s face went ashen when she spied her niece.
“Oh, my dear, we hadn’t expected… I mean, of course, we knew you were back since Cassie… but I thought you’d come later, when dinner was…”
Pandora moved forward smoothly, forcing a smile, kissing the flustered woman on her pudgy cheek. “Aunt Tabitha, you must have known I’d want to be here for the wedding. After all, Angelica has been like a sister to me these past years. And Jacob is my dearest friend in the world.”
“How could you have known? We all agreed it would be best to keep it a secret.” Her aunt, in her nervousness, realized that she had let the cat of conspiracy out of the bag and quickly covered her little bow mouth with her hands.
“I have my sources,” Pandora whispered. “Now that I’m here, you must tell me everything. When did they decide? How did they break the news? And, for goodness sakes, why the rush? All of Galveston will be thinking the most improper thoughts.”
Pandora’s hint that the island’s citizens might suspect Angelica of having dallied before her time caused the color to drain from Tabitha Sherwood’s face. Noting her aunt’s reaction, Pandora raised an eyebrow. Could she have hit upon the truth of the matter?
Just then, Angelica appeared at the head of the stairs, a smug smile on her lovely face. Pandora took several deep, even breaths to maintain her control as she seethed inwardly. The pleasant expression remained, through no small effort on her part.
“Angelica!” The name oozed like warm honey from Pandora’s lips. “My, you are full of surprises! I left thinking you a child and return to find you a bride. What a difference a few short weeks can make!”
Angelica started slowly down the stairs with a regal toss of her silvery hair. “All the difference in the world, Pandora. Why did you cut your trip short? Jacob and I had no idea you’d be back before June at the earliest.”
“Why, Angelica,” Pandora said sweetly, “I wouldn’t have missed this wedding for the world! Everyone in Galveston will be here to wish you well. Such a handsome couple. I’m sure that you and Jacob will be deliriously happy together. He’s a fine, hard-working man.”
Angelica’s smile of bravado wavered. She looked hard at her cousin, suspecting some trick. Surely, Pandora couldn’t have taken the news so calmly. Could it be that something had happened while she was in Paris… that she’d met someone else… that she was actually happy to find that she was no longer obligated to Jacob? Pandora was acting as if she didn’t care for Jacob Saenger; how could that be?
“Pandora, I hope you understand,” Angelica purred. “Neither Jacob nor I wanted to hurt you, but you know how love is…”
Pandora fought her urge to smack Angelica’s cool, smiling face. Yes, she knew all about love! But had her cousin ever understood the meaning of the word? Pandora doubted it!
Before Pandora could frame a suitable reply, Angelica went on in her patronizing tone. “I’m sure you’ll find someone to marry sooner or later.”
Angelica’s blatant attempt to wound her fired Pandora’s determination to keep her true feelings to herself. She vowed she would get through these next two days and then she would go far, far away.
Pandora motioned her cousin to a couch in the Gold Room. “You must tell me all your plans. Jacob wrote to me that he has rented a lovely, little apartment near the hospital. So that will be the Saengers’ love nest after the honeymoon, I assume?”
Angelica’s ice-blue eyes narrowed and her delicate nostrils twitched. “There won’t be a honeymoon right away.” From her outraged tone, Pandora guessed that the two of them had argued heatedly over this point. “With Jacob’s practice, there’s the financial side of things to be considered. Father wanted to give us a large sum as a wedding gif
t, but Jacob is too proud to take it. Sometime later we’ll go to Europe for a few months, maybe a year. He promised. I’ve suggested that he raise his fees so that we’ll be able to afford the trip as soon as possible.”
Pandora nodded, her face solemn. “Sensible of you to wait. Doctors don’t make that much actually. The apartment will save you money as well.”
“Humph!” Angelica tossed her head again and looked both angry and pained. “That grubby little flat, I’ll never live there,” she hissed. “We will move in with Jacob’s father while our own home is being built.”
Pandora clucked her tongue in feigned sympathy. “Oh, what a pity! I can’t imagine you living in that old house on Avenue O after being raised in this beautiful mansion on Broadway, Angelica.” Then she smiled brightly, enjoying her cousin’s anguished expression. Angelica remembered her own words and did not enjoy having them thrown back in her face. Pandora waited expectantly for Angelica to remind her that it mattered little where one lived as long as she was with the man she loved. But instead, Angelica answered her with grim silence.
Pandora had suspected that there was no love on Angelica’s part. She couldn’t quite figure where Jacob stood in all this. Certainly, after his initial shock at seeing her, he had seemed wonderfully happy having Pandora in his arms again. She frowned, not listening as Angelica talked on about guest lists, reception plans, and Jacob’s stubbornness where money was concerned. Her own mind was traveling other channels. Could it be that something had happened between Angelica and Jacob? She stared at her cousin—her beautiful pale blonde hair, her long-lashed blue eyes, her porcelain complexion, her tempting figure. Could Jacob have lost control one evening, perhaps after a few too many drinks? Might Angelica be carrying his child? The thought was staggering.
“Angelica,” she interrupted her cousin’s mindless chatter, “do you have anything you’d like to tell me? Anything really important about you and Jacob?”
Angelica’s icy gaze sidestepped Pandora’s probing stare. “I can’t imagine what you’re talking about.”
“All this haste, it’s rather unusual. Normally an engagement is much longer, unless there’s some reason to hurry the vows.”
Pandora watched a bright flush creep into Angelica’s cheeks.
“You’re just imagining things—trying to find some reason why Jacob stopped caring for you. Well, I refuse to sit here and listen to your veiled accusations.”
Angelica ran from the room. Pandora rose with a sigh and headed upstairs. She found Cassie there unpacking her things, looking grim-faced and sour, muttering angrily to herself. She froze when Pandora walked in, scanning her face with wide eyes, wondering what her reaction to the news had been.
Pandora went to her and touched her hand, trying to sound less than grim for the woman’s sake. “It’s all right, Cass. I know all about the wedding. I’ve just had a talk with Angelica. Maybe it’s all for the best.”
But Pandora’s feelings belied her words. She sank down on the bed, hiding her tears in the fur of her much-missed kittens as they climbed into her arms to welcome her home.
Her thoughts strayed to Ward, soothing some of the ache from her heart. He had been so kind to her tonight, so understanding. He would help her through this dreadful wedding. He was the only one who could.
Pandora had read Angelica like a book. The very moment that she pretended approval of the match and a lack of interest in her former fiancé, Angelica’s passion had begun to wilt as quickly as a moonflower fades when the dawn approaches.
On leaving Pandora’s side, Angelica had grabbed her cloak and headed straight for the carriage house. Moments later, she was on her way to Jacob’s apartment. She would confess her deception to him and call off their plans. Nothing had happened that night in the garden after Ward Gabriel left them. But Jacob, convenient to her scheme, had been too drunk to remember anything the next morning past their kiss in the garden following his final stop at the punch bowl. When she’d confronted him a few weeks later—tearful, injured, terrified—with her invented story that their encounter that evening had left her carrying his child, he agreed to the wedding immediately. What else could he do?
She could still remember how triumphant she had felt when she’d left him that day. Jacob had looked terrible, old beyond his years. His shock at her accusation had left him pale and shaken. He begged her to tell him that it was a mistake. He pleaded, saying that he and Pandora were meant for each other; to break off their engagement was unthinkable. He had gone on to tell Angelica that he did not love her and he was sure they would both be miserable if they wed.
She had answered his arguments defiantly. “There is no if about this, Jacob; you will marry me. The sooner the better. I do not relish the thought of looking like a cow in my wedding gown.”
He had agreed—hesitantly, angrily, miserably. Now she was on her way to release him from his promise and his torment. Let him marry Pandora, if she would still have him. Angelica had more exciting things on her mind than giving herself to a man who could not even afford a honeymoon or a proper home. That fascinating Ward Gabriel was back in town. She’d been thinking about him ever since the night of the party back in November. Rumor had it that a fortune had just come his way. He had resigned from her father’s business to see to his own ventures. Angelica knew what Ward wanted in a wife because he had explained it all to her as they danced. She would try to make him love her. If that failed, she would approach him as if their marriage were yet another promising business venture. She cared little on what terms she got him so long as she did.
Old Mrs. Gray sniffed with disapproval when the second young woman that evening came pounding on her door, demanding to see Dr. Saenger. It seemed that he was in a highly improper line of medicine. She would have to speak to him immediately about finding other lodgings.
Jacob roused slowly when he heard the pounding on the door. The whiskey made his head buzz and his eyes refused to focus properly. He rolled off the side of the bed and, after some effort, gained his feet, if not his balance.
“Coming,” he called as he stumbled toward the door.
Angelica waited in the drafty hall, tapping her foot impatiently. The longer she stood, the more she wondered how she could ever have considered marrying a man who expected her to come as a bride to such a shabby place. She even began to wonder what Pandora saw in him. Well, she had certainly learned her lesson. Never again would she be contented with what Pandora wanted. Obviously, her cousin had very poor taste. If Jacob ever got around to answering the door, she planned to make short work of this. She would confess her little white lie, call off their wedding, and say good-bye to Dr. Jacob Saenger forever!
Jacob was still blinking, trying to focus as he opened the door. The last person he expected to find there was Angelica Sherwood. The sight of her sobered him slightly.
“Angelica, what on earth are you doing here?” he managed to say as she swept past him into the room.
She stopped directly under the overhead light, looking for all the world like a heavenly vision with her long, glowing hair and tight-fitting gown of white lawn. Her bosom rose and fell temptingly as she took deep, excited breaths. As he stared at her—slightly in awe of her beauty—the desire Pandora had aroused in him earlier came back to plague him.
“Jacob, we have to talk,” Angelica announced.
He moved toward her, smiling, wanting to touch her skin to make sure it was real and not made of china or glowing wax. When his fingers brushed her bare shoulder, Angelica shrugged away.
“What’s wrong, Angel? You seem upset.” He slipped an arm about her waist and drew her to him, meaning to give her a comforting kiss. She was, after all, about to be his bride. He had certain duties and certain rights.
“Stop it, Jacob…” She struggled against his grip. “Jacob, you’ve been drinking again!”
His answer to her accusation was to silence her lips with his. He drew her very close, letting his hands caress he
r back, her waist, and finally her trim little buttocks. She gave up her struggle quickly, enjoying the unexpected intimacy. She had to admit that he could fire something in her when he was forceful this way.
Jacob, still holding her, kissing her, moved slowly toward the bedroom. The die had been cast the night of the party. What was done was done. There was no longer any need for him to suffer so. Angelica would be his wife in only hours. She might as well begin her duties this minute. He was in painful need, and she possessed the cure for what was ailing him; the doctor prescribed his own treatment.
Angelica felt strange. Whatever had come over Jacob? Never, in all the times they’d been together had he ever shown such masculine command. It was quite thrilling. The way he was holding her, kissing her, touching her! It set her senses all adrift. She had never felt this way before. Up till now, she had always been the one to set the rules between them, the aggressor of the pair.
She opened her eyes for a moment. They were in his bedroom, where he had skillfully maneuvered her even while kissing her expertly.
“Jacob.” She tried to open their discussion again, but he had other things on his mind. “Jacob, what are you doing?”
“This,” he murmured as he pressed her down to the bed. “And this,” he said, drawing up her skirt and petticoats, letting his hand slide above her stockings to the tender bare flesh between her thighs.
He was holding her down, kissing her again—deeply, wetly, taking away her will and her reason.
“Jacob, no!” she managed. “No, I’ve come to tell you I don’t want…”
But suddenly it was too late. She felt the tearing pain as he plunged through her maiden’s barrier. Her eyes were wide, staring into his face. Jacob too looked startled, then angry.
“You lied,” he ground out the words between clenched teeth. “You told me… but you were still a virgin! Damn you, Angelica! Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!”
Forever, For Love Page 21