But Eden thought he looked magnificent.
“Mrs. Flynn, your signature.” Mr. MacKenzie’s voice turned her attention away from Damon. The man held out a quill to her and she daintily dipped it into the ink container, and after a moment’s hesitation, she signed her name on the parchment. “I trust all has been to your approval,” Mr. MacKenzie said to her. “Now, where shall I have the funds deposited?”
“What do you mean?” Eden asked, unable to think clearly in Damon’s unnerving presence.
“At which bank should I have the funds deposited?”
“I don’t know.” Eden’s mind whirled. Where was she going when she left New Zealand? She had absolutely no idea. “I’ll be leaving shortly, probably for America,” she admitted. “Maybe San Francisco, but I can’t say.” For a second she couldn’t speak because tears suddenly choked her. This was going to be the last time she’d ever see Damon, and they sat across from each other like adversaries. “Must I make a decision now?”
Mr. MacKenzie sympathetically patted her hand. “No, my dear, you can take as long to decide as you wish. But before you leave New Zealand, I should like to know where you’re going so the necessary arrangements can be made. You’re a very wealthy woman, Mrs. Flynn. Extremely wealthy.”
Eden stood up. “Yes, thank you, sir.” She started to leave the office when Damon was suddenly beside her, his hand on the doorknob.
“I have to speak to you,” he whispered. “You can’t mean to leave New Zealand. I won’t let you go.”
“Damon, I’ll do what I please.”
“I love you. Doesn’t that please you enough to want to stay?”
Her face flamed a vivid shade of scarlet. She threw a quick glance at Mr. MacKenzie, who pretended to be absorbed in his paperwork. “Damon, please don’t go on, I don’t want to hear what you have to say. Anyway, this isn’t the place to discuss … our problem.”
“This is the perfect place,” he persisted. “Mr. MacKenzie is taking care of my divorce. He knows everything there is to know about us.”
The blood pounded in Eden’s head. “Has Tessa agreed to a divorce? Has she left Castlegate?”
Damon dashed her hopes of ending their misery by sighing and shaking his head. “No. If I want a divorce, a court will have to decide, and from what Mr. MacKenzie told me, Tessa deserted me and the chances are good that I’ll be granted one. But…” he shook himself, “I’m not going to do that, even though it means a shorter wait than getting her to sign the necessary papers, which she claims she’ll never do. Otherwise, she’ll take Collin away with her.”
From his attitude she knew something was wrong. “Why can’t you directly petition the court?” she asked, almost not wanting to discover the truth.
“Because of you, Eden. You’ll be named as correspondent, and your name dragged through the mud; our love will be made out as tawdry and cheap. I won’t allow that to happen to you—even if it means losing you.”
“Then there’s no hope for us, no hope at all.” She stood very still, her gaze taking in his face. Then she touched his hand which was still on the knob, feeling all the warmth and power it contained. She knew she’d never be able to touch him like this again. “Good-bye, Damon. I wish you well.” How she spoke without breaking down would always remain a mystery to her, but she’d cried so often and so long the past week that she didn’t have a tear left to shed.
“I’m not giving up on us,” he whispered into her ear before he opened the door. “I love you and I’m going to have you.”
Anything else she might have said to him was forgotten when Jock, whom she’d forgotten was waiting in the outer office, placed a proprietary hand on her elbow. “Is everything settled, my dear?” he asked Eden, who missed the triumphant smile he threw at Damon.
“Yes, I’d like to return to Kia Ora now.”
“Certainly,” Jock told her, and began to lead her away when Damon’s voice stalled both of them.
“So, Gentleman Jock has come to the damsel’s rescue, I see. I should have known you wouldn’t waste any time, Sutherland.”
“You’re quite correct in that.” His grip tightened on Eden’s arm. “But you’re notorious for wasting time—say five years of it. Now good day, Alexander. Eden is eager to leave.”
Damon noticed the pleading expression in Eden’s eyes not to cause a scene, and he deferred to her. As much as he hated Sutherland and would delight in beating the haughtiness out of him, he didn’t wish to humiliate Eden further. He loved her so much that he knew he must free her, at least until he thought of some way to force Tessa to sign the divorce papers and gain custody of Collin. He needed to get to know his son and wouldn’t give him up.
But he felt chilled to his very soul to imagine that Eden might actually marry Jock Sutherland. The two of them made a striking couple, and their backgrounds were similar. And knowing how persuasive Jock could be, Damon anticipated he’d press Eden to marry him.
Would she accept his proposal? God, he hoped not! If only Tessa would leave Castlegate of her own volition, if only she’d agree to the divorce. But Tessa was a stubborn woman and not about to be coerced into doing something she didn’t want to do. The deck was stacked in her favor—and all because of an innocent child.
“Something wrong, Mr. Alexander?” Minny asked. “You look like you’ve lost your best friend.”
Damon smiled sadly and put on his hat. “I’ve lost much more than that, ma’am, much more.”
~~~
On the return trip to Kia Ora, Eden humiliated herself by falling ill. Jock hastily stopped the carriage and she scampered out of it to lean over a small gully where she vomited that morning’s breakfast. She was mortified to find Jock standing beside her, and offering his handkerchief.
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed aloud, almost on the brink of tears.
“Don’t apologize,” he told her, clasping his arm around her waist to help her to her feet. “You didn’t look well this morning. I told you I was worried.”
Eden’s hands were shaking when he helped her into the carriage and took his seat next to her. She expected Jock to start for Kia Ora, but he barely moved a muscle. He looked at her for what seemed a long time until he cleared his throat. Eden immediately tensed, on the alert and praying Jock believed she had only a stomach upset.
“Eden, are you having a child?” Her wince at the question didn’t go unnoticed by him. “I presume Alexander doesn’t know.”
Why deny her condition? Jock wasn’t a stupid man. “I didn’t want to tell him until he’d set a wedding date, but there won’t be a wedding now, so…” Tears trickled down her cheeks. “I’m in disgrace. I can’t bear to imagine what people will say if I stay here and have Damon’s baby. That’s why I must figure what to do with my life, where to go.”
Jock grabbed her around her waist and pulled her close against him. “I forbid you to go anywhere, Eden. You’ll stay here and marry me. I’ll take care of you and your child. No one will ever need to know that I’m not the father. Say you’ll marry me, tell me you will. I love you so much, Eden. I’m in torment with wanting you!” His mouth swooped down upon hers, drowning her protests.
The kiss blazed with passion, and Eden felt herself responding to Jock but was horrified by her body’s awakening desire. If this had happened before she saw Damon in the law office, she’d be tempted to give in to Jock, to agree to marry him. But she had seen Damon, and she knew without a doubt that no matter what he’d done to her, she still loved him. And if she couldn’t marry Damon, she’d not wed another man—especially Jock— whom Damon hated. Such a marriage wouldn’t be fair to any one of them, least of all Jock. She simply didn’t love him.
Pushing at him, Eden broke the kiss. “Don’t make this more difficult for me than it is already. I can’t marry you, I won’t marry you.”
“Why? Tell me one good reason why.”
“I don’t love you, Jock. That’s all the reason I need. If I married you, you’d only be hurt because I can’t
forget Damon. I’ll never forget him.”
“Then we’ll live in Wellington. You’d never have to set foot here again. You could learn to love me.”
“Oh, Jock, I don’t want to marry a man I have to learn to love. What sort of a marriage would that be?”
She saw he struggled to compose himself. When he let her go and picked up the reins, his scar stood out white against his tanned skin. “I won’t give up on you, Eden. You’ll marry me.” His response numbed her to silence. Damon had said the very same thing to her earlier—but somehow she believed Jock.
~~~
Tessa paced the veranda, the swishing of her taffeta gown breaking the silence of the afternoon. Where was Damon? He should have been home yesterday after going into town on business. It was just like him to keep her waiting, making her wonder if he would ever return. Damon was quite capable of upsetting her with his blatant disregard for her feelings. She always made certain he knew how she felt, and sometimes she screeched at him like a fishwife when he paid her no attention. But that was the problem.
Damon didn’t care about her.
Many times she’d attempted to strike up a friendly conversation, even going so far as to entice him to bed her. She realized he might not want to speak to her, but for him not to desire her as a woman hurt her unbearably. Men paid money for her charms, and her own husband couldn’t stand the sight of her.
Tessa blamed Jock for her current dilemma. She’d foolishly listened to him, believing Damon would fall prey to her feminine wiles, but whenever he was at Castlegate he moped around with a long face. He didn’t need to admit he was pining for Eden Flynn, and Tessa was insane with jealousy. Never had she begged a man to want her, but if begging was required to get Damon to bed her again, to truly be his wife, then she’d gladly sink on bended knee. If only Damon would want her again, then her future would be secured. She couldn’t use Collin as a leverage forever.
The servants barely tolerated her and she was alone most of the time. What was the point of being mistress of a fine house and wearing fancy dresses with no one to care about her or see her in all her glory?
Her gaze strayed to the mine, causing her to remember the miners and their families. Since her arrival, she hadn’t paid a visit to her former acquaintances. Now seemed the perfect time. She was so bored when Collin napped that even the thought of spending time with the same people who’d sneered at her father and herself years ago would be preferable to her own company. Some of the women had looked down their noses at her and whispered behind her back when Damon had started courting her. They’d thought she wasn’t good enough for him, she being the daughter of a drunkard. Well, she was living in a mansion now, while they still inhabited small run-down cottages. Maybe it was time to rub their noses in her success.
Twenty minutes later, Tessa halted the buggy in front of Miranda Creig’s house. Miranda was the head busybody, and all the women gravitated toward her. Recalling Miranda as having been kind to her, Tessa realized her kindness hadn’t been genuine. She’d pretended to be her friend, all the while she tried to talk Tessa out of marrying Damon because she thought they weren’t suited. Tessa had married him anyway.
Now she was a proper lady. Just let Miranda try to tell her she wasn’t good enough to be Damon Alexander’s wife.
At Tessa’s polite knock on the door, Miranda peered at her and gave a strained smile. “What a surprise, Tessa. I hadn’t expected to see you. Your return from the dead was quite an accomplishment.”
Tessa preened in her green lace gown, ignoring the remark because she didn’t know how to respond. “I figured it was time for a visit, since I’m mistress of Castlegate now. Ain’t you goin’ to invite me in for a spot of tea, Miranda?”
Miranda hesitated and glanced back into her tidy parlor. “This isn’t a good time for me.”
Suddenly not wishing to impose, Tessa nearly turned and left except she heard women’s laughter coming from inside the cottage. Her face turned a bright shade of red to think Miranda had guests and wouldn’t invite her to join them. After all, Damon owned the very cottage to which Miranda refused her entrance. She wasn’t going to allow the lowly woman to snub her. “Oh, a party you’re havin’,” Tessa exclaimed. “I’ve come just in time.”
Brushing past Miranda with a pasted smile on her face, Tessa wasn’t prepared for the sudden silence which ensued upon her abrupt appearance. The women sat around a table, their teacups poised in midair. Tessa recognized Joanie, Miranda’s niece, and the other miner’s wives. But her smile froze on her face to discover Eden Flynn within their midst.
She felt betrayed by the very people who had scorned her years ago, the very people she now wished to impress. They were more in Tessa’s social class than Eden Flynn, this well-educated woman whom Damon loved. It wasn’t fair for Eden to be here, to be invited for tea, when she’d been blatantly ignored. Her hurt turned to fury and she directed it against the person she now hated the most in the world—Eden.
“So, you ain’t happy at Kia Ora with the fancy Marjorie Sutherland? Now you’ve come to hobnob with the lower end of the social scale, Mrs. Flynn.”
“Mrs. Creig was kind enough to invite me to tea,” Eden stiffly but politely responded.
“Oh, aye, you came all that distance to take tea with the ladies. More than likely you came to get an eyeful of my husband.”
“Tessa, I think it’s time you left,” Miranda firmly stated.
Tessa sent Miranda a baleful glance. “Aye, I’m goin’, but I want the whore to know my husband’s not interested in her. He has me to warm his bed at night and don’t want no fancy tart. Damon still tells me I’m the best he’s ever had.” Her malevolent gaze swept over Eden’s pale face. “Even better than you.”
Joanie’s audible gasp was the only sound in the room. The women glanced nervously at each other, and then from Eden to Tessa and back again. Tessa wanted to get a rise out of the proper Mrs. Flynn. She ached to tear the very hair out of her head, because this was the woman who kept Damon from being a proper husband. But Eden’s face was a mask of politeness. “I’m very pleased you and Mr. Alexander are getting on so well,” Eden calmly stated. “It is rather odd, however, for Damon to have told everyone you were deceased. I wonder why he did that. Have you an answer for such a strange behavior, Mrs. Alexander?”
Tessa didn’t know how to reply, certain everyone already knew she’d run away with another man. Her mouth dropped open and her face turned the color of beets. Like a whirlwind, she flew out of the cottage and scrambled into the buggy. “I hate Eden Flynn,” she groused aloud as she headed back to Castlegate. “I hate her, hate her!”
The woman had mortified her with a few well-chosen words. The biddies must have been talking about her when she’d arrived. The gossip would never die down as long as Damon stayed away from home. If only she could obliterate Eden from Damon’s mind—if only she could take back those five years, forget they ever happened. If only Damon would forget and love her again.
She couldn’t stand being ignored by him, aching for him to touch her. She was still a young woman and in love with her husband. Her body had certain urges and needs that only a man could fill.
And Damon was the man she wanted to fill her.
But like the wanton creature she was, she needed release until Damon wanted her again. There was only one man in the world she could seek out to end her torment, the one man who always knew how to give her pleasure, the one man she’d turned to so many times in the past.
Turning the buggy around, Tessa headed for High Winds.
Chapter 20
The confrontation with Tessa had unnerved Eden. When she’d accepted Miranda’s tea invitation, she never expected to see Tessa, but now that she had and learned Damon was sleeping with his wife again, she knew she’d done the right thing by leaving Thunder Mine. Perhaps he’d never loved her at all. Maybe his hurt at losing Tessa had been so great he hadn’t realized Tessa was the woman he’d wanted. Now that she was back, and the littl
e boy with her, he must realize he still desired his wife and must put the past behind him.
Which was as it should be, Eden decided. Yet she couldn’t stop the torturous ache that gnawed at her heart. By giving in to Tessa, Damon had betrayed her own love for him. No matter what he’d told her in Mr. MacKenzie’s office about obtaining a divorce, it was plain to Eden that Tessa was back in his life to stay.
Despite her pain and the mixed emotions about Damon, when she neared the tiny trail down which Damon had once led her to make love to her in the forest, she turned her horse onto the rutted road. The late-afternoon sun vanished beneath the canopy of foliage as she made her way into the wild, verdant paradise. Soon she found herself by the lagoon and the cascading waterfall. Pictures of the hours she spent in Damon’s arms flashed through her mind. If only she could forget, but she wanted to remember; maybe it was that very night, here in this place, that their child was conceived. Every precious moment of that night must be remembered and stored forever in her heart.
The afternoon was dreadfully hot, and Eden decided to take a quick dip in the cooling water. She stripped off her riding skirt and blouse, entering the lagoon in her thin chemise. The water rippled over her when she dove beneath the silvery depths to surface at the other end near the roaring waterfall. The sound deafened her, and she didn’t hear her roan whinny when a brown stallion was reined in beside the animal. So engrossed was she as she stood beneath the translucent cascade that she had no idea she was being observed.
It was after she’d swum back again and was standing in ankle-deep water that she saw Damon. Her heart literally skipped a few beats to find him casually sitting on a large boulder, his arms resting on his bent knees. His eyes were shadowed by the brim of his hat, and Eden instinctively sensed they were filled with dancing sapphire flames.
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