The Letter

by Rebecca Bernadette Mance

  “I just thought I saw an old friend of mine.” William replied in cool, bored tone, focusing his gaze back onto Faith.

  “I would keep my eye on the ball if I were you.” Mr. Anderson replied in a low voice. “I’ll not have anyone hurting my little girl,” he warned before abruptly turning on his heal and stalking off.

  Damn Victoria, William thought furiously as he watched Mr. Anderson’s retreating back. She was causing him a very great deal of trouble.

  Just wait until he laid his hands on her. He was going to wring her beautiful neck.

  The group of admirers eagerly welcomed Victoria back.

  A few yards away, Victoria didn’t dare glance back at William even though she knew he had positioned himself close to her, engaging conversation with his fiancé and another couple.

  She had crossed William and she knew she was living on borrowed time.

  More of William’s aristocratic friends joined his cluster. It was yet another taunting reminder of her place in his life,Victoria thought bitterly. She stood close to him, but could only reside in the outer circle of his unwelcoming world.

  Well, if he wanted to stand close to her and eavesdrop, let him. Perhaps she would give him his ear’s worth to make it worthwhile.

  “So, if you are not married, what are you doing so far from home in San Francisco?” A handsome-pretty gentlemen of about thirty-five with sandy brown hair within her circle of admirers asked Victoria, providing a golden opportunity for revenge.

  “I am a mistress,” she announced in a low, sensual voice sending tangible surge of excitement rippling through her group of admirers who stared at her in disbelief.

  How often were men in the company of a mistress bold enough to say it out loud?

  “You can’t be serious, Miss Riley, and you are a tease for saying such a thing to so many ardent admirers,” an older man said, whose name she couldn’t remember. Was he the banker named Horace Pottersby? Or was he the man who ran a factory back east named Forrest Hampton? She was so embarrassed at this moment that she couldn’t remember her own name, let alone anyone else’s.

  “Oh I am quite serious, gentlemen,” she boldly replied. “I really am a mistress.”

  Utter silence prevailed while the gentlemen absorbed her words and their implications. To have the matter openly discussed was tantalizing.

  “Who is the lucky devil?” the gray haired man asked, his eyes alight with dauntless intent. “Perhaps I can temp you away with something more if you are not happy with your current situation.”

  Victoria blushed to her scalp. Dear gracious could she have said such things?

  But she was feeling audacious, hurt and angry.

  So she laughed a sultry laugh in response.

  “I don’t know if I am happy, perhaps I have just never known anyone else.” She smiled a generous, beguiling smile and graced the gentleman with a provocative blink, all the while trembling in shame. No longer disguising his engrossment in the sexual banter going on only a few feet from him Victoria could feel William’s furious glare. God save her for what she had started.

  “Does he keep you well, then?” the man persisted, as the others waited with retained breath, each calculating the worth of this beauty.

  “I am not sure. What should a man pay for a woman like me?” Had those words really come from her lips? Victoria’s whole face and body was so hot and agitated with mortification that she felt lightheaded. She longed for a rock to appear so she could crawl right under it.

  Adding to her shame, the men’s eyes shaded darker with a mixture of raw lust and complete enchantment.

  “I should think you would be worth a very great deal,” the older man answered, obviously holding the most power and taking control of the conversation. The others stayed silent, instantly retreating into fascinated bystanders.

  Taking a calming breath disguised as boredom, Victoria looked into the man’s light blue eyes. He was rather handsome with a sharp edge of intelligence that could be dangerous in the right circumstances.

  “Name your price,” he said then, his eyes roaming over her hungrily.

  Victoria wondered in vague confusion how the conversation had come to this, as she struggled to regain control of a situation that had quickly spiraled into a sordid and unintended direction.

  There was no need to even look at William to know just how furious he was. She could feel the hostility reaching out to her from a few feet away. Of course, she had asked for it, goodness knew. The situation had become beyond embarrassing and repulsive and she regretted her impulsiveness in starting it to the depths of her soul. Feeling sick inside, Victoria knew she shouldn’t have embarked on this war with William that had brought her to this terrible scene.

  “I will consider your offer,” she finally answered the man, forcing a smile to her cold, dry lips. Her words echoed cheap and mercenary, but not completely unlike words she had once said to William. The question was, whether or not there was, in fact, a significant difference.

  A few feet away, nearly blinded with white-hot fury building with every word Victoria uttered, William stood there next to Faith barely listening to the conversations around him. But it was her last words that sent his self-control hurtling out the window.

  How dare she so boldly solicit herself in public, and right under his nose?

  Victoria belonged to him, and him alone, yet she was acting like a common trollop straight from a saloon.

  “Faith, I have some pressing business I must attend to — Colonel could you and your wife escort Faith to the refreshments?” The Colonel and his wife exchanged confused glances and the other couples in the group murmured puzzled assent.

  “Of course, my man, of course,” the old Colonel answered, looking a bit out of sorts about having his story cut off so abruptly.

  Faith stared at him with wide questioning eyes as the group disbanded and the Colonel’s wife took Faith’s arm. Faith mouthed “what’s wrong?” to William as she strolled away with the elderly couple.

  William casually waved to Faith with a polite smile planted on his lips contrasting the underlying dark scowl and made no attempt to explain his abrupt actions.

  When Faith had melted into the crowd with her escorts, William directly surged to toward Victoria and her enthralled audience.

  “Excuse me, gentlemen,” William stepped authoritatively and effortlessly into the foray surrounding Victoria taking both control and the upper hand.

  “Worthington, good to see you,” Pottersby responded. The other gentlemen opened the circle to make room for William and murmured their own greetings.

  Victoria knew she was in big trouble. Her heart pounded against her ribs with knowledge William had heard every word she uttered to the men. But, devil take him, she didn’t care. She was spoiling for a fight so let him give her one!

  “It seems my mistress has played a little game with all of you,” William moved with possessive purpose to Victoria’s side. “She does so love playing naughty little games.”

  Victoria gasped her shock and outrage. The men all stared at her in disbelief and immediate vexation. Of course, if she belonged to Worthington, no one would want anything to do with her.

  “But she is only permitted to play games with me.”

  “She is not for sale, not at any price, not to anyone. Do I make myself clear?” William leveled each of them a menacing glare. There was the barest of a pause before the men all vigorously nodded their heads.

  “I say Worthington, we had no idea.” Pottersyby cleared his throat gruffly. “No harm done . . . just a misunderstanding.” The others echoed in agreement.

  “I appreciate your understanding. Now if you will all excuse me, I will see to my wayward mistress. I will expect all of you to keep your mouths closed about this little incident.” The men vigorously nodded their heads and murmured their assurances before hastily melting into the crowd.

  “How dare you!” She hissed, outraged as he led her through the crowd toward the door,
ignoring the curious stares that followed them.

  Fury burned in William. He didn’t care that people were staring at him, let them think what they wanted. He had lost control and didn’t care.

  Once they were outside, William marched her straight to Chester, who was talking and enjoying a leisurely smoke with some of the other coach drivers down by the circular carriage path. When Chester saw his master approaching, he dropped the cheroot he was smoking and stomped it out.

  “Let go of me, William,” she hissed between her clenched teeth, trying in vain to pull her arm from his iron grip. “Or I am going to cause a scene!” she threatened.

  His eyes glittered dangerously. “You already have caused me a great deal of embarrassment in front of Faith, her family … and indeed…a good portion of San Francisco society. Now, you are going home, where you will wait for me.”

  She was furious, hurt and jealous. And she wanted to sob, but she wouldn’t cry in front of him.

  “Don’t bother to come to my house, I will not let you in!” she warned, glaring her defiance.

  “I will not argue with you right now,” he looked past her to Chester, who had come to stand a few yards away.

  “Chester, take Victoria back to her home. She is to wait for me there.” William looked down at her with a cold glint. “You had better not give Chester trouble, or he will tie you up if he has to in order to follow through with my orders.”

  Victoria wanted to goad his anger. She wanted to feel anything except the utter jealousy and resentment coursing through her, chasing the image of beautiful Faith on his arm. But this was not the time.

  Yanking her arm from his grasp, Victoria marched to the carriage and upon entering it, slammed the door behind her, not waiting for help from Chester.

  With rage boiling Victoria fixed her gaze into the darkness of the carriage as it pulled away. For all she cared the carriage could run right over him.

  He had no right to treat her this way, even though she knew what she had said to those men was wrong and she knew that being his mistress meant doing as he pleased.

  But the devil had possessed her when she saw William with Faith and she had seen nothing but red.

  Let him come to her house if he dared. And let the Devil take him when he did because she wanted to have it out with him.

  CHAPTER 23

  Victoria’s heart vaulted when the pounding on her door came hours later, despite that she had been prepared, nay, anxiously waiting for it. Anticipating the battle ahead, she had sent Kim Su home to her family for the night

  “Open the door, Victoria.” William’s voice carried through the heavy, wooden door low and deadly.

  “I have nothing I wish to say to you,” Victoria replied curtly, glaring at the door.

  There was a short pause.

  “I will not ask again, Victoria Riley. I will break this damned door down if you do not open it, now.”

  Apparently, he hadn’t thought to bring his key….but then, why should he when he planned to spend the evening with his beautiful fiancé?

  Let him break down the door, he was the one who would have to pay to repair it!

  “No,” she answered trembling with the warring anger and hurt churning her insides. “Go to the devil.”

  There was a loud thump and the door swung open fracturing at the hinges. All six feet two inches of William filled the doorway. Silver bullets of fury darted from his eyes eliminating any remnants of a refined aristocratic gentleman despite his elegant evening clothes. This furious man was a stranger.

  Victoria defiantly stood her ground rather than succumb to her instinct to shrink from his towering wrath.

  “What the hell did you think you were doing at that ball tonight?” William slammed the broken door behind him and he stalked into the room toward her.

  “I went to a party. Is there some law against that?” Lifting her chin, Victoria glared at him.

  “You know good and well you didn’t belong there,” he replied. He was in front of her now, only a breath away, with silver fire sizzling into her.

  “Oh, that’s right! The mistress should stay in her place. I don’t belong in your high society, do I William?” she asked bitterly.

  He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her closer.

  “You should not have gone there. Then, to flaunt yourself as a common whore, I should put you over my knee and spank you until you plead for mercy! And if I were a different man, I surely would. How could you treat yourself with so little respect?”

  “A common whore you say? But my dear William, isn’t that exactly what I am?” she answered her voice cracking with emotion over her own words.

  His face went white.

  “Don’t you ever say that again, or I swear, Victoria, you will be sorry the words ever crossed your lips,” he warned, his tone harsh. “There is a hell of a difference between our arrangement and a prostitute’s lot in life.”

  She opened her mouth to retort, but was abruptly cut off.

  “Now answer me, why did you come there? Do I not take you out enough?” he asked.

  “Actually I was invited, as if you didn’t know. It was you who invited me so I could observe you in your world with your beautiful fiancé. As to my behavior, maybe I am tired of our arrangement and want a new man.” Her acrid words echoed in the room.

  Rage like nothing he had ever experienced pumped through William’s body. And, in that instant, he knew what he was going to do.

  He didn’t care that he had lost focus and control.

  “I know how to keep you from other men. You belong to me, no one else will ever touch you,” he whispered to her in a deadly voice.

  “What are you going to do?” she nearly shrieked over the sound of her hammering heart.

  “I will give you a child. My child.”

  In the next instant his mouth came down on hers.

  He devoured her with his lips, while his hands clasped her tightly to him. She heard her gown being torn and another second later it was falling to the ground in a rich, red pool around her feet.

  She sunk her teeth into his arm.

  “Damn you,” he thundered, releasing her abruptly. With her advantage, she jumped away from him.

  “You make me so ashamed!” she said, glaring at him, her fingers clenched into tight balls. “You would deliberately get a child upon me, your own flesh and blood to live as a bastard?”

  “No, I don’t shame you,” he answered, his voice a cross between passion and anger. “This is what you were meant for, this is what both of us want and what you feel is not shame.” His eyes devoured her pale flawless flesh, covered only by the flimsy undergarments she wore. “It will be a child of love, to bind you to me.”

  “You do not love me, so do not say such fallacious things.”

  When he advanced on her again she stood her ground and waited on him.

  “No indeed, it isn’t shame, it is passion . . . passion so deep that you lose control — so that it is all you can think of — every time you see that child, you will think of it, of me,” he said harshly.”

  He was right. She had no shame because whatever devil possessed him, it possessed her too. Driven by the deep passion of her jealousy and despite everything, she wanted him.

  “You are truly mad,” she offered as one last futile defense.

  She didn’t struggle when his mouth assaulted hers again and he pulled her roughly to him. She submitted, returning his ravenous kiss with equal fervor.

  Ripping the remaining garments from her body, William’s hands moved roughly and urgently over her naked flesh. Pulling at his clothing, Victoria writhed and moaned under his coarse touch.

  His urgency coupled with her own hunger overwhelmed all other thoughts.

  “You belong to me,” he whispered hoarsely between feverish kisses. “I will prove very easily that your body craves me even as you claim to hate me.”

  She did indeed belong to him, whether she wanted to or not.

  He took her
down to the floor where the discarded velvet red dress caressed her back. Obsessed, he plunged into her depths with a vim that took her breath away.

  A consuming hunger to brand her as his, William drove into her sweet depths. And she matched him, lost in her own white-hot need.

  When he heard her cry out her release, he found his own paradise inside of her, releasing himself into her in an exquisite intense explosion.

  Afterward, they lay together on the floor holding each other in the quiet of the night, with William’s face buried in the clouds of her dark silky hair.

  “I cannot believe my own complete loss of control,” he said into her hair in a low tone. “I cannot believe the driving need that possessed me to take you in such a primitive fashion. I have never taken a woman on the floor, and certainly have never been driven to rip a woman’s clothing from her body.”

  He rolled away from her and stared up at the ceiling.

  “All of my adult life I have taken great pains not to leave behind children to any mistress. But tonight my appalling actions and desire to get you with child leaves me with the notion that I have simply gone mad.”

  “I do not think one time will leave me with a child,” she offered, drifting back to earth with warm contentment.

  “But if it happened, I will take care of you, of course. I will adopt the child and bring him or her into my family.”

  “Any child I bear is my own.”

  Without responding, he stood and reached down to gently help her to her feet. She groped unsuccessfully for words while her mind and heart churned over his statement.

  “I am not sure how you obtained an invitation, but I apologize for believing you simply showed up uninvited, and I am equally regretful that you had to witness me with Faith.”

  “Oh, I really didn’t care.” She rubbed her arms, shivering with emotion.

  He murmured reassuring words to her then went to her room.

  When he returned with her robe, he gently helped her into it. He donned and adjusted his clothing then picked her dress up off of the floor clenching the rich red velvet between his fingers.