Ecstasy's Promise (Historical Romance)

by Constance O'Banyon

  "What brings you to Rio del Lobo?" Edward asked him.

  Ray held the letter out to him. "I was asked to deliver this to you."

  Edward looked at the letter and frowned. He reached his hand for it and looked at the handwriting. It was written in a hand unknown to him. His name was scrawled across the envelope.

  "Go ahead, Edward, it contains news of your wife."

  "Oh, God," Edward cried out in pain. "She is dead."

  "You cannot know that, Edward," Ray said quickly. "You must open the letter first. Maybe it contains good news."

  "I know what it says. If she were alive, she would have written to me herself. This is not her handwriting." He thrust the letter into Ray's hand. "You read it, Ray. I cannot."

  Ray broke the seal and read the few words that were written; then he smiled with relief. Edward had turned his back to him waiting for Ray to tell him that Victoria was dead.

  "She is all right, Edward! Here, read for yourself."

  Edward turned quickly and took the letter from Ray. His hands shook as he read it, hardly able to believe what his eyes were telling him.

  You have a son. Mother and baby are well.

  Bodine

  Edward felt his legs grow weak and he sank down in a chair. He sat for a long time, not saying anything, letting the news sink in. For so many days now, he had searched, hoped, waited, and then when the date came that he knew Victoria would have delivered the baby, he gave up all hope. He felt in his heart that she had died, and a part of him died too.

  He had gone through the motions of day-to-day living, but he was detached from everything, not caring, not feeling. He felt that if he could see Victoria's dead body, then he could pour out all his grief, but riot knowing was the worst of all.

  "Do you know what this means?" Edward smiled for the first time in months. "She is alive, Ray, Victoria is alive."

  Ray smiled. "Congratulations, Edward. You are a father now."

  Edward shook Ray's hand vigorously. "We will celebrate," he said. "Come, Ray, we drink to my son."

  Edward poured them each a drink and they toasted the new Hanover heir.

  "How did you come by the letter, Ray?" Edward asked.

  "Well, it is all very strange. A man came to the fort and asked to see me. He came to my office and asked if I was a friend of yours, and I told him I was.

  He handed me the letter, and asked that I deliver it to you as quickly as possible. He said it was very important and had information concerning your wife. When I tried to question him, he became very evasive and left without giving me his name."

  Edward was thoughtful for a long moment; then he smiled. "Victoria will come home, now, Ray," he said confidently.

  "Let us drink a toast to that," Ray told him. So they drank a toast to the speedy return of Victoria, and to Edward's son.

  Georgia

  Michael Farraday Hanover was two weeks old. Victoria was feeling so well it was hard to follow the doctor's orders and stay in bed. She wanted to spend every moment she could with her son. He was a good baby, and hardly ever cried. His hair was black and silky. His deep-brown eyes seemed to look at her as if he knew she was his mother. He waved his little arms about aimlessly.

  There was a knock on the door, and Bodine came in. He pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. He reached out his hand and Farraday clasped Bodine's finger in his tiny fists.

  "He has the look of his father."

  "Yes, he does."

  Bodine looked into her eyes. It was no longer easy for him to read her mind as it once had been. She had become silent, and kept her thoughts to herself.

  "I found a buyer for the town house," Bodine told her. "He offered a fair price for it."

  "That is good, Bodine. We can use the money for Farraday Plantation. When does he want to take possession?"

  "Sometime next month. He would also like to buy Farraday Plantation," Bodine told her, watching her face for a reaction. "I said I would ask you."

  Victoria frowned at him. "Bodine, you know it is not for sale."

  He removed his hand from the baby's grasp and looked at her. "Don't you think it's about time for you to return to Texas?"

  "I told you before, Bodine, I am never going back. I am going to take my son to Farraday Plantation and make a good life for him."

  "Victoria, I have done everything you asked of me, but I do not see the sense in staying in Georgia any longer."

  "I will never return to Edward after what he has done. Surely you understand how I feel."

  Bodine shook his head. "Do not ask me to •understand. You are keeping Edward from seeing his son. That is a bad thing to do to a man. I told you I did not believe anything went on between Edward and that woman. A man like Edward will always have women throwing themselves at him."

  "And I chose not to believe him," Victoria said. "If you had seen them in that hotel room together, as I did, you would not have believed him either."

  "Yes, I would have," Bodine said, rising. "Edward is a man of principles, and he is not stupid."

  "Please, Bodine. I will not discuss it anymore. I am not going back, and that is final."

  Bodine looked down at her from his great height. "I sent Edward word that he has a son."

  Victoria's face whitened. "How could you do such a thing?" she cried, pulling the baby protectively to her body.

  "He has a right to know. He must be out of his mind by now, not knowing if you are alive or not."

  "He has no rights. He would have allowed Dan to kill my son," she said.

  Bodine looked into Victoria's frightened eyes. "Do not worry, he will not find you through my message." Bodine sat down in the chair and leaned back. He watched as the fear left Victoria's eyes.

  "Oh, Bodine, I do not know what is the matter with me. Ever since the day Dan told me about the baby and I found Edward with Monica in that hotel room, I have been unable to feel much of anything."

  "I suspect you have built a shell around yourself because it was too painful for you to face."

  Little Farraday began to cry and Victoria rocked him gently in her arms. "How soon can I move back home, Bodine?"

  He stood up and walked to the door. "The house will be habitable by the time you leave here, if you do not mind the sound of construction. The builders are ahead of schedule, but the house will not be completed for several more months."

  "That will not bother me. I am anxious to take my son to Farraday Plantation and restore it to its former state for him."

  Bodine knew it would do no good to remind her that her son already had the great Hanover Empire and a father who would welcome him.

  Victoria watched as Bodine left. She knew he did not approve of what she was doing; yet he stayed with her.

  Victoria felt her life was beginning to take on some direction. With the sale of the town house she would have the money to furnish the new house and to buy more livestock.

  She smiled lovingly at her son and hugged him close to her. "All I need is you and Bodine," she whispered.

  Edward's dark face flashed through her mind. She closed her eyes, but still the image remained will her. "I do not want to think of you," she said aloud. "Leave me alone!"

  She kissed Farraday's soft cheek.

  "We are going to be all right; you will see, my little son. We have a new home to go to and you have a mother who adores you. We both have Bodine to look after us; what more could we ask for?"

  As she looked into the face of her son, she was haunted by the thought that Edward would find her.

  "I curse the day I met you, Edward Hanover," she said aloud.

  Deep down she wondered if she spoke the truth She wished she could stop dreaming of him; then maybe, she would be able to put him out of her mine

  Victoria thought of her sweet, gentle, little grandmother and wished she could see her great grandson. How her grandmother would adore Farraday!

  She watched her son as he slept. She must no allow herself to dwell on things that could not
be

  Victoria lay back on her pillow and pushed al thoughts of Texas from her mind. The past was gone, dead—as dead as the love she once had for Edward.

  30

  Georgia, April, 1867

  Victoria looked at the new house with pride. It was an exact replica of the original. If she did not look too closely, she could almost imagine it was her old home. The inside was sparsely furnished, but Victoria was proud of what she and Bodine had accomplished. They had both worked long, hard hours; Victoria could not spend as much time with little Farraday as she would have liked, but she found comfort in the thought that she was rebuilding the plantation for him.

  She watched as Moss bent over the flowerbed, his black hands digging in the rich dirt. He smiled up at her as she walked by carrying little Farraday. Moss pulled a white lily from a plant and handed it to the child, who took it and held it in his chubby hand; then Farraday crushed the lovely bloom. Victoria smiled at Moss, then walked down the path toward the river.

  She seated herself under a tree and watched her small son as he crawled about, examining all the wonders of nature. It was wonderful to look at the world through the eyes of her son. He saw beauty and wonder in everything about him.

  Each day he seemed to look more like his father. She hardly ever let herself think of Edward these days. She had tucked him neatly away in a part her heart, and she refused to let him creep into her thoughts. But sometimes at night when she was lying in bed alone his face would come to her uninvited. She could almost feel his hands can her body. This she refused to dwell on, though. She never spoke of him, and no one ever mentioned him to her. Even Bodine had given up trying to reason with her.

  Little Farraday crawled toward her. She gathered him in her arms and showered him with kisses. She saw Paul coming down the path. He waved to him and quickened his step.

  "Farraday is really growing," Paul said, as he sat down beside her and cocked his handsome head one side.

  "Indeed he is," she said proudly.

  Paul took Farraday from her and placed him on his knee. "What do you say? Are you growing?" The child shook his head and curled up in Paul's arm Paul laughed down at the tiny boy. "I had a visitor today, Tory."

  Victoria looked at him, a frown on her beautiful face.

  Paul nodded. "It was Price Williams again. Edward doesn't seem to give up easily."

  "What did you tell him?" she asked quickly.

  "I told him that I had not seen you, but would g< in touch with Edward if I heard anything."

  "Did he believe you? You don't think he will come here, do you?"

  "No. I am quite sure he believed me. He said he was leaving tonight for Texas."

  She breathed a sigh of relief.

  "I hated lying to the man, Tory. It just doesn't seem right somehow."

  Victoria looked at him. "Paul, you would not betray me, would you?"

  "No, never," he said fiercely, pushing a stray curl from her face. "You know how I feel about you."

  "I wish you wouldn't, Paul. I have no feeling left in me for anyone."

  "Not even your husband, Tory?"

  "Especially not for Edward," she said softly.

  "I wish you could tell me that there was some hope for me, Tory."

  She laid her hand on his. "Oh, Paul, how easy it would be to love you. Some woman is going to be so lucky to get you, but I cannot give you love, Paul. I have none to give."

  "I will wait," he said, looking deeply into her eyes. "Maybe you will change your mind someday."

  "Do not wait for me, Paul. You will be wasting your time."

  He pulled her to him and laid his face against hers, causing the baby, Farraday, to protest. "Oh, Tory, I love you so much. I can wait forever for you if I have to."

  She pushed him gently away and rose to her feet. "Paul, you are so dear to me, but what I feel for you is what a sister would feel for a brother. I treasure your friendship and I do not know how I would have gotten through these last few months without you, but do not ask any more of me than I can give. Please accept what I tell you as the truth, Paul."

  He smiled, not wanting her to know the pain he felt in his heart. "As your brother, am I entitled to lunch?" he asked.

  She linked her arm through his while he carried Farraday for her. "I think lunch is a good idea," she told him.

  "One day, Tory," he said, "maybe not today or even tomorrow, but one day, this tight grip you are keeping on yourself will break and you will begin to feel again."

  "I hope not Paul. I am perfectly content as I am."

  Texas

  Edward rode home from Mammaw's, not thinking or caring about anything. The fourteen months Victoria had been gone had brought a change to his handsome face. His dark eyes had a hard look about them. No one had seen him with his guard down until today. He had ridden over to Mammaw's, not wanting to talk about Victoria, but needing to hear about her just the same. Mammaw, in her usual manner, wasted no words, but got right to the heart of the matter. Everyone else avoided mentioning Victoria and his son to Edward, but not Mammaw.

  "Have you given up hope of finding them, Edward?"

  "What can you expect?" he said defiantly. "Victoria has made it impossible for me to trace her. I have been chasing a cold trail for so long, it is plain to me now she does not intend to come back, and I cannot find her."

  "I wonder if it is as simple as that," Mammaw said, setting her sewing aside. "Somewhere, Edward, Victoria is as lost as you are."

  He rose to his feet, walked over to the open fireplace, and leaned against it. "It is not me that is lost, and I care nothing for Victoria anymore."

  "You cannot fool me, Edward. I can see right through you. And your son, what about him?"

  "As I have never seen him, it is hard to imagine I have a son." Edward turned his head away. "He is about eight months old now, you know."

  "What would you do if you did find them, Edward?"

  He came back and sat down beside her. "How can I know? The months she has been away have been endless, empty. Each day is much the same as the day before. But as bad as the days are, the nights are worse. I pay no attention to the changing seasons. When I am hungry, I eat, when I am sleepy, I sleep. Just when I think there is some direction in my life, I'll start thinking of her and it is as though she left yesterday. Did you know I cannot bear to sleep in the bed I shared with her any longer? I have moved to one of the extra bedrooms."

  He had spoken quietly, hardly aware that Mammaw was listening to him. Mammaw felt tears in her eyes. She had just looked into Edward's soul and seen the pain he was going through.

  "I am going now," he said abruptly, rising to his feet.

  Mammaw rose and stood beside him. "Somehow this will all work out. I knew from the time you and Victoria met, that you were meant for each other. You don't even see other women, do you?" she asked pointedly.

  "Don't think I haven't tried," he said. "Other women only leave me cold. I begin to worry about my manhood." He smiled at her, a spark of mischief in his eyes. "You might be just what I need," he teased.

  "Get on with you, Edward Hanover. You are no match for me." She smiled and added, "If you had me you couldn't handle me."

  "Alas," he said, "you may be right."

  "Now go home, before I take you up on your offer."

  She followed him outside. He was mounted before she spoke. The sun was shining on her gray hair, turning it to silver. There was kindness and compassion in her blue eyes. Edward thought surely that is how an angel would look.

  "Come over, Edward, whenever you have a need to talk. Maybe we can comfort each other."

  It was almost sundown when he reached home. Somehow he must be doing something right, Rio del Lobo was thriving. He handed the reins of his horse to Estancio and went into the stable.

  He heard Rebel's familiar whinny as he approached his stall. Edward reached out his hand and rubbed Rebel's satiny coat. "I know, boy. You miss her, too," he said softly. Rebel tossed his head as though he understo
od Edward. "I am getting as bad as Old Ned, talking to horses."

  Edward often found himself in the company of Rebel. Maybe it was because it made him feel closer to Victoria. Edward had a sudden thought. He opened the stall gate and slipped the reins over the black stallion's head. He threw a saddle over Rebel's back, tightened the cinch, and led him from the stable. Estancio watched open-mouthed as Edward put one foot in the stirrup and threw his leg over Rebel's back. Both man and beast waited.

  Estancio closed his eyes, not wanting to see his patron tossed to the ground. Edward gently nudged Rebel with the heel of his boot. Rebel tossed his head and pranced around in a circle. Estancio opened his eyes in amazement. The devil horse had accepted the patron as his master.

  Edward smiled bitterly and dismounted. He led Rebel back to his stall and unsaddled him. Then he closed the stall gate and walked to the house.

  It was dark now. As always when the night came, Edward sank into a deep depression. The mail was lying on the hall table. He picked it up and scanned through the letters in boredom. One caught his attention. It was postmarked: Savannah, Georgia, City and Land Taxes. Edward carried it into his study and placed it on his desk unopened. Taxes on Victoria's property in Georgia. He did not want to face that tonight.

  Edward sat at the table, unable to eat. Poor Juanita was beside herself trying to cook food that would please him. He had lost weight, and she was concerned for his health.

  Edward asked her to bring his coffee into his study. He was behind in his never-ending mound of correspondence. He had kept his bookkeeper on the road searching for Victoria, but decided that he would not send Price out again when he returned from Georgia.

  Edward thought he would work at his paperwork until he was exhausted, and then maybe he would sleep. He looked at the entry in his book and compared it with the figure from the year before. Rio del Lobo had almost doubled last year's profits. He observed the figures with no satisfaction. He remembered having read once, "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?" That was what was wrong with him; he had lost his soul. He remembered how alive he had been with Victoria. Her laughter had once filled his home.