Captive Bride

by Carol Finch

  "Take your hands off me, you bastard!" Aubrey hissed venomously.

  Rozalyn backed toward the door and stared at her father as if she were seeing him for the first time. He had never displayed such rage. For the life of her, she could not fathom what ghost tormented him so. His eyes were glazed with a murderous hatred that made her blood run cold.

  "Rozalyn, take your grandmother back to the ballroom," Dominic gritted out through clenched teeth, as he strained to contain the infuriated DuBois. "I have a few words to say to your father whether he wishes to hear them or not."

  Nodding in compliance, Rozalyn hurried back to the wheelchair and gestured for Lenore to park herself in it. Lenore shrugged off Rozalyn's disapproving frown.

  "I think it is best that the men settle their differences in private," she concurred. She deliberately ignored Aubrey as she rolled past him.

  "While they are debating the issue, you can explain how you managed such a miraculous recovery." Rozalyn frowned at her grandmother. "I am most anxious to hear what remedy you employed to relieve your fainting spells and coughing spasms."

  When the women had exited, Dominic kicked the door shut with his boot heel. Deciding to cast diplomacy to the winds, he herded his struggling companion across the study and forcefully stuffed him into a chair. Once Aubrey had been planted in a seat, Dominic shoved the massive desk forward, pinning the man to the wall. Aubrey was not leaving that room until Dominic had presented his proposal and the two of them had come to terms.

  "I don't know what grudge you hold against my family, and at the moment, I don't care. I returned to St. Louis for one purpose and one purpose only," Dominic declared, his voice revealing the pent-up anger that had plagued him since he'd descended from the Rockies the previous summer. "For the past six years you have been robbing hunters and trappers of their livelihood with your sky-high prices on supplies. Each year your prices are higher than the year before. You are single-handedly destroying what might be a profitable profession—trapping beaver and mink."

  When Aubrey opened his mouth to interject a comment, Dominic gave the desk another shove, forcing the wind out of his nemesis. "You had your turn to rave, DuBois. Now it's mine. I will no longer permit highway robbery of hard-working trappers. Many of them have perished in the cruel terrain, battling Indians and wild beasts, but those who have survived deserve to be well paid for the hazards they face."

  Dominic drew himself up in front of his captive audience. "If you are prepared to be reasonable, so am I. If you agree to lower your prices and allow the trappers their rightful profit, I will gracefully bow out of this marriage you have so vehemently protested."

  Aubrey's flaming blue eyes narrowed on the tall, muscular man who had backed him against the wall. "So that was the reason you planned to wed Rozalyn," he proclaimed, his voice acrid with anger. "You intended to use my daughter to get to me, didn't you, Baudelair?" He spat out the name as if it left a bitter taste in his mouth. "You thought I would approve of the wedding and cater to your wishes if you were my son-in-law. Well, it won't work either way. I will continue to run my business as I see fit. You are not going to dictate policy to me."

  Aubrey's lips curled in a taunting sneer as his gaze traveled over Dominic's swarthy physique. "Did you charm my daughter with words of flattery, Baudelair? Poor naive Rozalyn. She probably thinks you are actually in love with her." He snorted disdainfully. "Did you tell her the truth? Did you confess that you were attracted to her because you wanted favors from me? Did you admit to her that you were eager to wed her, only to gain an advantageous position in bartering? Did you shower her with lies or did you confess your real reason for coming to St. Louis?"

  "I did not agree to marry her," Dominic replied. "That was Lenore's idea. But what is between your daughter and me is—"

  Aubrey scoffed at those remarks, refusing to allow Dominic to finish. "I know you planned to use Rozalyn as your gambit. She was to be the bait for your cunning scheme, wasn't she? If you married her, you thought I'd be eager to keep peace with my new son-in-law, and if I rejected the wedding plans, you intended to bribe me into submission, isn't that it?" Aubrey laughed bitterly. "I would have expected such skullduggery from the Baudelairs. They use people like pawns in a chess game, calculating their moves, plotting and scheming to have their own way. Well, I will agree to nothing!" Aubrey's fist hit the desk. "I will not tolerate you as my son-in-law and I refuse to be bribed. I want you out of Rozalyn's life, out of my life!"

  It was impossible to carry on a debate with Aubrey DuBois for he was in a rage. The man had garbled the entire incident, and Dominic was grateful that Rozalyn was not there to hear the truth twisted into a malicious lie.

  We are at a stalemate, Dominic thought sourly. He knew Aubrey would never agree to a compromise, not for all the furs in the Rockies, but he was not going to budge from his position. Dominic itched to yank Aubrey out of his chair and shake some sense into him!

  Tears rolled down Rozalyn's cheeks as she listened to the trenchant argument going on behind the closed door. She had not returned to the ballroom as Dominic had ordered. Instead, she had pressed her ear to the wall, determined to hear what both men had to say. The truth slashed into her like the sharpest of knives.

  Rozalyn was overcome by emotions that rose from deep inside her and channeled through every part of her.

  She was trembling with humiliation and fury. God, how could I have been so blind? she screamed at herself. Her heart twisted in her chest and sobs of rejection quivered on her lips. She could barely contain her tormenting pain. No physical pain could compare to it. Her hurt splintered her soul. To love Dominic and to learn that he had deceived her was worse than sustaining a mortal wound. Dominic had lied to her. Everything he had said had been calculated. While he'd been whispering sweet nothings in her ear, he'd been silently laughing at her, using her, just as all the other men had attempted to do. But this time it was not Aubrey's money her suitor coveted. No, he wanted favors from her father. He had murmured confessions of love only to win her loyalty. The cold, calculating bastard! He had set her up for the biggest fall she had ever taken, lifted her to the lofty heights of love and then sent her plunging to the depths of despair.

  For the first time in her life, Rozalyn had expressed her emotions. She had laid her innocent heart at Dominic's feet and he had trampled on it. She had trusted him and he had betrayed her. God, why had she allowed herself to love such a deceitful scoundrel? She had thought Dominic was different. She had been certain that he returned her affection. But what he'd felt for her had been nothing but lust.

  Now Rozalyn despised Dominic as passionately as she'd loved him. There is such a thin line between love and hate, Rozalyn thought bitterly. So quickly had her first love turned sour. But hate Dominic she did, with every beat of her breaking heart. She now despised his laughing emerald eyes and raven hair, but if she lived to be a hundred she would never forget that handsome face, his lying lips, his poison kiss.

  Dominic had vowed he'd sought out Molly Perkins in an attempt to fight his growing attraction for Rozalyn, but that was another of his deceptive lies. He had gone to Molly because their night together had been nothing special to him. Like the wild, ruthless warriors of old, Dominic had wandered, intending to satisfy his cravings with other women. Then he'd been deceitful enough to swear he'd be jealous if she allowed another man to touch her as intimately as he had. Damn the man!

  A sea of tears spilled from Rozalyn's eyes, flooding her flaming red cheeks. While she'd been falling hopelessly in love with that cunning blackguard, baring her heart,

  Dominic had been gloating over the success of his scheme. No wonder he had hesitated when she'd quizzed him about the marriage Lenore had arranged. Dominic didn't love her. What he wanted from her had nothing to do with tender emotion. She had allowed him to take her virginity, but he'd seen her only as a conquest.

  Dominic had used her! That thought echoed through her mind until Rozalyn wanted to scream, if only to drown
out her bitter torment. She had thought Jeffrey Corday was one of the lowest forms of life, but she'd been badly mistaken. Dominic Baudelair was a snake. Lord, how she hated him and every memory of their time together. She prayed her father would reject his demands, for Dominic deserved no mercy after the way he had treated her, lying to her, using her for his selfish purpose. Never again will I trust a man, Rozalyn promised herself as she brushed away the tears streaming down her cheeks. Never again will I allow myself to believe in love. There is no such emotion, I should have realized that after living all these years with my father. Men are calculating creatures and I want nothing more to do with any of them. My mother died for the want of love, something Aubrey was incapable of giving. No man is, she thought cynically. They are all selfish beasts who take what they want from women and then discard them.

  Another wave of tears threatened to destroy Rozalyn's crumbling composure and she felt an impulse to run. If she could have gotten herself in hand she would have stormed back into the study and told both men what she thought of them, but heart-wrenching sobs were dangerously close to overtaking her.

  Lenore continued to press her ear against the wall, cursing her inability to catch Aubrey's words. "What the devil are they saying to each other?" she asked.

  Rozalyn couldn't speak, not without bursting into tears. The urge to put as much distance as possible between herself and Dominic overwhelmed her. Her dream had been shattered and she had only one desire left now. She wanted to forget that Dominic Baudelair existed. In time I will forget, she vowed to herself. Yes, her heart would mend, but she was never going to forget how it felt to be used and betrayed. Dominic had taught her a valuable lesson—to open one's heart was to invite suffering and pain. And that pain was unbearable.

  As Dominic's haunting vision materialized before her blurred eyes, Rozalyn burst toward the door. She could no longer contain her grief and humiliation. She had to find some place to hide before the dam of will power holding back her tears burst. She had to find a place to fall apart, to release her anguish and to gain control of her frazzled composure.

  "Where are you going?" Lenore wanted to know as Rozalyn dashed toward the front door. "What did Aubrey and Dominic say to each other? Rozalyn?"

  Rozalyn didn't hear her grandmother's rapid-fire questions. She was too overwrought. Her footsteps took her through the door and out into the night to find a sanctuary that would allow her to be alone with her tormented thoughts.

  A frustrated sigh escaped Jeffrey Corday's lips as he paced back and forth in front of the Rabelais mansion. When the news of Rozalyn's engagement party reached the loan sharks' ears, they had gone in search of Jeffrey. The investors had been very unhappy to learn that Jeffrey was not the husband-to-be. Indeed, Corday had been informed that if he did not pay his heavy debts by the following morning he would be a cold corpse by evening. He was a desperate man. Although he had decided upon a plan of action, he hadn't quite worked out the minute details. His only hope was to kidnap St. Louis's wealthy debutante and hold her for ransom. Surely Aubrey DuBois would pay to see his daughter returned. At first he thought Aubrey would assume his daughter had been abducted by the thieves and thugs who roamed the streets . . . until Rozalyn returned to point an accusing finger at the true culprit. He would have to dispose of the feisty chit or Aubrey would tear him to pieces.

  Jeffrey frowned pensively as his gaze lifted to the shafts of light shining from the window. How was he to snatch Rozalyn from the mansion without being recognized? Perhaps he could send a message, request a private word with Rozalyn. When she appeared he would . . .

  His dilemma was solved when the door flew open and Rozalyn breezed down the steps, right into his waiting arms. Before she realized what had happened, Jeffrey had stuffed his handkerchief into her mouth and had imprisoned her in a bone-crushing grasp.

  Another damned man! Rozalyn swore under her breath as Jeffrey wrestled her to the ground and tied her hands behind her back. God, how she loathed them all!

  After Jeffrey tossed Rozalyn over his horse and strapped her in place, he disappeared for several minutes to deliver the ransom note. Rozalyn tried to free herself from the restraining ropes, but her attempts were futile. What does it matter? she asked herself as despair closed in on her. She was hurting and she was too raw inside to care what happened to her. At the moment, quick death would come as a blessing. As the bright lights of the Rabelais mansion vanished in the distance, Rozalyn cried silently. Nothing truly mattered now. She had learned the heart-breaking truth about Dominic. Damn him for causing her so much pain. She was slowly dying inside. Nothing had ever hurt her so deeply as being forsaken by Dominic, not even her father's constant dispassion. Being in love isn't heavenly, Rozalyn realized dismally. Love is hell and its bittersweet memories are eternal torture.

  Chapter 11

  Dominic eased one hip onto the edge of the desk and glared at Aubrey. He and DuBois had gone another round, Dominic offering compromising terms and the mulish furrier rejecting them. Aubrey had refused to enlighten Dominic about the reason for his hatred of him, yet he continued to curse the name of Baudelair. It was obvious that Aubrey thought himself betrayed by some member of Dominic's family, but by whom? Could it have been Dominic's grandfather, his father, or his aunt? She had moved to New Orleans long years ago. Dominic didn't have the slightest idea who could have been responsible for Aubrey's personal vendetta.

  "You can hold me prisoner behind this desk from now until eternity, but I am not changing my mind," Aubrey growled.

  "Then you leave me no choice," Dominic snapped back at Aubrey. His patience was running short, and he was prepared to take drastic measures. "I intend to assemble my own caravan for next summer's rendezvous. And I assure you, the trappers will flock to my trade store, not yours. They have had their fill of your exorbitant prices."

  "You are not the first man to attempt to compete with me," Aubrey sneered. "Your caravan will never reach Green River, not if I have anything to do with it."

  The impatient rap at the door interrupted their argument and Dominic scowled in disgust. He had no intention of freeing Aubrey until they had reached a workable solution.

  "Open this door!" Lenore demanded. "While the two of you are battling over rights to Rozalyn, someone has kidnapped her!"

  "What?" Dominic wheeled toward the door, whipping it open to see Lenore holding a hastily scribbled ransom note.

  After reading the demand, Dominic thrust the note at Aubrey who pushed the desk away and wedged himself free.

  "How could anyone sneak into the house and snatch Rozalyn from a crowded ballroom?" he questioned incredulously.

  "She was not in the ballroom," Lenore corrected. "She was eavesdropping on your conversation. Suddenly, she shot through the door as if she were being pursued by Satan himself. Whatever the two of you said must have upset her terribly." Her narrowed gaze riveted over first one astonished face and then the other. "I can only assume that someone was waiting outside to abduct her." She heaved an exasperated sigh and then shook her head. "I knew something like this would happen. Rozalyn has been cavorting with those hooligans who swarm the street. Now they have finally turned on her. I told her to beware of the company she has been keeping but she refused to listen."

  Dominic groaned at the thought of Rozalyn eavesdropping on their conversation. He had ordered her out of the room to spare her feelings and to guard against misconceptions. But the curious little imp had undoubtedly plastered her ear to the wall, not missing a single word.

  "Well, do you plan to pay the sum these kidnappers demand?" Aubrey smirked sarcastically. "Isn't this an ironic twist of fate? If you decide to pay to have your fiancee returned, it will cost you the financial investment for your caravan. And if Rozalyn is safely returned, she will have nothing to do with you after learning that you were only using her. No doubt, she will despise you as much as I do."

  Blazing green eyes clashed with mocking blue ones, and it was all Dominic could do to keep from clamping
his fingers around Aubrey's neck and shaking him. The man didn't care that his daughter had been abducted. All he wanted was revenge on Dominic. "You were putting words in my mouth, DuBois," he gritted out. "I said nothing against Roz. You twisted the truth until I almost didn't recognize it myself."

  "Roz, is it?" Aubrey pounced on the shortened version of his daughter's name, his tone crackling with mockery. "It will be Mademoiselle DuBois to you from this day forward ... if she allows you to speak to her at all."

  "Since you have denounced the marriage, you pay the ransom," Dominic flung at the infuriating man, vindictiveness fanning into flame his already smoldering temper. "If you want Rozalyn back, then you pay the price. Perhaps it will convince her that you actually feel some small attachment for your own flesh and blood."

  "I have no intention of sacrificing a penny," Aubrey retaliated spitefully. "Let her bereaved fiance pay the price."

  Dominic's patience snapped. With the quickness of a pouncing panther he grasped Aubrey by the lapels of his jacket and snatched him off the floor. Their faces were only inches apart, their eyes flashing barely contained fury. But before the two men could rip each other to shreds, Lenore vaulted from her wheelchair to demand their attention.

  "It seems neither of you are concerned about Rozalyn's welfare. She could be lying dead in the dust, broken and abused, yet all the two of you think about is whatever it is that is gnawing at you. I don't know what this squabbling is all about, but I want it stopped this minute!" Her voice was becoming higher and wilder by the second. "I will be only too happy to pay the ransom. I seem to be the only one who truly cares what happens to that poor child." Her fuming gaze raked disgustedly over both men. "The two of you should be banding together to see that Rozalyn is safely returned. After she is, you can go for each other's throats. As a matter of fact, neither of you deserve her affection!"