by Janet Dailey
“Enjoy yourselves,” Rian drawled, a mocking smile resting momentarily on Laurie's face.
“I'm sure we will,” Colin nodded, his gaze quickly tuning its admiring light to Laurie.
“Here, honey,” Vera spoke as she draped a fur stole around Laurie's shoulders. “It might get a little cool later on. Have a nice time."
“Yes, thank you,” Laurie murmured, accepting the guidance of Colin's hand as he led her towards the door.
Hot bitter tears burned the back of her eyes while a cold ache throbbed in her chest. Once Rian had said she belonged to him, but she had the impression that he had this minute given her to Colin with cynical best wishes.
Glitter and gaiety abounded as the sound of laughter, clinking iced drinks, and the music of a dance band reigned supreme at the Mardi Gras Ball, one of several being held that night. Colin was very well known, so there was a constant stream of strangers pausing to chat with him. As Colin had prophesied, Laurie never lacked a dance partner, finding she was refusing as many offers as she accepted. Still there was no enjoyment in the evening. The men, emboldened by drink, paid her fulsome compliments that meant nothing to her since they didn't come from Rian. His patrician head kept haunting her until the din around her became a nightmarish conspiracy. When Colin suggested they leave several hours later, Laurie silently sighed with gratitude.
Colin accepted her reticence during the drive home, no doubt chalking it up to the enervating evening. Laurie thanked him with as much warmth as she could for serving as her escort that evening when he had stopped the car in front of Vera's house.
“It was strictly my pleasure,” he assured her.
As he helped her out of the car, Laurie was glad of the fur stole about her shoulders. The chill of the night air swept away some of her numbness and brought her senses to life. Colin took her hand at the door, raising it to his lips in a silent salute.
“Have a nice night, Laurie,” he murmured, hesitating as if he would like to add more before releasing her hand and stepping back.
“Good night, Colin,” she answered softly, her gloved hand opening the front door. As she walked into the hallway, she heard the sound of his car engine springing to life. Quietly Laurie secured the bolt on the door and turned to tiptoe to the stairs. The silence of the house was soothing after the din of the ball and she paused to let its peace flow over her, a weary sigh breaking from her lips.
“Reflecting on all your triumphs?” Rian's voice came from the darkness near the stairs.
Her muscles constricted as Laurie stood still in rigid surprise. The last thing she had expected was for Rian to stay up until she returned. The thought angered her after the way he had so blithely given her to Colin.
“Don't tell me you waited up for me?” she spat out sarcastically when Rian stepped out of the darkness into the dim light of the hall. “It would be touching if it weren't so revolting!"
“I hate to puncture your inflated ego when you're still revelling in your conquests.” His nostrils flared in anger. “But I've been working. You could have been home hours ago for all the attention I gave to your absence."
His words stabbed at her like a sabre plunging deep into her heart. “I'd quite forgotten you existed, too,” Laurie answered sharply, the lie restoring some of her pride.
“I'm sure you tried to,” Rian jeered.
“It wasn't too difficult,” Laurie declared airily, averting her gaze so he couldn't see the pain in her eyes as she swept off the stole and walked with false confidence to the hall closet. “Colin was a very attentive escort."
“I don't doubt it—with Aphrodite on his arm,” he murmured complacently behind her. “In mythology her Roman counterpart Venus was married to Vulcan, the god of fire."
Laurie froze for a split second before turning towards Rian with an arched smile, demurely dimpling her cheeks. “She was also purported to have indulged in a notorious intrigue with Mars."
“So she was,” Rian agreed cynically. “Am I supposed to believe that you and Colin are engaged in an intrigue behind my back?"
“Hardly behind your back. You encouraged it,” she corrected.
“I find it hard to believe.” A derisive chuckle emphasized his disbelief. “Colin's inbred sense of honour wouldn't allow him to take advantage of the generosity of a friend. The old Southern code of chivalry dies hard in some families. The Judge wouldn't have dreamed of touching Vera once she was married even if she had invited him. It's a case of like father, like son."
“I'm afraid you don't know Colin very well,” she lied, “We didn't come straight home."
The corners of his mouth curled into a mocking smile. “Liar,” Rian said smoothly “You don't have the look of a woman who's been made love to—I should know."
A crimson colour filled her cheeks, then receded quickly. “Really?” she mocked. “You forget that Colin is tender."
If she had hoped to get a rise out of Rian, she failed. There wasn't a break in the arrogance indelibly etched in his lean, sardonic features.
“What a pity you aren't engaged to him."
“It certainly would simplify a great many things,” she agreed bitterly.
“Foremost would be our engagement party this Saturday night."
Laurie's dark head raised with a jerk. “You aren't serious!” she gasped. “You can't mean to go through with this farce?"
“I am serious, and it's no farce,” Rian declared. “I told Vera to go ahead and make the necessary arrangements. We'll make a public announcement that evening to the press."
“No!” Her denial was intensified by the horrified expression in her eyes. “We've carried this mock engagement too far already. It must end."
“Our engagement ceased to be a mockery the day I arrived here and discovered your impersonation,” he ground out savagely. “That same evening you agreed to wear my ring. You're my fiancée, Laurie!"
“No!” but her protest was weak.
“And you will shortly become my wife."
“But there's no love between us, Rian,” she pleaded.
There was the black fury of tightly leashed violence in his eyes. “My work takes up a great deal of my time. We won't have to suffer through too many hours of each other's company."
“What if I refuse to marry you?"
“I don't intend to give you the opportunity. You've deluded everyone into believing you're madly in love with me. There isn't any way that I'm going to let you escape."
Her temples throbbed with pain as Laurie realized that the combination of Rian's domination and her love for him would certainly corner her into marrying him. With this realization came the answer to the question she had been puzzling over. As long as Rian didn't care for her she could never marry him no matter how much she loved him. Not even the eventuality of some day bearing his child could make up for the loveless hours she spent in his arms. If her love for him was going to destroy her then she would rather it be without Rian around to see.
“I hate you, Rian Montgomery!” Laurie declared, brushing past him to the stairs, wishing all the while that she did.
CHAPTER TEN
HER sleep was leaden and Laurie awoke with her nerves as raw and taut as the night before. The decision had been made. At the earliest opportunity, she would leave. Rian had never asked for her return airline ticket which was tucked away in the bottom of her purse. It would get her back to Los Angeles, and that was as far as Laurie was thinking at the moment. She had no doubt Rian would stop her if he learned of her plans. The toughest part would be to convince him that she intended to carry on with their engagement as he had ordered.
One look at her reflection where the stark apprehension was mirrored in her eyes told Laurie it was going to be a difficult task. The strain of her decision was visible in the harsh lines of her face. She shuddered at the consequences if Rian should perceive the reason for her haunted look, although she seriously doubted that it would ever occur to him that she would attempt to thwart his plans. She had been
so malleable before, agreeing to his commands with only the briefest of protests. She had given him no cause to believe that it would be any different this time, and that was on her side.
Bolstered by that logical observation, Laurie made her way down the stairs to the breakfast area dressed in a coral trouser suit that added colour to her wanness and her hair hanging long and curling at the ends to add softness to the harsh lines of strain. Her stomach muscles were too tense for anything more than toast and coffee. Luckily Vera wasn't there to prompt her to eat more, the cook informing Laurie that she had already gone riding, with instructions that Laurie was to sleep as long as she wanted.
The front door opened and closed and Laurie braced herself as footsteps sounded in the hall. Reluctantly she glanced towards the open door leading from the hall to the peacock blue and gold dining room where she sat sipping the last of her coffee. The muscles of her stomach constricted tightly as she prepared herself for the sight of Rian's lean figure. But it was E. J. Denton who started to breeze past, then caught sight of Laurie and paused in the doorway.
“Good morning,” he greeted brightly. “You look none the worse for all your late revelry. Did you enjoy the ball last night?”
I had a grand time,” Laurie nodded.
“Is there more coffee in the pot?"
“Nearly half full. Would you like a cup?"
“I certainly would,” E. J. sighed wearily, walking into the room and taking a clean cup from the sideboard and pouring it full of black coffee. “I need a stimulant and as they say, while the cat is away, the mouse can put his feet up."
“Is Rian gone?” Laurie held her breath, not believing that she could have that kind of luck.
“Yes. I just came back from taking him to the airport,” he nodded, removing his dark-rimmed glasses to rub his eyes. “I'll be glad when Trevors is back and he can handle these minor crises."
“When will Rian be back?” averting her gaze to her empty cup so E. J. couldn't see the sudden leap of elation that had sprung into her face.
“He's booked on a return flight from Miami this evening.” E. J. drained his cup and refilled it. “I'll take this with me. The correspondence and paperwork in that study must be ten feet high."
The instant she heard the study door close, Laurie hurried upstairs to her room and rummaged through her purse for the airline ticket. With the precious paper in her hand, she dialed the reservation office from the telephone on her night stand. When she hung up the receiver, her seat on the jetliner leaving that afternoon had been verified. There was ample time left to pack, write Rian a note, and catch a cab to the airport. By the time Rian returned, she would be safely in Los Angeles.
The suitcases were spread open on the bed while Laurie rushed to fill them, not the least concerned with how neatly her clothes were folded. Over an hour later, she made a last-minute search of the dresser drawers and cupboards for any belongings she might have overlooked before closing the lid of the first suitcase and locking it.
“There you are, Laurie. I was look...” Vera Manning's voice trailed off as she saw the suitcases on the bed, her startled gaze rushing to Laurie's suddenly stricken expression. “You aren't leaving?"
“Yes,” she whispered. Her well thought out explanation deserted her in the face of Vera's hurt and bewildered look.
“Why?” the older woman asked. “You look as pale as a ghost, my dear. Is something wrong? Has something happened?"
Laurie gestured helplessly towards the telephone, forcing the words through the constriction in her throat, “I ... I received a phone call earlier. There's been an accident. My m ... mother's in the hospital. I have to fly home right away."
“Oh, my poor Laurie, no wonder you look so upset!” Vera moved quickly to her side, taking a trembling hand and placing it between her own. “Is there anything I can do?"
“I've already made my plane reservations and finished the last of my packing. I don't believe I've forgotten anything,” Laurie shrugged. Her genuine agitation was a convincing if unintended ploy.
“What a time for Rian to be gone!” Vera shook her head sadly. “Do you want me to contact him? I know he'll rush right back. A man is much more able to handle emergencies like this."
“No, no, don't do that,” Laurie rushed in. “I've probably made it sound more serious than it is,” she continued more calmly. “The shock and all of the phone call. Mother broke a leg and suffered a mild concussion, but they assured me she wasn't in any kind of danger."
“Well, that's a relief,” Vera smiled consolingly. “Naturally you want to be with her anyway to reassure yourself. I quite understand how you feel.”
“I was going to write Rian a note explaining everything as soon as I'd finished packing.” Laurie took a deep breath. “I probably won't be able to make it back for the engagement party you'd planned for this weekend."
“Don't give it another thought,” Vera ordered. “It was a spur-of-the-moment idea anyway. Our friends will understand why it has to be cancelled. It's nearly lunch time. Would you like some soup or a sandwich to settle your stomach? Carla said you only had toast for breakfast."
“I really couldn't eat a thing. I'm sure they'll serve a snack on the plane if I should get hungry later."
“I'll send Sam up for your bags. He'll drive you to the airport whenever you want to leave. Everything will turn out just fine, Laurie."
“Oh, Vera,” her chin trembled traitorously. “You've been so good to me. I hate to leave like this.” The warm-hearted woman made Laurie wish she had stolen out in the middle of the he night rather than deceive Vera again with more lies.
“So do I,” Vera nodded, a shimmering of tears in her own blue eyes. “But we neither one of us had any control over it, did we?"
After Vera had left, Laurie sat down and composed the note to Rian. She kept the message terse, not allowing her heartache at leaving him to be revealed as she told him that she was leaving and in no circumstances would she ever consent to marrying him, that he might as well take her decision as final and not attempt to follow her. She placed it, the sapphire engagement ring, and the bracelet in Rian's bedroom, telling Vera that she had left his note there.
Two hours later Laurie was on board the plane streaking across the sky towards Los Angeles. But she didn't draw a secure breath until her luggage was stowed in a taxi cab at the airport and she had climbed in the rear seat, giving the address of the apartment she shared with LaRaine to the cab driver. She had forgotten how little money she had with her until they reached her destination and she had to spend nearly all of it to pay the fare.
Asking the driver to carry the bags inside the lobby of the building, Laurie walked on through the glass doors. Her expression curved into a weary but happy smile as she saw that her security friend, Tom Farber, was on duty.
“How are you today, Mr. Farber?” she greeted.
“Well, you sure are a sight for sore eyes. What are you doing back here?” he grinned. “Not that I'm not glad to see you, because I am."
“Why shouldn't I be back?” Laurie asked, a puzzled frown on her forehead. “I live here."
An apprehensive mask stole over his face. “I thought something was wrong,” he said hesitantly. “I'm sorry, Miss Evans, but your cousin cancelled her lease on the apartment and moved out a week ago."
“You must be mistaken!” she gasped.
“She left her parents’ address to forward her mail to and said you wouldn't be back,” Tom Farber nodded grimly. “Perhaps you should call your aunt."
“Yes, yes, I'd better,” Laurie agreed absently, taken aback by the discovery that she had no place to stay.
“You're welcome to use the phone here,” he offered, motioning to the phone on the counter,
With a dreadful feeling of unease, Laurie dialled the number of her cousin's parents. The phone was answered on the second ring, and she immediately recognized the voice of her aunt.
“Aunt Carrie, this is Laurie,” but she got no farther than that.<
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“I didn't think you'd have the nerve to call here,” her aunt's shrill voice declared. “After what you did to poor LaRaine, I'm surprised you'd even dare to show your face!"
“After what I did to LaRaine?” Laurie echoed.
“Yes! My poor baby was just torn apart when she discovered how you'd stolen her fiancé right from under her nose, without a care of how badly her heart was broken. And to think of the way your uncle and I sacrificed to raise you as our own and to have you pay us back like this! It's horrible!"
“You didn't have to sacrifice,” Laurie's chin trembled as she was near to tears. “My father left enough money to take care of me."
“And you squandered that, too!” Carrie Evans cried. “Well, don't think we're going to support you any more! Get your wealthy fiancé to take care of you, and stay out of our lives! You've done enough damage already!"
And the line was dead. Her aunt had hung up on her. It was obvious that LaRaine hadn't told her parents the truth about how Laurie had happened to be in Mobile instead of her. Heaven only knew what spiteful lies her cousin had told after Rian had terminated their engagement. But the end result was that her aunt and uncle wanted nothing more to do with her.
The full weight of her predicament sagged her shoulders as she turned her lost expression towards the sympathetic face of the uniformed guard.
“They tossed you out on your ear, did they?” he said gruffly, a pain twisting in his chest at the glumly resigned nod of the blue-black head.
“What am I going to do?” Laurie sighed, then gave a bitter laugh. “I don't even have enough money for a place to stay tonight."
“I could lend you some,” he offered gently.
“No, no, I couldn't let you do that,” she protested with a sad and firm shake of her head. “I'll get by."
“Would you consider the offer of a place to sleep tonight?” hurrying on before Laurie had a chance to interrupt. “My wife and I have a real nice guest bedroom in our home. It wouldn't be any trouble at all and it would give you a place to stay until you decide what you're going to do."