Stonewall have sent Mrs. Wilcox money."
"Ah don't think the full sense of fault was established, Y'Honor," Wendell said.
"I think we get the point, Mr. Burton," the judge said. "Let's move on with the questioning.
Objection sustained."
"No further questions necessary, Y'Honor,"
Burton said, smiling widely.
Logan looked around like someone who had
been struck sharply in the head. Then he focused on me and I smiled and nodded. He rose from the seat and walked back to me. I reached up for him and he kissed me on the cheek. I didn't look at Fanny, but I knew she must be burning inside.
"Your Honor, we would like to call Randall Wilcox to the stand," Camden said quickly.
Randall looked up sharply, turned toward me, and then rose slowly. Fanny said something to him, but he didn't seem to hear her. He looked troubled and could barely be heard swearing in.
"Mr. Wilcox," Camden began after he was sworn in, "when did you learn that your wife was pregnant?"
"A few months ago," Randall said softly. The judge asked him to repeat it and he spoke up.
"Is that when you asked her to marry you?"
Randall did not respond. He looked at Fanny and then he looked down. "Mr. Wilcox?"
"Please answer the question," the judge commanded.
"Yes."
"Not until you were told she was pregnant,"
Camden emphasized. Randall nodded. "Did you want to marry her then because you believed she was having your child?" Randall looked up sharply. "You felt you had to do the right thing by her, isn't that right, Mr. Wilcox?" Camden demanded, sounding as if he had just then realized it himself.
"You were lied to, weren't you?" Camden pursued. "And you wouldn't have married her otherwise, isn't that correct? Isn't it?"
"No. Fanny's been through a great deal of hardship in her life." He looked at her. I could tell by the expression on his face that he meant what he said, that he really did feel sorry for her. "A great deal of what she has done is understandable."
"But she did tell you you were the father of her child, did she not?"
"Yes."
"And now she's saying it's Mr. Stonewall who is the father. Is she lying now or did she lie to you?"
Randall didn't reply.
"I know you can't answer that, Mr. Wilcox. Mr.
Wilcox, why didn't you marry her before she told you she was pregnant?"
"I wasn't ready to get married."
"And two days ago you were?"
"Yes."
"But how have your circumstances changed, Mr. Wilcox?"
"I dropped out of college and got a job in Winnerow."
"Working as a short-order cook?"
"Yes."
"Your parents are upset, are they not?"
"Objection, Y'Honor. Mr. Wilcox is not on trial here.
His family relationships are—"
"Your Honor, I am trying to establish the climate of the Wilcox household, a climate Drake Casteel might be living in."
"Objection overruled."
"You left an expensive college education with a promising career on the horizon to get married, isn't that so, Mr. Wilcox?"
Randall's eyes began to tear. He looked out at the audience in the direction of his parents.
"Yes."
"Mr. Wilcox, I ask you, isn't it possible that Fanny Casteel used you, lied to you about her pregnancy, just so she could get you to marry her and come to this hearing a married woman?" Randall simply stared ahead. "Please answer the question, Mr.
Wilcox." He shook his head. "Mr. Wilcox?"
"Maybe," he said and the audience broke out into loud chatter again. The judge rapped his gavel.
"No further questions, Your Honor," Camden said, and walked toward our table smiling widely.
"Mr. Burton?" the judge said. Wendell Burton smirked.
"No questions, Y'Honor," he said.
Randall got off the stand and started toward Fanny's table and then turned and walked out of the courtroom.
"We will adjourn this hearing for today," Judge McKensie said, "and resume at nine-thirty tomorrow morning." He rapped his gavel and stood up. The moment he did so, the crowd broke into an uproar.
The town gossips had so much news to chatter over telephone lines and at one another's houses. They couldn't believe their good luck.
"By this time tomorrow Drake will be back in your home," Camden Lakewood said. I looked across the room to see Fanny and Wendell Burton hurry out a side door. When I looked at the crowd, I saw many people smiling our way. Even Loretta Stonewall seemed to have gotten over her crisis and was happily accepting the sympathy of friends.
"I'll call you later this afternoon and we'll decide on a time to go over the testimony you will give tomorrow," Camden said. "That should really lock it up," he added.
"You did a wonderful job," Logan told him and they shook hands before we started out.
The heavy snowfall had lightened considerably while we were in the hearing. Sunlight even peeped through some thin clouds, making the world look dazzling because of the way it reflected off the snow.
Logan put his arm around me as we headed for our car.
"Well," he said, "the worst is over."
"I hope so," I said. "For Drake's sake more than my own."
"Looks like you were right to get Mr.
Lakewood. Quality and experience shows." We got into the car and started off. As we pulled away, I looked back and saw Fanny talking to Randall. She was gesturing wildly, small puffs of her breath popping out of her mouth like the smoke from the chimney of Old Smokey, our Willies cabin coal stove.
"Once something evil starts to rollin', it's hard to slow it down," Granny used to say. Evil is like a boulder rolling down a hill, picking up speed and power with every turn. If you don't stop it at the start, you can only stand back and wait until it's run out of steam. Had the evil that tossed the Casteel children all about this world run out of steam? I could only hope that the actions we had taken in the courtroom today would help slow it down.
That night, when Logan and I went to bed, he took me in his arms and kissed me.
"I was so worried about you today," he said.
He stroked my hair softly and kissed me again.
"We're going to come through this stronger than ever.
You'll see. Nervous about tomorrow?"
"I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't."
"I'll be right beside you every minute just the way you were for me. Just look my way if you get upset."
"Oh, Logan, you do love me just the way you used to love me when we were young in Winnerow, don't you?" The smile left his face and he looked as serious as ever.
"More, because I've learned just how precious and important you are to me. Then it was just a schoolboy's infatuation. Now it's a man's mature love.
I need you, Heaven; I'm no one without you."
"Oh, Logan," I said. He kissed my first tear the moment it appeared on my cheek and then he hugged and kissed me more passionately until we both wanted each other. Because I was pregnant, our lovemaking was gentle, but nevertheless full of fire. Our sexual ecstasy took us far away from the pain and the torment of the moment. We traveled to a world without tears where we could love each other purely and wholly without fear of the darkness or of the light.
His lips ,on my breasts, his mouth against mine, his body pressed to my body drove away the memories of unhappiness. I-rushed to him eagerly, like a desert wanderer longing for an oasis.
"Heaven, my Heaven," he whispered. "There will be many moments like this. I'll always be here for you, always."
My tears were now tears of happiness and hope.
We were like two schoolchildren discovering each other and discovering just how wonderful love between a man and a woman could become.
Afterward, we fell asleep in each other's arms, quietly drifting in the warmth that followed.
When the phone rang, it jarr
ed me out of sleep.
Even so, I was reluctant to awaken as it rang again and again. Finally Logan awoke, too. He reached over for the receiver and brought it to his ear.
"Hello," he said, his voice cracking with the effort. For a long while he only listened. Then he said,
"I understand. Come right over," he added and hung up.
"What is it? Who was that?" I asked quickly. I saw from the expression on his face that he had heard bad news.
"It was Mr. Lakewood," he said. "He's coming right over to speak to us. He said he has some information that will—" He swallowed as if the words had choked in his throat.
"That will what? What, Logan?"
He turned to me slowly, his face a mask of shock and despair.
"Will most definitely give Fanny complete custody of Drake," he said.
EIGHTEEN?
What Money Can Buy
.
OUR BUTLER GERALD ANNOUNCED
CAMDEN LAKEWOOD. Logan and I had gone to
the large living room to await his arrival. Even though the three crystal chandeliers were lit like diamonds dangling in the noonday sun, I felt a gloomy darkness overtake me. The windows on this room opened to the north side, so the room didn't get as much light during the daytime as I would have liked. When I
redecorated, I introduced as many light colors as I could. Now I sat wrapped in my private darkness, surrounded by the bright hues I hoped would fill our days, waiting for the news that would tear Drake out of my life and leave a void even a rainbow could not fill.
Mr. Lakewood hovered in the doorway a
moment, holding his briefcase. Logan, who had been making himself a gin and tonic at the wet bar, came around to greet him. I remained sitting on the couch, too tense and too frightened to move. "Mr.
Lakewood," Logan said, "please come in. Would you like a drink?"
"No, thank you," Camden said and sat on the settee across from me. "Sorry to demand such an immediate meeting after a trying day, but—"
"Please, Mr. Lakewood." I was unable to contain myself much longer. "Just tell us what you have learned that has caused you to become so pessimistic about the outcome of the custody hearing." I couldn't believe how overwrought my voice sounded.
Logan came up beside me. I reached up to take his hand and he pressed his fingers around mine reassuringly.
"Well, this has all been something of a shock to me, Mrs. Stonewall. I must say, this story gets more and more intricate by the day," Camden Lakewood began.
"Go on, please," I beseeched.
"I received a phone call from Wendell Burton soon after we left the courtroom today and then, on the basis of the information he gave me, proceeded to make phone calls and do some investigating. As you know, Anthony Tatterton's lawyer, J. Arthur Steine, has some interest in this case and it was he who—"
"Just tell us what it is, Mr. Lakewood," I interrupted, unable to contain my impatience.
"Yes, Mrs. Stonewall. I'll get right to it." He took a deep breath and sat back. "It seems Mr. Burton had a meeting with Mrs. Wilcox right after the hearing, mainly to explain to her why he thought she would lose custody of Drake. During the course of this discussion, Mrs. Wilcox revealed, in a manner that illustrated that she didn't understand the significance of the information, that Luke Casteel was not, in fact, your father. She told him your real father was Anthony Tatterton," Camden Lakewood concluded and shook his head.
I loosened my grip around Logan's fingers and sat back. Logan sat down on the arm of the couch. I felt the blood rise up my neck and fill my cheeks with heat.
"What does this mean?" I asked in a voice barely more than a whisper.
"What this means, Mrs. Stonewall, is you have no blood relationship to Drake Casteel, whereas Mrs.
Wilcox does. Obviously, that changes the picture?'
"We can fight this," Logan bellowed. "It's Fanny's word against—"
"I'm afraid not, Mr. Stonewall. You see, Mr.
Burton has already moved to subpoena Anthony Tatterton. I spoke with Mr. Steine, who immediately spoke to Mr. Tatterton. Needless to say, this creates a great deal of complication," he said, shaking his head.
He was already sweating and had to wipe his forehead with his handkerchief. I understood from the look on his face that Mr. Steine had placed certain pressures on him.
"Then Tony admitted . ." Logan muttered.
"Yes, he admitted it to Mr. Steine and the implication was clear that if he were put on the stand under oath. . . well, from the way Mr. Steine was speaking, it would appear that Mr. Tatterton is under some emotional strain these days and—"
"He would admit to it?" Logan said incredulously.
"It's just his way of getting back at me," I said softly, shaking my head. "But what I don't understand," I realized, looking up quickly, "is how Fanny found out. I never told her anything about my relationship with Tony and—"
Camden Lakewood carefully cleared his throat.
"She claims to have a letter, written to her by her brother, Tom—"
"Tom?" I repeated, stunned.
"Evidently. Luke Casteel had told Tom the truth about your parentage and, in despair at your not being related by blood to him, he confided his sadness to Fanny." His eyes looked at me sadly. "I'm very sorry, Mrs. Stonewall."
Oh, oh, oh. Tom. My Tom had known the truth.
And he had told Fanny. Oh, he must have been so upset! My strong steadfast supporter Tom now had lost me Drake. Tom, who would never do anything to hurt me. Tom, who was the only one to help me believe in myself. How hurt he must have been. That explained why he had given up on his dreams, why he had followed Pa's way, never believing himself smart or talented enough to go to college and work toward his dream of being President of the United States. Oh, how we had helped each other with our impossible ideals. How we had hurt each other! Oh Tom, Tom, why does life have to be so cruel?
"Can such a letter be used as evidence?" Logan asked Camden.
"I'm afraid it can be," he replied. Then he turned to me. "And you know now that Anthony Tatterton will corroborate what's stated in the letter,"
he warned.
"But . . ." Logan stammered, "but surely after all that was brought out today, the judge . ."
"Fanny Wilcox is a blood relation. The boy's her half-brother, and we assumed he was Mrs.
Stonewall's half-brother. We made important points, but only if Mrs. Stonewall and Mrs. Wilcox are on an equal footing, if you know what I mean. Her past aside, Mr. Stonewall, why should the court award the custody of the boy to Mrs. Stonewall, who is not a blood relation, instead of awarding him to Mrs.
Wilcox, Who is? She's not a criminal. In fact, she's never been arrested for anything."
"But Randall Wilcox said—" Logan muttered.
"None of that is important any longer."
Mr. Lakewood leaned forward and lowered his voice as though he were about to tell us confidential information.
"Burton already let me in on what his line of attack's going to be after he establishes Luke Casteel was not Mrs. Stonewall's real father. In his words we have a situation in which someone with a great deal of money is trying to use her power to deny Fanny Wilcox her familial rights.
"I have to tell you, it doesn't look good, and on that basis Mr. Stein has asked me, as a professional courtesy, to do everything I can to prevent Mr.
Tatterton's being subpoenaed. My advice at this point is for you to simply drop the motion."
"Like hell we will!" Logan shouted. "If Tony is crazy enough to permit himself to be questioned by that sleazy lawyer in front of everyone here and make such a confession—"
"The point is he will, Mr. Stonewall." Camden Lakewood remained coolly realistic. "The point is that Anthony Tatterton has volunteered to testify.
Obviously, his lawyers are urging him not to."
"I still can't see why any judge . . ."
I could not have Tony testify. All of it would only hurt Drake in the end. "Logan," I said n
umbly.
"Well, I can't, and we were willing—"
"Logan!" I stood up. He stared at me a moment and then looked away. "Thank you for what you have done up until now, Mr. Lakewood," I said firmly, my intentions clear.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Stonewall. If I had known all the facts before we started . . ."
"I understand. Please, excuse me," I added and ran from the room. I rushed up the stairs and when I entered my bedroom, I stopped and took deep breaths.
It wasn't that Fanny was beating me or that the echo of Logan's infidelity lingered on and on, or even that Tony was willing to reveal his sexual involvement with my mother that tore away the walls of my heart. It was that I was losing Drake, and through that loss I was losing Luke again.
Suddenly all those times when in my secret and put-away heart I wanted Luke to let me touch his cheek or wrap my arms around him or have him touch my hair lovingly returned. I remembered how it was when I would see him looking lonely and lost, staring off into space, looking as if life had cheated him.
There was always such a deep need in me to love him and be loved by him. All the time we lived in the Willies, that aching need was there, waiting to ignite and burst into a bonfire of love and affection, if only he would have acted as if he saw me or encouraged me to believe he did love me, even a little.
But he never did and fate cheated me of any hope of it ever happening when that drunk driver smashed him and Stacie into oblivion. I had hoped that through Drake I would find him and find the love I had lost. I had planned on a lifetime of giving Drake love and receiving his love. I had even dreamt of him growing into a strong young man, the spitting image of Luke, and as such a handsome young man, looking at me with love and affection.
It wasn't so accidental or ironic that Tony, through his terrible admission, could deny me Luke's love a second time. Who knew what was going on in his broken and twisted mind since I had fled Farthy and refused ever to see him alone again at the party.
In a strange and horribly distorted way he probably was now envious of my loving Drake or Drake loving me.
I felt overwhelmed, defeated, drenched in a downpour of envy and hate, caught in the winds of a twisted hurricane of emotions. There was Fanny on one side and Tony on another, both pulling and pushing, jabbing me with pins and needles. Two people who should have loved me and I should have loved were making me more miserable than I was when I lived in the Willies.
Fallen Hearts (Casteel Series #3) Page 33