‘Anything and everything I can cram in. For me this is the trip of a lifetime.’ Penny made no attempt to hide her enthusiasm.
‘Well, before we begin some serious sightseeing, there’s one thing I’d like to get out of the way…’ A challenge in his eyes, Lang glanced at Cassandra, who was sitting by his side.
Understanding that he was going to allow them no chance to confer, she turned to Penny and said steadily, ‘Lang would like to know about Sean. I don’t find it easy to talk about it, so would you mind telling him what happened?’
Showing no particular surprise at what must have seemed a strange request, Penny said, ‘Certainly, if that’s what you want.’
Her eyes meeting Lang’s through the rear-view mirror, she asked, ‘You won’t mind if I speak bluntly?’
‘Please do,’ he urged.
Clearly and concisely, she began to sketch in the story Cassandra had already told, adding, ‘In the circumstances I’m sorry to have to say it, but I neither liked nor trusted Sean. I could never fathom why Cass went out with him in the first place—’
‘You don’t think it was because he had money?’
Bristling, Penny said, ‘If you can even joke about it, you don’t know her very well. She did her best to stop him spending his money on her, but he wouldn’t listen. He was absolutely obsessed. It was like a sickness, it wasn’t normal. No wonder she started to feel scared…
‘I advised her to give him the push, but she had scruples. She was looking for the kindest way to end it when she discovered he was married—’
‘How?’
‘An envelope addressed to Mr and Mrs fell out of his pocket.’
‘Did Cassandra tell you about it?’
‘No, I heard the whole thing. I was in the next room and the walls were like paper.’
‘Neither of you knew until then?’
‘No. Cass would never have looked at a married man. She was horrified, and asked him to leave. He refused to go, and there was a terrible scene. At the finish I came out of the bedroom and threatened to call Security. So he went…
‘I’d been only too right in thinking he was unbalanced. Instead of giving up, he began to lie in wait and stalk her. I was convinced he was dangerous, and it was pretty scary. Then one day we all three came face to face. I threatened him with the police and told him to lay off.
‘Unfortunately that wasn’t the end of it. Cass and I had taken a flat together, and one night when I got home Sean was there. She’d been gullible enough to let him in…’
Penny gave a shiver, before going on, ‘Thank the Lord I had a boyfriend with me who was a rugby forward. We were just in time to save her from being raped. We called the police and an ambulance—’
‘An ambulance?’
‘She’d tried to fight him off, and he’d beaten her up so badly that she had to spend five days in hospital.’
‘Dear God.’ Lang sounded shaken.
‘You didn’t know about that?’
‘No, I didn’t,’ Lang answered almost curtly. ‘Was he jailed?’
‘No. He should have been, but Cass refused to press charges because of his wife.’
There was a tense silence before, sounding more normal, Lang said, ‘Not a very pretty story, but thank you for telling me…’
Then, with a complete change of subject, he said, ‘I understand from Cassandra that you share her passion for Westerns?’
Penny grinned. ‘Yup.’
‘Then tomorrow I suggest we hire some horses and ride through Red Rock Canyon to an Old West town where, to re-create Nevada’s past, gunfights are staged…’
For the rest of the journey the two discussed outings and holiday plans, with Lang breaking off from time to time to point out things of special interest, and Penny exclaiming in wonder over each new spectacle.
When they reached the Golden Phoenix, apparently running out of superlatives, she merely gazed around the palatial foyer while her mouth formed an O.
Lang passed the luggage to a bell-hop and, turning to Cassandra, suggested, ‘If you’d like to take Penny up, I’ll ask Rob to make up a foursome for a night on the town. Say half an hour?’
As soon as the two women were alone in the penthouse, Penny exclaimed, ‘I hadn’t guessed the half of it! And you didn’t tell me this new husband of yours was drop-dead gorgeous…’
Opening her case, she took out a black cocktail dress. ‘Will this do?’ Then, without waiting for an answer, she asked, ‘By the way, who is Rob?’
‘He’s an old friend of Lang’s. I think you’ll like him.’
‘I’m dying to know everything, but as we haven’t got long I suppose we’d better get ready first…’
Some twenty minutes later, her hair in an elegant chignon and wearing the gold lamé dress Lang had bought her, Cassandra tapped on the guest-room door.
Throwing it open, Penny whistled appreciatively. ‘Look at you! Every inch the wife of a millionaire… Is everyone waiting?’
‘No, Rob isn’t here yet, and Lang’s just getting dressed.’
‘In that case I’ll finish my unpacking.’
Cassandra sat on the bed and watched while the other girl continued to transfer things from her case to the walk-in wardrobe.
After a moment Penny remarked, ‘You seem a bit quiet. I hope dragging up all that old business with Sean didn’t upset you?’
‘No,’ Cassandra said with only partial truth. ‘I thought it best to clear the air.’
‘I was absolutely staggered when I found out! Talk about coincidence! I mean it’s almost unbelievable!’
‘What’s almost unbelievable?’
Putting a pile of underwear in the nearest drawer, Penny said patiently, ‘Why, that Sean was Lang’s brother-in-law.’
It took several seconds to absorb the shock, but Cassandra never for a moment doubted the truth of that statement. It explained so much.
Through stiff lips, she asked, ‘How did you find out?’ and was surprised that she sounded so normal.
‘My office manager, who of course knew all about my trip out here, happened to mention that Lang had come to London about eighteen months ago when his sister and brother-in-law were killed in a car crash…
‘Apparently it got into the papers, but we must have missed it somehow—’ She stopped speaking as Lang appeared at the open door.
His face was untroubled, his manner relaxed, but some inner knowledge told Cassandra he’d gathered the gist of the conversation.
‘Ready to paint the town?’ he asked lightly.
‘Try me,’ Penny answered with enthusiasm.
As they went through to the living-room, Rob appeared. Standing by while the pair were introduced, Cassandra watched Penny’s lips form a silent ‘Wow!’ Rob, she was pleased to see, looked equally smitten.
Lang set himself out to be the perfect host, and the evening, spent dancing and dining and seeing a floor show, proved to be a great success. If Cassandra was a little quiet, no one appeared to notice.
It was almost three o’clock in the morning when Rob queried, ‘What about taking in Caesar’s Palace next? Then we can go on to the Desert Orchid for a spot of breakfast.’
Penny, still going strong, agreed, ‘Sounds fantastic!’
‘Why don’t you two go?’ Lang suggested. ‘Cassandra and I are feeling a bit tired.’
‘How can anyone feel tired in Las Vegas?’ Penny marvelled aloud.
Grinning, Rob pointed out, ‘Don’t forget they’re still on their honeymoon.’
Penny grinned back. ‘Of course. Silly of me.’
The journey back to the Golden Phoenix was made in silence. When they reached the penthouse, Lang slipped the stole from around Cassandra’s shoulders and tossed aside his own jacket, before asking, ‘Would you like a nightcap?’
She turned to face him squarely. ‘I’d like to know why you married me.’
‘Can’t you guess?’
‘It’s obviously to do with Sean… But if you blame me for
what happened—’
His face cold and set, Lang broke in, ‘I don’t now, but I did then… I suppose it’s time you knew the whole truth.
‘Katy was a brilliant cellist, and she threw up a promising career for Sean, but they hadn’t been married very long when he became infatuated with you.
‘It wasn’t true that his father had left him well off; it was Katy’s money he was spending, money I’d given her to buy a house. While he was squandering it on you they were living in a dingy top-floor flat in an otherwise empty building.
‘She was six months pregnant when she caught her foot in the threadbare carpet and fell down the stairs. Sean wasn’t home. We’ll just have to guess where he was. When he finally got back she’d lost the baby.
‘When I asked why they hadn’t moved out and bought a house, she admitted that most of the money had gone, and she suspected he was either gambling or spending it on another woman. He’d also taken to drinking heavily, presumably because of you.
‘She thought things might improve if he was away from London, so I offered to provide a house and a job in Manchester. But when she told him about it he refused to consider moving.
‘I decided to find out just what was going on, so I hired a private detective. He gathered all the information I needed—’
‘And took that photograph?’
‘That’s right… But, before I could decide what to do for the best, one night when he’d been drinking heavily Sean crashed the car and killed both himself and Katy—’
Horrified, Cassandra broke in, ‘And you blamed me for all that?’
‘I thought you were as scheming and heartless as Nina and I wanted to make you pay—not only for what you’d done to Katy, but in the end for what Nina had done to me. A kind of double revenge.
‘I wanted to take everything away from you—your fiancé, your job, your home—and then, when the time was right, throw you out.’
‘But why marriage?’ she asked with a kind of desperation. ‘And to another woman you felt nothing but hatred and contempt for?’
‘Because I’d given up any idea of ever finding love, and marriage provides a much stronger hold.’
‘Weren’t you afraid that when you threw me out I might ask for alimony?’
He smiled grimly. ‘I rather hoped you would. The ensuing battle would have added greatly to my satisfaction.’
Feeling as though she was bleeding to death inside, she said, ‘Well, I’m afraid your revenge hasn’t proved to be a total success. Marrying Alan would have been a bad mistake, I can find another job of some kind, and I’ve still got a home with Penny.’
Lifting her chin, she added bitterly, ‘And I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I won’t be asking for alimony. All I want is my freedom.’
She was about to turn away when he took her shoulders and held her there. ‘Where are you going?’
‘To pack. If I can get a flight to San Francisco I’ve still got a ticket home.’
‘Don’t be foolish, you can’t just walk out.’
‘If you expect me to play the docile wife until you’re ready to dump me—’
‘I’ve no intention of dumping you. That was my original plan.’ He sighed. ‘Perhaps you were right when you said my first marriage had warped me…’
Then he said, more positively, ‘But it didn’t take me long to realize I’d been wholly mistaken in thinking you were like Nina… Which made me wonder if I’d been equally mistaken about your relationship with Sean… And now I know the truth—’
‘You’ll be magnanimous and forgive me?’ Cassandra broke in bitterly.
‘No. I’ll ask you to be magnanimous and forgive me.’
‘And you think you only have to ask?’
‘I know I’ve no right after the way I’ve treated you, but I need you, Cassandra. I need your warmth and generosity, your humour and your spirit. I need your companionship, some hope for the future…’
His voice dropped to a whisper. ‘Please stay with me.’
She had never expected a man like Lang Dalton to beg, and it tore her apart. ‘Lang, I—’
Apparently fearing a refusal, he hurried on, ‘At least take time to think about it… After all, there’s Penny to consider. It would be a shame to deprive her of this “once-in-a-lifetime” holiday. Why not wait and, if you still feel the same, go back with her?’
‘I suppose I could,’ Cassandra said slowly. ‘We’ll only be in Las Vegas a few days, and then—’
‘Well, she and Rob hit it off so well I thought maybe we could all spend another couple of weeks here.’ A gleam in his eyes, he added, ‘It’s even possible she might not want to go back at all…’
Cassandra felt warmth stealing through her, ousting the chill. ‘And while we wait to see I suppose you’ll expect me to share your bed?’
‘If you can’t bring yourself to do that, I’ll move out of the penthouse.’
With mock horror, she asked, ‘What on earth would the staff think?’
Drawing her against him, he rested his forehead against hers. ‘Tonight’s been hell. All I could think about was losing you.’
‘Would it matter so much?’
‘After just these few weeks I can’t imagine life without you… I’d even begun to hope that it might turn out to be the kind of fairy tale Penny mentioned…’
Cassandra pursed her lips. ‘For a practical woman she has some romantic notions. She even believes in love at first sight.’
‘So do I,’ he said firmly. ‘Though, after giving up all expectations of ever finding love, it took a little while to realize it really had happened to me.’
When, choked by joy, she stayed silent, he went on, ‘Now all that’s needed is the other half of the miracle… At times you’ve looked at me in a way that made me hope…’ Then he said urgently, ‘How do you feel about me, Cassandra?’
She smiled at him, her heart in her eyes, and promised, ‘As in all good fairy tales, when we’ve been married a year and a day I’ll tell you.’
ISBN: 978-1-4592-1106-3
THE MARRIAGE TAKEOVER
First North American Publication 2000.
Copyright © 2000 by Lee Wilkinson.
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The Marriage Takeover Page 17