Tell Me No Lies

by Shirley Wine

  Once in the sanctuary of her room, she locked the door and slumped against it until her heartbeats settled into a normal rhythm. She needed a shower and, scooping her hair up under a shower cap, stepped under a cascade of hot water to wash away the musk of sex. But no amount of scrubbing removed the brand of Keir’s possession.

  Her mind raced like a mouse on a treadmill.

  Last night was a huge mistake.

  In the cold light of day she could see how her impulsive action could so easily be misconstrued. Once again, she’d allowed impetuosity to overrun good sense.

  Do you colour the truth … deal in lies, half-truths …

  Last night, Keir had given her his trust.

  It was a rare and very precious gift, and one he didn’t give lightly.

  I had no right to go to his bed and accept the gift of his trust while he didn’t know about our son.

  When Keir discovered the truth he would have every right to be furious.

  Unhappy and depressed, Victoria could see no easy way to resolve this dilemma.

  If I know Keir, he will tolerate anything but lies.

  God knows how Muriel or Caine will react.

  Grim and determined, Victoria dressed in comfortable jeans, a chambray shirt and the mohair sweater Daphne had knitted for her last winter, and then she set about packing her suitcase. She would not stay in this house one minute longer than absolutely necessary. As soon as she cornered Logan, she was leaving.

  Had I called a taxi last night, I wouldn’t be in this situation now.

  It was too damn easy to be wise with the benefit of hindsight.

  She crept down the stairs of the slumbering house, finding it warm despite the early hour, and made her way to the kitchen.

  The only sound to break the silence was the tick of the big clock on the wall.

  In a few minutes she’d found the tea and brewed a mug. Tea in hand, she sought refuge in the library. A full moon rode low on the western horizon and provided enough light for her to find her way without switching on any lights. She sank into one of the leather chairs flanking the wide windows and waited for dawn.

  The new day promised anger and recrimination.

  That certainty was enough to make her wish there was some way she could hold back the day. She had dug herself into such a deep hole she could see no way out. Lost in her bleak thoughts, she gave a start when the door opened. She sank deeper into the chair, hoping to escape notice.

  Caine strode across to the big oak desk that stood in one corner but stopped, startled to see her. With rough concern, he sat on the arm of the chair, his hand gentle on her shoulder. ‘What is it?’

  She spread her hand in a helpless gesture of despair.

  His mouth tightened to a grim line. ‘What has Keir done to you, child?’

  Mortified, Victoria leaped up, scrubbing at her eyes as she sprang to Keir’s defence. ‘Why blame him? Too often he’s been punished for things that were never his fault.’

  Caine’s expression hardened. ‘You understand it all.’

  ‘That’s just it, I don’t understand. The undercurrents around here are downright confusing.’

  Caine frowned and she was jolted by a pang of discomfort.

  Insult your host, Victoria, why don’t you.

  He grimaced and glanced at his watch. ‘Do you ride?’

  She gaped at him, surprised by the abrupt question. ‘I do, although it’s been a while.’

  ‘Then come with me and we’ll go for a gallop. You’ll feel better for it.’

  Victoria wasn’t a fool. There was no way she was about to pass up a heaven-sent opportunity to be well clear of this house when the proverbial hit the fan. She had no difficulty matching Caine’s brisk pace as they walked down to the stables.

  Stable boys were already busy. Horses were being saddled and riders were leading strings of horses out onto the sand tracks for their morning exercise. Soon they were mere shadows in the early morning gloom. One lad jumped to obey Caine’s brisk order to saddle Gypsy for her. The predawn air cleared the dull cloud of pain behind Victoria’s eyes. She breathed in deeply, soaking up the distinctive aroma of horseflesh, hay and sawdust, the smell pungent on the cold air.

  The once familiar aroma evoked so many memories. Before her mother’s death, Victoria had spent countless hours with her father’s horses. Those were carefree days, but when her mother died Victoria’s whole world had crumbled.

  A stable boy approached, leading a dark brown mare with one white hock and a white blaze on its face.

  ‘Oh, she’s so lovely.’ She gripped the bridle in one hand and ran a knowledgeable hand over the horse’s glossy forequarters. The mare tossed its head and whinnied, nudging at her shoulder. She let the mare sniff at her hand. ‘Frisky, are you?’

  ‘Can you manage, miss?’ The boy’s polite inquiry lightened her mood.

  ‘For sure.’ With the horse prancing beside her, Victoria walked from the stable. The mare’s high-stepping gait and tossing head expressed its eagerness for a morning gallop. The mare nudged her shoulder again and she laughed, gathered up the reins, and with practiced ease, swung up in the saddle.

  With the restive horse beneath her and the crisp air filling her lungs, Victoria’s worries melted away.

  Caine nodded his approval. ‘She’s fresh but I’m sure you’ll handle her.’

  He led the way while she concentrated her attention on the unfamiliar mount. As they rode past a bank of shrubs, a bird flew out with a shriek and a whirring of wings and Gypsy sidestepped. Victoria easily controlled the flighty mare, and leaning down she stroked her neck and soothed her with gentle words.

  ‘You ride well,’ Caine said once her mount settled.

  ‘My dad has stables and a couple of racehorses. I competed in hack and hunter classes for years.’

  ‘Where are his stables?’

  ‘Up near Huntly.’ She laughed softly. ‘But his outfit is nowhere near as big an operation as you have here.’

  Caine skilfully drew her out, asking questions about her father and his horses. He nodded thoughtfully as she gave him a more complete picture of her background.

  They rode at a steady pace until he led them through to a long sand race where he let his big black gelding have its head. Victoria dug her heels into the mare’s side and relished the feel of the wind rushing past her face as they galloped through the morning mist. Exhilaration cleared the fog in her mind.

  When they reached the summit of a small hill, Caine reined in his mount.

  ‘That was great,’ she said, a hand smoothing over the mare’s neck.

  The horses blew steam wreaths and Victoria turned to watch the sun peep above the bush-covered hills of Whitehall and touch the treetops with gold. The distinctive range created an impressive backdrop to the country town.

  ‘You look more cheerful.’

  ‘It’s hard to stay down in the dumps when you’ve been for a hard gallop.’ Victoria rubbed her cheek, suddenly self-conscious under Caine’s appraising look.

  He dismounted and tied his horse to a hitching rail set beneath a spreading chestnut tree. Victoria followed suit and together they walked toward a stile in the railing fence, beyond which was a survey trig station.

  ‘What’s between you and Keir?’ Caine asked once they reached the summit.

  The blunt question shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it did and as she scuffed a sneaker in a clump of dew-laden grass, she knew she couldn’t give Caine any meaningful answer until she had talked to Keir.

  Caine leaned back against the trig, the rising sun highlighting the silver threads in his dark hair, a wry smile lifting one corner of his stern mouth.

  ‘I watched you and Keir meet, and I’ve watched you dance around each other ever since,’ he said quietly. ‘I’m not completely stupid.’

  ‘I never thought you were.’ She turned away and looked out across the mist-shrouded countryside, seeking inspiration.

  ‘What happened between you two th
at summer, Victoria?’

  ‘You heard Davina. I had an adolescent crush.’ The words dripped sarcasm.

  Caine chuckled and his dark eyes twinkled. ‘Davina talks a lot of rot. Her relationship with Keir is too tepid to spark such possessive jealousy.’

  Victoria took an uneasy breath. ‘What happened between us is our business, Mr Donovan.’

  ‘So Keir said, but you worry me.’

  ‘I worry you?’

  ‘Why did Logan bring you here this weekend?’

  ‘I can’t second-guess Logan’s motives.’ Victoria turned and leaned against the stile. She valued Logan’s friendship too much to betray his subterfuge.

  ‘Tell me, Victoria, what are you and Logan working so hard to conceal?’

  Guilt jerked her head up.

  Instinctively, she’d known that Caine Donovan was no fool. This shrewd question confirmed it. But until Keir knew about their son, she refused to discuss Connor with anyone, especially Caine.

  To do so would be wrong on so many levels.

  ‘There’s only one obvious answer.’ Caine pulled a stem of grass from a clump and chewed on the end of it as he pondered aloud, seemingly unaware of her discomfort. ‘Were you and Keir lovers?’

  ‘That is none of your business.’ Victoria spun on her heel, jumped over the stile and strode across to where the horses were tethered.

  Caine caught up with her and his hand covered hers as she went to untie the mare.

  ‘I’m sorry, that was out of line. Ride with me and let me explain.’ Caine untied her horse, holding the bridle while she mounted.

  ‘About what?’

  ‘Keir.’

  Victoria released a shuddering breath and nodded, more than a little desperate to glean any insight into Keir’s past. They turned back towards the stables, riding at a leisurely pace.

  ‘I should never have married Keir’s mother.’

  Caine’s bald statement was so unexpected Victoria’s head snapped around and she stared at him open-mouthed. ‘Why?’

  ‘A month before our wedding Garth Ellison, my best friend, came home from Argentina to be my best man. Garth and Elizabeth took one look at each other and fell madly in love.’ There was no trace of emotion in Caine’s voice.

  Victoria listened, not daring to interrupt. This was information that she was sure held the key to understanding Keir.

  ‘Like a fool, I persuaded Elizabeth that everything would be fine once we were married, and what with the combined pressure from me and her parents, we went ahead with the wedding.’

  ‘And after Keir was born it all fell apart.’

  He grunted and nodded. ‘I only delayed the inevitable.’

  Victoria glanced sideways at her host and saw sorrow etched on his face. She looked away to give him privacy.

  ‘Elizabeth rejected Keir. I did what I could, but I had the stables and a greedy business to run. Our marriage was a total farce. I arrived home one day to find she’d left me and Keir and gone to live with Ellison. She demanded a divorce.’

  ‘Which you agreed to?’

  ‘I did, and I was awarded custody of Keir. A few years later I married Muriel.’

  As she listened, Victoria had the uneasy feeling that Caine was touching upon only the high points of his life. ‘And you told Keir his mother was dead.’

  Caine winced and rubbed his forehead. ‘That was a mistake.’

  That’s the biggest understatement I’ve ever heard.

  She glanced at Caine and something in his expression made her leave off badgering him for more information over his admission. ‘And Muriel resented Keir.’

  ‘She did, but by the time I realised that she didn’t love my son as much as I loved Logan, it was too late.’

  ‘Why are you telling me this?’ she asked, desperate to understand his motives.

  ‘You need to understand Keir and what motivates him or you’re going to end up badly hurt.’ Caine shook his head, looking infinitely old and weary. ‘He’ll go ahead with this ridiculous marriage regardless of what I say, or his attraction to you. Stay away from him, Victoria. He’s not the man for you.’

  The blunt words made her swallow convulsively.

  How will he react when he learns Davina has broken their engagement, and of my involvement in that break?

  Victoria dug her horse in the ribs and spurred it into a canter, freeing her from the necessity of answering.

  Caine’s warning springs from concern, not interference. I have to admire him for that.

  When they reached the stables, two boys came out and took the horses. Victoria strode toward the house, making sure she stayed ahead of Caine, unwilling to allow the chance for more conversation.

  She opened the side door and landed smack in the centre of a furious altercation as Keir went head-to-head with Davina and Muriel. Victoria’s heart tripped. She swallowed but the lump in her throat refused to budge.

  The shit had well and truly hit the fan.

  Keir turned his back on the two enraged women and crossed to her side, catching her hands in his. ‘Are you okay? Where have you been?’

  ‘Victoria and I have been riding.’ Caine stepped through the doorway, shrewd eyes figuring out the cause of the altercation at a glance. ‘Good morning, ladies.’

  ‘What’s good about it? Thanks to that little trollop, Keir and Davina have ended their engagement.’

  Keir ignored his stepmother and murmured to Victoria, ‘I thought you’d left.’

  ‘I wanted to.’

  She saw Caine glance her way and she crowded closer to Keir, warmed as his arm encircled her shoulders, his grip very reassuring. Perhaps this wouldn’t be quite as bad as she’d thought.

  ‘I suggest we move this conversation into the library,’ Caine said. There was no undue inflection in his tone, but everyone obeyed the order.

  Victoria stayed tucked against Keir, grateful for his support. Tension sat like a rock in her belly.

  Caine closed the library door before he turned to Keir, eyebrows raised. ‘Would you mind explaining?’

  ‘Davina asked to be freed from our engagement and I accepted. End of story.’

  Victoria watched Keir through the veil of her lashes but could read nothing from his expression.

  ‘Only because I found that slut in your bed.’

  Humiliated heat flooded Victoria in a fiery wave and Keir’s grip tightened. She wanted nothing more than to sink through the floor.

  ‘So my warning came a little too late.’ Caine gave her a wry glance. ‘I hope you can cope with the results of your impulsiveness.’

  Victoria resisted the impulse to hide her face against Keir, too aware that while last night’s showdown was over, she had an even bigger hurdle to face.

  ‘Is that all you have to say?’ Muriel’s voice rose an octave.

  ‘There’s no point, Muriel,’ Caine smiled at the two women. ‘Davina ended her commitment, and I can only hope Keir has enough sense not to renew it. Marriage between those two would be a disaster.’

  ‘For once we’re in perfect accord, Father.’

  Davina sucked in an audible breath at this brutally frank exchange. Her lips moved but no sound emerged. Then with an incoherent sound she turned and ran from the room.

  Victoria was pierced with an inconvenient sympathy.

  ‘I’ve had a lot of years to regret persuading Elizabeth to go ahead with our wedding, son.’ Caine put a hand on Keir’s shoulder. ‘I should have freed her when she begged me to. I’m ever so thankful you’ve come to your senses before there are children involved.’

  ‘You will not discuss that woman here.’ Muriel fairly vibrated with anger.

  ‘For God’s sake, Muriel, get over it,’ Caine said in a voice weary with contempt. ‘Elizabeth was my wife and Keir’s mother, something you knew when you married me.’

  ‘That’s easy for you to say,’ Muriel flared, her skin going sallow with temper. ‘I resented always being that woman’s substitute.’

  �
�That’s a figment of your imagination,’ Caine sighed. ‘It’s difficult to love a woman who cringes from your touch and rejected her child because he was also mine. Your obsessive jealousy caused the rift between us, Muriel. Not Elizabeth.’

  Victoria wished she was anywhere but in the middle of this very private argument.

  Keir’s hand tightened on her shoulder and she hurt for him. Every word had to cut to his heart.

  Muriel rounded on Victoria, seeking a more satisfactory target. ‘How dare you abuse our hospitality?’

  Keir stiffened, but it was Caine who intervened. ‘Whatever occurred between Keir and Victoria is their business, Muriel, not ours.’

  Victoria inhaled a shaken breath. In that moment her liking and respect for Caine Donovan grew.

  Keir’s expression was blank and unrevealing as he massaged her shoulder in silent support.

  With an angry, incoherent murmur, Muriel turned on her heel and stalked out, shutting the door with a decided snap.

  An oppressive silence settled.

  Victoria squirmed with embarrassment and she wished she could just magically disappear. Then, as if some malevolent god had heard the scarcely formed wish, the door opened.

  Logan walked in holding a phone towards her. ‘Victoria, it’s your dad.’

  ‘Dad?’ Victoria pulled out of Keir’s arm and lunged for the phone. ‘What on earth does he want?’

  Logan shrugged and held out the receiver.

  Victoria took it, panic replacing embarrassment. ‘Dad?’

  ‘Victoria, I’m sorry, love.’

  She clenched a fist and held it over her madly thudding heart as she gripped the receiver so hard her knuckles gleamed white. Her father was preparing her for—what?

  ‘Connor’s had a nasty fall and has been taken to hospital by ambulance. He’s undergoing surgery as we speak.’

  ‘No … oh no. No-ooo!’

  He ignored her anguished outburst. ‘I’ve given consent for emergency surgery, but you need to get here pronto.’

  Her father was still talking when the phone dropped from her nerveless fingers and she covered her mouth with her hands to hold in the scream fighting to escape.

  Panic and pain jostled for supremacy.

  Not Connor! Not my baby!