by Miranda Lee
Yet she didn't like his new image. Or was it simply an old one? Had he reverted to the Sebastian prior to his stay in Norfolk Island? The ruthless and decadent dealer who made and lost fortunes for other people and played Don Juan with promiscuous aplomb.
Lord, but he looked incredibly cool and intimidating in that grey three-piece suit and with his hair totally under control, not at all like the casually relaxed Sebastian she had met and fallen in love with.
How ironic that when she'd first seen him on the veranda at Lucy's Place, she'd scorned the idea of his ever playing the part of a business executive. He didn't have to play the part. He was the part, for real. She looked at him at felt... what? Distress, but still desire. Dear God, she still loved him, would always love him.
It was a bitter pill to swallow.
'What is it that you want, Sebastian?' she asked, her voice strained. 'Why did you trick me into coming up here?'
'I didn't trick you. I gave my name.'
'Half-truths again, Sebastian?' she asked scornfully. 'Slade is not an uncommon name. You didn't give your Christian name. How could I possibly know it was you?'
'You must have suspected when you saw my company name.'
'Why? I never knew where you worked before, and I don't know now!'
'I do not work for a company, Jess. I own a company. It's called Futurecorp. The name must be familiar to you after the call from your solicitor today.'
Her eyes rounded to saucers. ' You're Futurecorp?'
'Yes.'
'But... for how long? I mean, when did you...? I mean...'
'I formed Futurecorp several years ago,' he finished for her in a matter-of-fact tone.
Jessica's confusion was growing. 'Are you saying you're rich? That you've always been rich?'
'Not always. But for some years, yes.'
'Then you didn't lose your fortune before going to Norfolk Island?'
'I did make some unwise property investments back then, but no, I did not lose my fortune. Perversely, those same investments have come good during my stay on Norfolk. Ironic, isn't it, that my neglect has made me a wealthier man?'
Jessica thought it very ironic. And even more confusing. He obviously hadn't wanted to marry her for money, then, though the tax reason was still a valid contender. But if so, then what was he doing here? Why wasn't he on Norfolk Island conning some other gullible female? A man of his looks and wealth wouldn't have any trouble finding a suitable candidate.
'Did Aunt Lucy know you were rich?' she asked, frowning as she tried to make sense of everything he was saying to her.
'Not for the first year,' he admitted. 'She assumed— as you did—that I was bankrupt. I have to admit I found it... refreshing to know I was liked for myself and not my money. I also liked being helped and advised and cosseted. It soothed my soul to feel worthy of being cared about. I confessed my financial status to her when it no longer made a difference in our relationship. Lucy wasn't even angry with me.'
Jessica still was, though. Very angry. And very rattled by these astonishing revelations. She paced across the room, then round behind an armchair, gripping the back while she glared at Sebastian.
'Well, she wouldn't be, would she? The woman was probably besotted with all the sex you were giving her, just like I was! And don't lie to me about that any more. I know you were sleeping with her.'
'No, I wasn't, Jess,' he denied again. 'Look, I know what Myra told you that day at the airport. Evie tackled her about it after you'd left to get on your plane. She saw you talking to her. Believe when I tell you, Jess, that I didn't make love to Lucy. Ever. But I did sleep with her one night. That I do admit.'
What was the damned difference? Make love... sleep with... He was playing with words again!
'It was the day Lucy found out about her cancer and her rat of a husband. She was terribly upset. She needed to talk to someone. But there were guests in the house and we went to her room to be alone. We stayed up late, talking. She became very distressed at one stage and started to cry. I went over to where she was sitting on her bed, took her in my arms and just held her. She begged me not to leave her, and I didn't. I lay down and held her till she went to sleep. Then I fell asleep myself. There was no sex. I swear it.'
She stared at him, knowing deep in her heart he was telling her the truth. But she couldn't bring herself to say she believed him.
'Why would I lie to you?' he asked in the pained silence. 'If I'd slept with Lucy I'd tell you. Frankly, I would not have been ashamed of it if I had. She was a lovely woman. But she didn't want that from me. She'd only ever Joved the one man in her life, and bastard though he was, she remained faithful to his memory to the day she died.'
'Then why did you keep me ignorant of your wealth?' she demanded, confusion and hurt making her voice sharp. 'Because you found it refreshing that I liked you for yourself? Or was it that you didn't trust me, as you've never trusted any woman?'
'I'm not going to try to whitewash my behaviour with you. I haven't come here for that.' He sipped his drink, a bleak bitterness clouding his eyes. When he looked at her again, his chin lifted and he squared his shoulders, the actions carrying a dignified nobility that moved Jessica despite everything. How could she possibly admire him after all he'd done?
'I did love you, Jess,' he said. 'But you're quite right. Down deep, I didn't trust you. Even I can see that now. The trouble was that I'd experienced too many examples in the past of the aphrodisiacal power of money. Amazing how many beautiful women drop their pants for rich men. Age and looks have nothing to do with it. That's just an added bonus for the ladies in question. My strike rate was second to none in the seduction game, as I combined the best of both worlds.'
Jessica listened to what he was saying with some understanding and a large measure of guilt, conceding she'd had similar cynical thoughts about the opposite sex and their response to money. How could she condemn him for keeping his wealth a secret when she'd planned to keep even a modest inheritance to herself for the very same reasons?
'What I failed to appreciate,' he went on, 'was that not all beautiful women are like that, or like my chronically unfaithful wife. Basically, I was still as warped and twisted as you said, Jess. I'd fooled myself intothinking that I'd changed, that I was capable of truly loving and trusting a woman again. And I was—while I lived in a cocoon, and while I kept you in there with me. But it only took one small test to crack open the thin veneer of my so-called recovery.'
Jessica could not stop staring at him and thinking how brave it was of him to come here and say all this. How many men could admit to being wrong or weak? Not that she thought of Sebastian as weak. Just wounded. But wounds could heal eventually, couldn't they? Given the right treatment. All they needed was some tender loving care. What Lucy had started, she could finish!
Jessica saw then that her love, too, had cracked under its first real test. She should have hung in there, not cut and run. She should have had more faith in Sebastian's love for her.
And he did still love her. She could see it in his tense face and his strained shoulders, in his actions as well as his words. The realisation moved her unbearably. Tears stung her eyes, and she had to blink to control them.
'You really bought Lucy's Place?' She choked the words out.
'Yes.'
'Why?'
'For two reasons. The first was to keep faith with my promise to Lucy to make sure her home was always looked after. I could not see it fall into unscrupulous hands, could I?'
Jessica's heart contracted. 'I... I shouldn't have sold it. I regretted it afterwards. Today, when I realised what I'd done, I felt so rotten.'
'I thought you might. That's the other reason 1 bought it, and why I have gifted it over to you.' He drew some papers from his breast pocket and handed them to her. 'Lucy's Place is yours now, Jess, to do with as you will.'
Jessica's mouth dropped open. 'But...but you've already paid me an exorbitant amount of money for it!'
'Call it conscienc
e money.'
She groaned as she saw what lay behind these touching and generous gestures. Not guilt, and not just an ordinary love, but a very great love!
Oh, yes, he had hurt her, but only during a burst of irrational jealousy, and not with coldly deliberate cruelty. His act in not telling her about her real father was not such an unforgivable thing, either, given her father's wicked reputation. He'd probably been trying to protect her.
Jessica had come to terms with her parentage over the past few weeks, especially after a phone call to her legal father revealed he'd found out shortly after her birth that he wasn't her real father. He'd confessed to her that her mother's sick obsession with her sister's husband had been at the core of everything she did.
Her marriage—it had been a mad attempt to make Bill jealous. Her divorce—she'd fantasised Bill would marry her then. And her breakdown after Bill was killed—she'd turned to drink once her reason for living no longer existed.
The truth had not been a pretty story, but there had been a strange comfort in knowing the indisputable facts. Jessica no longer thought about her real father. He wasn't worth thinking about.
As for her mother, she'd been a very weak and self-centred woman. But she'd suffered for her sins. Jessica would not judge her any longer, especially now that she understood the power of love and desire. She looked at Sebastian and thought how much she loved him and how much she wanted him. But did he want her? Did he want to try again? She was afraid he didn't. There was nothing in his bearing or his manner to indicate this visit was an attempt at a reconciliation, just a monetary reparation.
'I don't want your conscience money,' she cried brokenly.
'Then what do you want, Jess?' Sebastian asked just as brokenly. 'Name it and I'll give it to you if I can. It's the least I can do after the way I've treated you.'
Hesitantly, she came round from behind the chair, her heart in her hands as she reached out to him. 'I... I want you, Sebastian,' she croaked. 'Only you.'
He gave a choked cry and gathered her to him, hugging her so tightly she thought she might snap in two.
'Oh, Jess... Jess,' he rasped. 'Do you mean this? You really want me back?'
'For ever and ever, my darling. Life without you has been unbearable. And I do not blame you totally for what happened. I overreacted to everything. I should have stayed and explained. For one thing, Mark, my secretary, is gay. And I should have told you more about myself and my past life, and the men I became involved with. If I'd done that you would have known me better, and you'd never have believed so badly of me. I—'
'Stop!' Sebastian broke in. 'You don't have to explain. Or take any of the blame. In my heart of hearts, I knew all along you weren't promiscuous or cheap. That was a madman talking. I'm not that madman any more, my darling. I swear to you. I'm so sorry for the things I said that day. Please forgive me.'
Her heart melted at his heartfelt apology. 'Of course, I forgive you.'
He shook his head slowly, in awe of her forgiveness. 'I don't deserve you. Dear God, I was in despair after you left, but never more so than when Evie looked at me and said, "Oh Sebastian, what have you done? She loved you. She truly loved you." I knew then what I'd done. I'd driven the woman I loved away. The only woman I'd ever loved. You made what I felt for Sandra nothing but a shallow sickness. I wanted to cut out my tongue for the things I'd said. I wanted to die rather than go on. I almost did die.'
'Oh, Sebastian, don't say such things. I can't bear it.'
'It's true. I stood on the cliffs at Rocky Point and would have cast myself into the sea below if I hadn't remembered something Lucy said to me once. True love doesn't die, Sebastian, she'd said. It can't. It lives, despite everything. It goes on and on and on. It was then that I decided to wait a while, then give myself one last chance of winning you back. I came here expecting nothing, Jess, but hoping... always hoping...'
'I'm so glad you came, Sebastian,' she said, hugging him. 'So very, very glad.'
'I love you, Jess. I love you so much. And to think you are going to give me another chance. I can't express how that makes me feel. So humble. So grateful. So happy. Kiss me, my darling. Kiss me.'
She kissed him and all the pain of the last weeks melted away. The loneliness lifted, and joy seeped in.
'Marry me, Jess,' he proposed. 'Have my children. Live with me for the rest of our lives.'
'I will.'
'You will? You really will?'
'I really will. Only...'
'Only what?' he said, instant worry in his eyes. 'You're not still afraid I want to marry you for tax reasons, are you? Let me assure I don't need to marry you for that. I never did. I bought a half share in a fishing boat and tourist business shortly after I arrived on Norfolk. I'll soon have my own permanent permit, if that's what's worrying you.'
'It's not that, Sebastian.'
'Then what is it?'
Jessica gave him a sheepish look. 'Could you, um, please grow your hair again?'
'You don't like my hair this way?'
'Let's just say I prefer it long. And much as I quite like that suit,' she went on,
'it'll have to go, as well. I mean, if we're going to live on Norfolk Island, then this stuffy attire will never do.'
'You're prepared to give up your job and live on Norfolk Island? You won't be bored? Look, I'm quite prepared to move to Sydney if that's what it takes to make you happy, Jess.'
Jessica smiled. 'Sydney's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here.'
His eyes shone as he pulled her to him again. 'I'll wind up Futurecorp,' he said, his voice strong and steady. 'And we'll go back to Norfolk to live.'
When he went to kiss her again, Jessica pressed her fingers against his mouth. 'Hold it there. What do you mean, wind up Futurecorp? What kind of company is it?'
'A family trust. I started it up donkey's years ago to help out the folks. It holds all my investments, from which I can disperse money to family members each year. Mum and Dad have now passed on, unfortunately, but I've been giving my three older sisters money each year. They seem to have married chronically unemployed men. I thought I might set up individual trust funds for each of them so that they'd be permanently secure, though that will substantially reduce my net worth. Does that bother you at all?'
Jessica pursed her lips. 'Not really. I have plenty of money of my own after some fool paid me twice what Lucy's Place is worth. Still, much as I admire your generosity to your sisters, Sebastian, you seem surprisingly untroubled at giving up most of your fortune. For one who was once poor, that is. Don't forget, I've been there and I know I wouldn't give away most of my money, no matter what I wanted to prove. Is there something I don't know about?'
'Could be.'
'Tell me, you devil, or I'll throttle you.'
'I dare say you might.' He laughed. 'Well, these are the facts, ma'am. Yesterday in New York, my American agent auctioned off my sequel on a synopsis only for four million dollars. Of course, the winning publisher had seen a finished copy of my book. And now Hollywood's entered the fray. I'm sorry, Jess, but I'm destined to remain a rich man no matter what I do.'
For all his dry amusement, Jessica could see a small wariness remained. She reached up to lay a tender hand against his cheek. 'I think I can manage to love you rich as well as poor, my darling,' she said softly. 'I already did, didn't I? And what is money, when all is said and done? It cannot change what is in my heart. I'll love you for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health till death do us part.'
He covered her hand with his and looked deep into her love-filled eyes.
'Lucy was so right, wasn't she? True love doesn't die. It goes on and on and on. Let's not wait long to get married, Jess. I want to start having babies with you as soon as possible.'
Jessica's heart turned right over. Babies. Her own babies, with Sebastian as their father. It was her dream coming true.
'I see no reason to wait for a piece of paper to cement our love, my darl
ing,'
she murmured, and, taking his hand, led him toward the bedroom.
'You know, Sebastian,' she said to him as they lay in each other's arms afterwards, 'I think this was what Aunt Lucy wanted when she put that clause in her will, throwing us together. She wanted us to fall in love and get married and fill her house with babies.'
'I think you could be right, my darling. She was a romantic, your Aunt Lucy.'
'And she was right. We did fall in love. And we are going to get married and fill her house with babies.'
'We certainly are, my darling. It's just a matter of time.'
Their son Tristram was born nine months later to the day. Their daughter Lucy followed fifteen months later. In all, Mr. and Mrs. Sebastian Slade increased the population of Norfolk Island by five. Sebastian's books went on to be international best-sellers. The movies based on his books broke all box-office records. They became very, very rich but it never changed their lifestyle, which remained simple and satisfying. They gave a lot of money away.
Jessica never worked again. At an official job, that is. She was more than fully occupied, with her husband, her children, her home and her garden. Evie continued to cook for them on a casual basis, though she was more friend than employee. They named their second daughter after her. On their tenth wedding anniversary Sebastian took Jessica around the world. She enjoyed the trip but she was more than happy to come home. She loved Norfolk Island more than any place on earth, though not as much as she loved her husband. Home, she realised, was wherever he was. He was her love and her life. He knew it, and treasured her accordingly.