Swansea Destiny

by Fayrene Preston

  "Where? In your hotel?" With a shake of her head she freed herself of his hold.

  He hadn't thought that far ahead, but an answer came quickly. "We'll get a house, anywhere you want. You can pick it out and decorate it. It will be yours."

  She sighed. "Jake, I don't want to talk about this now. There's plenty of time—"

  "Arabella, I have to know."

  "You're asking that I live with you openly in Boston. Can you imagine how much that would hurt my parents? My friends? You're asking me to let everyone know I've become your mistress. Can you even begin to understand what that means?"

  Mistress. The word struck into his heart like a cold, dull knife. Edward had made his mother his mistress.

  "No. It isn't like that with us."

  "What would make it different?"

  "Because I would never, under any circumstances, leave you."

  "No? Not even if I became pregnant? You're adamant about not having children, Jake. There've been only a couple of times when you've forgotten to use something. We've been lucky so far, but what if, during one of those times we slip up, I become pregnant?"

  He was unable to give a quick answer to her question. It was too complicated, too tangled, too twisted.

  He silently cursed, both for the vulnerability he saw in her eyes and because there was nothing he could do to help her. He needed her too much. He gripped her upper arms and pulled her closer to him. "I'm a selfish bastard, Arabella. There's probably nothing redeeming in me. And to answer your first question, yes, I do understand what I'm asking. And I'm still asking."

  She closed her eyes for a moment. Truthfully she had made her decision that day in late February when she had climbed in her plane and flown to SwanSea. Since that day her love had only increased to the point that she didn't see how she could live without him. Her answer was already set in her heart, but the moment she agreed aloud to the life he wanted, she immediately would have a great deal of pain with which to deal, and she kept wanting to put off that final, ultimate decision. "You're giving up nothing, Jake. You're asking me to make all the sacrifices."

  "I said I was a selfish bastard. But, Arabella, I'll do anything you want, be anything you want."

  "Except you won't marry me, and we can never have children. And you won't explain why. I do understand that right, don't I?"

  A muscle flexed along his jawline. He nodded.

  Arabella eyed him with resignation. Whatever Jake's reasons were for not wanting to marry or have children, his mind couldn't be changed. All at once she realized that her head as well as her heart was hurting. "Jake, we're at an impasse on this. You're not willing to give in, and right now I'm not prepared to."

  "Then when?"

  "I'll make my decision when I'm ready to and not before."

  With a muffled oath he drew her into his arms. "I'm sorry. I know I'm pushing you, but I can't seem to stop from trying."

  All of a sudden a violent explosion out at sea sent flames shooting high into the air.

  Without thought Jake pushed Arabella down and covered her with his body. Then he looked up slowly. "Dammit, he bombed the cottage!"

  "Who?" she asked, bewildered. "What cottage?"

  Quickly he sized up the situation. The burning alcohol had created a maelstrom of fire that no doubt could be seen for miles against the darkening sky. But the two of them were safe, thank heaven. He sat up, allowing Arabella to do the same. "There's a cottage out on the island. That's what's burning."

  "I didn't know there was a cottage out there. You can't see it from here."

  "I know." His tone was grim. "But it's there. My men just offloaded a shipment out there last night. It was to be picked up tonight."

  "What?"

  "Canadian whiskey," he said absently, still staring at the fire.

  Arabella stared at him, absolutely stunned. "You're using SwanSea for your bootlegging operations?"

  The shock in her voice finally registered with him. "Just the island, but there's nothing to worry about." He surged to his feet, reached for her hand, and pulled her up.

  "Is there anyone out there?"

  "None of my men are, and I'm sure the men who did it took off straight out to sea."

  "What about the fire?"

  "Let it burn."

  "Jake—"

  "Please, Arabella, let's talk about this later. For now I've got to get back to the house. There are a few local authorities I need to telephone so there won't be any panic about the fire."

  From a third-story window Kenneth gazed out at the red-orange flames that burned against the mauve sky and the slate-gray sea. And he felt sick to his stomach. If for some reason Arabella had taken it into her head to go out to the island in one of Jake's motor-boats for a picnic, she would be dead now. And it would be his fault.

  The fourth-floor grandfather clock struck eleven, but Arabella was concentrating so hard on Jake, she barely heard the chimes. "Prohibition may be a stupid law, Jake, but it is a law, and there is no justification for what you're doing. You need neither the money nor the glory. Stop it now before something is broken or destroyed that your money can't replace."

  Jake sighed and leaned his head against the back of the chair. He had made the necessary calls, then come upstairs to find Arabella pacing the length of his private sitting room. "I don't understand what you're so upset about," he said, following her agitated movements around the room with his eyes. He was reminded of Lucas and the way he paced when he was upset, and he wished to heaven that Lucas were there. "You've known for a while now that I was involved in boodegging."

  "Yes, I've known. But it wasn't part of our lives until now. Do you know who did it?"

  "Oh, yes. Wade Scalia."

  "Wade Sc—my Lord!" She gazed at him in horror. "Vanessa told me that you all had known him in the North End when you were kids. Jake, he's a feared man now."

  "Yeah, so I understand."

  "Jake, that cottage could just as well have been SwanSea."

  "But it wasn't. And I'm glad that damned cottage burned. I should have burned it down a long time ago."

  Surprise halted Arabella. "For heaven sake, why?"

  "Because, Arabella, it was where I was conceived."

  "I don't understand. How could you have been conceived here at SwanSea?"

  "Quite the usual way, I assure you." The words were sharp-edged and bitter. "Think about it for a minute."

  Edward was Jake's real father. Another piece of the puzzle snapped into place for Arabella, and she sank to the floor in front of him.

  "Edward's wife had been dead for less than a year when he met my mother. She was a young widow, poor but pretty." He smiled to himself. "When I was a little boy, I used to think there was no one prettier. Anyway, I'm not even sure how they met, perhaps by accident. Apparently"—his tone turned sarcastic—"he was instantly smitten and swept her off her feet. But he didn't consider her good enough to marry, or, I might add, good enough to bring to SwanSea. So he built the cottage, and for about a year Mother stayed out in that cottage while they carried on their affair. To this day, Mother refuses to set foot in SwanSea, and I can't say that I blame her."

  "So to show your disdain for Edward and the place he used to meet with your mother, you decided to use the cottage to stash illegal booze?"

  "I thought it would be both fitting and ironic, but it was also very convenient."

  "And since Edward also refused to conduct an illicit affair here, you decided it would be a grand place to carry on an affair with me."

  "Hey," he said softly. "You have nothing to do with what's between Edward and me."

  "Don't I? I did in the beginning, though, didn't I? That was what that very public courtship was all about, wasn't it? In some way you were trying to get back at Edward."

  He exhaled a long breath. "It seems like a long time ago, Arabella. I deeply regret what I did, and if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't. You've got to believe that."

  She wasn't sure why, but she did. "
Are you going to stop the bootlegging?"

  He shook his head. "I can't now. If I did, I would be caving in to Wade's pressure."

  "So what?"

  He stared at her, thinking that sometimes she was the only thing in his world that made any sense at all.

  A knock sounded at the door.

  Jake briefly closed his eyes. He couldn't remember when he had felt so tired. "Come in."

  Kenneth opened the door and walked in, looking pale and shaky. "I hope I'm not disturbing you, but there's something I have to tell you."

  Alarmed, Arabella rose from the floor. "What's wrong?"

  "This is really between Jake and me, honey." The movement of his mouth was meant as a smile of apology. "Would you mind giving us some privacy?"

  "If this involves you and Jake, it involves me. I'm staying."

  Jake nodded in agreement. "She should stay. She's been worried about you, and I hope you're going to tell us what's been bothering you. Maybe I can help."

  Sadness scored Kenneth's face as he shook his head. "No, and after hearing what I have to say, you won't want to help either. Jake, I'm responsible for what happened out on the island this evening."

  "But that's impossible!" Arabella exclaimed. "Jake said Wade Scalia's responsible."

  "Yeah, that's right. But how do you think he knew when the shipment would be there? Jake keeps very neat notes, and he never locks his study."

  She gasped, and her hand flew to her mouth.

  Jake didn't move from his chair. "Is that why you came and asked to stay?"

  "Yes."

  "And were you also responsible for a shipment being hijacked New Year's Day?"

  Ashamed, but determined to confess everything, Kenneth nodded. "Yes. While everyone was out on the terrace watching the fireworks display, I slipped into your study, found the information, and telephoned Wade. I charged the call to my private line at home."

  Arabella's legs gave way, and she sank back to the floor by Jake.

  Jake lay his hand on her shoulder, thinking that if Kenneth weren't Arabella's brother, he would tear him limb from limb. Instead, he felt his weariness increasing and rubbed his eyes. "You'd better tell me everything."

  "As you probably know, Wade has established a headquarters of sorts in a hotel he owns in Boston."

  "Yeah, I know about it."

  "So does every law enforcement official in town. But he has most of the local and state officials in his pocket, and for the few he doesn't and who come nosing around from time to time, he has a system of clearing the place in sixty seconds flat. The first floor is a saloon, the second and third floors are gambling, and the fourth floor is girls for—" He broke off with a glance at Arabella. "At any rate, I lost a great deal of money there last fall."

  Arabella shook her head in bewilderment. "But when we were here together over New Year's, you told me that you would be able to pay your debt off as soon as you returned to Boston."

  "At the time, that's what I thought, but I hadn't counted on the surprise interest Wade would charge me." He felt like crawling into a hole, but his gaze never faltered from Jake's. "Wade told me that if I was able to get him information about your shipments while I was here New Year's, he would cancel my debt. At first I fought against the idea, and I tried all sorts of things to come up with the money."

  "I offered you money," Arabella said, still unable to believe Kenneth would do something so contemptible.

  "Pretty twisted honor, huh, Bella?" His tone was filled with self-loathing. "I wasn't willing to take money from my sister, but I was willing to betray a friend, a friend in whose home I was a guest."

  His gaze returned to Jake. "There are no excuses for what I did. I'm just telling you how it came about." Jake's face was expressionless as he nodded. And Kenneth found himself wishing Jake would yell at him, hit him, something—anything but stare at him with those black stone eyes that hid what he was feeling. "Anyway, I thought everything was settled, but when I got back, Wade contacted me and made sure I knew he would require more 'favors' to cancel out the interest. He's an evil man, Jake. And he pushed me into a corner—he not only threatened Arabella, but Mother and Father as well. It's why I've been so wild to get Arabella away from here. I knew that sooner or later he'd come after you, and I didn't want her hurt."

  There was silence in the room. Then Jake moved, standing up and walking over to a sideboard to pour himself a glass of Scotch. He took a healthy swallow and waited, letting the golden liquid slide down his throat and into his stomach with a burning that was almost cleansing. But his anger wouldn't be cleansed away—his anger at Wade, at Kenneth, at a situation that would put Arabella in danger. "What made you tell us after all this time, Kenneth?"

  "I never knew if the information I gave Wade on New Year's was acted upon. I just made the call, then shut my mind to the consequences. This evening I saw with my own eyes the destruction I had caused, and I realized that no matter how much information I came up with, Wade will never let me off the hook. I can't begin to tell you how badly I felt watching the cottage burn or how sorry I am."

  Jake stared down at the Scotch in his hand. "I wish you'd told me all of this sooner."

  Because he wanted to hang his head, Kenneth lifted his chin a notch higher than usual. "I was too ashamed."

  Arabella sprang up from the floor and went to her brother. "We'll fly back to Boston tomorrow, I'll arrange for you to have all the money you need from my accounts, and then you can pay Wade Scalia off once and for all."

  "Wrong," Jake said quietly. "Well all three drive back, and the money will come from me. But, Kenneth, you will pay Wade off."

  The next evening in Jake's hotel suite, Arabella glanced at the diamond watch on her wrist for the tenth time in as many minutes. "Kenneth has been gone three hours."

  Three hours and nine minutes, Jake thought grimly. "The amount of time he's been gone is not necessarily significant. Now, why don't you try to eat something." With a nod he indicated the dinner that had been brought up several minutes before.

  "I couldn't eat a thing, but you should."

  "No," he said softly. "I'll wait for you."

  Tears rushed to her eyes. Those words deserved more happiness than she could give at the moment. She brushed her tears away. "I'm sorry for being such a worrier."

  "You have nothing to apologize for, Arabella."

  "But because of Kenneth—"

  "Kenneth has less to do with this than you or Kenneth think. This is between Wade and me, and no one else."

  "Then paying off Kenneth's debt won't accomplish a thing." She nervously fingered the long rope of pearls she was wearing.

  "Yes, it will. It will keep you and your family safe."

  A knock sounded faintly at the door. "Good," Jake said, striding across the room, "this may be your brother now. He opened the door, and Kenneth collapsed against him, bloodied and beaten."

  Arabella gasped. "Oh, my Lord!"

  Jake half carried Kenneth to the sofa and laid him down, then proceeded to assess his wounds, swiftly running his hands over his body. Kenneth's nose had been broken; his face was swollen, and blood seeped from gashes. He leaned closer to him. "Do you know if anything's broken besides your nose?"

  "A few ribs…" Kenneth tried to smile, but grimaced at the pain. "Wade didn't want the money, Jake."

  Arabella came down beside the couch and reached for her brother's hand. "Wade Scalia's an abomination!" Her voice shook with her fury. "Call the police, Jake. We'll have him arrested."

  "Was Wade anywhere around when you were beaten up?" Jake asked Kenneth.

  "No." His breathing was labored, his words halted. "We had our little chat… then these two men—I had never seen them before—took me out in the alley."

  "There'd be no case, then."

  Arabella gently and comfortingly stroked her brother's hand, but her eyes blazed with anger as she looked at Jake. "Why would that man do such a thing?"

  Jake's expression was grim. "It's a message
for me, right, Kenneth? Wade is telling me it's my territory or nothing."

  "That's right," Kenneth said, closing his eyes. "By the way… I came up the back way… no one saw me."

  "Don't worry about being seen, or anything else, for that matter," Jake said, rising. "I'm going to get you help."

  He made a series of phone calls to a few select employees of the Deverell Corporation, sidestepping the old-guard employees who had worked for Edward for years and going to men whom he himself had hired.

  In a little over an hour Kenneth had been seen to by one of the best doctors in Boston and taken to a private hospital.

  "What are you going to do about Wade Scalia, Jake?" Arabella asked when they were alone again.

  Jake leaned his hand against the mantel and stared absently at the empty hearth. "I don't know. He wants me to give up the territory Lucas and I have or he wants war. I can't seem to do either."

  "And it seems so simple to me. Give him the damned territory!"

  Slowly he shook his head. "Besides the fact that I don't easily give up things that are mine, there's something else. Wade's power would increase tenfold if I were to hand over the operation to him. He'd have the whole of New England."

  "So? At least you'd be out of it."

  "I wonder," he said thoughtfully. "I wonder if he'd really ever let me out of it." He looked over at her, where she was sitting on the couch. "As soon as the doctor says Kenneth is able, I'm going to send him to a ranch I have in California. I've never even been there, but I understand it's nice. Several years ago Lucas bought it for me." He grinned, remembering. "He said it was an investment for my soul. At any rate, it will be the perfect place for Kenneth to recover, and I want you to go with him."

  If she'd given the matter some thought, Arabella reflected, she could have predicted this. She eyed him calmly. "After all the times you've asked me to stay, now you're asking me to leave?"

  "I don't want to, believe me, but your safety is involved."

  She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. "The answer is no. I won't go."

  Jake walked over to the sofa and came down beside her. "Don't be stubborn about this, Arabella. I want you somewhere I know you'll be safe."