Swansea Destiny

by Fayrene Preston

  "Sir? There was a telephone call just now. I took the liberty of accepting the message."

  "Not now, Marlon." He didn't understand how he could feel so numb, yet at the same time feel so much pain, so much anguish.

  "Sir, the call was from the hospital in Boston, and I'm sorry to have to inform you that your father, Mr. Edward Deverell, died thirty minutes ago."

  Edward was buried in the large, elaborate crypt he had had prepared for himself on land he had set aside for the Deverell family cemetery. Jake and Arabella stood silently while a priest Jake didn't know read words he didn't hear.

  Later in the day, he, Arabella, and Vanessa stood by Lucas's grave. Vanessa had chosen the site—a small hill with the sea in the distance and fields of wildflowers all around. Arabella had brought flowers from the greenhouse and the gardens, enough to completely cover the fresh mound of dirt under which Lucas lay and more. After the priest left, Jake and Vanessa each said a few quiet words about the man they had loved so much, yet in different ways.

  After that, time blurred for Jake. He was barely aware of everyday events.

  His pain never left him. It settled into his chest and his stomach to become a part of him. He now had more power and money than most people dared to dream of. But it all meant nothing.

  Edward was gone—Edward his father, Edward his enemy. And Lucas was gone, the man who had been closer to him than any brother could have been. Lucas, his partner through the bad times as well as the good. Lucas, day to his night.

  He did no work, he made no decisions. He drifted in a haze of guilt and grief. The only real effort he made was to try his best to comfort Vanessa. But he knew even while he was trying that he was failing miserably. How could he offer her comfort when he had no comfort for himself?

  Fortunately no one seemed to expect anything of him.

  Fortunately there was Arabella.

  She took care of both him and Vanessa, coming to them with whatever it was they needed even before they were aware of what it was. Whether she brought a warm sweater, a tempting meal, a quiet, comforting word, or just her presence, Jake knew he wouldn't have been able to go on living without her.

  "It's time," Vanessa suddenly said one afternoon as she sat in the lawn chair next to his.

  "Time for what?" Jake asked, his gaze by habit fixed on the sea before him.

  "It's time I go back to California."

  He looked at her in surprise. "You can't do that. It's too soon."

  "It's been almost a month, Jake."

  "It's the damned studio, isn't it? They've been pestering you."

  "No, not at all. As a matter of fact, they've been most understanding." Her lovely mouth took on a sarcastic shape. "They think that last movie I did is going to make me a star, and they've held the next one for me." She paused. "You know, it's funny—I've worked for years to become a full-fledged star, and now that it's about to happen, I simply don't care."

  He completely understood. "Then why are you going back?"

  "I need to work, Jake. I need to get busy and stay busy or I'm afraid I'll go mad." She angled her body so that she could see him better. "And, Jake, so will you if you don't do the same."

  "Do you honestly think work will help?" His tone was flat, tired.

  "I don't know—sometimes I think nothing will ever help again, sometimes I think I'll never feel safe again—but I think we've got to at least try." When he didn't say anything, she went on. "Jake, listen to me. Lucas was miserable out in California, unable to find out anything that was happening here until after it happened. He would call you every name in the book, but then with his next breath he would say he should have stayed with you. Jake, you didn't ask him to return. He came back because he couldn't stand not being by your side when you went after Wade."

  He shook his head, rejecting completely what she was saying. "I should never have decided to go after Wade in the first place. If I hadn't—"

  "If you hadn't, Lucas would have. He was so sure going on the offensive was the right thing to do. Grieve for Lucas. Remember him. But don't for a minute feel guilty."

  "I don't know…"

  "It wasn't your fault, Jake. Believe me. Lucas loved two people in the world—you and me. And he'd be mad as hell now if he knew the beating you've been giving yourself." She chuckled. "And he'd also be furious with me if he knew I'd waited so long to tell you all this. It's just that… I've had my own grieving to do."

  He reached for her hand. "You never have to explain to me, honey."

  She smiled. "I know."

  His forehead creased. "I still don't like the idea of you going back. You're not eating, and you'll be out there all alone."

  "I'll be all right. I'll have my work, and now I have Lucas's businesses and property to manage."

  "If you need help—"

  "I'll call, and I'll expect lots of telephone calls from you too."

  "Will you eat?"

  "I'll try. Just like I'll be trying to do everything else. And first break I get, I'll come back to visit."

  "If you don't, I'll come get you myself." At that moment something made Jake look over his shoulder. In the distance he saw Arabella, coming toward them, the two peacocks following her as if they were little lambs. She was wearing a gossamer dress of white, her arms were filled with white flowers, and she seemed surrounded by light. And suddenly he was shaken by the power and force of his love for her.

  Vanessa was right. It was time to turn his back on the bitterness of the past and begin again. He looked back at her. "You'll be coming back sooner than you think."

  "Why's that?"

  "Because Arabella and I will be getting married."

  Vanessa smiled. "For that, my darling, I will even fly."

  The curtains fluttered and drifted on the night's ocean breeze. Moonlight spilled like liquid through the doors and, along with the Tiffany bedside lamps, provided the room a soft illumination. Jake leaned back against the pillows, watching Arabella. It wasn't that she was doing anything special—she was picking up here, rearranging there—but to him her every move was enchanting and wonderful.

  Arabella sensed his gaze on her and couldn't help but think that tonight he seemed different. He seemed to have a level of energy that he had lacked in the last month, and she prayed he was finally coming out of his depression over Lucas's death. "Are you sad because Vanessa is leaving in the morning?"

  "Yes, but I understand why she has to go." He paused. "I've made a few decisions of my own."

  The silk hose she had just retrieved from the back of a chair slipped from her fingers. "I'm not sure I'm going to like what you're about to say. If you're planning on going after Wade Scalia again—"

  "Yes and no. Come here."

  Uneasy at his answer, she went to him and perched on the edge of the bed beside him. "Yes and no?"

  "There is no way this thing between Wade and me is going to end simply. I know now that he's not going to stop until he kills me. It may not be tomorrow. It may not even be next year. But one of these days, he's going to try to kill me."

  "But you haven't heard anything from him in weeks."

  "That's not quite true. He's been as active as ever, trying to stop my shipments and steal my customers. I simply haven't told you. But I've finally reached the point where I've got to do something. And I'm sure he'll be waiting for me. He expects me to try to seek revenge." He shook his head. "But I can't employ the tactics that he's used up to now, not again I can't. First of all because it would make me no better than he is, and secondly, because if I took one wrong step, I'd be dead."

  "Then what are you going to do?"

  "I'm going to take your advice and go to the government. Before dinner I placed a call to a Treasury agent I know named Noah Calloway. I told him I'll be coming to Boston tomorrow and I want to see him."

  "Jake, that's wonderful."

  "Don't be too happy yet, honey. Noah is going to want to use me in some way to get Wade."

  "But at least you'll h
ave government protection." She thought for a moment. "You'll also have to give up your bootlegging. Have you considered that?"

  "I'll be more than happy to give it up. My men have been keeping the operation going the last month, not me. They're good men. As soon as I talk to Noah, I'll pay them off and try to find them other jobs." He paused. "After this is all over, I want us to be married." He paused again as a sudden jab of insecurity hit him. "You did say yes, didn't you?"

  "Oh, yes," she said, smiling. "I did. But, Jake, you never explained… For months you were adamantly opposed to marriage. What made you change your mind?"

  He exhaled a long breath. "How can I tell you this without making myself sound like a fool? I really don't think there's any way. The truth is, Edward wanted grandchildren more than anything else in the world. He wanted Deverells to carry on what he had begun."

  Her expression slowly changed to one of astonishment. "You mean your decisions were based on a wish to thwart your father?"

  He nodded. "I was so foolish, Arabella. Edward, however grudgingly, gave me a heritage. But I was reckless—with the heritage, with SwanSea, and with myself. I used this house like a child would a playground, and in the end brought violence to it. I also put myself in danger." He reached out and touched a lock of her hair, but his dark gaze stayed on her. "If I had continued as I was going, our future would have been over before it started, and without us SwanSea would have become nothing more than a big, empty, lonely place. There would have been no one to carry on, no children or grandchildren for us to love and to teach what I've learned. But now I see SwanSea as a place where I belong, a place that is a home and where you and I can raise a family."

  Her eyes filled with tears and she didn't bother to blink them away. "Jake, you're amazing."

  "You're the one who's amazing, staying with me through everything. I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough."

  "Having you is the only thank-you I need. You've fulfilled my every wish, my every secret desire."

  "And I intend to continue doing that for as long as we both live." He pressed a soft, reverent kiss to her lips, a fitting seal to a vow made in love. "I have a present for you. It's the last present I tried to give you on Valentine's Day." He pulled a small, slim, black velvet jewelry box from the drawer of the nightstand.

  "I remember that box. You never showed me what was in it."

  He grinned crookedly. "Because you rejected it out of hand." He flipped up the top of the box and held it out to her. "I hope you'll accept it now." A large, perfect, heart-shaped, golden-hued diamond glimmered against the black velvet and hung from a delicate golden rope. "On some level even then I knew you were my heart."

  Without a word she lifted the heart from the box and gave it to him.

  His hands shook as he fastened the necklace around her neck, then he brought her down to the bed with him and made love to her with a tenderness that was entirely new to him and a joy he had never even dared to imagine.

  Chapter 14

  An early childhood bout of smallpox had left Wade Scalia's face with scars that as he had grown older gave him a vaguely sinister look women found wildly attractive—especially when he grinned as he was doing now. "Jake, how nice of you to call. I've been wanting to tell you how sorry I was to hear about Lucas. Damned shame, but my men were expecting someone else. If you'd have let us know you were coming, we would have given you a warmer reception."

  "I believe you. You would have shot me instead of Lucas."

  Wade laughed. "Not really. At least not yet. I don't have what I want yet, and getting your territory from anyone but you just wouldn't be the same."

  "Then I'm about to make you a very happy man. I want to make a deal."

  Wade kicked back in his chair and swung his feet up on the desk, prepared to enjoy the bargaining. "What kind of deal?"

  "A very good one actually—for you. I'm ready to hand my territory over to you lock, stock, and barrel."

  "In return for what?"

  "A percentage of your business, a very small percentage for five years. But I do feel I should get something out of the deal. What I'll be giving you is extremely lucrative."

  Wade's fingers flexed on the base of the telephone handset as his mind raced. "How much do you want?"

  "Oh, say, five percent."

  "No. One percent for four years."

  "Three percent."

  "Two percent for two years and that's my final offer."

  Jake was silent for a moment. "AH right, but on one condition. I want to see your books so I'll know what I'll be getting."

  His grin reappeared. "What's the matter, Jake, don't you trust me?"

  "I won't even bother to answer that one."

  Wade paused. "Why are you doing this, Jake?"

  "I'm tired of having my possessions blown up. I'm also tired of the business. With Lucas gone, it's no fun anymore. And then there's the fact that now that Edward Deverell has died, my responsibilities within the Deverell organization will be increasing."

  "You're one lucky bastard, you know that, Jake? You've got all the money in the world, plus all those society types fawning over you. I hear you even have a society babe of your own. And you got that house that everyone talks about. Tell me something, Jake. Now that we're going to be partners—and that's definitely what we'll be since I don't show my books to anyone but a partner—will I get an invite to your house for one of those swanky parties?"

  "As long as you leave Ram and Barton at home," Jake drawled.

  Wade laughed, pleased. "Then I guess all that's left is for us to set up a meeting. How about three o'clock this afternoon at the old Dracini warehouse down on the river. I own it now. Come alone and bring your books."

  "Fine. Just make sure you do the same." Jake dropped the receiver into its hook and looked at Arabella. "I think he bought it."

  "You're not sure?"

  "I'm pretty sure. He would have been suspicious if I hadn't asked for a percentage in return for the territory, because it's what he would have done. And I knew the idea of being partners with me, even in a small way, would appeal to his ego, at least momentarily." He chuckled. "He evens wants an invitation to SwanSea."

  "No! I wouldn't have that man in our home!"

  He reached out a long arm and brought her to him. "Say those last two words again."

  She smiled and went soft against him. "Our home."

  "I like the way you say that," he murmured, and pressed a warm kiss to her mouth. "Now, you're not to worry about Wade. If everything goes according to plan this afternoon, he's going to be in jail by evening."

  "I wish you hadn't said if."

  "I thought I just told you not to worry." He tried to adopt a stern expression, failed, and instead gave her a smile. "I'll tell you what, I have to call Noah to let him in on the plans, but afterward you and I are going shopping."

  "For what?" she asked surprised.

  "For chairs for our home."

  Arabella clapped her hands together with delight at the sight of the carved Brazilian rosewood chairs. "Elise, I'm so happy you didn't sell the chairs."

  Elise arched one perfectly penciled brow. "I kept them here in the shop as conversation pieces. Their carving is so unique. I really never had any intention of selling them"—her eyes glimmered at Jake—"unless, of course, someone came along and offered me a handsome price for them."

  With a wry grin Jake reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a checkbook. "Which I am prepared to do."

  "Darling, you've always been so generous to me."

  Arabella gazed around the store, wondering if Elise would like a saucer of cream to go along with that purring tone she used whenever she spoke to Jake. The woman was disgusting! Still she had to admit, however grudgingly, that if the pieces of furniture Elise had for sale were anything to go by, she had good taste. Casting a surreptitious glance at Elise and Jake, she saw them laughing quietly together. "Jake, there's a woman out on the sidewalk selling flowers.
I'm going out to buy some."

  About to sign the check, Jake glanced over his shoulder at her. "Fine. I'll be right out." He finished the check and handed it to Elise. "I think that should take care of any heartbreak you may suffer over the loss of the chairs."

  Elise stole a discreet look at the amount and beamed. "If I can ever do anything else for you, I hope you won't hesitate to ask."

  He saw Arabella through the window, standing out on the sidewalk, two bouquets of daisies in her hand. She looked like a flower herself in a pale yellow frock made up of tiers of lace that floated downward to a hem slightly longer in the back than in the front. Her pumps had been dyed the same color, and a matching lace cloche covered her lovely hair. If he lived forever, he thought, he would never stop marveling over the miracle of Arabella. "Thank you, Elise, but I don't believe so."

  As he started toward the door of the shop he saw a black Packard pull up with Barton at the wheel. With pounding heart Jake broke into a run, but before he could get his hand on the doorknob, Ram jumped out and pushed Arabella into the car. By the time Jake reached the curb, the black Packard had disappeared around the corner. On the sidewalk lay two bouquets of daisies.

  Jake grimly shifted his account books from one arm to the other and gazed up at the warehouse. The big, run-down structure reminded him of the warehouse in Upstate New York. Only Lucas wasn't with him this time. And he was wiser now and under no illusions as to what was about to happen. Wade was going to try to kill him.

  But he had had to come. Arabella was inside, and he would do whatever he had to do to save her. Even die.

  He had called Noah and lied to him, telling him the meeting had been put off until the next day. He had hated the lying, but he knew that if Wade got so much as a whiff of a T-man, he would kill Arabella.

  He started toward the warehouse.

  Inside the door he found a note stuck to the wall. It read: Take the stairs. The stairs led to a railed passageway that hugged the four sides of the warehouse. And at the end of the passageway to his right, Arabella sat tied and gagged in a chair, her golden eyes full of fear and tears.