Melissa had been vibrantly aware of him the instant he had opened the door, and she had been mortified at the leap her heart had given when their eyes had met. She should dislike him; after all, wasn't he the cause of one of the most humiliating moments of her life? He was, she thought waspishly, arrogant and far too sure of himself. He was also the most fascinatingly appealing man she had ever encountered.
She was beset by a volatile concoction of attraction, rage, resentment and tingling excitement just being in the same room with him. Mutinously, she tried to deny feeling anything but wrath and bitterness toward him, and Dominic made it childishly simple for her when he made his presumptuous statement about the date of the wedding. Outraged that he and Royce had arbitrarily decided upon her wedding date without even so much as a by-yourleave, Melissa flashed him a look filled with golden fire and snapped, "I believe that the bride should at least be consulted about the date of her wedding!"
Reading the signs of the impending explosion clearly, Josh said in a nervous tone of voice, "There, there, my dear. I'm sure that your, er, bridegroom meant no discourtesy. "
Watching interestedly the various expressions that chased themselves across Melissa's revealing face, Dom inic suggested mockingly, "Perhaps my bride has a better time in mind? I should warn you, however, that the sooner we are married the less likely there is to be any scandal from this evening's affair. None of us intends to speak of it, but even the best-kept secret has a way of revealing itself when least expected. The middle of August is far enough away not to cause too much speculation about our, ah, sudden desire to marry, yet far enough away to allow us time to notify all our friends and relatives."
There was much sense in what Dominic said, but the middle of August was too terrifyingly near for Melissa to accept with equanimity. Though she argued vehemently against the middle of August, it was to no avail, Josh ending the discussion by saying exasperatedly, "Melissa, this is no ordinary marriage! We are trying to avert a possible scandal here, and you will marry on the sixteenth of August. "
Impaled by three pairs of eyes, Melissa bowed her tawny head, the frightening sensation of having no control over her own life sweeping through her. Blinking back angry tears, she got out in a muffled voice, "Very well. The sixteenth of August."
There was such obvious unhappiness and despair in her tone that Dominic found himself strangely moved. Instinctively, he walked across the room to stand beside her and reached for one of her cold hands, holding it in his warm fingers. She glanced up at him in surprise, and when those incredible topaz eyes met his, he felt his pulse accelerate. Huskily he murmured, "The circumstances of our marriage may not be the most fortuitous, but if we both try, perhaps something good will come of it." Slanting her a crooked grin, he added, "I will attempt to be a reasonable husband, and if you will meet me halfway, I believe that we can rub along tolerably well together."
It wasn't the most romantic statement, but it gave Melissa a feeling of hope, a feeling that they might just contrive to find, if not the bliss her heart yearned for, that at least they could live together peaceably. A tremulous little smile flitted across her generous mouth and she said softly, "I shall try . . . but I do not think that it will be easy for either one of us."
Dominic cocked a black eyebrow. "But then," he drawled wryly, "nothing that is worth anything ever comes without effort. Sometimes it requires a great deal of effort. "
Melissa slowly nodded, and Josh decided sagely that it would be wise to bring an end to the evening while they were still talking to each other.
"See there, my dear," he said heartily, "I told you everything would work out for the best. Now come along, we must get you home as soon as possible."
It was in a state of numbness that Melissa accepted Zachary's elated congratulations the next day when the Manchester family arrived with Dominic, and Josh made the announcement. She knew she smiled and nodded her head at the appropriate moments, and she knew she appeared to listen alertly as plans were made and discussed, but none of it seemed real; it all might have been happening to someone else. Even that evening when a servant from the inn delivered a note to her from Latimer, she could only stare at it blankly, unable to comprehend his angry threats. It didn't matter anymore-nothing mattered anymore; in a matter of weeks she would be married to a man she barely knew, and Latimer's threats paled to insignificance in the face of that fact. Almost without being aware that she did it, she wrote him a reply, telling him of her engagement and that he would get his money soon enough.
In the weeks that followed, she was increasingly thankful for her seeming inability to feel anything but indifference to everything that was happening around her. Comfortably cushioned by this sense of unreality, she listened with detachment to Zachary explaining excitedly how Dominic was forwarding him a large sum of money so that some repairs and refurbishing of the house could be completed before the wedding.
His eyes sparkling with delight, Zachary stated, "I'll tell you this, Lissa-I'm damned glad you're marrying him-he's a great gun! He said that since the trust will be ending in just a few months now, he saw no reason he couldn't advance me enough money to start getting things in order. I'm especially happy that on your wedding day, with all our friends and family gathered here, you won't be ashamed of your home."
Deep within herself she was conscious of a prick of resentment-she had never been ashamed of her home! How dare this, this intruder put such thoughts in Zachary's head! But the feeling passed in an instant, and she merely smiled vaguely at Zachary and wandered down to the stables. The stables these days seemed to be the only place where she could gain any sense of reality, and with the army of workmen whom Dominic had helped Zachary hire swarming all over the main house, it wasn't surprising that she escaped to the serenity of the place she loved best.
Nothing seemed to touch her greatly. She could listen unmoved to Aunt Sally's and Frances' happy chatter about the coming nuptials; she could be easily persuaded that a wedding gown of sheer Indian muslin embroidered with silver thread would be most attractive; she could view without flinching the growing horde of gifts and missives of well-wishers that began arriving at Willowglen once the invitations of her coming marriage had been sent. She seemed to glide effortlessly through it all, smiling at the correct time, inclining her head politely when needed and generally managing to convince everyone that she was a young lady dazed by love and her sudden, unexpected good fortune.
Yet as the date of the marriage drew nearer, the cocoon of numbness that had been wrapped protectively around her began to unravel, and there were increasing moments as the second week of August sped by that she would wake in the night, filled with a feeling of despair. The wedding day was no longer weeks away; it was now only a matter of days until she would be married to Dominic Slade, and she was finding it harder and harder to pretend that this was happening to someone else-more and more difficult to tell herself that she would soon wake from this particularly vivid nightmare and discover that everything was just as it had been before that fateful night.
It became more impossible to pretend otherwise as the changes the horde of workmen produced began to near completion. The house and its furnishings were no longer shabby and worn; the exterior glistened with several coats of white paint, the fan-shaped windows and doors were trimmed in a delicate green shade, and inside . . . Inside, luxurious window coverings of velvet and damask hung against the windows, newly arrived carpets now lay upon the recently refinished floors, and the walls and ceilings glowed softly in newly painted shades of pale blue and peach. There were even some new pieces of furniture which had only a few days before arrived from New Orleans, and the once-tattered lawns and shrubs were now meticulously and tidily trimmed and scythed. Willowglen was rapidly being restored to the state it had been in Jeffery Seymour's time, and though Melissa was conscious of a slight sensation of indignation that it was at her expense that all this was happening, deep within her heart she could not but be happy for Zachary, happy for all t
he inhabitants of Willowglen. At least, she thought moodily, her foolishness had brought some good.
Yet even Latimer had been paid his beastly moneyDominic had very graciously paid her the gold on the date he had promised. It had given her a wrench to realize that Folly was no longer solely hers, but she had also been conscious of the lifting of a great burden when she had sat down with Mr. Smithfield and made arrangements for her father's final debt to be paid in full. Fortunately, Mr. Smithfield had handled everything for her and she had not been forced to actually give Latimer the money herself, which was just as well-she might have scratched his eyes out!
Yet even with the debt paid, she had the uneasy feeling that she had not heard the last of it. There had been that peculiar expression on Dominic's face when he had paid her the money, almost as if he had found her eager acceptance of it distasteful. She had made no mention of what she intended to do with it, and she wondered if Dominic thought that she was being unduly greedy-he was to be her husband and perhaps he had assumed that she would not press him for the money. But she had, and the unpleasant idea had occurred to her that mayhap all she had done was change one debt for another, another with a much higher price to pay. . . .
Resolutely she refused to think about it, just as she refused to think beyond each day, stubbornly continuing to pretend that soon enough she would awaken from this nightmare and discover that it all had been a bad dream.
Perhaps the fact that Dominic had been gone until well after the first of August was what had made it so easy for Melissa to push reality aside, to keep up the pretense that none of this was real. Within three days of the announcement of their betrothal, he had left for Thousand Oaks, where he had been overseeing some hasty improvements to the living arrangements of the main house, and he had only just arrived back in Baton Rouge on the eleventh of August. Melissa had forgotten the unpredictable impact he made upon her senses, and watching his dark face across the linen-covered table from her as they dined at Oak Hollow on the evening of his return, she was shaken by the sharp feeling of delight which coursed through her.
It was a small supper party that Aunt Sally and Uncle Josh had arranged to toast the betrothed couple, but Melissa was conscious of only one person in the room-her far-too-soon-to-be-husband. Her eyes traveled over Dominic's lean, mobile features, noting the arrogance and pride that was inherent to him, and she shivered slightly. Would he be a kind husband? Or a cruel one? A spendthrift like her father? Or a generous, astute man like her grandfather? She was bitterly aware that he could move her to great passion and that she found him utterly fascinating, but was that a basis for marriage? A basis enough to entrust her life to him? She didn't believe so, and even though she could admit to his handsomeness and charm, she mistrusted it; too much of what Josh had said about him earlier remained unpleasantly clear in her mind. With something perilously close to open hostility, she stared at him, unwilling to let herself be distracted by the warm curve of his mouth, or the gleam of teasing laughter in his gray eyes, or the beguiling dimples that came and went as he smiled. She would not like him! she vowed fiercely. She might be forced to marry him, but she was not going to be an adoring slave at his feet! Other women might be bedazzled by his roguish charm, but not she!
Dominic was very aware of her unfriendly stare and it baffled him. He had not expected her to greet him with rapture, but then again he had not been prepared to have his bride-to-be welcome him back in such an icy manner. What did she have to be displeased about? he wondered caustically. She was getting a wealthy husband! While all he was gaining was a beautiful, completely confusing shrew! Surely, he mused as he shot her a swift glance from beneath his unknowingly haughty brows, she wasn't still pretending to be against this farce of a marriage?
It would appear that she was, and as the last remaining days before their nuptials flew swiftly by, Dominic could feel his frustration growing. He was seldom allowed to be alone with Melissa, but if she had been agreeable, they might have managed to steal a few moments of privacy. Obviously that was not what she wanted and he found her singularly elusive, any attempt on his part to talk intimately with her being instantly averted. Not once was he allowed even a glimpse of the vibrant, irresistible creature he had held in his arms, and as their wedding day approached he was aware of increasing dismay within himself. He was thankful, however, that someone had made her see sense and she was no longer decking herself out like a prune-faced spinster. It gave him sardonic pleasure to watch the bemused expressions on his relatives' faces when they were introduced to Melissa. All his family, presently domiciled in various places around Baton Rouge, seemed to be bewitched by her dazzling smile and lissome form. Leonie, having arrived with Morgan two days before the wedding, was entranced.
Rushing up to him after meeting Melissa for the first time, Leonie flashed him a radiant grin and murmured, "See, mon ami! I told you that all you lacked was a wife. And, Dominic-she is lovely! Just what I would have wished for you." There was a mischievous glint in her green eyes as she added slyly, "And I am most happy to see that she does not dote on you! It would be ruinous for you to marry a woman who thought your every whim was law. "
Dominic had hoped that Leonie would not notice that Melissa did not seem to care overmuch for his company, l but trust his irrepressible sister-in-law to put her finger on the sore part. Slightly nettled, he muttered, "A biddable wife would bore me, Leonie, you know that." With heartfelt certainty, he said, "And Melissa will never bore me, of that I am positive!" He wouldn't add that he was very much afraid that she would exasperate, enrage and keep him thoroughly captivated!
And he was captivated. She might treat him with indifference, but that didn't stop him from gazing possessively at her or from remembering distinctly the sweetness of her mouth or the intoxicating softness of her body. It was the haunting memory of the two times that he had kissed her that had given him comfort during the passing weeks and enabled him to view his approaching wedding day, if not with delight, at least with anticipation for the night which would follow it. Privately he could wish that there was more than physical desire which bound him to Melissa, but if desire was all they shared, then he fully intended to take complete advantage of it. And with that in mind, he had already made several arrangements which, oddly enough, he hoped would please his wayward bride.
Almost with exhilaration, later that same night he contemplated Melissa's probable reaction to the outrageously sumptuous bed which he had commissioned for their bedroom at Thousand Oaks. He'd had to send to Natchez for his requirements, and the bed and its attendant furnishings had not yet arrived at the plantation before he had to return to Baton Rouge; but thinking of it, of the wide, downfilled mattress, of the rich sensuousness of the gold silk hangings which surrounded it, and vividly picturing Melissa lying naked in the middle of the bed, Dominic felt his entire body convulse with hungry desire. He might not wish to marry, but his body burned with an aching desire to possess her-and that, he told himself cynically, was nearly worth putting his head into the parson's mousetrap!
The day before the wedding finally arrived. All the guests had been assembled and were presently staying with various friends and neighbors of the Seymours and the Manchesters. Even the meager public accommodations had been commandeered by the friends and relatives of the bridal pair, and there was hardly anyone up and down the river between Natchez and New Orleans who didn't know that on the morrow Dominic Slade would take Melissa Seymour as his bride.
Julius Latimer certainly knew of it-he could hardly not have known of it since receiving both Melissa's note and his money. And then there was the fact that he and his sister had been invited to attend the gala reception honoring the newlyweds that would be held at Oak Hollow after the actual wedding at Willowglen. Melissa would have preferred for him not to have been invited, but in the small, close-knit society of the river towns, it was impossible to voice an objection without explaining precisely why. She had consoled herself with the knowledge that she had no need to fear hi
m any longer, and surely she could force herself to meet him in polite company.
That last afternoon before the wedding, Dominic made arrangements to take Melissa for a ride, and she pushed any thought of Latimer aside. Dominic acted very mysterious, saying with a faint smile that he had a surprise for her. Zachary grinned and Melissa suspected that her brother knew exactly what the "surprise" was. She wasn't the least interested in any surprises and, more importantly, she wasn't about to go anywhere alone with Dominic Slade. To Dominic's frustration, she quickly turned what he had hoped would be a private affair into something more public by inviting Morgan and Leonie, Royce and Zachary to accompany them. It was while the two ladies were waiting on the gallery for the men to come with the horses that Latimer chose to intrude once more into Melissa's life. A second note from him arrived just then.
Melissa excused herself from Leonie and went to the end of the long gallery to read Latimer's missive in relative privacy.
My dear Melissa, Latimer wrote, you cannot imagine my heartache and dismay when I received word of your impending marriage to Dominic Slade. I had thought to keep silent, but I cannot! 1 know now that my offer to you was misguided and crude, and I apologize most humbly for my actions, but was a month or two of my company worth selling yourself for life to a blackguard like Slade?
, at least, was honest with you about my intentions, wrong though they were, but can you say the same for him? He is not to be trusted-there are things I could tell you about him that would cause my regrettable actions to seem like a mere schoolboy prank! If you doubt me-and I would not blame you if you did-talk to my sister. She knows what he is, and she has great fears for you. Once she fell for his spurious charms, and she knows to her cost that he is a vile seducer and a trifler of affections. I repeat, he is not to be trusted.
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