A Bought Bride

by Agnes Alexander

  Turning and pushing the knot of his tie up to his neck, he said, “Tell you what. I have enough time for a cup of coffee with you before I go. Is that okay?”

  She smiled. “Thank you.”

  Quinton started to tell her thanks weren’t needed, but he decided against it. He knew she was trying to adjust and he wanted to make it as easy for her as he could. The quicker she became a part of Kincade Mansion, the quicker he could get his life back on track, and not worry about her deciding that marriage to him wasn’t worth it. He couldn’t risk her wanting to leave before the stipulated year was over.

  He moved to the phone and pushed a button. Into it he said, “Melba, Mrs. Kincade and I are coming down for coffee. I won’t be eating, but she will…. Yes, I’m sure she likes French toast. We had it once while we were on our honeymoon. Yes, we’ll be there shortly.”

  “I’ll hurry and dress.” Jillian jumped out of bed.

  “That won’t be necessary.” Quinton picked up her robe and held it for her.

  “But I can’t go down there like this.” She looked scared.

  “Of course you can.”

  “But all those people…”

  “Jillian, this is your home. You can wear your robe in any part of the house you want to.”

  “Are you sure I won’t embarrass anyone?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Can I at least brush my teeth?”

  “Sure.”

  * * * *

  She ran into the bathroom, brushed her teeth and her hair. She grabbed a tube of lipstick and colored her lips. She wished she had time to put on more make-up, but she was afraid Quinton wouldn’t have time for coffee with her if she did.

  When they entered the breakfast area Melba said, “Good morning, Sir. Mrs. Kincade.”

  “Good morning,” Jillian said.

  Quinton nodded.

  In a matter of minutes they were seated and steaming cups of coffee in fancy china cups appeared in front of them. “Would you like your French toast now, Ma’am?”

  “Coffee is fine for now.”

  “What do you plan to do today, Jillian?” Quinton asked.

  She was bewildered. She had no idea what to do if Quinton wasn’t here to guide her. “What do you want me to do?”

  He looked at her for a long minute. Finally he said, “I tell you what. The meeting should be over by ten-thirty or eleven. Why don’t you come to the store about eleven-thirty? I’ll show you around then you can take me to lunch.”

  She knew her eyes lit up, but she didn’t care if he noticed. “I’d like that.”

  “Good.” He glanced at his watch.

  “You have to go, don’t you?”

  “I really do, Jillian. I’ve been gone for three weeks.”

  “I understand.”

  “Good.” He stood. “I’ll send Calvin back for you.”

  “May I walk you to the door?”

  “That’d be nice. Nobody has ever walked me to the door in the morning before.” He reached for her hand as Melba entered the room with the coffee pot. “I’m leaving now, but Mrs. Kincade will be right back.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  At the door Quinton turned to her. “Could I have a goodbye kiss?”

  She slid her arms around his neck.

  He pulled her to him and kissed her gently then let her go. “Until eleven-thirty.” He touched her cheek and went out the door.

  Jillian sighed and turned around. Suddenly the entry seemed to grow in front of her and she felt as if there were a thousand eyes watching her every move.

  Jillian jumped when Bertram’s deep voice asked, “Is there anything I can help you with, Ma’am?”

  “No, thank you.” She forced a smile, took a deep breath and headed back to the breakfast room.

  Chapter 12

  “Well, my friend, how’s it going?” John slapped Quinton’s shoulder after they left the breakfast meeting. They entered Quinton’s impressive office on the fifth floor of the downtown Kincade Department Store. The first three levels were open to the public for shopping. The top two floors housed the cooperate offices for the chain.

  “It’s going fine, John.”

  John’s eyebrow went up. “Even in bed?”

  “I have no complaints.”

  “Are they real?”

  “Are what real?”

  “Those boobs of hers.”

  “Yes, they’re real and as I said, I have no complaints.”

  “Good for you. I know you were afraid she’d be a cold fish and you’d have to…”

  Quinton stopped him. “For the last time I’m telling you, I have no complaints. Now drop it and get down to business.”

  “Sure, sure. I just thought you might want to fill me in.”

  “I don’t.” Quinton moved to his chair behind the massive oak desk. “What are you going to throw at me this morning?”

  “Not much. I think the breakfast meeting went well and it looks like you’re going to be in the black come the end of the year.”

  “I don’t think the bottom line is why you wanted to see me alone.” Quinton eyed him.

  “It’s Maddie Jones, Quinton.”

  “What about her?”

  “She got upset when you took Jillian on a honeymoon.”

  “So? What did she expect me to do after I married the woman? I couldn’t come straight home.”

  “I don’t know what she thought you’d do, but she called me almost every day. She said she tried to call you, but you didn’t answer your phone.”

  “I saw her messages, but I didn’t respond. I figured I’d see her when I got back.”

  “Quinton, you said the girl expected you to marry her and now you’re married to someone else. I don’t think she’s taking it as well as you thought she would.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She called me this morning and said you got home yesterday and she still hadn’t heard from you.”

  “I haven’t had time to call her.” Quinton wondered how Jillian would take it if he called her and cancelled lunch. He glanced at his watch. It was ten-thirty. There was plenty of time to call it off. “I’ll take care of it, John. Don’t worry.”

  “Just wanted to put a bug in your ear. You’d hate for Maddie to mess things up for you. You know if Jillian leaves you before a year’s up, you default on the stipulations of the will.”

  “I know.” His face set in a hard line. “You’ve made all the rules perfectly clear.”

  John stood. “So what do you want me to do about Maddie?”

  “I said I’d handle it.”

  When the door closed behind John, Quinton leaned back and thought for a minute. John was right. He couldn’t afford to mess up things with Jillian. After a year, he might miss her, but he figured if she wanted out he could give her the promised million dollars, and it would all be over with. In the meantime, he had to keep her happy. Besides, so far it hadn’t been a chore to be married to her. Maybe it would continue to be good. He hoped so, because it made the whole situation palatable.

  Maddie, on the other hand, was a sexual delight to him. Her sweet little twenty-one-year-old body was beautiful in every way. She was completely uninhibited and would try anything. He smiled as he remembered the night she had him tie her on the bed, put a blindfold on her eyes and then ravaged her anyway he wanted to. Then there was the unusual places they had unexpected sex.

  He thought of the time they’d been in the restaurant in Las Vegas, shortly after they’d met. It was their first dinner out and she’d crawled under the table, hid behind the cloth which fell to the floor and came up with her head between his legs. It was all he could do to keep from moaning aloud when she…. He stopped his thoughts abruptly. He couldn’t even fathom doing something like that with Jillian, and he was surprised to realize he wouldn’t want her to be that kind of woman. Oh, it wasn’t that he didn’t want her to make love to him in such a way. He did. He just didn’t want her to do it in a public place. He wanted their
private life to remain private.

  Quinton grabbed the phone and dialed a number.

  * * * *

  “That was a wonderful lunch, Quinton,” Jillian said as she got into the limo outside the restaurant.

  He sat beside her and Calvin closed the door. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. I always like eating here.”

  “I couldn’t believe how nice everyone was to me at the store when you introduced me around.”

  “They better be nice to you. Their jobs depend on it.”

  “You wouldn’t fire someone over me, would you?” Her eyes grew large.

  He chuckled. “Of course I would. Anyone who isn’t nice to my wife gets fired on the spot.”

  “I’ll try not to make anyone mad enough to be unkind to me. I don’t want to be the reason anyone loses their job.”

  Quinton slid his arm around her shoulder. “Of course you wouldn’t. You’re a nice person, Jillian Kincade.”

  “Is that why you insisted I take the purse? When I admired it, I didn’t mean for you to buy it for me.”

  “You can have anything in the store you want, Jillian. The employees know all they have to do is run the tickets through on my charge. It’s a way of record keeping for us.”

  “I wouldn’t do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t think it would be right to use your charge.”

  He smiled at her. “Then we’ll put your name on the charge, too. You never know when you’ll take a notion to go shopping and spend a wad of money.”

  “I don’t need anything, Quinton. You paid my bills. I can’t ask you for any more.”

  He looked down at her. Damn, why does she have to be so nice about everything? Aloud he said, “I’m going to call my banker this afternoon and set up an account for you. I’ll have checks printed and get you a debit card. That way you’ll be more apt to spend your own money.”

  “You know I really expected you to be hard and demanding, but you’ve been nothing but wonderful.” Her deep aqua eyes glistened when she looked at him. “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve a man as thoughtful as you.”

  It made him a little uncomfortable that she felt this way, but he mumbled, “I feel I got the best end of the bargain.”

  When they pulled up at the mansion, Quinton walked Jillian to the door. “I’ll be home as early as I can tonight. I’ll call if I get tied up.”

  “Thank you, Quinton. It was a lovely lunch.”

  He kissed her cheek quickly, and turned back to the car where Calvin stood at the door. He opened it and nodded when Quinton gave him an address.

  Quinton wasn’t positive, but he thought he saw a flicker of disgust run through Calvin’s eyes, though the chauffeur simply said his usual, “Yes, Sir.”

  Chapter 13

  “Good afternoon, Mrs. Kincade,” Gloria said as she opened the door for Jillian. “Bertram and Melba are having a late lunch so I’m on door duty. I hope you had a nice outing with Mr. Kincade.”

  “It was lovely.”

  “Shall I take your package to your room for you?”

  Jillian glanced down at the Kincade bag she was holding and smiled. “I’ll take it. I need to go up anyway.” She crossed the massive entry way and climbed the winding stairs.

  Once she reached the master suite, she closed the door behind her. She smiled to see the bed made and everything in the room in pristine order. She went to her huge closet and stepped inside. The few clothes she had were neatly arranged, but there were a lot of bare racks. Maybe Quinton’s right. I need to buy some things. He’ll certainly want me to dress the part of his wife and my old clothes from bargain racks don’t seem to fit his life style. The only passable outfits are the new ones I got at Fran’s shop.

  She removed the new purse from the bag, took the stuffing from inside and placed the bag on one of the shelves.

  At loose ends, she wondered if it would be okay to call Fran. She hadn’t talked with her friend since the wedding and it would be good to hear her voice. She picked up the phone on the table by the window and dialed the number, but got a busy signal. She hung up and walked to the window. She tried the French doors and found they opened onto a lovely balcony. She stepped outside and took a breath of the fresh mountain air. Along the mountainsides she could see some of the leaves beginning to turn and she knew it would be an awesome sight when fall arrived.

  In the back of the lawn near the pool, she saw Willard instructing his helpers. They were taking out summer flowers and planting pansies. Jillian hoped they’d be the vibrant colors she loved. She made a mental note to check them out when the gardener finished.

  She started to go back inside when voices drifted to her from the patio below. She couldn’t help listening when she heard her name.

  “I tell you, Mrs. Kincade is a nice lady. I don’t know how he managed to snag her.”

  “She was very polite to me at breakfast. After he left, she ate what I gave her without demanding anything else. Sure was different from the other Mrs. Kincades.”

  There was a laugh. “I know that, Melba. Especially that last one. That woman wasn’t happy with anything, was she?”

  “She sure wasn’t. I think he only married her because his daddy didn’t want him to.” Melba took a breath. “I believe he’s got one this time that old Mr. Kincade would approve of. What do you think, Bertram?”

  “I think you’re right. She’d be the type he’d pick out. There’s not a snooty bone in her. When she came to the door with Mr. Kincade this morning, she kissed him goodbye like she meant it.”

  “You didn’t stand there and watch, did you?”

  “Of course not, honey. I backed into the alcove under the stairs.”

  “Good. I’ve got to admit the other ones sure wouldn’t have walked him to the door and kissed him bye.”

  “Of course not. They never got up in time, even if they’d wanted to, which I’m sure they didn’t.” Bertram laughed.

  “I know. It surprised me when he called and said they were coming down for coffee. I hadn’t even thought about cooking breakfast because I figured I’d have to serve it to her in her room.”

  “I’m still holding back my full opinion, but what I’ve seen of her so far, I like.”

  “Me, too.” There was a rustling then Melba added, “I think I’ll fix her something special for dinner. When I asked her this morning if she wanted to dictate a menu, she said she was sure anything I fixed would be fine. I did ask her if she liked seafood and she said she did. Maybe I’ll do something with shellfish. She said she liked that.”

  “You know Mr. Kincade doesn’t much like fish. Won’t he complain?”

  “I don’t expect him to be home for dinner.”

  “He has a new bride, Melba. Surely he won’t stay out late tonight?”

  “You know the old saying about leopards and their spots. I ain’t expecting him to change either. That cheap girlfriend of his leads him around by the nose, I hear.” Melba chuckled.

  “The one he brought back from Las Vegas and set up in the condo in town?”

  “That’s the one. I think Mr. Kincade would’ve married her if his father hadn’t told him if he ever married a loose woman, he’d take the department stores away from him.”

  Bertram laughed. “I guess there’s one thing Mr. Kincade likes more than flashy women. He loves his stores.”

  “That’s for sure. Did I tell you his whore had the audacity to call here while they were on their honeymoon? She said Mr. Kincade wasn’t answering his phone. I called John Von Cannon and he said he’d handle it. He must have, because I didn’t hear from her again.”

  “Well, I hope he doesn’t hurt Mrs. Kincade too much. You can tell she’s not used to the kind of sharks that live in this high society.”

  “You’re right about that, Bertram.”

  The downstairs door slid back and then closed. Only silence followed.

  Jillian wanted to cry, but she couldn’t. She had no right. She knew something the staff di
dn’t know. Quinton Kincade didn’t marry her because he loved her or because of her traits. She just happened to be the one to have all the qualifications the older Mr. Kincade liked. The qualifications that would save Quinton’s department stores.

  She went back into the room and fell across the luxurious bed and burst into tears.

  * * * *

  Maddie Jones tossed her thin robe back on her shoulders and revealed her perfect figure wearing a black lace bra, a thong, a garter belt with black mesh stockings and red stilettos. In a husky voice she asked, “Did you miss this, baby?”

  The picture of Jillian in her yellow silk gown flashed through Quinton’s mind, and for an instant he wanted to tell Maddie she looked cheap and tawdry. Instead he asked, “What do you think?”

  She came to him and put her hands around him under his coat and began pushing it off. It slid to the floor. “If you missed me so much, why didn’t you answer your phone when I called you? All I wanted was to hear your voice. I wouldn’t have taken much of your time.” He didn’t answer, and as she began unbuttoning his shirt she said, “Did the old bag keep you too busy to talk to me?”

  On impulse Quinton grabbed her by the wrist and jerked her hands away. “Don’t you dare ever call my wife an old bag.” His eyes bored into hers. “You’ve no right to disrespect Mrs. Kincade.”

  “Damn, you’re protective all of a sudden.” She backed away from him and gave him a seductive look. She put her finger in her mouth and turned her head sideways, giving him a little girl smile. “I didn’t mean to insult her, but does she give you what I do?”

  “What goes on between my wife and me is none of your business.”

  “My heavens, Quinton. You sound like you’re in love with her.”

  “Whether I love her or not is no concern of yours, but you’re going to respect her position as my wife.”

  “Okay. Okay.” She moved close to him again. “Let’s not talk about her. Let’s talk about my position with you. How would you like me tonight? I’ve been practicing my yoga. I can twist myself into any position you like.”