by Linda Cajio
Everything, she thought. He’d have a stranglehold on her she’d never be able to break. The room wavered. Her legs turned to jelly, and she sat back down in the chair.
Devlin being “nice” was a revelation, one she wished she’d never seen.
Eight
“What!”
“I said I think your seeing Hilary is a mistake,” Lettice repeated.
She watched her grandson’s expression go from astonishment to anger as he nearly ran the car off the road.
“I thought you liked Hilary,” he said, after straightening the car. He glanced over at her. “You certainly thought it was a good idea for me to find someone.”
“I still do,” she said. Now here came the tricky part, she thought. Things were poised on the brink—she could feel it. If she pushed wrong the least little bit, Dev would beat a hasty retreat. But she had to do something. Nature was entirely too slow to suit her. Carefully she added, “Unfortunately I’ve come to believe Hilary isn’t … suitable for you.”
“You mean she isn’t suitable for you,” Dev snapped. The car shot forward as his foot clamped down on the gas pedal.
“Slow down. My days may be numbered, but they’re not up yet. And no, I do not mean that Hilary isn’t suitable for me. She isn’t suitable for you.” She paused, staring at him. He stared back, his gaze intense, almost piercing. He wasn’t bad at it, she thought. “Watch the road, or I will turn Eternity into a nightmare for you if you get us killed.”
“Don’t tempt me.” But he did turn his attention back to the road. “You thought Hilary was a great idea until we went to that damn party tonight. What’s the matter? Did you realize tonight that she doesn’t ‘fit in’?”
It was hard for Lettice to keep her lips clamped shut, but she did. It was better to let him “prove” her wrong.
“I knew it,” he exclaimed. “Dammit, I knew that as soon as I spent more than five minutes with you, you would think you could run my life like you do the others. I’ll see whoever I damn well please, Grandmother. This whole tradition of who’s suitable and who isn’t is ridiculous. I’m thirty-four years old, not some kid you can dictate to anymore. And you’re a snob. The worst kind. Hilary’s a damn sight better than some over-the-hill powder-puff deb you have in mind.”
“She’s not right for you,” Lettice said stubbornly.
“And you’re full of …” He stopped himself before using the barnyard curse. “Butt the hell out, Grandmother.”
Lettice bristled. “You watch your language, Devlin.”
He snorted, and the car sped up her driveway at breakneck speed. Lettice expelled her breath when Devlin braked to a screeching halt in front of her door. She had begun to wonder whether telling him in the car had been a good idea.
“You know I want only what’s best for you,” she said, deliberately uttering the parental words designed to set off a tantrum of rebellion in children the world over.
“Butt out,” Devlin repeated between clenched teeth.
Lettice wisely vacated the car. It tore off in a squeal of tires, and she guessed her grandson wasn’t staying the night after all. Bless Mr. Freud and his invention, she thought, smiling. Reverse psychology was a marvelous tool.
Now, if only it worked.
The pounding threatened to break down her front door.
Hilary scurried to it, tightening the belt of her flowered silk robe. In spite of the insistent banging, she peeked through the peephole first, then flung open the door.
“A simple knock would have sufficed,” she told Dev.
“Not for this!” he snapped, stalking into the house.
Hilary had known she’d have to talk with him again eventually, but not, she would have hoped, as he was now. She’d never seen him so furious. Two hours ago at the dinner party he could have won the congeniality prize at the Miss America pageant. Now they’d be checking him for weapons at the door.
He spun around to face her. “I want you to find out every little grand ball, fancy party, and other hot spots my grandmother will be at.”
“Why don’t you ask her?” Hilary asked, eyeing him warily.
“Because I’m not talking to her!” he roared.
“I see,” she said calmly.
“No, you don’t.” He ran his fingers through his hair and looked around, reminding her of a bull ready to charge. “Look, I’d like to take you to some of these things, so that my grandmother can see you. For the show.”
She sensed there was more than the show involved here—especially at nearly one in the morning. “Devlin, I’m exhausted. Couldn’t this wait until a more decent hour?”
He paused, then glanced at his watch. “I guess I forgot.”
Hilary smiled ruefully and shook her head. There were times when she wondered if he ever thought with his brain, and this was one of them. A soft flutter of emotion welled up inside her. She forced it down. Devlin could shred a woman’s feelings and not blink in the process. Still, since he was here, there was something she needed to do.
She drew in a deep breath, shut the door against the simmering night heat, and said, “Thank you for helping tonight. And for offering to take the place of the sponsor your grandmother wanted. But it’s too much, Devlin. I—”
“No. It’s a good cause.” He waved his hand in dismissal. “Although it would serve her right if she lost me through her pigheadedness.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk with you about,” Hilary tried again. “Jane and Jeremy and I have decided to be the ball’s sponsors—”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “You don’t have that kind of money.”
“If we pool all our money, we should.”
“No.” He looked everywhere but at her. “I feel I have to—to make amends. I’ve said a lot of things to you that I shouldn’t have.”
“Are you sick?” she asked.
“No. Why would you think that?”
“Because you’re not the bad old Devlin I’ve gotten used to.”
His jaw hardened. “I was wrong. I’m apologizing. Just take it.”
“Okay,” she said shortly.
He relaxed and grinned at her. “Okay.”
The silence began in amusement, but changed to something more intimate. He took a few steps forward, until only bare inches separated them. Hilary felt rooted to the floor, unable to look anywhere but at him. His mouth was a fascinating study … the slight thrust of his lower lip … the surprisingly soft words that fell from it.… She had to be mistaken in what she was feeling for him. It was just affectionate lust.
“I think we should go away together,” he said.
Everything inside her suddenly became unglued. “What!”
He nodded. “I do. If we go away together, the grandparents are sure to follow.”
“They’re not lambs!” Hilary exclaimed, backing away from him.
Devlin grinned. “True. Still, yours will come to stop us, and mine will … Well, she hates to miss anything. Besides, it’s the next logical step in our relationship.”
“I thought you weren’t talking to your grandmother,” she said, her brain scrambling around in confusion.
The part of her that was hopeful wanted desperately to say yes. But her logical part knew better. She had the awful foreboding that she wasn’t mistaken in her feelings after all. Suddenly the entire evening was too much. She leaned against the nearest wall, defeated.
“Think about it,” he said, stepping closer. Alarm bells went off in Hilary as he added, “And while you’re thinking, is there any chance of a cup of coffee? I have a long drive back to the shore.”
“Of course,” she murmured, then reached out and opened the front door. Much as she wanted to be, she wasn’t a complete fool. Not yet. “The nearest diner is a quarter mile down the road.”
He gazed at her with an injured expression. “Hilary, what would Miss Manners say about your kicking a guy out without even a cup of coffee?”
“That I was smarter than the average hos
tess.”
“And after I striped plates and washed dishes for you.”
“That’s the breaks.”
“I wasn’t even supposed to go home tonight, but I can’t stay at Grandmother’s.…”
Her eyes widened at even the thought of what he was suggesting. “The nearest motel is two streets after the diner. Devlin!”
He shrugged and walked out the door, saying, “A man can dream, can’t he?”
So could a woman, Hilary thought as she shut the door behind him. In her case she was worried she’d wake up to a nightmare.
Dev stared at the blank motel ceiling and cursed.
He could have tried to kiss his way into her bed, he thought. There was a time when he would have done that without a qualm. But she’d seemed so tired and vulnerable, he’d had a pang of conscience. His conscience now satisfied, he couldn’t believe he’d walked away from her.
Along with the frustration came the prospect of him and Hilary going away together. The thought had hit like lightning, and he had immediately acted upon it. Unfortunately he saw it was going to take some talking to get Hilary to come around. But he’d get what he wanted, and what he wanted was to be alone with her. There would be no show either. The grandparents would never find them. He’d ensure that.
Anger rose in him again as he thought of what his grandmother had said about Hilary that night. She’d been making judgments on people all of her life, but she was wrong on this one. How could she say Hilary was unsuitable for anyone? Couldn’t she see that Hilary was more real than any of those phonies at the party? That she was making something of herself, and working hard for it? Couldn’t his grandmother see the exciting combination of elegance and sensuality in Hilary?
Probably not, Dev admitted with a chuckle. The combination excited the hell out of him, though. In the beginning he would have sworn Hilary was the perfect match for his twin brother, Miles. Now he knew she stirred him physically and emotionally. She was suited to him. He snorted in disgust at what his grandmother had said.
That dinner party had been riddled with the class distinctions he’d long ago recognized as worthless. But his grandmother’s complete reversal on Hilary puzzled him. He couldn’t understand it. In these past few weeks, he’d come to like her a great deal, and he was disappointed that she’d been influenced by the party’s atmosphere. Yet she’d come to Hilary’s defense over the dinner. Why would she do that if she thought Hilary was unsuitable?
He’d considered telling Hilary what his grandmother had said, so that he could then tell her he disagreed. But he knew she would be hurt by the words. He couldn’t do that to her. He never wanted to hurt Hilary again.
His grandmother needed to learn a lesson about people, Dev decided. In fact she needed to learn several lessons. It would serve her right if she got broadsided the way she’d broadsided him tonight. A wild notion entered his mind, and he smiled. Maybe there was something he could do to his grandmother after all.
“What!”
Dev nodded sadly as Marsh Rayburn stared at him with shock and indignation. He’d begun his grandmother’s lesson bright and early this morning after.
“Yes, sir,” Dev said. “I just wanted you to know that I completely disagree with my grandmother. Hilary is a fine woman, a wonderful woman, and if there’s anyone who’s unsuitable, it’s me—”
“That old woman has gone too far!” Marsh roared, oblivious to Dev’s words.
Dev nodded again, taking secret delight in hearing grand-dame Lettice Kitteridge called an old woman. Of course his grandmother would cut the heart out of anyone if she heard it. Yes, sir, Marsh was shaping up to be a fine cannon, and his grandmother was in the sights. He went on. “I couldn’t believe it—”
“Let me tell you something, young man,” Marsh bellowed, clearly not listening. “I was engaged to your grandmother once.…”
“I know,” Dev murmured.
“… And she, treacherous snake that she is, didn’t stand by me when my family lost all its money. Suddenly I was unsuitable. She couldn’t break our engagement fast enough, and she couldn’t get herself engaged to your grandfather fast enough. That’s your grandmother, under her smooth, sophisticated surface. Love never counted a damn with her. Not if money wasn’t attached to it.”
Dev frowned. Despite his own anger with his grandmother, Marsh’s assessment bothered him. Somehow it didn’t quite sound like her. She’d always struck him as more the double-standard type—what she did and what others did were two different things. With her brand of willfulness, he couldn’t imagine her giving up a man if she were in love with him. Maybe she hadn’t loved Marshall in the past and that was why she’d broken off the engagement. Maybe the man had never wanted to accept that reason.
“I have had enough of her nonsense,” Marsh said, pushing himself to his feet. He stomped out of his living room into the front hall. Dev followed, watching as Marsh grabbed keys off a side table. “I’m going to put a stop to all of this now. All that sweetness and light on the fishing trip and coming home. I knew it. I knew she couldn’t be trusted. That’s why I stayed away from her ever since.…”
“Ah, sir,” Dev began, realizing the man was rambling.
Marsh kept on. “She’ll regret she ever opened her mouth against my family. I’ll make sure she learns a lesson she’ll never forget.”
Dev wondered if he’d stirred the man up a little too much. “Marshall …”
The older man turned, then blinked as if he’d completely forgotten Dev’s presence. “Thanks for coming by, boy. I’m glad to see you’re above your family’s usual standards and you’re standing by Hilary.”
The words both pleased and annoyed Dev. “Well, my grandmother might just be a little confused. After all, at her age—”
“She ought to know better,” Marsh finished, and strode out of his house.
“Who are you to say my granddaughter isn’t suitable! She’s a damn sight more suitable than your family deserves!”
Lettice gaped at Marshall, absolutely speechless. Less than two minutes ago he had roared up her driveway and roared into her home. She had expected her grandson to throw himself onto Hilary in a fit of rebellion. Instead he’d thrown Marsh at her. She had to give Devlin credit for one-upping her. And she had been wondering how to blast Marsh out of his hiding place since the fishing trip. This wasn’t what she’d had in mind, however.
“Someone should have paddled you years ago, woman!” Marsh shouted, looming over her as she stood in the center of her sitting room.
“I never would have thought you were so kinky, Marshall,” she said as she regained a shred of composure.
His eyes bulged and his face turned bright red. Obviously he was attempting to hold on to his temper. Lettice raised her chin in defiance. If she was going down for the count, it would be fighting all the way.
“You should be so lucky,” he snapped. “How dare you say such a thing about my granddaughter.”
Lettice tried a calm tone. “I like Hilary very much. I admire her greatly. But, Marsh, you’ve said yourself that Devlin and she aren’t suitable—the last time you came blasting in here, remember?”
“I said your grandson wasn’t suitable for my granddaughter. There is a big difference, and one that has nothing to do with your snobbish attitude.”
“If one isn’t suitable, then clearly the other isn’t suitable,” she argued logically. “Although your attitude is just as snobbish in its way. Still, you’re right. They are not suitable for each other. I do not understand why you’re fussing, now that I finally agree with you.”
He shook his head in frustration. “Because you aren’t agreeing with me. I told you once to leave my granddaughter alone, and I’m telling you now for the last time.”
“But I have left Hilary alone.” She gave him an arch look. “You’re the one who’s butted in. Look at you now, butting and fussing. Are you sure you’re not protesting too much?”
Marshall stiffened. Lettice could see him strugg
le for words and braced herself. He looked like a volcano about to blow.
“Not! No! Ridic—!” He pointed a finger at her. “You!”
Then he turned and stormed out of the house.
Lettice let out her breath and sank gratefully into the nearest chair. She had never seen Marsh quite so mad before—and that was saying something. Devlin never should have repeated her words to him. She’d certainly never expected him to. That silly child, she thought, then corrected herself. This silly old woman. She never should have said it to Devlin in the first place. If Devlin had told Marshall, would he also tell Hilary? She hadn’t considered that. The last thing she wanted was to hurt Hilary. She’d only thought to motivate her grandson. If she disapproved, then he would automatically approve. Maybe she was just a meddling old fool after all.
Mamie, her housekeeper, poked her head around the dining room archway. “You okay?”
Lettice nodded. “No bones broken.”
“Lucky you.”
Lettice gave Mamie her regal look. “I could cut your Christmas bonus.”
Mamie sniffed. “You’ve been threatening that for thirty years.”
“There’s always a first time.” Lettice smiled wryly. “By the way, I don’t believe Dr. Rayburn will be having lunch with me.”
“I had that feeling,” Mamie murmured.
“I’m back,” Devlin said.
“So I see,” Hilary said.
“You did say we could talk in the morning,” he reminded her.
“I did say that, didn’t I.”
“It’s morning.”
“Late morning.”
“Still morning.”
Two minutes more, Hilary thought in resignation, and she would have been gone. That is, if she hadn’t overslept, she would have been gone. If she hadn’t had a restless night, she wouldn’t have overslept, and she would have been gone. If she hadn’t thought she’d fallen in love, she wouldn’t have had a restless night, and she wouldn’t have overslept, and she would have been gone.…
Hilary got off the mental merry-go-round. She’d ridden one merry-go-round all night over what she was feeling for him, and she wasn’t about to start another. Still, she opened the door wider and gestured for him to enter. Whatever she was feeling, she had come to a decision this morning. A decision she intended to keep.