Romance: My Stepbrother's Plaything

by Valentine, Annie

  “Are you alright if I leave you alone?” the man asked. Lucrecia nodded, and he took his leave back onto the train.

  Trapped in the silence, Lucrecia stared up at Fausto, her eyes wide like a doe’s. He liked the charm of it, and stepped forward to put his hand against her cheek. She wore no makeup, and in a way it made her even more beautiful.

  “You’re prettier than I ever could have thought,” he said, although on the inside he felt himself sneer and draw back from the words. “I never could have imagined a girl like you coming so far to meet someone like me.”

  “I wouldn’t have thought it possible myself,” Lucrecia replied, her heart pounding. She could hardly believe how absolutely perfect that Fausto was.

  His picture certainly didn’t do him the justice that he deserved. Up close and personal with him, it was as though Lucrecia were looking at an entirely new person. Fausto was handsome and gorgeous, and had all of the mannerisms of a true gentleman. He held himself proudly, with his shoulders back and his chin held high.

  “It’s an honor to meet you,” Lucrecia said.

  Fausto smiled at her, a big sweeping grin, and she could have swooned on the spot. Were it not for Fausto taking her arm and pulling her close against his body, he might have done just that. Her suitcases were taken by another man working at the station, and hauled out to the coach that Fausto had driven to the station.

  “I figure that on your first night here, what you would want to do is familiarize yourself before anything else,” he began. “It’s a lot of new territory to take in, and I won’t blame you if you find yourself overwhelmed. It is an easy thing to do when concerning a place like Montana.”

  Lucrecia nodded as she listened to Fausto speak. She could have listened to him speak all day long if it were u to her. His voice was like pure melted chocolate, drizzling and dripping in a steady flow that permeated each of her pores and sunk into her body like a drug. It was a voice she imagined an angel to have, light but with heady undertones that spoke of power and confidence.

  “You’ll have to meet my family as well,” he said, although he didn’t like the idea at all. If it were up to him, he and Lucrecia would stay isolated from them at all times if his life depended on it. His situation was not so drastic, but to ease his father’s parting he ought to introduce the man to his

  “That sounds lovely,” Lucrecia said with a smile.

  “And of course, as I said in my letter to you, I will be leaving for a week or two after we are married. I must return to New York, coincidentally the city that you just came from, and meet with several stockholders. There are some that are being demanding, but are not providing enough in return. But away with those thoughts, I’m sure they would only bore you,” Fausto said.

  Lucrecia nodded, even if she felt the exact opposite. Fausto opened the coach door for her, and she piled herself and all of her clothing into it with a bit of difficulty. It was hard for her to even think of telling Fausto that she was an educated woman. She would have loved to hear about his stocks and about his company, but she put the thought aside.

  As the coach kicked into gear and Fausto began driving through the streets at a leisurely pace, Lucrecia watched again as the world flew by her without giving her a second to appreciate all of its glory.

  No matter how she might have liked to talk to Fausto, she knew that she would only bother him. She was there to be his wife, not his conversation partner. He certainly had many gentlemen friends that could attend to that need.

  Resigned to her post, Lucrecia folded her hands in her lap and tried not to let her brewing emotions get the better of her. She would be Fausto’s dutiful and beautiful wife even if it cost her freedom and her independence. After all, it was what she had signed up to do.

  It was the whole reason that she had left everything behind.

  Chapter Five

  Within another hour, Lucrecia and Fausto arrived at the hospital. It was the only towering building in the city, and it in fact was farther out than any other building. It was surrounded by rolling plains, and beautiful crops of land that were cultivated to feed the city. Lucrecia smiled as she looked out at it, admiring the way that the stalks of wheat and corn bent in the wind, bowing their heads individually as if to greet her formally to the land.

  Fausto hadn’t spoken a word to her for the entire trip. It had been long and tiresome, especially after spending so long on a train and only just getting off of it. Lucrecia, however, refused to make a peep. She acted the way that Morgan would, polite with all of her gentlemanly company. She never said a word to them unless that was what they wanted of her. Lucrecia could do the same.

  The hospital grew in size as they approached it, looming over them and the coach. Fausto pulled into an area designated for coaches, and then turned to Lucrecia once he had turned the giant machine off.

  “My father is a sickly man,” Fausto said, “and my brother Nolan will be there as well. They may not even speak to you, and I would prefer if you stayed the way that you have been the entire trip. I like that you know when to speak,” he said, his smile returning.

  Lucrecia allowed herself to smile back at him. “I know how to mind my manners,” she said. “I promise not to let you down, Fausto,” she agreed.

  Fausto grinned once more at that, and gave Lucrecia a quick pat to her cheek. It was hardly more than a little tap, but the contact was welcomed nonetheless. Fausto exited the coach, and opened the door to her side of it once more. Lucrecia stepped out with his help, and together the two of them entered the hospital.

  “What is your father ailed by?” Lucrecia asked, remaining one step behind Fausto and to his right.

  “A malignant disease that has made him incredibly weak,” Fausto replied. “He is a tired old man, and he has been sick for years now. The doctors are amazed that he has managed to hold on for so long.”

  Lucrecia examined Fausto as he spoke, and if she weren’t mistaken, an ugly look passed over his face as he finished his sentence. It made her heart leap into her throat, witnessing such ugliness spread onto his features and then vanish as though it had never been there in the first place. It had been a scowl, the likes of which would scare children awake at night. Just thinking of how horribly his mouth had twisted downward made Lucrecia shiver.

  “I’m very sorry to hear that,” she said. “But I’m glad that he has lived long enough for me to meet him.”

  “I think he’ll like you,” Fausto said, his tone and voice having long since gone flat.

  The room that they approached was on the first floor, and towards the end of a long hallway. Wide windows were plastered everywhere, allowing for fresh air and sunlight throughout the day. If he weren’t in there for an illness, Lucrecia might have envied Fausto’s father.

  Fausto tapped against the door with his knuckles, and a young man soon opened the door. Lucrecia took a step back upon realizing that the man was the spitting image of Fausto, only shorter and with cheeks that were more rounded. He had to have been at least five years younger, but he was handsome all the same.

  “I can’t believe that you came,” Nolan breathed, looking his brother up and down. Behind Fausto, he could see a young woman. “And you brought company.”

  “My new wife,” Fausto explained, stepping aside to bring Lucrecia into view. “I wanted to introduce her to both you and father before I left and she was alone in the house for so long.”

  Nolan frowned, but stepped aside and allowed the two access into his father’s room. Fausto brushed past him, surrounded in an air of disdain, while Lucrecia took her time to step forward and smile at him.

  “My name is Lucrecia,” she said. Fausto sent her a glare over his shoulder, but she had to introduce herself. It was common courtesy. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

  A little glow of red sprung up on Nolan’s cheeks, making him look even younger than before. “It’s nice to meet you, too,” he said, and stepped farther aside for Lucrecia to enter.

  She walked into the
room, making sure to keep her footsteps light. On a plush bed in the center of the room, was an old man. His eyes were closed, but Lucrecia could see the faint rise and fall of his chest. She joined Fausto at his bedside, although she was forced to stand while Fausto took the chair next to the bed.

  He reached out and grabbed the old man’s shoulder to shake him awake, but Nolan was there in an instant. He smacked Fausto’s hand away with a stern glare.

  “He’s sleeping,” he said, eyebrows furrowed. “I won’t let you bother him just because you’re looking to make a quick buck of your inheritance,” Nolan growled, his voice turning darker and darker with each syllable.

  That ugly sneer that Lucrecia had seen before on her husband’s face returned, and he stood up in a flurry. Fausto pushed past both Lucrecia and Nolan, leaving the girl completely dumbfound.

  “He’s always like that,” Nolan explained. He gestured to the seat, and Lucrecia warily lowered down into it. “I’m sorry that you have to be his wife. No good will ever come of that man. It doesn’t matter how rich he is, all he ever wants is more, more, and more.”

  Lucrecia glanced between Nolan and his father as she allowed the words to properly sink in.

  Chapter Six

  “I’m sorry that your father is so sick and that Fausto isn’t here with him,” Lucrecia said after the silence had spanned out between herself and Nolan for too long. “It’s a shame that he got himself into such a bad mood before I was properly introduced.”

  “Like I said,” Nolan interrupted, holding up his hand, “he’s always like that. Since childhood he’s had awful mood swings that never seem to go away or calm down. He’s always on top of the world or as angry as the fires of Hell themselves.”

  “Is he really always like that?” Lucrecia asked, a twinge of fear creeping into her voice. When writing to Fausto and when boarding the train, she had convinced herself that it didn’t matter what kind of man he was. The kind of man that he was didn’t matter when she was faced with the opportunity of a lifetime. She had told herself over and over that even if he hit her, it wouldn’t make a difference to her. Right then, it made all of the difference in the world. “Always so… so angry?”

  Nolan looked up at Lucrecia, sympathy spreading across his features. He had seen many a girl who thought that they were interested in Fausto. They thought that, despite his anger and his temperament, they could survive and understand that underneath it all, they were wealthy. Disgustingly wealthy. That would never change who Fausto was.

  “Yes, he’s always like that,” Nolan said. It wasn’t a lie, and he wasn’t hyperbolizing it. That was just how Fausto was. “And I hate to break it to you, Miss Lucrecia, but I doubt that he even cares about you. In our father’s will, Fausto must get married and have a child before he can inherit his portion of the will. That’s the only reason he sought you out.”

  Even though Lucrecia knew that it was the truth, the words stung her deeply. She smiled through it, and gave Nolan a little shrug. “I’ve known that,” she said.

  “Then why are you here?” Nolan asked. He was shocked that a girl as nice as Lucrecia would suffer through someone like Fausto. “Don’t you know that you deserve someone so much better than he is?”

  “When you find a man that’s better than he is and willing to take me in, you let me know,” Lucrecia said, a little laugh forming on her lips. “Truly, I would love to meet a man like that. It would make my day. I wouldn’t even care if he was poor or rich. All that would matter is that he would love me unconditionally.”

  As Lucrecia spoke, Nolan felt a surge of emotion rush through him. He couldn’t pinpoint it, but he wanted to give Lucrecia hope. She didn’t deserve to be so broken already, not when she was so pretty and young. He wanted to tell her that she deserved the world, and absolutely nothing less. There wasn’t anything that she should want for, be it a beautiful jewel or a man that would know how to treat her right. She was worth more than the universe itself.

  “Lucrecia, I…” he began, but trailed off, his confidence waning.

  Lucrecia looked up, but Nolan’s luck couldn’t have been better. A shaky cough rattled through his father’s chest, making Lucrecia jump back. Nolan did the opposite, sitting forward and helping his father to lift his head. It always helped him to get rid of a particularly nasty cough. He wheezed like that for a long time, held in Nolan’s arms. Lucrecia had reached out and clasped his frail, bony hand in hers.

  “Who might you be…?” he asked, his voice just as wheezing as his cough had been. He was trying to turn his eyes to look at Lucrecia, but he was having difficulty doing so. He hardly knew where the girl was. He only knew that someone new was there because of the racket that Fausto had made when the two of them had entered.

  “I’m Lucrecia,” she said. “I’m going to be Fausto’s wife. I’m not certain where he ran off to, but I’m very pleased to meet you.”

  A smile creaked onto Mr. Redman’s wizened, wrinkled face and a laugh pushed forward past his lip: “What a very polite young lady,” he said, making Lucrecia blush. He laughed a little more, turning his head in Nolan’s general direction. “A man like Fausto doesn’t quite deserve a woman like her, does he?” he asked.

  Nolan blushed just as much as Lucrecia was. He didn’t have the heart to reply to the old man’s question. “Father, she came here from New York on a train. Isn’t that amazing?” he asked.

  The old man nodded. “I remember when there weren’t any trains,” he said, a hum in his voice. “When I was your age…” a horrible coughing fit wracked his body for a good two minutes. “When I was younger, and not so sickly, we took horses and caravans all the way out here.”

  “We know, Father,” Nolan said.

  Lucrecia could imagine the same phrase from Fausto’s lips. He would be short with the old man, treating him as though he were lower and not worthy of his attention. It made Lucrecia’s skin crawl, but Nolan was exactly the opposite. He was smiling as he spoke, and it gave way to the true lightheartedness of his words.

  “Don’t you interrupt me,” Mr. Redman scolded.

  “I would like to hear the story,” Lucrecia said, beaming from ear to ear. “I’ve grown up in New York my entire life reading adventure stories. It would be nice to hear one that was actually true for once.”

  A smile broke out onto Mr. Redman’s lips, showing his lack of strong teeth. He turned his head between Nolan and Lucrecia, a little laugh creeping up on him once more. “Nolan,” he said, catching his son’s attention, “I like this girl very, very much more than any other girl.”

  Chapter Seven

  Together with Nolan, Lucrecia stayed at the hospital for a long time. Mr. Redman had many stories to tell her, and she soaked them up like a sponge. Fausto was nothing like his father, and Lucrecia wondered if perhaps he had inherited the bad traits from his mother. Mr. Redman never once spoke of his wife, and Nolan never offered to fill her in, so she assumed that her suspicions were true. There was no other explanation for how such a sweet man like Mr. Redman had reared a child as horrible as Fausto. Clearly it wasn’t his parenting skills, as Nolan had turned out perfectly well.

  At a quarter to five, a doctor rapped on the door three times with his knuckles and then entered the room. He was a kindly looking young man, with sweeping blond hair and golden, sun kissed skin. He looked perfectly at home in his white doctor’s robes.

  “I’m afraid that I’m going to have to ask the two of you to leave,” he said. His voice was gentle, and Lucrecia appreciated the way he kept his tone soft for his patients and their visitors. “Mr. Redman needs his sleep. I know that it has been a very long day for him.”

  It was true, and Mr. Redman was already half asleep by the time the doctor had entered the room. He had tried to stay awake as best as he could, but he soon found himself unable to keep his eyes open for much longer.

  “I’ll come back and visit you another time,” Lucrecia promised. She leaned over the bed and placed a tender kiss to the crown of Mr. R
edman’s head. He smiled at the gesture, and closed his blind eyes.

  “That’s right, Father, we’ll be back tomorrow,” Nolan agreed. He patted his father’s hand, and then stood.

  He and Lucrecia took their leave, glancing back as the doctor flicked off the lights in Mr. Redman’s room and walked behind them. He was shepherding them in a way, but Lucrecia didn’t mind. She knew that she had no doubt overstayed her welcome.

  “Where do you think Fausto has gone to?” she asked Nolan, glancing at him as they left the hospital.

  The air was still broiling hot, an incredibly uncomfortable temperature. Lucrecia hadn’t noticed it inside of the hospital, but now she could feel her clothes sticking to her body. A sheen of sweat had formed on Nolan’s forehead that was a touch too large for his face, and his thin hair was clinging to it.

  “He’s probably gone back home,” he said. “Or maybe to a bar. He likes to drink when he gets angry.” As if realizing what he had said, Nolan turned to Lucrecia with wide eyes. “Not that he gets violent! Sure, he’s angry and drunk, but I’ve never seen him raise a hand to anybody when he’s like that. It doesn’t matter who they are. He’s too much of a gentleman for that kind of thing, or so he says.”

  “You don’t have to defend him to me,” Lucrecia said with a little sigh. “I know that he must be a horrible person. If anything, I’ve learned that more and more over the past few hours.”

  She didn’t know where they were heading, but Nolan had begun to walk in one direction and she decided to follow him.

  “I can’t believe that he was awful like that even when the two of you were children,” she said with another sigh, a larger, longer one that time. “I wonder why he turned out like that.” She didn’t dare to bring up Nolan’s mother. The last thing she wanted was to disrespect him. She didn’t sense it in him, but she didn’t want to test his anger and see if he was the same type of man that Fausto was.