Pirate's Promise

by Smith, Bobbi

  The realization shocked him deeply, and he rolled over onto his stomach with a muttered curse. Tomorrow he would have to go to Elise and, if she was capable of understanding, he was going to have to tell her the truth. He closed his eyes against the wretchedness of the thought. He didn't want to hurt her anymore than she'd already been hurt, but lying to her would serve no purpose but to delay the inevitable.

  Resigned, yet heavyhearted, he courted rest, but the night seemed to pass in slow motion, each minute an hour, each darkened hour a torturous eternity. By the time morning came, his nerves were stretched taut in anticipation of the meeting. He dressed in the same clothes with what care he could and then descended to take breakfast in the hotel dining room.

  Adam was so deeply lost in his thoughts that he was oblivious to those around him as he settled in for his meal. Only when he heard someone address him did he look up and see Cyrus Shackleford sitting at the next table alone. The expression on the banker's face was sneering as he bid him hello.

  "I understand you'll be coming to see me soon, Adam," Cyrus said with open contempt. He had not yet gotten over his anger at Adam's interference on the night of the party or the news of Adam and Lianne's sudden marriage the day after. Obviously if the rumors he'd heard were true, Trent had been courting Suzanne Labadie while bedding Lianne at the same time.

  Nice arrangement, if you could get it, Cyrus thought scornfully. No wonder Adam had run him off Lianne on the night of the party. No doubt Adam had considered her his private property. It infuriated Cyrus all the more now to know that Lianne had rejected him while she'd taken Trent as a lover. He'd vowed the moment he found out that if he ever got the chance, he was going to make her suffer for it.

  "For what?" Adam gave Cyrus a coolly assessing look, wondering at the man's point.

  "I handle all of the Ducharme finances, you know," he explained with disdainful precision. "I suppose you'll be wanting to put the accounts in your name now."

  "I really hadn't given it much thought." His answer was brusque.

  "Of course, you probably haven't even had time to discuss it. I mean, everything did happen so quickly," the banker sneered.

  "Yes, it did, but I feel certain that my wife would approve of my transferring her accounts to the bank I do business with, Shackelford. I'll be in touch about making the necessary arrangements," Adam cut him off.

  Cyrus was furious as he came to his feet. "Well, do give my best to Suzanne . . . and your wife," he drawled as left the dining room.

  Adam sat rigidly in his chair watching the other man leave the room. He found it hard to believe that he'd managed to keep his temper under such firm control when all he'd really wanted to do was to throttle the fool for his snide remarks. Adam knew he should have suspected that the news of their hasty wedding would be the talk of the town, but he hadn't thought it would happen quite so quickly. No doubt Cyrus, in his jealousy, had been one of the primary ones responsible for the gossip. Adam was glad now that he'd gone though with the marriage as hastily as he had. He wanted to protect her reputation as much as possible.

  The waitress brought his breakfast then, and though Adam tried to eat, his food seemed tasteless. He lingered over the meal for as long as he could, not wanting to arrive as Elise's too early, but the time finally came for him to go. Despairing, he left the hotel.

  After his meeting with Adam, David had not slept all night either. He didn't know what it was that had been troubling the other man, but he could sense that it would have a profound effect on Elise. He left his home extra early the next morning just to have some time alone with her before Adam arrived.

  "Dr. Williams!" Nurse Halliday greeted him excitedly when he arrived bearing a single red rose. "It happened again! I left the music box on the dresser as you'd directed, and this morning it was on the night table again."

  David's spirits soared. It seemed as if it had taken an eternity, but he was thrilled that he'd found the key to unlock her emotions. Now, it would only be a matter of utmost patience and repeated reassurance to make the final, complete breakthrough. David could hardly wait. He wanted desperately to help her work through the terrors of her past. He wanted to hear her voice and to know what was truly in her heart.

  "That's wonderful, Nurse," he told her. "Is she upstairs?"

  "Yes, by the window."

  He started up the staircase and then turned back. "I got in touch with Mr. Trent last night. He's in town and will be coming by today."

  "Good." The nurse's face lit up at the prospect. "Seeing him may be the best medicine Miss Elise could have."

  David realized that she was probably right, and it bothered him. "I'll be with Elise if you should need me."

  "Yes, Doctor."

  The sunshine was pouring in the window, bathing the room in bright, cheerful light. Elise was sitting in her wingchair looking out upon the garden below, much as she always did. David found himself hoping that some day he would find her watching the door for him instead of staring out at the scenery.

  "Good morning, Elise," he said, his voice warm and gentle as he stared at her.

  Elise looked lovely this morning. Her pale hair was shimmering about her shoulders in a sunbathed golden cascade, and the pale peach-colored gown she wore highlighted her perfect complexion. Though she had lost some weight during her long months of confinement, it had only enhanced the delicacy of her beauty.

  David regarded her in silence for a moment. Even with all the trauma she'd suffered, she still had the appearance of a sweet innocent. He thought her quite the most beautiful woman in the world.

  "I brought you a rose today," he finally said in a rather hoarse voice. It had never hit him quite so forcefully before, but David realized with something akin to sharp pain that if he helped Elise recover, he would lose her. Adam Trent was the man she loved. Adam Trent was her fiancée. Adam Trent would be the man she would run to when her perception of reality returned.

  David was shaken by the torture of his thoughts, and moved to the dresser to put the single bud in the vase full of flowers there. Carrying the vase with him, he drew his chair up next to hers. David sat down beside her as was his usual morning routine.

  "It's a gorgeous day outside." He made pleasant conversation as he placed the vase on the small table before them and picked up the music box from its place there. He wound it carefully and placed it deliberately in her lap. The day before when he'd done this she hadn't spoken, but she had responded openly for the first time by picking up the box and holding it close to her heart.

  Though she didn't speak, Elise dropped her gaze from some faraway point to the treasure in her lap. The melody and the gentle man's presence filled her with a deep, abiding sense of security. She looked up, aware of the sun's warmth upon her and the man at her side. Her blue eyes, reflecting a clear moment of sanity, met David's unthreatening aquamarine gaze fully for the first time in all their months together.

  The contact jolted David to the deepest reaches of his heart and soul, and as he continued to stare into her eyes, an unmitigated joy filled him.

  "Elise . . ." he breathed her name in pure rapture as he took her hand in his. With slow, calm assurance, he lifted it to his lips and pressed a sweet-soft kiss to her palm, his eyes never leaving hers.

  "David?"

  It was a strained, tentative whisper, but to David it sounded like a chorus of angels.

  "Yes, Elise. I'm David." He squeezed her hand reassuringly and then kissed it again.

  "I'm glad you're here, David," Elise said slowly as if a great weariness possessed her.

  "I'm here, and I'll never leave you," he told her fervently as he gazed at her. All the emotion he felt for her was showing clearly on his face.

  Nurse Halliday admitted Adam to the house. She explained that the doctor was already there and with Elise now, but that he should go on up.

  Adam did as she bid, but he was on edge as he approached the open door. He heard the muted sound of voices, and a shock ran through him as h
e recognized one as Elise's. Dear God! he thought in agony. He had prayed so long and so hard for her recovery, and now that she finally was getting better, he was about to destroy everything.

  Adam drew a deep shaking breath and then stepped toward the door. He stopped, frozen in place as he watched the scene being enacted before him in the room. Elise was sitting in a chair at the window, her head bent toward the doctor as if considering something he'd said. She looked lovely, and he could tell by her movements that she was actually in possession of her faculties. Her features no longer bore that distant, detached expression he'd come to expect, but now reflected an awareness of her surroundings and a radiant adoration for the man at her side. David Williams was sitting with her, holding her hand to his lips. His expression openly reflected a love that, until this moment, Adam had never imagined existed.

  Adam stepped back out of the doorway and out of sight. He felt like an intruder, watching the intimate scene. He was stunned by what that innocent, yet revealing moment had shown him, and he knew he needed time to think.

  Retreating back downstairs, he told Nurse Halliday that the doctor had been busy, so he was going to wait for him there in the study. As he paced the room, his mind was racing. Could it have happened? Had Williams really fallen in love with Elise, and, if so, did she feel the same way toward him? This appeared to be the case, but he couldn't be sure.

  Adam sighed and sat down heavily on the sofa. He decided it was time for him to be perfectly honest with Dr. Williams. Perhaps then he could find the true answer to his questions.

  A short time later David descended the stairs, his heart and professionalism on a collision course. He knew Adam Trent would be coming here to see Elise today, and he was desperately worried about how his visit would affect her. She had become so lucid, so open and responsive. It hurt him to think that seeing the other man again might cause her to regress to her previous, frightened behavior.

  David hoped not. More than anything he wanted her to recover and live happily again. The trouble was, David wanted her to live happily with him. Acknowledging the completeness of his love for her had been difficult for him. He'd never been seriously involved with a woman before. His career had always come first. In the beginning, he'd dismissed what he was feeling for Elise as simply a manifestation of his own loneliness. He knew now, now that she was responding to him, that it was nothing that simple. He loved her, and he wanted to marry her as soon as she was well enough. He wanted to spend the rest of his life making her happy and helping her to forget all the tragedy she'd faced so far.

  As he reached the bottom of the staircase, he saw Adam in the parlor. Totally disconcerted for a moment, he could only stand and stare at the other man —this man who, in reality, was his rival and yet who might be Elise's one and only chance for true happiness.

  "Mr. Trent . . . I didn't know you were here. Why didn't you come upstairs to see Elise?" he asked as he went forth to greet him.

  Adam's expression was enigmatic as he regarded the physician across the room. "I thought it would be better if we spoke down here."

  "I see," David answered, frowning slightly. "What was it you wanted to talk about?"

  "There was something I should have told you last night, but at the time I couldn't quite bring myself to be totally open with you."

  David remembered the suspicion he'd had the night before that there had been something troubling Trent, and now he knew he'd been right.

  "Would you like to talk about it now?" he encouraged.

  "I think it's important that you know . . . I was married the day before yesterday."

  "What?" There was no outrage in his statement, just plain, stunned disbelief.

  "Lianne Ducharme and I were married."

  David couldn't believe it. He wasn't sure if he should be happy personally or upset professionally. It thrilled him to think that the one man who stood between him and total happiness was now out of the picture, but he worried that this might hurt Elise.

  "In the beginning, I hoped and prayed for Elise's recovery. You know yourself that I spared no expense in trying to find a cure for her . . ." Adam paused as he recalled those long, painful months of waiting for good news that he finally became convinced would never come. "But as time went on . . . well, things just happened between Lianne and me." He found himself balking at revealing too much about the circumstances of their marriage. Lianne was his wife now and deserving of his protection. "I never really believed that Elise would recover. If I had known . . ."

  "Love cannot be controlled, Mr. Trent," David pointed out with a gentleness that was in no way a condemnation. In fact, he was thinking more in terms of himself than of Adam.

  "I still care deeply for Elise, but . . ."

  "I understand."

  "Has she spoken of me yet? Has she said anything about the past?"

  "No, not yet."

  "I'm really afraid that if I see her now and tell her of all that's taken place I'll be undoing all the good you've accomplished."

  "If Elise is half the woman you've said she is, I think, in time, she'll be perfectly capable of handling the truth," David assured him. "Life is not always fair in the way it deals with each of us. Everyone must learn how to cope in their own way, in their own time."

  "Elise is a wonderful woman, Dr. Williams."

  "I know," he said with a little more emotion than he'd meant to reveal.

  "Well, I think it best if I go now. Will you notify me when you think the time is right?" Adam asked.

  "Yes. I'll keep in touch just as we always have."

  "Good. I want to know everything."

  "I'll see to it."

  Adam started toward the door to take his leave and then paused there to look back at David.

  "You're in love with her, aren't you?" he asked point blank.

  David's smile was slightly crooked as he met his gaze unflinchingly. "Yes, Mr. Trent, I am."

  "Does she love you?"

  "I don't know, but I plan on doing all I can to win her."

  They regarded each other in open assessment for a moment before Adam responded. "I'm glad you've come to love her, and I hope it works out for you."

  David only nodded in response and watched quietly as Adam left the house. Once Adam had gone, David headed back upstairs to spend the rest of the morning with Elise. Perhaps he could coax her from the seclusion of her room today for a walk in the garden, he thought with almost boyish enthusiasm as he climbed the steps. Now that she had opened up enough to start talking again, it was time to convince her to take another daring step back to reality, back to her life and her future.

  As he entered her room, David found that she had heard his footsteps and was watching for him. He smiled spontaneously in a warm greeting and then said a silent prayer that he could find a way to insure that her future would be with him.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Cyrus Shackelford was livid as he left the St. Louis's dining room. Adam Trent had insulted him again and this time publicly! No one ever insulted a Shackelford twice and got away with it! No one!

  Without hesitation, he strode back to his office and canceled his appointments for the day. He ordered his carriage brought around and then headed straight for Willow Bend. He knew Suzanne had to be suffering from the humiliation Trent had just put her through, and he intended to make full use of her fury. A woman scorned, after all, he chuckled evilly to himself.

  The ride to the Labadie plantation couldn't pass quickly enough for Cyrus, and he was relieved when he finally pulled up in front of the sprawling mansion. A waiting servant took the reins as he mounted the porch steps and hurried inside. He entered the house and instructed the maid to tell Suzanne that he was there before making himself comfortable in the parlor.

  Suzanne was surprised by Cyrus's unexpected visit, and she wondered at the reason for it as she descended the stairs to join him.

  "Cyrus, how nice to see you again," she greeted him warmly.

  "Suzanne, you're lookin
g as lovely as ever," he told her smoothly.

  "Why, thank you," she preened, always eager for compliments. "To what do I owe the honor of your visit?"

  "I have a business venture to propose and I'd like to enlist your help with it."

  "A busines venture that requires my help?" Suzanne was really curious now.

  "Yes, you see, Adam Trent has crossed me too many times lately, and I want to see him pay for all the trouble he's caused." Cyrus was bluntly honest with her. "I need your help to do it. Why with your contacts . . ."

  "My contacts?" She gave him a measured look. "What contacts?"

  "Don't play the sweet innocent with me, Suzanne. I'm your banker, remember? I know the state of your finances. I also know that the money you have is not coming from Willow Bend," he revealed, his eyes narrowing as he regarded her.

  Realizing that he was far more shrewd than she'd ever given him credit for, Suzanne quickly decided to play along with his scheme just to find out what he was up to.

  "I see," she stated with little emotion. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

  "Look, we both know how embarrassed you must be after being thrown over by Trent just the day after he'd announced your engagement."

  A telltale blush stung her cheeks, for she couldn't deny the truth of his statement.

  "I have a plan that will make both of them pay . . ." he continued.

  Suddenly Suzanne felt the need to put a stop to his erroneous thinking. "I don't think you quite understand the situation, Cyrus."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "The unfortunate timing of Adam's marriage hasn't really interfered in our plans. Adam still loves me, and as soon as he can, he's going to leave Lianne. We'll be married then."

  "Has he told you that?"

  "Of course," she answered, trying to remember Adam's exact words when he'd told her of their altered plans.