Illusive Flame Page 19

  “Thank you.” She moved to the door.

  He blocked her path. “You’re forgetting something.”

  “What?”

  “My kiss.”

  She blinked her eyes innocently. “But I’m on duty, Mr. Braxton.”

  “No, you’re not.” He reached for her.

  She slipped out of his grasp and escaped through the door.

  “I will hold you to your promise, Ms. Spenser,” he called after her.

  She laughed.

  * * *

  That night Victoria felt a feeling of restlessness again as she set the table for dinner in the carriage house. She had to talk to her aunt about Robert and what she should do if there happened to be another fire. Her aunt always had useful advice. Victoria jumped when she heard a loud crash in the kitchen. She ran inside and found Janet on the ground grimacing. Soup stained the white tile red.

  Victoria grabbed the phone and called an ambulance. When the dispatcher told her to stay on the line, she dropped the receiver and lifted her aunt from the floor. She cradled her in her arms.

  “You must hold on,” she said hiding any panic from her voice, wishing she knew a way to ease her pain. “You’ll be okay.”

  Janet looked up at her suddenly looking very old. “No, I won’t.”

  Tears blurred her vision as her heart slowly shattered. “Yes, you will. You have to be. You can’t leave me. You’re all I have.”

  “Victoria—”

  She placed fingers over her lips: “Don’t speak, Aunty. You need to keep your energy. You need—”

  Janet grabbed her arm. “Listen. I don’t need tears. I’ve lived a good life. I was happy.”

  “Please, I need you.”

  “And there are others who need you. Stay strong for me. Always remember you’re a Spenser. Use your gift for good and remember...” Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her breath faded away.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Victoria had hoped for a day with no sunshine, but the sun shone bright through the melancholy breeze. The scent of honeysuckle drifted towards her as it clung to a nearby headstone. She did not see the faces of the other mourners, or hear their curious whispers and hushed voices. She’d created a cocoon so that the only emotions she could feel were her own.

  Death was no stranger to her, yet its presence always came as a surprise. She knew no one belonged to her, yet felt an anger that her dear aunt would be taken from her so soon.

  Victoria didn’t remember when the ceremony ended, or when everyone left. She didn’t care. She stood alone by the burial site, wishing the bright sun could warm the coldness inside her. The one person who had cared about her was gone. How cruel irony was. She could feel so many things, but had not sensed her aunt’s sickness. If only she’d had more warning, but she’d noticed too late. She was always too late.

  She kneeled and touched the dirt. All this time of digging and planting she never would have guessed she would end up putting her aunt in the ground. For a moment she wanted to crawl in with her and have it all end. She had no one now No one she belonged to. She was truly alone. There would be no one to scold her, no one to talk to, no one to come home to, and no one to claim her as family. She felt useless.

  Oh, that she could turn to dust as well.

  “Now that would be foolish.”

  Victoria turned at the sound of the low voice and saw a black man standing a few feet away. He had a handsome face of such perfect symmetry she would have mistaken him for an angel had his eyes not been so dark.

  “Ms. Janet would not want you thinking such things,” he said.

  She rose to his feet. He looked familiar, though she was certain she’d never met him before. “Who are you?”

  “JB Braxton.” He held out his hand, swallowing hers when he shook it.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Everyone had to return to the house. I promised Robert I would look after you.” He glanced at the ground. “I know how it feels to lose a loved one.” He looked up and his mouth curved with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “So if you’d like to talk...”

  She responded to the smile a little ashamed. “I’ve had foolish thoughts before.”

  “Many have. The key is not to let them linger. You must find a reason to push them away.”

  “What was your reason?”

  He looked startled for a moment then his eyes glinted with humor. “I’m not ready to share my secrets yet.” He held out his arm. “Come on. For now pretend the sun is your aunt smiling down on you.”

  Victoria took his arm and walked from the gravesite without looking back.

  * * *

  Although Robert had given her time off, Victoria went to work the next day. She accomplished all her duties like a machine. She walked to Amanda’s room with a load of fresh laundry, but stopped when she heard Nicholas’ voice and Amanda’s loud sobs.

  “Quit crying, brat,” he said. “It’s not as though your mother died.”

  “It’s not fair.”

  “Life’s not fair.”

  “She’d always been here.”

  “Ms. Janet was a good housekeeper. Uncle will get another one.”

  “Go away,” she said in a muffled voice.

  “Fine. Waste your tears.”

  Victoria stiffened more at the callousness of his tone than his words. She remembered being a child when she had to depend on the kindness of others and usually not getting it. She remembered having no mother or father to turn to. Amanda had an uncle who loved her, but he had little time for her and was totally unaware of life’s little childhood traumas. Victoria felt her grief slowly melt as a new purpose replaced it. She would be the person she wished she’d had as a child. She would be someone else’s strength. That would make her aunt proud.

  When Nicholas left Amanda’s room and saw Victoria, he smiled. “Hello.”

  She did not smile back. “Hello.”

  He held up an object. “I found your earring.”

  She held out her hand. “Thank you.”

  He clasped it. “How about a fair exchange?”

  “I’m not going to give you anything.”

  He took a step closer and lowered his voice. “Not even a little kiss?”

  “I’d rather eat my own flesh.”

  “Too bad.” He pushed the earring in his pocket. “I guess you won’t get this back then.” He walked away.

  Victoria watched him leave with mounting anger. She would get her earring back and make him regret the day he toyed with her. She entered Amanda’s room and rested the clothes on a drawer. She sat on the bed where Amanda had buried her head under the pillows. “Amanda.”

  The girl turned, her tears glistened on her eyelashes. “I’m so unhappy.”

  “I know.” Victoria held out her arms. Amanda fell into them and continued to cry. Victoria gently rocked her. “I know.”

  * * *

  At dinner, Amanda sat at the table red-eyed and quiet. Victoria glanced at Mrs. Lavinia Braxton, a handsome woman who moved with the grace of one raised in privilege. Robert’s other brother Jerome, sat next to her. An attractive man with a rugged, arrogant face and a build that almost made his mother look like a child in contrast. He had none of JB’s reserve or Robert’s impatience. Instead he looked as though he’d prefer speeding down the highway on a motorcycle to sitting in an elegant dining room. Victoria inwardly, winced recalling his handshake.

  Victoria could feel Robert’s gaze on her as she served dinner. She ignored him.

  “So, Robert,” Lavinia said. “When will you look for another housekeeper?”

  Robert shot her a glance. “This is not the time, Mother.”

  She had the grace to look embarrassed. “Yes, of course.” She glanced at Victoria. “You can take time off, dear.”

  “I prefer working,” Victoria said, placing the dinner in front of her. She looked around the table then said, “I hope you all enjoy your meal.”

  Nicholas snapped his fingers
when Victoria turned to the kitchen. “You haven’t given me my dinner, yet. I suppose you’re saving the best for last.”

  She smiled. “Yes.”

  Victoria walked into the kitchen and grabbed his plate then poured the contents in Benjamin’s extra dish. She entered the dining room and placed the dish on the floor in the corner. “There you are. Enjoy.”

  The group stared in stunned silence. Finally Lavinia said, “What is going on?”

  Victoria sent Robert significant look. “I’m feeding my spider.”

  “Your spider? What are you talking about? Robert what is she talking about?”

  “He also took my earring.”

  Robert sent Nicholas a cool look. “I see.”

  “What do you mean took?” Nicholas asked. He held out her missing earring. “I found this under my bed.”

  Her face went hot with the implication, aware that all eyes were on her. She picked up the dog dish ready to hurl it at him then caught Robert’s eye and stopped. “That is not true.”

  “Why do women have such short memories? Remember you--”

  Robert set down his fork in a quick, impatient movement. “Nicholas, give her the earring.” He gave the command in a soft tone, his voice holding the power and resonance of a low thunder.

  Nicholas hesitated then reluctantly did so.

  “The next time you try to entertain us, make sure you’re funny and tasteful.” He sent a significant look at Amanda who was watching the interaction with puzzled eyes.

  “What was Ms. Victoria’s earring doing under your bed?” She made a face. “I bet you stole it.”

  Robert said, “Ms. Spenser please take Amanda with you into the kitchen.”

  Victoria took Amanda’s hand and her plate of food then left.

  “Robert what is going on?” his mother said. “You can’t let her treat poor Nicholas like that. I don’t care if her aunt just died.”

  “I’ll handle this.”

  “But Robert—”

  He looked at her; she fell quiet. He wiped his mouth and laid his napkin down. “Nicholas you have an hour to pack.”

  Nicholas leaned back in his chair. “I’m not afraid of you,” he said with a smug smile.

  Robert rubbed his chin. “Well, you never were very smart.”

  “I was just teasing her.” He glanced around the table. “It was a joke Grandma. Uncle Robert doesn’t get a joke.”

  Robert glanced down and folded his napkin in half. “Where did you find her earring?”

  “I just told you.”

  He crumpled the napkin in his fist. “I knew you when you used to drool on yourself.” His cold dark eyes shot across the table. “So don’t waste my time.”

  Nicholas swallowed. “It was in the library, okay?”

  “What happened in the library?”

  He held up his hands in surrender. “Look, whatever she told you is a lie. She was taunting me. You know how some of them are. They want to be with the boss, so they’ll settle for the next best thing. You’ve got to admit she’s a... Look I’m only a guy. It’s not like I hurt her or anything.”

  Rage nearly blinded him as he remembered feeling Victoria’s fear and seeing the bruise on her wrist. “You now have twenty minutes to pack.”

  His mother spoke up. “Robert she’s a nobody. You can’t take her word over his.”

  “Actually, he can,” JB said. “My own nanny had a few complaints about where Nicholas liked to put his hands.”

  Nicholas fell forward in disbelief. “Oh, come on! You don’t have to play her protector. You know what they’re like. They expect it.”

  Robert’s voice deepened. “Fifteen.”

  Nicholas blinked. “Look if you two have something going on, I didn’t know. The others didn’t seem so—”

  “What others?’

  He saw his Uncle’s face change into an expression he’d never seen before. It was an expression that scared him. “I’d better go.”

  Jerome nodded. “The smartest thing you’ve said today.”

  * * *

  Fifteen minutes later, Robert rested against the red corvette as Nicholas put his bags inside. He leaned over the doorframe as Nicholas sat in the driver’s seat. “Make sure I never see your face again,” he warned softly. “I may find the need to rearrange it if I do.” He slammed the door and watched the corvette drive off until it was a red dot in the distance. He turned to Foster who was pretending to water the plants. “Where’s Victoria?”

  “I think she went to the greenhouse.”

  “Thanks.” He glanced at the hose. “It helps to turn on the water,” he grumbled, marching past.

  * * *

  Robert found Victoria in the greenhouse holding up an orchid to the light. “Why didn’t you tell me about Nicholas?” he asked without preamble.

  She nearly dropped the pot, startled. She set it down hard. “What?”

  “Nicholas,” he said slowly. “Why didn’t you tell me about him?”

  Victoria turned the pot around to avoid his eyes. “I thought I could handle him.”

  “What made that change?”

  “He was cruel to Amanda and at that moment I wanted to hurt him.”

  “So you know how I feel.” He gently brushed her cheek with his knuckles. “You should have told me what happened in the library.”

  She shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. “He tried to kiss me and I stopped him.”

  “Did he try any other time?”

  “No.” She folded her arms and frowned at him. “I can take care of myself.”

  “If someone’s threatening you, you have to tell me.”

  “Why?”

  “You know why. Don’t pretend you don’t.”

  “Your mother.”

  “I’ll handle her.”

  “Patrice, Nicholas, your mother.” She shook her head. “You can’t handle everyone for me.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because that’s not your job.”

  He searched her face. “You should have told me about him.”

  “I couldn’t. Not then.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because he’s your family and he wanted me for the same reasons you do.”

  Robert stared at her as though she’d struck him then shook his head with reluctant admiration. “You really know how to hit your target.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you, but if I’m not right then tell me I’m wrong. Tell me that what’s between us is more than sex.”

  His eyes caught and held hers. “It’s more than sex.”

  “How?”

  “I don’t know. It just is.”

  She looked away unable to hold his gaze. “What would people think if they found out?”

  “I don’t care what people think.”

  “Then why are we keeping this a secret?”

  He ran a finger along the rim of a pot.

  She knew his silence was an answer. “I can’t see you anymore.”

  “That’s fine.” It was a lie, but she didn’t argue. He’d never ask her to stay and she understood that even though she felt as though her heart was shriveling in her chest.

  “Good.”

  “I guess with your aunt gone you have no reason to stay.”

  “Yes.”

  “Except...”

  “Except what?” she asked with a bit of hope.

  “Except Amanda would miss you.”

  “Only Amanda?”

  His gaze fell. “No.”

  Victoria hesitated sensing the feelings he would never reveal. “If I stay...”

  His gaze flew up. “Yes?”

  “It will be complicated.”

  “We can make it simple.”

  She felt herself weakening. “We can’t keep it a secret forever.”

  “I know. We won’t.” He sighed and looked away. “I just didn’t expect...” He shoved his hands in his pockets. He wanted to change the subject to something he was ready to face. He wasn’t ready to face loving her
yet. “You know I miss your aunt more than I thought. Ms. Janet had such a presence. She was here when grandfather was ill and my marriage was breaking down and when I was dealing with Amanda. I never pictured this place without her.”

  Victoria reached out and held his hand, feeling his sadness, seeing the compassion and strength that reminded her why she loved him. “I don’t want to be someone you’ll welcome in private, but deny in public.”

  “Okay.” He nodded and squeezed her hand, but didn’t look at her. “I’ll handle things.”

  “What does that mean?”

  He lifted her hand to his lips for a featherlike kiss that offered a silent promise. “It means trust me. I won’t let you down.” He released her hand and walked to the door.

  “But what are you going to do?”

  He opened the door and called over his shoulder. “Trust me, Victoria. Just trust me.”

  She watched him go, not knowing whether to worry or feel relieved. She spent a few more minutes in the greenhouse before returning to the main house. She entered through the kitchen.

  ‘You’re only hurting yourself,” Dana said. “And don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about,” she warned when Victoria turned to her surprised. “I see how you look at him. I’ve seen it before. Every girl thinks that they’re the first. But they’re not. Do you think he doesn’t know his appeal? Women have been falling at his feet since he could crawl.

  “I can’t blame you,” she continued before Victoria could argue. “If I were younger I might be cockeyed too, but take this from someone who knows. You’re like a shiny new toy to him, but your shine will fade.” She covered a container and placed it in the fridge. “Remember that.”

  * * *

  Robert locked himself in his study, feeling a mixture of anger and relief. Victoria would stay, but she’d compared him with Nicholas. How could she have compared him to that spineless, useless nephew of his? He was different. He tapped an angry beat on his desk. Then why was he so upset? Why did a part of him think she was right? What had he promised her that his nephew hadn’t? He shook his head. No, he was different. What he felt for her was different. He wanted her for more than just to satisfy his lust, but what more was there? He certainly didn’t want to get married again.