A Moment in Time (46 page)

Wyn went to the drinks table and poured them
both a snifter of brandy. He turned to her and handed her one, then
lifted his. "Cheers, Mrs. Conrad," he said.

"Cheers, Mr. Conrad," she replied. They had
married two weeks before in the conservatory at Stonelair. Valerie
and Wyn had invited Marguerite, who had been impressed by the
splendors of Stonelair and had determined that Wyn might be worthy
of a de la Rochelle, although she had disapproved of the presence
of all the animals at the wedding.

They clinked glasses, then sat down on one of
the big Chesterfield couches. "That was a wonderful ride," Wyn
said.

"Yes, it was," she agreed. "How does your
head feel? Any aches? Pains?"

"It's okay," he said. "Funny, now that it's
quit bothering me, I forget about it." He looked over at her. "It
was a close call, wasn't it?"

"Very close," Valerie said.

"I knew there was a reason I stopped seeing
Daphne Collins," he said seriously. "She was pretty and smart and
desirable. I guess we went out together for a few months, around
the time I met Arielle, but I began to think that Daphne was
irrationally possessive. Maybe even a little obsessed with me."

"She was obsessed all right," Valerie
said.

"Yes, but I had no idea she'd actually moved
up here after I bought Stonelair," Wyn said. "And to think, once
she found out about us, how she started killing your patients to
get back at you. It's so crazy how our affair meant so little to me
but everything to her."

Valerie patted his shoulder. "It's not your
fault, Wyn," she said. "You were simply the object of her
obsession. You didn't have any control over that."

"I know," he said "and that's what Colette
keeps telling me."

"Colette?" Valerie said. "Have you talked to
her?"

"I forgot to tell you that she called today,"
he said. "She's really excited."

"What did she have to say?"

"Let me see," he said. "There was a lot."

They both laughed. Colette had taken to Wyn
like a fish to water, and the feeling seemed to be mutual. Right
now she was looking after Val's cottage, until she decided whether
to sell it.

"She's got a new African pygmy hedgehog," he
said. "Named it Spike."

"Oh, that's wonderful," Valerie said. "It
means she's getting over Hayden's death, a little bit anyway."

"Eddie and Jonathan gave it to her for a
present," Wyn said. "Isn't that great?"

"It is," Val agreed. "And just like
them."

"It gave me an idea, but I wanted to ask you
about it first."

"What?" she asked.

"I thought it might be nice if we give Eddie
and Jonathan a husky pup to replace Noah," he said. "What do you
think?"

"I think it's terrific, Wyn," she said, "but
first let me feel them out about it, without letting on. You know,
to see if they're ready."

"That's a good idea," he said. "They may not
be, and I'd hate to put them in the position of feeling like they
had to take it."

Valerie looked at him and felt her heart
absolutely surge with love.
How could I be so lucky?
she
asked herself for the thousandth time.
To have such a wonderful,
loving, and thoughtful man to love me?

"Colette was excited about you setting up
your own practice, too," Wyn said, "and told me to congratulate
you. The bad news—or I guess sad news—from Colette," he went on,
"is that they've indicted Tiffani Grant for poisoning the horses
and for possession of an illegal drug. The amphetamine she used.
Really nasty highly concentrated stuff. I've forgotten the specific
charges, but I'm sure Colette will fill you in."

He gave her a sidelong glance. He knew that
she'd been devastated to learn that Teddy had been seeing Tiffani.
She'd wanted to believe that Teddy loved her in some way or other,
but she now believed that he'd always used her and never really
loved her at all. She'd begun to question her own judgment, and Wyn
had done everything in his power to help her overcome her feelings
of inadequacy and self-doubt.

"What do you think will happen to her?"
Valerie asked.

Wyn shook his head. "It's a hard call," he
replied. "Claims she didn't know what it was. I think a lot of it
depends on the jury, what they believe. She may get off pretty
light, considering."

Valerie didn't respond immediately, but sat
thoughtfully looking off into space. "And Teddy?" she finally
asked. "Any news there yet?"

"He's been indicted on a number of charges,
but the investigation continues, Colette said. Misappropriating
clients' money, breaking all kinds of SEC rules. Jesus. A lot of
stuff. Apparently that secretary of his—"

"Lydia?" Valerie asked.

"Yes, I think that was her name," he replied.
"Anyway, she's a material witness and word is she's a good one.
It's lucky she stepped forward when she did, or all of your
mother's money, and your cousin's, might have gone up in
smoke."

"I'm glad they didn't lose anything," Valerie
said.

"The big losers in this whole mess were Teddy
and Tiffani and Santo and Arielle," he said. "Santo would've gotten
a nice retirement package from me, but instead he's going to be
pumping iron in a prison gym for killing Daphne. Ditto Arielle.
She'd have gotten a huge financial settlement, instead of jail time
if she hadn't gotten so greedy."

"You're right," she said. "I can only feel
pity for them."

He looked over at her and took one of her
hands in his. "Val," he said, "I've got to say that I've never
respected or loved anybody in my life like you."

She laughed. "Why are you saying that
now?"

"Because you just reminded me of it," he
said. "Wishing your mother well even though she's been so unkind to
you. Inviting her to the wedding like you did. A lot of people,
most people probably, would've turned their backs on her."

"I couldn't do that," she said.

"No," he said, "I know you couldn't." He
hugged her to him then. "What say we get out of this riding gear
now, and go upstairs for a little romp in the hay?"

"Are you up to that, Mr. Conrad?" she
asked.

"You bet I am, Mrs. Conrad," he replied. "It
seems," she said, looking up into his dark eyes, "you know me
awfully well."

"And I love what I know," he said, leaning
down to kiss her.