Dare to be Mine (11 page)

"You can of course try to fight it
through litigation," Percy continued, "but knowing my lawyers as I
do, I believe it accurate to say you would be in for a court battle lasting
several years."

"You would do that to me, your only
son and heir, out of spite?" Daniel asked incredulously.

"I do it for much more than just
spite, dear son," Percy replied.

Shaking his head in disgust, Daniel
calmly asked, "How did we ever get to this point, Father?"

"I don't know what you mean,
really, for you are the one who abandoned home and family. And in doing so, you
have become what you hate the most." At Daniel's dubious look, Percy said,
"When I look at you, I see myself."

"I am nothing like you,"
Daniel bit out.

Percy forced a laugh as he headed out of
the study. Daniel's bags were packed and sitting at the front door. In a hurry
to see Daniel leave before Elyssa had a chance to come downstairs, Percy held
open the front door and extended his arm toward the waiting carriage.
"Hurry off to London now and make lots of money. You will need it."

"I shall see you within two weeks,
Father," Daniel said as he ignored Percy's sarcasm. "After I return,
I fully expect to resolve some of our differences concerning the future––you,
me, and dear stepmother."

Percy's hands balled into fists as he
watched Daniel stiffly walk away in tightly reined anger. The boy had indeed
become harsh over the years. Percy's snide remarks no longer seemed to wound to
the quick as they once had. Shoving away the disturbing thought that Daniel
might actually return in two weeks, Percy headed toward the stairs to see how
his wife's plans for departure were progressing.

Elyssa glanced at her reflection in the
mirror once more, finally satisfied with her appearance. She was about to leave
for London thanks to her husband's orders. One final tuck of an errant lock of
hair left Elyssa's appearance flawless. Her mother would certainly be proud
when she saw her. Until she realized that Elyssa was there only because her
husband had kicked her out of their home.

That was certain to cause a ruckus. Her
parents would probably have a conniption in the fear she was cutting off their
new source of income. Shoving the upsetting thoughts aside, Elyssa decided not
to think further about it. The dreaded encounter would come soon enough.

Crossing the room to retrieve a dainty
hat to match her ice blue gown, a movement below caught Elyssa's eye. Her
attention was drawn to a waiting carriage, presumably her own. That assumption
was short-lived, however, when Elyssa saw Daniel leaving the mansion. She
unwittingly held her breath as she stared at the handsome visage he presented.
Daniel was apparently leaving for the business he'd spoken of.

In London.

Her own destination.

Elyssa's heart raced at the forbidden
thoughts that fleetingly passed through her mind. She was certain they would be
at none of the same engagements though, so there was no reason to worry they
might run into each other. Elyssa meant only to have a nice, quiet visit with
her parents and siblings. And those plans did not include attending any soirees
with acquaintances of her husband.

She continued watching as Daniel got
into the carriage, his long legs disappearing just before the door shut. The
thought that this might truly be the last time she ever saw him again left
Elyssa feeling an unwelcome heaviness in her heart. And that she was
experiencing such traitorous emotions caused her no small amount of guilt. In
truth, she should be overjoyed to see the last of the one rogue in the world
that had threatened to make Elyssa break her wedding vows.

Her eyes closed at the stark remembrance
of Daniel's lips escaped her lips and
h smile touching hers, her fingers coming up to her mouth. She
released a shuddering breath at the forbidden memory just as her bedroom door
was flung open. How like Percy to burst into her room without so much as a
polite knock, Elyssa mused inwardly, all thoughts of Daniel vanishing
instantly.

"Are your bags all packed?"
Percy asked, a little too cheerful to Elyssa's liking.

"I suppose,"
she
replied, "but is it really necessary to force me to
leave?"

"I strongly suggest it," Percy
bit out. Elyssa knew it would be fruitless to argue the point any further.
Percy advised that he would send a carriage to her parents' residence one week
later for her return back home.

"Your family has been advised of
your coming and I am certain they are looking forward to seeing how their
investment is faring." Elyssa's mouth dropped open at the insult, her eyes
clouding with tears. It was one thing to feel that her parents had used her
only for monetary gain through marriage, yet another entirely to hear her
husband voice it aloud.

"I shall send up the butler for
your bags. Goodbye, Elyssa, I will see you in a week." With the slam of a
door, he was gone. She'd been dismissed, literally, and Elyssa didn't know
whether to laugh or cry at the irony of the husband she'd not wanted, being the
one to turn her out of their home.

Within moments Elyssa was seated inside
the expensive carriage on her way to the busy streets of London for the first
time in months. The leisurely trip gave Elyssa too much time.
Time to ponder the void in her life.
She felt unwanted and
unimportant in any real sense of the word.
And always had, if
the truth be known.
Her parents hadn't cared about her feelings, but
rather had exchanged her chance at future happiness for a quick coin and a
jaded husband.

Percy certainly didn't want her. She had
no real friends to speak of, male or female. Oh, she'd had plenty of friends
during her years of growing up, though none that she'd kept in close contact
with over the last few years.

The only person that had ever seemed to
really want her––Daniel––was gone. And she knew that had been only in the
most shallow
of ways. He didn’t even know her really. He
certainly didn’t have genuine feelings for her.font-size:0.83rem;
hi dow

She knew it was silly, this infatuation
she felt for him. Knew that although her marriage was not one of happiness, it
was a matter of moral principle that she
forget
she'd
ever met Daniel. And besides, had she a choice now? He was gone, probably
forever. She'd watched him leave with her own eyes. Chances were a year from
now she would scarcely remember his stolen kisses, much less his name.

__________________

Daniel reluctantly accepted another
generous serving of wine. At the head of the table sat one of his business
associates, Bernard Bailey, who'd been kind enough to invite him to a small
dinner party a few days after his arrival in London. Although that thanks he
more than likely owed to Bernard's sultry wife, Abegail, who was seated to her
husband's left, directly across from Daniel.

Her foot seductively made its way up
Daniel's leg, and not for the first time during dinner. Daniel nearly spilled
the wine onto his pristine shirt at the unexpected return of Abegail's foot,
but managed to spill only a bit onto his nearly empty plate. Discreetly sending
a glaring message with his eyes, Daniel was not pleased to see the amused smile
in answer. He could see from the blatant look of lust in Abegail’s eyes that
she was recalling their night shared together nearly a year past.

At that time Daniel had found her
beautiful and exciting. And terribly wanton, one of his favorite attributes in
a woman. Only now, for some insane reason, Daniel could find only flaws in
Abegail. Her blonde hair now seemed rather dull, her wide smile making her
mouth appear too large for her slender face.
And the feel of
her stockinged foot sliding precariously along his thigh seemed too bold for
Daniel's liking.

His recent tastes seemed
uncharacteristically drawn to darker hair.
Much darker.
And smiles more timid and infrequent, making the sight of one
even more splendid.
And although his previous encounters with Revee
seemed to find her more and more untouchable, it was perhaps that elusiveness
that made him
want
her so.

Whatever the case, Daniel now found
Abegail's persistence rather annoying. The only reason he'd agreed to the
dinner was because Bernard was inviting several other businessmen Daniel had
planned to meet with during his two week stay in London. This one dinner party
might very well shorten his trip by a good many days. It would mean seeing
Revee that much sooner, and the thought brought a long forgotten feeling of
exhilaration.

Sometime before his departure from
London, however, Daniel was determined to track down his stepmother. If Percy
was telling the truth, his wife was staying with her family perhaps only miles
away. A few simple questions would certainly aid in his pursuit of the woman.
Daniel had no plans to harass her, not really, but merely to have an adult
conversation regarding her marriage to his father.
And her
intention of stealing away his inheritance.

Once he had the matter settled––and
Daniel had no intention of failing––he would be free to return to Paris if he
so desired. Of a certainty he did not wish to reside with his father and
stepmother at Greystone.

Perhaps he would stay in the quaint
house he now owned that was located only a few miles away. The London home had
been left to him by his mother but Daniel had never bothered to have the place
prepared for occupancy.
The fleeting thought that perhaps
Revee might live there one day as his mistress was short-lived as Daniel faced
the realization she was wed already.

She was extremely unhappy though, and
Daniel was determined that he would be the man to undo that. He refused to
allow her husband to ever leave a mark on Revee again and if the eventual
result meant a damned divorce, then so be it. Divorce might be the utmost
scandal in London's polite society, but Revee, not being one of the haughty
ton
,
would be for all purposes a virtual unknown in London did she agree to become
his mistress.

Yes, the evening was looking up, Daniel
decided. Irritated with Abegail's wandering leg, he reached beneath the table
and grabbed her foot, giving it a quick squeeze. She was caught off guard and
yelped in an unladylike squeal, snatching her foot back immediately. Bernard
looked at his young wife as if she'd gone stark raving mad, as did all the
other guests. Daniel feigned surprise likewise, his barely suppressed smile
aggravating Abegail as she halfheartedly mumbled an apology for her outburst.
Abegail refrained from bothering Daniel any further although she certainly had
no intentions of letting him get away without setting up a rendezvous sometime
during his stay.

After dinner, the women retired to the
drawing room and shared in the latest gossip, the men having a drink and
sharing further talk of business and pleasure in the study. It seemed that men
gossip
disappearg">CHAPTER ed just as much as women, Daniel mused. Still, this one time it might
prove to be helpful. Just as one of the men finished complaining about his
meddling in-laws, Daniel chimed in. "Speaking of unwanted relatives, I
have yet to meet my new stepmother. My father said she is visiting her parents
here in London. I don't suppose any of you know their whereabouts, do
you?"

"Can't say that I do," Bernard
replied, "although I would guess that Abegail knows or could find out for
you."

"No," Daniel said. "I
really don't wish for anyone to pry. I just thought perhaps you might have met
my father's new wife."

None of the men had, informing Daniel
that his father had become a virtual recluse, only holding business meetings at
Greystone, rather than traveling to London himself. None of the men there had
met Percy's wife, although one young man did confess that a friend of his had
encountered her and commented on what a ravishing young woman she was.

"I think her maiden name was
Monroe. Her father is a viscount. Always seeming to have financial difficulties
from what I hear." Random chuckles erupted at that disclosure and Daniel
found it difficult to present a forced smile, for it would seem that his
father's wife was indeed after Percy for his money.

"I do know of a Monroe staying not
more than a few blocks from here," another of the men confided, and
proceeded to give Daniel the location.
"Nearly talked me
into a raw business deal several months ago.
Had I invested in his
venture, I'd most likely be selling everything I own to pay my debts. Monroe is
not one you want to trust with your life savings."

Daniel thanked the man for the
information, hoping it was the same Monroe whose greedy daughter was now a part
of his family. Excitement pumped through his veins as Daniel contemplated the
face to face meeting he would soon have with his stepmother. He imbibed another
drink of bourbon, barely hearing the remainder of the conversation at hand.

Excusing himself shortly after, Daniel
apologized for leaving early. Just after Daniel exited the front door, he heard
his name softly called. Turning about, he saw Abegail standing there, distress
showing in her dark eyes. Not wanting anyone to see her approach Daniel, yet scarcely
unable to refrain from throwing herself in his arms, Abegail pleaded,
"Darling, I must see you. I want you so badly. When can you meet me?"