Harnessed Passions (11 page)

The rest of the afternoon went by with the
grace and smoothness of a ballet dancer in poetic motion. Every
detail had been planned out to perfection; the food was fresh and
cooked with Mrs. Lester’s usual delicious flare, the wine served
was the finest anyone had ever tasted. Flowers flooded the rooms
while people chatted and visited with long lost relatives. Stories
circulated around the rooms of Victor, laughter at odd tales of his
youth, admiration of deals successfully made and curious
speculation of what his will entailed.

Julia felt the urgency for seclusion. After
rejecting Daniel’s suggested nap to help Louise see to the
preparations, she felt exhausted beyond mere fatigue. She paced
herself slowly towards the family room, greeting guests, hugging
family members and chatting briefly with relatives she only knew by
name. Once inside, she closed the door quietly, shutting out the
sounds of the day and chaos of the world.

The room was comfortably furnished with a
large over stuffed sofa and four cushioned wingback chairs. She
chose the one nearest her father's shelves of books, kicked off her
shoes and rested her stocking feet on the small ottoman in front of
her. Her neck ached, her head felt heavy on her shoulders and her
eyes were sore and red from crying. She took a sip from the glass
of wine she had brought with her before setting it on a small table
to her left.

A book on animal husbandry sat unopened on
the table, one of her father's favorite selections. She picked it
up and began scanning through the pages of information, feeling a
little nostalgic as she leafed through it. The drawings were a
little more graphic then she would have preferred and the details
were far above present comprehension, so she laid it aside and
closed her eyes.

The solitude of the room was exquisite and
Julia began to float away on a wave of contentment. Outside on the
veranda, the sounds of birds chirping cheerfully among the bushes
that surrounded the stone wall filtered through the stillness of
the room, as they sung their happy songs in the afternoon peace. A
gentle breeze blew through the open doors, rustling the sheer
drapery that hung across the doors. It felt warm and relaxing as it
brushed her cheek gently, lolling her into a soft slumber.

A noise, soft and almost inaudible, echoed
through her seclusion bringing her reluctantly back to her
surroundings. It sounded at first as though a door had opened, but
she kept her eyes closed, hoping to regain the serenity she had
encountered a few moments before. The peacefulness was intoxicating
and she slowly began to drift away again. The rustle of the birds
grew louder and she resisted the sounds, unwilling to surrender the
small piece of paradise, she had secured for herself, but the noise
soon increased and she couldn't suppress waking completely.

She opened her eyes slowly, reluctantly, a
frowned furrowing her slender brows across her tired eyes. The
birds didn't sound so peaceful any more, it sounded as though they
were making a nest in the bookcase behind her. She knew she would
have to put a stop to them, before all of her father's literary
collection had vanished into a pile of kindling. Julia surrendered
her seclusion with a heavy sigh, lowering her feet back into her
shoes as she prepared to put an end to the invasion.

Suddenly she felt the room growing dark
again, a sharp pain exploding near her temple as pain quickly
spread throughout her skull. She fell forward across the ottoman as
the room began to spin; the floor came up and met her in a hard
thump. A heavy sensation pressed firmly against her chest holding
her down, while something soft covered her face; her lungs began
struggling for air. She felt as though she were being suffocated by
something large, thick and smelled of lilacs.

Her head ached and she felt a slow warm
trickle, running down the side of her face as she tried to turn her
head to the side. A strangled, muffled sound echoed from somewhere
in the room, then Julia realized frantically it had come from
within her own throat as she continued to struggle to bring air
into her lungs. The explosion of a high pitched laughter made her
gasp for air as darkness swelled around her, taking her down
further into its waiting embrace. She briefly registered the sound
of movement against the carpet thrumming between her ears like
thunder and the whisper of something far off, distant, through the
denseness.

Her name, she could hear somebody calling
her name and then she saw it; the brown oak casket opening to catch
her, as she fell through the pitch-blackness of space. The flames
of eternal damnation leapt out at her and she continued to fall,
never quite reaching her destination, yet never pulling completely
away. She heard her name whispered again, the sound dissolving in
the dense blackness of night. She was enveloped into the warmth of
emptiness, seconds before the flames reached her, and then there
was nothing, just blackness that embraced her in a shroud of
peace.

So this was death, she wondered for a split
moment before darkness swallowed her and she surrendered to it
completely. It wasn’t so bad after all.

Julia awoke with a start as something cool
touched her forehead. She tried to open her eyes but surrendered
quickly to the pain that seemed to rip her skull in two. She
settled back against the softness beneath her head as she tried to
focus on where she was and what was happening. She felt a soft warm
breeze against her cheek as the moist cloth began to wipe gently at
her forehead. She tried again to open her eyes and sit up, but a
wave of pain pinned her down. Her eyelids closed tighter in an
attempt to hold back the tears, but it did nothing for the
unbearable pain.

Warmth brushed her cheek and she struggled
against the darkness to regain control of her eyes. Her frowned
deeply but she managed to blink several times, slowly clearing her
clouded vision enough to focus on the image of a man leaning across
her. His blue eyes were filled with concern and she tried to smile,
but found the effort harder than she anticipated.

Daniel leaned across Julia’s slender frame
as he wiped the wound on her head as gently as he possibly could.
Her frown worried him as she struggled to open her eyes fully. She
looked like a newborn fawn, innocent and weak, fearful of the world
around her as she attempted to face her life without the comfort of
her mother’s womb.

"You had us all worried, Princess," he
informed her soothingly, a smile curving his full lips. "Do you
know what happened?” his voice was a gentle whisper, yet it sounded
like thunder in her aching head. Julia's tried once again to
remember what had happened, but all she could recall was a soft
scent of lilacs, the suffocating pain of trying to breath and the
sound of birds ravishing the bookcase. It all seemed so hazy, so
confused in a brain filled with thunder and lightning bolts. She
could barely distinguish between what was real and what was a bad
dream. Finally she shook her head holding it gently between her
hands, feeling as though it would roll off her shoulders and out
the door if she moved too suddenly.

"Just rest then," he whispered wiping her
brow with the moist rag.

"You have an excellent bedside manner, Mr.
Browning." Julia whispered with a weak smile as she tried to make
the situation appear trivial, though the slightest movement made
her feel as though she were caught in a bailing machine. Daniel
leaned down across her, pressing a gentle kiss against her dry
lips. Her smile at his touch came a little easier than a moment ago
and she closed her eyes to hide the strange feelings he stirred to
life.

"How is she?" asked Jeremy as he stepped
quietly into the room. Julia's eyes blinked open with a frown. She
didn't answer at first, she thought of how that soft sound of the
door opening seemed hauntingly familiar. She closed her eyes again.
She had to stop thinking the pain was getting worse and now she
felt nauseous.

"Are you alright?" her brother asked again
as she struggled to open her eyes, studying her features with
concern. Julia's effort of reassurance was becoming easier. She
offered her brother what she hoped appeared to be a genuine smile
and nodded so slight he barely noticed it.

"How are you feeling?" he asked again, not
completely convinced by her makeshift attempt of normalcy.

"My head hurts," she said weakly, giving the
two men a childish pout. Daniel chuckled softly, leaning down and
pressed his lips against her forehead in such a tender act, she
wondered if she hadn't imagined it until her eyes focused on the
man only inches above her.

"Much better," she whispered, a soft color
flushing her pale cheeks.

"Well, she must be okay," Jeremy replied,
walking back to the door. "But I'd better make sure mother got hold
of old Doc Stewart, just the same." The door closed again, leaving
Julia alone with this man who sent such strange vibrations shooting
along her spine. She closed her eyes again and said nothing for
several minutes. She tried not to think in order to block the pain,
but she knew she couldn't ignore the situation indefinitely.

"Daniel," she asked slowly, feeling a whole
new array of torture erupt near her temples at the sound of her own
voice. "Who found me?"

"I did," he answered in a gentle whisper,
trying not to cause her any more discomfort than necessary.
"Why?”

"Did you see anybody leave the room?" she
asked with another frown.

"No, why? Did you see someone? You did, you
saw who did this to you. Tell me who it was and I'll have him in
jail before the night's over!" Daniel's tone increased in volume
and she moaned softly at the sound bouncing around her brain, her
hands holding her head gently.

"Daniel, please," she pleaded in a hushed
tone, trying to focus on his face. "I didn't say I saw anybody, I
just wanted to know if you did."

"I didn't see anything, Princess," he
assured her gently, laying a warm hand on her cheek. "When you came
up missing I went looking for you and found you on the floor, with
a bloody head and a pillow next to you." He sighed quickly,
regretting his revelation of how he'd found her while she was still
so weak.

"Just rest. Your mother has sent for the
doctor and the guests have all left, so there's nothing for you to
do, but obey."

"So you've taken over as my personal
physician, Mr. Browning?"

"It's better than being your lawyer," he
teased, gently adding, "and it's much more fun."

"How do you see that?”

"Well, this way I get
to
play doctor
with
you, and it’s completely moral and socially acceptable."

"You're incorrigible," she whispered with a
blush, sinking her head deeper into the pillows beneath it.

"I only offer you an honest invitation," he
whispered in turn, his lips lightly brushing hers. She closed her
eyes against the sensuous visions dancing among the bouts of pain
as she accepted his kisses.

Daniel looked at her, relishing the slow
smile curving her lips as she lay beneath his inspection. She was
so beautiful and so delicate. Even though she pretended to be
strong and in control, he knew her for what she really was. She was
vulnerable and in need of protection, and he so desperately wanted
to be the one to wrap her in a blanket of security. This woman was
so very different from any other he had ever known. She was
intelligent and arrogant, yet soft and alluring and so very
sensuous.

His mind recalled the feel of her when he
held her in his arms the night her father had passed away. She had
nearly surrendered to him there and then in the shade of the
veranda. He was forced to abandon her, leaving her to her own
resources before he acted on his desires. He had meant only to kiss
her, but once she was in his arms he found his own reserves weaken
and nearly dissolve beyond control.

He envisioned her in his arms again; her
delicate body pressed beneath him as he bathed her naked body with
his love, her long hair spread wildly across his pillows; her hands
bound so she had no choice but to surrender to him completely.
There was no greater aphrodisiac in this world than for a woman to
surrender complete trust to a man; allowing herself to experience
the depth of passion and release, all while she begged him to make
her come. It was thoughts such as these that made him leave her
that night, and kept him at bay with her even now.

Daniel shook his head running his hand
through his messed hair. Just an hour ago he had feared for her
very life. Lying unconscious on the floor, blood streaking her pale
cheek, caking in the dark strands of hair she looked so near death.
The pillow from the sofa lay next to her stained with blood; an
indication that someone had attempted to suffocate her, but why? He
was terrified that she was dead and when he lifted her in his arms,
cradling her against his chest, praying for her life and safety,
she began breathing. He could not believe that after the horror he
felt at almost losing her, that he could become so aroused with
just a mere smile and a kiss of an angel.

Just as he was prepared to wrap her in his
arms again, the door opened and Louise stepped through followed by
the elderly form of the town doctor. Daniel shook the man's strong,
weathered hand before stepping out of the way with Jeremy. The
doctor sat stooped over Julia, beginning his examination as the
three looked on in concern.

Julia had always heard her
father speak of how much he hated doctors and now she understood
why. Their constant prying and poking with instruments that were
cold as winter snow, not to mention the
uh-huhs
and
hmms
were enough to make a well
person, ill. After a number of questions from the doctor, she was
allowed to rest her throbbing head back against the soft pillow
again. She watched as the doctor made several notes on the pad of
paper he carried with him, before packing his impersonal tools back
in the worn black bag and removing a needle, syringe and vial of
clear liquid.