Lancelot's Lady (34 page)

Jonathan shook his head.
"
I don
'
t get it. He hated that I wanted to be an artist. Said it was a hobby for lazy people, not a respectable career.
"
His voice grew bitter.
"
He was so pissed when I told him I was going to paint instead of take over Lance Industries. When I married Sirena, I couldn
'
t even talk to him without him judging all my shortcomings.
"

"
So you left.
"

"
What else could I do? He was a tyrant.
"

"
I think you
'
ll find he
'
s changed.
"

"
I
'
ll have to see it to believe it.
"

She sighed.
"
Jonathan, if there
'
s one thing I
'
ve learned in my line of work it
'
s that people who are dying have a deep need to make amends. JT knows he
'
s made mistakes. I believe he regrets them dearly.
"

"
We
'
ll see, won
'
t we?
"
He stared at her.
"
What if he tells you he had an affair with your mother? What if he tells you your parents weren
'
t the happily married couple you
'
ve been told they were?
"

"
I
'
ll deal with that when the time comes.
"

Higginson appeared in the doorway.
"
Sorry to interrupt you, Miss McLeod, but JT is bellowing for you. And Jonathan.
"

Rhianna smiled.
"
Then we
'
d better get moving.
"

"
See,
"
Jonathan grumbled.
"
JT hasn
'
t changed a bit.
"

She hoped with all her heart that he was wrong.

~ * ~

Sitting in the armchair in his room, JT rubbed his legs. His palms shook slightly.

Nerves.

He had a lot to atone for and he prayed it wasn
'
t too late. The thought of seeing his son after all these years frightened him. Jonathan could be a stubborn one.

Takes after his old man,
JT thought.

Dressed casually in tan slacks and a white dress shirt, he waited impatiently for his guests, although it seemed strange to think of his son as a
guest
.

And what about the child?
he wondered, scouring his mind for his granddaughter
'
s name.
Mimi? Melanie?

He scowled. His memory, or lack of it, frustrated the hell out of him.

There was a soft knock on his door.

"
Come on in,
"
he called, pasting what he hoped was a smile on his face.

Rhianna entered first and his smile grew genuine.

"
I
'
m so glad to see you,
"
he said.

Rhianna crossed the room and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"
It
'
s good to be ho―back,
"
she said.

JT pretended not to have noticed the slight slip, though it hurt him deeply that she no longer thought of Lance Manor as home. He hoped to rectify that. Soon.

"
How are you feeling?
"
she asked him.

"
Like Death is waiting to
throw me a welcome party.
"

"
Ever the optimist,
"
a deep voice said.

Jonathan stepped into the room.

JT studied him.
"
You look older, Jon.
"

"
I
am
older.
"

"
I
'
m glad you
'
re here.
"

Jonathan stared at him.
"
Are you?
"

"
Yes.
"

There was a moment of awkwardness before Rhianna piped up.
"
We have a lot of questions.
"

"
I am sure you do.
"
JT motioned to the two chairs Higginson had dragged in earlier.
"
Please have a seat. Both of you.
"
When they were seated, he said,
"
I
'
m really happy you
'
re both here. I wasn
'
t sure how long you
'
d stay away.
"

"
We left right after Rhianna was rescued,
"
Jonathan said dryly.

"
W-what?
"
JT looked at Rhianna, his heart pounding in his chest.
"
What do you mean,
rescued
?
"

"
You know a guy named Charles Duke?
"
his son asked.

JT shook his head.
"
I don
'
t think so.
"

"
He said he was your lawyer. He told us you had a relapse and that you needed Rhianna back home. But he wasn
'
t planning on taking her home. He had some other destination in mind.
"

"
My God,
"
JT whispered.
"
What did he look like?
"

"
Short fat guy with mean eyes.
"

JT was filled with dread.
"
Winston Chambers. He
'
s the private investigator I hired to find Rhianna.
"
He gave Rhianna an apologetic look.
"
I had no idea he
'
d go after you. He said he
'
d leave you alone if I paid him. Which I did.
"

"
The bastard was blackmailing you?
"
Jonathan asked, visibly enraged.
"
Why didn
'
t you go to the police?
"

"
I couldn
'
t. He had information…
"
JT
'
s voice faded as he stared, bleary-eyed, at Rhianna.
"
He didn
'
t hurt you, did he? I couldn
'
t forgive myself if he did.
"

"
No, he didn
'
t hurt me, JT. I
'
m perfectly fine.
"

"
Where
'
s the bastard now?
"

"
He
'
s dead,
"
Jonathan replied.

"
I
'
m so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen.
"

JT looked away, hoping no one would see him crying.

~ * ~

Rhianna noticed the slight shaking of JT
'
s shoulders.

"
It
'
s not your fault, JT,
"
she said gently.
"
It all worked out in the end.
"

"
But Chambers―
"

"
Chambers doesn
'
t matter anymore,
"
Jonathan interrupted.
"
There are more important things to discuss. Like why you sent Rhianna to Angelina
'
s Isle.
"

"
To bring you back, of course.
"

"
But why didn
'
t you just tell me where I was going?
"
Rhianna
asked.

JT eyed her.
"
Would you still have gone?
"

She knew he had a point. If he
'
d asked her to go to some island in the Bahamas and bring back his wayward son, she
'
d have suggested he find someone else.

"
I thought if you went and got to know Jon,
"
JT said,
"
you
'
d…well, fall in love. That way when I die, my money will take care of all of you.
"

Jonathan jumped to his feet.
"
When are you going to learn that it
'
s not your place to mess with other people
'
s lives?
"

"
I needed to see you, son. I knew you
'
d never come if I asked.
"

"
Well, I
'
m here now, aren
'
t I? So what
'
s so bloody important that you had to drag us back here?
"

"
I don
'
t know where to begin.
"
JT
'
s voice trembled.

Rhianna leaned forward and touched the old man
'
s arm.
"
Start from the beginning. When you met my mother.
"

"
You know about that?
"

"
Not the whole story.
"

"
I was in Bangor on business. I met Rhianna
'
s mother and father on my last night there.
"
He glanced down at the floor.
"
It was all a horrible accident. But I was to blame.
"

"
What are you talking about?
"
Rhianna asked.

"
The night your parents were killed.
"

JT said this so softly that she thought she
'
d misunderstood.
"
But you knew my mother before that day, JT. You had an affair with her. Remember?
"

He shook his head.
"
I
do
remember. But you
'
ve got it all wrong. I never had an affair with your mother. The night I met your parents, an important business deal had fallen through. I was pissed about it and scared of the financial ramifications. I was driving back to my hotel room. It was very late.
"
He looked at her then, his eyes filled with torment.
"
I was on my cell phone, arguing with Jon
'
s mother. I wasn
'
t paying attention to the road. Or the ice.
"

A tight feeling gripped Rhianna
'
s chest.
Oh God…

JT swallowed hard.
"
I had no idea I
'
d headed into oncoming traffic until I hit them.
"

Rhianna gasped.
"
No!
"

"
Yes. I
'
m responsible for your parents
'
death.
"

This was far worse than she
'
d imagined.

"
But it was a hit and run,
"
she cried out.

"
I
'
m not proud of what I did,
"
JT said hoarsely.
"
I had a business that was falling apart, nearing bankruptcy. And my family was relying on me. They would
'
ve been destitute without me. So, yes, I ran. But not before I checked on your parents and called for an ambulance.
"