Lilac Temptress (57 page)

Drake reached out quickly to support
her wobbly frame, their lingering silence drawing whispers from the
crowd.

Alexandre and Randal shot to their
feet, quickly approaching the altar.

“
Do we have a problem?”
Alexandre said with growing impatience.

“
Drake?” Randal asked,
looking to his son for answers.

Taking stock of the crowd’s growing
discomfort, Drake turned to his best man. “Girard, would you please
deal with them?”

Girard stared at Drake, marveling at
the unfolding situation. He glimpsed sideways at the parson, who
was patiently awaiting further instructions—as if his patron’s
hesitancy did not alarm him. Seeing that the man of cloth had no
intention of interceding, Girard answered, “Of course.”

“
Isadora, please come with
me so that we can settle this matter privately, or at least
relatively so, Drake said, gesturing for their father’s to join
them.

He felt terrible for withholding his
feelings up until their wedding day. However, he would only make
matters worse if he allowed their discussion to play out before
their gathered guests—creating a large scandal.

“
Daniel should join us,”
Isadora insisted with a strained voice, suppressing her emotions
before the crowd.

Drake grimaced, not understanding her
request, but he accepted it, trying to appear calm.

Rosaline jumped up out of
her chair, planning to join her father and brother, but Elaine’s
heavy hand forced her back down into her seat. She watched as the
bride and groom made their way off, accompanied by their fathers
and Daniel.
Why is Daniel going with
them?

Girard stayed behind with the other
members of the wedding party to make apologies to the
guests.

The orchestra began playing melodic
tunes, at Girard’s suggestion, which did little to quiet down the
murmuring crowd.

* * *

“
Drake, will you kindly
explain to us what the matter is,” Randal demanded once they were
out of earshot, safely ensconced in an obscure part of the
gardens.

Alexandre’s temples flexed, and his
jaw tightened while he tolerantly waited and listened, hoping that
there was some reasonable explanation for this disruption, though
he didn’t hold his breath.

“
No… Drake, don’t explain,
let me—” Isadora said, tears breaking free and flowing down her
cheeks as she pulled herself away from Drake’s supporting arms.
“I’m carrying Daniel’s child,” she said straightforwardly, knowing
that she couldn’t hide her growing belly for much
longer.

Drake remained silent, momentarily
stupefied—taken aback. Her confession was not subtle, and he could
not mistake what he had just heard.

“
Please forgive me for not
revealing this to you sooner,” Isadora pleaded, though she was not
looking at Drake, but addressing Daniel, waiting for his reaction.
“You’re wealthy, I know but you are not the man that can leave my
child an empire. Drake’s history, his family name—I wanted it all
for my child,” she cried, trying to justify her actions.

“
Our
child,” Daniel corrected her unsympathetically
while standing next to her, shocked. He had never told her who he
really was. She had no idea that he could provide her and their
child almost anything.

An uncomfortable silence settled on
the group.

Randal wanted to speak, but not out of
turn. He knew this news must have come as an outrageous revelation
to his son. He faced Alexandre, who appeared as if a blood vessel
might pop from his forehead, and he hoped that Alexandre had the
good sense to remain silent long enough to allow the discourse
between their children to continue.

“
How long? How long have
you been in an affair with her?” Drake demanded, shifting his
attention to Daniel.

“
A few months,” Daniel
mouthed.

“
You didn’t know either,
did you?” Drake breathed.

“
That’s she’s
carrying my child... No.” Daniel couldn’t hide his pained
expression from Isadora. He knew her reputation as ruthless was
well founded, but he had seen a side of her that no one else had,
or at least he had thought so, which led him to believe that even
she could not be so heartless as to deny him his child… and yet it
seemed that she had planned to. When she had suddenly called it
quits between them, he had protested profusely, not understanding
why she didn’t want to explore what was between them. But
afterward, when Drake announced their betrothal, he
understood.
But this...
he thought.

“
Drake, I had no idea that
you were courting Isadora before you announced your engagement—”
Daniel tried to explain. “Isadora ended our relationship weeks
ago.”

Isadora stiffened while listening to
Daniel’s words, not knowing what to say or do or even how to feel,
so she simply cried. Her plans were failing and Daniel’s disgusted
glare unexpectedly pained her. “Daniel—I’m so sorry,” she
sobbed.

Drake scowled in disbelief. Isadora
and Daniel had hardly ever been able to stand each other’s company
and now he was learning that they had hidden an affair. Drake could
tell by the terrible weight of Daniel’s voice that his words were
true, and Drake’s temper began to flare up again.

“
Isadora, you have
put yourself at such grave risks, relentlessly planning this
wedding with little rest, arguing with Sierra—and what about the
accident on the Darling Belle? How could you be so careless—putting
yourself and the baby in jeopardy?” Drake demanded her answer. “How
could you keep this from me—and
him
!”

Daniel stood quietly awaiting
Isadora’s answer so that he could figure out what he might say and
do next.

“
Drake, I wasn’t even
certain until the accident that I was with child. The physician on
board the Darling Belle told me that all was well with the baby,
and that I was lucky, not being so far along yet,” Isadora
explained nervously, wondering how Drake might respond, fearing the
worse.

“
For God’s sake Isadora,
you should have told me. You should have been more careful based on
the possibility alone that you might be carrying a child,” Drake
reprimanded. He realized that this was her reason for wanting to
sleep with him immediately. She had intended to let him think that
Daniel’s child was his. And this was why she had forgone a long
engagement. He recalled just learning that she had been ill, and
that a doctor had visited her at Newhaven.

Drake averted his eyes away from
Isadora’s troubled stare. Sierra had been right. She had known all
along that Isadora had been deceiving him. “I am such a fool. How
did I not see this? I won’t marry you,” Drake whispered.

Alexandre could not any longer hold his tongue, especially
after hearing that Drake, rightfully so, had more than enough
motivation to call off the wedding. “You have made such a grave
error,” he spat at his daughter. “I will not let you shame me any
further. I will not have a bastard for a grandchild! This will not
be made public. I will send you away first,” Alexandre promised
her.

Isadora wept, shaken by her father’s
threat. He was reacting just as she had feared. She faltered
again—her legs unsteady.

Daniel’s reluctant arms embraced her,
offering support. “I’ll marry you. I have the means,” he
said.

She gaped at him—surprised that he’d
proposed to marry her after what she had planned to do. She hadn’t
rejected Daniel because his means were not vast, nor on account of
his looks or bedroom prowess, which he had in spades. She had
wanted to be a member of one of New Orleans greatest families, not
just for her sake, but for the doors it would open for her future
heirs.

“
Isadora, I am right
here, right now—standing beside you, asking you what it is that you
want from me. I won’t abandon my child,” Daniel said strongly.
“There is so much you don’t know about me. I am more than just a
wealthy land agent. My full name is Daniel Jouvin Langston.
Duke
of Langston, he
added for emphasis.

Isadora eye’s widened, she knew of the
Noble House, one of Britain’s imperial families as her own mother
was descended from the House of Mayfair.

“
I’m sorry I never told
you. But I thought if anything was going to happen between us, I
needed you to want me for me—and well,” he said with a long pause,
“you didn’t want me anymore.”

Alexandre grinned, beside himself with
excitement after hearing Daniel disclose his true identity. And to
avoid a disgraceful outcome, he would have his daughter marry
Daniel immediately and become a Duchess.

Randal met Drake’s astonished eyes,
and then Drake coolly laughed.

Drake’s laughter sounded delirious to
his own ears as enormous pressure lifted off his chest. He didn’t
care if the others stared at him as if he were losing his mind. He
knew that he had no right to behave self-righteously—as if he had
done nothing wrong, but then neither did Isadora, and now he was
finally coming up for air from her suffocating demands.

He calmed himself and bitterly smiled,
examining how Daniel cradled Isadora. “Isadora, why waste such a
lovely event that you have planned? Especially since you have put
forth such a great effort to perfect the affair?” Drake asked
callously. She didn’t answer him. She turned away from him as he’d
expected her to, her eyes full of shame. And he knew that his
business there was finished. He should have left already, and
started to, but then out of the corner of his eye, he saw Girard
making a quick approach.

“
Drake, I’ve kept your
guests entertained for as long as I could—you must resume the
ceremony now,” Girard insisted, taking stock of all the grave
faces.

Drake pulled Girard aside. “Isadora
and I will not wed. You know what I must do, don’t you?”

Girard nodded, knowing that Sierra was
the only person on Drake’s mind. “Good luck,” was all that he could
think to say.

Drake grinned at him, then turned and
started making his way through his gardens, his heart so elated—he
felt free.

“
Drake!” Randal called out
to his son.

Drake paused at his father’s
commanding tone.

“
Father?” Drake answered
feeling a lump in his throat as he turned to face him.

“
Well, I can’t say that I
am pleased at how all this turned out.” Randal groaned his
displeasure before speaking again. “But tell me, is Daniel really a
Duke?”

“
I’m afraid so,” Drake
puffed. He didn’t care to talk about Daniel right now. He had other
pressing matters.

“
Well, I’ll be damned. I
can’t believe I didn’t know,” Randal said, fascinated.

“
I’m sorry to further
disappoint you, but Daniel is not interested in shipping,” Drake
stated.

“
You haven’t disappointed
me. In fact you’ve managed to dodge a bullet. What’s more, this
mess is not completely your doing. I bare some of the blame. I knew
that you were partly marrying Isadora to please me. I overstepped
my boundaries. I didn’t respect your thoughts on the matter and now
I am getting my due.”

“
Father...” Drake didn’t
know what to say.

“
I apologize.” Randal
continued grimly, “Besides, if Daniel Jouvin
Langston
has no interest shipping, I
think I can still persuade Alexandre to partner with us. Otherwise,
the competition rages on. We’ll ride Alexandre’s coat tails and
give him hell if he’s senseless enough to forfeit the deal. I
didn’t think you were going to go through with the marriage anyway,
regardless of this unspeakable development.” Randal turned and
observed the chaos behind him. Elaine was on her feet using her
quick wit to calm the excited guests.

“
How did you know?” Drake
asked, regaining his father’s attention, eager to end the
discussion and escape him.

“
Because I know what
it truly feels like to love a woman,” Randal said, referring to
Elaine. “And I knew you were quite taken when I first saw you
standing with that enchantress you escorted to our family event.
So, I won’t further waste your time and energy by keeping you here.
Go to her. Your mother and I will help quell this scandal, and I am
sure
they
won’t
object,” Randal said glancing toward Alexandre, Isadora and
Daniel.

“
Father my intention is to
make Sierra my wife,” Drake declared anxiously, wondering what his
father might say.

“
And—you have my blessing.
Though, I suspect you would wed her without it. But don’t you think
that your mother will let you get out of a formal nuptial event,
unless you and your bride are to elope. As reckless as she might
find it, your mother loves a good fairytale ending.”

Drake reached out and hugged his
father, “I am grateful, Father. Thank you. I wanted your blessing.
But you are right, I would have made her my wife without it.” Drake
grinned, before quickly striding off.