Lilac Temptress (60 page)

Sierra and Kyle exchanged mutual looks
of relief over Isadora’s departure.

“
Drake that man is still
here for you. He says his name is Mr. William Hunter, and you have
business with him. It is of an urgent importance. Henry already
showed Mr. Hunter to your study to ensure privacy. He’s got two
sturdy men with him.” Jeanette said, wondering if she should be
worried, and alert Drake’s men on the premises.

Drake saw the look of alarm
spread across Sierra’s face. Kyle also looked visibly
terrified.

“
Drake you can’t let him
take me away from you! You are my husband now. He will have to
understand.” Sierra shuddered with fear and
determination.

“
Your husband!” Jeanette blurted. Drake’s marriage completely
shocked her. “Indeed, this has been a most eventful day! You have
some explaining to do.”

Drake grinned, “Father and
mother will understand.”

“
I’m not talking about your
parents, Drake.” Jeanette stood in an unusual tizzy unlike her
normally, self-composed way.

“
Jeanette, I apologize for
bringing all this trouble on you. And I will explain it all to you
later, but tell me, is Rosaline here, or did she return to
Faircrest with my parents?” Drake asked, concerned of his sister’s
whereabouts in the midst of William Hunter.

“
After you left, Rosaline threw a tantrum that you wouldn’t
think possible—even for her. She insisted on waiting for your
return,” Jeanette replied.

“
Where is she
now?”

“
Anyone’s guess with all
the madness the day has brought.”

“
Jeanette, I need you to do
something for me. Go now and make sure that no one comes into this
wing of the house.” Drake checked his holster for his pistol, which
lie ready at his hip.

Jeanette had seen that look in Drake’s
eyes before. Trouble was brewing and she wanted no part of it. She
left as quickly as she could, following Drake’s instruction. She
knew that Drake could take care of himself and everyone else, but
it wouldn’t stop her from alerting Drake’s men on the premises. If
those men in Drake’s study should harm him, they would never leave
Newhaven alive.

“
Sierra, I’d like it if you
would go upstairs and wait in my room,” Drake said.

“
Drake, I will not leave
your side. Besides, Wil wants me. Whatever happens, I must face
him,” Sierra’s heart thumped wildly.

“
He wants us both,” Kyle
said nervously interjecting.

“
Sierra, absolutely not!”
Drake protested.

Sierra gave Drake a look that he
recognized. She would not give in to his demand, he was certain of
her stubbornness.

“
Very well then. However,
you two have to agree to let me go in first to assess the
situation,” Drake said.

Sierra and Kyle nodded their agreement and then Drake took
Sierra into his arms and gave her a lingering kiss. “If this night
is my last, then at least I die a happy man,” Drake said before he
pulled away laughing, tilting his head into the air before striding
toward his study.

“
Drake, this is not
amusing!” Sierra chided, following him with Kyle at her
heels.

Chapter 23

Drake entered his study, catching
sight of Rosaline, who sat on the large sofa across from two brawny
men, seated in upholstered chairs. Drake hated the scene of William
Hunter seated casually behind his desk as if he was its owner,
puffing on a cigar.

“
Mr. McCalister, I hope you
don’t mind my sitting here too much,” William said, knowing damn
well that his sitting there was not a welcome sight, but he made
his excuse stating, “This fine young lady here allowed it, and
didn’t mind my cigar. She was also kind enough to find me a
receptacle.”

Drake sized up the gruff men in the room. He didn’t visibly
see their firearms, but he was certain that each of them carried
one. If things took a turn for the worse, Drake knew that he would
protect those he cared about—at any cost.

With his usual composure in
threatening situations, he continued taking stock of his situation.
The closest of the men, sat only three paces away from him. Drake
was confident that he could quickly overpower him by means of brute
force, after taking out the other two, with his expeditious
shooting. However, the situation was far too risky to prevent
tragedy and he needed to make sure that things didn’t go awry and
lead to a horrible mistake.

“
Rosaline, are you well?
Did these men hurt you?” he asked concerned, and clearly disturbed
by his sister’s presence in the room.

“
No, they did not. I came here looking for you with hope that
you had returned. I haven’t been here for long, and I was not
detained. Mr. Hunter asked about Kyle and Sierra, and my curiosity
got the better of me. Drake, I’m so sorry that I stayed, but I
wanted to know what was going on. I just wanted Kyle back,” she
cried.

Drake swallowed, relieved that
no harm had come to her. “Well, I am here, and you may take your
leave now,” he said. He didn’t want his little sister in harm’s
way, and if he could get her out of the room safely away from any
looming scuffle, it would make his self-defense easier.

However, Kyle couldn’t wait outside any longer after hearing
Rosaline’s desperate crying, and he took his chances, entering the
room with Sierra, who followed behind him.

Drake inwardly groaned. If he and his family were to survive
William, Drake knew that soon afterward he would have to teach them
how to behave in hostile situations. And obviously, Rosaline
didn’t care to give her actions any thought before rushing into
Kyle’s arms.

Kyle scooped her up without hesitation
but set her aside quickly after seeing Drake’s heavy
glare.

“
Mr. McCalister, I am
surprised that you’d think I’d hurt this pretty little lady. In
fact, she was just telling me all about her riding adventures with
my boy over there,” William eyed Kyle. “So, why don’t you all sit
and join us. Besides, I see that the young lady has taken a liking
to my boy.”

“
What do you want?” Sierra
disrupted the conversation, letting William see every ounce of her
outrage. “You can’t just walk into this house like you are its
master!” she yelled. Drake was her husband now, and she would be
damned if she would let anything dreadful happen too
him.

“
Shhh, Sierra let me handle
this.” Drake calmly held out his arm and steadied her to make sure
she remained behind him. He would not risk losing his new wife to
these men.

“
Mr. McCalister, I thought
you’d be away, enjoying the pleasures of your new wife tonight, but
apparently from what I read in the paper and from what I have seen
here this evening, you were indeed quite conflicted. When I arrived
here not too long ago—and I must say this is quite the estate—I
learned that you didn’t take your intended bride after all. Was my
baby girl the cause of that?”

“
Mr. Hunter, state your
business here,” Drake demanded, his glare hostile. “I have little
tolerance for insults or patience for idle chitchat,” he stated
with the sound of warning in his voice.

“
I take it that you are
protecting them from me?” William glanced at Sierra and then Kyle
dead on. “I just want talk to them.”

Drake, annoyed to see the small flock
standing behind him, filled with anxiety and frustration. It was
not wise for any of them to be there. William may not have murdered
Jason, but he still didn’t know what kind of man William was—and he
knew William would not leave, until he had words with Sierra and
Kyle.

“
Send your men outside and then maybe we can
have a discussion. Bear in mind that it is
my
hospitality that allows you to
remain at my home,” Drake said, deciding that negotiation was the
best and safest strategy.

“
Mr. McCalister,” William
began in a composed tone, “Regardless of what you may think of me,
I am not a villain, neither do I make rash decisions. Since I’ve
been in New Orleans, I’ve learned perfectly well what kind of man
you are. I like to know whom I’m dealing with—I will not cross you
in your own home. And I don’t want hell and fury coming down on me
if I tried.” William nodded at his men to follow Drake’s
orders.

Drake watched the henchmen carefully
as they exited.

“
Do you trust me now that I
have sent them away?” William respectfully lifted one
eyebrow.

Feeling a bit of tension relinquish
his bones, Drake sighed his relief as he motioned for Sierra and
Kyle to take a seat. Rosaline followed them, and Drake remained
standing alert.

“
I suppose I can’t just
speak with them privately,” William argued.

“
Anything you need to
tell my
wife
and
brother in-law
, in my house, will be spoken in my presence,” Drake insisted,
ready for William’s negative reaction, but there was
none.

Your wife?
Rosaline silently mouthed the words, but refrained
from asking any questions or voicing her obvious pleasure, until
Drake had finished his business with this Mr. Hunter.

“
Your wife—I see.” William’s brows furrowed together as he
stroked his chin with his fingertips. “I’ve been in New Orleans for
a little over a week now, Mr. McCalister. I hope you understand
that I didn’t much like the idea of my family trotting off with you
to this place. At the time that they left, I knew nothing about
you. And the way that they left with you compromised my position
and couldn’t do anything good about it. You see—I thought you might
make Sierra into a Jezebel and Kyle is so spoiled rotten, who knew
what kind of trouble you were leading him into.” William took a
puff of his cigar before continuing.

“
I thought making a man out
of Kyle was a long shot. But I see differently now. You, Mr.
McCalister succeeded where I failed.” William eyed Kyle; his hair
was no longer unkempt. He no longer looked like a scruffy
irresponsible kid. He sat protective of the little lady beside him
and appeared to have the makings of a man.

“
Boy, you sure have changed
in just a few short weeks.” William deadened his cigar in the small
tray that sat on the desk.

Kyle’s face hinted the resentment
inside of him toward William, but for the moment, he didn’t say a
word.

“
You are a fine man indeed
Mr. McCalister, and Sierra couldn’t have made a finer choice then
to marry you.” William paused in mid-speech, as he watched Sierra’s
perplexed face staring back at him. It was clear to him that she
didn’t understand his reason for being there.

“
Baby girl, I know
you’re not pleased to see me, but I came here to give you all the
answers you’ve ever wanted about your parents—about your past, and
I came here for Kyle foremost. You see Kyle, you’re
mine
.”

Kyle shot William a harsh look. “What
does that mean!” he thundered. “Are you telling me you’re my
father?” he rose to his feet. He glanced at William, and then at
Sierra, his eyes becoming larger every second with increasing alarm
and dismay. His instinct was to run as far away from William as he
could get. He started to leave the room but Drake lifted out his
arm to block his path.

“
Easy—just hear him out, Kyle,” Drake spoke in a reassuring
voice, not wanting Kyle to later have regrets after rejecting
William.

“
But... but... you know
what he is!” Kyle shouted—his eyes became miserable as the color
faded from his face.

Sierra’s baffled look didn’t surprise
Drake. She had no idea that Kyle thought William had murdered Jason
Grant.

“
What are you two not
telling me?” Sierra said. Lines creased her forehead as she
squinched her eyes curiously looking at each of them.

“
Kyle—” Rosaline’s soothing
voice gave Kyle a reason to surrender. She went to him taking both
his hands into hers, and lured him back into his seat. “I am here.
I won’t leave your side.”

Hesitantly, Kyle followed
her.

Drake nearly leapt between Rosaline
and Kyle to keep apart. However, he turned his attention back to
the matter at hand instead—he would have a talk with them
later.

“
It’s all here.” William
took a small, tattered leather-bound book from his waistcoat
pocket, and placed it on the desk along with a few folded
envelopes. “Adrienne kept this from me for many years. I would have
never known you were mine, since you bear a strong likeness to your
mother. Will you hear me out?”

Sierra glanced at Drake, and then
Kyle—who sat bent over in his seat with his head resting between
his hands. Rosaline stroked his back.

Kyle said nothing, while thoughts and
fears wrestled inside his head, so William began his story making
direct eye contact with Sierra.

“
Nicolas Maudet and I met
in the slums of New Orleans and became fast friends. We had similar
stories—both of us had lost most of our kin to yellow fever and our
few surviving relatives didn’t want us—or rather couldn’t afford
extra mouths to feed. So we took to the streets to avoid being sold
to a Master for manual labor, which was a common practice in those
days.