Lilac Temptress (62 page)

“
I’ve forgiven her Kyle,
and you should too,” William advised. “When you two left town she
gave me the journal. She’s trying to put things right. I’d tell you
more about why she’d waited to give me that diary, but it’s a
matter of a woman’s heart, the reasons are too complicated to
discuss right now.”

“
She’s still in love with
you, isn’t she?” Sierra remembered on one occasion asking Adrienne
if she had ever loved a man, and now Sierra realized that the man
Adrienne had told her she’d once loved had been William.

William affirmed with a nod before
speaking again. “My main purpose for coming to New Orleans is to
establish accounts.” William turned to Drake. “You see, Mr.
McCalister, I was a very wealthy man even before the sale of my
property in Jadesville. I hold interests and investments in various
profitable business arrangements, even some right here in New
Orleans,” William declared and faced Sierra.

“
But this here is
yours—what I have set aside for you and Kyle, and what Marie Anne
left you.” William stood and walked around the desk, crossing the
short distance, to hand her an envelope. “Your accounts are in the
city.”

Sierra leaned toward the edge of her
seat and quickly opened the envelope. She removed the sheet of
paper, and began reading the account details out of sheer
curiosity. Her face turned pale white before she passed the
statement to Kyle, whose jaw dropped.

“
All this time you had us
to believe that we had nothing and that we had to depend on you!”
Sierra accused bitterly. “And yet, you’ve handed this brief over to
me showing such inconceivable amounts!” she cried.

“
I hope one day that you
both can forgive me—and especially you Sierra for our skirmish
before you left Jadesville—but you both know the truth of all it
now,” William said earnestly.

“
Sierra, what skirmish?”
Drake asked becoming noticeably uneasy.

“
It was nothing Drake.”
Sierra smiled his way going to him. “Please forget about it,” she
said touching his cheek to erase his troubled features. After
watching Drake’s face relax, she turned toward William.

“
What about Adrienne?”
Sierra couldn’t hide her worry, after all Adrienne had not only
been Sierra’s friend, but she had often been like a mother to
her.

“
I’m headed
north—I’ve got business up there. Adrienne is coming with me. We’ve
been together far too long to part ways. We’ll settle up there.
Things are changing in Jadesville and she’s looking for a fresh
start. Frankly speaking, I don’t know how to live without her. I do
almost nothing without her counsel and I’ve been thinking it is
time for me to let go of the past and just
be
with her.”

“
Then—why isn’t she with
you now,” Sierra asked baffled.

“
She is in the city
waiting. She never liked saying goodbye to you the first time. She
won’t say it again. So, she told me to tell you she’ll write, once
we settle.”

Sierra relaxed. She knew that Adrienne
hated saying goodbyes. But Sierra also knew that Adrienne probably
couldn’t face her after hiding the truth of her parents from her
for so long.

“
What about Jason?” Kyle
spat at William. “You murdered Jason! I heard you tell your men to
kill him! I watched him go down under your orders!” Kyle charged
William frantically, unable to keep still, fidgeting in his
seat.

William, puzzled for a moment as if he
were trying to recollect something lost in his memory, noted Kyle’s
panicky display, and then he roared with hysterical laughter. “What
you saw was Jason tripping over a tree root. Blanks were fired at
him to frighten him off.”

“
Kyle, I can’t believe you
didn’t tell me that you thought Jason was murdered,” Sierra
interjected. “Keeping such a secret from me must have been
incredibly difficult for you, considering how long you knew I
suffered over Jason’s disappearance, and I’m sorry that you carried
the burden of thinking he was dead for so long, but Kyle... Jason
is alive,” Sierra had her brother’s full attention.

“
It’s true Kyle, I’ve seen
him as well,” Drake confirmed Sierra’s words.

“
How long have you known he
is alive?” Kyle glared at Drake, angry about Drake’s lapse in
informing him that Jason was indeed living.

“
Not long, and I should have told you sooner, but there were
circumstances I was caught up in as you are already aware.” Drake
knew it was wrong to try to justify his silence on the matter, but
at the time he’d found out about Jason, he simply hadn’t trusted
Kyle and he had been so preoccupied with his own agenda, that the
opportunity to tell Kyle never truly presented itself until now.
“Kyle, I offer you my sincere apology,” Drake said.

Kyle leaned against the back support
of the sofa and heavily sighed. He wanted to tell Drake that his
apology was not good enough. Even so, considering everything that
had happened over the past few weeks, and the fact that Drake was
now his brother-in-law, Kyle figured he would have enough time to
argue with him later. And it probably wouldn’t be the last argument
they ever had either, knowing Drake’s stubborn temper.

Sierra glanced at Drake awkwardly.
“You thought Jason was murdered? Was this your reason for taking
Kyle and me out of Jadesville?” She had thought Drake merely wanted
to help her pursue a new life.

“
All
my reasons were entirely selfish,” Drake confessed
with a sly grin as he caught Sierra’s disapproving glare. He knew
that when they had been in Jadesville, he had wanted her to come
with him to New Orleans for any reason imaginable or for no reason
at all.

“
Kyle, I saw Jason in the
city, in a pub on Gallatin Street and—” Sierra began to explain
before she was cut off.

“
Gallatin
Street?
You
went
venturing out to Gallatin Street?” Drake couldn’t hide his
aggravation, his jaw flexed and temples flared to a point of near
pain. He wanted to immediately chastise her, but not too long ago
she had made it very clear to him that she was not a child. Now
that she was his wife he knew he would have to find a way to help
her appreciate taking better caution.

Sierra turned away from Drake
momentarily, realizing her slip-up. She knew that Drake was going
to have a word with her over this later. She watched him run his
hand through his hair and sigh heavily. He crossed his arms over
his chest and stood there watching her with reproving eyes. She
turned to William. It was easier to deal with William than to watch
Drake standing ready to pass judgment on her.

“
Wil, you had no right to
run Jason away from me, but as you can see, everything turned out
for the best. So I guess in a way, I should be thanking you.”
Sierra briefly thought of how Jason lied about whom he was, and had
conveniently forgotten all about her while she stood before him
inside the Gallatin Street pub. Furthermore, he disrespected her
with his late night invasion into her bedroom and audacious
behavior, absurd proposition, and the stealing of a
kiss.

“
I had my suspicions about
that boy since the first day you’d brought him to meet me,” William
said, eager to capitalize on her apparent forgiveness and further
explain his actions. “A hunch told me that Jason was a swindler and
so I had a man investigate him—I had been given proof that Jason
had a bounty on him for theft. Apparently his partner gave him up
when she was caught and detained in some small town jail. Jason
escaped and left her to fend for herself. I think he was looking
for another damsel to replace her and once he’d gotten you away
from my protection...” William gave her a look that meant things
would have gotten really ugly for her.

“
It all makes sense now,”
Sierra whispered to herself, remembering how Jason pretended like
he didn’t even know her when they had met again after so long. Now
she understood William’s past motives. “You could have told me
about Jason. You didn’t have to threaten him,” Sierra said
reproachfully. She would have preferred to know the truth than sit
depressed, wondering for months if Jason would ever return to
her.

“
Like hell I didn’t!”
William fired back. “You are as stubborn as your mother ever was.
You wouldn’t have listened to me and you would have left town with
him,” William countered, his voice bordering on exasperation. He
was confident that he’d made the right choice in how he had rid
Sierra of Jason and he wouldn’t be second-guessed now.

“
You are probably right,”
Sierra agreed softly, frowning.

“
You were too strict with
us,” Kyle griped angrily. “You controlled everything we
did!”

“
Had I known you were my
son, then I would have been even tougher on you to make you into a
man. William didn’t want to dredge up Kyle’s past before the young
lady who seemed to be doting on him.

“
I’ve made mistakes. I
wanted to keep my family close especially after losing Nicolas. And
you both have always reminded me so much of Marie Anne.” William
hoped his excuse was acceptable and pardonable. “And I’m sorry that
I sometimes made you feel uncomfortable, Sierra,” he grimaced,
knowing that at times his behavior was a bit inappropriate when
dealing with her.

“
I forgive you,” Sierra
said before William could say another word. She received William’s
apologetic smile.

“
Don’t look so somber, boy.
You’re a very rich man now.” William stood before Kyle and raised
his arms, yanking Kyle off the sofa into a tight hug. Sierra
watched Kyle’s angry disposition dissolve and he started crying
into William’s chest.

Kyle quickly regained his
composure after pushing William away. He didn’t want Rosaline to
see him sobbing like a baby, but he wanted William to know he had
set aside his mischievous ways when it came to dealing with women.
He turned to Rosaline, quietly sitting behind him. His lips curled
into a smile before he said, “Wil, this is Lady Rosaline McCalister
and I
will
make
her my wife one day.”

“
I have more than enough to
support us now,” Kyle spoke softly to Rosaline, hopeful that she
would not refuse him when the day came that he would propose to
her.

Rosaline jumped into Kyle’s arms and
exuberantly planted a kiss on his cheek.

Drake stared at the pair stupefied. He
had utterly underestimated the seriousness of their affection for
each other.

Sierra said nothing, preferring not to
interrupt their moment.

Kyle set Rosaline aside at once,
realizing Rosaline’s kiss was likely inappropriate for a young
woman of her standing. “For—forgive me Drake,” was all Kyle could
think to say, fumbling the words from his mouth.

“
Don’t apologize Kyle,”
Rosaline protested. “You are going to be my husband one day. What’s
wrong with a simple kiss on the cheek?”

William eyed Kyle and Rosaline feeling
extremely out of place. He’d rather not overstay his welcome, and
he was certain Drake would deal with Kyle responsibly. “I’m
finished here,” William interrupted abruptly. “You’ll find all the
necessary paperwork regarding your accounts on the desk,” William
pointed to what he’d left behind. “I’ve got a long journey ahead of
me and we leave tomorrow at daybreak—Adrienne awaits.”

Sierra stood to her feet unexpectedly
and leapt toward William. She wrapped her arms around him tightly.
“Thank you. I know it wasn’t easy for you to let us go,” she
whispered, pulling away. “Send Adrienne my love. Tell her that I
don’t resent her for not telling me about my mother and father. I
believe she did what she thought was best,” Sierra said
sincerely.

“
Kyle you be good to that
little lady over there, and Mr. McCalister—” William motioned for
Drake to speak with him, on the side, a few feet from the others.
“You made me a good deal back in Jadesville. I suppose that a
well-to-do man like yourself knows something about keeping his
wealth—but I won’t be getting back down to these parts for a while.
I know Sierra and my boy already think I am a controlling old
bastard, so I won’t manage their funds.

I’m giving them their own free will to
do what they please and spend how they will, even if they burn
right through the money.” William paused for a moment thinking over
how Adrienne had convinced him to allow Sierra and Kyle to become
self-sufficient. Though he still remained skeptical about her
advice, he went along with it anyway, knowing it was time to let
them lead their own lives without him, but he still wanted them to
have some guidance. “McCalister, I trust you will continue to look
after them and help them manage their new wealth?” William
questioned, bringing his voice down to a level that only Drake
could hear.

“
Mr. Hunter, they are in
excellent hands,” Drake assured him. William nodded at him with a
grin and Drake watched him pivot and stride toward the
exit.

“
By the way, Mr. McCalister, call me Wil,” William said over
his shoulder before he turned the corner, no longer in
sight.

Rosaline quickly followed suit,
dragging Kyle toward the way out. She wanted to be alone with him
as soon as she possibly could.