Mardi Gras Masquerade (7 page)

“Oh, yes,” the man coolly replied.
 
“You wouldn’t want your fiancé to know how you flirted with another man.”

“Will you stop saying
that!
 
I wasn’t flirting with you.”

“Then what do you call it?”

“We talked, and I enjoyed our conversations very much.
 
Whether you believe it or not, Steve, I genuinely like you.”

“Isn’t one man enough to feed your need for adulation?”

Hot tears swelled up in Maria’s eyes.
 
This situation had gotten totally out of control.
 
Even if she revealed the whole truth to Steve now, it would only give him more cause to despise her.

“You can’t possibly imagine that tears will work on me now,” said the man, as he put his hands on his hips.

“I can’t help it,” Maria cried.

She reached into her purse and drew out a tissue to wipe her eyes.

“I suppose you can’t help
bein
’ an inveterate liar and fraud.”

“I’ve never lied to anyone before this.”

Steve’s face showed nothing but scorn.

In a cruel tone, he replied, “I guess you just got carried away with your masquerade.
 
Well, that’s Tienne’s problem, not mine.
 
He’s the one who’ll have to live with you.”

“No, he won’t,” Maria spoke before she realized what she was saying.

Steve reached out and grabbed her shoulders in a punishing grip.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked as he forced her to look up into his eyes.

Maria felt aghast at what she had almost revealed.
 
She would have to watch every word she said if she was going to play this pretence through to its finish.

She thought quickly, and then said, “I mean he doesn’t have to marry me if he doesn’t want to.”

“Oh, no,” Steve assured her in a low and menacing voice. “You’re not goin’ to hurt my brother the way you tried to hurt me.
 
I’ll see to that, you
connivin
’, little liar.
 
When I told you that you were toying with the emotions of a dangerous man, I meant it.
 
Tienne, unfortunately for him, believes he loves you.
 
I’ve never seen him so bewitched by any woman before.
 
Don’t you think for one second that you’re goin’ to end this
engagement.
 
My brother plans to marry you, and if you do anything to break his heart, I, personally, will break your neck.
 
Do you understand me?”

Maria nodded weakly, afraid to do anything else.
 
This whole thing was getting worse and worse.
 
How she wished she had never come to
New Orleans
.

Steve accepted her acquiescence and lowered his hands.
 
Maria was sure her shoulders would be bruised where his fingers had gripped them.
 
She wanted to cry some more, but her fear of the man repressed the tears.

“I want to see Tienne,” she said in a shaky voice.

“And I know he would like to see you too, but that’s impossible right now.
 
Finding out the truth about you has saved me the trouble of going back to your hotel to deliver a message.
 
If I had known you were Maria Fontaine right from the start, I would have told you earlier.

“My brother was unable to welcome you yesterday because he’s
workin
’ on a business deal with some Japanese gentlemen who have an interest in
buyin
’ into our company.
 
He would have explained this to you himself last night, but you left a message
sayin
’ you did not want to see him until today.
 
I suppose that was your way of getting’ even with him for not being at the airport to greet you properly, but that’s beside the point.

“Tienne planned to have dinner with you this
evenin
’, but something came up shortly before I met you before.
 
The Japanese want to close the deal in their own country, so my brother had to fly with them to
Japan
last night.
 
He won’t be back for a few days.”

Maria could not believe how complicated this was becoming.

In wilting discomposure, she said, “Couldn’t you have taken care of it for him?”

Steve smirked and replied, “You don’t trade horses in midstream, and my brother completes his own deals.
 
I’m sorry to disappoint you, but you’ll have to put up with me until he gets back.”

In a tremulous voice, Maria said, “I don’t want to cause you any further inconvenience.
 
It will be fine for me to stay at the hotel and see to myself.
 
When Tienne gets back, he can call me.”

“You’re not goin’ to get off the hook that easily,” Steve coldly assured her.
 
“My brother asked me to look after you, and even if he hadn’t,
do
you think I would allow his fiancée to go
flyin
’ all over
New Orleans
by herself,
knowin
’ what a contemptible flirt you are?”

It was very difficult for Maria to oppose the power of this formidable man’s convictions, but somehow, she had to do it.

“It’s very kind of you to have such concern for my safety,” she said in what she hoped was a disdainful tone, “but I don’t need or want your attention.”

“You’re goin’ to get it whether you like it or not.
 
I won’t have you
runnin
’ around,
makin
’ a fool of yourself, and
disgracin
’ my family’s good name.
 
You’re going to pack your bags and come with me to our home, mine and my brother’s.”

“I can’t do that,” Maria responded in growing mortification.

It would be untenable for her to spend time in the DuPonts’ home under such grossly false circumstances and with a man who had every reason to loathe her.
 
She would have to speak with Marla about this before the charade went on any further.

“You can and you will!” Steve sternly replied.

“What if I promised to stay in the hotel?” she quickly asked.

“Do you think I could believe anything you said now?”

“You have to trust me, Steve,” Maria pleaded.

“You said that once before, and I was stupid enough to believe you then.
 
It won’t happen a second time.”

Without waiting for Maria to respond, he took her arm and forced her to walk along beside him in the direction of the hotel.
 
She caught her breath, but she was too busy trying to keep up with the rapid pace the man set to be able to speak.

He propelled them expertly through the crowds, leaving no room for conversation.
 
Maria felt breathless by the time they arrived in the lobby.

When Steve pressed the elevator button and showed no sign of releasing her arm, she felt forced to say, “I can take care of my packing by myself.
 
You can send a car for me later.”

As they had walked along the last street, she had formed a desperate plan to get her things and leave
New Orleans
.
 
No matter what Marla would say to her, she knew that she had to put as much distance between herself and this town as soon as possible.
 
If she never saw Steve DuPont’s face again, it would be too soon for her.

She could not let him block her plans.
 
If he would not go away, he would have to wait in the lobby.
 
It might be cumbersome for her to carry all of her bags out a back exit, but, at least, she would be able to call a taxi and have it meet her on the corner.

Steve did not give her a chance to put her resolution into action.
 
It was almost as though he could read her mind.

“I’m not
leavin
’ you alone so you can run away from me,” he adamantly stated.

“I won’t run away.”

Steve’s expression revealed his doubts.

Maria went on, “The room is messy.
 
I don’t want you to see it.”

“A bad housekeeper, too?
 
Poor Tienne.
 
Well, I’ve seen messy rooms before, and besides, I want to call for my car.”

“You can call from the lobby.”

“Forget it, butterfly.
 
You’re not
flitterin
’ your way out of this.”

With faltering steps, Maria walked into the elevator.
 
Now, she would not even get the chance to call Marla and tell her was happening.
 
She had no confidence that she would be able get out from under Steve DuPont’s power over her.
 
He was a forceful man, and his search for her would be relentless.
 
She would have to bear with this and hope for his brother’s speedy return.

It did not take Maria long to pack her bags.
 
She no longer attempted to plead with Steve, knowing it would be worse than useless.
 
Besides, it would only further expose her vulnerability.
 
He made his phone call, and by the time they returned to the lobby, a white, late-model limousine was waiting for them at the door.
 
Maria felt flustered with guilt when the chauffeur opened the door for her and put her bags in the trunk.

It was all such a despicable sham.
 
How could she ever explain her deceit to anyone when she could not even condone her actions to herself?
 
It would have been far better if she had confessed the whole truth to Steve as soon as their relationship was uncovered.
 
Now, he would only think that she was lying again in another attempt to get away from him.

He was imperturbably grave as the car made its way through the crowds and on out of the city.
 
After glancing once at his stony expression, Maria shuddered inside and looked out the window.

The countryside opened up as they drove onto a back road that paralleled the
Mississippi River
.
 
Large, old Southern oaks stretched their branches to shelter the road, gracefully garbed in Spanish moss.
 
Normally, the scenery would have delighted Maria.
 
At this point, it merely served to unnerve her into the realization of how far she was getting from any source of escape.

The city was already miles behind them.
 
In a while, they would come to a mansion where Steve DuPont reigned in his domination.
 
Was he the younger brother or the older?
 
At this point, it didn’t matter.
 
She was a stranger, alone and unwanted, in some remote area from which there would be no hope of attempting a safe escape.
 
She’d read about the alligator-ridden swamplands, the bayous that surrounded the area.
 
And there were poisonous snakes among the throng of other deadly creatures lurking in the woods.
 
It would be hopeless to even try to get away.

The road slowly diverted its path away from the river.
 
A short while later, the limousine turned to the left and came to a stop.
 
The high, wrought- iron gates before them swung slowly open in response to the activation of the car’s remote control device.
 
When they drove on, Maria turned to look behind her.
 
The gates slowly enclosed the expensively manicured grounds that were to be her prison.

Maria entertained herself with such agitating thoughts as the car moved on down the oak-lined driveway.
 
It finally came to rest before a huge, white house of Greek revival design.
 
Enormous columns supported the balconied second story.
 
This was exactly what Maria had expected, and yet, it appalled her to see she had been correct.
 
To her, it might imply that all of her pessimistic suppositions were destined to become realities as well.