Glorious Angel (21 page)

“I wouldn’t say so if I didn’t,” Angela assured her. But warmth turned to irritation when Angela saw Crystal coming their way.

“Really, Angela,” Crystal said drily as she joined them, “I would think you wouldn’t let Brad from your side tonight. Aren’t you afraid of losin’ him?”

Angela clenched her fists, but she managed a smile. “Having failed once, is his sister-in-law planning on enticing him to her bed again?”

The vivid red that stole into Crystal’s face gave Angela ample satisfaction, and she walked away without waiting for a reply. She met Joel on his way back with the champagne.

“Why don’t you set those glasses down on the table there and dance with me, Joel Fletcher?” Angela asked boldly, wanting to be out of Crystal’s reach. Angela knew the viper would be anxious to retaliate.

“Do you really mean it?” he asked hopefully.

“Has a lady never asked you before? Goodness!” she teased.

Joel set the glasses down quickly and nervously took Angela in his arms. Across the room, Bradford’s eyes were like burning cinders.

“Angela looks like she’s having a good time,” Jacob remarked.

“Yes—she does,” Bradford answered curtly.

“What’s wrong with you, son?” Jacob asked, concern in his voice.

“Nothing I can’t take care of. You’ll excuse me, Father?”

“I suppose I’ll have to. But I’ve been meaning to have a long talk with you, Bradford, about your fiancée and—other matters.”

“We’ll talk tomorrow, Father.”

“Very well, then,” Jacob replied and turned his attention to his guests.

As soon as the music stopped, Bradford started toward Angela and young Joel. When he reached them he took Angela’s hand and pulled her along behind him, leading her out through the first of the double doors and into the garden. Joel stared after them in total bafflement.

“What is the matter, Bradford?” Angela cried. He swung her around to face him, his fingers digging into her shoulders. “You—you are hurting me.”

The garden was flooded in moonlight, a soft silver glow all about them.

Bradford loosened his hold, but he didn’t release her. “The boy you were dancing with, was
he the one whose clothes you came home in that day?”

“Yes, Susie’s brother.”

“You will not dance with that young man again!” Bradford nearly shouted.

“And why not, might I ask?”

“The boy’s in love with you, that’s obvious. But you’re mine, Angela. I will share you with no one!”

“You’re jealous again,” Angela said, trying to hold back her laughter. “You’re impossible, Bradford. I only danced with Joel so I could get away from Crystal.”

The fire left Bradford’s eyes as if by magic. “I’m sorry, Angel. I will have to talk to Crystal. I won’t have her tongue lashing you anymore. Nobody is going to hurt you.”

Angela spoke softly but very firmly. “But you are going to have to trust me more than you do. Just because another man looks at me, that doesn’t mean I’m looking back at him. My heart belongs to you.”

“I should believe that by now,” he replied, his smile apologetic.

“Don’t you?” she asked, and brushed her lips gently against his.

“Yes, my love, oh, yes,” he groaned, and crushed her small body against his.

It was well over an hour before they walked back into the ballroom.

“If I’m asked, may I dance with other men?” Angela ventured.

“Yes,” he grinned, and took her in his arms to claim the dance now in progress. “But not twice with the same man, you understand. It will take a while to tame my jealous temper. Bear with me, Angel.”

Toward midnight, the long tables at the front of the room were cleared of hors d’oeuvres, and chairs were set up for the banquet. The soups were brought in, then the salads, followed by large platters of buttered rice, yams, and mountains of golden biscuits. Then came duck, venison, turkey, and hot and cold ham.

After the banquet, Angela danced with several men, most of whom she didn’t even know. Mostly, of course, she danced with Bradford. Champagne had gone to her head. And when Grant Marlowe asked her to dance, she found herself giggling.

“I can’t believe I’ve finally found you without a partner,” Grant smiled. “I was beginnin’ to think I never would.”

“Don’t be silly. You could’ve asked me any time.” There were those giggles again. Why did he make her laugh?

“I wish they had ’em like you in Texas. Will you marry me, Miss Angela?”

“Now you
are
being silly,” Angela replied, laughing.

Grant danced her out into the garden, leading
her to a large, moss-covered oak. Quickly, he pulled Angela closer and kissed her, a passionate kiss that cleared her head.

She pushed against him with all the force she had, but he held her easily. When he did release her, seconds later, Angela fell back several steps, nearly losing her balance.

“You—you shouldn’t have done that!” she gasped.

“I just couldn’t help myself,” he replied lightly.

“Oh, God, Bradford is going to be furious if he finds me out here!”

“Does Brad have some kinda claim on you?” Grant asked, bewildered.

“Yes—he does. Damn! I’ve got to go back before he finds me gone.”

“It’s too late for that, ma’am.”

“What?”

She spun around to see Bradford running toward them. Before she could say a word, Bradford’s fist flew into Grant’s face, sending the larger man crashing to the ground. Angela found her voice.

“Stop it! Stop it! He didn’t know, Bradford!”

Bradford turned to face her and she stepped away from him. For just a moment, she felt he might kill her.

“How could he know? We haven’t told anyone. Do you understand? He had no way of knowing!”

Bradford searched her stricken face and gradu
ally the flame died. He turned to Grant and extended a hand to help him from the ground.

“I apologize for my fool temper. Will you forgive me?”

“If you’ll accept my apology also,” Grant replied as he fingered his jaw tenderly. “If I’d known you had a claim on the lady, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Apology accepted,” Bradford grinned sheepishly. “Now, since you will be leaving in about six hours, I suggest you call it a night. My soon-to-be-wife and I have a few things to discuss.”

“She’s awfully tiny to bear that temper of yours, Brad,” Grant said frankly, his concern for Angela plain. “You ain’t gonna hurt her ’cause of this, are you?”

“Of course not,” Bradford answered with surprise. “This woman’s mine. She knows she has nothing to fear from me. Now get out of here, will you?”

Grant hesitated, staring at Bradford. From wild rage to sudden calm—it just wasn’t natural. Was Bradford really as calm as he seemed? Grant said good-night and walked away reluctantly.

Bradford watched until his young friend walked back into the ballroom. He could see through the wide windows and open doors that most of the guests had departed. His father would be furious that he had not been there to see them out.

“Come here, you,” he commanded, though his voice was not harsh.

Angela approached him slowly. “You’re not mad?” she whispered.

“Not anymore.”

She sighed, then shook her head. “Well, I am! You have to trust me, Bradford. I can’t worry that every time I look at a man, you’re going to whip the daylights out of him. You have
got
to control that temper.”

“I know, Angel, and I’m sorry. This is all new to me, Angel. I’ve never felt such a fierce possessiveness before. But I’ll never hurt you because of it. I swear that.”

Angela relaxed in his arms, feeling the tension leave them both. They would overcome this jealousy of his. They had to. She would prove to him that there was no reason for jealousy.

Bradford held her tenderly, caressing her back. He glanced up at the sky, now a grayish-pink with the approach of day. He thought briefly of the talk he would have with his father later. He knew what Jacob was concerned about. He would have to tell his father that he couldn’t possibly marry Candise now. Then afterward, he would make the formal announcement.

“Tonight we tell the family about us,” Bradford continued. “And a week from now, we will be married. After that, no man will doubt that you are mine. But I trust you. I trust you never to leave me, as Crystal did. I trust you to love only me, my Angel, as I love only you.”

Thirty

It was nearly one o’clock when Angela awoke, but she had expected to sleep longer. The heavy drapes were closed tightly against the sun. Bradford was not in the room.

After washing and dressing, she was ready to face the day. And what a glorious day it was going to be!

Angela started down the hall, mindful of the guest rooms she passed before reaching the stairs. She and Bradford had to be much more careful since Grant and Bradford’s lawyer, Jim McLaughlin, had arrived. But their careful secret meetings would end in a week. Then they would have nothing to hide.

She descended the stairs quickly, but slowed her pace when she heard Bradford’s voice raised in anger. He was in the drawing room, but who was he yelling at?

“Is that what you had Tilda’s boy wake me for, to tell me this nonsense? Do you think I’m a fool?”

Crystal’s shrill laughter sounded. “Why do you find it so hard to believe? Things like this happen all the time.”

“It’s a lie, Crystal, a vicious lie!” Bradford stormed. “And if you think this trick of yours is going to stop me from marrying Angela, then you are crazy!”

“Then you really do plan to marry her?” Crystal asked, incredulous.

“I told you so last night on the dance floor, when I warned you to leave her alone. Didn’t you believe me?”

“Frankly, no,” Crystal answered. “I pity you, Bradford. What you want can never be.”

“I will not listen to any more of this.”

“You’d better!” Crystal insisted. “Surely you didn’t believe those excuses your father gave for bringin’ her here? Really, Bradford! To make the girl a member of the family for no reason? Because he’d known her since she was born? How gullible are you?”

“He and Angela’s mother were childhood friends.”

“Exactly!” Crystal exclaimed.

“You’ve proven nothing! Damn it, Crystal! Must I go to Father to put an end to this?”

“Tell me this,” Crystal ventured. “If he had wanted the truth known, then why did he invent
so many lies to avoid tellin’ it? You musn’t say anything. He would be extremely upset if he knew you had discovered his sins. It might cause another attack, and his doctor has warned that another attack will kill him.”

“That’s very convenient, Crystal,” Bradford said drily. “So I can’t confront Father with your lies. But that doesn’t mean I believe a word you’ve said.”

“Be sensible, Bradford. It’s a matter of record that your father bought Golden Oaks almost twenty-two years ago. And shortly after that, one Charissa Sherrington gave birth to Angela. It’s obvious that Jacob followed that woman to Alabama. Why else would he buy the land that her newly acquired husband farmed on?”

“This is all conjecture, Crystal,” Bradford replied wearily. “It doesn’t prove a thing.”

“All right, then. Listen to this. I didn’t want to admit to searchin’ through your father’s desk, but you force me to show you what I found there. This is a letter written by Charissa Sherrington. It proves everything. I’ll read it to you. You will listen to this, because you know you have to. ‘My dearest Jacob,’ the letter begins.

I know you must be searching for me, and I’m sorry I left without saying good-bye, but I thought it best. I always knew that you could never leave your wife, for it would mean giving up your sons, and they need you. Even knowing this, I still can’t help loving you, Jacob. If only you had realized your love for me before you married her! But I have said that many times before, haven’t I?

You don’t have to worry about me, Jacob, or about the child I am carrying. I know you said you would give the child everything you would give your other children, but that is not enough, my dearest. You cannot admit to being the father, and I want my child to have a father. For that reason, I have married.

I met my husband only yesterday, when he boarded the coach I was traveling in. He seems to be a kindly man. I know you will think I should have waited until I could find a man I could love. But I will never love anyone but you, so it doesn’t matter.

William Sherrington wanted a wife, and I needed a husband quickly. It would be believed that he is the father of my child. The marriage will be a convenient one, and William has promised to raise my child as his own.

He sharecrops on a small farm in Alabama, and that is where we are going. I am telling you this because you have a right to know where your child will be. I will leave instructions with a lawyer in Mobile to contact you in case the child should ever be left in need.

I ask you please not to follow me, Jacob, for no good can come of it. Farewell, my dearest.

“And it is signed, ‘Charissa Sherrington,’” Crystal finished triumphantly.

He was so deeply stricken that he failed to watch Crystal’s face carefully. Had he done so, he would have realized that she was lying. Crystal lied whenever it suited her, and had he kept his wits about him, Bradford would have remembered that. But he was in agony, and failed to see that special gleam in her eye.