Kingsley Baby Trilogy: The Hero's Son\The Brother's Wife\The Long-Lost Heir (62 page)

Bradlee felt a sick sensation in the pit of her stomach. There was no way she could compete with
Rachel Hollingsworth. Bradlee had worked with beautiful models most of her adult life, and had never felt particularly intimidated. She’d never had any illusions about on her own appearance, had ac
cepted long ago that she had the kind of girl-
next-
door looks that were pleasant enough but would never stop traffic.

Rachel Hollingsworth would not only stop traffic, she would create a monumental traffic jam.

In a moment, David appeared in the doorway. He still wore his tuxedo pants, but he’d removed his jacket and his white shirt was unbuttoned. It took little imagination to figure out that a reunion had been taking place in his room. In spite of what he’d said earlier, Bradlee didn’t think he’d been
talking
to Rachel.

They were talking now, though, murmuring in such low tones that Bradlee couldn’t hear what they were saying. Not wanting to be caught eavesdropping, she eased her bedroom door closed and walked across the room to her bed. Sitting down on the edge, she felt frustrated tears pool in her eyes.

She could have been killed tonight while David had been enjoying an intimate little reunion with his fianc;aaee. No matter what he’d said earlier about talking with Rachel, Bradlee didn’t think it would be that easy to break it off with a woman like her. What man would be able to resist her?

Falling back on the bed, she held up her hands, examining the angry red scratches. While she’d been climbing down the trellis, David had been holding Rachel in his arms, kissing her as he’d kissed Bradlee earlier. But he wouldn’t have had to stop with Rachel. He didn’t owe Bradlee his fidelity. He didn’t owe her anything. They were hardly more than strangers, really—two people who’d been brought back together because of an old tragedy.

A tragedy that had affected both their lives; but that was all their relationship was. In fairness, David had tried to tell her that. He’d warned her that he didn’t believe in destiny.

Why hadn’t she listened? Why had she continued to pursue a dream that had eluded her all her life?

Bradlee was just finishing breakfast on the terrace the next morning when David came down to join her. She looked around, expecting to see Rachel, but then assumed she was probably sleeping in. She’d had a late night, after all.

Bradlee tried to ignore David when he sat down beside her, but he angled his head, forcing her to look at him. “Good morning,” he said, and Bradlee wanted to slug him.

Instead she glanced at him coolly. “Good morning.”

“Where did you disappear to last night?” he asked. “I looked all over for you.”

Bradlee cut him a glance. “You’re kidding, right?”

He frowned. “Why would I kid about that?”

She tossed down her napkin and got up. “For your information, I was in the nursery last night. Where were you?”

“I thought you might have gone up without me, so I went to check. But when I got there, the door was locked. You weren’t there.”

Bradlee lifted one brow. “Oh, I was there, all right. But it’s a long story, and I’m sure you have more important things to do.”

She had the satisfaction of seeing his puzzled expression before she whirled and strode down the terrace steps. He caught up with her and grabbed her arm. Bradlee half turned and gave him a quelling look. “Let go of me, please.”

“What’s the matter with you?”

She glanced at his hand still on her arm, then lifted her gaze to meet his. “If you must know, someone tried to kill me last night while you were with
her.
”

His grip tightened on her arm. “Bradlee, what happened? What are you talking about?”

“Oh, I’m not blaming you,” she said, trying to control her anger. “Why shouldn’t you be with her? You’re engaged, after all. But we did agree to meet at the nursery, remember?”

“I remember, and I was there. I didn’t think you were. And Bradlee—” She started to walk away but he pulled her back. “I’m not engaged anymore.”

That stopped her. It was her turn to be shocked. She stared up at him. “You’re…not?”

He shook his head. “I’ll tell you all about it, but first, tell me what happened last night. You said someone tried to kill you—” For the first time, he noticed the deep scratches on her arms. He lifted her hands gently, examined the marks, then slowly met her gaze. “My God, what happened? Who the hell did this to you?”

The anger in his eyes was perhaps the most gratifying emotion Bradlee had ever witnessed. It was a primal, masculine reaction that stirred something feminine inside her. She almost smiled. “You really aren’t engaged anymore?”

He scowled down at her, his anger momentarily directed at her. “No, but for God’s sake, don’t change the subject. I need to know what happened to you last night. Who’s responsible for this?” He was still holding her hands, as if they were his private property, his most treasured possessions.

Bradlee felt a rush of excitement as she gazed up at him. “Actually, I did that myself,” she said. “Climbing down the rose trellis by the nursery.” Then she went on to explain everything that had happened to her the evening before. When she finished, David’s expression was like a thundercloud—dark, menacing, and possibly deadly.

“Someone must have overheard me asking Iris for the key last night,” he said. “She knew we both wanted to look around in the room, and she told me she would leave the key on a table in her sitting room when she went up for the night. But when I got up there, I couldn’t find the key, and Illiana said that Iris had already gone to bed and didn’t want to be disturbed. Someone must have gotten there before me and taken the key without Iris or Illiana knowing about it. Then whoever it was went up to the nursery to wait for you.”

Bradlee shivered. “Someone’s getting desperate, David. We’re getting too close to the truth.”

“We’d better get up to the nursery and take a look around,” he said grimly. “Whoever knocked you out may have left a clue, and if so, I want to find it before he has time to cover his tracks.”

“He?”

David shrugged. “Or she. I’m going up to see Iris now and find out about that key. Don’t go anywhere near the nursery until I get back.”

“Don’t worry,” Bradlee assured him. “I always try to learn from my mistakes.”

* * *

A
FTER
D
AVID LEFT
, Bradlee walked around the garden for a few minutes before returning to the terrace. She knew she should try to concentrate on remembering who had been in the nursery on the night of the kidnapping, but all she could think about was David’s broken engagement.

She didn’t want to take pleasure in someone else’s misfortune, but she couldn’t honestly say she was sorry. Something special had happened between her and David, and it would have killed her to see him marry someone else. They were meant to be together. For Bradlee, it was as simple as that.

When she walked back into the house, she saw Rachel Hollingsworth descending the stairs. One of the servants trailed behind her, carrying her luggage. Bradlee wasn’t sure if she should stop and introduce herself, or pretend she didn’t know who Rachel was. Instead, as they met at the foot of the stairs, Bradlee nodded and smiled, and then started up.

Rachel Hollingsworth said coolly, “So you’re Bradlee.”

She turned in surprise. “Yes. And you must be Rachel.”

One dark brow arched elegantly. “So you’ve heard about me. From David, no doubt.”

Bradlee paused, not wanting a scene, but sensing Rachel was spoiling for one. In a verbal sparring match, Rachel Hollingsworth would probably be unsurpassed.

And this morning, she would also be looking for someone to blame. Had David told her about Bradlee? And if he had, what, exactly, had he said?

Rachel glanced over her shoulder at the man carrying her luggage. “Take my bags outside and put them in the car. I’ll be there shortly.”

The man inclined his head and did as he was told. Rachel turned back to Bradlee. “You think you’ve got him, don’t you? I wouldn’t celebrate just yet if I were you. David and I are very well suited to one another. We’re both ambitious, intelligent, and we know how to go after what we want. In spite of what you think, you’re not the right woman for him.”

“Don’t you think he should be the judge of that?”

Rachel leaned toward her, and Bradlee fought the urge to step back. The woman reminded her of a cat—sleek, well-
groomed, with razor-
sharp claws just out of sight.

“You think you have some kind of hold on him because of the past. Oh, yes,” she said, when Bradlee looked at her in surprise. “I know all about the kidnapping, the fact that you were in the nursery with him when he was taken. In fact, I know quite a lot about you.”

Bradlee suppressed a shudder. The woman was like
ice.
How had David ever fallen for someone like her? “How do you know so much about me?”

Rachel smiled. “I don’t think I want you to know that. At least, not yet.” She turned, but at the door she stopped and looked over her shoulder. “For your information—and David’s—I won’t be returning to New York. I’ve decided to stay in Memphis for a while.”

“Why?” Bradlee asked her flatly.

Rachel smiled again. “I’ve made some very good friends here.”

* * *

I
RIS WAS STILL IN BED
that morning, recovering from the excitement of the night before. She reclined against a stack of pillows, her white hair smoothed back from her face, highlighting the deep wrinkles that David had never noticed before. She wore no makeup, and for the first time since he’d met her, she looked her age. Gone was the regal air, the arrogant demeanor. Today she looked like a frail, old woman who couldn’t quite muster the strength to get out of bed.

To David’s surprise, she reached for his hand when he came to stand by her bedside. Her skin felt like parchment, dry and almost unbearably fragile. Last night she’d appeared to be a woman who could live forever, but David realized it had only been an act. And the performance had taken its toll. He wondered how much longer his grandmother had left, and it hit him suddenly that, under different circumstances, she might have been someone he would have enjoyed knowing.

“Sit down, David,” she murmured and released his hand to pat the edge of her bed. He did as he was told, and she smiled. “Tell me. Did you enjoy last night? Was it everything you expected it to be?”

“I didn’t find out who helped Raymond Colter kidnap me, if that’s what you mean,” he said. “But it was an interesting evening, nonetheless.”

She looked amused. “Your fianc;aaee is a very beautiful woman. You should have told me about her. I would have sent her a personal invitation.”

David stared down at her. “Didn’t you?”

“How could I? I knew nothing about her.”

David wasn’t sure if he believed her or not. Iris, like Rachel, was a woman of secrets. Neither one of them was as open as Bradlee, and rather than finding their guile appealing, David found it disturbing. They were both capable of manipulation, and there wasn’t a man alive who didn’t resent that. David was no exception.

He shrugged. “I didn’t invite her, either. I’m wondering how she found out about all this.”

“Does it matter?” Iris inquired mildly.

“That’s exactly what she asked.”

“Let me put it another way,” Iris said. “Would it have mattered if her timing had not been so inopportune?”

“Meaning?”

Iris gave him a knowing look. “Meaning Bradlee. You’ve fallen in love with her, haven’t you?”

David glanced at her, startled.

She chuckled. “You’re so like your grandfather. Refusing to believe what’s staring you in the face. Bradlee’s a wonderful girl. She’s always had a… fascination for you.”

The hesitation before the word made David wonder what she had meant to say instead. Suddenly, he didn’t want to talk about Bradlee to Iris. It was a protective instinct he didn’t quite understand.

“I came up here to ask you about the key to the nursery,” he said, deliberately changing the subject. “You said you would leave it for me in your sitting room last night.”

“And I did,” Iris replied. “I put it on the table exactly where I said I would.”

“When I came up, it wasn’t there,” David told her. “Illiana told me you’d already gone to bed and didn’t want to be disturbed, so I left. I went up to the nursery to meet Bradlee, but the door was locked and she wasn’t there. This morning she told me when she got to the nursery, the door was open. She went in and someone used ether to knock her out.”

Iris sat up in alarm. “My God. Is she all right?”

“Other than several scratches, she’s fine.”

“Scratches?”

“She was locked in the nursery, and the only way she could get out was to climb down the rose trellis.”

Iris had gone completely white. She lay back against the pillows, her hand at her heart. “My God, she could have been killed. Why would someone do such a thing?”

“Because Bradlee was in the nursery the night I was kidnapped. Someone is obviously afraid that she saw something, and now that I’ve come back, she might remember.”

“No.” The word was barely audible, but Iris’s eyes were shadowed with an emotion David could only call fear. “I refuse to believe someone in this house had anything to do with your kidnapping. Your own family, for God’s sake.”

“I’m not saying it’s someone in this family. It could have been someone at the party last night. That’s why I wanted to invite the same people here, but I certainly didn’t mean to put Bradlee’s life in danger.”

Iris lifted her hand as if to gesture, but then dropped it weakly to the bed. She shook her head almost imperceptibly. “I cannot stand to think about this.”

“Then don’t,” David said, alarmed by her pallor. Maybe he shouldn’t have told her about Bradlee’s attack. Iris had already been in a weakened state, and he should have been more sensitive. “There’s no need for you to worry about any of this.” Impulsively he took her hand and held it for a brief moment. “I’ll take care of everything. But I’m afraid I still need a key to the nursery. I have to go up and take a look around.”