Legacy (37 page)

He shook his head, still smiling to himself, as he inspected the receipts. When he came to the one that still remained unsigned, he held it up between his pudgy thumb and forefinger. ' I suppose you plan to take care of this one with the life insurance money that's due tomorrow.'

I nodded.

'Well, then, having inspected these pertinent documents' - he cleared his throat and his voice took on an official tone - 'the court now rules that a settlement in the estate of Samuel C. Rawlings is unnecessary, and it will straightaway direct the banks now holding Rawlings monies on account to release same on request to either Claire or Catherine Rawlings whenever their claim is presented, et cetera.' He handed me back the receipts. 'That's what you came to hear me say, am I right?'

'More or less. I have to admit that I wanted to see the look on your face, too.' I folded the receipts into my purse and stood, smiling.

He gave me a sigh. 'Well, I'm glad you did it, Catherine, however you managed to get that money. And I hope I'll be able to give you some help again if you need.it. Congratulations. I know your father would be proud.'

He stood up, too, and then added, 'I just hope it makes you happy.'

I descended the marble staircase of the courthouse with my mind on a hundred things that had to be done: meetings; reports on the Eagles Mere Hotel; procedures for the managers to follow so they would have no doubts that I was in charge now; meetings with the mayor and city officials; an office for me, and a personal secretary. But when I came out through the massive doors and on to the wide courthouse steps, these thoughts were suddenly swept away.

There on the curb beside my carriage stood Steven Graybar.

He was talking with Jared, but then his head came up and those dark eyes caught my gaze and held it. I stood stock-still there on the top step between the big stone columns, hating myself for the sudden surge of passion that blocked out all else. How dare he startle me like this! Everything had gone so well, in such good order, and now it was about to be disrupted by Steven Graybar. I knew that he would not be waiting beside my carriage merely to say hello and go off about his business! He would want me to come with him; he would make his demands until his own lusts were satisfied, thinking that I was too caught up in my own desires to resist. I remembered his last kiss, and the warmth that had flooded my body then began to re-emerge. Seeing him from a distance, I remembered how well-proportioned his body was, with what easy poise he stood. His light grey suit, the polished black boots, and the lustrous black hair were enough to turn the head of any woman.

Lifting my skirts, I descended the wide stone steps slowly and carefully, telling myself that I had already faced down six men this morning and that I could certainly manage one more if I tried hard enough. For one thing, I could simply say hello and get into the carriage right away. For another . . .

'I recognized Jared,' Steven said, coming closer and offering me his arm. His smile of greeting was restrained, cool, somehow. 'I've got some good news I think you'll be glad to hear. I want you to come up to Legacy with me and talk to Brad about something.'

'Really, Steven, I . . . ' The refusal I had prepared hung on my lips. Had he said Legacy? A talk with Brad Graybar? Suddenly I felt unsure of my ground.

'Purely a business talk,' he said as though he were reading my thoughts. 'Some of my work in Harrisburg appears to be paying off. The Graybars may soon be in a position to do you some good - that is, if you're still thinking of becoming a businesswoman. As I said, it's something you should be glad to hear.'

We reached the carriage. My head was spinning with emotions and contradictory thoughts. Had I not resolved to make my own way? But hadn't I also vowed to use whomever was necessary to further my plans? Obviously the Graybars did not yet know of my victory this morning. If they thought that I still needed help, they might be less guarded when we talked. Something might slip out. And I did want Legacy - I was going to have Legacy. And the only way to get it, I reminded myself, was to take it from the Graybars.

But could I trust myself with Steven Graybar? 'I don't know, Steven,' I said finally. 'I really did have a very full afternoon planned. Can we wait until tomorrow morning?'

'I have to leave for Harrisburg tonight. I was hoping to see you this afternoon.'

'Intending to call on me, no doubt, when you chanced to notice my carriage,' I said, my voice cool and controlled. 'How unfortunate that you could not have asked me a bit earlier, before I had made my plans. Then, again, I suppose you still expected me to be always waiting and available . . .'

His voice hardened with exasperation. 'I got the news this morning, and, as a matter of fact, I have already been past your house. Someone told me you had come here - that big redneck you've got all dressed up in a ...'

'Oh, you mean Billy Joe?' I interrupted, delighted to see signs of jealousy in Steven's flashing glance. 'Why, he saved my life! If it hadn't been for him. . .'

'Catherine! I didn't come here to talk about . . . ' He stopped suddenly, as though his attention had been caught by something down the street on the next block. When he resumed, his tone was more carefully controlled. 'Are you coming with me or not? Make up your mind. My carriage is just around the corner.'

I considered the proposal for one more moment, congratulating myself on how well I had managed to keep control of the situation thus far. And I did want to see Legacy again.

'Very well. Just wait here a moment.' I walked over to where Jared was waiting discreetly by the horses. 'Jared, tell them at home that I've gone to a business meeting and am to be expected for supper promptly at six. Have Billy Joe go around to Prescott at the mill and Lurie at the hotel to tell them I want to talk with them this evening at eight.'

'Sure will, ma'am.' Jared quickly swung up into the driver's seat. He might have been a bit stiff with age, but he was certainly doing his best to please his new employer, I thought, as he drove the empty carriage back to the house.

In Steven's carriage I learned what the good news was that he had received this morning. The bill he had been lobbying for was now out of committee in the state legislature. This bill amounted to a re-chartering of the Susquehanna Boom Company as an open corporation rather than a closed-stock concern. In other words, it enabled Brad Graybar, or any of the other Boom Company shareholders, to sell their stock to the public instead of only to each other.

It was a master stroke for Brad. His extensive holdings in the company could now be turned into cash at extremely high prices. This would give the Graybars more than enough money to ward off their creditors during the next few months as their loans came due.

On the other hand, it meant that Legacy was yet another step away from my reach.

'Congratulations,' I told Steven as we rode. 'You must have worked wonders in the legislature.'

He shook his head, not as pleased as I would have expected. He leaned back against the soft leather of the carriage's interior and folded his arms across his chest. 'Money did it. I just planted the idea and saw to it that each little committee man got his share. Tomorrow I'll be down there seeing that the rest of them are ready to vote for the bill when it comes out on the floor.'

'You don't seem pleased.'

'Well, in a way I am, I suppose. It's good that those old bastards who own the rest of the Boom Company can't keep Brad from selling his shares at what they're really worth. They wanted to make him practically give those shares away! You should have heard what our kind fellow shareholders were willing to offer when they thought they were the only ones we could sell to. It even made my blood boil. But that's the only real satisfaction. Playing the Harrisburg lobbyist doesn't exactly suit my temperament.'

'Yet obviously you're good at it.'

He cocked his head and looked at me sideways with an ironic smile. 'As I live and breathe, that sounded like a compliment! What's come over you, Catherine? Or did you just mean it as an insult?'

I refused to allow myself to be baited. 'Merely as a business judgment. I understood that we were going to discuss business matters. What is it that your father wants with me, anyway?'

Instead of replying, he shook his head and glanced out the window. 'We're almost there. I think it would be best if Brad tells you that himself.'

Chapter Fifteen

The huge doors at the centre of the castle turret closed silently behind us. The light from the turret windows high overhead filtered down, making patches of sun on the grey stones. Inside, the parquet-paneled hall was silent. I remembered that Brad Graybar employed no servants, except for those occasions when he was entertaining. The rest of the time he took his meals in town or ate, they said, with the woman who lived with him as his mistress.

'Let's see where Brad is.' Steven led me across the carpet to the middle of the hall, close to the great, wide staircase, where he lifted one of the wooden panels. Behind the hinged parquet there stood a double row of speaking tubes. One by one, Steven removed their stoppers and spoke. 'Brad? I'm here with Miss Rawlings. Brad?'

But one by one the tubes remained silent.

And slowly my suspicions grew stronger.

Steven glanced at the clock standing beside the wall of speaking tubes. 'Damnation. It's only two o'clock. I'd forgotten - he's not expected back until four. Took that woman of his into town to shop. Stupid of me to have forgotten the time. Now here we are with two hours on our hands.'

He turned, ready, I knew, to take me into his arms. He was so confident, so certain that his charm would overpower me, as it always did! I felt indignation rising.

'You're wasting your time, Steven. It was a clever trick of yours, and very well done, but I came here to talk business.' My voice was controlled, yet even as I spoke came the ache of longing. Oh, why did I have to feel this way? Alone in this house with him, my desire burned stronger than ever. I could feel the pulsating heat begin to flow, feel my senses quicken with excitement.

Steven looked down into my eyes. 'It's too bad. I can see what you want. Such a shame, when we both want the same thing.'

His fingers tightened their hold on my arms. 'You're beautiful, Catherine. But I can see that same look in your eyes now that you had the first time I saw you. Do you remember? You were hiding something from me then; you weren't going to let on who you were. You didn't trust me. I think you still don't. You're trembling, Catherine. You know what you want, yet you still try to pretend.'

His voice became softer now, almost whispering with restrained passion. I shuddered. His words seemed to penetrate something vulnerable deep within me. I fought against them. I was hiding, yes, hiding my passion, and hiding my determination, too, my determination to stay independent, to possess Legacy again. But, oh, how I wanted him, the sweet warmth of his lips, the hardness of his body against mine, the magical abandon I felt when we two moved as one . . .

'We had to stay apart before, Catherine, but that's finished now. It's all in the past. We're together . . . you and I . .. '

He lifted me to him, and I made no attempt to resist as he covered my mouth with his, softly at first, then fiercely, making me gasp even as I welcomed his strength against me. My body seemed to glow with sensation, blocking out the small warning voice at the back of my mind. We were together now and the future would have to take care of itself. . .

His lips stole to my throat, and I pressed him closer to me, burying my fingers in the black waves of his hair, savoring the feel of him all around me. I relaxed, letting his firm hands bear me up and then caress me, so that everywhere he touched seemed to melt, to loosen, to unfold.

Silently he led me up the stairs to a small sunlit room at the back of the mansion, a room that would have likely been a servant's bedroom if Brad Graybar had employed servants. The afternoon light shone brightly on the walls, the single oak chest, and the multicolored soft quilt that covered the bed. Steven closed the door behind us and then, with his face illuminated as he stood for a moment at the window, he closed the curtains and changed the atmosphere of the room into a cosy, shadowy softness. Outside I could hear the faint sounds of the forest, and occasionally the fresh-scented breeze would flicker the curtains and let the sunlight glitter all around us as Steven slowly, leisurely, began to undress me. One by one, the fasteners at the back of my dress came undone. Slowly he undid the catch at the back of my lace collar, and then he eased the dress forward and down as I drew my arms out of the sleeves. Then my dress had fallen to my ankles and the curves of my breasts were exposed above my corset. He kissed between them slowly, firmly, his tongue warm and exciting as I held him tightly against me and felt myself tremble with passion.