Sudden Legacy (19 page)

Five days. Julien had been back in the picture for five days. Marriage? Suddenly my life resembled an antiquated fairy tale. This was all happening so fast. But then, why shouldn’t it? Hadn’t we already wasted the last three and a half years?

I felt as if I had an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. The angel was sighing in delight and giddy expectation while the devil was busy pointing out all the things that could go wrong. As I paid attention to them, my mental eye volleying back and forth between the two figures, they started to morph into miniature effigies of Nan and Pops respectively.

I shook my head to clear it and leaned forward against Chester’s strong neck. He didn’t seem to mind. He was used to me treating him like a colossal body pillow. “Come on, boy,” I coaxed. Then I clicked my tongue to get him to pick up his pace. I needed some time to myself to think. I thought a ride might do the trick - I had even taken the time to saddle Chester properly this time.

We made our way along the back of the property line. I was saddened to see the charred corpses of trees beyond the firebreak, blackened and reaching naked toward the skyline as if in agony. I shifted my weight, pushing Chester inward toward my stream. I was so preoccupied with my inner musings that we had already reached the stream before I noticed something was a little off. I couldn’t quite place what was different. I had an eerie feeling, as if I were being watched. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I shivered involuntarily. The birds. They were quiet. That’s what was odd.

Chester’s nostrils flared and he pawed nervously at the ground. I was creeped out enough to decide to head back to the house, but suddenly Chester’s ears perked up and he let out an ear splitting whinny. My heart jumped into my throat and every muscle tightened, responding to the adrenaline flooding my veins and readying me for fight or flight.

“Lara? Is that you?”

Julien’s voice came from behind a stand of oaks and my entire body sagged in relief. I caught sight of some bushes moving, and Julien came into view. “There you are.” He looked as relieved to see me as I was to see him.

“You scared the daylights out of me!” I said. He took hold of Chester’s halter and rubbed the velvet hairs of Chester’s nose. “
Désolé, Chérie
. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” Chester still seemed a little uneasy. He had been startled too, poor thing. He shied away from Julien’s attentions, trying to turn his large body to face the west. I tightened my grip on his reigns in an attempt to still him. “Chester, easy.”

Julien sidestepped Chester’s large hoof before it could accidentally crush his foot. “He must sense my urgency
Chérie
. I came to find you to bring you home.”

“Why?” I asked, struggling to control the fidgety beast beneath me.

“I got a text from Martin. He said he had an urgent message, and to make sure we were all accounted for. He’s probably waiting for us up at the house by now.”

The next sequence of events happened so rapidly I didn’t have time to process them. I heard a hissing sound, followed instantly by Julien grunting and lurching to the side while Chester simultaneously reared up, catching me completely off guard, and depositing me roughly on the ground. Before I could collect my wits enough to raise myself out of the dry, prickly grass, Julien was covering me with his body.

“Scendere!
Stay down Lara!”

I breathed in a mouthful of dirt and started coughing painfully. My hair was in my eyes, and I was still completely disconcerted. Keeping low, and continuing to shield me with his body, Julien managed to drag us behind the cluster of oaks he had come through just seconds before. There was a large boulder pressing against the tree nearest us. Julien wedged me up against this and draped himself over me. My side was pushing painfully into the unforgiving boulder, and my burning lungs couldn’t seem to calm enough for me to catch my breath. I could feel a warm dampness spreading across my upper back. Before my brain could form the words to question this new sensation, I smelled the distinct coppery tang of blood.

“Julien!” I said between coughs. “You’re bleeding! What’s happening?”

“Shhhh.” He pressed his lips against my ear. “Try to be quiet,
Chérie
.”

My coughing fit was finally subsiding. I still felt the urge to cough, but my fear was suppressing the spasms vibrating in my diaphragm. I could hear the clicking sounds of Julien sending a text in his pocket. That momentarily distracted me. My brain seemed to shut down certain parts, allowing me to ignore the terrifying confusion unfolding around me, and to focus on how impressive it was that Julien could send a text message without looking at his phone. I idly wondered what his words per minute would be.

My thoughts were interrupted by the crack of bullets hitting the boulder just above our prostrate bodies. I watched in fascination as a small chip of rock landed in slow motion just inches from my face. I didn’t consciously register that I was being shot at. I must have understood that on a subconscious level because my joints turned to jelly and my body seemed to go numb, but consciously, I marveled at the beauty of the different minerals in the chunk of rock glinting in the sun next to my face.

The sun had fully set, and the chill was such that we made our way over to the outer most bonfire. There was a waiter standing just outside of the circle of light, next to a small table that had been set up with flutes of champagne and hors d’oeuvre. Julien exchanged a few amicable words with the man, and the waiter melted away, joining his fellow staff at the other bonfires.

There were artfully carved pieces of driftwood set here and there to serve as seats or places to lean against while you lounged in the sand. I wondered if they had been harvested from this very beach, or if they had been purchased elsewhere. My guess was purchased elsewhere, but what did I know about driftwood?

A flute of champagne materialized in front of me, being offered from behind. “You are still upset with me,
Chérie
,” Julien said softly as he folded himself to sit in the sand beside my driftwood perch. It wasn’t a question.

“I’m not upset with
you
,” I said reassuringly. “At least, I don’t think I am... It’s more that I’m upset with the situation.” I could feel a storm brewing within, and I didn’t want to ruin such a beautiful night, but my ire wouldn’t be subdued.

“What has she said?” he asked, correctly guessing the root of my turmoil.

I took a sip of my champagne, more to give myself a moment to gather my courage and decide how to go about asking what I wanted to know, than because of any great thirst. The bubbles danced across my tongue. This was good champagne. I didn’t usually care for champagne, but whatever this stuff was, it was delicious. “I feel silly asking,” I started. “Like a jealous school girl...”

Julien set his champagne flute down beside him, burying the stem in the sand to keep it upright. He took my glass as well and repeated the process, then took my hands and pulled me down to sit nestled into his side. “Don’t feel silly, Lara. Ask me what you want to know. I promise to answer you honestly.” He took a breath as if to continue, but he stopped himself before saying anything else.

“What?” I asked. “What were you about to say?”

He shrugged. “Only that you might not like the answers you are given.”

I looked up at him then. “I’m assuming you want to ask me about Marla,” he clarified.

“You know me well,” I said.

That made him bark a quick laugh. “No,
Chérie
, I know
her
well. Well enough to know she’s been planting seeds in your fertile mind. You are not the first woman to fall victim to her schemes.”

I frowned at his words and he quickly realized how that had sounded. He hastened to qualify his statement. “Not any woman of
mine, Chérie.
You are the first in that regard.” He seemed mildly surprised by that last part. He smiled a boyish smile and squeezed me briefly. “Ask away.”

I was taken by complete surprise by his admission. I had always felt as if what Julien and I had was more than just great sex, but to hear him admit he considered me
his
woman, and in the same breath that I was the first woman to hold that position, well, it was quite a lot to take in. I almost hated to ruin the moment with my question, but I couldn’t not ask it, now that I had been given such a perfect opportunity. Besides, I was
really
curious as to the answer. I had learned nothing from that unfortunate cat.

“I know Marla is a friend of your mother,” I started.

“
Oui.
” He kept his expression neutral and open.

“I was wondering how the two of you came to be... uh... lovers.” I scratched at my ankle and pushed my toes into the sand. “It just seems strange to me, your having that type of relationship with your mother’s friend.”

“Well, I think we can both agree that Marla isn’t your typical aunt-like matron.” His dry tone made me smile despite my nerves. “My mother and Marla met when I was fourteen. I spent most of my time away at school, so I didn’t really see that much of her. She didn’t seem to take notice of me until I came home for
les vacances de Noël
, Christmas, of my final year.”

I couldn’t really blame Marla for taking an interest in Julien. He was gorgeous. I could only imagine how tempting he must have been at seventeen or eighteen. He probably had the lean body of an athlete, less muscled than he was now at twenty-four. That, coupled with his
naïveté
had proven too much for her to ignore. I listened on, captivated.

“I was excited by her attention. She is a beautiful woman, no?” I nodded, unable to argue the fact of Marla’s beauty. “The following summer, as a graduation present, Marla offered to host a few of my friends and me on a celebratory cruise upon her yacht.” I raised my brows to encourage him to go on. “Not that yacht.” He nodded toward Marla’s giant vessel, its windows twinkling brightly and reflecting in the dark water. “Her last ship was much smaller.” He was quiet for a moment, no doubt thinking of his time upon Marla’s previous boat.

“I was inexperienced in the art of seduction,
Chérie
.” He was starting to hesitate more between words. I could see him debating how to phrase each sentence. “Having gone to an all boys boarding school, I hadn’t been afforded many opportunities to fraternize with
les filles
. Marla found my ignorance endearing, and took it upon herself to teach me.”

My breath caught in my throat. So it was true. Marla hadn’t just been toying with me when she said she had taught him... I couldn’t finish the thought. Julien went on, unaware of my inner battle to keep outwardly calm.

“So that is how it started, and it just continued from there. I stayed the summer with Marla, and started my studies at
l'université
in the autumn. She invited me to spend the following summer with her as well, and a tradition was born. We asked nothing nor expected anything of the other. Neither of us expected fidelity or romance. We simply enjoyed a physical relationship we found mutually satisfying.”

“What do your parents think of your unconventional relationship? Do they know?”

“
Oui.
They know. I can’t say they were pleased with the arrangement at first, but I am a grown man, and they have since become... accustomed to the idea. Marla and my mother maintain a friendship, if that is what you were asking.”

I was quiet. I concentrated on my breathing, trying to work up the courage to ask the question that was at the root of my angst. The only question that made any difference to me. When I finally spoke, my voice was thick, betraying the lump in my throat. “Do you... love her?”

Julien sighed in defeat. He turned me to face him, and held my face steady so I was forced to look at him when he answered. “No. Not in the way you mean. I respect her,
Chérie
, and I enjoy her company on occasion, but no, I am not in love with her; not in a romantic way.”

I was flooded with relief. I wanted to ask him how he could stand it. How could he stand serving as her plaything? Was it the money? The lifestyle to which he had grown accustomed? Was it worth it? Or maybe that wasn’t it at all. Maybe I was being too narrow minded about all this. Julien was a young bachelor. There must be millions of young bachelors out there that would give their right arms to have the kind of arrangement Julien had with Marla. Maybe he enjoyed the job as thoroughly as Marla claimed, and the money and fancy extras were just an added bonus.

He kissed me then. It was a soft, tentative kiss, filled with promise if I responded in kind. I pulled back, needing an answer to one more question. “Were you with her today? Earlier? Before you came upon us on deck?”

He looked at me intently, trying to read my eyes. “
Oui
. Briefly.” I stiffened slightly and watched realization dawn in his eyes. “What do you mean by ‘with her’,
Chérie
? We had words. Nothing more. I told you - I have been with no one else since you. I don’t know how to make it any more plain. I realize I wasn’t forthcoming with you in regards to Marla’s and my history, but it hardly seemed relevant at the time.” He tilted his head. “I never would have dreamed the girl I met in the nightclub would end up being so territorial.”