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He slid his hands up and down her arms. “Corinne made a threat.”
“What kind?”
“I didn’t give her the chance to tell me.”
“But you can’t dismiss it? Why didn’t you say something to me while we were in the village. I thought we were in this together.”
His eyes roved over her upturned features. “Because I didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily.”
“I already am worried. Her behavior is irrational, Lance. One minute she’s hysterical. The next she’s like the calm before a storm.”
“She’s mentally ill. I’m sure my father believes it, too. He chose his words very carefully tonight.”
“I have to know what you’re thinking!”
His hands circled her upper arms. “Last night I asked if you trusted me, and you said yes.”
“I do.”
“Then let me deal with this in my own way first. I’ve already taken some precautions. If the need arises to talk to you about it, I swear I will. In the meantime we’ll do everything together. I’m not leaving you alone.”
For him to say that could only mean one thing. “You think she could be physically dangerous?”
Lines marred his face. “At this point I believe Corinne is capable of almost anything.”
Andrea groaned. “When your father gave us his blessing, she saw her dreams smashed. There’s a violence in her, Lance.”
“It’s always been there.”
“At the lake you told me it was a woman who gave you that scar. Women commit crimes against men on a regular basis. When I think Corinne once came to your room uninvited—there’s nothing to prevent her from doing it again to make certain you don’t get married.”
He kissed her forehead. “Nothing’s going to happen to anyone, Andrea. Until our wedding I’ll be sleeping with you in this room.”
“But, Lance—”
“Don’t worry about the servants talking,” he cut in on her. “That’s exactly what I want to happen. The gossip will reach Corinne’s ears. Knowing you and I are together will act as a natural deterrent.”
“I was thinking of your father.”
The trace of a smile formed on his lips. “Since it only took me four days to propose to you, he would wonder about me if I continued to spend my nights apart from you.”
He relinquished his hold of her and reached for the phone at her bedside. “I’ll let the staff know about my new arrangements, then we’ll call your family with our news.”
His eyes swept over her. “You look tired. Why don’t you get ready for bed first? It was designed so half a dozen people can gaze at the paintings comfortably. You won’t even know I’m in there with you.”
Andrea’s thudding heart accompanied her into the bathroom where she clung to the sink until she could get herself under control.
The brilliance of the diamond ring he’d given her drew her gaze.
It’s in the shape of the lake, he’d said.
The lake hidden in a mystical forest was where this whole thing had started—where she’d met Lancelot Du Lac come to life. Only he was bigger than life.
The myth wasn’t a myth after all.
He’d put Andrea under his spell. How else would she have agreed to enter into this marriage with Lance?
He was waiting for her when she emerged from the bathroom wearing her nightgown and robe. In the short time she’d been occupied, he’d changed into a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. No matter what he wore, she was aware of his incredible male physique made hard by his life in the military.
His slumberous eyes followed her progress, taking in every inch of her, starting at her bare feet.
“Ready to make that phone call? Afterward I want to hear which painting you think is my favorite.”
Andrea sank down at the side of the bed and put a phone call through to her aunt. The whole time they talked, Lance lay stretched out on the other side of the bed with his hands propping his dark head. He proved to be such a distraction, she had trouble concentrating on the conversation.
“If you’re so attracted to him this soon, why don’t you stay on in France and get to know him better before you commit yourself to another marriage?”
It was a good question. One Andrea would have asked her aunt if their positions had been reversed.
“Lance has been in the military a long time, Aunt Kathy. He wants to settle down.”
“That’s fine for him, but what about you? Even though you’re free, you’re still grieving. I should think you’d want to take a couple of deep breaths first.”
Her aunt didn’t understand Andrea’s problem. Andrea had been grieving in her marriage for years. And now, just thinking of Lance made her so breathless she could hardly function. The realization that they’d be sleeping in the same bed had made her feel more desire than she had felt in years. Shame coursed through her.
“I probably should.”
“Well, it sounds like you’ve made up your mind. Rob and I just want you to be happy. Does your invitation include the girls and their husbands?”
Her hand tightened on the receiver. “You know it does. I want all of you there.”
“We’re stretched for money, as always. Are you sure your fiancé’s willing to pay for everything?”
“Yes. He wants you to stay at his parents’ home while you’re here.”
“What a generous man. That’s a big change from Richard.”
She lowered her head. “I know.”
“Sorry. I had no right to say that.”
“Yes, you did, because it’s true.” In a way it was a relief to know her aunt hadn’t been blind to certain problems in Andrea’s marriage.
Lance was a different man from a different world.
Andrea hadn’t told her aunt anything except that she’d met a Frenchman named Lance Malbois who’d just retired from France’s elite force.
When the family arrived in Brittany, they’d see and understand everything for themselves. At that point she’d take her aunt aside and tell her she was expecting a baby. It didn’t seem right to tell her over the phone.
“Lance and I will make all the airline arrangements. You’ll be getting your tickets and the invitation some time next week by express mail.”
“Andrea?”
“Yes?”
“I know I haven’t said it often enough, but I love you. I want only the best for you.”
Her eyes smarted. “I know. I love you, too. Being away has made me realize how lucky I was to be raised by you. It must have been so hard at first.” When she thought of Geoff and the way he’d reached out to his troubled stepdaughter, it was humbling.
“If it was hard, it was because I was afraid I could never be the mother my sister would have been to you. Rob says I’m anal, but he loves me anyway. Your mother was more calm and laid-back. You have that same quality. It’s one I envy.”
“Then we’re even because I envy your courage in taking on another woman’s child.”
“Your sweet disposition made it easy to love you.”
Where had all this come from? Tears dripped down Andrea’s cheeks. “Thank you for saying that. I’ll call you next week to make certain you received everything.”
“I’m getting excited. I’ve never been to Europe.”
“It’s a whole other world, Aunt Kathy. Talk to you soon.”
She hung up the receiver, using her arm to brush the moisture away. In her mind’s eye she could imagine their surprise as they read the invitation with the Du Lac family crest engraved at the top …
Geoffroi Malbois, Le Duc Du Lac, requests the pleasure of your company at the marriage of his son Lancelot Malbois Du Lac to Andrea Gresham Fallon on the Thirtieth of June. Eleven a.m. at the Church of the St.Vierge, Lyseaux. A reception will follow at the Château on the Du Lac Estate, La Bretagne, France.
“What did your aunt say to make you so emotional?”
Andrea looked over at him. “A lot of wonderful things. If you hadn’t urged me to phone her, I might never have heard them.”
Lance rolled on his side to face her, all six feet three inches of lean, strong male. “Even with darkness at work, are you saying I’m good for you?” His voice sounded husky.
The time for honesty had come. “I guess I am.”
“Then humor me and get into bed. Our baby needs rest, too.”
Our baby. Oh, Lance—
“Don’t turn out the light yet. I’ll take care of it after you’ve answered the question I asked you the last time we were in here.”
Oh. He was talking about the paintings.
She slid beneath covers. Several feet separated them. His body still lay on top while he studied her.
“Have you decided which of the twelve months appeals to me the most?”
“Yes.” She should have known from the beginning, but it hadn’t come to her until tonight when they’d left a scary acting Corinne sitting with Geoff.
“How long do you plan to torture me? In case you hadn’t realized it yet, I’m not a patient man.”
“I’m aware of that,” she murmured. “You also thrive on danger, which leads me to think June is your favorite.”
He raised up on one elbow. “You know me well. In June Lancelot’s love was in full flower. He’d held back his feelings for Guinevere too long. Now he was on fire for her. No bars could keep him out. He would risk death for one taste of her mouth.”
“I thought that sounded like you.”
He flashed her a white smile so seductive, she had to look away. “Admit June’s your favorite month, too. Who else but Guinevere, queen among women, was brave enough to enter into a tryst with Lancelot and welcome him into her bed knowing evil was afoot in every corner of Camelot.”
Somehow the conversation had become a case of art imitating life. It was all too personal. Her eyes slid to the painting in question.
“The artist did an exceptional job of conveying their emotions. I think a woman did it.”
“I don’t know about that. A man can paint with the same amount of feeling. When I was young and hadn’t yet understood a female’s magic, I thought they were an embarrassing oddity. Several years had to go by before I let my best friend have a look.”
“By then you’d both discovered the lusty month of May had taken on new meaning. When June followed, your passion ripened.”
Rich, deep laughter poured out of him. “You’re one in a million, Andrea. I wonder which painting our child will like best.”
The conversation was getting out of hand.
“If we have a romantic daughter, she’ll tell us right away. If it’s a boy, we’ll probably be old and tired before he admits his preference.”
“Even then he’ll tell us there was no such thing as Camelot.” Lance was reading her mind.
“That’s when we’ll tell him it was only a beautiful dream.”
“I think I’m beginning to know how Arthur felt when everything fell apart. We haven’t even said our vows, yet you’re talking about us sitting around in our rocking chairs. I don’t envision us like that.”
“That’s because you grew up in the land of dreams. The truth is, Guinevere and Lancelot lost their heads. If we haven’t learned from their mistakes, then heaven help us.”
He moved closer, putting his chin on his bronzed arm. “You think their love was a mistake?”
She struggled not to be affected by his proximity. “Don’t you?”
“And miss out on the greatest love the world has ever known?” he drawled.
Her hand plucked at the covers. “They had to pay too great a price.”
“But while it was good, they knew indescribable rapture. I noticed you reading Chrétien de Troyes when I found you in the forest.”
Nothing got past Lance.
“The bedroom scene is one of the most famous passages in all literature,” he reminded her. “Wasn’t there a line about their sport being so agreeable and sweet while they kissed and fondled each other, that in truth such a marvelous joy came over them as was never heard or known?”
Andrea’s face went hot. “Chrétien got a little carried away portraying Lancelot’s feelings. Since he wasn’t a woman, he didn’t understand Guinevere. She was married to Arthur, and was always plagued by guilt.”
Lance sent her a seductive smile. “I think that’s the widow in you talking. Take another look at the painting,” he told her. “Do you see any guilt in her eyes or her body straining against him?
“She’s so eager for him, her eyes are alive. You can feel them burning for each other. All the months he’s been at court they’ve dreamed of this moment. By suppressing their passion, it has only grown into a conflagration.
“You can tell she’s completely forgotten anyone else is in the room with them. She’s begging him to touch her. Lancelot is out of his mind with desire.
“He’s been eaten alive by images of her that won’t give him rest. He burns for her in his sleep, yet now he’s awake and he’s come to her, and there’s no power on earth to stop their sweet pleasure in each other.”
Stop it, Lance.
“I’ve looked enough for one night, and now I’m tired. I should think you would be, too.” She leaned over to flick off the bedside lamp. “Good night.”
“Do you mind if I talk to you until we fall asleep?”
“As long as it’s not about fairy tales.” She turned her back on him and wished he’d plant himself in another area of the bed several feet away.
“The university is only five minutes from the house in Rennes. If you’re interested, you could take a couple of morning classes while you’re waiting for the baby to come. The term starts in August and will be over before you deliver at the end of December. I could drive you on my way to work, and pick you up at lunch.”
He’d anticipated everything. It would give her something worthwhile to do until she went back to the States to live.
“Where will you be working?”
“At the hydraulics company I told you about. Since being home I’ve made inquiries. They’re in need of an engineer with my qualifications.”
“How soon will you start?”
“Right after the wedding.”
She was glad he hadn’t mentioned a honeymoon.
“I’d be very interested.”
“Do you have any idea what kind of classes you’d like to
take?”
“French, and maybe a survey of early French literature.”
“Sounds like you’re planning to follow in Richard’s footsteps,” came the flat response.
“I have no desire to be a teacher. I was thinking I’d better know something about your language and culture since the men planning to be father and grandfather in my child’s life are Frenchmen.”
“That’s a fact.”
Andrea couldn’t tell what he thought of her choices.
“Someday I’ll decide on a career and go after it. Right now I can’t think beyond being a mother.”
“To be honest, I’m glad Papa wants to be in charge of the wedding festivities. With Helene’s help, they don’t need anyone else. That leaves us time to get the house ready and plan a nursery.”
“Is it vacant?”
“Yes, except for the caretakers Jean and his wife, Louise, who live there on the ground floor. Anything you want and they’ll take care of it.”
“What’s your mother’s home like?”
“It’s a cottage with a plaster exterior called a bastide. Two floors, four bedrooms. One full bath, and two half baths. There’s a terrace and a garden. Inside and out it’s perfect for a child.”
“I think it sounds charming.”
“When my grandparents were alive, I loved to stay there where I could run around and make messes.”
“You mean you were a normal little boy?”
“Afraid so. Papa didn’t take too kindly to my building model rockets on the grand hall dining table. The cement glue spilled on the surface and ruined it. They had to have it redone. If you got me started on the damage I did, it would take weeks.”
“Sounds like you made up for several siblings.”
He chuckled. “I wish I had a brother or sister. Maman suffered through three miscarriages. Each for a different reason.”
“She was lucky to get you. I’m living testimony of that.”
“Amen. Tell me about your cousins.”
“Julie’s twenty-nine. Sharon’s twenty-six.”
“Les Trois Mousquetaires.”
“I wish it had been like that. If I’d been adopted at birth, it might have been different.”
“What did they do? Remind you that you weren’t one of them in order to dampen your sails when you got something they didn’t?”
“How did you know?”
“Corinne pulled her ‘poor me’ stunt the first night I met her in the hope I’d feel guilty for having been born a Du Lac.”
Lance’s problems had been so much worse, Andrea didn’t have room to complain. “Now that the girls are married, things have been better.”
“I wish I could say the same where Corinne’s concerned.”
Andrea shivered. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if she just gave up and went home to her mother.”
A strange sound came from his throat. “I thought you were the one who said no more fairy tales.”
“I’m sorry. What do you suppose she’s doing right now?”
“Let’s not worry about it. Go to sleep. You’re safe with me.”
Safe.
If there was anyone in the world who could protect her, she knew it was Lance. The knowledge helped her to relax. At some point oblivion took over.
When she awoke, she couldn’t believe it was midmorning already. Lance had already gone. Knowing he’d been with her all night must have been the reason she’d slept longer than usual.
The absence of nausea prompted her to take her pills. She wanted this feeling of well-being to continue.
As she started across the room there was a rap on the door. “Andrea?” Lance’s deep voice permeated to her insides. “Are you awake?”
“Yes.”
“I brought you breakfast.”
He shouldn’t have. “I don’t need waiting on.”
“What if I like doing it?”
“Then I’m very grateful, but I need to shower first.”
“Go ahead. I’ll bring the tray in and wait for you.”
“Okay. I’ll hurry.”
Excitement welled up in her that he was going to show her his mother’s house today. It would be her baby’s home. Her home with Lance.
Three weeks from now and she wouldn’t have to see Corinne again except on the chance meeting at the château. In the meantime she and Lance would be occupied getting ready to be parents.
She grabbed a blouse to wear with her skirt before scurrying into the bathroom to shower and dress. He was going to get tired of seeing her in the same outfit. When they went to Rennes today, she would ask him to take her to a store where she could buy some loose fitting outfits.
After brushing her hair, she let it hang free from a side part. After applying lotion she was ready.
He’d put the tray on the bed. Cold cereal and grapefruit. “This looks good.”
“So do you,” he murmured, eyeing her thoroughly.
He did, too, but she refrained from telling him and started to eat.
This morning he’d donned a light blue suit with a darker blue shirt. No tie. With that burnished skin and blue eyes hot enough to cut steel, she wouldn’t be surprised if the women in town formed lines just to get a look at him.
“Thanks to your presence throughout the night, I slept well.”
“Your body next to mine had the same effect on me. It must be comforting for the baby to be all snug inside you.”
A section of grapefruit caught in her throat before going down. “The problem is, one of these days soon I’m afraid I won’t be able to say the same thing. But I’m not complaining.”
“I’ll give you back rubs. Maybe that will help.”
No. All that would do was arouse certain longings better kept at bay. After their conversation last night, she was a mass of feelings and emotions spiraling out of control.
“Are you the kind of woman who wants to have the baby the natural way?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m a coward and plan to avail myself of the latest epidural.”
“That means no Lamaze class for me?”
“Would you want to do that?”
He studied her over the rim of his coffee cup. “I want to do anything that helps me feel closer to the baby.”
“You can come to all my doctor appointments. I’ll be getting the ultrasound next month.”
“I was already planning on it. Needless to say I’ll be driving you to the hospital when your time comes. I’ve never seen a baby born. Giles and his wife had a little girl last year. He said it was the greatest experience of his life. I’ve envied him that.”
Her heart told her this wasn’t an act on Lance’s part. Having been denied the possibility of creating a child from his own body, he was willing to do whatever it took to be a part of her pregnancy. Andrea was one person who understood that need.
With the last bite of cereal gone, she went over to the dresser where she kept her purse. Reaching for her lipstick she said, “Did you happen to see Corinne while you were downstairs?”
“No. Papa said she had breakfast with him before going for a horseback ride.”
“Does she do a lot of riding?”
“From what I understand.”
“How’s your father this morning?”
“Euphoric. I left him on the phone with Helene.”
“Did he say anything about Corinne?”
“No.”
Her anxious eyes flicked to his. “It’s like waiting for a time bomb we didn’t set to go off.”
Lance nodded grimly. “Papa would like to drive to the house with us, but the doctor says he has to stay in for a couple of more days.”
“There’ll be time enough for that when he’s all better.”
“That’s what I told him. Shall we go?”
He opened the door for her, then followed with the tray. They’d almost reached the foyer when she heard his cell phone ring. She noticed him check the caller ID before he clicked on.
She might not be able to understand French, but the violence of his expression needed no translation.
“What’s happened?” she asked the second he rang off.
There was a white ring around his mouth. “That was the groomsman. Corinne took Tonnerre without permission. He went after her on another horse.
“It seems she tried to jump the fountain, but didn’t succeed. She took a nasty fall and appears concussed, but Tonnerre’s front legs are broken. He’s in agony.”
That meant his beautiful horse would have to be put down.
“Go, Lance—” she cried. “I’ll phone for an ambulance.”
He handed her the tray and his cell phone. “Dial 112. Tell them to come to the Fountain of Youth in the forest. They’ll understand.”
Her heart went with him as he disappeared down the hall toward the kitchen. Poor Tonnerre. He’d carried both her and Lance when she’d been ill. It was going to kill him to have to put his animal out of its misery, but he had no other choice.
In the next instant she set the tray on the nearest credenza and called the emergency number. After getting the details, they said they were on their way.
“Andrea?”
She looked up to discover Geoff standing on the first landing.
“Henri told me Corinne had an accident on one of the horses. Is she all right?”
“The groomsman said he thought she’d be fine. Lance went to see about her.” Andrea hurried up the stairs and walked him back to his suite. They sat down opposite each other in the sitting room.
“I’m relieved he’s with her.”
“He’ll take care of everything. It’s good we hadn’t left for town yet.”
“She’s an excellent rider. I can’t imagine what happened.”
“We’ll find out soon enough. Shall I ask Brigitte to bring you some tea while we wait to hear?”
Andrea didn’t dare tell him the truth. She’d let his son explain. Thanks to Henri’s discretion, Geoff didn’t appear too upset.
“No, no. As long as we’re alone for a minute, I want to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
For the first time since she’d known him, Geoff seemed hesitant.
“When you’ve been a mother for a number of years, you’ll understand better what I’m about to say to you.”
“Go on,” she urged gently.
“Our children mean everything to us. We know their joys and their fears. We know what makes them happy. We know what brings them pain.
“Choosing you for his wife has made Lance happy, and that makes me happy. But Corinne is devastated. She fell in love with him when she first met him. There’s been no one else for her.”