Three minutes after her escort introduced her to James Allison, explaining that Crystal was looking for a financial adviser; she had known what to do.
Smiling shyly at him, she spoke in a low voice. “My late husband, Robert, told me never to trust the advice of anyone who had less money than I. Are you wealthy, Mr. Allison?” she had asked. That had done the trick. By the end of the evening, she and Allison had made a tentative appointment for the following week.
Now Crystal sighed and turned from the window. She wondered how Alana was faring, and she hated that it took so long for correspondence to reach New York. She had sent a long letter to Alana explaining who she was and the reason why she had never mentioned Rafe or told Alana her true name. She had apologized, blaming herself for much of what had happened to them, and she told Alana that she was now trying to find out where Rafe was.
She had recently received Alana’s latest letter, mentioning the new commission for Landow Shipping, and she had given her reply to Captain Rogers, who was taking the second Landow ship, the Marabella, to Cape Town while refitting the Harmony and readying her for yet another shipment of equipment destined for Maklin-Parkins. Crystal hoped to discover Rafe’s whereabouts before the Harmony left for Cape Town. Soon, Crystal told herself. After all, she had been James Allison’s mistress for three weeks now.
Her plan had worked to perfection. It had been the lure of her money, not her sex, that had intrigued Allison. After several long and lingering luncheon engagements, Crystal had begun to sense Allison’s growing interest in her, an interest she had fostered by refusing to flirt or make any suggestive moves toward him.
Crystal knew that Allison would go only after that which promised to elude him. So she had played him carefully along. She had showed herself to be a desirable and rich woman who resisted all his attempts at seduction while allowing him to think that he would be able to advise her on money matters.
By the second week, she’d sensed his frustration. During the third week of their business luncheons, Allison was talking less about her money and more about his money and power.
In the middle of the fourth week, she’d known she had trapped him, for he’d taken to escorting her to a variety of social functions and to dinner whenever he was not involved in business meetings.
Then one night James Allison had presented her with a gift, a magnificent diamond and sapphire necklace that radiated fire with every step she’d taken.
“James, I–I can’t accept this,” she had said in a husky whisper while favoring him with a longing look.
“Of course you can,” he’d countered confidently.
“No, I’m sorry.” Taking the necklace off, she’d handed it back to him. “I can’t accept it from you.”
“Why?” he’d demanded suddenly.
She had not explained; instead, she’d shaken her head at him. “Please, James, can’t we leave things as they are?”
Allison had been dumbfounded, and Crystal realized that no woman had ever turned down so expensive a gift from him. Although he had not accepted his defeat well, she’d seen him control himself–except for the way his eyes had suddenly flashed with desire. It had been the first time she had ever seen so raw a look from him. That had been the first major breakthrough for Crystal.
Two nights later, they had been in Crystal’s hotel suite having dinner and discussing an investment that Allison had suggested. Tension was thick in the air, and Crystal had maneuvered herself in such a way she’d innocently been able to touch him freely, seemingly unaware of doing so.
She had leaned forward at strategic times to tease his eyes with the fullness of her breasts or to favor him with lingering, smoky glances. And she had seen, when he’d thought her to be looking away, the hungry look on his face.
When the meal had ended, Allison had dismissed further business talk and boldly stated that Crystal was the first woman he had ever really wanted. It was an admission she fully believed.
“Why me?” she asked. “There are others who are prettier. Why, James, with your money you could have anyone at all!”
“There are many women attracted to my money and my power,” he told her. “I don’t want them. I want you.”
“I’m sorry, James,” she had said, looking sad and downcast, “but I–it’s been so short a time since Robert died. I–”
“Do you feel nothing for me?” Allison had asked.
Crystal’s eyes had flickered sadly across his face. Then she’d turned from him. “I cannot let myself feel anything.”
Allison had turned her to him. The instant he had, Crystal had known she was in control. It had taken her over a month, but she had done it!
“We are alike, you and I,” he had told her. “I have never desired a woman before. Not the way I desire you.”
“I want you, too, James,” she’d admitted in a husky whisper. His eyes had flared with desire. “But we cannot-–”
“We are above other people! We can do what we want. Crystal, I want you.”
“Not yet. It is happening so quickly, James,” she had pleaded as she’d pulled away from him. “I–I must think.”
“I will call for you tomorrow,” Allison had replied, eager to please her. “I want you to look over the papers I’ve drawn up. And afterward–”
Crystal had gazed at him, moistening her lips with her tongue. “Afterward?” she asked.
“It will be good for us, Crystal, very good.” With that, Allison had left, and Crystal had known that when he called on her tomorrow, it would be the final test.
When Allison arrived the next day, he’d been all business, yet Crystal had sensed a heated inner tension radiating from him. When it came time for Crystal to sign the papers, she had tensed up visibly.
“What’s wrong?” he’d asked.
“James,” she’d replied, staring directly into his eyes. “I think what you have arranged is wonderful for me, but–”
“Is there something wrong with the papers?”
“No,” she’d said, lowering her eyes and moistening her lips as if she were having a great deal of trouble. “It’s just that–last night you said you desired me as no other.”
“I do,” he whispered in a husky voice. Reaching out, he’d taken her hand in his. “I still do.”
“James, you are–” Crystal had paused dramatically, making a show of how difficult her words were to say. “You are the first man that I have felt…comfortable with since Robert died. I have never been a passionate woman. I don’t know if I ever will be. Robert–Robert was a kind man, a gentle man, but in the last years of our marriage, he was more a father to me than husband. I know so little of passion.”
Allison had stared at her for several seconds before her words registered in his mind. And when they had, she had seen the shadowy smile he had almost, but not quite, hidden.
“I am not very experienced in those–” and Crystal had made herself blush to accent her innocence.
“That doesn’t matter,” Allison had said.
“There is something else,” Crystal had whispered. “I–I want you, too, James. But if I sign these papers, I–we cannot.”
“Why?” he’d asked, a look of frustration mixed with naked lust.
Crystal had made herself cry then. It was a silent crying that let tears fall shamelessly from her eyes. She said nothing, she only looked at him.
“Tell me,” he’d commanded.
A long moment later, Crystal had spoken in a low voice. “I’ve told you that Robert died after a long illness. He was much older than I, and before he died, Ro–Robert made me promise that I would never let a man control my money if I were–involved with that man. He said that I would never know if it was the money the man loved or me.”
Allison had stared at her in disbelief, and Crystal had feared she’d gone too far. But his next action had told her just how perfectly she had judged him.
Allison had lifted the financial agreement and torn it in half. “I will find someone else to ha
ndle your money.”
Victorious, Crystal had still held herself back. She’d shaken her head slowly. “James, I-I’m afraid of being…looked down upon.”
“Are you asking for marriage?” he’d asked, startled.
“No!” she’d exclaimed, just as startled. “I never want to marry again! I’ve already told you that. No, I just don’t want to be the object of gossip. I don’t know if I could bear it.”
Allison had smiled. “You won’t be,” he’d promised.
Then he’d lifted her gently and carried her into the bedroom. After he had undressed her, she felt yet another victory at the look on his face when he saw her completely naked. Then he had joined her in the bed.
For the first time since she her old life had ended, Crystal had not made her mind go blank. She’d known that she could not do that; she needed to have all her wits about her, for she must make Allison believe everything she had already told him.
She’d acted shy, holding herself back while he began to fondle her. In small ways, she’d reminded him of how inexperienced she was and almost afraid of what was happening.
Allison, filled with a new desire he had not felt before, had done his best to ease her tension and bring out the passion in her.
Willing away her revulsion, Crystal had made herself respond to Allison and, when he was firmly entrenched within her, she had begun to show him some passion.
She had made her face flicker with surprise and had widened her eyes to stare at him in wonder, even as she had spoken his name, and she had cried out about things she had never before felt.
Using every bit of knowledge she had ever learned, Crystal had made him think he had unleashed the passion lying dormant within her, just waiting for him to find the special key to free it. By morning, he had admitted that, until Crystal, he had never sought a woman.
She had shaken her head, stroked his cheek, smiled shyly at him, and laughed nervously. She told him that he must have had many women, because of his experience and wonderful ability.
Proudly, Allison had admitted that he’d had many women, but he told her he had never desired any of them except for the quick release they had afforded.
“But you, Crystal, you have taught me why men act as foolishly as they do.”
Acting insulted, she had pouted at him. “I make you act like a fool? How does that make me look, James?”
“No,” he had explained hurriedly. “I meant only that I have never known such feelings as you bring out in me. Crystal, you must marry me,” he had exclaimed unexpectedly.
Crystal had drawn away from him. “No, James. I shall not marry again.”
“Do you not feel the same toward me as I do toward you?” Crystal had not allowed her smile to show. Instead, she had taken his hand and placed in on her breast.
“Feel the way my heart beats, James, and never again ask that question. But know also that I will be no man’s property again.”
Crystal had seen that for possibly the first time in his life, the wealthy and powerful James Allison was at a loss.
“It doesn’t mean I will not stay with you, James, or that I do not–love you.”
Then Allison had smiled and Crystal had seen that the powerful man, reeling under the twin attack of desire and conquest, had known what to do next.
“I will find a house for us. One that no one knows of. We can be together there whenever we want.”
For the next three weeks Crystal had lived with the man, attended all his functions, and while he had grown more and more infatuated with her, she had grown increasingly disgusted at his every touch. Yet she had learned a great deal with her seemingly innocent questions. She had also discovered that he was like a little boy with her and would boast of his great achievements whenever given the chance.
She had learned about the consortium, and she knew every member by name. She was with him when he’d gotten word that Maklin-Parkins had canceled their contract and given it to Alana.
She’d let him rage on and had even heard him shout Rafe’s name, but she’d known it was the wrong time to probe her brother’s fate.
Every day she had carefully written down all she’d discovered and sent the information to Nathan Bennet. Soon she would be able to bring down Allison’s empire. She would make no move until she had discovered Rafe’s fate. And that, Crystal realized, might be harder than everything else, for each time she had tried to get him to speak of “how he took care of those who opposed him,” he would suddenly change the subject. Crystal had no choice but to drop the topic immediately.
“Soon,” she promised herself as she heard her door opening.
She smiled when James Allison stepped inside, his eyes bright with desire, a desire, Crystal had learned, that never flagged. Soon, she repeated silently as she chased away the knot of disgust that was once again forming in the pit of her stomach.
24
Alana sat at Edward’s desk in the wood-paneled study, her hands trembling as she held the letter from Crystal. She wanted to open it and read it, yet at the same time, she was afraid.
In the five months since she’d arrived in Cape Town, her life had changed drastically. In the beginning, after the Harmony had left, each day spent in search of information concerning Rafe.
No word of Rafe had come from the Maklin-Parkins representative who traveled to the company’s mines and other properties, although detailed reports constantly arrived at the main office in Cape Town.
When she’d learned nothing further in the port city, she had insisted on going to the small settlements near Cape Town and then to the other ports that line South Africa’s coast.
Edward had been more than patient with her, and had accompanied her whenever possible. They had traveled overland, across sections of the interior’s great plateau. They had gone to Port Elizabeth, to the Natal province, and to the port at Durban. Still they had learned nothing, but Alana had at least been busy trying.
They’d returned from their search by ship, passing through the Cape of Good Hope, and when they had arrived in Cape Town, Alana had realized that all she could do now was to wait and hope.
Late yesterday, the Marabella had docked. She received Crystal’s letter his morning. Edward had left it on the table for her.
“So kind,” she’d whispered, thinking of Edward’s unlimited patience and consideration. She had never met a man like Edward Parkins, who she had learned was a titled nobleman as well as one of the richest Englishmen in Cape Town.
Edward had never once made an advance to her, although, as Alana had discovered, he was in love with her. She’d seen it written clearly on his face, and she sensed it in his every gesture.
Edward had finally spoken of his feelings for her two weeks before. It had been at dinner, and Alana had sensed that he wanted to speak to her of more than just generalities. Aware of the warm look he’d favored her with, she had gently questioned him on his silence.
“I don’t want to push myself on you,” he said.
“In what way?”
“Surely, Alana, you must know by now that I have certain feelings for you.”
Alana had dropped her eyes for a moment, but then she’d looked at him. “I have sensed that, yes. I am sorry, Edward. I like you very much, but–”
“You love another. I know that, Alana, and I understand. If I did not–” He’d left the rest unsaid.
“Perhaps I should find myself different living quarters,” she’d ventured in a low voice.
“No,” he’d said quickly. “The fact that I love you does not mean you cannot stay here. I will never force myself upon you. I respect you too much. No, let us remain friends, and please do not mention leaving again.”
Alana’s eyes had misted. “I’ve never known a man like you, Edward. I thank you for understanding.”
After that evening, no mention was made of Edward’s feelings again, and Alana continued to stay on in his house. Not once had she given up her hope of finding Rafe.
Sighing, Alana
lifted the silver letter opener and neatly sliced the heavy envelope. She took out three sheets of paper and began to read. By the time she’d finished, tears had blurred many of the words, and she no longer saw the paper she held or the room she was in.
Her mind was in a state of shock, and she fought vainly to recover her senses. It was all too much, she realized. All the coincidences, all the strange happenings were interconnected; they had been from the start, and she had never once recognized it.
Crystal was Rafe’s sister. The reality of that knowledge was like having the sun break through a storm-laden sky. Suddenly Crystal’s story of the loss of her family business came into her mind, and when it did, Alana quickly saw what she had missed before. She remembered, too, the way Rafe had spoken of his sister Elizabeth.
“How could I not have known?” she asked herself, but realized everything had been cloaked in mystery, and for that very reason nothing had been clear until now.
She thought about Crystal’s–Elizabeth’s, she corrected herself–tale of becoming James Allison’s mistress, and terror struck her fiercely. She was afraid for Crystal, even though she knew Crystal had devoted her life to destroying the man.
Alana did not know how long she sat at the desk, but when she blinked her eyes, she saw Edward standing across from her.
Edward had formed the habit of returning home for lunch ever since Alana moved into his home. And today, when he’d reached the house and found that she was not on the porch waiting for him, he had gone to look for her. When he saw her tearstained face, he said nothing until she acknowledged his presence. “What is it?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.
Alana couldn’t speak; she simply handed him the letter. A few minutes later, Edward put down the sheets of paper and went around the desk.
He took her hand firmly in his. “She is as brave a woman as you. Perhaps she’ll find out where Rafe is.”
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