She was visibly trembling and could not stop.
“Look at me, Victoria.” His hand closed over hers and held it when she tried to pull away.
“I like you, I want you. I thought it was best to be honest, to tell you what I want, and I am willing to give you anything you want in return. Please darling, I am just asking you to consider my proposition.”
Anything she wanted? Please darling? How could someone give another anything she wanted? Yet, it was obvious he could. He had at his fingertips more than she had ever even conceived and his fingertips tempted her in ways she never imagined.
Could she or should she consider his proposal? She at least needed to buy time to find a new plan.
“I would like time to consider your offer.” She tried to think coherently while she swam in his smoky tempting gaze. Had he been just any man, she would have simply said no. But he wasn’t just any man.
“What about children, I don’t want any children to come out of this…this...” Victoria hesitated with embarrassment over the practical words that needed to be said even if she truly wasn’t considering his offer.
“Do not worry about that sweetheart, I know how to prevent these things,” William assured her.
“That doesn’t mean I have agreed because I most certainly have not.”
“Of course, you must consider my offer. I understand. Take as long as you need.” Pausing, he looked thoughtfully out at some unknown point beyond the doors of their private dining room.
When he looked at her again he said, “I will tell you this, Victoria, I want you more than I have ever wanted any woman.”
“What if I don’t do what you want?” she asked.
His eyes, previously warm and persuasive iced over and pierced into hers chilling Victoria to the bone.
“Then I will have to take the store, I will take everything. I have no choice. I cannot send you back to continue to struggle.”
“You are a horrible man to give me no choice but call it an offer.”
“You are very wrong Victoria, what I am offering is the world, it is up to you to chose foolishly.”
She shivered with the numb reality of her circumstances. She wanted to weep in her obvious defeat. Instead, Victoria gathered her pride and stared back at him with defiance.
“I will consider what you have offered,” she said frigidly.
His eyes immediately thawed and a charming smile shifted his handsome face. “I promise you, Victoria, it will be quite pleasurable.”
His voice dropped to a husky, warm whisper.
“Come to me when you have thought about my offer. I will be waiting.”
CHAPTER 9
After a fretful night with little sleep, Victoria was awakened the next morning by a rapid knocking at the door. Rising from the bed, she scrambled to the wardrobe and pulled on a lush red hotel-provided robe.
When Victoria opened the door she was stunned to find a dozen maids lined up each holding two vases, each vase containing a dozen red roses. All apparently for her.
In wordless shock, she opened the door wider to let them enter.
The starched uniformed maids smiled as they filed past her into the room. Soon, every possible surface of her room was covered with flowers; the fragrance surrounding her and filling the room with a heady scent. The giggling maids filed out bantering about her ardent admirer.
Victoria opened the envelope that had been handed to her by one of the maids, already certain of who had sent the overwhelming gift.
“To a most beautiful and charming lady that I would be honored to call my own.”
Tears stung the back of her eyelids. The immense emotions of being completely wanted, desired and beautiful filled her.
Angrily she dashed away the hot tears that slid from the corners of her eyes with her fingertips. She would not let him turn her into a sentimental simpleton, falling for his alluring charm which was designed specifically to lure her into his corrupting proposal.
She had to view this sensibly to find the right solution without allowing her emotions to muddle her good judgment.
William Worthington was willing to give her title to the store, which meant she and Mandy could keep all of the profits.
All she had to do was . . . well, what he wanted.
Lay with him.
Do the things that married people did.
What would it be like to be naked in his bed and wrapped in his arms?
She shouldn’t even be thinking such things, let alone calling up the ribald images that formed so easily in her mind.
Of course, as he so unkindly pointed out, she was practically a spinster. What were her prospects for a future family? There was no man in Ft. Worth who remotely interested her.
And now, now that she had met Worthington, despite he was a reprobate of the worst kind, she knew she could never marry another man. Because as much as she despised herself for her folly, she wanted Worthington the same way he wanted her.
How could she have fallen for such a debauchee? He had called her a lady, but what he wanted her to be was far removed from the behavior of a lady.
A respectable woman would never consider his immoral suggestion.
Of course, she had always been bold, hadn’t she? She had always followed her own set of rules, especially since their father had passed on. At this moment she didn’t feel much like a lady and wasn’t sure she wanted to be one any more.
Drat him anyway. It was his fault that these sensual, sinful thoughts plagued her to the point that she was considering the unimaginable.
He had so much power over her. She would have been tempted to be with him without anything in return. But, what he offered was so much. What she would be required to give would be easy and most probably quite pleasurable. In the scheme of life did it really matter if she gave herself to him? No one need ever know. When she left San Francisco, her scandalous secret would stay behind.
But could she give herself to him so easily and in such a mercenary fashion?
She was a grown mature woman after all and certainly past the wide-eyed dreams of being an innocent blushing bride. That kind of thing was for Mandy. It was the romantic dreams of a younger girl not on her own trying to save her sister and herself.
What would her life be like if she forwarded through each separate path?
If she didn’t accept his offer she would lose the store. From there a delineation of her bleak life alone stretched out in front of her. She was twenty-five already and she didn’t want to marry anyone in Fort Worth. She wanted to be independent. With the money and the store in her name, she would never have to marry.
If she didn’t marry, there was only one way she would ever know passion with a man she wanted.
If she went home now, she would most likely be forced to marry one of the men who had made an offer in the past, none of whom even remotely interested her. Then what? Babies. Work. Poverty. And death.
Or perhaps there would ultimately be an even worse fate for Mandy and her. Perhaps they would both later be forced to accept similar offers from local cowhands to keep from starving. She could stand anything for herself, but she could tolerate nothing touching Mandy.
Surely Pap would understand. Maybe not Ma…Ma would most certainly take her pride to her grave. But Pap, yes, Pap would be judicious in a situation like this.
Was it really possible to want a man at the same time she despised him? Or perhaps she cared for him more than she would allow herself to concede?
If she left now, she would never see William again.
Victoria’s heart squeezed with pain and longing. How could she have fallen for a man who only wanted her for his own lascivious raison d’etre..
It was unthinkable…beyond scandalous…yet, it held such enticing appeal. If she did this thing, she was going to be utterly malapropos…even considering such wickedness was a sin.
Would it be so bad to take what she wanted, just this once? Would it be so detestable to be intimate with a man who thrilled her with
nothing more than a glance?
She had never once understood what the preacher was talking about in his Sunday sermons when he spoke of sins of the flesh. Now, she understood those carnal transgressions with complete clarity. Desire and temptation surely did make one’s will very weak.
But even knowing it was an immoral iniquity, she was going to consider his offer.
The questions was, how long would he wait for an answer? She touched one of the delicate rose buds. He didn’t seem a patient man.
Later that morning dressed in her remaining clean, lavender calico dress topped with her straw hat, decorated with a matching violet bow, for a day of thinking and sightseeing, she went down to the front desk to find a telegram from Mandy.
Got Money. Stop.
So wonderful. Stop.
Just in time. No food in house. Stop.
Enough for so much. Stop.
So wonderful. Stop.
Miss you. Stop.
Oh sweet Mandy! She could almost see her sister’s beautiful, shining face. Bittersweet tears formed and overflowed down her cheeks.
They had done without for so long, yet Mandy never complained. And now, Mandy didn’t question why or how the money had arrived, accepting the vague reasons that accompanied the wire. Victoria re-read Mandy’s telegram several times to glean and savor the obvious joy that reached out and clutched her from the flat page.
Also contained in Mandy’s exuberant but guileless telegram was the stark realization that they would be well taken care of if Victoria made a deal with William.
As he knew it would.
Victoria folded the page and put it into her bag.
How could he use Mandy as an opprobrious persuasive weapon against her?
Unfortunately, his devious plan was incisive in compelling her. The Victoria Riley that left Fort Worth little more than a day ago would never consider the bold epicurean offer that she now contemplated with shocking ease.
Her weakness was him. He was a prince of sensual magic presiding over an enchanted kingdom called San Francisco. If she were home again, away from his carnal wizardry she would be her normal self. Right now, she would welcome Preacher Brown’s sententious preaching, because perhaps it would save her.
I must leave. If I leave right now, he and his lecherous propositions will not tempt me into this disgraceful fall! If I get right on that train….tonight….I can forget Worthington and all the ribald temptations he has put before me.
Her heart pounded the words through her veins…. I must run…I must run….I must run….as fast as I can…to save myself.
Victoria sprung from her chair, adrenaline pouring through her.
She jerked her valise from under the bed and plopped in on the chair. Heedlessly, she moved around the room in a frenzied dance, indiscriminately throwing her few belongings into the worn musty satchel that had belonged to her mother.
Within mere minutes, Victoria was madly bounding down the steps to the hotel lobby.
Stopping at the front desk, she hastily checked out of the hotel under the shocked and disapproving spectacles of the man who had checked her in when she arrived.
“Leaving so soon?”
“Yes, it is most urgent,” she said before hastily retreating.
Out on the street, the door puzzled attendant assisted her into the hotel carriage. She didn’t allow herself even a glance at William’s hulking bank building across the street. Still, she felt it looming and mocking her as the carriage pulled away under the lengthening shadow of a late evening sun. Closing her eyes she sat stiffly among her trembling limbs as she moved slowly through the streets toward the train station.
When she had been deposited at the train station, the sense of urgency consumed her as she approached the attendant seated behind the small window to turn in her voucher for the return trip.
“I am sorry Miss Riley, the 6:00 p.m. train to Fort Worth is filled, gotta wait for the 12:00 midnight train.” The elderly man with sympathetic brown eyes told her from behind the window.
“No, no. That can’t be right. I simply have to leave on the 6:00 p.m. train. I must leave now.”
“I am sorry miss, filled up it is….not much I can do….but the next one is coming…in just a few hours.”
With no other option, Victoria turned from the window in frustration holding her 12:00 midnight ticket and willing herself to stay calm. She could wait and she would….she most certainly would wait for the midnight train. The urgency to leave this minute was a silly notion….born from her impetuous nature. What difference were a few hours after all? It was a simple matter of patience in waiting for the next train. Then she would get herself home and forget any of this had ever happened to her. She would figure something out regarding she and Mandy, surely she would.
Hours later, she still sat there. Trains came and went, but midnight was still a long way away while the thoughts of William surrounded her closely…his tempting offer echoing over and over in the silence of the train station.
***
“You are afraid and you are running from me I think.”
Victoria jumped from her cramped and troubled slumber taken on the hard wooden seat to find William staring at her earnestly with those shimmering silver eyes.
“No, no it isn’t that…it is just…” Victoria started, her face shading pink, unable to choke out a lie, but unwilling to admit the humiliating truth.
“You just enjoy the scenery and comforts of a train station I gather? Yet, I cannot imagine it is more comfortable here than the hotel,” he said setting aside his crystal-handled walking stick etched with his initials.
“Please…do not ask me to explain anything…I just want to go home.” She blinked the last bit of drowsiness from her eyes.
“Can I sit with you for a while?” William asked in a low gentle voice his gloved hand moved to rest next to her thigh.
“Of course, after all this is a public place.”
“I am deeply saddened you have decided to leave and you were not even going to say goodbye.”
He was startlingly handsome in the bleak loneliness of the train station. His Burgundy wool frock coat and black John Bull hat made Victoria aware of her crumpled dress. She felt the disarray of her hair, but refused to touch it or even attempt adjustments under his assessing gaze.
“How did you know I was here?” she asked, moving slightly away from him on the hard wooden bench.
“I have my ways. But the better question is why you are running away in the middle of the night? Surely you realized that this was not necessary. You are free to go any time you wish.”
Victoria’s heart pounded hard. “Yes, I know, it was just...just that I...I suppose it was an impulse.”
“I am deeply troubled to have caused you to flee from me rather than us discussing our options in a mature fashion.” His eyes penetrated her being.
Victoria stared at his silk gray vest contemplating her response. What to say? She was running. “My options are limited only to what you have framed for me so there is little to discuss.”
Her gaze skidded away from his chest past his pin striped pants to the floor. “Considering the situation, I think you might guess why I would want to go home,” she whispered.
“What will you do when you get there?”
“I haven’t really considered exactly what I will do when I get there.”
“Perhaps I have pushed you too quickly. I thought you understood that you could take all the time you need to consider my offer.”
“I don’t know what I think. This is just very difficult.”
“I understand.”
“No, you don’t. To you this is simple.”
“Tell me what is complicated? Tell me what upsets you most and we will work out your worries together.”
Victoria blushed hot. Her eyes flashed into his and she shifted under his potent presence and gently spoken words. “For one thing, my mother and father would be completely and utterly disappointed in me if they knew th
at I was even considering such a thing.”
“Yes, I can see that would be a concern. However, since neither of them is here to approve or disapprove, I don’t see why that is relevant.”
“I would be dishonoring them…dishonoring their memory.”
“No, Victoria, that is only in your mind. They are not here to be dishonored.”
Victoria’s breathing quickened under another hot blush. “Well I believe in the afterlife Mr. Worthington, as every good Christian should.
“In the afterlife I doubt such petty things matter.”
“What about my own honor in this life?”
“You think spending time with me intimately would destroy your honor? That is an utterly limited way of thinking. You do not want marriage, you said so yourself, so you would forgo ever knowing a man then? You would never know what it is to be loved by a man just because of some silly sense of honor? What a terrible waste that would be, surely you can see that? What joy will you ever have in life? You will only work and take care of your sister until she marries?” His gently spoken words held a harsh reality that stroked her worst fears.
Victoria searched for words to argue with his stark lonely summary of her life, but before she could summon her points he took her hand into his. Even through both of their gloved hands she felt the spark of his touch.
“Tell me you do not feel any desire for me at all.”
“You are very arrogant and sure of yourself,” Victoria whispered while she looked nervously around the empty train station for witnesses to their scandalous conversation.
“No, it is that you tell me every time I touch you. I feel the same, so why deny it?”
“I don’t know, I am just confused, I think.”
“It will be a time of adventure, of pleasure, a life free of worry and filled with beautiful things, experiences unlike anything you have imagined. When it is over, you will never have to worry about money again. The store will be yours and you will know what it is to find pleasure with a man. I am not so terrible am I Victoria?” He whispered thickly while he gently toyed with her fingers in a fashion that set her to shivers of reluctant delight.
She closed her eyes against his sparkling, compelling gaze and attempted to assemble her befuddled thoughts.
The Letter Page 7
