Mystery Wife

by Annette Broadrick

  He heard himself tell the attorney that he would have to get back with him and quickly hung up.

  The truth was, he no longer wanted a divorce. The revelation had stunned him.

  What he wanted was his wife.

  Her flamboyant, shallow behavior in the past had effectively and relentlessly killed any of the feelings he'd had for her. Or so he had thought. However, he'd seen no sign of that behavior since her accident. Perhaps the close brush with death had frightened her enough to cause her to grow up a little and to appreciate what she had.

  Whatever the reasons for her change, Raoul had discovered a disquieting fact—once again he was becoming more and more attracted to the woman he'd married, and he didn't know what to do about it.

  How did a man begin to court the woman he'd been married to for six years? How did he go about convincing her that he wanted her back in his bed? How did he admit that she had managed to convince him that the changes he'd seen in her were real and long lasting?

  He had to do something soon. The tension that he felt whenever they were together couldn't be entirely his imagination. She was just as aware of him as he was of her. Of course, there had always been a strong chemistry between them. The chemistry hadn't been enough for him, though, once she began to ignore the children and spend most of her time with her own set of friends. Now he would have to rethink the relationship. He would have to build on what had drawn them together in the first place.

  Turning, he walked over to his desk and picked up the phone, irritated by the prickly realization that he felt like an inexperienced boy calling for a first date.

  ❧

  Sherye sat back on her heels and brushed her gloved hand across her forehead where perspiration had gathered beneath her straw gardening hat. Yvette was on her knees beside her, energetically pulling weeds, while Jules was busy nearby making hills and valleys out of the rich loam for his brightly painted wooden cars.

  She smiled at the sight. Her children looked like little urchins rather than the elaborately scrubbed and dressed miniature adults she'd been shown all those weeks ago when she'd first arrived home from the hospital.

  She loved the change in them. Even Louise had commented on how happy they appeared, which had surprised Sherye. To get Louise to admit that anything Sherye had done was positive was a major accomplishment on Sherye's part. Nowadays the nanny didn't appear to be as threatened by Sherye's sudden participation in the children's lives as she had been those first weeks.

  Now Louise enjoyed two extra half days off, knowing that Sherye took pleasure in entertaining the children until she returned in time to supervise their evening meal. Louise admitted to her that bedtime was quite pleasant now that Sherye had set up the routine of reading to them until they fell asleep each night.

  When Sherye had first suggested the ritual, Louise had felt certain the children would be too on edge to sleep after another visit from their mother. Sherye had been pleased that Louise admitted she'd been mistaken in her assumption.

  Sherye made certain that the children got plenty of fresh air and exercise each day, plenty of fresh milk and vegetables, and an abundance of hugs and kisses from their mother.

  The summer sun had turned them both a silky tan even with the lavish sunblock Sherye put on all of them. Eventually she'd gotten herself included at bathtime, one of her favorite times of day, right up there with reading to them the hour before they went to bed.

  Once she had set up a routine with the children, her life had taken on almost a dreamlike sequence. Each morning she woke up to find herself once again in her beautiful bedroom, knowing she didn't have to rush off somewhere to work, that there were servants who saw to the running of her massive home, who fed her family and looked after her children. She felt as if she was living the life of a princess in an enchanted castle, knowing that her dream was much too wonderful to last. Instead she woke up each day, looked around to make certain her dream hadn't suddenly vanished overnight, then gave a daily prayer of thanks to God.

  She spent each day as though it might be the very last one she would have with each family member. She'd discovered a wealth of patience with Felicity, whom Sherye had finally understood from observing her behavior and remarks. The older woman was afraid of growing older, afraid of not being needed, afraid of dying.

  Sherye decided to plan outings with Danielle where Felicity could be included. They took her shopping with them and out to lunch. Together the two younger women encouraged Felicity to find other women her age who were alone and lonely to get together and develop new hobbies.

  Sherye enjoyed thinking about all the changes in her sister-in-law. All Danielle had needed was some encouragement and a stronger belief in herself. She had blossomed with new ideas and attitudes that touched Sherye deeply, because Danielle continued to give Sherye the credit for the changes.

  Only her relationship with Raoul remained the same-distant and polite. There were times when she lay alone in her bed at night thinking about the wall between them. There was so much more than the physical wall dividing them.

  Raoul's reaction to finding her in his bedroom her first morning home had made his feelings clear on the subject of their marriage. The only way he expected her to be in his bed was if he was dreaming... probably having a nightmare.

  Over the past few weeks she'd had ample opportunity to study the man who'd given her so much and asked so little for himself.

  He worked long hours and yet always seemed to have time for his children, his mother and his sister. Being around his wife, however, seemed to create a wariness within him. She didn't know how to get past his aloofness.

  Sherye wasn't certain she even wanted to, except for the times when he seemed so lonely. He gave so much to all of them and expected so little in return.

  Once when Yvette had exuberantly thrown herself into his arms and given him an unrestrained hug Sherye had seen a flicker of expression in his face that stunned her. He'd been surprised by his daughter's affection. He'd also been touched by the unexpected gesture.

  Because he was such a private man, Sherye had resisted the impulse to discuss Raoul with Danielle. Instead she contented herself by unobtrusively observing his behavior.

  She watched and learned.

  The more she saw the more her heart ached for him.

  The more she learned the more she loved him.

  As her love grew, she discovered that the most loving thing she could do for him was to give him the distance he so obviously wanted from her. Consequently she poured the love and gratitude she felt for him into loving those who were closest to him—their children, his mother and his sister.

  A slight noise brought her back to the present, and Sherye glanced around to see her sister-in-law walking across the wide expanse of lawn toward them.

  "So there you are," Danielle said, laughing at the sight before her eyes. "All three of you look as though you've been rolling in the dirt and having a grand time of it."

  Sherye smiled. The dress Danielle wore reflected the newer, shorter style and showed off her slender build to a flattering degree. Her hair had continued to curl itself into a tousled look that was very becoming.

  "Were you looking for us?" Sherye asked, coming to her feet and brushing off her denim-covered knees.

  "Actually, it's Raoul who has called for you a couple of times. The last time I promised I would see if I could find you so that you could call him back."

  Sherye felt a cold fear grab her. "What's wrong? Has something happened?"

  Danielle looked at her, puzzled. "I don't think so. He didn't sound upset, if that's what you mean. Just determined to speak with you this afternoon if at all possible. I told him I was sure you were around here somewhere, since you never left the chateau without telling someone where you would be." She looked down at Yvette. "You're turning into quite an exquisite gardener, I must say. Did you plant all those pretty flowers yourself?"

  Yvette bobbed her head and immediately launched into a descriptio
n of her various choices. Sherye bent and scooped up Jules, who was liberally covered in dirt. "I'm not sure I can smuggle him upstairs and clean him up before anyone sees him or not. I don't dare call Raoul until I've found the little boy beneath all this dirt."

  Danielle laughed. "Don't worry about him. I'll stay here with him and—"

  "Not on your life. He'll have you all smudged and dirty, as well. If there wasn't an emergency, I'll get the children cleaned up before I call Raoul."

  Both children were bathed and in bed resting before Sherye called Raoul from the extension in the nursery.

  As soon as he answered, she said, "Hi, this is Sherye. Danielle said you wanted me to call you."

  "Where have you been? I've called a couple of times this afternoon. Danielle said she'd have you call."

  Sherye made a face at his irritated tone. Maybe she should have called him first. "Louise has the afternoon off, the children and I have been working in the garden and, as a result, I had to bring them in and hose them down before I could respond to your message. Is something wrong?"

  "Not at all. I wanted to suggest that we go out this evening. We haven't had any time together for several weeks and I thought it would do us both good to get away. I wanted to check with you before I made reservations for dinner."

  "Oh!" Sherye was stunned. He'd never made any effort to spend time with her before. "Well, I—uh—"

  "When is Louise to return?"

  "She'll be back by six."

  "Good enough. We'll plan to leave home around eight, if that's all right with you."

  Sherye could feel her heart racing in her chest. Why was she being so silly? Hadn't she just been thinking about the man and how little time they spent together? Here he was offering to remedy the situation and she was reacting like a blushing schoolgirl.

  "I'd like that, Raoul," she managed to say, her voice sounding hoarse to her ears.

  "I should be home before much longer. I wanted to give you time to make whatever arrangements were necessary."

  Sherye hung up and checked on the children. They were both sound asleep despite the fact that Yvette continued to insist she was too old for naps and didn't need them any longer. Even so, she was growing up so quickly. Both of them were.

  She stood there for a few moments, enjoying the quiet moment before she went in search of Danielle.

  As soon as she found her she felt unaccountably shy. Feeling foolish, she said, "I spoke to Raoul. He's making reservations for the two of us to go out tonight, and—"

  "What a marvelous idea. I'm impressed that he thought about it. He's practically been living at the winery these days."

  "I—uh—I'm pleased. I don't get to see much of him. What I wanted to ask was if you would mind listening for the children for me? I need to get cleaned up myself and I'm afraid I won't hear them if they should need anything."

  "Of course. I have some magazines I've been wanting to catch up on. I can read them just as easily in their rooms." Danielle gathered up her magazines and said, "You haven't been out at all in the evenings since you got home from the hospital, have you?"

  "No, I haven't."

  "Haven't you missed it?"

  Sherye grinned. "Not really. It's bad enough whenever we're out during the day and people I don't remember speak to me. Here at home everybody has gotten used to the fact that I feel as though I've only been here for a few weeks rather than six years. When I'm away from here, I'm suddenly confronted with people and situations I don't know how to handle."

  "Well, you won't have a problem tonight, hot with Raoul with you. He's been working too hard. This will be good for both of you."

  Instead of a quick shower, which was her usual habit after working in the garden, Sherye showered to remove the soil, then filled the large tub so she could ease some sore muscles.

  Raoul hadn't said what he had in mind for tonight, but she wanted to be rested and prepared. She wished she could stop all the butterflies in her stomach. No doubt she and Raoul had spent many evenings together, particularly before she became pregnant with Jules. It was perfectly natural for a husband and wife to spend an evening together, she reminded herself.

  Who was she kidding? There was nothing natural about her relationship with Raoul. They rarely spoke to each other, or saw each other, for that matter. Sometimes she had trouble realizing that they shared this room. By the time she was awake each morning he had showered, dressed and was downstairs. When she arrived downstairs for breakfast, he was already gone to his office.

  She closed her eyes, feeling the soothing swirl of water caress her skin. Stop trying to second-guess Raoul, she told herself, and enjoy the opportunity to spend more time with him.

  She didn't realize she'd dozed off until the sound of the bathroom door opening roused her. Raoul stood in the doorway from his bedroom looking as taken aback by her occupancy of the tub as she was at his sudden appearance.

  "Pardon me, I didn't realize—"

  "Oh! I'm sorry, I-"

  They both spoke at once, then paused. Sherye sank deeper in the tub, thankful the swirling of the water from the water-jets had produced so many protective bubbles.

  "I must have fallen asleep," she managed to say. "I'm sorry. I'll be out in a moment."

  Raoul cleared his throat. "Take your time. I'm in no hurry. I just—" He seemed to run out of words and shook his head. "I should have knocked," he finally said before closing the door.

  As soon as the door shut, Sherye climbed out of the tub and grabbed a towel, feeling like a complete fool. After carefully avoiding him for all this time, she'd allowed herself to fall asleep when she knew he would be returning home.

  After rinsing out the tub and drying herself, she hurried into her bedroom. Glancing at the clock, she was appalled to see that it was already after six. How could she have lost track of time like that? Would he think she had been in there deliberately? It sounded like something the old Sherye might have pulled. She cringed, hoping he wouldn't be disgusted with her.

  She slipped into underwear and walked into the closet, trying to decide what to wear. Tonight she could dress as glamorously as she wished. For some reason she couldn't quite explain to herself, she wanted to look her best. She wanted to remind Raoul that she was his wife.

  After discarding several dresses with plunging necklines she let out a sigh of satisfaction and pulled out a sapphire blue gown of layered chiffon and delicate lace that had a high neckline and long, narrow sleeves, while the back was cut down to her waist.

  She smiled to herself. A dress with its own surprise. From the tags still on it, she knew it was also a dress that she had never worn. The fitted bodice sparkled with tiny brilliants of the same color, giving a shimmering appearance that would change with every breath she took.

  She sat in front of her vanity and carefully applied makeup with a light hand, then pulled her hair up high on her head, allowing it to cascade in back.

  By the time she'd completed all her preparations, she felt ready to face the world with her chin held high. A light tap on the connecting door caused her to turn away from the mirror.

  "Come in."

  Raoul opened the door and she struggled not to show her strong reaction to his appearance. This was the first time she'd seen him dressed in formal wear. The suit had obviously been custom-made, showing off his well-formed body to perfection.

  He seemed to be just as taken aback by .her appearance. "I don't believe I've seen that gown before," he said slowly.

  Since he was looking past her, she realized that he could see the back of the dress in the mirror. "If you don't like it, I can change."

  "The dress is lovely. I just hadn't seen it, that's all," he said.

  "I must have overlooked it in the closet. It had gotten caught with another dress and fell from the hanger while I was going through the rack."

  "You look—I'm certain you must know—quite beautiful, Sherye."

  She smiled. "Thank you."

  "I'm not certain how, but
you look different from your modeling photographs." He came closer, his eyes narrowed as he scrutinized her face. "It must be the makeup or something."

  "I've forgotten all the tricks of the trade, obviously." She looked everywhere but at him, feeling awkward.

  "Actually, I like you this way much better. You seem more innocent somehow, with a sense of freshness that is very appealing."

  "This is the first time I've gotten really dressed up since I've had any recollection of my life." She picked up her beaded bag and nervously dropped a lipstick and comb inside. "I'll admit I feel a little strange, given our circumstances." She forced herself to glance back over her shoulder at him and found him watching her intently, which did nothing to ease her nervousness. She turned to face him, holding her small bag tightly as though she didn't know what to do with her hands. She offered him a rather shy smile and said, "I've been feeling like I'm getting ready for a first date ever since I spoke with you earlier today."

  He seemed to relax a little. "I know what you mean. I was feeling the same way when I made my invitation."

  For the first time since he'd walked into the room she realized that he wasn't as relaxed as he appeared. "Was there a particular reason why you wanted to go out tonight?"

  "Yes, but I'd prefer to wait until later to discuss it."

  She couldn't read anything in his expression or his tone of voice to hint at what was on his mind. Gathering her courage around her like a cloak, she said, "All right. I'm ready to go whenever you are."

  He offered her his arm and they left the room together, Sherye's heart beating a double-time rhythm to their pace. She wasn't certain she was ready to hear what he had to say, but she also knew that she had to face without flinching whatever topic he wished to pursue.

  Chapter 9

  When they reached the bottom of the stairway Danielle was waiting for them with a smile. "What a handsome couple you make," she teased. As soon as Sherye saw her sister-in-law she was reminded of the fact that she had left Danielle to look after Yvette and Jules. How could she have forgotten them!