Serpent in Paradise

by Rosemary Carter

  Had Teri been alone she would have walked out of the restaurant before they looked up and saw her. As it was, Bruce had his hand on her waist, and it seemed to her fevered mind as if he was actually pushing her forward.

  Miranda was talking,' and Sloan was listening to her attentively. With any luck Teri could pass them without being noticed. The hand was still at her back—friendly yet firm—when they reached the fateful table.

  'I always knew we'd work things out,' Teri heard Miranda say, and then, on a new note, 'Why, look who's here!'

  Sloan lifted his head. His eyes moved from Teri to Bruce, then back again. Blue eyes that were devoid of any expression. Only the hardness of his mouth indicated his displeasure.

  Miranda and Bruce said hello more or less simultaneously, and Sloan murmured a curt greeting of his own, but Teri, to her shame, found that her mouth was so dry that she was unable to say anything at all.

  'Enjoy your meal,' Bruce said pleasantly. 'I see our table is ready.'

  Teri walked blindly further. A waitress came to take the order, and Teri indicated to Bruce that he should decide for them both. It made no difference what he chose; she knew she would not taste the food, however delicious it might be. She didn't even know if she could eat.

  Unwillingly her eyes were drawn to Sloan and Miranda. 'You knew they'd be here, didn't you?' she asked in a low voice, the first words she had uttered since entering the restaurant.

  'Anything's possible—always.'

  An uncorked bottle of wine rested in an ice-bucket beside Sloan. As Teri watched, Miranda raised her glass and Sloan's came up to meet it. Over the soft sound of clinking glass came the murmur of laughing voices, the words indistinguishable.

  Teri's throat felt raw. Fiercely she blinked back the tears that had gathered behind her eyelids. She would not cry.

  'Why did you bring me here?' she asked, when she could speak again.

  Bruce smiled. 'To eat, obviously, my darling girl.'

  Disregarding the endearment, she forced herself to meet his eyes. 'I think you had another reason.'

  Eyes that had always been warm until now grew suddenly cold. 'Okay, so I thought it might be a good idea if you saw where Sloan's affections lie.'

  'I knew already. Why should I care anyway?'

  'I've seen the way you look at him.' There was an unexpected edge of cruelty in Bruce's tone. 'Sloan isn't for you, Teri.'

  'A warning?'

  'A friendly one.'

  A brutal one. More brutal than Sloan's had been when he'd warned her to stay away from Bruce.

  Somehow she forced herself to smile. 'I don't need warnings. I can take care of myself.'

  After a moment Bruce said, 'You've proved that, haven't you? Do you keep in touch with Jill's father?'

  There was something blatant and rather insolent in his expression. It was as unexpected as the cruelty in his tone had been.

  Teri felt a chill run through her. 'I think,' she said, with all the dignity at her disposal, 'that we should change the subject.'

  'Fine with me. Sloan and Miranda seem to be celebrating something rather special. Do you think you and I could have a celebration of our own, Teri?'

  She stared at him dazed, wondering if she had understood him correctly. 'We've nothing to celebrate,' she protested uncertainly.

  'We could have.' He reached over and took her hand. 'You must know how I feel about you, Teri. Will you marry me?'

  This is a dream, Teri thought. And then she felt Bruce's hand tighten on hers. He was smiling as he waited for her to answer, and she knew it wasn't a dream.

  'We hardly know each other,' she murmured at length.

  'We'll have time for that.'

  Teri felt rather than saw the sudden silence at Sloan's table. Darting a deliberately playful look at Bruce, she said, 'Would you still want me if I were not in line for a share of Vins Doux?'

  It was a provocative question, an appallingly provocative question. The smile froze on Bruce's face, and his fingers bit cruelly into the delicate wrist.

  And then the smile widened once more. 'Sweetheart, I didn't know you were a tease.'

  She could have repeated the question, could have insisted on an answer, but none was necessary.

  'Will you marry me?'

  'I have no plans to marry anyone,' she told him quite truthfully. 'Not now. Perhaps never.'

  Neither did she plan to look at Sloan. Treacherously, of their own accord, her eyes moved his way. Incredibly he looked up at that moment and his eyes met hers. Two pairs of eyes locked together for what seemed an interminable time. Teri felt her heart pounding like a mad thing against her ribs. Then Sloan turned back to Miranda, and slowly, very slowly Teri's heartbeat returned to normal.

  Sloan came to supper two nights later. Despite the fact that Teri had steeled herself to be calm and relaxed, her senses clamoured at sight of him.

  Only Emma was missing from the little group that had gathered in the sun-room for a before-dinner drink. Sloan sat back in a cane chair, one long leg resting casually across the other. In beige slacks and a darker shirt open at the throat, he looked so attractive that Teri felt her pulses beat faster. Casually he sipped a beer, and laughed as Virginia touched his cheek in a flirtatious caress, and Teri wondered how Miranda would feel were she present to see it.

  'Wonder what's keeping Aunt Emma?' Bruce mused.

  'I don't mind waiting.' Virginia dimpled a seductive smile at Sloan. 'I hear you and Miranda have been celebrating.'

  Sloan did not look discomfited. 'Bruce tells tales?'

  'When he knows his sister is interested. Want to tell us about it?'

  Teri's breath caught in her throat. Sloan looked across at her, almost as if he had detected the tiny hiss of sound, then back at Virginia. 'In good time,' he grinned, looking disgustingly smug.

  Where was Emma? Teri could not stand the tension a moment longer. It would be a relief to go through to the dining-room, even though she would not enjoy the meal. She could not remember the last meal she had enjoyed.

  Just then the door opened and Emma came into the room. Her eyes were bright and her cheeks flamed with colour, and Teri saw at once that she was angry.

  'Sorry I'm late. I was delayed by some news.'

  'Bad news?' Teri asked concerned.

  'Bad—but not unexpected. Jessie is pregnant.'

  Sloan said, 'Lucas?'

  'Who else? I'd forbidden her to see him. My God, the girl has no sense! He stole a car, he's been in jail, I warned her that he would give her nothing but grief.'

  'She should have listened to you,' Virginia said sympathetically. 'Now I suppose she wants your help.'

  'She hasn't quite asked for it in so many words. I'm so furious, if I do decide to help it will have to be on my terms.'

  'I think that's terrible.' Teri's words were clear and distinct in the silent room.

  'I beg your pardon!' Emma looked at her incredulously.

  'If anybody but Lucas were the father you wouldn't be so angry.'

  'That's true…' Emma conceded.

  'You forbade Jessie to see him, and she went ahead nevertheless, and now you're angry.'

  'Why do I get the feeling,' Emma Roland asked ominously, 'that you're criticising me?'

  It was very quiet in the dining-room. Virginia looked shocked. Bruce looked stunned. He shook his head slightly, he was throwing a silent warning, one Teri decided to ignore.

  Sloan's expression was difficult to read. Teri was not in the mood to analyse it.

  She took a breath. 'I don't mean to offend you, Emma, but it's Jessie's life. I don't believe you have the right to tell her how to lead it.'

  'Well, really, Teri!' This from Virginia. 'You're asking Aunt Emma to condone what Jessie's done, and to help her into the bargain!'

  'I'm just saying that she has no right to condemn Jessie,' Teri said stubbornly.

  'I will not have my rights questioned, Teri.' Emma spoke very quietly. 'Not by you, not by anyone.'

  'A
nd I,' Teri said just as quietly, 'will do everything I can to help Jessie.'

  'You don't know what you're saying, Teri—after all, Aunt Emma has done everything for…' The flow of Bruce's words stopped abruptly as the door opened and Esther called Emma to the telephone.

  When the door had closed Bruce was the first to speak. 'Cool it, Teri.'

  She looked at him frigidly. 'You're thinking of my share in Vins Doux?'

  After the slightest of moments Bruce said, 'Yes.'

  Now was not the moment to disclose that she had declined her share. Her promise to Emma still stood. But after she had left Vins Doux—Emma would not want her here after this—the others would learn the truth.

  She said, 'I stand by everything I said.'

  'You can't mean that.'

  'I do. If Jessie loves Lucas—and I believe she does—then what she does is her own business.'

  'I can see why Teri would support Jessie,' Virginia drawled. 'She was in the same position herself once. I'm not surprised, are you, Sloan?'

  Tensing, Teri curled her nails into her palms and looked at Sloan. Thus far there had been no word out of him. There had been only the expression she had not tried to analyse. An expression, she realised now, that had been akin to surprise, as if he had come face to face with something he did not expect. The expression had been momentary. It was gone now. The blue eyes were hooded, impossible to read.

  So you condemn me too, Sloan? Teri thought. Lifting her chin, she said aloud, 'I do understand Jessie.' The words had the sound of a challenge.

  'Where is Jill's father?' Virginia asked conversationally.

  Teri answered her flatly. 'He's dead.'

  Leave it at that. Please, just leave it at that. You don't know the wounds that are being re-opened.

  But Bruce said, 'I asked you if you still had contact with him. You didn't say he was dead.'

  She remembered the question. It had been put to her in the restaurant, while just yards away Sloan and Miranda had been celebrating. 'I told you then that I wanted to change the subject.'

  Bruce looked uncertain a moment. There was nothing more he could say, surely. Yet, 'You loved him?' he asked.

  This can't be happening to me! I have to be dreaming.

  On a wave of pain, Teri closed her eyes. She could see her parents, her mother and father playing with the baby whom they had adored.

  Opening her eyes, she looked around her. For a few moments she had felt as if she was elsewhere, back in the rambling house that had once been home. It was almost a shock to see three faces staring at her. Bruce and Virginia, openly curious. Sloan, more grim than she had ever seen him.

  'I loved Jill's father,' she said quietly, feeling as if she would choke. Virginia seemed about to say something but Teri put up a hand to silence her. 'Don't ask me any more.'

  Blindly she wheeled and left the room.

  Later that evening Teri opened her door to a knock. 'May I come in?' Emma asked.

  'Yes, of course.'

  The older woman walked to the window and stared a few seconds into the night. Then she turned.

  'I'm sorry,' she said.

  'Sorry?' Teri's voice was unsteady.

  'I may be a foolish woman, Teri, but I'm not that foolish. You stood up for what you believed in, and you were right.'

  'Emma…'

  'Let me finish. You were right, my dear. I was wrong to think I could tell Jessie how to live her life.'

  'I believe she loves Lucas,' Teri said gently.

  'She does. I've also learned that Lucas deeply regrets the fact he ever got into bad company. His friends dared him to steal the car and he was too weak to say no. He paid dearly for the weakness.'

  'Will Jessie marry him?' Teri asked.

  'Yes. And I intend to help them, God knows I can afford it.'

  'Oh, Emma, I'm so glad!'

  For the first time Emma Roland smiled. 'You don't know how glad I am—for coming to my senses in time.'

  'I have to apologise too,' said Teri. 'I was very rude to you.'

  'You were honest. And that's more than I can say for my family. Neither Virginia nor Bruce are angels in their private lives, I do know that, yet they were prepared to side with me, ready to condemn Jessie because they thought it was what I wanted to hear.'

  'You don't know that.'

  'Yes, Teri, I do. For too many years I've been surrounded by people who pay me lip service because I'm a rich woman. Until I met you I thought Sloan was the only exception.'

  Sloan. Always Sloan.

  'You befriended me when you had no idea who I was. Today you showed your honesty and fearlessness.'

  'If you say any more I'll get conceited,' Teri smiled over the lump in her throat.

  'I will say one more thing,' Emma added. 'You can forget about leaving Vins Doux.'

  Teri stared at the older woman. 'How did you know?'

  'I know you, my dear, and you have a face that is transparent.'

  Do you also know that I love Sloan? That I can't bear the thought of him getting married to Miranda? That leaving Vins Doux would mean that I need never see them together, as man and wife, as lovers?

  'You gave me a promise,' reminded Emma.

  'I know.'

  'I don't intend to release you from it.'

  'You're a ruthless woman, Emma,' sighed Teri.

  'A tigress,' her friend countered cheerfully. 'Sleep well, my dear. Tomorrow we'll talk of ways to help Jessie.'

  Teri finished breakfast early next morning, before the others had even made their appearance. She lingered over her coffee a while, musing over the happenings of last night. She was glad she had made her peace with Emma. The time would come when she would have to leave Vins Doux, but she had grown very fond of Emma Roland, and it was a relief that the eventual parting would be friendly rather than hostile.

  She finished her coffee and was about to leave the room when her eye was caught by a stool in one corner, a replica of one she had seen in a book just yesterday. Filled with sudden excitement, she went to it.

  Kneeling, she began to examine the lovely hand-carved wood. At the sound of footsteps she did not turn, and even when two trouser-clad legs stopped beside her she did not look up.

  'Bruce, this stool must be two hundred years old!' Her voice bubbled with enthusiasm. 'Isn't it gorgeous! Heavens, but it must be worth a fortune!'

  There was no answer from above. That could only mean that Bruce was no connoisseur of fine furniture. Unconcerned, Teri continued to study the carving. Only gradually did she feel a prickling of the hairs on her neck, and her body tensed.

  Very slowly she looked up. Sloan was looking down at her, and his eyes were anything but amused.

  'It's a lovely piece,' she said uncertainly, wondering why he looked quite so angry.

  'And worth a fortune, as you guessed. Hoping the stool will form a part of your share?'

  The words as much as the hardness in his tone brought her to her feet. 'You're in a fine temper this morning.'

  'Let me make the accusations.'

  She loved him. She also had to concede that he was impossibly arrogant. 'What else do you think I'm after? Have you checked the silver lately? I could be stowing it away, making sure I get more than my share.'

  He made an irritable gesture. 'Don't be flippant. I came here to talk to you.'

  If only her heart would stop its stupid leaping. This was no time to be thinking how dynamic he looked. 'We've nothing to talk about.'

  'We have.'

  'My greed?' Teri asked sarcastically.

  Blue eyes were hooded. 'We'll leave that subject for now. It's Bruce I want to discuss. The pair of you.'

  'Do you think of us as a pair?'

  'You certainly looked the part in the restaurant.'

  And how do you think you looked, you and Miranda? Toasting each other with wine, or was it champagne? Happy that things had worked out as you'd always wanted.

  'I don't want to talk about it.'

  'I do. In fact I c
ame here last night for that reason. And a fine mess it turned out to be. Teri, I've given you one warning already.'

  'I don't have to heed your warnings, Sloan.'

  His lips thinned. 'You've been seeing a lot of each other?'

  He had no right to put her on the spot, she thought, and decided to lie. 'A fair amount. That worries Sloan?'

  Something flickered in his eyes. Then he said harshly, 'Only because you and Bruce may well destroy Vins Doux.'

  'You think the worst of us, then?' It was amazing that she could sustain the conversation with such calm.

  'I see the pair of you as fortune-hunters.'

  Her calmness deserted her as anger flamed inside her. 'How dare you, Sloan! Are you any better? An employee of Vins Doux who will now have a quarter of the estate to call your own. Who are you to judge us?'

  As she saw her own anger mirrored in Sloan's eyes, Teri became taut. She had provoked him, and Sloan, she knew, could be dangerous when provoked. A small shiver of fear ran down her spine; at the same time she was also conscious of excitement.

  His jaw had tightened, and the eyes that raked her face held an ominous glint. What would he say? Do?

  It was a moment or two before he spoke, and when he did his tone was unexpectedly mild. 'I think, Teri, that you and I should spend the day together.'

  Her senses leaped. Almost, she said yes—despite Miranda. Despite the cold contempt that was in Sloan's eyes whenever he looked at her; it was there now.

  Sanity came to her aid just in time. 'You're crazy!'

  A hand reached out, closing over her wrist, the fingers like burning steel on the delicate skin. 'You like to goad me, don't you?'

  'All I did was refuse an invitation,' she said hardily, and wondered if he could feel the racing pulse.

  'An invitation?' Neither of them had heard Virginia come into the room. 'Sounds exciting. What kind of invitation?'

  The grip on Teri's wrist was abruptly released as Sloan muttered, 'I asked Teri to spend the day with me. She refused.'

  'Well now!' Virginia was watching them both, openly curious. 'If our little child-mother lets the invitation go begging I'll be happy to take it up instead.'

  She was smiling, the green eyes slanting and catlike. A little like Bruce's, Teri thought, and wondered why she had not noticed the similarity before. There was malice in the smile. To Teri, her emotions already raw, the malicious words and smile were a goad. Throwing Sloan a smile of her own, she said, 'I've changed my mind, I'd love to spend the day with you.'