Storm's End

by Sondra Stanford

  Julie squirmed uneasily. "We'll manage," she said shortly. "Bobby is trustworthy. He can take care of himself while I'm at work and I'll be with him nights, of course."

  Andrew Barclay nodded. "I'm sure he's a fine boy," he conceded, "but all the same a ten-year-old boy needs supervision. School is out for summer vacation and while you're at work, he could be anywhere. He could get hurt or fall ill, not to mention perhaps becoming adversely influenced by some of his peers."

  "You make a valid point," Julie acknowledged, "but after all, many children his age are left alone each day while their mothers work. It's not an unusual circumstance."

  "True, but then Bobby won't have his mother around at all. He'll be here with you while she's in a Texas hospital worrying about the both of you. Can you honestly tell me you exert as much authority over him as his mother?"

  Julie's cheeks stained an angry red. "Maybe not, but we have no choice in the matter and I'd appreciate it if you'd mind your own business!"

  Instead, her grandfather attacked from a different direction. "You realize that when Ruth does return from the hospital she's going to require care herself for a while? She will not just walk in the door, ready to resume her function as mother and housekeeper. She'll need someone to wait upon her and see that she rests. How will you be able to do that while you're at work? Can you afford to hire someone to do that?"

  "You know I can't!" Julie hissed. Her eyes were dark and stormy as she knotted her fists in her lap. "Does it give you pleasure, sir, to rub my nose in my problems?"

  "Not at all," he answered in a surprisingly gentle voice. "I'm merely trying to show you that you need help right now and that I can give it to you."

  "Yes, but at what cost to myself?" Julie asked bitterly. "That I marry him?" She waved a shaking hand in Blaise's direction. "And what's in it for him?"

  Blaise Richard's colorless lips stretched into a wry grin. "Exactly what I've been waiting to learn myself," he told her dryly. "Just what do I get out of this bargain you're trying to drive?"

  Andrew Barclay leaned back into a more comfortable position and squinted his eyes as he looked at his stepson. "How does sharing with my granddaughter a controlling interest in the company sound to you?"

  Now every drop of blood in Blaise's face seemed to have drained away. Then, abruptly, his jaw and chin hardened like a carved marble statue. "It sounds rotten," he growled.

  The old man smiled and Julie shook with inward rage. He was enjoying this… pushing, shoving, manipulating them into impossible positions just as he had done to her parents years ago.

  "I don't want any interest…"she began scathingly, but her grandfather turned a cold gaze upon her that silenced her.

  "You will allow me to explain," he told her frigidly.

  "No, I…"

  This time the old man simply ignored her. He turned back to Blaise and began talking, just as though Julie's interruption had never occurred. "If you marry my granddaughter, I will divide my forty percent of voting shares in the company by giving her thirty-five hundred shares and you the remaining five hundred to boost the three thousand you now hold so that you would own equal amounts."

  "And if I do not agree?" Blaise asked in a low voice that scarcely concealed the violent fury that beat a throbbing pulse at his temples.

  "If you do not, then Julie will get a thousand shares and Clive will receive the remaining three thousand," he stated calmly.

  His quiet words drew an explosion from Blaise, who was on his feet again, towering over the old man and glaring down at him with such intense anger that for a moment Julie found herself actually becoming concerned for her grandfather's safety.

  "You'd give Clive a sixty percent controlling interest?" Blaise's voice was choked with disbelief. "Good God, Dad, don't you know that would sink the company? If he didn't overexpand us and sink the company so deeply into debt it could never recover, he'd sell us down the river! You can't mean this!"

  "I was never more serious in my life, son," Andrew Barclay stated. "I'm tired and that's a fact. True, you are general manager of the company now, but I'm still caught in the middle of the conflicts between you and my nephew. I'm very aware of Clive's desires concerning the company's future and I'm against them, but he wears me down with all his appeals and I don't want to bother about it anymore. Clive feels he has a right to a majority interest by virtue of being my blood relative; you're my stepson…" Now his voice grew husky.

  "But I love you as my own. And then there's Julie." He sighed and glanced once again at the slender girl who sat rigidly in her chair. "You and Clive have surely both realized all along that I always intended her to have a share when it comes to an inheritance, whether I ever met her or not. Well, now I've made up my mind that as my nearest relative, she should have as much interest in the company as anyone else… if she does as I ask."

  "I can understand her right to an equal share in the company, Dad," Blaise said, "but she knows nothing about its operation. How can she possibly vote intelligently on…"

  "That's where you come in," Andrew cut in. "If Julie is your wife, then surely her own interests in the company will be well protected and the advice given her, good advice. In this way, Clive would not be in a position to attempt to influence or pressure her."

  "What makes you so sure?" Julie snapped. "Just because I was married to him it wouldn't necessarily follow that I'd allow Blaise's judgment to guide mine!"

  "There's no guarantee, of course," her grandfather admitted, "but I think you would utilize your interests wisely because it would be to your advantage to do so. Think, Julie! If you marry my stepson and accept your place as my granddaughter, your mother will have a fine home for the rest of her life, with all the comforts and care that is possible; I will set up a trust fund to provide Bobby with a college education and, with your interest in the company, he would be assured of an excellent position in it as well some day, should he desire it. No, all things considered, I don't believe you would misuse the power of those shares since to do so would hurt the very people you love."

  "But… why marriage?" Julie stammered in bewilderment.

  Andrew Barclay shrugged. "It's my way of making sure my company will remain intact under responsible supervision and see to it that your future is assured as well. I realize," he added heavily, "that the idea of marriage to a stranger appalls the both of you, so we'll set a limit, say, of three years. By that time all the business problems should be resolved and Clive would be adjusted to Blaise's total command; also, by that time Julie should be familiar enough with the company herself to no longer need help in making decisions concerning it. If you both wished to separate then, I would not oppose it."

  "This is all utterly ridiculous!" Julie exclaimed.

  "It's blackmail!" Blaise said grimly. "And I won't have it!"

  "Neither will I!" Julie flared. "I can take care of myself without anything from you and…"

  "Yes, I know," Andrew Barclay said in a tired voice. "You've mentioned it already. But your mother and your brother are not so fortunate. I'm offering them the security of my home and my finances, but if you choose to deny it to them, it will be on your conscience, not mine."

  "Dad, be reasonable!" Blaise said with exasperation. "You know you don't really want to put Clive into the driver's seat. You built up the company from scratch and you love it too much to deliberately destroy it like this and I love it too much to let you do it. I…"

  "I've made my offer," Andrew Barclay said in an inflexible voice of steel, "and I meant what I said. You can both take it or leave it." He raised his arm and peered at the gold watch on his wrist. "Go away someplace and decide. You have one hour. I want this matter settled before I see Ruth tonight."

  An hour in which to make a decision to affect a lifetime… a decision which would affect a number of people's lives! Julie felt nauseous as she rose to her feet, but just as she and Blaise reached the door, Andrew Barclay spoke once more. "I might add, Julie, that should you agree, the means
will be provided so that you can stay in Houston while Ruth is in the hospital. Bobby would be quite safe and well cared for with us in Baton Rouge. I'm sure, if I were Ruth," he added persuasively, "that I should like you there for moral support at such a time."

  Despite that deceptive Saint Nicholas look about him, Andrew Barclay was the two-headed monster she had always believed! On the one hand he was offering everything possible to make things smooth and comforting for her mother, but only if she, Julie, fulfilled an impossible condition!

  The late afternoon heat assaulted them as Julie and Blaise left the air-conditioned room and walked out into the glaring sunlight. In silence, they made their way to the car and as Blaise opened the door for Julie and she slid onto the seat, she happened to glance up and notice the lines of strain around his mouth. He was not finding this predicament easy either, and in spite of her earlier dislike of him, she felt a twinge of compassion. Like it or not, they were both in this boat together.

  Blaise got into the car himself but before making a move to start the ignition, he turned toward her. "If you'll give me directions to a restaurant, we can have a drink while we discuss this."

  Julie did so and five minutes later they walked into the dim coolness of a popular restaurant just off the main street. It was still far too early for the evening diners and they had the place almost to themselves. They chose a table in a corner and Julie ordered iced tea while Blaise took coffee.

  Once the drinks had been served, Blaise's dark eyes lifted to Julie's face. There was a wry, bitter set to his lips. "I had no idea Dad was going to do this," he told her. "I'm sorry. I merely believed he wanted to meet you."

  "There's no need for an apology on your part," she answered quietly. "I could tell you were as stunned as I was. But what are we going to do?" Her gray eyes clouded with anxiety.

  Blaise shrugged his wide shoulders. "I don't know." He reached into an inner pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He offered one to Julie who shook her head negatively and then he lit one for himself. "We both told him 'no' already but he didn't accept it because he knows we've got to think about the consequences."

  "Do you really think he means it?" she asked. "Couldn't he just be bluffing? Surely if he prefers you to run the company he wouldn't just hand over controlling interest to my cousin simply because you didn't marry me?"

  Blaise pressed his firm lips together. "No, he isn't bluffing. He means it all right, the stubborn old goat! If he doesn't get his way, he'll do exactly as he said, dump me for Clive and leave your family out in the cold as well."

  Julie was silent and thoughtful as Blaise took a sip of his coffee. Then she asked hesitantly, "The company… it means a great deal to you, I suppose, but wouldn't it be easy enough for you to find another job?"

  Blaise laughed harshly. "Dead easy, I imagine, but I've worked in Dad's company since I was eighteen, starting out part time and working summers while I attended LSU. For the past two years I've been acting head since Dad semi-retired." He shook his head disbelievingly. "And now, just to let it all go…" His voice trailed away.

  "It would hurt to see it go to Clive?" she asked.

  "It would hurt like hell," he admitted brusquely. His eyes narrowed as he gazed across the table at her. "What about you? You really need help right now, don't you? Honestly?"

  Julie lowered her own gaze to the glass of tea in front of her. "Yes," she answered softly. "Oh, we can manage alone if we have to. It's what I've thought we'd have to do all along anyway, but it will be hard and there's no getting around that." Her voice trembled and grew thick with emotion. "Mom is so worried about going away and leaving Bobby and me that I know it can't be doing her heart any good. She's so afraid she might die, leaving us with nobody of our own and I know she's scared of going to Houston and having to be on her own for the operation, but we simply don't have the money for me to go along and stay." Her voice faded away unhappily.

  "It would certainly make your immediate problems easier all around if you fell in with this plan, wouldn't it?" Blaise asked, and his voice was surprisingly gentle.

  Julie nodded. "Yes." The word was a mere whisper, a small and forlorn sound.

  There was a short silence between them and then Blaise said abruptly, "I suggest we do it."

  Julie's eyes widened and she blinked twice. "Wh-what did you say?" she asked, thinking she must have misunderstood.

  "I said let's do it." Blaise leaned forward in a confidential manner and one of his hands captured hers. "He's put us in a very awkward position here, Julie," he acknowledged, "but surely we can manage somehow to put up with it for three years? We're total strangers to each other so I shouldn't think either of us would be likely to make any sort of impossible demands upon the other, but so long as we're married we will have fulfilled our bargain with Dad and we can pretty much live as we please. It would solve your immediate problem and it would keep the company safely in my hands. So… what do you say?"

  "I don't know what to say," she stammered. "There are so many things to consider, to think about… and we don't know the first thing about each other!"

  Blaise grinned sympathetically. "I can assure you I'm not a homicidal maniac. I don't litter the floor with my dirty socks and in public I don't eat my peas with a knife, but how can I be sure of you?" Julie giggled in spite of herself and was rewarded with a broad smile. "That's better," he told her. "Well, what do you say? I realize we'll be taking a big chance on each other but I can tell you one thing for sure." Now he was serious again. "I'm not a man to welsh on my responsibilities and I'm not likely to skip out like your late-lamented fiancé when the going gets rough."

  Julie felt a sudden chill at being reminded of Duane's defection. She slid her hand free from beneath Blaise's and knotted it in her lap. "What about you?" she murmured. "Surely there's a woman in your life?"

  He did not attempt to deny it. "Yes," he stated flatly. "There is."

  "Well?"

  "Well what?" His face was stony. "I'm not engaged to her, if that's what you're asking. Our marriage wouldn't be breaking any promises already made."

  "But you can't possibly want this," she said softly, "when you're in love with someone else!"

  "Well, who the hell does?" he snapped with irritation. "You're in love with someone else, if it comes to that, but we can't just let everything go down the drain because of an old man's whim." He cast a glance at his watch, then shot her a warning look. "You've got twenty minutes to make up your mind."

  Julie squirmed restlessly beneath the hard glitter of Blaise Richard's eyes. This was all so wrong, so cold-blooded, so mercenary. She despised Blaise for his willingness to marry her in order to keep control of a company; even more, she despised herself for weakly considering it. She was as bad as he was because she knew, suddenly and positively, that she was going to do it. Andrew Barclay owed her mother a great deal because of the past and now he was going to pay for it.

  She swallowed convulsively. "I'll marry you!" she said in a rush, before her determination could falter, "but there's just one thing. We'll have to keep it a secret for a few months at least. As much as my mother wants me to establish a relationship with my grandfather and as much as we need his help right now, she would not accept one cent from him if she knew he was forcing me into a marriage just as ruthlessly as he forced her out of hers. We… we'll have to pretend around her that we… we…"

  "That we've fallen in love?" Blaise nodded. "Yes," he agreed, "it's the only thing Ruth would accept. And once she's finally convinced that we are in love we can admit we've been secretly married." He stood up and held out a hand to her. "Come on, let's go tell Dad of our decision. I'm sure he'll agree to that condition for Ruth's sake."

  Things moved swiftly once the die was cast, Julie reflected two weeks later. Almost too fast. There had been little time to pause and think about the decision she had made, and she could only pray that, for her mother's sake, at least, it had been the right one.

  That same
evening, Andrew Barclay had arrived at the house, smiling and benevolent, and had graciously begged Ruth's forgiveness for the past before making his offer of a permanent home with him. He was persuasive in his arguments… It would give him his long-awaited opportunity to get to know his granddaughter as well as to make up to Ruth for the pain and suffering of years gone by. It would also, he promised, be a good opportunity for Bobby. With the land around Magnolia Way, his home, the boy would have the benefits of fresh air, wide open spaces and even horses to ride and with Julie there as well as the housekeeper, there would be no question of his receiving proper supervision.

  Ruth had been dazed by the magnificent results of her letter to Andrew Barclay, but she had required little convincing once Julie assured her that this move was, indeed, what she herself wanted. It had required a good deal of acting ability on her part to pretend to be happy at meeting her grandfather and excited at the prospect of moving into his home, but she had pulled it off. And later that night, once the two men had gone and her mother asked about her leaving Duane, she explained briefly that they had broken their engagement by mutual agreement and, once more pretending, assured her mother that it was what she wanted.

  The following day, Andrew Barclay returned to Louisiana to prepare for their arrival. Blaise stayed on to assist in the multitude of details of the move, and in fact took over. He saw to it that the small, modest house was listed with a realtor; he arranged for their furnishings to be transported to Baton Rouge; he consulted with Ruth's doctors about the medical arrangements for her trip to Houston and took charge of a myriad of other matters, so that Ruth should have nothing at all to do.

  "I don't know what we would have done without you, Blaise!" Ruth exclaimed the day before they were due to leave. "You've handled everything so expertly." She accepted the papers he had brought from the bank that required her signature in order to have her funds transferred to a bank in Baton Rogue. "Hasn't he been wonderful, Julie?"