The Scent of Jasmine Read online

  He glanced down at her stomach. “Is it possible that you’re . . . ?”

  “No, I’m not,” she said, and there were tears in her voice. She’d started her monthly flow yesterday. She would like nothing more than to tell him she was carrying his child, so he had to return to her.

  Alex’s face showed as much disappointment as hers did. Bending, he looked into her eyes. “What is it that you’re really afraid of?”

  “That you’ll see her great beauty and realize that you’ve loved her forever.”

  He smiled. “I find that highly unlikely. What if an alligator runs through the dining room? Who’s going to help me get rid of it? And what about large, poisonous vipers? You’re the snake charmer.”

  Cay didn’t smile. “You married the most poisonous serpent of all, and I’m better at jokes than you are.”

  “Aye, lass, I did and you are. You’re better at a lot of things than I am. When I think back on it, I marvel at my arrogance when I thought I could best you at drawing. Beat you at anything, for that matter.”

  “You can ride better than I can,” she said. Her lower lip was quivering. She was so very afraid that when Alex saw his wife that he’d fall in love with her all over again, and Cay would never again see him.

  “I can what?”

  Cay didn’t answer him.

  “Please repeat it, lass. I want to hear you say that you know there’s anything in the entire world that I can do better than you can.”

  She put her arms back around his neck. “I hate you and you can’t go without me. I’ll stay in a hotel all day long. I won’t leave our room.”

  He kissed her earlobe, but when she turned her lips to his, he pulled her arms from around his neck. “I have to go. Nate is waiting for me.”

  Cay sat back on her heels on the bed. “You’re going to see her now, aren’t you?”

  “Aye, I am. But not because I want to. If it were up to me, I’d never see her again, but I must.”

  “After you see her, you’ll go back with her to Charleston. And you two will be alone.”

  “No, I told you that Nate will be with us.”

  “I don’t understand why Nate is going with you. He doesn’t do things with other people. Certainly not strangers. He—”

  “I’m Merlin.”

  Cay sat there blinking at Alex in disbelief. “You’re Nate’s Merlin?”

  “Aye, I am. Until you told me so, I didn’t know that your family knew anything about me, except your mother, of course. She’s the one who got the correspondence between Nate and me started back when we were children, just after my mother died. My father’s grief was bad, and he dealt with it in silence. I needed someone to talk to. During that first year, I wrote to Nate every day, and he wrote back every day. I used to get his letters in big packets. They saved me. I owe him and your mother a great deal.”

  “Merlin.” Cay wasn’t sure whether she felt betrayed or happy that Alex had such a firm connection to her family.

  “That’s what Nate called me after your cousin said I was a ‘magician’ with animals.”

  “Why didn’t you come to visit us when we were in Scotland?”

  “I wanted to, but my dad said that all the riches of your family made him nervous. Lairds and former lairds living in a castle wasn’t what we were used to.”

  “Nate never told us anything about you,” Cay said, still looking at him in wonder.

  “It seems he told me even less about you. My first question was why he didn’t tell me you were an artist.”

  “He didn’t think it was important,” Cay said.

  “That’s exactly what he said. Years ago, he told me he wanted something private that he didn’t have to share with his family and I was it. Was it Tally who found out about us?”

  “Of course. You can’t keep a secret from Tally. He probably snooped through Nate’s things. They share a bedroom.” She took Alex’s hand and looked up into his eyes, pleading. “Please let me go with you. I’m Nate’s sister, so I have a reason for being there.”

  Alex smiled at her, but she could see that he wasn’t going to relent. “I have to go now, lass. Nate is waiting and we’re going to go see Lilith. I’ll come back tonight and tell you what happened.”

  “What kind of perfume does she wear?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “If you come back smelling like a woman’s perfume, I’ll—”

  “I know. Make me sorry. But, lass, don’t you see that right now I already am sorry? Now, come and give me a kiss, then I have to leave. Nate is—”

  “Waiting. Yes, I know. You don’t have to worry about him. He takes care of himself. By now he’s probably read three books about some obscure subject no one can pronounce, much less understand. If you want to help Nate, introduce him to a woman he can love.”

  “A lady scientist?” Alex asked, smiling.

  “No, a lady alligator wrestler. If anyone needs to be taught what passion is, it’s my brother.”

  “Like I taught you about it?” Alex’s eyes turned warm.

  “Ha! I’m the creative one. I taught you most of what you know about everything.”

  “Aye, that you did, my love,” Alex said softly as his arms tightened around her. “I’m going to miss you. No matter how long I’m gone, even if it’s just ten minutes, I’m going to miss you every second of that time.” Gently, he kissed her, and when she tried to turn it into more, he drew back and took her arms from around his neck. “I must go.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He kissed her nose. “Tonight I’ll have a story to tell you about why a woman faked her own death.” He kissed her chin. “And I’ll hold you in my arms and tell you all of it.”

  “You promise?”

  “On my honor.” He went to the door. “And when this is all over, I’ll tell you in detail what I feel about you.”

  “Swear it?”

  “I swear it.” Smiling, he opened the door and looked out into the hall. “I’m surprised that one of your brothers isn’t here watching your door.” When he looked back at her, there was such longing in his eyes that for a moment she thought he was going to change his mind. But in the next second he stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

  Cay collapsed on the pillow and began to cry. But five minutes later, she sat up. She was going to follow him. She was going to see for herself that Alex was no longer in love with the woman he’d married. If she saw that that was true, then she knew she could return to Virginia and wait forever for him. She thought about calling for a bath to be brought to her, but there wasn’t time. She was going as the dirty boy people thought she was.

  Silently, she slipped out of the room and went down the hall.

  Twenty-five

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Tally asked as he pulled Cay in through the hotel window. “And how the hell did you get up here to the third floor?”

  “If you don’t stop cursing I’m going to tell Father about that fat woman you had on your lap. Did you know that the whole family thinks you’re a virgin?” She stood up in the room, noting its elegant furnishings. “This place costs a lot. Who’s paying for it?”

  “What do you know about virginity?” Tally asked. “And since when have you cared anything about money except how much of it you could spend?”

  “As we go through life, we learn things.” She dusted off the seat of her pants. To get into the room, she’d had to scoot along an iron balcony so the people in the room next door wouldn’t see her.

  “You sound like you’re on a pulpit. And when are you going to put on some clean clothes?”

  “When I feel like it, Mr. Priss.” She gave Tally a look up and down and saw that he was dressed in his finest. She was glad to see that he was wearing the jacket she’d embroidered. “The twins liked your coat.”

  “They kept putting their hands in my pockets. Why can’t other girls be like them?”

  “The rest of us have brains. So where are they now?”