Caprice (20 page)

his sleek brows. He sighed, and bent his head to rub at the back of his

neck. 'Caprice, what am I going to do with you?'

'You could always go back to New York,' she said tightly. 'Start

dating women there, if you've stopped. Less commuting that way.' It

should have come out flippant, but instead it sounded choked.

He stepped nearer, and everything in her body tugged her towards

him, but she wouldn't move. Then gentle fingers stroked her cheek

and jawline, moving under her hair to tuck it back. 'I don't go for

casual dating,' he said softly. 'It bores me. It's shallow, and needlessly

expensive, and emotionally unrewarding.' She couldn't help herself,

and rubbed her cheek against his hand, much like she had last

Saturday, when things between them had changed to become

confusing, upsetting.
Sexual.

His hand was opening to cup her cheek when she jerked her head

away, flushing darkly. His hand dropped to his side. 'Will you see me

tonight?' he asked, quite calmly.

She gave a little, incredulous laugh at his persistence, unamused and

dying instantly. 'I'm going to a party,' she half whispered, and scuffed

her shoe in the grass. 'Everybody's going.'

'Who's taking you?'

She could have lied again. She could have dredged up a last-minute

escort; she was popular enough for that. She could have prevaricated

in a thousand ways, but her mind was frozen and her lips were

already shaping, in a thread of whisper, 'No one.'

His hand came under her chin, fingers caressing her skin, and then he

lifted her face to stare into her huge eyes. 'When shall I pick you up?'

he asked firmly.

For a long moment she searched his eyes, seeing nothing but

determination and steadiness. 'Seven,' she said.

'See you tonight,' he told her, and before she could move or ascertain

what he was going to do, he bent and swiftly kissed her on the

mouth. She watched him walk away, her mind a whirling blank.

After some time, realising she was alone, she bent to pick up the

racquet and popped the ball back into its container, and then headed

slowly back for the house. Inside, she met her mother, who detained

her with a hand on her arm.

'Dear, wasn't that Pierce who just drove away?' Irene asked.

'Yes.' She attempted a tentative tug to get herself free, but her mother

was having none of it.

'What an extraordinary amount of attention he's been paying you!

And how flattering, to have him fly down from New York on the

weekends! Tell me, are you seeing him again?'

'He's taking me to the party tonight, but it doesn't mean anything,'

she told Irene, and finally managed to pull herself free. 'Please, don't

make more out of it than there really is. I may never go out with him

again!'

'Nonsense, he's such a handsome, polite young- man!' her mother

marvelled. Caprice felt something surge up inside of her, and pinched

her lips against it. 'And everybody knows how successful the

Langston family business is! Why, your Pierce is a very good catch -'

'Is that all you can think of, Mother?' she burst out, shocking Irene to

silence. 'My God, he could be a child molester or a wife beater, for

all you know of him! You've talked with him once, and you've met

him twice, and all you can see are his money and his looks! Doesn't

anything else matter to you?'

Her voice rang through the hall. For a moment, mother and daughter

stared into each other's eyes, widened, both stricken, and then

Caprice whirled and ran up to her room, to lock herself into privacy.

Again, she was dressed and downstairs on time, having no use for

senseless dallying. Her parents were just preparing to leave, clad in

formal evening attire and looking splendid. Ricky had left some time

before, as he was escorting a young girl his own age. Caprice knew

her, and was secretly amused at his choice, for she was every bit his

match in wits and was quick with sharp retorts. His usual style was

the brainless, ornamental type. She rather thought she should

seriously fear for his heart.

She wished her parents a stilted farewell, for Irene was steadfastly

not looking at her and Richard was clearly aware of it and quite

puzzled. As they left, she shut the door behind them, and checked the

time on the clock in the hall. She had forsaken her wristwatch for the

evening, as she was dressed in sleek midnight blue, which was

gathered off one slender shoulder and fell in straight, severe lines to

mid-calf. The only ornamentation she wore was a winking silver

anklet atop her thin-strapped, blue sandals which raised her a good

three inches higher.

She checked her make-up carefully one last time, and the doorbell

rang. Furious at her leaping heart, she took two calming breaths, and

then went serenely to answer the summons.

But she was in for another leap in heart, for Pierce's appearance

seemed to destroy her composure. Blade, straight-cut legs, hands

tucked carelessly into his pockets with the suit jacket pulled back,

revealing a tight waistcoat and bow tie stark against the white of his

shirt, hair immaculate, face unsmiling, seeming remote, all this she

took in at a glance.

His eyes swept over her, black sparkling bright, and widened. 'I see

you're ready.'

She swallowed past something in her throat. 'Let me get my wrap and

bag,' she said, and hurried back to the den to retrieve them. He

stepped into the hall while he waited, and then stood back from the

door as she joined him. The familiar gesture of his hand to her back

escorted her to the car, and they started to the Cauleighs'.

'You look absolutely lovely,' he said quietly, after she had given him

directions.

She was thankful for the darkness in the car, for she blushed like a

gauche sixteen-year-old 'So do you,' she said, surprising herself and

him.

He laughed, the first she'd heard since that rather grim morning

encounter, and her spirits lightened unaccountably. They were soon

pulling up to the Cauleighs' house, which was ablaze with outside

lights and new arrivals. When he smoothly parked beside the road,

though there were several parking places still available alongside the

long driveway, she questioned him about it, to which he drily replied,

'My dear, I have no intention of being blocked in till the wee hours of

the morning.' He switched off the engine, and turned in his seat to

look at her from under level brows. 'I want to talk to you, later this

evening. I'd like to leave the party early.' When she didn't answer

right away, he lifted an eyebrow. 'Well?'

'Well, what?' She turned to open her car door, and was stopped by his

hand on her wrist. 'We'll just have to see.'

'That's no answer.' He was implacable, not about to let her slide on

this one.

She raised cool brows to him, and replied lightly, 'But then I never

said I would give you an answer. What I said was, we shall see.'

His mouth tightened ominously, but when she tugged her arm, he let

her go, and so they went to the party.

She knew almost everyone invited, but Pierce, having lost touch with

people in Virginia now for several years, had to be introduced to

quite a few. When Caprice caught sight of Roxanne, she excused

herself from Pierce's side and made her way over to the brunette, who

was looking particularly vibrant in a cocktail dress of deep cherry

red.

Roxanne flashed her a bright smile, pulled away from Kurt, and said

in a low undertone, 'Thought you weren't going to be seeing him any

more.'

Caprice felt the flush that washed over her features as a burning hot

sensation. 'It's—hard to explain,' she murmured. 'He's—It just

happened this morning.'

'I see.' The brunette's eyes rested on her, bright, piercing, not

unkindly. 'Don't hurt yourself, babe.'

Caprice's Jaw clenched. 'I'm trying to avoid that at all costs,' was her

grim muttered reply. She said a quick goodbye, with the promise of

getting together later to talk, and then she began to make her way

back to Pierce, who was leaning against the back of a chair while

talking with an older gentleman, whose young wife clung to his arm

and gazed with wide-eyed fascination at the younger man. According

to the rumours, she had married the older man for his money, and

from the way her eyes ate Pierce up, every lean inch of him, the

rumours were true.

Half-way across the large, crowded room, Caprice bumped into a

man who backed up unexpectedly. Quick hands shot out to steady

her toppling balance, and she laughed as she said, 'A good thing I

didn't have a drink in one hand! Emory! How are you?'

Emory's blond brows shot up, and delight lightened his whole

countenance. 'Caprice! We were looking for you.' He gave her an

affectionate hug. 'I have some good news.'

She turned her head, and looked into Petra's friendly eyes. Her grin

turned naughty, as her eyes shot swiftly down to the other woman's

left hand. A large engagement ring winked brightly, and as Petra saw

the direction of her gaze, she brought up her hand and displayed the

diamond for Caprice's approval. 'Well, it's about time!' she

exclaimed, laughing again. 'You know, he almost gave up on you!'

'Yes,' replied the other girl, with mortification. 'He told me all about

it. It was a stupid misunderstanding from the very start. And I want to

apologise to you. I was thinking some very nasty things about you

that weekend. It was all jealousy, and very unfair. I'm so sorry.'

'Nonsense,' said Caprice lightly, reaching up to Emory's tie to twitch

at it mischievously. 'You thought precisely what I wanted you to

think, my dear. I deserved every wicked thing you thought.'

As she walked away, she was treated to the sight of Petra actually

whooping, while Emory's face bore a most ludicrous expression of

surprise.

Somehow, after being from Pierce's side for more than a half hour, it

became easier and easier to find some excuse to stay away. She

flitted from person to person, flirting with every man in the room,

regardless of age, and was actually beginning to enjoy herself. A

small cluster formed around her in one corner, where she stayed for

some time, chattering away. Occasionally she would scan the room

to see where Pierce was, and he always seemed to be deep in

conversation with someone, and quite often that someone was

feminine, which, she told herself, was a very good thing. That way

she didn't have to feel guilty for deserting him, as she would if he'd

been left stranded and at a loss.-

But he was handling himself quite well, almost too well. She hadn't

expected anything else, necessarily, for he was too mature and poised

to do otherwise. But did he have to look so content without her

company? Didn't he feel the slightest bit jealous?

Her party smile slipped for a moment, and badly. She wasn't enjoying

herself at all, at all, and she wanted to go home. Then the young man

who was talking to her said something with a questioning note at the

end of it, and she dragged herself back and racked her memory for

what it was that he had said.

The Cauleighs' house was bursting with people. The Langstons were

present, including Jeffrey, who avoided her gaze and kept discreetly

away from wherever she happened to be. She noted it with some

wryness, as he'd always been annoyingly attentive before, and she

couldn't help but wonder if this new behaviour was because he knew

she was seeing Pierce, or because of shame for how he had acted two

weeks ago. Her luck with the Langston brothers did not seem to be

running well at the moment.

Then she turned her head, by pure chance, and caught her mother's

troubled gaze resting on her. They stared at each other from across

the room, wordlessly. 'Excuse me,' said Caprice to her attendant,

cutting through what he'd been saying in mid-sentence. Even as he

blinked and shut his mouth, in somewhat belated response, she was

making her way over to Irene and Richard.

Irene turned to her husband and said something in his ear, to which

he nodded, and he left her side without seeing Caprice. Mother and

daughter then stood side by side for a few moments, without

speaking.