The Letter (30 page)

“
I never had to come here.” She was visibly trembling now but didn’t care. “I never had to ask you for anything. I was already wealthy and you knew it!” Her voice cracked from overwhelming emotions. “But I didn’t know…because I knew nothing about the shares.”

“
Victoria, please hear me out,” he said quietly.

“
I never had to do this to myself. Dear God, you let me turn myself into a whore, when all along I was wealthy enough to buy that store many times over! You are a monster!” she cried out, hot tears streaming down her face as she slowly backed toward the door.

She wanted him to deny it. She wanted him to explain his behavior — to tell her he had not used her in this despicable way. But he only looked at her calmly, his expression closed and no explanation apparently forthcoming.

“
I hate you,” she said. “You will never touch me again.” Rage consumed her as she grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open.

“
I will touch you Victoria……again and again, you can be sure of that. You have no choice but to stay with me.” His words stopped her dead in her tracks. “Calm yourself and go home and I will come speak with you about this when you have had time to recover and think about your options. I am sorry it had to be this way, but I had no choice, and I shall take care of you, just as I have been. I will give you more than what the shares were worth; I had always intended it that way. What we have together is worth more than any fortune. So I am not sorry, because I would not have been able to have you any other way.”

“
You will never have me again,” she said backing out of the door.

“
I will be there tonight Victoria…we will talk and work everything out.”

Slamming the door behind her, Victoria ran blindly down the staircase and out of the bank. Tears continued to stream down her face but went unnoticed and without care.

Had her mother even known about those shares? Why hadn’t she told anyone?

It didn’t matter. The shares were gone and she had sold herself to the man who had stolen them from her. She had been used in the vilest manner possible.

But then, wasn’t that the price a woman paid for selling her body and soul to the devil?

CHAPTER 2
6

When he reached her house several hours later, it was dark inside. William hoped that the hours since their confrontation at the bank, she might have calmed. Tied up with meetings and a commitment with Faith and her family had kept him from seeing Victoria sooner.

He imagined with a hopeful mind’s eye that this late he would find her curled up in her bed. He would hold her like there was no tomorrow, beg her forgiveness and try to make her believe that he would make it up to her.

God, but he couldn’t shake this relentless sense of dread that dogged his every step the entire day.

Putting his key into the lock, William quietly opened the door to her house. His heart was pounding as he skipped the steps up to her bedroom.

Her bedroom door stood open. The curtains had not been drawn and the moonlight came through the window and pooled on the red coverlet of her perfectly-made bed. The bed they had shared countless heated, passionate, and beautiful nights together.

But the bed was empty.

Fear gripped him.

Hearing a sound behind him, William turned just as the electric light flooded the room to reveal his trusted servant, Kim Su.

“
She gone, boss,” Kim Su said, her eyes sad.

“
Where?” he demanded, moving to stand in front of the Chinese girl.

This was not happening. There had to be a sensible explanation as to where she was.

“
I hand-picked you Kim Su — to take care of her and be her friend, and tell me if anything important happened in her life,” he said as he desperately tried to grasp what was happening. He had thought he had her trapped, but she had escaped him.

“
I sorry boss. She very sad and she go away. She not want to stay anymore. She left letter on bed.”

A letter?

It sat in the center of the bed neatly folded.

“
I sorry boss . . .” Kim Su said soulfully as she moved quietly from the room. “I loved her too. I could not make her stay.”

William was numb to Kim Su’s words. The night had taken on a nightmarish, unreal quality. He went over and picked up the letter. Opening it, he began to read:

William:

By the time you read this, I will be far away. I will not go home, so don’t follow me or send one of your blasted spies to bother Mandy. I have fulfilled my part of this obligation. I have had all of the funds removed from the bank and hold them in cash along with the deed for the store that you gave to me.

You always thought you had used me, dear William. You believed that I was so naive and trusting. You might be surprised to realize that it is I who used you. I learned my lessons well, from the very best teacher. And now I have purchased my freedom and have no further use for you. The best part is that I will never need another man in my life again.

If you ever believed for a moment I cared for you, you were wrong. I hate you with every fiber of my being and I always have. You were only a means to an end, nothing more.

Signed,

Victoria Riley

Anger, bitterness, and pain exploded inside of him. Crumbling the paper in his fist, William stuffed it into his pocket.

She would be back he vowed. He would make certain of that. He would have the bank withhold her money. He would make the deed for the store null and void. He would strip her of everything and then she would come crawling back to him. And when she did, he would make her pay.

Striding from the room, he left without stopping to speak to Kim Su who stood motionless by the front window. A cold mask hid his emotions in the shadows of the darkened room as he passed by her. Rage and pain surged inside of him like a fresh deep wound.

But he would not admit it was pain. For him to feel pain he would have to care for her. He would have to love her.

And he didn’t love her. Whatever his earlier thoughts were, they were foolish. He could never love her. She was nothing more than a warm body, a mistress that could be considered a favorite. Nothing more. He had been a fool to come over here thinking he loved her or that he would marry her.

He slammed the door behind him and strode to his waiting carriage. First he would track her to Fort Worth or to the ends of the earth, whichever it may be. By week’s end she would be on a train coming back to him.

She would be back … because one ever escaped the long arm of the Octopus.

CHAPTER 27

She was so tired. Wearily, Victoria stood and dragged herself to the mirror of the musty hotel room. The bright sunshine was filtered through grime that caked the single narrow window.

Despite the size of her stomach, her face reflected thin in the cracked mirror of the shadowed room. Large dark, blue eyes of a stranger stared back at her.

She was so weak. And she had given up. She simply couldn’t run anymore and wasn’t even sure why she had run in the first place.

Just this morning she had spotted another poster with her sketched picture on it. Before long, someone would see under her widow’s hat and know who she was. Did he post signs even in the most remote places…even all the way in Utah? Of course he had. It was so like him.

She could only remain hidden for so long.

For months she had gone from town to town thinking that with the money she had, she thought she could run forever. She could have gone on for a very long time, except she was robbed in New Mexico.

She had only gone out of her hotel room for a short time, just to get something to eat. When she returned, everything was gone, her clothes, most of the money she had taken from her account at the bank and even the documents that gave her title to the house in San Francisco and store.

Luckily, Victoria had some money in her purse, but even that didn’t last long. She should not have been so foolish to believe hiding it under the mattress would be enough.

After that, she had desperately and unsuccessfully tried to reach Mandy by telex. Probably Mandy had gone to San Francisco to find her.

Even if Mandy responded, Victoria knew she could not show up in their small town in her condition. They would both be shunned.

Her options had simply run out. William had won. And tomorrow she would get on that train and go back to him. To do otherwise, could cost her and the child’s life.

She had no money left for food, her hotel bill was only paid for one more night and she had just enough money for the 9:00 am express train ride back to San Francisco.

Her heart quickened at the thought. Running had been futile because she loved him. God in heaven, she should hate him. But she hated herself for wanting to go back to him and for loving him. And she always would. She would never be able to run away from that.

Only her anger at his attempts to find her had driven her to keep running. She despised the notion of sharing him with another woman until the end of her days, but perhaps she could steal moments of happiness while securing some security and happiness for her child.

Going back to her life with Mandy wouldn’t have taken the pain away or solved the problems. The baby would come and she would bring shame on Mandy in the small town of Fort Worth. At least in San Francisco she would be somewhat anonymous. It was a big city filled with all kinds of people, from all walks of life.

No one would likely even notice her except the society she would never be part of. And William would be there with her sometimes, he had said that to her countless times. He might not love her, but he cared for her and she knew he would take care of her and their child.

If he still wanted her, she needed to lean on William, as she never had before. Her heart missed a beat over the frightening thought. He was married by now. So would he still want her?

Victoria knew she was so large that he would probably be repelled by the very sight of her. He would also be angry about a bastard child even thought it was his own fault. It would serve him right anyway. Let him deal with this situation he has put her in.

And now she was too tired to fight her feelings any more. She wanted to live and she wanted this baby more than life itself, so she had to go back and find help. Another wave of weakness came over her. To live and to make sure the baby lived she had to go to him.

After the birth she could still go home to Fort Worth. Right now she needed him. She took heart in the fact that the posters meant he was still looking for her.

Going over to the bed she lay down again. She would sleep now, and maybe that would take away this bone deep tiredness. She had to have the strength to walk to the station tomorrow.

No sooner had she put her head down when it seemed the sun was streaming through the holes in the battered curtains and the grime on the glass of the hotel room. Slowly, Victoria rose, only slightly stronger than yesterday after her rest.

Washing as best she could, she pulled her hair back and pinned it up. Putting the now battered black, veiled hat on, she walked to the door. It wasn’t necessary to pack. She had nothing left to pack.

The only important thing was getting on that train.

Slowly, she moved from the hotel to the almost empty street. Each step was calculated and considered. Sweat beads broke out on her forehead. It was a long way to the train station and seemed longer this morning, but at least it was cooler than it had been yesterday. She had stopped for a drink of water at a well, but that was all she had time for, or could afford.

People passed, but no one stopped to help her as she slowly approached the station. Everyone knew she was alone and unmarried so her sins were obvious.

The world was cruel to women. No one even raised an eyebrow over a man’s indiscretions, but for a woman, it was as if she were the worst human being. Even in her desperate situation, no one offered her help because she was pregnant with no wedding ring. She should have been smart enough to have considered buying one before embarking on this escape.

But she couldn’t concern herself with that now. It was almost time for the train to leave.

Dear God, help me get to the train, she prayed. Trying to walk a little faster, she approached the platform.

With exceptional effort, she climbed the steps and handed the conductor her ticket.

“
One for San Francisco,” the man said, and to her relief smiling, as if she was any other normal customer. She grabbed the railing and pulled herself up the steps into the train. His hand shot out and he grasped her arm helping her up the steps. Giving him a wane smile, Victoria managed the last step and went through the small door.

There were only a few empty seats on the crowded passenger car, and she was so large it was difficult to pass through the aisle past the staring passengers.

“
All aboard for San Francisco!” the conductor yelled down the platform, and the train whistle blew.

San Francisco….she was going home.

Putting her head back on the velvet seat, Victoria closed her eyes against the hot, irritated passengers settling in as comfortably as they could.