The Wedding Guest (Colorado Billionaires Book 5) (9 page)

Vicky sipped at her orange juice. “Maria’s parents arrived last evening, and her mother and I talked on the phone for two hours before you two got home. Let me tell you, speaking a foreign language on the telephone is the hardest thing ever. My poor brain hasn’t recovered yet. I can hardly wait for Jason to fly in.”

Brewster showed polite interest. “Is he coming tonight?”

“Unfortunately, no. He will arrive about an hour before the wedding tomorrow.”

“So the Darbys have property in Spain?”

“Yes, and the Spanish branch of the family has been doing an amazing job with our business interests there.”

Madlyn feigned interest and toyed with her waffle. Kirby’s knee nudged hers, and she giggled.

Vicky smiled. “Now now, you two. There’ll be plenty of time for giggling after I survive this wedding.”

Kirby grinned. “Okay,” he said. But a moment later, he and Madlyn were openly holding hands.

Brewster spared them a grim smile.

They all rode up to the Manse in the BMW. Vicky made a valiant effort at small talk, but both Brewster and Kirby were clearly preoccupied. Once they arrived, Madlyn and Kirby could not let go of each other’s hands.

Vicky teased Madlyn, “Come on, you can do it, Madz. Just open your fingers. There’s going to be cake, and I’ll let you have all my icing.”

Madlyn laughed. “Okay.” She and Kirby shared a warm kiss.

“Soon,” he said.

“Have fun,” Madz replied.

“How? You’ll be a hundred yards away.”

Brewster rolled his eyes, but his voice was gentle when he said, “The groom is waiting.”

Vicky took Madlyn’s hand and tugged her away. “We’ll see you two in a few hours,” she said.

Madlyn went with her, but her heart wasn’t in it.

“You’ve got it bad,” teased Vicky. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get to sit together during the wedding. I’ll be translating for Maria’s mother. Her dad doesn’t seem to have the patience to do it.”

“Poor lady.”

“She’s really quite charming. I think you’ll like her a lot. After a week of traveling for their honeymoon, Maria and Ray will come to Eagle’s Toe, and her parents will join us eventually as well. They plan to do some sightseeing in the States before heading home.”

“That’s nice,” Madlyn said, only half listening. She could think of nothing but Kirby. She followed Vicky through a beautiful glass-walled room at the back of the house, along a corridor where maids were silently cleaning and polishing, and toward a set of double doors. Vicky opened them and entered the room beyond.

As Madlyn started to follow Vicky inside,Vanessa stepped into the doorway. “Oh, no, dear, this is for members of the wedding party. I’m sure you have other things to tend to.” She straightened herself smugly and looked down her nose at Madlyn.

Madlyn frowned. “Since you’re a bridesmaid and not the bride, I think I’ll just ignore your rudeness. Now if you’ll excuse me, my friend is waiting.”

Vanessa’s mouth dropped open. She pressed her hand to her throat. “Me? Rude? Oh no, missy. Rude is having the gall to intrude on a private party. This Manse is practically my home. Why, the groom is my future brother-in-law. And as for the bride, she’s a foreigner.”

Madlyn glared at Vanessa but held her tongue. After all, she didn’t know these people. And what was all this about the groom being her future brother-in-law? Was she stalking other men besides Kirby? Maybe Vanessa did have the right to tell her whether she could join the others or not. Maybe there was some Rich People Rule about such things. But she wasn’t going to back down in front of anyone as unpleasant as Vanessa. She had a few Madlyn Rules, too, and one of them was never let a mean girl win.

Vicky tapped Vanessa on the shoulder, startling her.

“Excuse me,” she said coldly, “but you’re blocking the door.”

Vanessa started to snap at her, but hesitated as she caught a glimpse of the other girls in the wedding party huddled near the baby grand, watching her intently. She straightened her posture and brushed some invisible lint off her slacks, then said in an exaggeratedly sweet voice, “I’m so sorry. Of course you’ll want your assistant at hand.”

Vicky motioned Madlyn through the door. Once she was inside, Vicky slipped an arm around her shoulders. “Madlyn is a guest, and she’s my best friend.”

Vanessa had regrouped and waved a hand as she turned away from Vicky to share her next pronouncement with the other bridesmaids. “Well, the musician has invited a guest to the wedding. Isn’t that charming?” She laughed her staccato laugh.

The other bridesmaids didn’t join in.

That caught Vanessa up short. She cleared her throat and spread her hands, glancing from one bridesmaid to the next. “What am I missing?”

Vicky gave Madlyn a squeeze and motioned for her to join the group by the piano. As Madlyn got comfortable in an elegant chair, Vicky said evenly, “It appears you’re unaware of a few things.”

“Such as?” Vanessa tried to maintain her haughty attitude, but without the backing of the other bridesmaids, her self-assurance was fading.

“Such as the bride’s last name,” said Vicky, settling on the piano bench. Her long fingers danced over the keys, and the lush tones of the baby grand filled the room.

Vanessa was confused. “Velasquez?”

Vicky smiled like a woman with a secret. She winked at Madlyn. “Do you want to tell her? Or should I?”

Madlyn grinned from ear to ear. “Oh, you should explain it. I just want to watch.”

Vicky finished her melody with a flourish and addressed Vanessa. “The bride may be a foreigner, as you so quaintly put it, but her family is firmly established in America as well as Europe. Very old money.” She let her right hand trill idly on the uppermost octave of the piano. “In Spain, people actually have four last names, but they often shorten things by using only two of them, the father’s and the mother’s. In that order. Velasquez is the name of the mother’s family. Her father’s last name is Darby.” She plinked triumphantly on the keys.

Vanessa looked very uncomfortable, but there was no comprehension in her expression.

Madlyn leaned back in her chair and said sweetly, “Just like Vicky’s husband. Jason Darby is the bride’s cousin and the head of the American branch of the family.”

Vanessa paled so suddenly, Madlyn regretted taking pleasure in her revelation.

“Are you okay?” she asked. Maybe she should have specified second cousin.

Vanessa put a hand to her throat and coughed. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I need some air. I’m not feeling quite right today.” She moved smoothly to the door and left the room.

Madlyn shrugged. “I’ve got to give her points for grace under fire. That was quite an exit.”

*****

Kirby had no desire to join his stepbrother and his friends on their ride around the property. It was just an excuse to start drinking early and make jokes in questionable taste. Although he knew several of Ray’s friends because they’d been guests at the Manse several times, he always felt they treated him as an afterthought. He hung back, searching for an excuse not to go along.

Brewster had settled on a chair near the stables with one of the cooks, who’d come outside for a smoke break. They were deep in conversation about mutual friends when Brewster’s phone rang.

Kirby froze.

Brewster answered the call. His responses were short and somber. When he finished, he said, “Kirby, we must leave at once for the City.”

“Is it Uncle?”

“His doctor says we should come right away.”

Kirby nodded, his movements tight and controlled as he made every effort to keep himself together. “I need to tell Madlyn what’s happening.”

Brewster touched Kirby’s arm. “Can you leave a note? The doctor said to come as quickly as possible. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

Kirby’s jaw worked with the effort of controlling the jumble of feelings that warred within him, but Brewster was right. Surely Madz would understand. He patted his pockets for something to write on.

The cook saved the day. He pulled a notepad out of the pocket of his apron and tore off a sheet. He handed it to Kirby with a pencil.

Kirby wrote quickly.

“Dearest Madz,

You have won my heart, and I look forward to the day we can be together again. Uncle has taken a turn for the worse, and I must leave. Please call me as soon as you’re able. Love, Kirby.” He added his cell phone number to the bottom of the page. He was so focused on his task, he didn’t see Vanessa approach from the house.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “You look stricken.”

Brewster intoned, “It’s a bad day.”

Vanessa sniffed. “Tell me about it.”

Kirby folded the note twice and wrote Madlyn’s name on it. He glanced at Vanessa, then said to the cook, “Please give this to Maria. She’ll know who Madlyn is. It’s very important that she get it right away.”

Brewster was already at the car, which was parked on the bricks across from the stable. “Kirby, please.”

Kirby pressed the note into the cook’s hand, nodded at Vanessa, and left.

Vanessa frowned as she watched him go. Then her expression cleared a bit. “It must be his uncle,” she said to the cook, using her most sympathetic tone. “I’m going to see Madlyn in a few minutes when I rejoin the ladies. Would you like me to deliver that for you?”

The cook nodded and smiled, then stubbed out his cigarette and headed back to the house.

Vanessa ambled over to a bench beneath a naked tree. Its leaves had all jumped ship, practically overnight. They crunched beneath her feet. She settled slowly on the bench and glanced casually about, making sure the cook was out of sight. Then she unfolded the note as if it were for her and read what Kirby had written to Madlyn. She stared at the paper for a long time, then finally swallowed several times. Her teeth ground together, giving her angular features an even sharper look. Very slowly, she refolded the note, then crushed it in the palm of her hand. She took a deep breath, then another. At last, the hint of a smirk settled on her lips.

*****

Vicky got up from the piano to a light round of applause from the other ladies present. She smiled briefly, then knelt beside Madlyn. In a soft voice, she said, “Now I feel guilty, like I’m the mean girl. I should go apologize to Vanessa.”

“I’m the one who landed the final punch. Maybe I should go,” said Madlyn, hoping desperately that Vicky would think that was a horrible idea.

Instead, her friend looked grateful and said, “Would you? I don’t want any friction so close to Maria’s big day. Speaking of which, I told her I’d come get her when all the girls were gathered. She has little gifts for them and wants to talk about the rehearsal tonight.” She patted Madlyn’s arm, got up, and trotted through the double doors they’d entered by, headed for the staircase.

Madlyn felt like an empty balloon, all limp and wobbly. “Great,” she muttered under her breath. “Me and my big mouth.” She ignored the other girls’ furtive glances and forced herself out of the chair, mumbling, “Guess I better go look for her. Oh joy.” She exited through the same door as Vicky. The uniformed maids were still hard at work. One was rolling a carpet sweeper, the other dusting picture frames. Madlyn felt instantly comfortable. Here were people she could relate to, working-class human beings with noses that didn’t disjoint when a normal person entered the room.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” she said to the sweeper. “Did you happen to see which direction the skinny blond lady went?” She smiled hopefully.

“The pretty one just now? Or the other one?”

Madlyn grinned. “The other one.”

The maid covered her smile. “She went out toward the stables.” She pointed to a long hall. “You’ll see. It goes to the glass room, and from there through the French doors and past the garage.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“No problem. Any friend of Kirby’s….” She let it hang.

Madlyn was pleased. She bounced along the hallway, where she found the glass-walled room and the French doors. One had been left ajar. She went through it and headed toward the stables. Halfway down the row of cars, she spotted Vanessa sitting on a stone bench under a naked tree and approached hesitantly.

“Hey.”

Vanessa lifted her head like a fawn in a thicket. “Oh. It’s you. Hello.”

“I just wanted to apologize for making you look bad in there.” Madlyn scuffed the toe of her shoe on the bricks. “I mean, that’s not my usual style. Anyone could have confused Maria’s last names. You didn’t know I was practically family, what with her cousins being my best friends and all.” She knew she was stretching the point to include Jason, but hey, it was the price he had to pay for robbing her of her best friend’s company.

For a moment, Vanessa looked touched. “It was very big of you to come out and apologize. I accept.”

Madlyn felt sheepish. “Good. And if you go back inside, there’s some gift giving going on for the girls in the wedding. Which is you. Not me. I’m just a guest.” She could feel Vanessa’s eyes on her for several seconds.

Finally, Vanessa stood up, unfolding like a baby giraffe. Madlyn had to tilt her head back to look her in the eye.

Vanessa said civilly, “I may have judged you too hastily. You have a very decent streak in you. I can understand why Kirby finds you attractive.”

“Gee, thanks.” The words were out of her mouth too soon. She could already see the cold drawbridge lowering over Vanessa’s features, hiding any further glimpses of humanity.

“But you must realize that his station prevents him from considering you for a serious relationship.”

Madlyn frowned. “What are you talking about? He’s a chauffeur.”

Vanessa threw her head back and laughed. “Is that what he told you? Oh my, now I understand. Kirby will play his little games. It’s my turn to explain the wedding party to you. Kirby’s last name is Banks, but he is the groom’s stepbrother. He was raised a Forbes, and someday, like his brother, he will be rolling in Forbes money. And when that happens, I will be the woman at his side, not you.” She stepped around Madlyn as if she were horse droppings and pranced back toward the house, pausing at a wheelbarrow piled with manure to drop a crumpled piece of paper into it.