Wise Folly (16 page)

Tabby interrupted calmly. “That’s ’cause it was a secret until you were feeling better.” She glanced up at Noah. “And Noah says I have an aunt that’s gonna love me and treat me like she’s my grandma—and
I
might have brothers and sisters, too!”

Stunned, Dianna glanced from Tabby to Noah, her mind unable to function at its normal pace. She was caught in a web of words and she couldn’t seem to grasp their meaning.

Noah raised his hand against the barrage he was obviously expecting, a twinkle in his eyes as she
sent
surprised and confused looks around the room. “I never said a word to Tabby about brothers and sisters. That is all her own idea.”

David decided this was the time to add a little levity. “We’ll leave the deed to you
two
. No sense everybody getting into the act”

Dianna slumped back into the soft cushions as they all laughed. The whole world was mad and these people were more insane than most
.
Didn’t they realize that she had been coerced into this marriage, that all she wanted was a way out?

“But I will have brothers and sisters, won’t
I
?” Tabby asked earnestly.

“If it makes you happy, then you’ll have brothers and sisters,” Noah stated calmly, ignoring Dianna’s reddened face.
"Now why don't you go and see which room is yours?"

"Can I pick one
?
"

Noah grinned.
"You'll know which one is yours
.

It didn't take long for Tabby to walk as quickly as she could toward the hall. Her breath became short and she stopped, waited several seconds, then went again, just as she was taught. Dianna was at her side, disappearing down the hall for a few minutes.

As she came back into the living area, she heard her sister's voice.

June gave an embarrassed laugh. “I always said Dianna should have a dozen or more. She’s so good with children.”

“
David
chuckled. "At
least they would keep her occupied.
She's so used to doing ten things at once,
and
it's a hard habit to break.
My sister used to say, ‘Busy hands are happy hands.’ ”

“If only Mom and Dad were here. They’d be so happy to see
her
married.
.
"
June halted at the thought she should never have put into words.

Dianna walked back into the room.
“Yes, married at last” Dianna retorted bitterly. “
Alt
hough I don’t know if it would make all that much difference to them. They promised to throw me out if I ever came near them with my ‘illegitimate child.’ I believe those were Mom’s
words. They were a little old-
fashioned, but the meaning came across loud and clear.” She walked over to the large picture window, not wanting Noah to see the pain and bitterness she always felt when she remembered her parents’ anger on learning of her pregnancy.

“I know they were cruel, Dianna,” her sister soothed, coming up behind her, “but they came from the old school that says wrong is wrong, no matter what the circumstances.”

“Yes, wrong is wrong. What happened to me was wrong, but did they bother to understand? When
I
needed their support, did they help?”

June’s face was white with ten
sion
, but Noah returned Dianna’s look with calm assurance. “No, Dianna, you chose to make it on your own
, and you did a hell of a job.
”

Dianna faltered, understanding the words that had meaning only for her.

“Could I see Tabby’s room before we leave?” June asked
in an attempt
to change the awkward subject that she had unwittingly brought up. Dianna
took a deep breath and forced herself to smile. She was
already regretting her show of temper.
“Of course.”

Dianna led the way across the living room, down the hall, and into the bedroom reserved for Tabby.
The little girl was on the rug in front of
a brand new
setup for a Barbie doll, marching the doll from house to
car. She
never looked up, but continued to talk to her doll, explaining to her what they were doing.

Dianna kept her voice low.
“There are four bedrooms in all. Tabby’s room is next to mine.”

June stuck her head around
the
door before entering the large bedroom. It was decorated in amethyst and green, which coordinated with the violet and leaf design on one wallpapered wall. The bed was canopied and
the
coverlet was white eyelet
to match
the curtains. The carpet was a pale amethyst and the pictures that hung on the wall picked up the same hue. But the furniture added the prettiest touch of all. It was French
Provincial
in design, but done in a pale antique green.

“Oh, how beautiful!” June declared as she stared in awe at her surroundings. “It’s just like a little girl’s room should be!” June trailed a finger over a small vase of fresh daisies sitting on the nightstand. Flowers for a little girl of six.

“What really happened when Noah went to your house on Saturday?” Dianna asked quietly.

Her sister brushed the question away.
“What a silly question!”

“Answer me.”

June turned quickly, tilting her chin determinedly at her sister. “I already told you. He asked who Tabby’s father was, and I told him. Then he took Tabby out for a ride and when he came back he told us that he planned to marry you.” June’s voice wavered, pleading with her to understand.

“You told him that Charles was Tabby’s father?”

“Yes, but he didn’t want to believe it at first—he kept insisting there must have been someone else, someone after the rape. Up till then David had been doing most of the talking, but I couldn’t let him say those things about you. He was trying to make it seem as though you were some kind of loose woman, when all those years it was his family that was responsible for the suffering you went through. I told him just what I thought of him then.”

At her sister’s stunned look, June hesitated before continuing. “I told him Tabby was his responsibility and that if he was any kind of a man he’d support you both!”

“Oh, my God,” Dianna whispered. “June, tell me the truth. How did Noah know to call you that night when I was sick?”

June blanched at the question, answering her sister in a low monotone. “I’d spoken to him before about you
.
About a week ago. It seems
Wescomp had
hired a private detective to find out all about you when you
sent your resume
. The detective gave him my number and when he called he sounded so d
etermined.
I didn’t have the heart to hang up. He said he’d lost you once before and he didn’t intend to make the same mistake twice. I—I answered all his questions. I thought he deserved to know the truth.”

“He knew.” Dianna shook her head slowly from side to side. The night of the cocktail party, when he had brought her up here, he had already known the answers to his questions. He had played with her like a cat with a very tired mouse.

“I couldn’t tell you, Dianna. You do see that, don’t you? I wanted to, just before the cocktail party, but you
were always
so angry at the idea of Noah finding out about Tabby. I didn’t dare! Someone had to do something. He should have been with you all along, not just now! It was his brother that was responsible for Tabby—it’s only right that he should care for you both!
After all, it's not like he couldn't afford it, Dianna!
”

Hysteria bubbled in her throat
.
All this time when she had been feeling trapped by this farce of a marriage, it was really Noah who had been snared! He was the one who had been forced to take responsibility for his dead brother’s child! He was the one who had had June forcibly reminding him of his obligations.

She chuckled, her chuckle turning into laughter as unheeded tears streamed down her cheeks and throat to dampen the neckline of her dress. She laughed softly, but she couldn’t stop. Grabbing the side of the bed and sitting down, she held her aching stomach as the laughter shook her.

“Don’t you see?” Dianna gurgled as her sister stared in amazement. “It’s all so funny! All this time I thought he trapped me, but it was really the other way around!
He was f
orced to pay his brother’s account,
to
be his brother’s keeper. Tabby, you, me—we all forced
him
into a marriage he didn’t want!”

The laughter died in her throat and
her
tears turned to sobs. Dianna cradled her head in trembling hands as tears poured through her fingers.

“I did it for you,” June whispered. “I thought it would help. It did, didn’t it? Tabby’s going to have her surgery, you’re taken care of,
and you
have a beautiful home . . .” She broke off as Dianna looked up, incredulous.

“You mean that as long as I’m taken care of it doesn’t matter whether I love him or he loves me?” She watched June’s mouth snap shut “It’s all right that on our wedding night he left me to go to his mistress? Would you be half as happy if David didn’t love you? If
David
had other women?”

June's face turned white.
“No!”

“Yes!” Dianna mimicked. “We were raised wrong, June. We were raised to expect things that just aren’t real. ‘Be good and good things will come to you. Turn the other cheek.’ There must be a million little sayings Mother used, and they’re all false! The only thing that makes this whole mess meaningful is Tabby. I don’t care about anyone else!”

Dianna stood and walked to the bathroom, closing the door, and her mind, to June’s imploring words. She just couldn’t take any more!

It
could have been anywhere between five minutes to an hour since Dianna had slammed the door on June. She didn’t know. She sat on the edge of the bathtub and stared into the tiled shower stall until her limbs cried out for release from their stiff position. She finally stood and stared into the mirror, seeing the puffiness tears had made. When the door opened, she continued to blot her eyes with cool water, ignoring Noah’s presence.

“June told me what happened.”

She folded the dampened towel and placed it carefully on the rack before turning to face him. His brows were drawn together in a dark frown to frame questioning gray-black eyes. “She never could keep a secret—even as a child
.
”

“No one can make me do anything, Dianna.”

She ignored the implication. “That was proved best last night
.
You wouldn’t have gone to Catherine if you didn’t want to.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were jealous.”

She replaced a loose pin in her French pleat “You do know better, though.”

His gaze narrowed as he observed her every move.
“And what about you? Do you ever operate under a sense of duty or responsibility for anyone besides Tabby?”

“What I feel for Tabby is probably foreign to you. It’s called
mother-
love.” Dianna remained calm. It was like a chess game—which piece would he move next?
How would she defend herself?
She was exhausted from playing but couldn't give up yet.

“Are you saying self-sacrifice is automatic proof of love?” He quirked an eyebrow as he casually leaned against the counter and crossed his arms,
seemingly
perfectly relaxed.

“Have you been reading up on the subject? You wouldn’t try to tell me you have firsthand knowledge of it would you? Is that what you mistakenly call the arrangement you have with Catherine?” She smiled as she matched his casual attitude, leaning against the shower door. “It must have been misspelled in my book. We used to call
that emotion
‘lus
t
.”

White queen takes black bishop.

He shrugged. “Lust is as good a word as any other for our relationship. She needed help with her career and I needed an occasional bed partner. We both knew the rules and based our relationship on those needs.”

“Then perhaps you’d better explain the rules to Catherine. I have the distinct feeling she ha
s
other plans for you. That is, if you’re really being honest”

Noah ran a hand through his black hair, ruffling its usual neatness. “
I
never passed myself off as a monk. I just happen to prefer a set arrangement
instead of
hunting for a stranger every time
I
feel the urge.”

“Is that why you married me?” She gave him a look of pure innocence. “I remember only too well the days when you weren’t so lazy. You would pull someone
out of the office pool
, clean her up, take
her
to bed, then set her up in a small retirement home for cast-off lovers.”