Blazing Love: A Hot, Romantic Suspense Series, Book 2 (The Carlisle Sisters) (8 page)

“You are so forgiving, Trace.  I hope some of that compassion rubs off on me,” Beth chuckled.

Tracy rubbed her arm against Beth’s.

“There!  Now you have more than you need,” Tracy joked.

They laughed as they made their way into the villa.

“What’s so funny?”  Grey asked.

“Nothing,” Beth smiled.

Grey and Blaze looked at each other and shrugged, deciding it was a sister thing.

“I’ve hired a luxury bus to take us to Franche Comté so we’ll have more room during the drive,” Grey said.  “It’s a great distance from here and the trip will take all day and most of the night.  It will be nightfall before we arrive.”

“We should call Hélène to inform her that we are coming,” Beth said.

“She isn’t expecting us?”  Blaze asked.

“We did not give a definite answer as to whether we would come,” Beth explained.  “I wanted to speak with you and Blaze first.”

“Alright.  Call her but hurry.  The mini bus will be here shortly,” Grey advised.

Beth went into the next room to make the call while Blaze went to grab their bags.

“What are we walking into?  It could be some kind of crazy trap for all we know,” Tracy asked Blaze worriedly.

“It could be.  But, so far, Hélène has been truthful.  I did a background check on her and she is who she says she is,” Blaze said.

“But is Grey who she says
he
is?”  Tracy asked in concern.

“That’s what we are about to find out,” Grey said upon returning to the room.  “I have a lot of questions that I want answered.  And going there seems to be the only way to get those answers.”

Beth came into the salon looking disturbed.  Grey noticed her mood.

“What’s wrong, babe?”  Grey asked.

“When I called Hélène to tell her we were on our way she insisted that we stay at her home.  She said that you’re family and it is where you belong.  I tried to say no but she insisted,” Beth said anxiously.

“OK.  Where did you leave things?”  Grey asked.

“I guess I left it with us staying at Victory’s End,” Beth said.  “I’m sorry if that’s not what you wanted.  But Hélène was so insistent; almost desperate for us to stay with her.  Every reason I gave for why we should stay at the hotel she dismissed categorically.  I finally just gave in.”

“Why was she so determined that we stay with her?”  Tracy asked.

“Whatever the reason,” Blaze said, “if there is a mystery to be solved, where better to solve it than right there at the castle.”

“Is it really a castle?”  Tracy asked.

“It sure is,” Blaze said.  “And it’s been in the Lemaire family for over three hundred years.”

“I bet it holds a great many secrets,” Beth said.

“Some of which we are about to uncover,” Grey said.  He looked out the window and saw the mini bus rounding the half-moon drive.  It stopped in front of the portico.  “The bus is here.  It’s time for the adventure to begin.”

*****

Hélène knelt in the herb garden and gathered parsley, sage, thyme and rosemary.  As she was laying the herbs in her basket she thought of what was to come.  Greyson and his friends were finally on their way and would arrive late that night. 

Hélène was excited yet apprehensive.  Greyson would be walking into danger but it could not be helped.  He had to come to secure his birthright; a legacy he knew nothing about but one that would change his life forever.  She just had to convince him that the change would be for the better.

“Aunt Hélène, I thought I would find you out here.”

Hélène looked up at the smiling face of her nephew, Jehan.

“Bonjour, Jehan.  How good it is to see you,” Hélène smiled.

Jehan knelt beside Hélène to kiss both of her cheeks.

“You look beautiful, as usual, dear Aunt,” Jehan grinned.

“Nonsense!  I am an old lady whose beauty is of yesteryear; if I ever had any at all!” she smiled wanly.

“How modest and terribly incorrect you are.  You were a ravishing star in your youth and the light still shines bright today,” Jehan complimented lavishly.

Hélène looked at him in awe.  How unlike his father he was.  Claude would scarcely pay a woman a compliment unless there was something in it for him.

How Claude had sired such a fine man as Jehan was almost unfathomable.  It was obvious that Jehan took after his late mother; a loving, kind and gentle soul.  A woman whose death Hélène always blamed Claude for.  His callous and brutal treatment of Elyse had driven her to the cliffs of Étretat.  She had chosen suicide over the prospect of spending the rest of her life under the thumb of her tyrannical husband; even though it meant leaving her son behind with that very man.

“What brings you to La fin de la Victoire,” Hélène asked Jehan.

“Just a visit to see how everyone is.  I know it can be difficult dealing with père,” Jehan said gently, speaking of his father.

“Your père can be a challenge but it is one that I have grown accustomed to,” Hélène said.  “At least there are no surprises with Claude; he is always the same.”

“I am sorry, Aunt Hélène.  I have tried to speak with him about his attitude many times but it does no good,” Jehan said sadly.

“As I said, Claude is as he is.  He will not change; and if he did, I believe that would send me to my maker,” Hélène smiled ruefully.

Jehan chuckled.

“How is Uncle Marceau?”  Jehan asked.

Hélène looked down at the herbs and began clipping off bay leaves to place in the basket.  She would have liked to tell Jehan of Marceau’s improvement but she couldn’t trust him to not tell Claude.  And asking him not to speak to his father about it would only open a can of worms that she’d rather not deal with.

“He is the same,” she lied.  She hated telling an untruth, but it was necessary.

“I am sorry to hear that.  I will continue to pray for him.  I know all is not lost,” Jehan said sympathetically.  “I was glad to hear of your brief getaway.  Did you enjoy it?”

“It was productive,” Hélène answered, instantly regretting her poor choice of words.

If Jehan thought her answer odd he did not show it.

“Good. Although you are devoted to Uncle Marceau, it was good for you to get away for a respite,” he said.

Hélène only nodded, relieved.  Jehan rose.

“I must be on my way.  But I will come back to see you soon,” he said.

Hélène looked up at him.

“I wish you lived here at the castle.  It would be a joy to have you here.  Won’t you reconsider and stay?”  Hélène asked.

Jehan smiled wanly and shook his head negatively.

“I cannot share a roof with my père.  I cannot tolerate his behavior.  I wonder how you do.” Jehan said.

“As I said: one can grow used to it.  Most of the time I simply ignore him; which causes him much aggravation,” she smiled gleefully.

Jehan laughed.

“It might be worth moving in just to see his reaction to being snubbed first-hand,” Jehan chuckled.

Hélène laughed as well.

“Come back soon, Jehan.  It is always a joy to see you,” Hélène smiled.

“I will Aunt.  I promise,” he swore.

He bent to kiss her cheeks then sauntered in the house.  He entered the kitchen and saw Claude carrying a food tray across the room.

“Having a bite of lunch, Père?”  Jehan asked.

Claude was startled and nearly spilled the bowl of soup that was on the tray.

“Must you sneak up on a person like that?”  Claude snapped.

“I wasn’t sneaking up on you.  Why are you so jumpy?”  Jehan asked.

He watched his father closely.  Claude had been acting cagey of late and Jehan didn’t trust him.  Claude was known for his unscrupulous behavior; and it was no secret that he disliked his brother, Marceau.  Perhaps Aunt Hélène’s request that he move in wasn’t a bad idea.  He would be better able to keep an eye on his père if he were living there.

“I am not jumpy.  You just startled me,” Claude snapped.

Jehan crossed to his père and looked down at the tray he held.

“Mmm!  That soup looks delicious,” Jehan said.  He picked up the spoon to taste the soup. 

Claude stepped away from him.

“Away with you!”  Claude nearly shouted.  “This is not for you.”

“Why not?  Food always tastes better from someone else’s plate,” Jehan grinned.

“This is for Marceau and there is not enough for you,” Claude snarled.

“How odd.  Margot always cooks enough for an army,” Jehan replied.

“She did not prepare this.  I did so myself,” Claude said.

“
You
?” Jehan asked in disbelief.

“Yes.  I wanted to do something special for my poor invalid brother.  Is that so strange?”  Claude challenge.

“For you?  Yes.  Yes, it is,” Jehan answered honestly.

“You disrespectful little scoundrel!  Get out of my way!”  Claude ordered.

Jehan shrugged and stepped past Claude, bumping into his shoulder and causing him to spill the soup onto the floor.

“You idiot!  Look what you’ve done!”  Claude yelled.

“I’m so sorry,” Jehan said, squatting down to pick up the bowl.

“What’s going on here?”  Hélène asked, arriving in the doorway.

“Père prepared some soup for Uncle Marceau and I accidentally caused him to spill it,” Jehan explained.  He turned and looked at his father.  “I’m sorry.”

Claude glared at Jehan.

“You are
hardly
sorry, Jehan,” Claude spat.  “I think that act was deliberate.”

“Indeed, no.  It was truly an accident,” Jehan said contritely.

Claude threw the tray onto the long wooden table.

“Clean it up,” Claude demanded.

He walked briskly out of the kitchen.

Hélène looked at the small pot that Claude had used to prepare the soup.  She studied it thoughtfully.

“Why would Claude prepare a meal for Marceau?  He cannot stand him,” she said.

“He said he wanted to do something nice for his brother,” Jehan stated.

“That makes no sense,” Hélène muttered.  “He’s
never
done anything nice for his brother.

“Maybe he is having a change of heart,”  Jehan shrugged.

Hélène looked at him incredulously.

“I will clean up the mess, Aunt,” Jehan continued.

He picked up the tray and moved to the sink.  Hélène grasped the pot.

“I will wash and you dry,” she said.  She wanted to scrub that pot until it shone clean and sparkling.  She didn’t know if the soup had been tainted but she wasn’t taking any chances.

“As you like,” Jehan said amicably.

As Hélène washed the dishes she wondered if Jehan bumping into Claude had truly been an accident.  Did he suspect his father as she and Marceau did?  That would be an interesting twist; and Jehan, a much needed ally.

Chapter 6

B
eth and her companions were exhausted.  They had been traveling for hours and between the heavy traffic they’d encountered on the way out of town and the steep, winding, mountainous roads that awaited them once they’d escaped the congestion, it seemed like they’d barely moved at all.  So, when they realized that it was nearly midnight and they still had six more hours of driving to do before reaching Victory’s End, they unanimously decided to stop and spend the night at a roadside motel.

Their driver, Davet, found a well-kept inn in a small village along their route.  Half asleep by that time, everyone stumbled off of the bus like zombies and piled into the main office.  Blaze and Grey secured the rooms while Tracy and Beth went into the restrooms.

“Will this trip ever end?”  Tracy asked wearily as she fixed her hair in the mirror of the ladies’ room.

“We’re almost there.  Some food and a good nights’ rest will do wonders for us,” Beth sighed.

“I can’t stop thinking about Victory’s End and what we’ll find there.  All of this is extremely unnerving,” Tracy said.

“I know.  It was the only thing I could think about while on the bus,” Beth said.

“Grey seems to be calm about it,” Tracy said.

“He’s keeping a cool exterior but he’s nervous just the same,” Beth said.  “I just pray that this mess turns out well in the end.”

Tracy moved to hug Beth.

“So do I, sis.  So do I,” Tracy said.

They returned to the lobby.  Grey and Blaze were off to one side talking privately, Davet already having departed for the room Grey generously procured for him.  Grey wouldn’t even entertain Davet’s insistence upon spending the night in his bus.

“We have our rooms.  Unfortunately the restaurant has already closed but the clerk says the rooms have snacks and minibars so we should be able to find something to hold us over for the night,” Grey explained to the girls.  Then, putting his arm around Beth and pulling her close he whispered in her ear, “I know what’s on my menu,”

“I’m exhausted anyway,” said Tracy.  “I may not even make it to the room.  Goodnight, guys.”

Everyone else said their goodnights and the two couples parted ways, each having been given rooms on opposite ends of the motel.  They made plans to meet in the restaurant at eight o’clock the next morning.

Grey locked their door while Beth scurried toward the bed, collapsing onto it.  He dropped their bags and turned into the room.

“It’s not a very
big
bed,” he said, moving toward her.

“Uh oh, I suppose you’re going to have to sleep in the tub,” Beth replied playfully.

Grey slowly leaned in, climbing onto the bed and positioning himself above her.

“No,” he corrected.  “I think there will be sufficient room for me
right here
.”

She reached up and interlocked her fingers behind his muscular neck.

“Hmm,” she pretended to consider his proposal.  “Yeah, I think that will work!”

“Well, then let’s get more comfortable,” he said.  “It’s going to be a long night.”

He straddled her and tugged her blouse from the waistband of her blue shorts.  He unbuttoned it and quickly slid it from her shoulders.  Then he dispensed with her lacy black bra, reaching behind her to unhook it before removing it and tossing it to the floor.

He stared at her luscious breasts and held them in his big hands.  He loved the heaviness of them in his palms.  And as he brought his head closer, their hardening peaks practically leaped into his eager mouth.