Chap. 12

            Tomoyo crept into her father's house late at night, fatigued, heartbroken, and yearning to go to sleep. She was not going to cry, and she was determined to stop thinking of him. Where does truth leave off and falsehood begin? she asked herself. Even now, her treacherous heart remembered him, his lazy, dazzling smile, and his gentle look of approval, and told her mind that he could not have lied to her. It was simply not part of his nature to deliberately deceive anyone. She could not have been so wrong about him, could she?

            Reaching her room, she gratefully sank into her soft bed and wished with all her might that he could be here beside her, loving her and showing her how to love…What was she thinking? Tomoyo abruptly sat, switched on the light in annoyance, and froze in shock. Her father was sitting in her favorite chair, his black, piercing gaze on her frightened expression. He slowly uncoiled and stood in front of her. "I know that we both don't like to talk to each other, so I'll make this concise and to the point. Would you bother to tell me why all your suitors are withdrawing their offers?" he said icily. "And what are these rumors that are going around about you and the Duke of Clynester?"

            She stood, facing him, absolutely unwilling-unable-to speak. Dear God, she was so afraid of this twisted, wizened man with a black heart who stood before her, daring her to defy him. Numbly, she noted that the first image that came to her terrified mind was the picture of Eriol and his warmth, and perhaps, his love. What if it was really all a mistake? Tomoyo shoved that thought away viciously. She saw what he was doing, and that was enough wasn't it? "Well?" drawled the man in front of her, "Tell your dear father what you've been doing to drive your young men away."

            "Perhaps," she said, trying to sound indifferent, "they lost interest?"

            "I'm quite aware of that," he snapped. "The question is…what did you do to make them do so?" he asked in a silky voice. "Come now, you could trust your father." He moved toward her, murder and rage exuding from him in intense waves. She fought the urge to back away and stood her ground, lips trembling, hands clenched. "Not afraid of me anymore, are you?" he said softly. His midnight eyes were emotionless and cold-so cold, and definitely worse than the scalding fires of hell itself. His fingers lifted, and she closed her eyes, waiting for the coming blow, but they came to rest gently on her cheek and slid sensuously down to her throat. "You are so like your mother," he said with surprising gentleness, "especially your beautiful eyes." For a moment, Tomoyo thought that she could see loneliness and sadness in the cold depths of his unexpressive eyes, but they immediately disappeared to be replaced by a hardness that was familiar to her. He snatched his hand away as if he were burned. "Not her. She's still here," he moaned softly, "She's always here, and she haunts me. She laughs at me with her amethyst eyes, and tells me that I'm hers forever…"

            Tomoyo stood still, unsure of what to make of his sudden ramblings and his unexpected gentleness. For the first time in her life, she hesitantly reached out to her father. He grabbed her wrist in a bruising grip. "You'll never have me, do you hear?" he whispered, and she winced as his vise-like grip tightened. "Answer me!" he said hoarsely.

            "I understand," she managed to gasp. His hand loosened and he stepped back. He looked so confused and lost. He looked up at her and his face changed into a mask.

"Well?" he asked impatiently.

"Well what?"

"What has gotten your suitors running away from you?" he queried. When she did not answer, he pulled her closer, suddenly suspicious. "Are the rumors true? The rumors about you and the duke?" The guilty expression on her face gave her away. "So…it's true. I knew it." His lips curved in a devilish smile. "Follow me," he said simply, and tugged on her arm.

"Where are we going in the middle of the night?" she asked, very frightened.

"To the duke," he said. With that, he dragged her along as she resisted and pushed her into the carriage.

*************

            Eriol turned as an unfamiliar man dragged Tomoyo into his study. "What are you doing?" he asked the man venomously as he gazed into Tomoyo's angry eyes. "Who are you?"

            "I am," said the man, pointing at the woman next to him, "her father." The man's finger transferred itself to him. "You ruined my daughter's reputation," he accused, "the least you can do is to marry her and correct your wrongs."

            "I don't think so. I-" said Tomoyo.

            "This is none of your business," her father said, cutting her off. "This has nothing to do with a woman. It only involves men, face to face."

            Eriol's cerulean eyes displayed contempt. "I wish to talk to the lady," he said coolly. "Privately," he added. He gently took her elbow and led her out the door and into another room. He let her go and stared out the huge windows at the dark twilight sky. Tomoyo stood next to him, looking up at him, and plucked at his sleeve.

            "There's no need for you to marry me, so you can stop looking so grim," she said to him. "I have absolutely no plans to wed you. We would not suit." She watched his lips twitch and turn into a small smile. "I cannot condone lying and mistresses like the rest of the female population, and well, I don't trust you anymore."

            "I disagree," he countered smoothly. "We suit perfectly, and we are going to do exactly what you're resisting, even if I have to carry you down that aisle. And," he said decisively, "I have decided that I cannot leave you with your father any longer."

            "If I don't want to, you cannot force-"

            "You will want to," he interrupted. "You have no choice," he whispered to her lovingly, "but to love me. You already do." His hand grasped hers reassuringly, his fingers twining with hers. "Even if you feel like you can't love me now, I'll spend the rest of my days trying to convince you that we belong," he said gently, "And I will not let you take your love away from me. Ever."

            "You will always be mine," he said. "Always." He pulled her out of the room. "I have decided to take her as my wife," he announced to her father, "and I will pay your debts for you. However, I have several conditions. First, your daughter will remain with me for the remainder of the time before we are married with my mother as a chaperone-"he suppressed her protest with his hand. "Second, you will never EVER see her again to torment her," he said.

            "Agreed." Tomoyo looked at her father, pain stabbing at her heart. Didn't he love her, just a little? How could he just agree to not see her forever so easily?

            "Good," the duke said, "now kindly remove yourself from my house."

Tomoyo watched as her father strode out the doors, nails digging into her palm. "You bastard," she said hoarsely, "you knew about the debts? Are you marrying me out of pity?!"

He laughed. He crushed her to him and laughed. "No," he said in a suffocated voice, "I'm marrying you for you. The money is just a small part of the equation."

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Just warning you…expect the unexpected. That's all I'll say. Sweet chapter tho…lol..