Once again, I'd like thank my wonderful editor KittyLynne for all of her
help on this chapter, and everything else. ^__^
Wild Angels
By Amiboshi-chan
Chapter Five
Tasuki tried as best he could to keep up with Missy and Yui, but the crowd at Grand Central Station closed around him like a living wall. Unexpectedly, a sharp blow to his ribs sent the air rushing from his lungs in a painful hiss. He spun around on his boot heel, ready to do battle with his attacker, only to find a prune-faced woman over seventy wielding an umbrella like a cavalry saber.
"Pardon me, ma'am." Tasuki reeled back half a step and touched his finger to his hat in apology.
Unmoved by his show of good manners, she harrumphed loudly and seared his flesh with a dour look before moving on. By the time he turned back around, the feather on top of Missy's borrowed hat was disappearing into a hansom cab. Before he could yell a word of protest, the carriage departed, its yellow wheels winking in the bright sunlight as it rolled out of the station.
"Damnation!" He dragged off his Stetson and slapped it against his thigh in exasperation. For three days he had been struggling to find an opportunity to talk privately to her, and now she had escaped him one more time.
"Are you talking to me or to yourself?" Nakago stood beside Tasuki, attempting to balance an array of boxes, bags and parcels. "If you are through accosting elderly matrons for the moment, I could use a hand." He added with a hint of irritation.
Tasuki stuck his hat back on his head, then took hold of an octagon-shaped hatbox that had been awkwardly perched beneath Nakago's chin. "Why did Missy and Yui run off like a pair of scalded cats?"
"Scalded cats?" Nakago repeated incredulously. "If a cat is scalded, does it run? Where on earth did you learn such a ridiculous expression?" He peered at Tasuki over the bulk of a string-tied bundle, only one of the purchases his mother had made at various stops on the way home.
Tasuki rolled his eyes heavenward. "All right, I'll rephrase my question. Why do you suppose dear Yui and Miss Brooks fled the station as if it were on fire?" He tilted his head to see if the amended query met with the other man's approval, but Nakago only shrugged and hailed a passing cab, obviously unimpressed by the question and its delivery.
"No reason for them to wait for us." The hansom cab rolled by without stopping and Nakago swore softly under his breath.
"They could have shared their cab. That's a reason." Tasuki snapped. "Why on earth hire two cabs?"
"I understand they are headed in the opposite direction. It would be silly to go to Yui's house and then double back to the brownstone."
"Yui's house?" The hair on the back of Tasuki neck prickled. "What do you mean, they are going to Yui's house? I thought the whole idea of this little visit was so Missy could spend some time with your mother."
Nakago stretched to peer over the crowd. "I heard Yui telling Mother that Missy is going to spend tome time with her first." He smiled victoriously when a cab responded to his hail. "Now, Tasuki, don't stand there with your mouth gaping open like a landed carp-I need help with this baggage!"
Tasuki stifled the sharp retort that bubbled up in his throat, then hurried over and started handing bags to the driver. How could he be so thick as to allow Missy to come to New York? And on the heels of that thought, another more sobering notion flitted through his brain. There wasn't a damn thing he could have done to stop her.
~ ~ ~*~ ~ ~
Missy tried not to gawk, but failed miserably since she had never seen so many people in one place, at one time in her entire life. The sounds they made engulfed her, almost like a thousand spring peepers and katydids droning their tuneless songs. Leaning back against the padded leather seat, she closed her eyes.
"Missy, are you ill?"
Yui's voice broke through the fog in Missy's mind. She opened her eyes to see Yui peering at her with concern etched in her pale face. "I—I don't know what I expected, but it's awful big."
Relief flooded the blonde's face. "Oh, is that all? You had me worried, I thought you might be coming down with something. You'll get used to the city quickly, I promise."
Yui smoothed her skirt and turned to stare idly out the window, the very picture of serenity and confidence. Missy couldn't help but wonder if she would ever possess that kind of poise of if she was chasing rainbows by even trying. But she had accepted the challenge, and now, for good or ill, she was set on her course . . . there would be no turning back, not when Tasuki was waiting for her to fail, like a hungry hawk waiting for a rabbit to emerge from its hutch.
She would not fail. Her pride would not allow it.
~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~
Missy and Yui were lingering over a cup of tea when the downstairs maid appeared at the parlor door, carrying a silver tray in her hand. A solitary piece of paper rested in the center. "Pardon, miss." The maid bobbed a little curtsy.
Yui leaned over and glanced at the envelope. "It is from Aunt Patricia."
"How can you tell?" Missy frowned. The outside of the envelope was as blank as the _expression on the maid's face.
"It's her stationary." Yui scooped up the paper and nodded as the maid curtsied and left the room. "See the water mark?" Yui held it up towards the light streaming in from the French windows. The outline of a fancy crest within the fibers of the paper became evident.
"Oh." Missy ducked her head in embarrassment. Another thing she did not know, but if Yui thought anything of her ignorance, she did not show it as she busied herself opening the envelope.
"Well, this is unexpected." Yui passed the paper to Missy, who read the neatly printed words and felt her stomach lurch.
"A party?" She gasped. "Mrs. O'Bannion is throwing a party—for me?" Desperation rang in every word. "But I'm not ready." She stood up and started to pace. "I'll never be ready."
Yui studied her face for half a minute, then she brightened. "Nonsense. It will be fine. Aunt Patricia will only invite family and close friends. Actually, this will be good for you. We will be able to ease you into New York society by degrees."
"Do you really think so?" Missy stopped pacing to give Yui a hopeful look.
"Absolutely." Yui picked up a delicate china cup painted with pale yellow primroses and leaned back in the wicker chair. "Now that I think about it, it's a wonderful idea."
Yui seemed completely confident, and, if she wasn't worried, them Missy decided she wouldn't be either.
~ ~ ~*~ ~ ~
The night of the party was hot and sultry from two days of uninterrupted rain. Then, as if the heavens knew that Patricia O'Bannion would be displeased if her guests were inconvenienced, the sky cleared. A handful of bright stars twinkled over head as Tasuki stepped out the French doors with a glass of cognac in his hand.
"Well, well, well. Did you decide to grace us with your company tonight, or are you here for some other reason?" Nakago's deep, teasing voice brought Tasuki around abruptly. Every candelabrum in the house was blazing, in addition to the gaslights in the ballroom.
Nakago was silhouetted against the gold and crystal glitter of his mother's dining room, his snowy white shirt, black coat and tie, making him look the epitome of a New York gentleman.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Tasuki sipped his drink and acted as if he were unaware of the pending festivities.
"You know perfectly well what I am talking about! You have nor been here twice since we returned." Nakago stepped outside, grinning. "It is an interesting coincidence that you decided to stop by on the first night Miss Brooks is going to be here."
"Don't be ridiculous," Tasuki snapped. "I just happened to stop by, that's all." He had made the same observation to himself earlier, but Nakago was wrong, and so was he. He had simply tired of the giggling women who had begun to present themselves upon his return. He had grown bored listening to stories of how that all had been pining away in his absence. He had tired of telling the same stories of his life in the West—and the novelty of his unconventional mode of attire had worn so thin he was actually thinking of going upstairs to change.
"Perhaps you are telling the truth, since you are still dressed like you rode in from the range." Nakago said, with a glanced at Tasuki's boots.
"I am thinking of changing—but only to please Patricia." Tasuki took another sip from his glass.
Nakago chuckled. "I'm sure she will be pleased. There is some of Cyril's remaining clothes up in his room, but wear whatever you wish. As a matter of fact, I must say that those pants of Levi's suit you." He studied Tasuki closely. "I think I have almost grown used to the new you, but tell me the truth- is the prickly attitude also part of the new you?"
Tasuki frowned, but was spared having to answer as the front doorbell chimed. The pair watched the butler's back as he opened the door. Tasuki rose up on the toes of his boots to see who it was. "Anxious?" Nakago asked, a grin curving his lips.
"Not at all." Tasuki shook his head and moved closer to the open doors. The doorbell rang again.
Tasuki drained his glass. "I think I'll go up and change."
"Better hurry, she will be here soon."
"Who?" Tasuki asked innocently, but Nakago only laughed and stepped inside.
By ten o' clock, the O'Bannion's brownstone was a hive of social activity. Maids and butlers scurried about, making sure every glass was full, and every plate taken away the moment the last morsel was consumed. Tasuki had lingered in the spare room after he had changed. Now he stood with one foot hitched upon the top stair as he watched the activity below. He hated to admit it, but he felt out of place in his old environment.
The sound of laughter drew his gaze. There, surrounded by men was a familiar head of lustrous russet hair. A strange tight coil of heat formed in his chest. While he watched, his grip on the banister tightened; it was Missy Brooks, and half the unattached men in New York were paying her court.
He was halfway down the stairs, focusing only on Missy, when he felt a hand on his arm. Tasuki shrugged, intending to remove the unwanted restraint.
"It has been a long time, darling."
The words brought him to a halt and he turned, already knowing who he would see.
Violet Ashland lifted one eyebrow and gave him her coolest smile. "I was coming to find you." Her hand moved over the cloth of his coat in an intimate fashion. A hundred memories of stolen passion ripped through him.
It was at that very moment he looked down at Missy and she looked up. Their gazes caught and held, not going unnoticed by the men surrounding her or the woman still possessively fingering his arm.
Violet's smile became cooler than ice. "Is this the little country mouse I have heard so much about?"
Tasuki frowned and looked at her. "What?"
"I mean, the sweet child the O'Bannions brought back from the west, darling! How the poor dear must have suffered in that harsh environment." Violet looped her arm through Tasuki's. "You must introduce us-I've been dying to meet her."
Ghostly fingers traced a line down Missy's spine, as Tasuki descended the stairs and made his way in her direction. She felt trapped by his amber gaze, and suddenly the velvet gown she was wearing felt about at attractive as a gunnysack. She tried to swallow the champagne one of the men brought her, but it stuck in her throat and she choked.
"Miss Brooks, are you all right?" A solicitous voice asked.
"What. . .? Oh yes. Yes, I am fine." She lied. Mercifully, a disembodied voice asked if she would like a glass of water. Within seconds, her champagne glass was gone, replaced by a crystal goblet of water. She brought it to her lips, but the dryness remained.
"Oh, she is just precious. Tasuki, what a darling child." The blond woman clinging to Tasuki was surveying Missy from head to foot, and without passing a word between them, Missy knew all she had to know.
This woman was her adversary.
"Tasuki, please introduce me." Violet kept a smile pasted on her face. She had heard all the gossip about the lovely young woman who had returned with Tasuki. She had not believed it, but now that she was face to face with the little chit, she had no choice but to observe the social niceties. Even so, one thing was certain.
This woman was her adversary.
Missy felt her stomach knotting up. In spite of the notion that this woman was everything she despised, there was a tiny part of her that was envious. Violet Ashland appeared to be every inch a lady, and she was holding Tasuki's arm as if he belonged to her.
Tasuki cleared his throat. Violet was clinging to him like a burr in a mustang's tail, and was just as tenacious and thorny. He wanted to peel her fingers from his arm and walk away, but he could not do what he wanted here. How he wished he was back west, where a man could be honest about his feelings.
"Violet Ashland, Missy Brooks." He would not lie and say he was pleased to introduce them.
"I am so glad that I finally get to see you, Miss Brooks. I have been hearing much about you." Violet turned slightly sideways and looked at Tasuki. "Darling, she is a treasure. Such a charming child."
Missy stiffened as a sudden urge to silence Violet Ashland overcame her. "It is very nice to meet you, but I assure you that I am far from being a child. It probably just seems that I am young, compared to you."
A silence so heavy it could be felt settled over the small crowd gathered around the two women. Tasuki winked at Missy, even as his heart hammered in his chest.
'Damn if she isn't magnificent.'
Tasuki felt Violet's fingers dig into his arm, but to give her credit, her smile never slipped. "What I meant to say was that you are charming. . .in an untouched fashion." Violet inclined her head, and the gaslight turn the strands of her hair into ribbons of gold. The crowd around them began to drift away. Evidently they had grown bored with the inane conversation. Now Tasuki could drop his façade.
"When did you return, Violet?" He asked without warmth.
"Me? Oh, I've been back for ages now. I have been sitting at home pining away for you." She leaned close enough that he could smell her expensive French perfume. "You never even wrote to me."
"I saw no reason to write." Tasuki said coolly, as he turned to face Violet. "When I left, you were busy chasing a title."
She pouted prettily. "It was all a great misunderstanding, darling."
"A misunderstanding?" The tone of Tasuki's voice was now deadly. "It was a hell of a lot more than that!"
"Nonsense!" Violet took her hand from his arm and pulled off her elegant, elbow length glove. "It was nothing to me, and I can prove it." She held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers. Candlelight and gaslight glinted off a huge stone. "I am still wearing your engagement ring. I think that says it all."
Missy blinked back her surprise as she stared at the diamond. Then she swung her stunned gaze to Tasuki. He fought the urge to wince as Missy's eyes met his, knowing the storm that was to come. For sure, there was anger in her dark eyes, but it mingled with something else . . .something unidentifiable.
"You...you never mentioned you were engaged before." Missy struggled to keep her tone conversational. She couldn't let either of them know that she felt strangely. . . hurt to see the woman with him. Finally she could no longer meet Tasuki's stare, and her eyes drifted away.
"Missy-" Tasuki broke off, realizing he couldn't say a damn thing to the contrary, not here in public, and not with Violet waving that consarned ring in his face. He shut his mouth again.
"If you'll excuse me," Missy spoke hurriedly as she backed away. Then she turned and hurried away from the couple, Violet's victorious smile haunting her every step.
~ ~ ~*~ ~ ~
For the next few days Missy moped around Yui's house, reading the latest magazines and practicing solitaire, a card game which Yui had taught her, as she tried to forget about the scene at the brownstone.
One day during breakfast, Yui surprised her with a declaration.
"I think it's time we answer a few of these invitations."
Missy looked up and blinked. She was still numb all over except for the unaccountable pain in her heart.
'Why should I care if Tasuki is engaged?'
She had asked herself the question a hundred times and more, but she never found an answer that suited. It could be that she harbored some silly girlish fantasy about him...or it could be that it was just such a shock. After all, he had never once mentioned the golden beauty who wore his ring. It might be all of those reasons. . .or none of them.
"Did you hear me, Missy?" Yui frowned and pointed to a pile of calling cards and small white envelopes. "Gregory Whitemarten was here again this morning, as well as Chiriko Rutheford."
"I don't want to see anyone." Missy said glumly.
Yui's lips compressed with displeasure. "No, I do believe you'd rather sit at home and let him win."
Missy's head snapped up. "What do you mean?"
"Tasuki is having his cake and eating it too, if you ask me." Yui dropped two cubes of sugar into her cup of tea and stirred it savagely. "He's got Violet Ashland hanging all over him, telling anybody who will listen that they are going to be married, and you're sitting at home pining away."
"I am not pining." Missy blinked at the harsh words. "What a silly notion."
"Prove it." Yui challenged with a flick of her sandy bangs. "If you aren't smitten with Tasuki, and you aren't pining for him, then pick one of these invitations to accept!"
"I-"
"Right now, Miss Brooks! I won't believe another word you say unless you prove it!"
Missy narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, shoving the stack of cards and envelopes around on the table while she glared at Yui. "I can't believe you would get such a dunderhead idea, Yui." When she could delay no longer, she closed her eyes and picked up a white envelope.
"Let me read it." Yui said as Missy stared at it blankly. After glancing at the card inside, Yui turned to Missy. "It's from Hotohori Dover."
"Which one is he?" Missy's irritation had momentarily banished her misery over Tasuki.
"He is the tall, slim man with the golden eyes and long hair- the one who brought the bouquet of roses the morning after Aunt Patricia's party."
"Oh, him." Missy sighed. "I guess he's as good as any to prove to you that I'm not moping around because of Tasuki. I don't care in the least that he's engaged."
Yui's brows rose high over doubtful blue eyes.
"Well, I don't!" Missy stoutly reaffirmed.
~ ~ ~*~ ~ ~
Wild Angels
By Amiboshi-chan
Chapter Five
Tasuki tried as best he could to keep up with Missy and Yui, but the crowd at Grand Central Station closed around him like a living wall. Unexpectedly, a sharp blow to his ribs sent the air rushing from his lungs in a painful hiss. He spun around on his boot heel, ready to do battle with his attacker, only to find a prune-faced woman over seventy wielding an umbrella like a cavalry saber.
"Pardon me, ma'am." Tasuki reeled back half a step and touched his finger to his hat in apology.
Unmoved by his show of good manners, she harrumphed loudly and seared his flesh with a dour look before moving on. By the time he turned back around, the feather on top of Missy's borrowed hat was disappearing into a hansom cab. Before he could yell a word of protest, the carriage departed, its yellow wheels winking in the bright sunlight as it rolled out of the station.
"Damnation!" He dragged off his Stetson and slapped it against his thigh in exasperation. For three days he had been struggling to find an opportunity to talk privately to her, and now she had escaped him one more time.
"Are you talking to me or to yourself?" Nakago stood beside Tasuki, attempting to balance an array of boxes, bags and parcels. "If you are through accosting elderly matrons for the moment, I could use a hand." He added with a hint of irritation.
Tasuki stuck his hat back on his head, then took hold of an octagon-shaped hatbox that had been awkwardly perched beneath Nakago's chin. "Why did Missy and Yui run off like a pair of scalded cats?"
"Scalded cats?" Nakago repeated incredulously. "If a cat is scalded, does it run? Where on earth did you learn such a ridiculous expression?" He peered at Tasuki over the bulk of a string-tied bundle, only one of the purchases his mother had made at various stops on the way home.
Tasuki rolled his eyes heavenward. "All right, I'll rephrase my question. Why do you suppose dear Yui and Miss Brooks fled the station as if it were on fire?" He tilted his head to see if the amended query met with the other man's approval, but Nakago only shrugged and hailed a passing cab, obviously unimpressed by the question and its delivery.
"No reason for them to wait for us." The hansom cab rolled by without stopping and Nakago swore softly under his breath.
"They could have shared their cab. That's a reason." Tasuki snapped. "Why on earth hire two cabs?"
"I understand they are headed in the opposite direction. It would be silly to go to Yui's house and then double back to the brownstone."
"Yui's house?" The hair on the back of Tasuki neck prickled. "What do you mean, they are going to Yui's house? I thought the whole idea of this little visit was so Missy could spend some time with your mother."
Nakago stretched to peer over the crowd. "I heard Yui telling Mother that Missy is going to spend tome time with her first." He smiled victoriously when a cab responded to his hail. "Now, Tasuki, don't stand there with your mouth gaping open like a landed carp-I need help with this baggage!"
Tasuki stifled the sharp retort that bubbled up in his throat, then hurried over and started handing bags to the driver. How could he be so thick as to allow Missy to come to New York? And on the heels of that thought, another more sobering notion flitted through his brain. There wasn't a damn thing he could have done to stop her.
~ ~ ~*~ ~ ~
Missy tried not to gawk, but failed miserably since she had never seen so many people in one place, at one time in her entire life. The sounds they made engulfed her, almost like a thousand spring peepers and katydids droning their tuneless songs. Leaning back against the padded leather seat, she closed her eyes.
"Missy, are you ill?"
Yui's voice broke through the fog in Missy's mind. She opened her eyes to see Yui peering at her with concern etched in her pale face. "I—I don't know what I expected, but it's awful big."
Relief flooded the blonde's face. "Oh, is that all? You had me worried, I thought you might be coming down with something. You'll get used to the city quickly, I promise."
Yui smoothed her skirt and turned to stare idly out the window, the very picture of serenity and confidence. Missy couldn't help but wonder if she would ever possess that kind of poise of if she was chasing rainbows by even trying. But she had accepted the challenge, and now, for good or ill, she was set on her course . . . there would be no turning back, not when Tasuki was waiting for her to fail, like a hungry hawk waiting for a rabbit to emerge from its hutch.
She would not fail. Her pride would not allow it.
~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~
Missy and Yui were lingering over a cup of tea when the downstairs maid appeared at the parlor door, carrying a silver tray in her hand. A solitary piece of paper rested in the center. "Pardon, miss." The maid bobbed a little curtsy.
Yui leaned over and glanced at the envelope. "It is from Aunt Patricia."
"How can you tell?" Missy frowned. The outside of the envelope was as blank as the _expression on the maid's face.
"It's her stationary." Yui scooped up the paper and nodded as the maid curtsied and left the room. "See the water mark?" Yui held it up towards the light streaming in from the French windows. The outline of a fancy crest within the fibers of the paper became evident.
"Oh." Missy ducked her head in embarrassment. Another thing she did not know, but if Yui thought anything of her ignorance, she did not show it as she busied herself opening the envelope.
"Well, this is unexpected." Yui passed the paper to Missy, who read the neatly printed words and felt her stomach lurch.
"A party?" She gasped. "Mrs. O'Bannion is throwing a party—for me?" Desperation rang in every word. "But I'm not ready." She stood up and started to pace. "I'll never be ready."
Yui studied her face for half a minute, then she brightened. "Nonsense. It will be fine. Aunt Patricia will only invite family and close friends. Actually, this will be good for you. We will be able to ease you into New York society by degrees."
"Do you really think so?" Missy stopped pacing to give Yui a hopeful look.
"Absolutely." Yui picked up a delicate china cup painted with pale yellow primroses and leaned back in the wicker chair. "Now that I think about it, it's a wonderful idea."
Yui seemed completely confident, and, if she wasn't worried, them Missy decided she wouldn't be either.
~ ~ ~*~ ~ ~
The night of the party was hot and sultry from two days of uninterrupted rain. Then, as if the heavens knew that Patricia O'Bannion would be displeased if her guests were inconvenienced, the sky cleared. A handful of bright stars twinkled over head as Tasuki stepped out the French doors with a glass of cognac in his hand.
"Well, well, well. Did you decide to grace us with your company tonight, or are you here for some other reason?" Nakago's deep, teasing voice brought Tasuki around abruptly. Every candelabrum in the house was blazing, in addition to the gaslights in the ballroom.
Nakago was silhouetted against the gold and crystal glitter of his mother's dining room, his snowy white shirt, black coat and tie, making him look the epitome of a New York gentleman.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Tasuki sipped his drink and acted as if he were unaware of the pending festivities.
"You know perfectly well what I am talking about! You have nor been here twice since we returned." Nakago stepped outside, grinning. "It is an interesting coincidence that you decided to stop by on the first night Miss Brooks is going to be here."
"Don't be ridiculous," Tasuki snapped. "I just happened to stop by, that's all." He had made the same observation to himself earlier, but Nakago was wrong, and so was he. He had simply tired of the giggling women who had begun to present themselves upon his return. He had grown bored listening to stories of how that all had been pining away in his absence. He had tired of telling the same stories of his life in the West—and the novelty of his unconventional mode of attire had worn so thin he was actually thinking of going upstairs to change.
"Perhaps you are telling the truth, since you are still dressed like you rode in from the range." Nakago said, with a glanced at Tasuki's boots.
"I am thinking of changing—but only to please Patricia." Tasuki took another sip from his glass.
Nakago chuckled. "I'm sure she will be pleased. There is some of Cyril's remaining clothes up in his room, but wear whatever you wish. As a matter of fact, I must say that those pants of Levi's suit you." He studied Tasuki closely. "I think I have almost grown used to the new you, but tell me the truth- is the prickly attitude also part of the new you?"
Tasuki frowned, but was spared having to answer as the front doorbell chimed. The pair watched the butler's back as he opened the door. Tasuki rose up on the toes of his boots to see who it was. "Anxious?" Nakago asked, a grin curving his lips.
"Not at all." Tasuki shook his head and moved closer to the open doors. The doorbell rang again.
Tasuki drained his glass. "I think I'll go up and change."
"Better hurry, she will be here soon."
"Who?" Tasuki asked innocently, but Nakago only laughed and stepped inside.
By ten o' clock, the O'Bannion's brownstone was a hive of social activity. Maids and butlers scurried about, making sure every glass was full, and every plate taken away the moment the last morsel was consumed. Tasuki had lingered in the spare room after he had changed. Now he stood with one foot hitched upon the top stair as he watched the activity below. He hated to admit it, but he felt out of place in his old environment.
The sound of laughter drew his gaze. There, surrounded by men was a familiar head of lustrous russet hair. A strange tight coil of heat formed in his chest. While he watched, his grip on the banister tightened; it was Missy Brooks, and half the unattached men in New York were paying her court.
He was halfway down the stairs, focusing only on Missy, when he felt a hand on his arm. Tasuki shrugged, intending to remove the unwanted restraint.
"It has been a long time, darling."
The words brought him to a halt and he turned, already knowing who he would see.
Violet Ashland lifted one eyebrow and gave him her coolest smile. "I was coming to find you." Her hand moved over the cloth of his coat in an intimate fashion. A hundred memories of stolen passion ripped through him.
It was at that very moment he looked down at Missy and she looked up. Their gazes caught and held, not going unnoticed by the men surrounding her or the woman still possessively fingering his arm.
Violet's smile became cooler than ice. "Is this the little country mouse I have heard so much about?"
Tasuki frowned and looked at her. "What?"
"I mean, the sweet child the O'Bannions brought back from the west, darling! How the poor dear must have suffered in that harsh environment." Violet looped her arm through Tasuki's. "You must introduce us-I've been dying to meet her."
Ghostly fingers traced a line down Missy's spine, as Tasuki descended the stairs and made his way in her direction. She felt trapped by his amber gaze, and suddenly the velvet gown she was wearing felt about at attractive as a gunnysack. She tried to swallow the champagne one of the men brought her, but it stuck in her throat and she choked.
"Miss Brooks, are you all right?" A solicitous voice asked.
"What. . .? Oh yes. Yes, I am fine." She lied. Mercifully, a disembodied voice asked if she would like a glass of water. Within seconds, her champagne glass was gone, replaced by a crystal goblet of water. She brought it to her lips, but the dryness remained.
"Oh, she is just precious. Tasuki, what a darling child." The blond woman clinging to Tasuki was surveying Missy from head to foot, and without passing a word between them, Missy knew all she had to know.
This woman was her adversary.
"Tasuki, please introduce me." Violet kept a smile pasted on her face. She had heard all the gossip about the lovely young woman who had returned with Tasuki. She had not believed it, but now that she was face to face with the little chit, she had no choice but to observe the social niceties. Even so, one thing was certain.
This woman was her adversary.
Missy felt her stomach knotting up. In spite of the notion that this woman was everything she despised, there was a tiny part of her that was envious. Violet Ashland appeared to be every inch a lady, and she was holding Tasuki's arm as if he belonged to her.
Tasuki cleared his throat. Violet was clinging to him like a burr in a mustang's tail, and was just as tenacious and thorny. He wanted to peel her fingers from his arm and walk away, but he could not do what he wanted here. How he wished he was back west, where a man could be honest about his feelings.
"Violet Ashland, Missy Brooks." He would not lie and say he was pleased to introduce them.
"I am so glad that I finally get to see you, Miss Brooks. I have been hearing much about you." Violet turned slightly sideways and looked at Tasuki. "Darling, she is a treasure. Such a charming child."
Missy stiffened as a sudden urge to silence Violet Ashland overcame her. "It is very nice to meet you, but I assure you that I am far from being a child. It probably just seems that I am young, compared to you."
A silence so heavy it could be felt settled over the small crowd gathered around the two women. Tasuki winked at Missy, even as his heart hammered in his chest.
'Damn if she isn't magnificent.'
Tasuki felt Violet's fingers dig into his arm, but to give her credit, her smile never slipped. "What I meant to say was that you are charming. . .in an untouched fashion." Violet inclined her head, and the gaslight turn the strands of her hair into ribbons of gold. The crowd around them began to drift away. Evidently they had grown bored with the inane conversation. Now Tasuki could drop his façade.
"When did you return, Violet?" He asked without warmth.
"Me? Oh, I've been back for ages now. I have been sitting at home pining away for you." She leaned close enough that he could smell her expensive French perfume. "You never even wrote to me."
"I saw no reason to write." Tasuki said coolly, as he turned to face Violet. "When I left, you were busy chasing a title."
She pouted prettily. "It was all a great misunderstanding, darling."
"A misunderstanding?" The tone of Tasuki's voice was now deadly. "It was a hell of a lot more than that!"
"Nonsense!" Violet took her hand from his arm and pulled off her elegant, elbow length glove. "It was nothing to me, and I can prove it." She held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers. Candlelight and gaslight glinted off a huge stone. "I am still wearing your engagement ring. I think that says it all."
Missy blinked back her surprise as she stared at the diamond. Then she swung her stunned gaze to Tasuki. He fought the urge to wince as Missy's eyes met his, knowing the storm that was to come. For sure, there was anger in her dark eyes, but it mingled with something else . . .something unidentifiable.
"You...you never mentioned you were engaged before." Missy struggled to keep her tone conversational. She couldn't let either of them know that she felt strangely. . . hurt to see the woman with him. Finally she could no longer meet Tasuki's stare, and her eyes drifted away.
"Missy-" Tasuki broke off, realizing he couldn't say a damn thing to the contrary, not here in public, and not with Violet waving that consarned ring in his face. He shut his mouth again.
"If you'll excuse me," Missy spoke hurriedly as she backed away. Then she turned and hurried away from the couple, Violet's victorious smile haunting her every step.
~ ~ ~*~ ~ ~
For the next few days Missy moped around Yui's house, reading the latest magazines and practicing solitaire, a card game which Yui had taught her, as she tried to forget about the scene at the brownstone.
One day during breakfast, Yui surprised her with a declaration.
"I think it's time we answer a few of these invitations."
Missy looked up and blinked. She was still numb all over except for the unaccountable pain in her heart.
'Why should I care if Tasuki is engaged?'
She had asked herself the question a hundred times and more, but she never found an answer that suited. It could be that she harbored some silly girlish fantasy about him...or it could be that it was just such a shock. After all, he had never once mentioned the golden beauty who wore his ring. It might be all of those reasons. . .or none of them.
"Did you hear me, Missy?" Yui frowned and pointed to a pile of calling cards and small white envelopes. "Gregory Whitemarten was here again this morning, as well as Chiriko Rutheford."
"I don't want to see anyone." Missy said glumly.
Yui's lips compressed with displeasure. "No, I do believe you'd rather sit at home and let him win."
Missy's head snapped up. "What do you mean?"
"Tasuki is having his cake and eating it too, if you ask me." Yui dropped two cubes of sugar into her cup of tea and stirred it savagely. "He's got Violet Ashland hanging all over him, telling anybody who will listen that they are going to be married, and you're sitting at home pining away."
"I am not pining." Missy blinked at the harsh words. "What a silly notion."
"Prove it." Yui challenged with a flick of her sandy bangs. "If you aren't smitten with Tasuki, and you aren't pining for him, then pick one of these invitations to accept!"
"I-"
"Right now, Miss Brooks! I won't believe another word you say unless you prove it!"
Missy narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, shoving the stack of cards and envelopes around on the table while she glared at Yui. "I can't believe you would get such a dunderhead idea, Yui." When she could delay no longer, she closed her eyes and picked up a white envelope.
"Let me read it." Yui said as Missy stared at it blankly. After glancing at the card inside, Yui turned to Missy. "It's from Hotohori Dover."
"Which one is he?" Missy's irritation had momentarily banished her misery over Tasuki.
"He is the tall, slim man with the golden eyes and long hair- the one who brought the bouquet of roses the morning after Aunt Patricia's party."
"Oh, him." Missy sighed. "I guess he's as good as any to prove to you that I'm not moping around because of Tasuki. I don't care in the least that he's engaged."
Yui's brows rose high over doubtful blue eyes.
"Well, I don't!" Missy stoutly reaffirmed.
~ ~ ~*~ ~ ~