He released her as he bent to rub his shin. Limping, he hurried after her and grabbed her arm. “You’re going to listen to me!”
“Like I did when you told me about Beth? Or like the time you asked me to remarry you? Am I supposed to be naive enough to believe you again? Then, when I’m vulnerable and fall into your arms, will you again tire of me and return to your dear Bianca? There’s only so much a woman will do for the man she loves.”
“Nicole,” Clay said, holding her firmly by one arm and caressing the other one with his hand, “I know you’ve been hurt. I’ve been hurt, too.”
“Poor dear,” she smiled. “You have to make do with only two women in your bed.”
His jaw hardened. “You know what Bianca’s like. I get closer than a foot, and she turns green.”
Nicole’s eyes widened; her voice was high. “You want sympathy from me?”
He fastened his hands on her shoulders. “I want your trust. I want your love. Could you stop hating me for a minute and just consider that there’s a reason why I haven’t seen you? Is that too much to ask after what we’ve been through? Maybe I have done some things to make you distrust me, but I love you. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
“Why?” she whispered, blinking back her tears. “You just left me with no word, just dropped me as if you were through with me. On the island, all I thought about was getting home, the two of us together at Arundel Hall.”
He pulled her close to him, felt her tears wetting his shirt. “Didn’t Isaac mention his cousin?”
The time on the island was a blur in her mind.
“I wanted to explain then and there, but I couldn’t. I was so frightened that I couldn’t even speak to you about it.”
She tried to raise her head, but he pushed it back down. “Frightened? But I was safe. Abe was gone. You weren’t afraid of Isaac, were you?”
“Bianca is Isaac’s cousin. They’re one of the reasons she came to America. She guaranteed Abe a bull and some heifers if he’d take you away until she could get the marriage annulled. One of old Elijah’s daughters told Wes about the plan.”
“And Bianca told you where I was?”
He pulled her even closer. “For a price. She told me that if I didn’t marry her, she’d have one of her many relatives return you to France.” He could feel Nicole shiver against him; the thought was as horrible to her as it was to him.
“Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you just leave me so abruptly?”
“Because you would have marched up to the house and defied Bianca. You would have dared her to try to send you back.”
“It’s what should have been done.”
“No, I can’t risk losing you,” he said as he stroked her hair.
She pulled away from him. “Why do you tell me this now? Why aren’t you still cowering behind Bianca’s ample skirts?”
Shaking his head, he chuckled. “I talked to Isaac since he began working for you. He said the reason you went with Abe so quietly was because you thought I was in trouble. Was I supposed to do less, knowing that your life could be in danger?”
“Let’s go back inside and tell Bianca.”
“No!” It was a command. “I will not risk you, do you understand? All she has to do is arrange for your capture again. No! I won’t risk it.”
“So, do you propose that we spend the rest of our lives meeting at Christmas just so Bianca can have what she wants?” Nicole asked angrily.
He ran his finger along her upper lip. “You have a sharp tongue. I prefer it when you use it for something besides lashing me.”
“Maybe you need to be lashed. You certainly seem afraid of Bianca.”
“Damn you! I’ve been very patient, but I’ve had enough of your insults. I’m not afraid of Bianca. It’s taken all my control to keep from killing the bitch. But I knew that if I hurt her, I’d hurt you.”
“Isaac said Abe left Virginia. Are you sure there are any more relatives? Bianca could be lying.”
“Wes went back to the girl who’d helped him before. She said that Bianca was related to her mother, and her mother had hundreds of relatives.”
“But surely not many of them would do what Bianca wanted.”