After saying a little prayer for guidance, she made her way down to the foyer. Even from the distance his imposing presence made itself felt.
“Darling!” He fairly leaped up the first flight of stairs to meet her halfway. The next thing she knew, he’d swept her off her feet and carried her all the way out the front door and down the stairs to his Land Rover.
Heedless of who might be watching, his mouth plundered hers like a bridegroom eager to start the honeymoon. So deep was his euphoria, Ashley thought he couldn’t tell that she wasn’t participating as enthusiastically.
But he finally let her go, she felt his all-encompassing gaze. As it enveloped her, she noticed a sudden tightness around his mouth, a rigidity to his movements. A look of anguish mixed with pained confusion darkened his eyes.
“Ashley!” His voice throbbed with the question he hadn’t asked yet.
She feared he was going to embrace her again. “Please don’t kiss me anymore.”
His head reared back as if she’d physically struck him.
“Let’s just get in the car and go, Cord.”
To her horror, his expression turned faintly satanic. “Two days ago we didn’t know how we were going to live until we could be together again. Now you don’t want me touching you. What in God’s name has Sheila done since I left you in the hospital parking lot!” Ashley would have answered him, but the sickness rising in her throat made it impossible. Misinterpreting her silence, he yanked the passenger door open and helped her inside.
Terrified of him in this mood because this latest development had sent him over the edge, Ashley avoided his murderous gaze as he slammed the door and
went around to lever himself behind the wheel. After starting the motor, the tires fairly screeched as they drove away from the curb and entered the mainstream of traffic.
After passing through the next intersection, Cord suddenly veered into the left lane and turned into the parking lot of a supermarket. He drove as far away from the building as possible and found an isolated parking space.
They both sat there for a minute without saying anything. Then she heard a noise that sounded like ripping silk.
“All right. Start talking, Ashley. I want to hear everything from the beginning.”
Without looking at him, she extended the hateful card which she’d put in the pocket of her maternity top.
He took it from her fingers. “What in the hell is this?”
“Sheila gave it to me when she came to the orphanage earlier today. She said that if you called her obstetrician at that number, he would answer all your questions.”
Another minute went by in deadly silence. His quiet rage was more quelling than anything she’d ever known.
Taking a shuddering breath she said, “If you don’t mind, I’m going to run inside the store for a few items.”
“I do mind.”
Ashley let go of the door handle, unwilling to cross him further at such a precarious moment.
“I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone.” His voice rasped. “The whole time I was gone, I had this gut-wrenching premonition something might go wrong.” He jerked his head toward her. “Don’t shut me out. Not now, Ashley.” She heard an underlying current of desperation behind the demand.
Staring at her hands she said, “If I intended to do that, I would have disappeared from the orphanage and made certain no one could ever find me again.”
An unintelligible expletive escaped his lips. “Undoubtedly she told you I was the father of her supposed baby.”
“She said she wasn’t sure,” Ashley muttered. “Apparently she’s been sleeping with another man, but they’ve always taken precautions. However since I’m pregnant with your child, she’s pretty sure it’s yours.
“I warned her that you would insist on a DNA test, but that didn’t faze her because she wants to know the results as much as you do. It seems she and your father hoped to produce a new heir to the company since your heart wasn’t with the business. But the accident that killed him ended their dreams to create a dynasty.”
As she talked, Cord’s face hardened into an inscrutable mask. She would have stopped talking, but indescribable pain drove her to get it all said.
“Originally she planned to terminate her pregnancy. That’s why she came to the hospital the other night, to talk to you about taking time off from the company to go into the hospital for the surgery.
“But when she discovered I was carrying your child, she changed her mind since it’s more than probable she’s pregnant with your child, too. Therefore she’s planning to carry it full term. If it turns out that the baby isn’t yours, she’ll give it up. That’s why she came to St. Anne’s today—to discuss future plans for her child with Sister Bernice.”
The dangerous quiet coming from his side of the car terrified her.