The Scent of Jasmine (Edilean 4)

Alex rubbed his hand over his face. “How could I have thought I loved a woman I didn’t really know? I should have been like Cay and made a list of the woman’s good and bad points.”

“I think my sister would disagree with you on that. I think that if you asked her now, she’d tell you that you should let passion carry you away.” He was looking hard at Alex.

“What woman treats a man convicted of murder with all the kindness and consideration that she would a guest in her own home?”

“My sister,” Adam said. “Since the day she was born, she’s been nothing but loving to us. Tally’s done some truly awful things to her, but Cay’s always managed to stand up to him.”

“And what did you do to Tally when you caught him?”

Adam gave a one-sided grin. “I’d rather not say, but by the time he was eight, he knew better than to torture his sister.” Adam’s eyes turned serious. “What do you plan to do about my sister?”

For a moment, Alex couldn’t speak. He walked to the far side of the room. “I think I’m going to need at least a year to clear all of this up.”

“I take it you mean that during that time you won’t see my sister?”

When Alex took a breath, it caught in his throat. “I want to give her a chance to make up her own mind. I want her to know what she really and truly wants. She was put with me in a live-or-die situation, and I worry that maybe she thinks she loves me because of what we went through together.” Alex straightened his shoulders. “And there’s the subject of class. I’m just a poor man from the Highlands. I’m good with horses and not much else, but Cay is beautiful, educated, and used to a life that I’ll never be able to give her.” He looked at Adam. “Unless I used her father’s money, and I won’t do that. I know Cay’s been sheltered, and she’s had little exposure to life. Those men she wanted to marry—”

“Horrible!” Adam said. “They were all half my sister’s intelligence, a quarter of her education, with not an ounce of her talent. Cay wants to please our parents, and she thinks to do that by making a suitable marriage.”

Alex didn’t smile at Adam’s words. “And I’m not ‘suitable.’ If she chooses me, I want it to be of her own free will, not because of . . . of memories.”

“That’s very noble of you. If I were in your place and had found a woman I could love, I’d never let her go. If I had to, I’d lock her in a room and hide the key.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll—” Adam’s look cut him off, and Alex laughed.

“You want something from me, don’t you?” Adam said.

“Yes. While I’m away settling this horror, I want you to see that Cay is exposed to more of life. She found our foray into the wilds exciting, and I fear that that’s what she likes about me. Wild rides across the countryside, sleeping in tents, hacking at alligators with a knife.”

“I don’t think I know the girl you’re talking about. My little sister likes silk dresses and tea parties with French porcelain.”

“She also likes—” Alex didn’t finish that sentence because he’d been about to say that she liked making love in the moonlight. “I saw a different side of her, one that she’s just beginning to discover.”

“And you want her to see more of that?”

“Yes, I do.”

Adam looked at Alex for a long moment. “She’s young, beautiful, and rich. Are you sure you want to put her out there so other men can see her?”

“Of course I don’t. If I’d never met Megs . . .” Alex paused, then looked back at Adam. “The truth is that I would never have looked at Cay if it hadn’t been for all I’ve been through. If I’d met her under normal circumstances, I think I would have seen her as Nate’s little sister, and I would have ignored her. I’ve always been attracted to the tall, beautiful, mysterious type.”

Adam smiled. “Aren’t we all? But in this case, the mystery had an evil core to it. I think that what you ask has some sound reasoning behind it, but in the same circumstances, I don’t know that I’d be as generous as you are. I’ll talk to Mother and she’ll see that Cay is introduced to men outside of Edilean.”

“Outside of Virginia. Outside of this country. Take her to Italy and get her an Italian drawing master. I don’t think she knows how talented she is. I can see Charles Albert Yates paintings hanging in museums around the world.”

“I see. C.A.Y. Yet another thing you know about her that her family doesn’t.”

“I have to go and get some sleep,” Alex said. “Do I still have the hotel room?”

“I kept Cay’s room open for you. I believe you know where it is.”

Alex grinned. “Aye, that I do.” He stopped at the door. “I don’t know how I’m going to get through all this without Cay’s humor. No matter how bad things were, she made me smile.”

“She does that to all of us. As soon as she learned to talk, she made jokes

.”

“And drew.”