“You can’t be serious! You just got through telling me that you won’t be able to resist him if he—Crissy, thiswillhappen again if he stays.”
“It won’t happen again, John, I know it won’t. And besides, I’ll lock my door from now on. I want Philip to stay until he’s ready to leave. I will not deny him the right to know his son.”
“And what about Tommy? He won’t understand why Philip is still here.” John paused, shaking his head. “This is all my fault, Crissy. I should never have talked you into marrying Tommy.”
“That doesn’t matter now. I’ll talk to Tommy in the morning. I’ll make him understand this was just an innocent meeting.”
“I doubt he’ll believe that. What do you intend to do when you marry Tommy? He’ll never allow Philip in his house.”
“I don’t know. I’ll handle that when the time comes. And when you speak with Philip, tell him I said we spoke about Philip Junior. And although it was improper, you’ll forget about the matter as long as it doesn’t happen again.”
“Is that what you told Tommy tonight? No wonder he was so angry. Did you think Tommy was naive enough to believe that? He’s not a fool.”
“Well, I’ll just have to insist it’s true,” said Christina. “I don’t want any more confrontations between Philip and Tommy.”
“Just you talk to Tommy before I run into him. I wouldn’t know how to explain why Philip is still staying here. I don’t really understand it myself.” John came over and kissed her lightly on the cheek. “I imagine Tommy will be over early, so you had best get some rest. Good night, little sister. I hope you know what you’re doing.”
She smiled weakly but didn’t answer him. After John left, Christina glanced about the empty room and felt a pang of regret. She wondered what would have happened if Tommy hadn’t burst in. She slipped into her nightdress, crawled into bed, and a burning desire came over her as it had so many nights before. She wanted Philip—his hands exploring her body, his lips taking her will away, the feel of his muscles rippling across his back when she caressed him. She turned over and cried softly into her pillow for what could never be.
CHRISTINA AWOKE TO her son’s loud crying. She grabbed her robe and ran into the nursery. She glanced about the room to make sure Philip wasn’t there, then walked to the bassinet. Philip Junior stopped crying when he saw her, but still thrashed his arms and legs. She had been blessed with a son who slept through the night. But when morning came, he would not be kept waiting any longer, and he made sure she knew it.
She changed him, then sat down in the rocker to satisfy his hunger. While he suckled, Christina thought again of what Philip had called him.Our son. It had such a natural ring to it. She had always thought of Philip Junior as her son, or as Philip’s son.
She put Philip Junior back in his bassinet and moved it into the sunlight streaming through the window. She gave him a few toys to keep him happy until it was time for his bath, and went into her own room to prepare for her confrontation with Tommy.
The small clock on the mantel showed ten after seven, but Christina had no doubt that Tommy would be downstairs any second. She chose a low cut, deep-violet satin dress with long, tight-fitting sleeves. Hardly a dress for morning wear, but she hoped it would distract Tommy from his anger.
Christina decided on her ruby-studded pins to hold her curls in place, and her long, dangling ear-rings of small rubies. She didn’t wear the matching necklace for fear it would hide what she wanted Tommy to see. With a last turn before her full-length mirror, Christina was satisfied with her appearance.
Christina went downstairs and was glad to find that Tommy hadn’t arrived yet. At least she would be able to have breakfast in peace. She went directly to the counter filled with covered serving dishes in the dining room, and filled a plate. From the half-emptied dishes she judged that John and Philip had already eaten, and had probably left the house.
After Christina finished her meal, she got up to pour another cup of tea. When she turned around again, Tommy was standing in the doorway. He was handsomely dressed in a suede riding outfit and held a crop in his right hand. As she’d hoped, his brown eyes were drawn straight to the low neckline barely concealing her full, rounded breasts.
She smiled warmly. “I didn’t hear you come in, Tommy, but never mind. Come and join me for a cup of tea.”
“What?” He finally looked up to meet her eyes.
“I said, come and have a cup of tea.”
“Yes.” He came over to her, gazing hungrily at her breasts. “Christina, how can you wear such a dress in the morning? It’s—”
“Don’t you like my dress, Tommy?” She smiled beguilingly. “I wore it just for you.”
Tommy melted. He pulled her into an embrace. His lips searched hers, yet she felt no deep trembling of excitement. She didn’t feel the fires that surfaced every time Philip kissed her.
“It is a beautiful dress, Crissy.” He held her at arms’ length and studied her from head to foot. “I don’t mind your wearing it now Caxton is gone.”
“Tommy.”
“God, Crissy, you don’t know what I’ve been going through since that man came. It’s been hell! I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t do a damn thing. I could only think that he’d been your lover.”
“Tommy.”
“But everything is going to be just fine now. Tell me, did John kick him out last night, or did he leave this morning?”
Christina sighed wearily. “Philip isn’t leaving, Tommy.”
He looked as if he’d been slapped unexpectedly across the face, but she went on quickly.
