“She carries my nephew.” His lips pressed together in a grim line. “It is as you said. There is no guilt in her expression, her actions. She acts as though she has suffered the deepest of hurts. It was uncomfortable for me to see. I suddenly wanted to do all I could to shield her from such pain.”
“Where is she now?” Chrysander demanded.
“Asleep,” Theron replied. “She fell asleep on the way here and never stirred when I carried her up the elevator and put her into bed.”
Chrysander headed for the bedroom, determined to see for himself that she was safe. He made his way through the dimly lit room and stopped at the head of the bed. Even in sleep, her brow was creased in an expression of despair.
He reached down and touched her cheek, tucking a curl behind her ear. She didn’t stir. Her pale face lay against the pillow, framed by her dark curls. Deep shadows smudged her eyes, and he could tell from the redness that she had been crying. His chest twisted painfully at the signs of her distress.
As he walked back into the sitting room, he pulled out his cellular phone to call the therapist and have her come to the hotel. When he was done, he closed his phone and turned to Theron.
“Where did you find her?”
Theron handed him a drink. “She was in a garden a few blocks from your apartment.” He winced as he looked at Chrysander. “She was barefoot, with no coat or sweater. She looked lost and unaware of her surroundings.”
Chrysander swore. “It has been so since she regained her memory.Theos mou,but I don’t know what to do.” He’d never felt so helpless.
“Do you still believe she is guilty?” Theron asked quietly.
“I don’t know,” Chrysander admitted. “I think sometimes that it doesn’t matter.” He looked bleakly up at his brother, expecting to see condemnation. Instead, Theron looked at him with understanding.
“When I saw her on the bench, it did not matter to me, either,” Theron said softly.
The therapist arrived a few minutes later, and Chrysander filled her in on everything that had happened since arriving in New York.
Despite the discomfort he felt over providing such personal details to the woman, he wanted her to know whatever she needed in order to help Marley. So he told her everything. From the confrontation he’d had with Marley so many months before, to the present.
To her credit, the woman did not react. She took the information in stride and asked to see Marley.
“She is resting, but you can go in and wait for her to awaken. I don’t want her to grow upset and try to leave.”
The therapist nodded and followed Chrysander to the bedroom. As they entered, Marley stirred. Chrysander automatically stepped forward, but the therapist held up her hand to halt him.
“Leave me to speak to her,” she said softly.
Chrysander weighed his desire to be near her with the therapist’s request. Finally, he nodded curtly and turned to leave. He didn’t go far, though. He stepped from the bedroom and closed the door, but left it slightly ajar so he could hear what was being said within.
There was a long period of silence, and then the slight murmur of voices filtered from the room. The therapist did most of the talking at first as she soothed Marley. After a long while, he could hear Marley’s trembling voice, and he strained closer to hear what she said.
“I went to the doctor the day Chrysander was due back from overseas. When I discovered I was pregnant, I was shocked. I worried how Chrysander would react. I wanted to ask him about our relationship…how he felt about me.”
“Go on,” the therapist encouraged.
Marley’s questions that night now made sense to Chrysander. And then he flinched at her next words.
“He told me we had no relationship. That I was his mistress. A woman he paid to have sex with,” she said hollowly.
He wanted to protest. He wanted to march into the bedroom and tell her that he’d never considered her someone he paid to have sex with.
“Then he accused me of…” Her voice trailed off, and he could hear a quiet sob rise from the room.
“It’s all right, Marley,” the therapist soothed.
“He said I had stolen from him. He said I took plans for one of his hotels and gave them to his competitor. He told me to get out.”
“And did you steal them?”
“You’re the first person to actually ask,” Marley said wanly.
