An Undeniable Passion Ch. 22

"V, are you alright?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

"Yes, please excuse me, I have guests to attend to," she said as she brushed past him. She passed the remainder of the evening in a haze, pleading a headache to Thomas when he asked her to dance.

Drake watched as she routinely hosted her party. She said and did all the right things but to his eyes, she seemed to be in a daze. Billy and Elizabeth finally made their departure amidst a crowd of cheering guests. After they were gone, she approached Drake. "Can you please do me a great favor?"

"Yes, anything," he replied.

"Can you please tend to the rest of the party? I'd like to go to bed, I'm not feeling well."

"Yes, of course." He watched her leave the room, noting that she didn't bother saying goodnight to Thomas or Doris.

Drake played the host for the remainder of the evening. Since the bridal couple had left, the party was winding down and after an hour most of the guests had gone. Thomas approached him. "Where is Virginia?' he asked.

"She went to bed shortly after Billy and Elizabeth left," Drake informed him.

"Is she alright? She said she had a headache. I'll go check on her." He turned to go but Drake blocked his way.

"She is in her bedroom. You are not going up there," he said firmly.

Doris was standing next to her brother. "Of course, silly, you can't go up there," she said with a giggle. "I'll just go and check on her." She turned to leave the ballroom.

Drake had a sudden recollection of the animated discussion the two of them had at the Christmas Ball after Thomas overheard his and Virginia's conversation. She had not appeared shocked by anything he was saying, only very concerned. "You're not going up there either," he said to her. "She is most likely sleeping and shouldn't be disturbed." He looked pointedly at them. "Goodnight and thank you for coming." He swept his hand toward the door, clearly indicating that they should leave.

Their carriage was brought around and Drake watched them go. He then turned inside to see to the last few guests. When they had finally left he crept up the stairs. The Robbins' had retired hours ago and he could hear them both snoring through the door as he passed. He was sleeping in Billy's room that night. He paused outside Virginia's door and listened but didn't hear anything. After knocking lightly on the door, he waited a moment and was about to leave when he heard her voice quietly on the other side of the door. "Who is it?' she whispered.

"It's Drake."

She opened the door a crack and peered out at him. "What do you want?" she asked.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"You asked me that earlier, why do you assume I'm not alright?" she asked.

"I know you were on the balcony while I was speaking with Thomas. I know you heard what he said," he said gently.

Her eyes filled with tears and she collapsed into his arms. He pulled her inside her room and closed the door behind them. Leading her to a small sofa, he sat her down. She pressed her face into his shoulder, clutching at his jacket as she sobbed. He stroked her hair and held her, murmuring comforting words.

"I knew I couldn't trust him," she choked out. "Right from the start, before I even met him, there was something so strange about Doris' initial visit. I didn't give it much thought as she's always been a little batty, but she must have known about Thomas' interest in the treasure." She pulled back and looked up at him. "He all but said he loved me, and I believed him. He said he wanted to marry me." She lay her head back on his shoulder. "I wanted the fairytale so much that I ignored my instincts, ignored that little voice in the back of my head that kept telling me not to trust him."

"Well, now you know. Before he got his hands on your wealth," he said quietly. "You still have your independence. You can tell him to go to the devil and don't have to deal with any worries about money like most women would have to."

She pulled away and looked up at him again. She wiped her eyes and tried to smile. "You're right. It's a good thing I found out now. Does he know that I was up there?"

"No, he doesn't."

She paused, her brow furrowed in thought. "Why did you orchestrate that conversation between us during the Christmas Ball, knowing he was below and would hear us?"

He looked away guiltily. "I was trying to make him mad, so that he wouldn't want you anymore," he said quietly.

"You were trying to ruin my courtship?" she asked quietly.

"Yes." He turned to look at her. "I told you V. I love you and we belong together."

She only stared at him. "What about tonight's conversation? Why did you do that? Because you love me and we belong together?" she asked, beginning to get angry.

Recognizing that her anger was rising he said calmly, "Partly. Yes, I did it because I love you, and because I knew that he was going to hurt you and that he was being false. I suspected that he was after your wealth, just as you did. I didn't do it for the sole reason of removing him from your life for my benefit. I did it to protect you."

She continued to stare at him, and then laid her head again on his shoulder. He breathed a sigh of relief. "I hate it that you feel that you have to protect me, but I suppose I must confess that sometimes I need it. Thank you."

He didn't say anything, just hugged her tight. They sat like that for a few minutes, neither saying anything. He thought perhaps she had fallen asleep when she spoke. "I suppose you should go to your room now."

She then pulled away and stared up at him. He gazed at her face illuminated by the moonlight and his breath was stolen away by how beautiful she looked. He reached up and stroked her cheek. "Will you be alright?" he asked gently.

She nodded wordlessly, still staring deeply into his eyes. It was all he could do not to kiss her. He was surprised when it was she who leaned forward and gently placed a kiss upon his lips. It was a brief connection and then she was gone, climbing back into her bed. "Goodnight Drake," she whispered to him.

He stood and walked to the door. "Goodnight Virginia." He turned and walked out the door to Billy's room across the hall. He left his evening clothes on the floor and climbed into bed but it was a long time before he finally drifted off to sleep.

Virginia lay in her bed across the hall, staring at the moon through the window. She was trying to determine how she felt about everything she had learned tonight. She knew she despised Thomas, but what about Drake? He must have known how vulnerable she was tonight. She would have succumbed to his advances so easily. Even now she desired his touch and it was all she could do to not creep across the hall and climb into his bed. She desperately wanted to feel loved and adored and he always did that when they were together. She would regret it in the morning, she knew, but she didn't allow herself to think that far in advance. He knew he could have had her, yet he resisted. It was she who had finally kissed him, but he didn't grip her to him as she had expected. He must have known it would only end up badly once again. She sighed and rolled over, away from the window, and closed her eyes, letting sleep sweep away her problems for a few hours.