Page 22 of Leon
Grace accepted the wine and curled her legs beneath her. It had been very difficult not to tell her friend's father what she thought of him. He had been in bed when she arrived, with Kadian serving him tea.
"She and her husband. Doctors without borders."
Grace lifted a brow. "An heiress doing that sort of thing."
"Leon said his father and she have it out often, but she refused to back down from her career path. They go to all of these distressed areas to offer medical support. She sometimes uses her own money to provide supplies."
Grace lifted a brow. "Admirable. It's not often you hear that sort of thing. Is her husband loaded as well?"
"He comes from money. She surprised him with her visit. They have been away for more than six months."
Grace eyed her over the rim of her glass. "You've never met her."
"No." The wine was making her mellow, but there was still the ache inside her chest that would not go away. "She left before we got married."
"Think he'll tell her?"
Kadian nodded. "They're very close."
"I thought the weekend went very well."
She stirred herself to look at her friend. "It was magic." A wistful smile touched her lips. "We had the best time. But something tells me that is all over." She put down her glass abruptly. "I'm scared, Grace."
"Honey, you know what you have to do. And I don't think that husband of yours is going to call it quits just like that."
"Normally, I would agree with you. He loves me, there is no doubt about that. But he's getting increasingly impatient. God! Sometimes I feel as if I'm being torn in two. I want to be with him so badly, and then I start to resent dad."
"I don't need to remind you that your place is with your husband."
"He said the same thing." She picked up the wine again and just stared into the dark red contents. "I really don't know what to do."
*****
"The coq au vin was excellent." Lisa curled her legs under her and sighed as she sipped the excellent vintage. "Your housekeeper is a whiz." She watched as her brother stoked the fire before putting away the poker. "It's times like these that you appreciate how good life is and how much you have to give thanks for."
He sent her an amused glance. "You're not going to get philosophical on me, are you?" He settled in an easy chair across from her and picked up his wineglass.
"Something like that." She flashed him a smile, contented and happy to be here with him. "We've been to some rather forlorn and degrading areas, where people lack the usual necessities, ones that we take for granted, such as clean running water, indoor plumbing. Food to eat." She took a sip of the wine. "Drinking a glass of aged or even poor vintage would seem like drinking gold to them. A mother unable to take care of her children. Introducing contraceptives to them is like asking them to stop living. Their mindset is so steeped in the old ways that bringing them around takes a great amount of effort."
"Are you making strides?"
"Little by little." She murmured. "We have to educate the mind before we can do anything else." She shook herself and smiled at him. "We're not here to talk about my work. What about you, darling? What's new?"
"I'm married." He figured the best way was the most direct and had the pleasure of seeing her goggle.
"Excuse me? For a minute, I thought you said you were married."
He grinned at her stunned expression and lifted his right hand to show her the ring he was wearing.
"It's on the wrong finger," she pointed out dazedly.
"We're not telling anyone just yet." He sipped wine and eyed her over the glass. "Her name is Kadian Donaldson, now Whitlock." He waited for her to make the connection.
"Donaldson, where have I--" He saw when it connected. "Wow! Darling, isn't that--"
"The daughter of dad's sworn enemy. Hence the need to be discreet. We got married six months ago."
She continued to stare at him for several minutes, her mind trying to grasp the significance of the news.
