Page 66 of Tamed By a Passionate Lady
She studied the portrait in the oval frame. The last time that she had gazed on it, she had been unaware of who this woman was, or what she had meant to her husband. She felt like she was viewing it with far different eyes now.
Her name is Lydia.
James’ voice drifted through her mind, like smoke, curling around. She frowned, staring hard at the portrait, as if there might be answers within it.
She was beautiful.
Her heart started to thud, painfully, in her chest, as she acknowledged the fact. The womanwasbeautiful. There was no point denying it. Her golden hair was twisted into corkscrew curls, and her eyes were large; so blue that she felt as if she were gazing into the ocean on a bright summer’s day. She also had a delicate heart-shaped face, a small nose, and high, sweeping cheekbones.
A wave of pure envy swept over her for a moment. This woman was delicate, exquisite; her beauty so luminous that it was no wonder she had stolen her husband’s heart. Adaline imagined that she must have had many admirers.
Her hand shook as it held the portrait, and she bit her lip in sudden agony. This woman was the polar opposite of what she looked like. They were not similar, in any way. The woman’s colouring, the delicacy of her features…Adaline suddenly felt more bereft than she ever had.
Her husband had passionately loved this woman, so much so that he had never recovered from that love. It didn’t matter now that he said he had merely been infatuated with her, that he had not known the difference between lust and love. She knew, better than anyone, how sorrowful and melancholy her husband had been, how hurt he was. His heart had indeed been broken.
All the doubts and insecurities that she had held about herself suddenly flared to life again, as she stared at the portrait. She looked nothing like this woman; her golden beauty was the antithesis of her own dark, almost exotic looks. No wonder James had never given himself to her in the past. He had obviously been comparing her to the lovely Lydia, and found her lacking in every way.
She struggled with this for a moment, her eyes filling with tears. Would she never be free of this? Now that she knew about this woman, and had seen her face, would she always believe that James was secretly thinking about her?
But then, James’ voice came into her head again, stronger than before.
I realise now what true love is. You have shown me, my darling Adaline. You have always shown me. I think that deep down, I have always loved you, but I was fighting it…
The tears spilled over. Slowly, carefully, she put the portrait back where it had been.
She had to trust in him now. He told her that he loved her, and she had to believe in that love. She had to put the past behind her, just like he had, and look to the future. A bright future, together.
She didn’t glance at the portrait again. She turned and left the room, closing the door firmly behind her.
Chapter 25
James sighed deeply, glancing at Reuben as he walked alongside the wheelchair. His so-called friend was gazing out at the ocean, an inscrutable expression on his face. He didn’t seem inclined to chat, as they journeyed further along the top of the cliffs.
He has no idea, thought James grimly.He does not suspect a thing.
James pondered the sheer arrogance of the man. Reuben was so deeply secure in the belief that he had got away with everything, that James had no memory of what he had done to him, that he was willing to stroll the same route, towards the same cliff top, with him. He didn’t even seem concerned that it could possibly jog his memory at all.
A deep anger swept through him, causing him to grip the handles of the wheelchair tightly. Reuben was also very confident that Adaline would never tell him about how he had treated her. The things that he had said to her, when he was alone with her, the insinuations, the insistence that they begin an affair, right under James’ nose. His friend had only done it because he believed that he would get away with it; that there was simply no possibility of discovery.
He wanted to leap out of the wheelchair and throttle the man. He gripped the handles tighter still, waiting for the urge to pass. Hemustbe patient.
Inexplicably, the anger passed, and in its place came a deep sorrow. He had thought that this man was his friend. They had known each other since they were boys and shared so much together. And the whole time, beneath the surface, Reuben had secretly despised him. So much so, that he had not hesitated to push him off a cliff.
He shook his head, in utter disbelief that it had come to this. That Reuben’s resentment of him had turned him into a cold-blooded killer.
He blinked back tears. Where had it gone so wrong?
He had always tried to be patient with Reuben’s moods, his inexplicable jealousy, which would rear up from time to time. He had tried to put himself in his friend’s shoes, imagine what it must be like to feel beholden to others. To not be as well off, and yet constantly be alongside someone who was. To be compared to James and found lacking. None of it had been Reuben’s fault, and yet his friend had been forced to live with it. It had just become his lot in life.
But he could not understand how that resentment had turned so dark, had twisted into such a bitter thing that the man was willing to commit murder. He supposed that he would never understand. It simply was what it was, and he had to deal with it now. Hemustdeal with it.
Reuben was a cuckoo in the nest. He was a viper, nestling in the shadows, waiting for his opportunity to strike. He had done so once, and he might do it again. His obsession with Adaline had not abated, and he had been willing to kill to finally get her. To satisfy the overwhelming urge to possess what James had.
The wind whipped up quite suddenly. James watched Reuben’s hat fly off his head. The man had to run after it, scrambling to grab it as it bobbed along the ground. Just as he was about to secure it, it evaded him, flying into the air, out over the cliffs to the beach below.
Reuben looked thunderous as he turned back, walking slowly towards him.
James forced a smile onto his face. “A bit of bad luck, old chap.”
