asked you to come with me, it annoyed him. His sense of family is very strong and very exclusive.”
“You’re his responsibility—in his opinion,” Reeve added when she started to protest.
“His opinion will have to change. Bennett’s different. He seems so carefree. Perhaps it’s his age, or the fact that he’s the younger son. Still, he watched me as though I might trip at any moment and need him to catch me. Loubet, what do you think of him?”
“I don’t know him.”
“Neither do I,” she said wryly. “An opinion?”
“His position doesn’t sit lightly on him, either.”
It wasn’t an evasion, Brie decided, any more than it was an answer. “You’re a very elemental man, aren’t you? Is it an American trait?”
“It’s a matter of pushing away frills that just get in the way. You seem to be a very elemental woman.”
“Do I?” She pursed her lips in thought. “It might be true, or it might be true now only out of necessity. I can’t afford frills, can I?”
The strain of the evening had been more than she’d admit, Reeve observed as she turned again to rest her palms against the stone. She was tired, but he understood her reluctance to go in where she’d have nothing but her own questions for company.
“Brie, have you thought about taking a few days and going away?” She lifted her head. Sensing the angerin her, he laid a hand on her shoulder. “Not running away, getting away. It’s human.”
“I can’t afford to be human until I know who I am.”
“Your doctor said the amnesia’s temporary.”
“What’s temporary?” she demanded. “A week, month, year? Not good enough, Reeve. I won’t just sit and wait for things to come to me. In the hospital I had dreams.” She closed her eyes a moment, breathed deep and continued. “In the dreams I was awake, but not awake. I couldn’t move. It was dark and I couldn’t make myself move. Voices. I could hear voices, and I’d struggle and struggle to understand them, recognize them, but I’m afraid. In the dream I’m terrified, and when I wake, I’m terrified.”
He drew in sharply on his cigarette. She said it without any emotion, and the lack of feeling said a great deal. “You were drugged.”
Very slowly, she turned toward him again. In the shadowed light her eyes were very clear. “How do you know?”
“The doctors had to pump you. It’s the opinion from the state you were in that you were kept drugged. Even when your memory comes back, Brie, you may not be able to pinpoint anything that happened during the week you were held. That’s something you’d better face now.”
“Yes, I will.” She pressed her lips together until she was certain her voice would be strong. “I will remember. How much more do you know?”
“Not a great deal.”
“Out with it.”
He flipped his cigarette over the banister and into the void. “All right, then. You were abducted sometime Sunday. No one knows the exact time, as you were out driving alone. Sunday evening a call came in to Alexander.”
“Alex?”
“Yes, he usually works on Sunday evenings in his office. He has a separate line there as all of you do in your own quarters. The call was brief. It said simply that you’d been taken and would be held until the ransomdemands were met. No demands were made at that time.”
And where had she been held? Dark. All she could be certain of was dark. “What did Alex do?”
“He went directly to your father. You were searched for. Monday morning your car was found on a lane about forty miles from town. There’s a plot of land out there you own. It seems you have a habit of driving out there just to be alone and poke around. Monday afternoon, the first ransom demand was made. That was for money. There was no question about it being paid, of course, but before the arrangement could be made, another call came. This one demanded the release of four prisoners in exchange for you.”
“And that complicated things.”
“Two
“You’re his responsibility—in his opinion,” Reeve added when she started to protest.
“His opinion will have to change. Bennett’s different. He seems so carefree. Perhaps it’s his age, or the fact that he’s the younger son. Still, he watched me as though I might trip at any moment and need him to catch me. Loubet, what do you think of him?”
“I don’t know him.”
“Neither do I,” she said wryly. “An opinion?”
“His position doesn’t sit lightly on him, either.”
It wasn’t an evasion, Brie decided, any more than it was an answer. “You’re a very elemental man, aren’t you? Is it an American trait?”
“It’s a matter of pushing away frills that just get in the way. You seem to be a very elemental woman.”
“Do I?” She pursed her lips in thought. “It might be true, or it might be true now only out of necessity. I can’t afford frills, can I?”
The strain of the evening had been more than she’d admit, Reeve observed as she turned again to rest her palms against the stone. She was tired, but he understood her reluctance to go in where she’d have nothing but her own questions for company.
“Brie, have you thought about taking a few days and going away?” She lifted her head. Sensing the angerin her, he laid a hand on her shoulder. “Not running away, getting away. It’s human.”
“I can’t afford to be human until I know who I am.”
“Your doctor said the amnesia’s temporary.”
“What’s temporary?” she demanded. “A week, month, year? Not good enough, Reeve. I won’t just sit and wait for things to come to me. In the hospital I had dreams.” She closed her eyes a moment, breathed deep and continued. “In the dreams I was awake, but not awake. I couldn’t move. It was dark and I couldn’t make myself move. Voices. I could hear voices, and I’d struggle and struggle to understand them, recognize them, but I’m afraid. In the dream I’m terrified, and when I wake, I’m terrified.”
He drew in sharply on his cigarette. She said it without any emotion, and the lack of feeling said a great deal. “You were drugged.”
Very slowly, she turned toward him again. In the shadowed light her eyes were very clear. “How do you know?”
“The doctors had to pump you. It’s the opinion from the state you were in that you were kept drugged. Even when your memory comes back, Brie, you may not be able to pinpoint anything that happened during the week you were held. That’s something you’d better face now.”
“Yes, I will.” She pressed her lips together until she was certain her voice would be strong. “I will remember. How much more do you know?”
“Not a great deal.”
“Out with it.”
He flipped his cigarette over the banister and into the void. “All right, then. You were abducted sometime Sunday. No one knows the exact time, as you were out driving alone. Sunday evening a call came in to Alexander.”
“Alex?”
“Yes, he usually works on Sunday evenings in his office. He has a separate line there as all of you do in your own quarters. The call was brief. It said simply that you’d been taken and would be held until the ransomdemands were met. No demands were made at that time.”
And where had she been held? Dark. All she could be certain of was dark. “What did Alex do?”
“He went directly to your father. You were searched for. Monday morning your car was found on a lane about forty miles from town. There’s a plot of land out there you own. It seems you have a habit of driving out there just to be alone and poke around. Monday afternoon, the first ransom demand was made. That was for money. There was no question about it being paid, of course, but before the arrangement could be made, another call came. This one demanded the release of four prisoners in exchange for you.”
“And that complicated things.”
“Two
Similar Books
