Read Online Elusive by Linda Rae Blair - Free Book Online Page B

she
assumed, she would find the Will, and a package the size of a small
stack of books. Inspecting it, she found it wrapped in brown paper,
tied with a thin cord. It was not heavy, she thought.
    She folded the envelope and stuck it into her
coat pocket. She’d look at the papers later, when she could do so
with more understanding.
    Moving toward the kitchen, she sat at the
small wooden table where they had shared so many meals. She cut the
cord then slowly, almost reverently, removed the brown paper that
covered the package. Inside the wrapping she found an enameled box
in pastel blue with purple flowers of some sort spread across the
top. It was so lovely and, she thought as she lightly traced her
fingers over the ornate design, obviously very old.
    She carefully opened the lid, and found it
was full of papers that looked like letters of various ages. Some
were simply folded. Some were in their own envelopes. There were
the slightest of scents of lavender and roses wafting from the box
as she lifted the contents. On top of the stack was an envelope
with “ Blair ” written in Roddy’s neat script.
    What she didn’t realize was that this gift
from her uncle was about to change her future, as well as unsettle
everything she had thought she had known about her past—and
his.
    ***
    Instead of sleeping, he was once again pacing
his apartment balcony. His hair was still damp from the cold shower
he’d had at what? Yes, 3:30 AM. He’d been having some rather
disturbing dreams…involving a tiny blonde with big gray eyes.
They—no, he would be honest with himself, she —had him
awakening, his body first…then his mind, at all hours of the night
for three nights in a row. This had to stop!
    He had followed his instincts and had gone to
the man’s funeral to check her out. Damn the woman. What kind of
game was she playing? Whatever it was, he was not about to let her
get by with it. His sources had told him of her treachery, and he
had to stop her somehow. He would protect what was his—his
father’s—his family’s—if it took his last breath. God knew he had
the resources to have her followed and to look into her
background.
    She had put on a good show—had seemed
earnestly distressed by the man’s death. He knew the real pain of
loss. How it gouged out your heart and left you an empty shell!
Then, just as suddenly it filled you with anger unreasonably ready
to pick a fight with the dead. Yes, he knew grief…after all he had
buried his own beloved father just days ago. But this charlatan,
no, she didn’t know the real pain. Perhaps she was just upset that
their plans had been interrupted. She and the old man had been
playing the part of a loving family, but he had been told
otherwise.
    Oh, she was a pretty enough little thing,
with all that pale hair, those huge gray eyes, and God, that pouty
mouth of hers. Her figure was exquisite, even draped in somber
black. She was a picture all right, standing there in her mourning
clothes, weeping into her lace handkerchief, the two women beside
her practically holding her up—as if she really felt the pain of
grief. It might all work on some, but he wasn’t going to let her
get to him. He would do whatever it took to protect what was his
from a thieving fraud, no matter how stunning she was.
    He walked to his study, wrote a quick note to
the man he would trust to find out what he needed. Then he would
just have to be patient until he heard back. Patience was not
something for which he was well-known.

    **************************

    Chapter 8: Dark Family Secret Revealed
    Paris, France – April 1912

    The stack of letters ranged from the very old
to the one left for her by Roddy. While she was anxious to read her
uncle’s letter, she found she could not resist the temptation of
the older ones. She decided to start with the oldest and work her
way toward the present. The letter was yellowed, badly faded, and
bordered on being brittle, but she could still read the