Commander's Little Surprise. Mollie Molay

champagne was flowing freely and May Stevens was greeting latecomers. He drew her aside.

      He’d never been the kind of man to mince words and he didn’t intend to start now. “Sorry, duchess, I know you set me and your cousin up, no…don’t deny it. What I want to know now is, why. And when you’re finished explaining, I would like you to tell me where Victoria has disappeared to!”

      May looked surprised. “I don’t know what you mean. I only thought that since Victoria was here tonight without an escort, you could keep her amused.”

      Dan wasn’t satisfied, but he wasn’t prepared to force the issue. This was, after all, May’s home and Victoria was her cousin.

      “I don’t know where she is now,” May went on as she looked around the room. “She didn’t say goodbye. Why don’t you ask Wade?”

      Dan eyed May’s flushed features suspiciously. “That’s it?”

      “Of course. Victoria is a widow. I was only trying to make her feel at home.”

      Dan apologized, then headed over to Wade, who was busy helping tend the bar. When he got close enough to be heard over the noise, he leaned over the bar and asked, “Do you know where Victoria is? She’s disappeared.”

      Wade shrugged and poured a whiskey on ice. “Beats me. Have you asked May?”

      “Yep. Unfortunately, May says she’s clueless,” Dan answered dryly, “but between me and you, I have my doubts.”

      “Tried the ladies’ room?

      Whatever May might have known of the reasons for Victoria’s disappearance, Wade wasn’t in on it. Dan shook his head.

      Wade poured a beer for another guest and wiped his hands on a towel. “My guess is Vicky was tired and went home.”

      Dan nodded and turned away. He had no right to ask any more questions, or to go after Victoria.

      Maybe she hadn’t been his mystery woman after all.

      THERE WAS a light knock on Victoria’s bedroom door. She lay curled up in the center of her bed, a book lying unread beside her. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “Come in, Lydia.”

      Lydia entered her bedroom. “I saw your light under the door, my dear. I wanted to say good-night.”

      Victoria smiled sadly. Dear Lydia seemed to know how much she missed her husband. He had been almost thirty years older than her. Rolande had had steel-gray hair at his temples and a trim body of a much younger man. A twentieth-century man in the twenty-first century, he had been courtly and respected. “You don’t have to have permission to enter my bedroom, Lydia. You know you’re always welcome here.”

      Lydia smiled. “I know. I just didn’t want to disturb you. I wanted to see if you had actually fallen asleep with the light on.”

      “I was only thinking,” Victoria said.

      “Of Rolande?”

      “Yes.”

      Lydia smiled sadly. “How could I forget such a fine man? It is a shame he had to die under such circumstances.”

      Victoria studied Lydia and sensed it hadn’t only been the light that had attracted her. There was a questioning expression on her dear face. She stirred uneasily. “Is there something wrong?”

      Lydia laughed. “I was about to ask you the same question, Vicky. You know me too well.”

      “As you seem to know me. What is it?”

      “I am still troubled by your reaction to the invitation to your cousin’s housewarming. I also noticed you appeared unhappy when you returned home.” Lydia paused and studied her for a long, deep moment. “You look disturbed now, my dear. Did you meet someone tonight out of your past?”

      Victoria smiled ruefully. “How did you guess?”

      “I’m no fool, Vicky. Only such a meeting could have left you looking so unhappy.” Lydia studied her for a long moment. “You haven’t forgotten your bargain with Rolande, have you?”

      Victoria bravely met Lydia’s gaze. They had always been honest with each other. She would be honest now.

      “No, of course not. Rolande meant too much to me.”

      Lydia hesitated, then went on. “I also would like to remind you how important it is you let someone know if there is a problem.”

      Although she smiled her agreement, Victoria felt guilty when she recalled the way she’d reacted when she’d been introduced to Dan. “I know. As I said a moment ago, you know me too well. The meeting tonight meant nothing to me.”

      “Then, you have nothing to fear, Vicky,” Lydia said. “Just remember, you’ve always had me to watch over you. Even now.”

      “I know, and I love you all the more for it,” Victoria replied. “You’ve always been more than a friend to me.”

      Lydia nodded. “Then I will say good-night, my dear. Sleep well.”

      Victoria sank back against her pillows. If Rolande had been alive, she would have asked him to stay the night with her. She would have thrown back the bedcovers and invited him to join her. To stay and hold her in his arms. He had always made her feel so safe.

      Victoria closed her eyes. If Rolande had been able to make love with her, she would have welcomed him. Instead, they both had had to be satisfied with their situation and with the strong bond they’d forged between them.

      Her thoughts turned pensive.

      She had discovered, and only by chance, that her anxious parents had arranged her marriage to Rolande because he had been a man old enough and wise enough to ensure her safety and happiness in a world that, in their opinion, had gone awry as proven by her cousin’s marriage to an American naval officer.

      When she had come to Rolande with the truth before their wedding, he had been honest with her. He, too, had a secret to share. They would do well together, he’d told her as they made their bargain. Impotent, a child to carry on his name had been his dearest wish.

      There was no way she would betray the trust Rolande had placed in her.