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THIRTY-SIX

D amian was waiting for her in the conservatory.

The moment she opened the door and moved into her private Eden, Valerie knew he was there. It was as if she was so attuned to him she could sense him on the metaphysical plane. Her pulse skittered in delight. A euphoria that was more intense than what the ambrosia could induce swept through her.

“I got your message, Damian,” she whispered into the darkness.

The indoor jungle was drenched in shadows and moonlight. She had not dared to bring a lantern or a candle. She had been afraid that one of the servants would notice. She could not trust any of them.

The faint scent of cigarette smoke floated lightly on the fragrant air. A dark figure stirred near a bed of towering ferns.

“Valerie,” he said. “I have missed you so much these past months. I could not wait any longer to be with you.”

She flew toward him, her chest so tight with the force of her emotions that she could scarcely breathe.

“Damian,” she said. “Damian, Damian, my beloved. I have been in torment waiting for you to come to me. Every day without you has been an eternity.”

He opened his arms and she flung herself into the safety and the rapture of his embrace. He extinguished his cigarette in the fern bed and then his mouth closed over hers.

His kisses thrilled her senses, just as they had all those months ago in New York when they had become lovers. Two lost souls, he said, who had found each other at last. He had vowed to find a way for them to be together. All that was required was time and careful planning.

She looked up at him, savoring the sheer size of the man. Like a gallant knight of old, he had come to rescue her from the cruel tyrant she had been forced to marry.

“It was so clever of you to come to London before you were expected,” she said. “As far as Fulbrook is concerned your ship will not dock until the day after tomorrow. How long have you been in town?”

“A few days. I’m staying at a hotel under another name. I have been afraid to let you know I was here for fear the secret might slip out. But tonight I could not wait any longer. I had to see you.”

“I will keep your secrets. You can trust me.”

“I know.”

He kissed her again and then he caught her hands in his.

“I cannot stay long tonight,” he said. “I will not let you take the risk of being discovered, not now when we are so close to the fulfillment of our plans.”

“Don’t worry, we are safe,” she said.

“It is imperative that your husband believes that I am still on board ship. He must not suspect that I arranged to arrive a few days ahead of schedule.”

She touched his hair, hardly daring to believe that he was real, that this was not a dream.

“How much longer until we can be together?” she asked.

“Not long, my love.” He touched her mouth with one gloved finger. “Not long at all. The last shipment is in the warehouse. We will take it with us when we sail to New York. There are a few more matters that must be dealt with and then it will all be over.”

“You must promise me that you will be careful. Fulbrook is not strong like you but he is powerful in his own way and quite ruthless.”

“Do not fear, my sweet. In a very short time he will no longer be a problem for either of us. But now I must go. I should not have come here tonight but I had to see you. It has been agony, exchanging secret letters and thinking about you here with Fulbrook.”

“My husband spends his time with his whores and at his clubs, not with me. I have been alone—so very alone. At night I dream of you. During the day I cannot stop thinking about you.”

“Soon you will be safe with me in New York.”

“Safe.” She breathed the word with a sense of wonder. “Safe at last.”

He kissed her again and her heart soared.