Keeper of My Dreams (St. John Series Book 4) (18 page)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Reanna looked around the room. She was having bittersweet feelings as she took in the St. John brood. She liked her new friends and the tropical paradise they resided in. She did not want to leave but knew her father and brother were worried for her safety. As she looked at the family, she almost dreaded the thought of going home. She was leaving tomorrow. Eli had attempted to book her passage on a passenger vessel but none were traveling to England soon. The earliest departure was over a month away. So after some manipulation of shipping schedules, they would be traveling on
The Abyss
.

As her eyes traveled to the guests at Madison’s home, she could sense the tension in the room. Not only were the St. Johns present, but so were Nicholas’s parents. It was a rare occasion to have both families together. She noticed Helen, Nicholas’s mother, give Elizabeth a polite smile. Elizabeth wasn’t as subtle as the eloquent blond and returned her smile with a tight-lipped smirk.

“Are they always this hostile?” Reanna asked Max.

He swirled the whiskey in his glass and downed it in one swallow. “How the hell should I know?”

“You work for them.”

“Yeah, but I have never been privy to family functions . . . until now.”

“I kind of wish it were still that way,” Kristina said as she wrapped around her husband’s arm.

He gently kissed her. “I take it Sophia is asleep?”

“
Si
. Although it was somewhat difficult. You have spoiled her of late. She kept wanting you to lie down with her. So I compromised and allowed her to sleep with Alex in her bed. But of course, both would not lie down until Mrs. Potts agreed to read them a story.”

“Good.” Max leaned over and whispered in his wife’s ear, “I need a little us time.”

Kristina smacked Max’s arm. “Behave.”

“If I must. Now if you’ll excuse me, ladies, I need to speak with Nicholas.”

Reanna turned her gaze to Max. “He’s an odd man.”

Kristina giggled. “I have heard Max called many things, but ‘odd’ has never been one of them.”

“I will miss our little chats.”

“Me, too. But you must promise to write and visit when you can.”

“I will.”

Kristina squeezed Reanna’s hand. “Please excuse me. It looks like Madison needs some assistance.” Reanna looked to Madison and saw she was trying to defuse the matriarchs of the family. Elizabeth glared at Helen as she spoke. Whatever was said was apparently not very nice, for Helen lowered her eyes to small slits as she retorted. Reanna shook her head.

Reanna turned and walked to the veranda doors. George opened them for her. Once out the door, the butler closed the door behind her. She mindlessly walked around the porch, allowing her hand to run along the smoothness of the banister. She stopped and leaned against one of the white pillars. Breathing deeply, she absorbed the scents around her—fragrant flowers and the salty air. It was a pleasant combination. The flowers in the shrubbery danced in the breeze, capturing her attention. As she watched the petals move in a hypnotic dance, voices could be heard coming from the other side of the shrubbery. The voices became louder as they grew closer and she recognized Max’s deep voice.

“That was a close one, Nicholas,” Max said and stopped just out of sight of Reanna.

“Yes, it was. I was getting nervous when Eli recognized Slim, but you defused that situation. That would have been hard to explain.”

Max gave a snort. “Yeah. Imagine Robert’s reaction if he found out that Nicholas Sinclair and the infamous pirate Alexander Xavier were the same person.”

“I’m not sure what he would be more upset about . . . the fact that we used to steal from him or the fact that I kidnapped his daughter.”

“I’m voting the second one,” Max replied drily.

In a trance-like state, London turned and walked back into the house, the conversation repeating in her mind. Nicholas was a pirate!

Eli had been on the search of London. He still needed to ask her about Snowdon’s confession. He spotted her walking in from the veranda. Her dazed look caused his heart to accelerate.

“London, is something amiss?” Eli asked.

“No,” she whispered, staring straight ahead, like she had seen an apparition.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nicholas and Max are pirates.”

“What?”

“I heard them. Nicholas is Alex.” Her eyes grew wide as she grabbed Eli’s arm. “He kidnapped Madison.”

A dark look came over Eli. “I knew it!”

Fear came over Reanna as she viewed Eli’s expression. “Don’t do anything rash, Eli. I might have misunderstood.” He looked at her and headed towards the door. She grabbed his arm and stopped him. “Please don’t barge out there and accuse them without proof.”

“Eli, where are you?” Elizabeth called. “Oh, there you are. Come now, I—” Elizabeth stopped when she noticed his disposition. “In one of your moods, I see. Well, you’ll just have to hear what your father has to say in your current ill humor.”

Elizabeth wrapped her hand around Eli’s arm and dragged him into the other room. Nicholas and Max entered at that time. Without warning, Eli stormed to Nicholas, balled up his fist and hit Nicholas’s jaw. As Nicholas was stumbling back from Eli’s fierce blow, Eli whipped in Max’s direction and his fist connected with his brother’s jaw.

“Eli!” Elizabeth yelled followed by Madison’s, “Eli!” and Robert’s, “Here now!”

Eli took another swing at his brother-in-law. Nicholas saw the punch coming, dodged the incoming blow and landed one of his own to Eli’s nose.

Robert grabbed Eli before he could swing again. At the same time Nathan, being the largest of the St. Johns, held onto Max, and Owen pulled Nicholas back. Both brothers knew that Nicholas and Max together could easily kill their grim older brother.

“What is this all about?!” Madison yelled as she jumped between her husband and brothers.

“How the hell should I know?” Nicholas yelled. “He’s your crazy brother.”

“You’re both damned pirates!” Eli retorted, attempting to shake off his father. Animosity radiated from him.

“You’re not doing this again, are you?” Madison whipped around to argue with her brother. “We have already had this discussion, Eli.”

“London overheard these two talking. He admitted it!”

All eyes turned to Reanna. She began shifting uncomfortably. “This is a family discussion. I think I should leave.”

“Reanna?” Robert questioned.

She looked to the head St. John, pleading in her eyes. “Please don’t.”

“If you know something that affects this family, I suggest you divulge that information,” Robert warned.

Reanna looked at Madison with regret in her eyes. She could not do it. Madison was her friend.

“London!” Eli yelled.

Reanna jumped at the fierceness of Eli’s tone. “Do people always do what you want, Eli?” Reanna shot back.

“Yes. Now answer my father.”

“No.”

“I am,” Nicholas admitted as he shook off Owen.

“What?” was echoed by almost everyone in the room.

“Nicholas,” Madison warned with fear in her voice.

“They would have found out eventually,” he casually replied as he walked to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass of brandy.

“What are you saying, Nicholas?” Robert asked.

Nicholas took a drink of the liquor, gave a cocky grin and admitted, “Allow me to introduce myself—I used to be Alexander Xavier and Max was my quartermaster.”

“Nicholas, this is not anything to joke about,” Helen said, trying to make sense of her son.

“I’m not.”

Robert made a furious noise as he crossed the room. “You son-of-a-bitch!”

Madison moved at that time and blocked her father’s advance towards her husband. “Daddy, don’t.”

Robert’s eyes locked with Madison’s. “You knew about this?”

Eli gnashed his teeth. Helen began fanning herself. All were in shock as Elizabeth marched to her son-in-law and punched him as she mimicked her husband’s, “You son-of-a-bitch! You kidnapped her! Kept her away from me, from her family for almost a month! Why?”

“Mother!” Madison protested.

Nicholas dabbed the corner of his bloodied mouth. Calmly, he admitted, “Revenge,” as he sat down in a leather chair, crossed his feet at the ankles and slouched languidly.

“I’m going to kill him,” Robert growled.

“You will do no such thing,” Madison intervened.

“He kidnapped you. He beat you. He killed your husband,” Elizabeth reminded.

“Yes and no,” Madison admitted, deciding the lie they had been living could go on no longer. “He did kidnap me. But he treated me well. And he did not kill Andrew.” She swallowed nervously as she raised her chin. “I did.”

A pin could have been heard dropping. “Why?” Elizabeth whispered.

“I had fallen in love with Alex or Nicholas—whatever you choose to call him. After he was captured, I knew I could not let him hang. Andrew was a cruel man. He killed Kris’s parents and Samuel’s mother. The bruises I received that night were from him, not Nicholas. Nicholas tried to stop him, but Andrew did not fight fair. He was going to kill Nicholas, so I shot him.”

Elizabeth paled and sank into a chair. Madison turned her gaze to her father and noticed that his face had turned red and a vein in his forehead was throbbing. “I would do it all again. I do not regret my actions.”

“How did you manage to escape prison?” Oliver asked Nicholas, enjoying the story.

“I broke them out,” Kris admitted as she came to stand beside her husband.

Robert looked to his eldest son, Madison’s story slowly making its way into his mind. “I was there! I saw those bloody pirates face-to-face.”

“Facial hair is such a fabulous disguise,” Nicholas said, arrogantly sipping his brandy.

“I will deal with you momentarily, Nicholas.” Robert turned his gaze away from his son-in-law to his son. “How could you? You knew I was your father and that Madison was your sister.”

“And a hell of a father you were, too,” Max replied with hatred.

“Aw, hell,” Nicholas mumbled as he rubbed his jaw.

“That has nothing to do with this situation!” Robert defended.

“Doesn’t it?” Kristina chimed in. “You allowed him to live his entire life in that squalor with that hateful bitch Sybil. You knew he was your son. You sent money for his care on a weekly basis.” A new look came to Kristina, one of extreme bitterness. “Or was it a bribe to keep him hidden from your family?”

“I did come for him!” Robert yelled.

“When? I lived in that hell for fourteen years!” Max yelled. “The only people who showed me any type of kindness were Nicholas and Helen.”

Elizabeth whipped to the governor’s wife. “You knew?”

“No,” the tall blond woman whispered with a mortified look to her face. “I had no idea who his father was.”

“Fourteen years I lived in that hell! I hated you!” Max yelled as he angrily gestured at Robert. Kristina noticed the change in her husband—one from anger to anguish. “I hated your entire family! I had to live in that filth and disease-ridden tavern while your other children got to live in a mansion on the hill . . . without worry of where their next meal was coming from . . . without worry of the next debilitating beating that was coming. Everything I ever possessed in my youth was because I stole it. . . food, clothing, medicine. Not once did I
ever
see you grace the door of my purgatory. So tell me,
Father,
when did you come for me?”

Robert’s expression sobered as he listened to his son’s life. “After your mother passed.”

Max made a derogatory snort.

“I was away on business. I found out and came for you. But that tavern owner said you left two days prior.” Robert watched as Max’s jaw tightened and then looked away. “I sent people out to look for you, but you had vanished.”

“Pirates can do that,” Max admitted. Robert gave him a concerned look. “I joined the first crew I came to just after that bitch took her last breath.”

“They were pirates?”

“You knew he was there and left him?! You sent money to that whore for his care even though you knew . . .” Elizabeth’s words trailed off as her anger took over. She grabbed Nicholas’s glass from his hand and threw it at her husband, hitting him in the head.

“Damn it!” Robert yelled, rubbing his wound.

“Don’t you dare raise your voice to me!” Elizabeth shouted, crossing the room to her husband. “You sent money for his care. We could have taken him in!” Her eyes grew wide. “How much older is he than Eli and Jacob?”

Robert turned a wary eye to his wife. “Five months. The night you found Sybil in my home was when she told me.”

Tears entered Elizabeth’s eyes as she sank to the floor.

Robert lowered himself to his wife. “Had I known how this would have turned out, I would have made different choices. That way none of us would be dealing with this heartache. But at that time I had no choice. I couldn’t lose you, Elizabeth. You were my whole world. When Sybil presented Max to me, I didn’t believe her. How many other noblemen have had their mistresses try to coerce marriage on them by presenting children that didn’t belong to them? I was not certain that Max was even my child, but I was certain that I could not live my life without you. I sent her money so she would not kill the child, so she would not sell him.”