The Frenchman's Revenge (8 page)

Alex
had
stepped back,
not able to hide his tears.
But
his ever irrepressible sister
, Elena
,
stared at the stern Chinese man and
,
lift
ing
her little defiant chin
,
a
sked, “Are you
D
eshi’s
grandfather
?
”
When he nodded, she
demanded
, “What about me? And what about Alex?
Are you our grandfather
,
too?
”

Wan had looked at
the
two little white children
and said,
“Y
es
,
I am.
Why do you have to ask?
”
He reached out and pulled
Elena
to him
. H
is voice
was
rough with emotion
.

“You are my first granddaughter
, Elena.
”
Alex had been cowering shyly behind Elena, but Wan reached out and hugged him. With a solemn look that Alex never forgot, he added,
“And, you
, Alex,
are my first grandson.”

Wan
never looked at the two of them any less adoringly than he
did
at D
eshi
and then
at
the twins
,
when
Gabriel
and
Jacob
were born. H
e play
ed
with the little dark haired mixed Chinese children who
were more
obviously
related
to him
,
but he never
treated
them with more love than he showered on the red haired hoyden and
her
serious blond haired b
rother
.
He and
Elena returned
his
love un
questioningly
.
Only when he was much older and knew the complexity of his grandfather’s
violent
life
in a hostile unwelcoming country
, did Alex understand the leap that Wan
Chang
had taken loving all of them
, m
ost especially Elena and himself.

~~~

Alex saw
Wan coming toward him and
s
eeing the love and joy on
the old man’s face
as he strode toward him
,
his arms outstretched, Alex’s
mood
lightened
. Squashing his anger,
he gave himself over to the strength and love he felt in his grandfather’s embrace.

Wan led Wyatt and
Alex to
one of several
cobblestone patio
s
that surrounded the hacienda.
It had
a
p
rivate
seating ar
e
a
bordered
on all sides
by
the color and smells of
a thousand
flowers.
Wan
motioned to the maid
poised
to
serve
refreshments
. He
personally poured Alex’s tea and bowed to him as he passed him the cup. Alex
was embarrassed by
the attention and returned
the respectful
,
loving bow.
Wan peppered hi
m
with questions
about his
experiences
in China.
His grandfather
had arranged the trip for Alex
,
calling on his friends
, associates
,
and distant family to show Alex the hospitality and reverence due to Wan Chang’s grandson.

Wan
held
Alex’s arm a
s they
walked
t
hrough the gardens
,
pointing out the intricacies of the various arrangements
. P
articularly the elaborate herb garden that Bai created for Elena.
Even though he hated to show his jealousy and his anger to his grandfather, Alex couldn’t quell the fury that bubbled up when he heard the admiration in Wan’s voice as he described Bai’s knowledge and
the
gracious gifts for Elena.

Unable
to
contain
his rising anger, Alex‘s fury overcame his restraint.

“Looks like Bai took a big chunk of what you own,
G
randfather, to buy this place.
I guess he w
ill
stop at nothing –
even taking advantage of you – to win over my sister.”

Wan stepped back
in surprise.
He frowned and looked
to
Wyatt
,
who shrugged
,
quirked an eyebrow
,
and gave a slight knowing nod at Alex.

Wan took his time lighting a cigarette
. Alex’s face heated w
ith a mix of embarrassment at his outburst and anger that he couldn’t hide.
Wan smiled at
him
. His voice was gentle,
without judgment.

“No, Alex, you are wrong about that.
Everything that you see here is what Bai built off of the acquisitions he made
through
wise management of money
. As well as his
uncanny ability to see opportunities that no one else
saw
, e
x
cept
perhaps
your father
.
Over the last several years
,
Bai has introduced me to financial opportunities
that
I never would have known
. R
ather than siphoning off my wealth
,
he has built it exponentially.”

Alex
felt his cheeks heat. He
shook his head to stop
the angry tears that threatened
to fall
.

“I’
m
happy for you
,
Grandfather
.
I hope that Bai continues to show you the respect you deserve.” He hesitated
,
then
unleashing
his anger
,
he
glared at both his father and grandfather
.

“I
don’t care who Bai is,
G
randfather
. I
f he takes advantage of you
,
or in any way hurts you or
,
God help him, if he hurts my sister,
he will have to deal with me
. N
o one, not you
, not
my father
,
can stop me.”

Alex turned and
strode
away
.
He struggled to catch his breath. H
is
body
shook
with anger.

He headed toward the stable
,
intent on finding a horse and getting as far away from the compound as he could
. B
efore he
got to the stable
,
three young boys came
barreling
across the courtyard shrieking with excitement.

“Alex, Alex, wait for us!” yelled D
eshi
, echoed by
Gabe and Jacob.
All three boys threw themselves in a heap on their older brother
,
almost
knocking
him to the ground.

“Hey, hey
,
boys
,
don’t knock me over.
Damn
,
I’m glad to see you
,
too
,
but not if you throw me to the ground,” Alex said with a grin, the first time he had smiled since getting off the ship that morning.

“Damn, I can’t believe you boys.
” He turned to
Deshi
and calling him by his English name
,
said, “Nick,
I think you have grown four
inches since
I left
,
and look at you two,” he said in amazement
,
staring at the thirteen year old twins
.
Nicolas
Deshi
at
nearly seventeen
years old was already
past
Alex’s chin and the twins were at his shoulder.

“Hell, I thought I was going to be the tallest of the McManus boys
,
but if the three of you don’t stop right now
,
I’
ll
be the shortest.
Man, you three might catch up to Father.”

“
I want to be as tall as Bai,”
Gabriel
said in an adoring voice, his face shining with admiration, “And as strong as Bai, too!”

“Ha! No one is as strong as Bai, not even Father
. Y
ou will never be
half
that strong!” said
Jacob
,
ducking away from the attack that was sure to come from his twin.

“Stop it
,
both of you,” said
Deshi
in a voice intended to show how much older and
cool
headed
he was.
“
Remember
, unless you
spar
every day like Father and Bai
do
,
neither one of you will be
even
as strong as
Liras
. H
e is only
ten
years old and threw both of you yesterday.”

Both twins whirled on him
,
loudly protesting, insisting that
Liras
had not played fair and that they were humoring him.

Alex smiled at their familiar bickering and pushed down his annoyance at their hero worship of Bai.
He thought to himself,
d
amn
the bastard’s
even corrupted my brothers.

A musical voice echoed over the cobblestone walkway.
“Alex, darling, there you are!”

Alex looked up to see his stepmother
,
Lei
,
coming down the path
. H
er face
glowed with
excitement. His breath caught in his throat when he saw her.
Lei was one of the most beautiful women he had ever known. Only Elena was as beautiful and they were
so different in looks that there was no comparison.
Lei was the only mother either Alex or Elena had known
. T
hey both loved her deeply and she
returned the
ir
love fiercely.
She and Elena shared a
unique
bond as the only women in a crowded household of men
,
but she and Alex had a special relationship
,
as well.
Everyone fell in love with the irrepressible Elena the moment they met her
.
Alex
was quieter and content to live in
the shadow of
his wild and wonderful sister.
But
Lei
had always
seen and
celebrated his special talents
, making
him feel as
important
to her as Elena
was
.

Lei’s mother left Wan Chang when Lei was only four years old
,
refusing to tolerate the violence of the Tongs and Wan’s overt philandering.
Lei told
Alex
she grew
up as the
beloved
but lonely
daughter of the leader of the Sing Leon.
She was protected and sheltered like a princess
in
a foreign land
. O
nly when she met the outrageously handsome
, commanding
Wyatt McManus di
d
she break out of the protective cocoon her strict, adoring father had built around her.
O
ver the years
,
Alex watched as
Lei managed to soften the
competitive
hostility between her husband and
her
father
. Eventually,
the two arrogant leaders of men
grudgingly
came
to accept and care for one another.