Crystal Heart Read online

  “Yes, ma’am. I had this from the attic.”

  “How very resourceful of you. But, green, ma’am? On tonight of all nights?”

  “Pink doesn’t suit me, ma’am.”

  “Well, no matter, you both look very well together.” Looking up towards the gallery, she waved her hand. Instantly the music the orchestra had been playing ceased, and a waltz began instead. “There. I’ve asked them to play that just for you. Do go and dance.”

  They both stared at her in dismay. “Ma’am,” John began.

  “Lady Pamela, I don’t think,” Alana protested at the same time.

  “Oh, do go!” She beamed at them. “‘Tis only a dance after all. And pray do not forget my play later.”

  John and Alana looked helplessly at each other. There was no hope for it. “Miss Sterling?” John said, holding out his hand.

  “Thank you, sir.” Alana let him lead her out onto the floor, where other couples already waltzed. His arm went about her waist, holding her close. Much too close. “And was this your idea?”

  “No. I want this no more than you do.”

  “Why?” she flared. “Am I so unattractive, then?”

  “Dash it, Alana! You make no sense. What do you expect me to say?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, her anger suddenly evaporating. It hadn’t been directed at him in any event, but at circumstances. Oh, why couldn’t things be different? “Why can’t you be more like Sir Gabriel?”

  John looked down at her in surprise. “What did you say?”

  Alana looked away, feeling her face color. “It is of no moment.”

  “You wish me to be like a ghost? Is that what you are saying?”

  “No.” Alana looked up at him. “He has remained true and steadfast to one love for over a century. I admire that.”

  “He’d little choice.”

  “If you recall, he did choose his fate,” she retorted. “It isn’t his fault others aren’t so faithful.”

  “What do you want of me, madam?” he said, sounding so like Sir Gabriel at his most imperious that she blinked. “Do you wish me to be some insubstantial vision that comes and goes according to whim?”

  “No! That’s not what I’m saying.”

  “I am a man, Alana. A flesh and blood man. Not perfect, not particularly romantic, but a man. I have my faults. But please do not tell me Sir Gabriel was perfect, else he wouldn’t have got himself into such a fix.”

  “Sir Gabriel sees love for what it is. He sees how important it is.”

  “And I do not?”

  “I don’t believe so, no, sir.”

  “Huh. All that I’ve done, to help him fulfill his vow, even to finding out—”

  “What?” Alana said, when he didn’t go on.

  “Nothing. It doesn’t matter, now.” She didn’t know, he thought. He had never told her he was descended from Sir Gabriel.

  “Did you learn more about his descendants? Tell me!”

  “I found a clue. Damn it, Alana, Sir Gabriel’s waited this long, he can wait another year. I cannot. Don’t you know I love you?”

  Alana looked away. “I know you think you do.”

  “I know you were hurt in the past. My father told me,” he said, as she looked up at him in surprise. “Do you really think I give a jot for your position? I would have married you before I knew who you were, and you know it. If you can’t get over your damnable pride—”

  “I can’t trust you!” she cried. “I’ve seen how you are with other women, flirting with them, and I know of your reputation. How will I ever know if you love me, for me?”

  “Dash it, Alana!” He whirled her about in frustration. “Very well, if that is how you feel, I can’t change your mind,” he said, finally. “But when the crystal heart broke, so did my heart.”

  “Oh, gammon!”

  “I love you, Alana.” He gazed down at her, his eyes piercing and intent. “I always will.”

  Alana stared back at him, wanting to believe him, not daring to. If she did, if she took the chance—but what if he hurt her? She couldn’t bear to go through it again.

  “The music’s ended,” a gruff voice said beside her, and she looked up to see her grandfather. “Not done to embrace like this in the middle of a crowded room.”

  “Oh!” Alana pulled back, her mind whirling. So absorbed had she been in their conversation that she hadn’t noticed the dance ending. “How foolish of me.”

  “Remember what I said,” John said, still holding her gaze with his, and raised her hand to his lips. “And remember, it is still Valentine’s Day.”

  Alana snatched her hand back, feeling as if she had been burned. “I—yes,” she said, and turned, walking blindly away.

  “Impertinent young pup,” the duke growled, and Alana snapped out of her thoughts.

  “He isn’t,” she protested. “I think he truly loves me, Grandpapa.”

  “Harumph. A lightweight like him? How could you ever be certain he doesn’t want you for your fortune?”

  “He has one of his own, and a title. He doesn’t need mine. And he’s no lightweight, Grandpapa. He may have come here on a wager, but I’ve seen him working. I don’t know of many other young men who would have set to it as well as he did.”

  “Harumph. You make him sound a paragon. The man flirts, Lainie.”

  “It’s just his way! It means nothing. Why, I’ve even seen him flirt with Lady Honoria. She loved it, of course.”

  “Still, don’t know if you can trust someone like that. Never know if the flirting’s real, or not.”

  “I can trust him. Underneath he’s solid and dependable. He’s shown that, even though what I asked him to do seemed foolish, and—well, never mind.” But he had helped in the search of the crystal heart, even when he’d been convinced that Sir Gabriel didn’t exist. She could depend on him. She could trust him. “I love him, Grandpapa.”

  “Do you, eh?” He peered at her from under bushy brows. “Well, Lainie girl, if it’s what you truly want, I won’t stand in your way.”

  “You won’t? Oh, Grandpapa!” She started to throw her arms around his neck, and then stopped, arrested by the gleam in his eye. “Why, you old humbug.”

  “What?” he said, his voice innocent.

  “You wanted this all along, didn’t you?”

  “Well, my dear, I do think it a suitable match.”

  “Suitable! But you’ve protested against it all week.”

  “And you decided in spite of me, eh?” His eyes twinkled. “Do you think I don’t know you, Lainie? If I’d pushed this match you would have stood firm against it.”

  “I—” She stopped. “I would have, wouldn’t I?”

  “That you would. You always were a stubborn puss.”

  “John was right. I did let pride get in the way of love,” she said, wonderingly, and glanced away. Across the room, under the Cupid suspended from the doorway, stood John, bending to kiss Susan Valentine, with every appearance of pleasure. Something snapped inside her. A moment before he had been professing his love for her. Now he was romancing Miss Valentine. “I was wrong,” she said, and moved away.

  “Lainie? Where are you going, girl?”

  “I am tired of this masquerade, Grandpapa. I am going to go to the library and find some peace.” And with that, she turned and fled the room.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Where is Alana going?” John said, coming up beside the duke at that moment.

  “Damned if I know, my boy. One moment she was standing here, perfectly happy, and the next, something set her off.” He looked across the room. “Miss Valentine looks lonely, standing under the Cupid. Why not pay her some attention, boy?”

  John barely glanced at Susan. “She has been standing there for the better part of five minutes, hoping to attract someone.” He grinned. “I’ve been hiding in the card room.”

  Grafton laughed. “Good for you, my boy. Don’t let Lady Pamela catch you in her snares.”

  “I’ve no
intention of it. Sir.” John’s smile faded. “I need to talk with you about something.”

  “You wish to marry my granddaughter. Very well.”

  John stared at him. “Just like that? I thought you disapproved the match.”

  “Oh, no, no. Ware and I discussed it coming here, and we think it’s an excellent thing. Knew if we told you two, though, you’d balk.”

  “For God’s sake,” John said. “You tricked us.”

  “Yes, I suppose we did.”

  “I should be angry.” John was grinning again. “I couldn’t understand why my father wasn’t pushing me to marry.” His gaze sharpened. “I have your permission, then, to pay my addresses to your granddaughter?”

  “Yes, yes. Go after her, my boy. She said something about going to the library.”

  “The library? Well, I suppose it’s a fitting place. If you’ll excuse me, sir,” he said, and turned, walking with purposeful strides out of the room. Alana was going to listen to him this time. She had to. His future depended on it.

  The library was dark and quiet, just as Alana had hoped it would be. After lighting a taper, she bent to stir the fire into life, and then rose, rubbing her hands together for warmth. Dark, quiet, and cold, and yet she wouldn’t return to the life and warmth of the music room unless forced to. Not if it meant watching John make love to other women. Flirting was one thing, kissing quite another. Though she knew she could trust him, deep in her heart a tiny doubt remained. She was no beauty, and she was past her first youth. What could he possibly see in her?

  The door opened, and she looked up, gasping in surprise at the figure silhouetted in the doorway. “Sir Gabriel!”

  He stepped forward. “No, ‘tis only I,” he said. John’s voice.

  “Oh! For a moment I thought—”

  “I know what you thought. This damned wig.” With a quick gesture he swept the wig from his head and stood there, not a supernatural being, but just John, very alive and very dear. “Will I have to compete with him the rest of my life?”

  “No.” She turned away to poke at the fire. “What do you here?”

  “Your grandfather said you were here. Said something upset you.”

  “Upset me!” She whirled around. “Of course it upset me. What did you think?”

  “What?”

  “Oh, don’t play the innocent with me! I saw you kissing Susan Valentine.”

  “What? When?”

  “Not five minutes ago, under that stupid Cupid in the doorway.”

  “Good God, it wasn’t me! I was with Lady Honoria in the card room.”

  “What? Then who—”

  “Ask her if you don’t believe me.”

  “Then who was kissing her?”

  “No one. She has stood under that Cupid all evening, and I’ve seen no one approach her.”

  “But I saw—there’s no one else here in cavalier dress in that color, and—my God!” She sank into a chair. “Sir Gabriel.”

  “What?”

  “It had to be. No one else would have seen him, only me. That meddling, interfering man—”

  “Alana.” John knelt before her, his face creased with concern. “Are you quite well?”

  The face she raised to him was merry with laughter. “Yes. Oh, John, don’t you see? We’ve been surrounded by a pack of matchmaking old men all week.”

  John grinned. “And if we have? Is it so bad?”

  She looked at him. “No. I—no.”

  “Alana.” He grasped her hands in his. “Sweetheart, I know you were hurt before, and I can’t undo that. But can’t you forget the past? I have. I’ve given up my wild ways. Oh, it’s true, I was something of a rake in town, but I wasn’t happy. I never was. I was always searching for something I could never find. Until I came here, and found you.”

  “Oh, John.” She reached out to lay her hand on his cheek. “And I broke the crystal heart. Your heart.”

  “No matter. There’s another.” From his pocket he withdrew the crystal heart, letting it dangle before her from its chain. “The real one.”

  “John!” Alana reached out for it. “It can’t be.”

  “But it is. See? There are the initials.”

  “‘GF and MF’,” she read. “Good heavens, this is it! But where did you find it?”

  “I didn’t. My mother sent it to me. You see, Alana,” he smiled, “it appears I’m descended from Sir Gabriel.”

  “Gammon!”

  “No, ‘tis true. She wrote me a letter, detailing the ancestry. I imagine she’s very curious why I wanted to know.”

  “You’re Sir Gabriel’s descendant.”

  “Yes.”

  “And you have the crystal heart.”

  “Yes. And I’ve given up my roistering ways.”

  “The conditions to be met, to fulfill the vow.”

  “Not quite.” He clasped the heart about her neck. “I give this to you, not because of your fortune, not because of an old vow, but because I love you with all my heart. Will you marry me?”

  “Oh, John!” she exclaimed, and cast herself into his arms.

  The door from the hall opened. “See? Told you they’d be in here,” the duke’s voice rumbled, and both he and the marquess came in. “Everything settled between you two?”

  “Yes, sir,” John said, as manfully as he could, considering he still held Alana close. “Wish us happy. We are to be wed.”

  “Well, what are you hiding in here for? Come out and let’s announce it to everyone.”

  John and Alana looked at each other. “Shall we?”

  Alana fingered the crystal heart. “I think it’s appropriate, don’t you?”

  “Yes. But I warn you, madam, I shall want some time alone with you.”

  “You will have it, sir,” she said lightly, letting him help her to her feet. At the door she stopped, turning and looking into the room where so much of her life had changed. “John!” she gasped, clutching suddenly at his arm.

  “What?” he said, looking back, and his eyes widened. “Good God. Is that—”

  “Shh.” Holding onto each other, they watched as a glow grew in the center of the room. In it stood a dark-haired lady, lovely, smiling, her eyes focused only on the handsome cavalier who approached her. Lady Madeleine and Sir Gabriel, reunited at last, after so many years. She held out her hand; he took it in both of his. The glow strengthened, intensified, until the two people watching had to shield their eyes against it. Then, suddenly, it was gone. The library was empty.

  “Good God,” John said again. “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes—”

  “They found each other again,” Alana said, wonderingly. “Because of us.”

  “Yes. Because of us. As we have found each other.” John glanced one last time into the room, and then took her arm. “Come, my love. They’ll be waiting for us.”

  Alana, too, looked into the room, and felt peace fill her. “Yes,” she said, holding onto his arm, and walked away. Behind her was the past. Before her was her future. The legend of the crystal heart had been fulfilled.

  The End

  Author’s Note

  Many years ago I went to California with my mother. At the end of the first day of a bus trip along the Pacific Coast Highway, we were dumped at an aging Howard Johnson’s motor inn in San Luis Obispo, with nothing nearby. Someone had heard of a place called the Madonna Inn. We decided to share a taxi with two young couples, one of them expecting a baby at any time, and embarked on an adventure I’ll never forget.

  We ate in the coffee shop, rather than the dining room. The first thing I noticed were decorations hanging from the ceiling: lace hearts, Cupids, etc. Well, that was OK. Valentine’s Day was fast approaching, so the decorations were appropriate, if a bit much. We settled to eat, in an enclosed booth, with the ceiling painted to look like the sky; “Blue Boy” on one side wall and “Pinkie” on the other; and miners digging for gold on the back wall. I had a Madonna Burger with cheese, and it was quite good.

  It was
after we ate that the real fun began. We wandered into the dining room, where the first thing I saw was a lace-dressed doll, approximately two feet tall, on a swing suspended from the ceiling. The next thing I realized was that the room was pink. There were deep pink velvet banquettes and chairs; pink tablecloths; fairy lights and gold filigree. There was so much pink it made my eyes hurt, and it wasn’t restricted to this one room. Outside, other things were pink: standpipe, guardrails, even gas pumps.

  Now, I like pink. I have pink sweaters and blouses and flip flops, but this was too much. Still, I treasure the memory, of a special time spent with someone who was so important to me. To the day she died, the thought of that night could still make my mother smile.

  Years later, when John Charles Winston informed me he was bored, I drew upon that memory to write “The Crystal Heart.” Heart’s Ease just had to be pink. Valentine’s Day tokens just had to be everywhere. And, yes, I know that the combination of the names Valentine and Hart is ridiculous—but ridiculous things happen every day. Come into the library where I work someday, and I’ll show you.

  And, Mom, wherever you are, I know you’re sharing this memory with me, and laughing. Love you.

  If you enjoyed this book, please also look for “Gifts of the Heart,” available through Smashwords.com, and other ebook retailers.

  I enjoy hearing from my readers. Please email me at: [email protected].

  Books by Mary Kingsley

  Sabrina

  An Unsuitable Wife

  (originally published as A Gentleman’s Desire)

  The Rake’s Reward

  A Maddening Minx

  A Summer Folly

  An Intriguing Affair

  Scandal’s Lady

  In a Pirate’s Arms

  Masquerade

  Beyond the Sea

  An Angel’s Wish

  Marrying Miss Bumblebroth

  The Reluctant Hero

  Gifts of the Heart

  The Crystal Heart

  Books by Mary Kruger