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.We would have enjoyed having you.You have a safe trip and hurry back to us.” She kissed his cheek.“I will,” he promised her.“Good.” She smiled warmly at the two of them.“I’ll leave you alone now.Jim, I’ll see you when you return.” And she was gone, giving them the last few minutes of privacy they needed.Jim looked down at Delight.“Darling, I have to go.”She stood up and went into his arms.“Kiss me, Jim.Please.Just once more…”Unable to resist, he kissed her thoroughly, leaving her in no doubt about his feelings, and then he let her go.“I’ll be back.” Turning from her, he strode quickly from the room, knowing that if he looked back his resolve would weaken.Delight watched him go, fighting back the tears that burned in her eyes.She loved him so…dear God, how she loved him.Martin was admitted to the Morgan house by Annabelle.“Come in, Mr.Montgomery.My father’s in the study; go right on in.”“Thank you, my dear.”Wondering what further business he could have with her father, she watched him disappear into the room and close the door securely behind him.“Nathan.” Martin crossed to the desk and shook hands with him.“I hope you don’t mind my dropping by.”“No, not at all.What can I do for you?”“I just wanted to check and make sure that everything was going according to our plan.”“To the best of my knowledge, it is,” Nathan told him confidently.“I can’t go into detail for you, but rest assured that by tomorrow night, at the latest, you should have your wish.”“Westlake will be dead?”“Yes.”“Good.” Mentally, Martin rubbed his hands together.“That’s what I wanted to know.”“Would you like a drink to celebrate?”“I most certainly would.”It was growing dark as Mark and Jim stood together in the deserted pilot house.“There’s been no word from Sam Wallace.”Jim nodded.“And you think something’s happened to him?”“I don’t know what to think.Macintosh has been on duty all day.I’ve been keeping an eye on him myself.”“Could Wallace have gone on a drunk? Or taken off for any other reason?”“No.Not Sam.He prides himself on doing a good job.”“Do we have time to send a man to the hospitals? Maybe he was injured…”“I’ve already done that.No one’s been admitted by that name.”“Well, we’ve done everything we can for now.We’ll just have to hope that he turns up before midnight.”“Sam’s a good man.If it’s possible, he will.”It was cold…so cold…and wet.Grasping at the protruding tree roots with numb hands, he hung on.How long had it been now? Where was he? And why was his head pounding so badly that it hurt to think?The sound of children’s voices came to him…distantly.They were laughing.…He opened his mouth to try to call out, but all he could do was croak.He’d been calling for what seemed like hours but no one had come…no one had heard….“Look!” The boy paused at the top of the muddy riverbank.“Run, Charlie, get Mama! Quick!”Without another word, Charlie ran full speed back through the brush.Long minutes passed.Sitting down, the boy who’d remained watched the man clinging to a slippery root near the riverbank.“Mister?” he called out.“Mister? Are you awake?”There was no answer to his plaintive call, and he shivered in fright.The child was relieved when he heard his mother’s approach.“Mama! There’s a man! He’s stuck in the river!” He ran to her, taking her hand and dragging her forward.“Look!”“Thank God you saw him, Danny!” She looked around desperately, but there was no one anywhere near them.“I’ll have to get him out.You children wait here.”Sarah Webb lowered herself slowly down the slippery incline and made her way cautiously to the water’s edge.“Be careful, Mama!”“I will, darlings,” she tried to reassure her two young sons as she stepped out into the cold, dirty water.Praying that there were no steep drop-offs between herself and the man, she moved forward cautiously as the icy river soaked through her heavy skirts and swirled frigidly about her legs.She lost her footing once and fell sideways, drawing cries of fear from the boys, but she waved to them a second later as she stood up once more and then continued forward to grasp the unconscious man.“Can you hear me?” she asked, but received no response.Taking the last fateful step, Sarah wedged herself against the root he was holding and grabbed his arm.With a violent pull, she managed to tug him loose, but she almost lost her grip on him as the current tried to steal his now free-floating weight from her.His head went under, and Sarah was forced to surge forward and grasp his upper arm to keep his head up.Trudging one step at a time, she made her way back toward the bank and collapsed, holding the man’s body beside her.After long minutes, she turned to look at him before calling up to her sons, “Danny—Charlie—go get help.”“We don’t want to leave you, Mama!” Danny, the older boy, cried.“You have to, sweetheart.He’s still alive, but I can’t get him up the bank by myself.Now, run and bring help.Hurry!”“We will, Mama.” And they were gone.Annabelle descended from her carriage, aided by the driver, and then bade him to wait for her.“This will only take a few moments, I’m sure.”As she started up the walkway to Delight’s house, she felt a surge of feminine power, and she smiled cruelly as she raised the knocker and let it fall.Jim Westlake might think he was done with her, but she was not about to let him take up with Delight so easily.She had given it a lot of thought since Martin had left their house earlier that afternoon, and she’d decided to make sure Jim and Delight’s romance did not run smoothly.Why, the bitch had stolen her fiancé! Certainly a little female revenge was in order….Rose was stunned when she answered the door and found Annabelle Morgan on the doorstep.“I’d like to speak with Delight, please.” Annabelle didn’t wait to be invited in, but brushed right past Rose to enter the foyer.“Of course.” Rose directed her to the parlor.“Have a seat in the parlor while I get her for you.”Without another word, Annabelle swept into the sitting room, while Rose hurried upstairs to get Delight.“Delight!” She knocked softly on her bedroom door.“What is it, Rose?”“It’s Annabelle Morgan.She’s downstairs and she wants to talk to you!”“Annabelle?!” The possibility of a confrontation with Annabelle had never occurred to Delight, and she hurried out into the hall.“What does she want?”“I don’t know.All she said was that she wanted to speak to you.There was no way I could put her off…she just walked right into the house.”“It’s all right, Rose.” Delight patted her hand reassuringly.“I’ll go talk to her.”With more bravado than she felt, Delight went downstairs and sought out Annabelle.“Annabelle?” Delight paused in the doorway of the parlor.“Is there something I can help you with?”Annabelle looked up at Delight, her expression clearly one of smug superiority.“No…as a matter of fact, I’ve come to help you…
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