The Saxon Brides: Mistaken Mistress

Kay shook her head, and gestured to the raw, new grave. “Roland is dead. Phillip and I don’t want the trauma of explaining to the children that he was never their blood brother.”

Children? Alyssa goggled at the older woman. Joshua Saxon was no child. “They’re adults, not children anymore. Surely they’ll understand?”

Kay looked uncomfortable. “It would mean their whole upbringing was based on a lie.”

“They deserve the truth.”

“It’s too late for that.” Kay shook her head and started to move away toward the white gate where Phillip stood, his back to them, talking with a group of mourners.

Frustration and despair pooled deep inside Alyssa’s chest, setting a heavy lump.

“Why didn’t you tell them sooner?” Then Roland might even have come looking for her. He’d have had time to come to terms with having a sister, of not being a Saxon by birth.

Kay stopped. “At first we intended to tell them, but the years passed, and then it was too late. Neither Phillip nor I want them to know now. It’s not necessary.” Kay faced Alyssa, her eyes a cool, implacable gray. “I’d like you to respect that.”

Alyssa had known how Kay would react, but she’d hoped …

It wasn’t to be. Roland was gone. Yet there was so much Kay could share about her brother. Maybe.

Alyssa’s heart started to beat anxiously in her chest at the audacity of what she was contemplating. “Kay, I won’t tell anyone. But only if you share your memories of Roland with me. Every day for a week. I want to see the photos of him, hear the stories of what he did, share the places he knew growing up.”

“That’s not poss—”

Alyssa read the other woman’s refusal in her eyes. Thrusting her apprehension away, she firmed her lips into a deter mined line and stalked past the older woman. “Then I have no reason to give you my promise to keep my relationship with Roland a secret.”

“Wait.”

She turned her head.

“You can’t do that.” Kay looked horrified. “And if I do as you want? How can I trust you not to say anything later?”

“I’ll give you my word.” Alyssa sagged under the weight of the tension. “And I’ll never break it, no matter what pressure I’m put under. This is important to me … It’s all I’ll ever have of the brother I’ve been searching for since I turned eighteen.”

“Okay.” Kay wore a peculiar expression. “Come to Saxon’s Folly in the morning. You’d better bring your bags. You may as well stay for the week.”

Alyssa felt a surge of victory … until she remembered Joshua’s hard, judgmental gaze.

Five

Alyssa drove through the curving set of white gates of Saxon’s Folly the following morning, nerves tying her stomach in knots. The beauty of the rows of vines stretching away on both sides of the long, oak-lined drive, still bare of the lush green growth of leaves that would come with summer, failed to calm her trepidation about encountering Joshua Saxon again.

At least she had her boss’s blessing. She’d called her editor early this morning, telling him that she needed a few more days off. David’s annoyance had evaporated when he’d found out she was in Hawkes Bay.

“Why didn’t you tell me that last time you called? I heard that Roland Saxon was killed over the weekend. A terrible tragedy. You can do a story on the great loss that he’ll be to the industry. Try get the scoop on who’ll be replacing him as the marketing man of Saxon’s Folly—and how that will impact on Saxon’s Folly’s place in the industry.”

Her breath catching in her chest, she said, “David, I want to take time off.”

“Are you ill? You sound strange.”

To distract her canny editor, Alyssa announced in a rush, “I’ve been invited to stay at Saxon’s Folly.”

There was a short silence. Alyssa could almost hear the cogs turning in David’s mind.

“Get a short obituary on Roland Saxon to me ASAP—if I have it by Friday, it can run in the next issue.” There was a moment’s silence. “You should’ve told me you were on visiting terms with the Saxons.”

She had no intention of explaining about Roland. She’d promised Kay it would remain a secret … and it would.

Alyssa thought about the obituary she’d agreed to write while she walked through the town picking up some toiletries and clothing for her extended stay. She had a horrible suspicion that Joshua would not be pleased when he learned about it.

Typically, as she pulled up in front of the winery, the first person she saw was Joshua Saxon. When she got out of the car, his face hardened, radiating disapproval. Alyssa’s gaze locked with his as he approached.

“The funeral is over.” His obsidian gaze bored relentlessly into her. “I thought you’d be packed and gone by now.”

Alyssa raised her chin. “I brought your jacket back.”

“Oh, thanks.” He had the grace to look slightly shamed as she got out of the car, popped open the trunk and drew out his jacket.

He took it from her and slung it over his shoulder. “Have a safe trip.”

Staring at her overnight bag, Alyssa hesitated. To hell with it. He’d know sooner or later. “I’m not leaving yet. Your mother has invited me to stay for a week.”

“You approached my mother?” He replied, openmouthed. “My mother is grieving the loss of her eldest son. She doesn’t need an interloper barging in at the moment.”

“I didn’t ‘barge in,’ as you so delightfully put it. Your mother invited me.” She drew a deep breath. “Inviting” was stretching the truth. She’d given Kay no choice. “Don’t worry, Joshua, I’ll be very sensitive of her feelings.”

He bent forward and hoisted her overnight bag out, then cast her a disbelieving look. “Right.”

Her heart started to race and apprehension shafted through her as his narrowed gaze raked her. He’d better never discover the truth of how she’d gotten her invitation. Quickly, she said, “Also, my editor has asked me to write a short tribute to Roland. I’ll use this week to research that.” No point hiding that.

“Oh, no, you won’t! You’re not poking around here for dirt on my brother.”

She’d expected his reaction. She lifted out her handbag and slung it over her shoulder. “I’m not here to dig up dirt. I’m here at the invitation of your mother. But it’s a good opportunity to talk to people about Roland, about what he meant to them, how he enriched their lives. Think about it, Joshua, there’s nothing sinister about a tribute in Wine Watch to your brother. The wine community is going to miss him.” And so would she.

Terribly.

He paused. She watched him weighing up her words, seeking the worst.

“I don’t trust you,” he said at last. “Don’t forget I’ve been at the sharp end of your poisoned pen before. I want to keep an eye on you, hear the questions you’re asking. You’re coming with me each day.”

Alyssa saw her dream of spending time with Kay, learning about Roland going up in smoke. “But—”

“That’s screwed up whatever it is that you want.” His eyes had narrowed to black slits. “So why did you gate-crash the ball? What is it that you really want, Alyssa? An exclusive interview?”

His derogatory tone caused her to say heatedly, “No, I came to—” Too late she remembered her promise to Kay.

“To what?” He pounced on her hesitation like a mountain cat.

She tempered her response. “I came to see Roland.” Let him draw whatever damn conclusions he wanted from that.