woman.”
A strange sound came from his throat.
She locked her arms around her knees. “What did Corinne do?”
“What didn’t she do—” he bit out. “Everywhere I turned, there she was. To please Papa, I made an effort to be her friend, but she had something else in mind. She was like my shadow. I couldn’t shake her. Before long she became repugnant to me, but of course I didn’t want to tell him.
“It had taken him so long to consider remarrying, the last thing he needed was to find out Odette’s daughter had problems only a psychiatrist could help her solve, mainly abandonment issues.”
Andrea nodded. “While we were downstairs, she mentioned that her father had left her early in life.”
Lance used the heel of his hand to rub his eyes. “About a week before my father’s wedding I was invited to spend a few days at Mont Saint Michel with a girlfriend whose parents ran a restaurant there. I needed the break and told Papa where I’d be if he needed me.
“The next thing I knew, Corinne showed up alone with her usual sob story of feeling left out. Could she hang around with us?
“To say I was shocked is putting it mildly. She was totally out of line, Andrea. A normal mother would have taken her daughter in hand, but Odette wasn’t normal, either.”
“Obviously.”
“My girlfriend couldn’t believe it, but she was great about it. She made Corinne feel welcome, which prevented the trip from turning into a complete disaster. But my aversion to Corinne reached a new low. I could scarcely abide her presence and avoided her whenever possible.
“After the wedding I assumed she would go back to Paris where she’d been living with her mother. But as my father was leaving for the South of France on his honeymoon he said, “Odette couldn’t afford to keep up her apartment, so I’ve told Corinne she can live with her mother and me for the time being.
“The news twisted my gut. I’d just graduated from college and had arranged to live in Rennes while I worked at a hydraulics plant there. But knowing Corinne would track me down and never leave me alone meant that idea was out.
“After the reception I went to my room in a complete funk. That’s where I found Corinne naked in my bed waiting for me.”
Andrea groaned.
“I was repulsed. When I told her to go to her own suite, she refused. The horror story had begun in earnest.”
She stared at Lance. No one could make up something so awful.
“There was only one thing to do. I packed my things and left the château. She chased after me all the way to my car wearing my robe. Do you know what she said to me?”
“I can’t imagine.”
“If you walk away from me, Lance Malbois, I’ll tell our parents you tried to rape me.”
Andrea was aghast.
“I told her to go to hell, then I drove away and stayed at Giles’s house. He’s my best friend. We talked everything over and came to the conclusion that the only thing I could do was leave the country for an indefinite period. That way Corinne couldn’t have access to me on any level, and she’d give up.”
“That’s why you joined the military?” Andrea cried.
He eyed her solemnly. “It was the only solution.”
“What a brilliant move on your part,” Andrea murmured. “You had a legitimate excuse for being gone where she couldn’t come after you. But it had to be the last thing you ever thought of doing in your life.”
“I was young, I needed to leave and it seemed like an exciting option,” his voice grated.
“Your father must have suffered terrible pain when he found out.”
“Except for the fact that he had a new wife and stepdaughter to keep him occupied. By the time their marriage ended he was used to my being gone.
“I must say that from the beginning he hid it well. Once he got back from his honeymoon, I phoned to tell him I’d decided to go into the service as a classified officer where I could use my engineering training. I half expected to hear that Corinne had carried out her threat, and he wanted an accounting. When he answered, I was prepared for the worst.
“To my astonishment, he said he was proud of me for choosing to serve our country. Then he confided what he’d learned from Corinne.
“Apparently she told him the two of us had gotten physically involved and were so attracted, I thought it best to leave for a discreet amount of time. On my next leave, we’d explore our emotional feelings and see if they led to marriage.”
“You’re right,” Andrea murmured. “She’s incredibly clever.”
“Clever like a psychotic vixen. I decided to let Papa go on believing her lie for the sake of peace in his new marriage. I hoped that in time Corinne would give up her impossible fantasy and move out.
“After my father’s second divorce she ended up in the hospital following a failed suicide attempt.”
Sickened by what she’d just heard, Andrea couldn’t lie there any longer and slid off the bed. “Did she really mean it?”
His hands curled into fists. “I doubt she intended to go through with it, but you never know. Her talent for manipulation is unexcelled. She’d claimed Papa for her new father and wasn’t about to let that relationship go.
“He felt sorry for her and brought her home. Slowly she began wrapping her tentacles around him. I’m afraid he allowed it because of the guilt he felt over his second marriage not working.”
“I can understand that. Guilt has a lot to answer for.”
“Indeed.”
“Yet while he suffered, her true intent was to lie in wait for you.”
“Afraid so. Father set up Odette in a new apartment in Paris, but Corinne stayed on with him, and never left the château except to travel.
“After I learned about my condition, I saw no point to my life except to stay in the service. I worked my leaves around her absences to visit Papa, but there were times when I couldn’t avoid her.”
“Ten years in exile is too high a price to pay.”
This time it was Lance who groaned. “When you don’t give a damn about anything, you don’t notice time passing. Not until I received a phone call from Henri telling me about Papa’s illness. It made me realize he needed me. That’s when I decided to come home for good.”
She took a fortifying breath. “Are you sure Corinne isn’t the real reason you asked me to marry you?”
His eyes turned to flint.
“If you can ask me that question, then you don’t know me at all and a marriage between us would never work.”
