"Then why was he sitting over there watching you bathe? How could you let him in here, Christina, or has this been going on all along?"
"Don't be absurd! I tell you it was perfectly innocent Heavens! The man has seen me bathe a hundred times in the past If you will remember, Philip came here for bis son —not me. And he sat down only long enough to ask me a few questions—that's all. I was in this tub the whole time, Tommy. He didn't see me until you forced me to stand up with your foolishness."
"But he has no right to be in here at all, damn it!"
"Lower your voice, Tommy, before you wake John!" Christina snapped.
"Wake John—that's exactly what I intend to do. You won't be here much longer, Caxton." Tommy laughed bitterly, and rushed out of the room.
"Now look what you've done!" Christina cried. "Why couldn't you just leave me alone? Now John will be forced to ask you to leave this house. You did this on purpose, didnt you?"
"It was not my intention to be discovered, Christina," Philip said calmly. "This is your house as much as John's. I won't have to leave unless you also wish it. If you want our son to grow up without knowing his real father, that's up to you."
It was the first time Philip had called him "our son," and Christina was surprised and yet pleased to hear him say it
"Quickly—hand me my robe before John gets here!" she said frantically. "Well, turn around, damn it!"
"Oh, for God's sake, Christina!" But he turned around and moved far away from her to stand by the window.
Stepping out of the tub, Christina managed to slip the robe over her wet body and tie it about her waist just as John rushed into the room with Tommy right behind him.
"What the hell is going on, Christina?" John demanded.
Philip turned to face them, and Tommy glowered at him.
"I told you it was God's truth. This is an outrage, John, and I demand that Caxton leave this house immediatelyl" Tommy stormed.
"That's enough, Tommy. I'm going to have to ask you to go home now. I will handle this matter," John returned.
"I will not!"
'Tommy—now! I wish to talk to Christina alone. I'll do whatever is necessary."
Tommy turned and stormed from the room.
"I will also take my leave if you wish to talk privately," said Philip.
"Yes," John replied curtly. "I'll tell you of my decision in the morning."
"In the morning, then. Good night, Tina." Philip closed the door behind him.
Christina knew that he was asking her to fight for him so he could stay with his son. She relaxed a bit and sat down on the edge of her bed.
"Crissy, what could have possessed you to let Philip come into your room this late at night?" asked John. "Have you and Philip finally settled matters between you? Is that it?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, John. There's nothing to settle between us. What we had once is finished —it won't come back. And I didn't invite Philip into my room, he just walked in and wouldn't leave."
"Did he—"
Christina smiled weakly. "Philip sat in the corner the whole time he was here, but I knew he wanted me. And I know I can't shock you more than I have in the past by telling you that I wanted him, too, more than anything," she whispered, afraid that Philip might hear her from his room. "But I resisted him, for I knew he'd only want me tonight. Tomorrow he would hate me again."
"But Crissy, Philip has never stopped wanting you."
"He has, too!" she snapped.
There was no point in arguing with her when she turned stubborn. John shook his head. "Well, I'm going to have to ask him to leave, Crissy. Had it been any man but Philip, he would be dead now."
"I don't want him to leave, John."
"You can't be serious! You just got through telling me that you won't be able to resist him if he— Crissy, this wiU happen again if he stays."
"It won't happen again, John, I know it won't. And besides, I'll lock my door from now on. I want Philip to stay until he's ready to leave. I will not deny him the right to know his son."
"And what about Tommy? He won't understand why Philip is still here." John paused, shaking his head. "This is all my fault, Crissy. I should never have talked you into marrying Tommy."
"That doesn't matter now. I'll talk to Tommy in the morning. I'll make him understand this was just an innocent meeting."
"I doubt he'll believe that. What do you intend to do when you marry Tommy? He'll never allow Philip in his house."
"I don't know. I'll handle that when the time comes. And when you speak with Philip, tell him I said we spoke about Philip Junior. And although it was improper, you'll forget about the matter as long as it doesn't happen again."
"Is that what you told Tommy tonight? No wonder he was so angry. Did you think Tommy was naive enough to believe that? He's not a fool."
"Well, I'll just have to insist it's true," said Christina. "I don't want any more confrontations between Philip and Tommy."
"Just you talk to Tommy before I run into him. I wouldn't know how to explain why Philip is still staying here. I don't really understand it myself." John came over and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "I imagine Tommy will be over early, so you had best get some rest. Good night, little sister. I hope you know what you're doing."
She smiled weakly but didn't answer him. After John left, Christina glanced about the empty room and felt a pang of regret. She wondered what would have happened if Tommy hadn't burst in. She slipped into her nightdress, crawled into bed, and a burning desire came over her as it had so many nights before. She wanted Philip—his hands exploring her body, his lips taking her will away, the feel of his muscles rippling across his back when she caressed him. She turned over and cried softly into her pillow for what could never be.
Chapter Thirty-three
CHRISTINA awoke to her son's loud crying. She grabbed her robe and ran into the nursery. She glanced about the room to make sure Philip wasn't there, then walked to the bassinet. Philip Junior stopped crying when he saw her, but still thrashed his arms and legs. She had been blessed with a son who slept through the night. But when morning came, he would not be kept waiting any longer, and he made sure she knew it.
She changed him, then sat down in the rocker to satisfy his hunger. While he suckled, Christina thought again of what Philip had called him. Our son. It had such a natural ring to it. She had always thought of Philip Junior as her son, or as Philip's son.
She put Philip Junior back in his bassinet and moved it into the sunlight streaming through the window. She gave him a few toys to keep him happy until it was time for his bath, and went into her own room to prepare for her confrontation with Tommy.
The small clock on the mantel showed ten after seven, but Christina had no doubt that Tommy would be downstairs any second. She chose a low-cut, deep-violet satin dress with long, tight-fitting sleeves. Hardly a dress for morning wear, but she hoped it would distract Tommy from his anger.
Christina decided on her ruby-studded pins to hold her curls in place, and her long, dangling earrings of small rubies. She didn't wear the matching necklace for fear it would hide what she wanted Tommy to see. With a last turn before her full-length mirror, Christina was satisfied with her appearance.
Christina went downstairs and was glad to find that Tommy hadn't arrived yet. At least she would be able to have breakfast in peace. She went directly to the counter filled with covered serving dishes in the dining room, and filled a plate. From the half-emptied dishes she judged that John and Philip had already eaten, and had probably left the house.
After Christina finished her meal, she got up to pour another cup of tea. When she turned around again, Tommy was standing in the doorway. He was handsomely dressed in a suede riding outfit and held a crop in his right band. As she'd hoped, his brown eyes were drawn straight to the low neckline barely concealing her full, rounded breasts.