“Must?” Nicky’s temper was rising. “You must write brilliant plays and become an international success. While I must plow the soil and—” In one swift move, he put his hand to the back of Byon’s neck and kissed him hard on the lips. “You know what I want,” Nicky said. “I have always wanted you. Not this place, not that woman. Not any woman. I—”
Nicky cut off when he heard a sound. Turning, he saw Diana standing in the moonlight. He still had his hand on Byon’s neck. She had seen everything!
“I can’t do this anymore,” she said, then disappeared into the darkness.
“No,” Nicky whispered. “She is my future. She must—”
He started after her but Byon caught his arm. “Don’t go. Stay with me. I’ll write and make money and we’ll run this place together. We’ll—”
Nicky jerked away from him. “You? You’d drink it into the ground within a year. And you won’t last. We are your inspiration. Without us, you are nothing.” He ran after Diana.
ACT ONE
SCENE TWO
THE TERRACE AT OXLEY MANOR
For a few moments, Byon waited on the terrace. He’d been disturbed by what Nicky said, that Byon’s ability to create was linked to them. Of course that was untrue.
Byon thought he heard a scream. It sounded like Diana the time the horse threw her. They’d all gone running, but Sean got there first. Nadine had made a joke about knowing who the hero among them was.
Byon took a step forward, but stopped. Nicky’s words hurt too much, and running after Diana, who Nicky looked down on, wasn’t going to help his cause.
There were more sounds, disturbing noises that brought chills to his body. He went inside, closed the door behind him and poured himself a double whiskey. Whatever was happening outside wasn’t his business.
ACT ONE
SCENE THREE
ON THE GROUNDS. VERY DARK
Diana didn’t know where she was going—just that she had to face the truth. She stopped and waited for Nicky to catch up with her. She knew he was drunk but that was his normal state of being.
When he was close, she spoke. “I can’t do it.” Her voice was full of the regret she felt. This had been a difficult decision for her. Being mistress of Oxley Manor would give her the prestige she’d always yearned for. She’d had a lifetime of seeing her father ordered about, cursed out if the traffic was bad, having to pretend that he didn’t see what went on: affairs, abuse, underage sex. Marriage to Nicky meant she’d be above that. She would be giving the orders.
But she couldn’t do it. It was an old cliché: she’d met someone. It meant her future was now unknown. The only certainty was soul-crushing work. No luxuries, no prestige, no—
“Diana.” Nicky was using that voice that meant he wanted something. “My dearest love, I’m sorry. I’ve had too much to drink. Byon means nothing to me. He—”
“I can’t do it,” she repeated. “I can’t live like this.”
“In luxury? As a lady?” He was stepping closer to her. She could smell his whiskey breath.
“It’s not that. There’s someone else.”
Nicky smiled. “I don’t mind. Have him.”
“Her.”
For a moment, he looked startled, then smiled broader. “That’s even better. We’ll give her a cottage.”
She stepped back from him. “No. It would never work. We couldn’t be a true couple. Your father would expect children. You couldn’t—” She was trying to be as gentle as possible. “I’m leaving the country with her. We’re going to have a horse farm and a—”
“And leave me with all of this to take care of?” His voice lost the coaxing tone. They all knew that Nicky could be vicious when he was drunk.
She looked around. It was very dark where they were and quite far from any building that contained people. “You have Clive. He can run it all if you’d let him. He’s intelligent and he has ideas.”
“Put myself under the rule of that prig?” Nicky was advancing on her. “I’d rather burn the place down. You are the solution. I chose you. I put up with you—a chauffeur’s daughter! My ancestors are rolling in their graves—all for this pile of crap. All for this stone monster that is my burden in life. I let you in. I was going to—may God have mercy on me—defile my bloodline by marrying you. I was going to—”
Diana was sickened by his words and shocked that she’d never suspected the truth of how he felt about her. She drew back her arm to slap him. But she was so angry that her hand curled in a fist. When she hit his beautiful face, she heard his nose crunch.
He put his hand to his bloody nose. “You fucking bitch!” He sprang on her.
She fought him with all her might. She kicked and scratched and hit. But Nicky was a young man and he was strong.
The ridiculously short dress that Nadine had chosen for Diana rode up.
“You think I can’t?” He was on top of her, holding her down. “You think I’m not man enough to fulfill my duties?”
There was a piece of stone nearby. It was the broken-off claw of a lion, fallen from what was left of a statue that one of Nicky’s ancestors had thought would represent the family’s glory. Nicky knew it was what he needed: a symbol of conquering his enemy.
He smacked Diana on the head with it. Her eyes rolled back, then her head fell to one side.
The sight of her lying there limp and helpless excited him. Diana, who told everyone what to do, who made people like her—something Nicky had never been able to do—was helpless beneath him.
His erection was as powerful as the stone lion’s claw. It was easy to rip away the tiny briefs that Nadine had so thoughtfully persuaded Diana to wear. He entered her quickly and easily and was done in minutes.
Afterward, he stood up and looked down at her. She was still unconscious and that made him smile. He’d never before felt so powerful.
He fastened his pants, smoothed his shirt and jacket. His face ached. Bitch! She’d hurt him.
But as he looked down at her motionless body, he smiled. He had hurt her back.
Feeling the best he ever had in his life, he walked away, leaving her there. She had provoked him and she got what she deserved.
PRESENT DAY
Chris stood up, leaving Teddy lying on the ground. He hadn’t removed her underpants, but her dress was to her waist. The lights were on him and he knew the script called for him to walk away in triumph, but he couldn’t. He went only a few steps, then threw up in the bushes.