The Vintner and The Vixen

Chapter 22

Maya stood in the witness box doing her damnedest to remain calm. The defense attorney was deliberately trying to make her lose her cool, make her blurt out something stupid that he could use to discredit her. Big Tony Chartrand stared at her and her skin crawled.

Only by concentrating on the lingering taste of Jacques on her lips did she keep her grace and serenity. A few more hours and this would all be over. Then she could spend the rest of her life making sure Jacques didn't regret his sacrifice. She still couldn't believe he'd given up his career, his home, for her.

Her eyes swept the courtroom again, but he hadn't returned after the lunch recess. She was glad because despite the Crown prosecutor's objections, the defense attorney had dredged up her past, thrown dirt at her character, hoping something would stick and taint her testimony. She'd rather Jacques didn't hear it. If he wanted to know about her life before she'd met him, she'd tell him herself. No more secrets.

"I'm sorry. You were repeating yourself so often, I drifted off. What was your question again?" She batted her eyelashes as she spoke. The sass was back. A couple of the jurors giggled and the Crown prosecutor hid his laugh with a fake cough.

The defense attorney, however, looked like he was about to blow. He could try to intimidate her, berate her, make her feel worthless. But Jacques loved her enough to give up his world, so she couldn't be all that bad.

"Ms. Tessier," the judge warned.

Last thing she needed was to be called for contempt of court and delay this thing any further. She answered the questions over and over, repeating her testimony word for word. Finally, the defense attorney gave up and the judge called an adjournment until tomorrow. With luck, they could be done in the next two days.

The guard escorted her out of the courtroom and through a warren of hallways into the unmarked police car that would take her to the safe house where she was staying. She'd half expected Jacques to be waiting for her. But she saw neither him nor Etienne.

Maybe he had been present in the courtroom, in another disguise, and he'd heard all the filthy things from her past. Maybe he'd changed his mind. Six hours later she glanced at the clock—midnight. Sleep eluded her and the book she was reading no longer held her interest. Barred from television and Internet access, the only thing she had to do was stare at the ceiling and think of Jacques.

***

The next day the defense attorney asked for more time to pursue another piece of evidence. The judge granted a twenty-four hour continuance, and Maya returned to the secret location.

At two o'clock she was called back to the courthouse. Had the defense attorney found something to exonerate Big Tony? Was he about to walk free? God, she hoped Jacques was ready. If he was still going through with his plan, that was.

Rather than being taken to the room where she'd previously waited to be called, the guard led her to an oak-paneled room full of books and a huge desk. One of the female Crown prosecutors, Christine, was waiting for her. "We've got fifteen minutes to get you ready for your wedding," she said.

"What?" Maya took in the rest of the room. Lying across the leather sofa was a long, white garment bag, and on the floor next to it sat a large box and the shoes she'd worn at the harvest festival.

"Your groom brought all this. I caught a glimpse of him waiting in the next room. And girl, if you don't marry him, I will."

"Not a chance. He's mine." Maya threw off her leather jacket, jeans, and T-shirt then unzipped the bag. Inside was her Gran-Gran's engagement dress, the one Maya had worn at the party. It was perfect.