Kay Hooper - Star-Crossed Lovers

Contents

HER ENEMY, HER LOVE...
Perhaps if she'd stayed in Atlanta, Michele Logan would never have had to face Ian Stuart, the ruggedly handsome architect whose family had feuded with hers for centuries. But in the sultry paradise of Martinique fate threw them together and tempted them to end the deadly struggle that had caused so much tragedy. Shocking, urgent desire swept away reason on a tide of need, and suddenly Michele lay in the arms of her enemy, the last man in the world she must ever love. Ian vowed that she could trust him, insisted that the war was over, but could this consuming madness, this sweet ecstasy, be the ultimate revenge, the perfect betrayal of those she cherished most? Bound by ties of love to opposite sides, they struggled to believe in each other's promises, but both were haunted by shadowy evil that seemed determined to destroy all they had. Could it be that love was stronger than hatred, that destiny had joined their hands to heal old wounds?

No one knew how it had all started, or even when. A fascinated historian approached each family just after the turn of this century with the idea of researching and writing the story; each family shot at him. Aggrieved, he talked to the press instead, and a publisher had become interested enough to offer an advance.

With interest and support backing him up, the historian did a thorough job of research, and came up with a story colorful enough to satisfy all but himself . To the end of his days, he complained that he had never been able to find the source of the feud; he had traced a long and violent sequence of events all the way back to the fifteenth century, but even that didnt answer the basic question of when and how things went wrong.

Upon publication of his book, the historian was hardly surprised to learn that Cameron Stuart had promptly taken out an ad in a national newspaper proclaiming the feud had started, of course, with Tavis Logan throwing in with the house of York during the Wars of the Roses and then sealing his treachery with a marriage to a weakly French slut.

Grady Logan, not to be outdone, had taken out a larger ad insisting it had been Wingate Stuart who had supported the York claim to the throne and then had stolen Taviss French wife unpardonable villainy. Which meant, Grady pointed out triumphantly, that Cameron was descended from that French slut.

And the feud went on.

The historian shook his head and sighed while newspapers and magazines ran bits of his book to feed curious readers.

It had been a Logan, said the Stuarts, who had whispered gently but forcefully into Henry VIIIs ear to rid himself of his Spanish queen, thus helping to oust Catherine of Aragon. A Stuart, cried the Logans, had rigged the evidence that had lost Anne Boleyn her head.

Jane Seymour, having died in childbirth, apparently escaped the effects of the Stuart-Logan feud, but popular belief held that Anne of Cleves was accepted by Henry only because of the flattering portrait a Logan had put before him; a Stuart had gleefully helped Henry out of that marriage.

Logan retaliated by subtly pointing out the prettiness of Catherine Howard at court, and Stuart caused her downfall and the loss of her head by guiding the kings council to find strong evidence of her infidelity. Both sides claimed the happy marriage Henry enjoyed with Catherine Parr.

It seemed there was much fodder for the feud during Henrys reign, between the kings marriages and his strong mistrust of the Plantagenets, to say nothing of his break with Rome. Since both Logan and Stuart were of the old nobility, it seemed to have been the height of insanity to cut at each other by using a suspicious king as a tool but both, somehow, survived.

They survived also the short reign of the last Tudor king, Edward VI, the nine-days reign of Lady Jane Grey, and the few years of Bloody Mary I. Both Logan and Stuart were somewhat foolhardy when it came to their feud, but neither was fool enough to use Elizabeth I as they had her father, Henry; nor were they reckless enough to encourage handsome sons to chase after the Virgin Queen.

Both Stuart and Logan had eyed askance Elizabeths successor James I, winced when Jamess son Charles I declared war on Spain, and shook their heads when he lost his. They had kept quiet and still while Cromwell reigned and were relieved when Charles II was crowned.

By the time George III began having his troubles with madness, both Logan and Stuart, separately, of course, had decided to try their luck with America. And both were incredibly lucky in their adopted land; but the family feud went on.

Too late to choose opposite sides in the Revolution, they lost no opportunity in later years and generations to keep feeding the fire. (They had a fine time during the Civil War, for example, though hampered a mite by the fact that both families lived in the Deep South.) What one supported, the other attempted to destroy; what one had, the other had to better.

At times the feud was ridiculous, such as when Jeb Logan painted his privy red to match Cal Stuarts house. Cal had retaliated by creeping over one night to move the privy behind its pit; when Jeb came out for his before-bed visit and walked into the pit, his enraged screams could be heard for miles.

And, inevitably, the feud was sometimes tragic. Stuarts and Logans had been killing each other, for good and bad reasons or no reason at all for generations, and the move to America did not stop that . Theirs was a long list of duels, brawls, and deaths. They stole property from one another, destroyed property, sabotaged each others reputations and business dealings. They imbued their children with their hatred, encouraging more destruction and revenge for destruction.

The historian had discovered a single pattern in the feud which he found fascinating, but no one else seemed to grasp its significance. As nearly as he could determine from the historical evidence, it appeared that in each generation events conspired to produce a critical moment during which the feud could have been stopped.

It seemed to happen in the youth of each generation, when they themselves had no personal grievance against each other and might have risen above the hatred of their elders. But, inevitably, the critical moment was overlooked, or discounted, or those involved simply failed to pass the test. They were drawn into the feud and found their own reasons for continuing it. None had been able to find within themselves whatever was needed to stop the hate.

On it went a circle with no beginning and no foreseeable ending. In sheer pigheaded spite they chose similar homes, similar businesses, and similar lives. Flying in the face of all logic, they chose to live near one another, so that children brought up to hate were pointed at specific targets.

Long after other well-known family feuds had ended, wounds healed and forgotten, the Stuarts and Logans continued to hate and plot, until the situation was ripe for a shocking conclusion.

It was a pity the historian couldnt have lived to see the finale. He would have loved it.

Damn him! Charles Logan looked at his son with bitter gray eyes. I dont suppose we can prove it?

Jonathan Logan shook his head, the same hard emotion reflected in his blue eyes. Not a chance, Dad. The inspector was smart enough not to put the money in his own bank account, and my source at city hall wont go on the record with what he knows.

But hes sure it was Stuart?

Who else? Jonathan laughed shortly. The inspector was paid to keep us tied up for weeks while he looks at every piece of wire in the building; hes not about to accept our word that the electrical work is up to code. And you can bet Stuarts building has already been approved. Unless we do something to slow Stuart down, we dont have a hope in hell.