It was about 4:00 Saturday afternoon and John Wayne still had over 24 hours to spend with Diana Maitland trying to get her pregnant...he knew it was the only thing that would make her stay with him. She had told him that, though she's loved him for so many years and fantasized about him desiring her, she had never believed he could love her...she felt unworthy of his love because he was such a big star and she was nobody. They were reclining again on the double chaise lounge on the patio after their last two hot encounters.
He was trying to show her that she had let her low self-esteem during her painful adolescence affect her ability to believe that she was worthy of his love. He told her to close her eyes and remember herself as she was when she was about 14, before she ever knew about him. He asked her to imagine how she would have reacted during that time if boys had been more interested in her as a person and had not just treated her as a sex object. She thought about it, and then told him that she probably would've hoped that she'd found a steady boyfriend to stay with all through high school, because she would've needed only one boy's constant affection to convince her that she was loveable.
He asked her if she would've given herself to that steady boyfriend. She immediately said no, because her mother had convinced her that nice young girls just didn't have sex until they were married. She reminded him that she didn't get curious about sex until after she was attracted to and became infatuated with him. Then he told her that it didn't mean that she wouldn't have loved and been as attracted to her steady boyfriend as she was to him, and that she still probably would've developed her strong sense of sexuality, so she might very well have changed her mind any way. She conceded the point.
Then he asked her if she had gone to see one of his movies with this steady boyfriend that she loved so much and was so attracted to, would she have still been as enthralled with him. She immediately started to say yes. But then she stopped and really tried to imagine what she would have been like if she had found some boy who she loved and was so attracted to, and he felt the same about her. It dawned on her that she probably would never have even looked at the movie screen, and if she had, she didn't think it would have made a difference. She had so craved the attention of a male who was not her father, that a steady boyfriend would have been her whole world.
She frowned and opened her eyes to look at him. She admitted that she probably wouldn't have noticed him at all...then she looked more confused than ever, and asked him why he was making her think about these things. She started to believe that he was trying to prove to her that she loved him for all the wrong reasons.
He looked at her sadly as he explained to her what he had realized when she told him about her past and why she had become so infatuated with him; she would never have sought him out if the right guy had come along in high school. He would never have gotten to love her, and he would never have experienced the powerful emotional and physical feelings that he has, and will, with her this weekend. Then he added that, even if it doesn't end the way he wants, he would never trade what they have and will share to not experience any pain he might feel in the future. That was why he'd said he'd never regret knowing her or loving her.
But, she still didn't understand what the hell he saw in her! She started to explain her confusion and some of her fears to him, gaining speed as she went along, and her voice rising in pitch and volume as her worries spilled out, then staring off into space as she envisioned the headlines. "I, apparently, am still a confused woman who's letting painful memories of rejection and my self-doubt rule the way I live my life...which I had decided, after that last bastard rejected me, would be on my terms and no one else's.
And I am still scared to death at the thought of having my life pried into and splashed across the entertainment papers if I stay with you. How many of those one-night stands I had would be only too happy to sell their story to those papers about how they'd fucked the Duke's new wife?!! And if I'm pregnant, then all they'd say is that you married me just because you knocked me up! I'll be seen as nothing but a tramp and wouldn't that just be a wonderful boost to your reputation!"
"DIANA!" he roared, as he grabbed her chin with his left hand and forced her face toward him, since he'd been trying to stop her by saying her name a few times but she hadn't heard him because she was lost in her fears and talking so fast. He looked at her with a mixture of anger and regret as he started to present his arguments. "First of all, I understand why you still feel so hurt and full of self-doubt. You grew up feeling rejected by men, except for your father, and all I can say is that those boys in high school and that last bastard were all fools because they couldn't see in you what I do. And, if I have to keep repeating it until you believe me, then I will...you are beautiful—inside and out; you are smart; you are funny; you are generous and kind; you have a beautiful soul and you see the world with so much potential for hope, despite your own painful past—how could I not love you?" he said softly.
Then he began again, angrily, "And secondly, I don't give a shit what those rags write about me, but I do have to say that I tend to take it personally when they pry into my private life—I don't like it any more than you do, but I have learned to make myself ignore what anyone thinks when they read about something that is seen as improper or embarrassing. I already have a somewhat tarnished reputation, as you should know, and anything you did in your past can't hurt me. But I can see how it would hurt you and your family, and I wish I could give you the courage and strength to get past whatever damage might be done. But ultimately, as you have been trying to point out, it is your decision as to what you can accept and live with." He sighed heavily as he finished, then moved his hand from her chin to her right cheek to stroke it gently as he stared into her eyes with a slight frown.
She stared back at him; she finally believed he really loved her, but she still didn't feel strong enough to survive a scandal if her past indiscretions were to come out. He had said it wouldn't hurt him, but how could he know? There was no telling how the rest of the people in the industry would react to something like that; they would probably believe that she deliberately seduced him and got pregnant and they might ridicule him for getting trapped! She closed her eyes and frowned as she turned her head and pressed her cheek firmly against his hand. She had no idea what to say to him.
He saw in her eyes, before she closed them, that she finally believed he really loved her; but it had done nothing to allay her fears about what would happen if her past was discovered and how it might affect his reputation and her own sense of self-worth. He really didn't care how it might affect his reputation or career, but he was worried how it would affect her and their life together. He knew the press could be brutal, and he couldn't stand the thought that she might suffer since they would hound her just because of her connection to him. He had no idea what to say to her.
She slowly looked up at him; and almost at the same time, they said, "So, here we are—now what?" They both stopped and smiled wryly at each other. Then she reached up and put her hand over his, nuzzling her cheek into his palm as she said, "I still owe you a lifetime's worth of happiness, and I intend to give you that every second that I can! I will do whatever you want or need—please tell me what you want!"
His deep blue eyes darkened with passion as he stared down at her, and he rumbled in his soft, gravelly voice, "I just want to love you...forever..." as he leaned down and kissed her tenderly. The kiss gradually deepened until they were both clinging desperately to each other.
She had her chin on his right shoulder and her arms wrapped around him as he clutched her tightly against him, and she whispered passionately, "Take me to bed. Make love to me... forever."
He slowly loosened his hold on her and looked at her with his eyes smoldering, and rumbled huskily, "Your wish is my command, little girl."
He stood up from the chaise and leaned down to pick her up in his arms; she always marveled at how he scooped her up like she was light as a feather. He carried her into the house and up the stairs to the master bedroom. He hadn't been lying when he said the bed was big—it looked big enough to sleep four people his size comfortably! He walked over to the side of the bed closest to the wall of glass doors covered with shear curtains on the ocean side, and set her down to throw the bedspread and top sheet back and to the other side out of the way.