“No, he did not. I know he is your uncle, but the man has too many connections to my liking.” When Derek didn’t respond he posed his own question. “What else do we know?”
“Southerby escorted Kala to the masquerade last night. After following her, it seems he hid as well to figure out what exactly was going on. He also claimed to have given chase to the person responsible for the explosion.”
“You seem a bit hesitant.”
“I have a feeling this is all tied to that traitor McKenzie informed us about.”
“Have you had a chance to look into it?”
“Not yet. I am going to have to start soon. Now you understand why I don’t know if I should believe Southerby or not. We believe it is someone of rank, a member of the beau monde. You see why I had to see the meeting through, don’t you? If it is a member of the ton we must act quickly. We have a month to flush this person out before everyone disperses to their country estates for the holidays.”
“I understand. What about Kala? Does she remember anything of significance?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t been able to question her.”
“You won’t either. At least not today.”
“I understand.”
“When you do, you need to ask her what she knows about the Holy Grail. She loves Arthurian legend and considers herself quite an expert. I seem to recall something about the Holy Grail ending up in Camelot, which is why King Arthur became so powerful.”
“I will consider it.”
“Gabe, I have never seen her this way before. She seems so despondent. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried.”
Gabe felt as if he died a little inside with the words Derek spoke. Not a reflex on his person betrayed the way he felt right now, except for the clenching of his fists and his locked jaw. He stared out the window considering what measures he should take next. A light knock sounded on the study door and he called for the person to enter.
His grandmother walked in and her eyes lit on Derek. “Derek, it is so good to see you,” she gave him a warm hug as he stood to greet her. “I thought you and your lovely bride had left for the country.”
“We are in preparations, Your Grace. However, they have been put on hold momentarily.”
“Oh?”
“Grandmother, Mikala had an accident last night.”
“Oh no,” she sat quickly on the chair across from Derek. “I had a dream that something happened, but couldn’t quite determine what. I saw a bright light and heard a loud pop, but again it is too little too late.”
“Grandmother,” Gabe said a bit irritated. As long as he could remember, she always seemed to sense when something was wrong. The only problem was she never let anyone know until after the fact, so no one knew if she really had any special ability. Her friends just accepted it as part of her eccentric character. Gabe often wished she would not mention it at all.
“What happened to her?” The dowager asked, truly concerned.
“She has lost her sight.”
“The poor child.” Gabe had walked to the decanter and now returned with two glasses of brandy.
“Here, I had my share last night.” The dowager took the glass and threw back the liquid in a decidedly unfeminine gesture. Derek followed her move. Gabe walked over to the window and stared out once more. His hands were fisted together behind his back, and he kept replaying the scene from last night over and over.
“Grandson, what part did you play in this?”
“Better you not know, grandmother,” he answered, while silently berating and damning himself.
Chapter 12
Kala sat up in bed, startled. She looked anxiously around the room, but darkness greeted her. How could she stand this suffocating inkiness the rest of her life? She felt herself gasping for deeper breaths, trying to calm her racing emotions. Then from a corner, she heard a familiar voice.
“It’s near midnight, you are in your room, and you are fine.”
“Derek, is that you?” she squinted her eyes in the direction of his voice as if that would help her to make out his face.
“Yes.” He watched as she stacked pillows behind her and relaxed into them. She lifted her hands to rub at her irritated eyes and Derek quickly crossed the room to stop her, “No, that will make them worse. We should really have something tied around them for protection.”
“Then I really will feel like an invalid. The doctor has not demanded it be done yet, so it won’t,” she crossed her arms and stared mutinously at where she thought he should be. She heard his deep sigh followed by the faintest wisp of sound. “What are you doing?”
“I lit a lamp beside your bed. Pest, we need to talk.”
“Please, don’t you start in on me too,” she begged, rubbing her temple as she felt the bed depress under his weight as he sat down on the edge.
“I think Drucilla covered enough of it for the time being.”
“You heard?”
“She told me. She feels very guilty at the moment.”
“She shouldn’t. As much as I hate to admit it, she spoke the truth. And now look at me. What good is a blind woman? Can you tell me that Derek?”
“Kala, I don’t have any answers for you. I’m also not going to sugar coat anything to make the medicine easier for you to swallow. If you have lost your sight permanently, you are going to have a very tough time. There is no doubt about that.”
“I guess it’s a good thing that I had decided to not have anything to do with men anymore then, isn’t it? I mean, what man would want to be saddled with a blind wife? Can you imagine how suffocating that would be?”
“You don’t mean that,” he scoffed.
“Derek, it is difficult enough for a woman to keep a man from straying. Imagine a man being married to an invalid.”
“You are not an invalid.”
“I am going to have to rely on someone the rest of my life. Tell me, what name would you give that?” Silence greeted her. Kala felt herself drawing within herself and closing out the world. She pulled her knees close to her chest, hugging them tightly. “Are you going to tell Mama and Papa?”
“Do I have a choice? They will kill me if I keep them in the dark about this,” she missed the wince he gave at his choice of words. “Sorry about that.”
“Elizabeth won’t care,” she replied flippantly, referring to their sister. “She’ll think it is only what I deserve for being a hoyden.”
“Kala, Elizabeth cares about you very much,” another voice had entered the conversation. This one belonged to Tessa. She heard Tessa shuffle across the room to Derek. She heard a quiet smack and knew that one had quickly kissed the other.
“Did I wake you?”
“I just missed you. Now, back to you and Elizabeth. She is your sister and she loves you.”
“I was never the sister of her dreams though. I never liked to play with dolls and have tea parties like she did. I constantly embarrassed her with my antics and chasing after Derek and Gabe.” She paused a moment reflecting on how she had interacted with her two very different siblings growing up. “I can’t blame her. But I don’t feel close to her either and know not to expect her to sit by my sick bed and nurse me to health.”
“Kala,” she heard Derek say her name, but then nothing followed it. She could only guess that Tessa had halted whatever he was going to say.
“Why aren’t you two at your house?”
“Tessa and I were worried about you, so we decided we would stay the night here to make certain you would be all right.”
“Thank you,” she said even more hoarsely than usual, her voice tinged with tears.
“We should let her get some rest. She has a big day tomorrow,” she heard Tessa say in her soothing voice.
“What’s going on tomorrow?”
“Gabe has some questions for you.”
“Wonderful.”
“Don’t worry. We won’t let him attack you.”
“Did anyone happen to come by today?”
“
Southerby and Dewhurst. Both were turned away. We simply told Dewhurst you weren’t feeling well.”
“Oh,” for some reason she couldn’t help but feel disappointed that Gabe hadn’t at least thought to check on her. Did he not care that he played a part in her new condition?
“Gabe’s grandmother sent her best wishes,” Derek said.
“That was sweet of her,” she paused, weighing the wisdom of continuing. “Gabe came over then?” She asked deciding to take the bull by the horns.
“No, I went over there.”
“Oh.” I’m just a fountain of conversation, she thought disgustedly. Gathering her reserves about her she said the first thing that popped to her mind, “I hope you gave him what he deserves.”
Derek chuckled at the vindictive note in her voice. “Don’t worry, Pest,” she heard him stand and move towards her. “Both his face and my hand will be carrying the marks of our encounter for at least a few days. But bear this in mind, by not telling you what we were involved in, we truly thought we were protecting you. It might not have been the wisest decision, but we did not want someone to have the power to use you as leverage against us.” She felt him drop a kiss on the top of her head. “G’night, Pest.”
“Good night, Kala. Try to get some sleep.”
“I’ll try,” she told them wryly. Gabe would be questioning her about what? He had been there as well. Had he not paid attention to what happened?
Why hadn’t Southerby told her that he worked for the Foreign Office? Why did all the men in her life deem it necessary to keep her from knowing anything about their lives? Derek’s words tossed around in her mind like a storm-tossed vessel. What about Dewhurst? Could he be involved in something nefarious as well? If she were truthful with herself, she knew little about any of the men who had been courting her. All these years, she thought she knew Gabe and look where that had led her.
Another, more important thought brought itself to the forefront of her mind. What would happen to her? She had already made the decision to be an independent, unmarried woman. She couldn’t let her family continue to interrupt their lives just to care for her. They did not need to look after a grown woman, and she did not need to be looked after.
“I refuse to be a burden on anyone,” she told the empty room. She needed a solicitor to act on her behalf in business affairs. She would discuss the situation with Richard. Of the men in her life, she could expect him to be the most reasonable and understanding.
***
Gabe arrived for the breakfast meal at Richard and Drucilla’s house. All the adults were gathered around the table, talking and chatting. He watched Kala as she made several attempts at spearing a sausage on her plate. Just when she became disgusted and would have starved herself before asking for help, he walked over to her.
“Having trouble?” He goaded her.
“Leave me alone,” she bit out so that only he could hear.
He leaned down in her ear and whispered, “Ten o’clock.”
“What?”
“The sausage is at ten o’clock. The eggs are at two. The toast is at six, and the fruit is scattered in the middle.”
“Thank you,” he heard her stiff reply. He stepped back and saw her run her fingers around the edge of the plate. She found the appropriate ten o’clock position and stabbed the sausage. He winced a bit, afraid that the poor sausage had received what she would like to do to him. He walked over to the sideboard and filled his plate with food, then joined the group, settling next to Kala.
“Tessa, how are you?”
“Fine, Hawkescliffe,” he couldn’t help but hear the hint of anger that filled her voice.
“Drucilla?” He asked politely.
“I’ll be fine in a month or so,” he saw her shoot Richard a withering look while she nibbled on dry toast.
Gabe turned his attention on Derek. “The latest shipment has come in.”
“Oh? How’s it look?”
“I think we should do well from what I saw last night.”
“You went down to the docks at night?” Kala questioned. “Even I’m not that foolish,” he heard her mutter under her breath.
“I was well armed, since you seem to be so concerned about my person, and I only went to our dock.”
“Well, did you get a good look at some of the items, or did you only stay long enough to go over the manifest?”
“I stayed most of the night and helped the men unload a great deal.”
“My, my, the Duke of Hawkescliffe dirtying his hands with manual labor,” Kala said caustically.
“I had a lot on my mind and needed the physical exertion,” he replied wondering why he had admitted that to her.
“Sure, like which mistress to bed next,” he had to lean in to hear her whispered words. “Poor Clarissa.”
“Are you volunteering?” He asked back.
“Go to Hell,” she stood and pushed back her chair.
“Kala,” she heard two female voices admonishing her. Gabe actually chuckled at her predicament. The man hadn’t made any attempt to laugh in years. If she had her sight, she would stomp out of the room and do some door slamming to make her feel better. In this case, she flounced back into her chair and slumped against the back. Her hands were fisted tightly in her lap. She refused to pout, but she knew she had a mutinous glare on her face, because she had used it enough growing up. Besides she never pouted.
“Pardon, Your Grace.” A female voice from the area of the doorway interrupted.
“What is it nurse?” Dru asked.
“The baby is fretting and won’t settle down. He keeps calling for you.”
“I’ll be right up.”
“Is something wrong?” Richard looked worried.
“Teething.”
“Oh,” he sounded relieved.
“I’ll come with you and see the other children,” Tessa said.
“I’ll come too,” Kala said.
“No, Pest,” she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder, and a deep, sensuous voice in her ear. “You have questions to answer.” She heard the women push back their chairs and leave the room.
“Traitors,” she muttered.
“Gentlemen, perhaps we should take this into the study and allow the dishes to be cleared.”
“Certainly,” she heard Gabe say shortly before she felt her chair being pulled away from the table. Deciding to do this with dignity, she stood up and stepped around the chair in the opposite direction from where Gabe had sat. Her knee banged into another chair and she stood stunned, unsure what to do. A hand grasped hers pulling her out of the maze of chairs and placed it on a masculine arm. “Thank you, Derek.”
“You’re welcome, but what did I do?” She jerked her head around to the sound of his voice on the opposite side of the arm connected to hers. She felt a brief tightening in that arm that never quite disappeared as Gabe guided her into the study. Kala should have known him just from his scent, which always smelled slightly exotic with an underlying hint of cinnamon. He led her to settle into an oversized leather chair, and then heard the men’s heavy footsteps moving around the room. She noted how quickly she already had begun to rely on her other senses.
“You know, I would really prefer to know where my inquisitors are.”
“I’m sitting in the chair behind my desk,” Richard spoke up first.
“And I’m on his desk.” She could picture Richard leaning back in his chair, his elbows resting on the arms of his chair and his fingers steepled in front of his chin. Derek, however, would be perched on the desk in his easy-going manner.
“I’m standing two feet in front of you,” Gabe’s deep voice replied.
“Of course you are.” He would be standing rigid, no emotions crossing his face. His hands would be behind his back, clenching and loosening occasionally. His hands were the only give-away of what he currently felt, and now she couldn’t even see that.
“What does that mean?” He asked harshly.
“Nothing. Can we just get t
his done with?”
“Why did you consider me a traitor?”
“I told you already at our meeting the other night, or did the blast affect your memory as well as my sight?”
“Kala,” she heard Derek say in a reprimanding manner.
“Fine. The night of Derek and Tessa’s ball I heard you telling that woman, for lack of a better term, things that she had no right to know. I kicked the door to warn you people were on their way.”
“I guessed. So why did you follow me there?”
“I would rather not answer that,” she stated calmly. If he forced her to, she would, but everything she had ever felt for him would be laid bare, and she would hate him for that.
Gabe wisely decided not to push the issue. “Why didn’t you come forward sooner? Why didn’t you let Derek or Richard know about your suspicions?”
“First of all,” she continued, “I kept hoping what I heard had been wrong. Second, I would have gone to the family if I had known the family could help, instead of thinking I might endanger them. At the time, I felt I needed to protect everyone, including you. Silly of me, wasn’t it?” He studied the defiant look on her face. “And finally, I did try to tell, if you remember, but instead of anyone explaining the situation, everyone patted me on the head and told me not to worry my pretty little head about it. Oh yes, and then they wrote my father to come and get me at once.”
“Perhaps we should have trusted you more,” she heard the regret in her brother’s voice.
“Yes, but what has happened has happened, and we all must deal with it. I know more about the two of you than anyone has a right to, yet I have never revealed your secrets including those you don’t think I know. You know, I might have even been useful.”
“I sincerely doubt that,” Gabe said austerely.
Kala slammed her hands on the leather arms of the chair, causing a loud pop. The stinging of her palms was a welcome accompaniment to the anger coursing through her. “It is exactly that attitude that has turned you into such a prig, Your Grace. Did it ever occur to you that women can get things out of people that men cannot? And I would not have lowered myself to sleeping with someone for information.”
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