His words soothed a little of her panic, but she wasn’t fully convinced. Things couldn’t be that different.
But what could she do? Her only other option was to run again, effectively breaking off her engagement. And she couldn’t do that to him. Not over petty gossip.
“Trust me,” he whispered.
She closed her eyes and held on to him. She didn’t know what to believe, but she would put her faith in him. If he said it was going to be all right, she’d believe him.
There wasn’t much else she could do.
Chapter Fifteen
Things were a bit rocky in the weeks following the luau, but Warren was pleased to see Kitty progressing with wedding arrangements.
There’d been a question of whether to marry quickly because of safety concerns, but with no evidence to suggest Frederick Craven knew of Kitty’s whereabouts, he felt confident that Kitty was safe from her brother without rushing the wedding.
And while he couldn’t wait to marry her, he wanted her to have a dream wedding without the lingering scandal of her birth tainting it. In the meantime, he had a lengthy list of things to finalize before their honeymoon.
The sugar refinery was exactly what Castle & Snow had searched for. Production had picked up, and they were in need of an additional refinery.
“When’s the wedding set for?” Charles Snow asked.
Warren glanced away from a piece of machinery, marking notes on a checklist given to him by the refinery’s supervisor. “Two months.”
Charles shuffled his feet. “And you’re sure this is what you want? We’ve already lost two customers because of your attachment to Miss Jones.”
Warren stopped his progress through the refinery. “What exactly are you implying?”
The tour of the building and its possible purchase by Castle & Snow had been on their list of things to do for some time, but with Warren’s engagement and Charles’s prolonged stay in San Francisco, it was the first time they’d been able to schedule something together.
“I’m not implying anything. Just checking to make sure Miss Jones is really what’s best for you. For Castle.”
Warren gritted his teeth, taking a moment to look over the checklist. He couldn’t fault Charles for his questions. They were the exact ones he’d ask if their positions were reversed. They may have lost a few contracts from his mother’s snobbish friends, but nothing that would set them back. Besides, none of it mattered. “And what do you think my answer is?”
The older man sighed. “That I should mind my own damn business.”
“Just so.”
“Let me be clear, I harbor no dislike for Miss Jones. She is a charming girl and would make most men a fine wife with the skills she possesses. I only mention the illegitimacy. Don’t you think—”
“No.” Warren slammed the checklist on a table next to him. A moment of silence echoed on the floor, the workers unable to turn way from a possible fight. “I don’t know how word got out about Kitty’s background, but I’ll be damned if I let others’ opinions about it influence my decisions. She isn’t responsible for her birth. Her parents are. It’s their own shame. Kitty is a wonderful person, and I’m proud to call her mine. I would’ve married her long before now if she would’ve agreed.”
Snow wisely remained silent.
“Castle & Snow will be fine. Her skills are an asset. Not a liability. Besides, people will soon forget about it and move on to other gossip. That’s how women work.”
Snow looked out at the work floor. “For both our sakes, I hope so.”
Warren counted on it. Gossip would subside, and business would run normally again.
They moved on to the next room, checking equipment, testing materials until they were satisfied with the refinery and covered with a thin sheen of dust and sweat. The plant would help offset the costs of production more than enough that losing a few clients wouldn’t matter.
They exited the building into moist Hawaiian air. “I’ll have the solicitors draw up a contract. We should possess it within a week or two if there aren’t objections.”
“The owner was pleased with the idea of selling it. I see no problems from his end,” Warren reassured his partner. At least that wouldn’t trouble them.
Snow tapped Warren’s arm, stopping him on the path to their carriages. “There was something else I wanted to ask.”
Warren’s lips firmed. “I don’t want to discuss my engagement further, Snow.”
“I understand that. I just wondered what happened to the chap asking after her?”
Warren shrugged. “Not sure. When I went to speak with him, he’d disappeared.”
“And that doesn’t worry you?”
“No. He hasn’t been back on the plantation since his first visit, and no one slipped him information from what I could tell. Everything points to his still being in the dark. I assume he got a false lead elsewhere and took off.” At least he hoped so.
Kitty in jeopardy wasn’t something he enjoyed. He wanted to believe the crisis had passed instead of worrying. But he wouldn’t be stupid either. “I sent out investigators of my own to track down her family and discreetly figure out why they are trying to kill her. There has to be a reason.”
“Sometimes there isn’t.”
“There is in this case.” There had to be. Nothing else made sense. To leave her alone for years, to go from a tolerant, if not loving, brother to a man who wanted her dead. Oh no, something had definitely changed.
Until he found out what, or stopped her family from coming after her, he’d keep a vigilant eye.
Right now, there were other things to worry about. Local problems that had to be dealt with. She’d been accepted by nearly everyone in society regardless of her illegitimacy, but there was still a small portion giving them grief.
His mother’s friends.
She’d proclaimed her innocence about the sabotage the day of the picnic, and without proof, he couldn’t turn her out. But they both knew the truth of what she’d done that day.
His mother would never be done sabotaging Kitty. In fact, he was confident his mother had been the one to spread the truth about Kitty’s background, damaging her standing as well as his business contracts. Again, if only he had proof.
Until then, he’d have to keep a close eye on her.
He refused to let anything come between Kitty and himself.
* * *
Frederick Craven was a man born to be obeyed. He wielded that power in his own home, over his wife and young children, as well as the employees in his father’s business. Not that those idiots would ever see his brilliance.
They all thought his father the gifted one. Well, they didn’t know how wrong they were. His father might have helped shore up their family’s dwindling fortune, but it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.
Frederick wouldn’t be satisfied with the funds left to him. He planned on inflating them, tossing him up even further in Knickerbocker society. Only then would he be satisfied. But first, he had to right a mistake his father had made.
Oh, the old man thought he’d made a loving choice in leaving a fortune to his bastard daughter. But what would she need five million dollars for?
The sum was a pittance to what Frederick inherited, but Kitty’s inheritance came without the debilitating caveat his did.
She got it in a lump sum to do with as she pleased.
Damn Father to hell. Why would he leave a fortune free and clear to Kitty and then tie his own son’s hands? As if he needed his father’s lawyers to tell him how much he could spend and what he could use the money for. Ludicrous.
The solution was easy. Take the money left for Kitty. If something happened to her before the funds were claimed, they reverted to him.
Free and clear.
If only the little witch hadn’t run off, causing so much trouble and expense.
He glanced at a crunched piece of parchment in his hands before releasing it. He hadn’t realized he’d crushed the letter, but
it didn’t matter. He’d write another.
A knock on the door sounded as he took out another piece of cream paper. “Come in.”
“Sir.” His butler bowed low before him. “This telegram arrived for you.”
Frederick’s eyes gleamed at the man’s subservient pose. He didn’t care about the respect the gesture conveyed. He cared about the power it gave him. As tempting as it was to force the servant to stand there, his eyes downcast toward the ground, Frederick wanted the telegram. “You may rise.”
The butler offered the folded note, and Frederick’s pulse jumped. Finally. News about Kitty’s whereabouts. It had to be. “Leave me.” He didn’t bother glancing at the servant again.
A feral smile crossed his lips as he read the missive.
Found in Hawaii. Castle Sugar Plantation. Engaged. With her new situation and added protection, assignment is too risky. Terminating employment, effective immediately.
His eyes narrowed over the last part. The man dared to back out of their agreement? Who cared if Kitty was no longer a friendless orphan? Dead was dead, no matter her connections. The man was a coward.
Frederick smoothed the paper as the urge to destroy it came over him. He was better off without that lazy leech of a detective. Frederick had given the man obscene amounts of money to track down his half-sister and dispose of her. Now he’d quit with the job half done because of the higher risk?
Disgust filled him. He couldn’t trust anyone to do anything right. He could only rely upon himself to see to his interests. Kitty needed to die. It was a simple fact. If Christopher Green refused to do it, Frederick would kill her himself.
He folded the telegram, taking care to keep the edges crisp.
So, his half-sister thought she could hide from him in Hawaii? She could travel across the world, and he’d track her down. He almost laughed. It was a stroke of luck her picture had been in the paper. That little factory fire in Lawrence was the break he’d waited for. Fortunately, his men had seen it and followed the lead. Else, it might’ve taken longer to find the girl.
He set the telegram aside as he stood from the desk.
No matter. He’d dispose of her himself. It might actually make it easier that way. He could come up with some excuse for her demise and have the proof he needed to collect her inheritance upon returning to New York.
He was in the right here. Everything would align so he’d have what he wanted. It was meant to be.
And it was easy.
Kitty just had to die.
Chapter Sixteen
Weeks had flown by, and their marriage loomed on the horizon. Kitty would blink, and she’d be walking down the aisle as the new Mrs. Castle.
She tucked a centerpiece next to the others on a table laden with wedding decor. Warren gave her a room in the main house to store it all, and she was grateful. It wouldn’t fit in her house.
The wedding would be massive. Everyone who was anyone was coming. A fact that pleased Warren but worried her.
There’d been a few hiccups along the way. While most were supportive of her and Warren’s decision to marry, there were those that staunchly disagreed. It embarrassed her that she’d subjected Warren to such gossip, but she had warned him. Besides, he’d been right. Overall, she’d been accepted.
Her back to the door, she heard the rustle of skirts and the light step of someone entering. “Cook, I’ll kiss your toes if you brought refreshments.” The smile on Kitty’s lips died as she swiveled and found Mrs. Castle instead of Cook. “Excuse me. I thought you were Cook.”
Mrs. Castle’s skirts swept the floor as she glanced over the decor, sniffing in distaste. “It seems you’ve been spending a little too much time with the servants.”
“They’ve been extremely helpful to me. And I appreciate their company.”
“Yes. Well, it’s not a surprise you get along so well, because you’re one of them. A servant,” she added in case Kitty didn’t understand the insult.
Oh, but she understood. Mrs. Castle was bitter and cruel. She didn’t care about anyone but herself, and that included her son. Her behavior in the time Kitty had been here was atrocious.
“Mr. Castle might have employed me, but that is no longer the case. Once I agreed to marry him, I continued on with my duties without pay.”
Mrs. Castle fingered the pink silk bows on the table. “Yes. Still the social secretary. How is that working out, by the way? Have you helped him secure more customers? Have you saved orders from going elsewhere?”
A small part of Kitty wondered the same thing. From everything she’d seen, it was as if she hadn’t had any effect on Warren’s business. Had he really needed her? Had she done her job well enough that Warren’s company flourished?
She and Warren hadn’t talked of such things. He’d always told her what a great job she’d done, and those words of encouragement had been all she needed. After all, he would tell her if she was doing something wrong, if something else needed to be done, wouldn’t he? “Warren seems more than pleased with the work I’ve done. His business is doing well, from all I’ve heard.”
Mrs. Castle smirked. “Yes, Warren would want to protect you, wouldn’t he? It’s sweet really, even if it’s also pathetic.”
“What do you mean?”
“Castle & Snow have lost quite a few clients recently.”
Dread pooled in her stomach. “Have they?”
Mrs. Castle tsked. “Yes. A shame really. It could’ve all been avoided so easily.”
“How so?” Kitty asked, but she shouldn’t have. The pure look of malicious joy on Mrs. Castle’s face scared her.
“It’s because of you, dear. Didn’t you know? When word of your less-than-desirable past surfaced, several of the long-standing customers of Castle Sugar pulled their orders.” The older woman shrugged. “If it wasn’t for Warren’s connection to you, all those accounts would’ve been saved.”
Kitty gasped. Was it true? Had she caused Warren to lose business because of her past? He’d assured her that it didn’t matter, but had he lied to protect her? Had he shielded her from the ugly truth that they weren’t a good match?
Heavens, how many more customers would pull out? How many more would they lose because of the circumstances of her birth?
And why had he kept it a secret? Did he regret his decision to marry her?
She wanted to cry, to deny it, but Kitty knew Amelia Castle spoke the truth. However, the older woman never did anything out of the kindness of her heart.
Kitty’s spine straightened. “Obviously, Warren still sees value in our connection. Although honorable, Warren would’ve come to me if there were indeed such problems. I thank you for informing me, however. Knowledge is power, after all.”
Mrs. Castle’s eyes narrowed. “You stupid girl. Can’t you see you’re bringing him down? You’ll be the end of Castle & Snow.”
The woman’s comment’s sliced across Kitty’s heart, but she refused to let it show. She was sick to death of letting Warren’s mother push her around, but she had held off from confronting Mrs. Castle out of respect for Warren. That ended now.
Kitty’s chin notched up. “I doubt that. Warren seems pleased enough with my work. You and I both know that no one could manipulate him into doing something he didn’t want to. I understand you’re angry and jealous that I’m here. You feel it’s your right to be mistress of Castle House, and you might be right. But the fact is, Warren doesn’t trust you. That wasn’t something I did. You are responsible for your relationship with your son, and I’m sick of bearing the brunt of your dissatisfaction. If my relationship with Warren has caused a problem with business, I’m sure there’s something we can do to fix it.”
“What do we need to fix?” A masculine voice entered the conversation.
Kitty spun to the door. “Warren, I didn’t know you were there.”
He hovered in the doorway, his eyes narrowing as he looked between his mother and Kitty.
Mrs. Castle stepped toward him. “Oh, we were
just talking. I came to see how the wedding preparations were coming along.”
Kitty flushed under Warren’s stare. What must he think of her? Did he blame her for losing business? As much as she wanted to avoid the topic, she had to know. “Your mother was kind enough to inform me about a few developments with Castle & Snow.”
He stepped toward her. “And what development was this?”
Kitty glanced to Mrs. Castle as she preened on the side of the room. “She told me several of your long-standing clients have pulled their business because of our connection. Is that true?”
He swore, lacerating his mother with his gaze before returning his eyes to her. “It’s not as bad as it sounds.”
Mrs. Castle sniffed prettily as she headed toward the door. “Excuse me. I’ll give you two a moment alone.”
Warren glared at his mother’s retreating back. “We’ll talk about this later,” he promised.
His mother never slowed her pace down the hall.
Kitty waited until they were completely alone before her shoulders lost a little of their strength. Now that Mrs. Castle was gone, she didn’t have the energy to hold the facade in place. “It’s not as bad as it sounds? You haven’t lost business because of me? Because of my past?” His jaw clenched, and it was then Kitty realized how true Mrs. Castle’s information was. “Tell me, Warren.”
“There has been some loss, but even more has been gained from all you’ve done.”
Hollowness filled her. “I see. Well, thank you for telling me.” Finally. Although she had no doubt Warren wouldn’t have told her if his mother hadn’t brought it up.
“Kitty—”
“No.” She held her arms out, warding him off. “Don’t come any closer.”
“I want to make this right.”
She laughed humorlessly. “Which part do you want to make right, Warren? The part that I’m illegitimate? The part that our connection is driving away business, which was the whole point in marrying me?”
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