The Silken Web

by Sandra Brown

  When next he kissed her, his tongue dipped into her mouth again and again, intimating a more profound physical union. Their bodies welded together in a tight embrace that was lenient only in letting them rub against each other.

  “Mamma.”

  The chirping voice caused them to fall apart as nothing else could have. They stared down dazedly at Theron, who had stood up in his crib, hopping up and down. Kathleen clutched the sides of her wrapper together.

  “Theron, when did you wake up?” she asked shakily. The baby was laughing and waving his arms around.

  “I think he wants in on the fun.”

  “Erik,” Kathleen gasped, and covered her flaming face with hands suddenly gone cold. “We ought to thank him for waking up. Everyone will wonder… We mustn’t let this happen again.” Indeed, she had almost betrayed her husband under his own roof. God! Guilt swamped her and she put more space between her and Erik. Her eyes were laden with shame when she met his. “We’re in Seth’s house. I’m his wife.”

  Erik faced her soberly. “You should have reminded me of that sooner. I’d never want to betray Seth either, but my better judgment deserts me when I’m close to you, Kathleen. It’s a fact that is never far from my mind.”

  She retreated into her bedroom and dressed hurriedly. She cursed her fumbling fingers and wondered if anyone would notice the high color in her cheeks or the swollen fullness of her well-kissed mouth.

  She met Theron and Erik at the top of the stairs as they had planned moments earlier. “Don’t look so guilty, Kathleen,” Erik said out of the corner of his mouth. “Nothing happened. Believe me, I’m more painfully aware of that than anyone.”

  The expression on his face was so anguished that Kathleen couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Sadist,” he grumbled. He swung Theron up onto his shoulders. The boy enmeshed his stubby fingers in Erik’s hair for a handhold. When Erik whooped in pain, Theron shrieked in delight.

  The three of them descended the stairs laughing. Seth wheeled up to meet them. “There you are!” he cried. “We were about to send a search party out, thinking maybe Theron had tied you both to the bedposts.” They all laughed, and Seth instructed them to lead the way to the kitchen, where dinner was being served tonight. Hazel was taking a tray in her room, pleading a headache.

  In the hall, Seth paused, not following immediately as he watched the trio go toward the kitchen. No one was witness to the pensive expression on his face.

  * * *

  October was always a busy month for the stores, and this season was no exception. Not only was it business as usual, but this year they had Erik’s commercials to contend with, too. It was agreed that some should be done in time for the Christmas rush. Erik went into production immediately. All agreed that the ads were good, but nothing as creative as Erik wanted to do for the future. However, the first commercials aired locally generated even more business for Kirchoff’s, to say nothing of Erik’s new company.

  Kathleen saw Erik often, but there wasn’t an encore of the amorous scene that had taken place in Theron’s bedroom. Neither trusted himself to be left alone with the other. Other people were always around and she felt that they both contrived to have it that way. When they weren’t in business conferences, they were at dinner at the Kirchoffs’ house. If anyone noticed the rarity of a single man Erik’s age spending an inordinate amount of time with Theron, no one spoke of it.

  Hazel had tempered her frequent verbal attacks on Kathleen. The younger woman wasn’t naive enough to think that her dire warnings to her sister-in-law had done anything to alter the woman’s malicious nature. Perhaps she was only exercising caution by becoming more reticent. To Kathleen’s mind, that made Hazel even more deadly, and she was still wary of her.

  For that reason, Kathleen was uneasy about leaving Theron for the two weeks she and Eliot would go to New York to do their spring buying.

  “Alice.” Kathleen approached the woman one day while the housekeeper was working alone in the kitchen. “Are you sure you can handle Theron all by yourself while I’m away? Maybe we should call in some extra help. He’s getting so meddlesome.”

  “That’s the tenth time you’ve asked me that and I’ve answered the same way each time. I can take care of Theron just fine. Don’t you trust me with him?”

  Not for the world would Kathleen have Alice think that. “Of course I do! But if you should get busy and someone else should volunteer to watch him…” She didn’t know how to say what she wanted to. She couldn’t say, “Don’t leave him alone with his aunt.”

  Alice eyed the younger woman shrewdly. “I think I understand what you’re saying. If you’re referring to the day he had his… accident… in the pool, you should know something. I didn’t want to leave him in Hazel’s charge. She insisted that I come in here and start dinner and leave him out on the patio to play a little longer. I could hardly refuse her, Kathleen, but I wanted to. I don’t know how to tell you this, and you’ll think I’m a superstitious old woman, but I had a feeling something bad was going to happen to that baby when I left him with her.”

  A silent message passed between them. The housekeeper took both Kathleen’s hands between her own. “You go on that trip and do a good job for Seth. He expects it from you. Don’t worry about Theron. No one will get close to him unless I’m there. I’ve even asked George to move his crib into our room while you’re gone.”

  Kathleen hugged the woman to her, relieved that she hadn’t had to spell out her worries but glad that Alice was intuitive enough to catch them.

  On the day of depature, Seth went to the airport to see them off. “Buy anything you want,” he said. “This is going to be a big spring. Don’t forget that. Be sure to ask if some of the pieces can be made up early for the commercials that Erik wants to shoot.”

  “I will, I won’t, I will,” she promised, laughing and swallowing the hard lump in her throat at the mention of Erik’s name. She hadn’t seen him in more than a week. “Don’t work so hard, Seth,” she pleaded. He was looking even more fragile recently. His skin seemed to become tighter and more sallow each day, and the fatigue lines around his eyes and mouth had grown more pronounced.

  “Don’t worry about me. Or Theron. Have a good time. You get away so seldom—”

  “Seth,” she scolded, “will you stop! I don’t want to get away from my family.” Disregarding the naturally curious eyes of the other waiting passengers, she knelt beside his chair and kissed him goodbye.

  “I love you, Kathleen,” he said as she pulled away. His mouth was beautiful when he smiled the way he did now. The generous, loving spirit that characterized him still shone from the depths of his dark eyes though they were pinched and weary.

  “I love you, too,” she said sincerely.

  * * *

  Kathleen adored New York. Each time she traveled to the city, she was imbued with its energy and vitality. Never would she want to live in the concrete canyons, but she looked forward to the five trips she made each year to buy merchandise for Kirchoff’s.

  She was welcomed with open arms in a city that wasn’t particularly known for its geniality. The fashion houses she did business with catered to her every whim. Kirchoff’s was an excellent account. At each showroom, she was treated royally.

  Yet they all knew that behind Kathleen’s feminine exterior was an operating business mind that they dare not try to take advantage of.

  “Mr. Gilbert, how nice to see you again,” she said to the president of the company who greeted her personally as she and Eliot came into his busy showroom. He was immediately flattered and deceived by her friendly manner, but he was soon to learn that she was not to be trifled with.

  “I let you get by with shipping my order two weeks later than you shipped I. Magnin’s,” she said, still wearing a disarming smile. “If it ever happens again, I’ll send the merchandise back without payment. Is that clear?”

  Her eyes shone green, almost matching the color of Mr. Gilbert’s sickly expression. His
manner became effusive. “I can’t imagine, Mrs. Kirchoff, what—”

  “Do we see your line now or do we not?” she asked levelly.

  “Now, of course. Immediately. Just let me…” He bustled off to find his most persuasive salesman.

  Eliot was invaluable to her on the buying trips. Each night, when they went over the orders they had placed that day, checking them against their budget and the “shopping list” they had made from their inventory at the store, his uncanny memory never ceased to amaze her.

  “Those organdy ruffled tops we bought at Valentino’s will go with that crepe Anne Klein trouser. What sizes did we order that pant in? Six, eight, ten. Three of each for each store,” he mused as he glanced over the orders. “Why don’t we go all the way from sizes four to twelve? Pick up the twelves in black only and order three more for each store in the other colors. Except for the blue. It’s hideous. I think we can team this pant with different blouses and the customer will probably buy two. What do you think?”

  Each night, Kathleen retired to her room while Eliot went out on pursuits of his own to places she didn’t want to know about, with people she didn’t want to know about, and in the mornings, he was hung over from substances she didn’t want to know about. But after three cups of black coffee and half a pack of cigarettes, he was ready to attack Seventh Avenue again and was as sharp as ever.

  They were entertained lavishly, for Kirchoff’s had a fine and firm reputation as one of the fashion-setting stores in a fashion-conscious city.

  One anxious blouse manufacturer could tell by their closed expressions that he was about to lose a sale and began stuttering his spiel. Impatiently, Eliot got up from the table where an empty order form lay and brazenly removed the garment from the man’s hand.

  “Do you know what’s wrong with this blouse?” Eliot asked Kathleen, ignoring the flustered salesman.

  “The bow,” she said without hesitation.

  “Right! This ghastly bow. It’s a great blouse without that.” He turned to the man and said, “I’ll order six dozen in assorted colors and sizes if you can make them without the bow. Otherwise, forget it.”

  “I…” the man stammered.

  “And modify the sleeve,” Eliot went on imperiously. “It’s a great suit blouse, but if customers can’t get a full sleeve in a jacket, they won’t buy it. I like the graceful style, but take about half the fabric out of the sleeve.”

  “Yes, Mr. Pate. Of course.”

  “Can we expect the blouses to be shipped the way we want them?” Eliot demanded politely.

  “Certainly,” the man said nervously. “I myself was thinking of taking off the bow.”

  They were still laughing as Eliot hailed a taxi to take them to the Russian Tea Room for a luncheon appointment. They were wined and dined almost each lunch and dinner, being taken only to the best restaurants. Kathleen received no small number of bold, illicit propositions. To her chagrin, Eliot received as many.

  After ten days, Kathleen was ready to go home. A day earlier than planned, they rescheduled their flight and returned to San Francisco. She and Eliot parted company at the airport, each glad to be finished with a difficult job and feeling confident that they had accomplished much.

  Kathleen surprised everyone when she arrived home just in time for dinner. She had a surprise, too. Erik was there. He was accompanied by a gorgeous, stunning blonde.

  Her name was Tamara.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Kathleen!” Seth cried, and wheeled his chair around the end of the dining table, almost running over her with his exuberance.

  She laughed as she leaned down to receive his warm kiss. As she drew back, Kathleen was struck by how tired he looked. Had he lost weight? His cheekbones stood out starkly in his gaunt face. His eyes, however, were as radiant as ever, and she didn’t doubt that he was glad to see her.

  “How was the trip?” he asked as he escorted her to a chair. George and Alice had rushed in when they heard her voice and Theron had been placed in her anxious arms. “What did the spring lines look like? Alice, please bring her a plate. Theron’s learned to say car and truck. Darling, was it a fruitful trip?” Seth was so excited to see her that the words tumbled over themselves. She laughed again as she hugged a squirming Theron closer.

  “We had a good trip, though we finished early and couldn’t wait until tomorrow to come home. We bought some lovely things.” Her eyes wandered around the table, including Erik, Hazel and the blonde in her conversation. “Forgive me,” she mumbled, “but we haven’t been introduced.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Seth said. “I was so delighted to see you that I forgot my manners. Kathleen, this is Tamara. Tamara, my wife and most valued right hand, Kathleen.”

  “How do you do,” Kathleen said politely.

  “Hi,” was all the girl said.

  Erik spoke for the first time. “How are you, Kathleen?” The sound of his voice was her true welcome home. It embraced her. It was rich and deep and masculine, touching her with its timbre.

  She longed to go to him and feel his strength, his warmth. But she couldn’t. They had an audience and there was a glamorous woman sitting beside him, a woman he had dared to bring to her house. “I’m fine,” she answered curtly, not quite meeting his eyes.

  “Alice, take Theron back into the kitchen now,” Hazel ordered.

  “No,” countered Kathleen coolly. “I’ve missed him more than I could have imagined. Tonight he stays in the dining room with us.” Kathleen’s eyes dared Hazel to challenge her.

  “Of course, my dear,” Hazel said graciously, though the eyes she turned on Kathleen were as hard as flint.

  Kathleen placed a napkin in her lap and her gaze strayed back to the glamorous young woman with Erik. She must be very tall, Kathleen thought. Didn’t Tamara have a last name? Was one necessary? Who could forget her once they had seen her? Her hair was the color of moonlight, the palest blonde imaginable, and framed her face in a carefully disordered style that hung to the middle of her back. It was free, untamed. It matched the feline cunning that lurked in her amber eyes. They were cool and calculating, but when they lit on Erik they became slumbrous and warm. Even from across the table, Kathleen could feel the sparks shooting from those eyes.

  Once she saw Erik answer Tamara’s seductive look with a deep, lazy grin, and the food in Kathleen’s mouth could have been dust. She tried to keep her eyes away from them and listen to what Seth was telling her about Theron and the stores, but it was impossible.

  Tamara’s clinging dress was white, setting off her fabulous tan. From what Kathleen could see, the fabric outlined a perfect, statuesque figure, and left nothing to the imagination.

  “If you’re finished, Kathleen, we’ll go into the living room,” Seth suggested. “I don’t think you ate enough, though.”

  Kathleen stared unseeingly at her plate and realized that she hadn’t taken more than a dozen bites. “We had a snack on the plane,” she said as brightly as she could and reached for Theron.

  Erik’s hand closed possessively around Tamara’s elbow as he led her into the living room. Hazel had engaged Seth in an absorbing private conversation, so Kathleen’s only escort was her son.

  Tamara practically lay down on the long sofa, pulling Erik with her and threading her slender arm through his. His elbow pressed into her enormous breasts.

  Kathleen was finding it hard not to scream at both of them as she sank down into an easy chair with Theron, who was wetly chewing on her string of coral beads. She must look tired, wrinkled and matronly, while the other woman looked young, fresh, alluring and all too willing.

  Ritualistically, George brought in the heavy silver tray with the coffee service on it. Everything irritated Kathleen tonight. Why couldn’t they all troop into the kitchen and sit on stools and pour coffee out of a percolator into thick, heavy mugs? She longed for those easy talks that she had shared with B. J. and Edna. How she missed the joking, the warmth, that informal way of life!

 
She was sick of moire-covered walls and brocade sofas and artificial flowers. She was even sicker of a tall, slinky blonde who couldn’t seem to keep her hands off Erik.

  “You sit with the baby, Kathleen dearest, and let me pour tonight. You must be exhausted after your trip.” Hazel’s duplicity never ceased. How the woman constantly carried off the act without once dropping character was a source of wonder to Kathleen. She looked away from her sister-in-law in time to see Tamara lean even closer to Erik.

  Her thigh rubbed against his in an erotic invitation. Absently, he reached over and patted her knee. Kathleen would have gladly murdered first the girl, then him.

  Did she have the right to be jealous? Erik was a virile man. She was married. He had never claimed to love her. She knew that he still had a physical desire for her and that he felt a fondness for her for being the mother of his child. But love her? He had never claimed to in so many words.

  What good would it do either of them if he did? She could never leave Seth, and Erik knew that. There was every reason in the world for him to be… seeing someone. But why did she have to be so young and beautiful? So sexy? And why did he bring her to Kathleen’s house?

  That question was answered for her.

  “Kathleen, Erik has come up with a great idea for the spring commercials. He wants to go to the tropics to do some location shooting. What do you think? Doesn’t that sound great?” Seth’s face had lit up with expectation.

  “Yes,” Kathleen agreed, forcing a smile.

  “I think it’s a marvelous idea,” Hazel said with a sly smile directed at Kathleen.

  “He found Tamara through one of the talent agencies in the city,” Seth rushed on. “She’ll be featured in all the commercials. There will be other models, of course, but most of the scenes will revolve around her.” Seth beamed at the model, and she blessed him with a quick wink. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she? Can’t you see her wearing some gauzy summer thing, standing beside the ocean?” He laughed. “Listen to me trying to tell Erik his job!”