A Thin Line (27 page)

“Yes, Mother,” Kala heard the exhaustion in his voice.

“But, I...” she paused as she felt a restraining hand on her arm.

“Yes?” She heard the condescending tone in Gabe’s voice.

“Nothing.
 
Judith, would you guide me in the direction of the dining room?
 
I would like to finish my dessert.”

“Certainly, my dear.”
 
Once she heard the sliding doors snick shut and Judith dismiss the footman for the time being, Kala began to rant.

“Can you believe the nerve of her?
 
And Gabe played right into her hands.”

“She has manipulated the men in this family for years.
 
I never should have approved my son marrying her.
 
Gabriel is the only good thing that came out of that union.”

“This woman isn’t going to put up with her manipulation,” Kala walked furiously back and forth.

“Mikala, you are going to wear a hole in the carpet, if you don’t stop.”

“I can’t help it.
 
I’m furious.
 
He chose to believe her over me.”

“You don’t know that for sure Mikala.
 
Perhaps he just chose to avoid a fight between the two of you.”

“But therein lies the problem.
 
She now thinks that she can control Gabe, and he will always side with her.”

“From one incident?”

“She has hated me since Andrew died.
 
I don’t know what happened, but I think she somehow holds me responsible.”
 
At that very moment the door slid open.
 
The awareness that shot through her alerted her to the fact that Gabe stood there.

“Kala, can’t you just try to be civil to her?”

“Civil?
 
You’re asking me to be civil to that...that...” she spluttered.

“Mikala.”
 
She felt Judith’s cool, slim hand on top of hers.

“She is my mother, and you will show her the respect she deserves.”

“I am your wife.”

“Not by choice.”
 
Kala felt the words like a slap in the face, but refused to let him see how much they hurt.

“And that is what it all comes down to, isn’t it?
 
I am not the woman you would have picked.
 
If I remember correctly I begged you to let me out of this insanity.
 
Judith, please excuse me, I find that I have a horrible headache,” she turned towards the door thanking God above that she had had the foresight to make this one of the two rooms she had memorized today.

“I will escort you to your room, Your Grace.”
 
She recognized the voice of the footman that seemed to have been assigned to her.

“Thank you.”

Once in the duchess’ room, she made certain the doors were locked so she would not be disturbed by anyone.
 
She sank down to the floor, her back against the door.
 
She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them holding on tightly.
 
“I will not cry,” she told herself in a litany.
 
But she could not do anything about her breaking heart.
 

The other night he had given her so much hope for their future by his physical reaction to her.
 
She knew he didn’t love her, but she thought, nay hoped, that perhaps with time that would come about.
 
She had even felt her heart opening to him.
 
Funny how the actions of one woman could drive a wedge between husband and wife.
 
Wife.
 
The word sounded hollow to her.
 
He did not consider her a wife.
 
He considered her a duty to save face between their families.
 

She rested her forehead on her knees contemplating her future and what could be done to change the course it had taken.
 
There were so few options, but they were there.
 
She just had to figure out which would work best in this particular situation.
 
She stood and crossed the room, hands out in front of her until she encountered the bed.
 

Amy had draped her nightgown over the end of the bed as she had asked her.
 
She had planned to give her mistress privacy on her wedding night.
 
Kala laughed out loud in the silent room.
 
She could guarantee there would be no wedding night.
 
Kala struggled out of her dress and shift then quickly put on her gown and robe.
 
She felt her way to a settee that took up a wall in front of the bank of windows.
 
Kala curled herself up in a corner of the sofa, knowing she would be unable to sleep.
 
Her thoughts ran rampantly through her mind.
 
She pulled her knees up, locking her arms around them, and rested her cheek on them.
 
Tears for what could have been slowly leaked out of her eyes.

Chapter 20

Gabe cursed the words the minute they left his mouth, but he could not take them back.
 
He hadn’t meant to say those things, but she had pushed him, and he had had a hell of a day.
 
He could not deal with the issue between Kala and his mother at the moment, and both women would have to be satisfied with that.

He sat at the dinner table and attempted to eat the meal that had been set before him.
 
He pushed his plate away, too many thoughts and images disturbed him, making eating impossible.
 
Instead he rose and went to his study, pouring himself a brandy.
 
He avoided the chair that held vibrant memories of him and Kala together and instead sat behind his desk.

The day’s events rushed in on him like a wave crashing into the shore.
 
So much had gone awry in just a few hours.
 
He tossed back the brandy and set the empty glass on the desk.
 
Gabe had married his best friend’s sister.
 
Natalia was dead.
 
The traitor remained free.
 
He scrubbed his hands over his face.

He went over everything they currently knew about the traitor.
 
He worked in one of the governmental offices.
 
He had recently made contact with Natalia.
 
Now Natalia was dead.
 
Most importantly the man knew Kala.
 
That part alone shook him to the very core.
 

When he identified Natalia, her dress had been ripped open and blood spattered over one wall from the gunshot wound to her temple.
 
The manner in which she had been laid out indicated that she had either been raped or been in the midst of a rendezvous when she had been killed.
 
There had been a note found pinned to Natalia’s ripped bodice that read,
Her eyes remind me of a pair of beautiful emeralds, much like Miss Simmons when she gets angry.
 
Wouldn’t you agree, Hawkescliffe?
 
He felt his earlier nightmare coming true.
 
Perhaps he had inherited his grandmother’s gift.
 
At this moment, he considered it a curse.
 

They were being toyed with, and his hands were momentarily tied.
 
To make matters worse, he had tried to push Kala away so that he could be more objective of the situation.
 
He needed to determine the best way to keep her safe.
 
Gabe also knew that if people didn’t think they were close, she would be less of a target.
 

He quickly made a list of the men that he knew worked in a governmental capacity in the War Office, Home Office, and Foreign Office.
 
He had narrowed it down to those main offices since they offered the most tempting information for a traitor.
 
Once he finished the list, he quickly scanned it again.
 
Gabe realized all three men that had been courting Mikala made his list.
 

Could they have been using Kala?
 
Did any of them know of her superior knowledge of Arthurian legend?
 
He thought back to the night of the explosion in Vauxhall.
 
Southerby had run up claiming to have followed after someone but then lost them.
 
Could his story be believed?
 
Lady Clarissa had told him all he knew of Southerby and now she had come up missing as well.

Dewhurst would stay on the list.
 
The man reeked of scandal, if only he could be caught doing something.
 
He pushed papers at the War Office, but more just to brag about helping out with the war effort, and to impress the ladies and their fathers.
 
And McKenzie had made the list more on principle than anything else.
 

His mind wandered back to this morning and his wedding.
 
Had it truly taken place less than ten hours ago?
 
Even though she had refused a wedding gown, Mikala had made a beautiful bride.
 
Her sightless eyes had sparkled green, matching the light green print of her wedding dress.
 
Kala’s sable hair had hung in loose waves down her back defying convention.
 
He had truly hated to leave her, but duty had called.
 
Unfortunately it would always be that way with him.
 
She would eventually come to understand or hate him.

When he had been called to confirm Natalia’s decaying body his stomach had churned with a mixture of sickness and excitement.
 
He felt devastated for the loss of life, but it had also meant the traitor felt cornered.
 
They would have to lay down the plans very carefully if they were going to catch their man in the act.
 
At this moment, Gabe missed Derek.
 
He needed someone to talk with over the plans, and work out the details.
 

Gabe leaned back and looked at the ceiling.
 
He could have talked to Kala.
 
She had a brilliant mind, but his mother had put paid to that.
 
His mother could be a master manipulator, but he should have put his wife first in this circumstance.
 
At that moment, Gabe realized his grandmother was correct about his mother.
 
Feeling trapped, he let out a sigh, and put his list away before rising.
 
It had been a long and stressful day, and he was ready for the comfort of his bed.

He entered his bedroom seeing the large, empty bed.
 
So much for a wedding night
, he thought to himself.
 
After his valet helped him remove his boots, he dismissed the man.
 
A steaming bath waited for him, and he quickly removed his clothes before easing his tired body into the water.
 
He enjoyed the water until it began to cool.
 
Gabe sluiced the water over himself trying to erase the events of the day.
 
After toweling dry, he climbed into bed, forcing his body to relax until he fell into an uneasy sleep.

***

Blood covered every surface of the room he entered.
 
No one could survive the loss of this much blood.
 
He felt ill but girded himself to continue.
 
A light green hem of a skirt first indicated that the body would be that of a woman.
 
He felt hot and clammy, sweat beading on his brow.
 
Gabe didn’t know how he knew, but he just did.
 
Mikala lay in a pool of blood that grew larger every moment.

“Kala!”

“Gabe?” She whispered, and tried to hold out a limp hand to him, but she had no energy.
 

He fell to his knees and pulled her into his arms, her life force flowing out of her at an alarming rate.

“Kala, you can’t leave me!
 
Do you hear me?”

“You’re too late, Hawkescliffe,” a voice sneered from the dark corner.
 
A voice that he could not match with a face.

“Gabe!”

“Don’t leave me!”

“Gabe!”
 
He felt a hand on his shoulder and let Kala’s limp body fall to the floor before turning and pinning the person behind him.

“Gabe!
 
Gabe!
 
Let me up!”
 
Mikala felt his hands creeping up to her throat.
 
She knew she had to do something before he killed her in the throes of a nightmare.
 
She leaned up as far as she possibly could and captured his lips.
 
Her lips teased his, and she slowly felt him relax his grip on her throat.
 

Gabe awoke slowly feeling the caress of lips on his.
 
The traces of the nightmare began to recede as the kisses became more real.
 
He pulled back slightly to see Mikala pinned beneath his sweat-soaked body.

“Oh,” he moaned and collapsed on the bed beside her.

“Are you all right?” Mikala asked, concern filling her voice.