A Thin Line (31 page)

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Just promise that no matter what you hear in the next few months that you will remain my friend.”

“I could do nothing less.”

“Thank you,” she said before impulsively hugging him.

A deep male voice cleared itself from the doorway.
 
“What is this Mikala?
 
Cuckolding me already?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Justin asked while setting her away from him.
 

“Ignore him, Justin.
 
It was good to see you and I look forward to seeing you when you get back.”

“Like hell you will,” she heard her husband say from the doorway.
 
Then she heard him snarl, “Stay away from my wife.”

“Perhaps you should treat her more like one.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?
 
Mikala, what did you tell him?”

“Nothing.”

“Anyone can look at her Hawkescliffe and see she isn’t happy, that is anyone who knows her well enough.
 
So that leads me to a question for you.
 
Just how well do
you
know your wife?”

“Well enough.”

“Really?
 
I think not.
 
It seems to me that if you did, there would be a smile on her face that couldn’t be removed by the greatest tragedy.
 
I think I would know how to put that smile on her face.”
 
She heard Justin provoke Gabe followed by a great crash.
 
She ran over to where she had last heard the two men.
 
She felt her way until she came upon them struggling with each other.

“Get back, Mikala,” she heard Gabe command.

“Let him go.
 
He was just aggravating you,” she tried prying the two men apart.
 
“Hamlin, help me,” she called.
 
She heard several pairs of feet run in.

“If you don’t let me go, I’ll fire every one of you.”

“No he won’t.
 
Don’t let him go,” Kala instructed.
 
“Justin, you should leave.”

“If you should need me, send a note to the Foreign Office, they will know how to contact me,” she heard him pause his steps.
 
“You know Hawkescliffe, you should really treat your wife better and work harder at putting a smile on her face.
 
You would be surprised at how many men would like to do the job for you.”

“Justin,” Kala said, exasperated at his audacity.
 
She felt a kiss brush her lips before hearing him casually stroll out the door, whistling.
 
Once she was certain he had left she turned to the footmen who she could tell by the sounds were still restraining her husband.
 
“You may let him go now.”
 
She heard and felt the footmen brush by her as they made a quick exit.
 
Then she felt her shoulders pinned against the wall.

“You are not to see him ever again, do you understand?
 
And the same goes for Dewhurst and McKenzie.”

“And are you giving up your women?”

“What women?”

“Don’t try to tell me a man like you doesn’t have a mistress.”

“No, dammit, I do not, and I am not having this argument with you.”

“Why not?” She taunted.

“Pest, you should stop now.”

“I am no longer a child to answer to ridiculous nicknames.
 
I am your wife and expect to be treated with the dignity that comes with it.”

“And how dignified were you this morning on your hands and knees in my study.”

“How dare you cheapen what we did? We are married.”

“Oh, now you want to be my wife?
 
And when you stop acting like a petulant child, I will stop treating you like one.”

“I think you should go.”

“Just keep this in mind.
 
I have men watching this house.
 
Those men report to me.
 
They will tell me the comings and goings of anyone and everyone in this house.
 
Do you understand?”

“Yes, I am a prisoner.
 
At least it is an opulent prison, from what I remember.”

Not trusting his actions, he spun on his heel and left.
 
Mikala felt her shoulders slump as the air whooshed out of her body.

“What’s wrong with him?” She heard Judith ask from the doorway.

“He is being reminded that the woman he married is not one to be ordered about,” Kala answered, and wrapped her arms around her waist.

“What?”

“It doesn’t really matter.
 
Judith, will you help me with some correspondence?”

“Of course.”

“I must swear you to secrecy in regards to it.”

“Kala,” she heard the hesitancy in Judith’s voice.

“Judith, you are the only one who
can
help me.” She let a hint of desperation enter her voice.

“Fine.
 
Let’s go up to my room and make ourselves comfortable.”

“Thank you.”

Once they were sequestered in Judith’s room, she began to dictate the letter.
 
“Blackhawke Shipping?
 
Mikala Hawke what are you up to?”
 
Kala quickly told Judith how Derek trapped Gabe to accept another partner for one or two shipments.
 
Only after she told her did she realize that she had called her by her married name.
 
Something that she had wanted for what seemed forever, but now looked as if it wouldn’t last.
 
“Oh, dear.
 
If Gabriel finds out, he will ring your neck.”

“He won’t find out.
 
I just want to give some suggestions on our next shipment.”

“What type of suggestions?”

“Items that I have heard women complaining they wished they had replacements for since the war has begun.
 
They crave their fine cloth.
 
I have also heard that they are beginning to find a great many artifacts in the ancient lands.
 
I think they will be a popular boon for antiquity collectors.”

“I don’t know Mikala,” Judith hedged.

“I do.
 
This is my chance at independence.”

“What do you mean?
 
Gabriel will take care of you.”

“Gabriel may not always be around to take care of me.”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“Nothing you need to worry about.
 
Now I need you to pen one more letter for me, but again, I must have your promise of complete silence.”

“Mikala, you are worrying an old woman,” Judith said pensively.

“There is nothing to worry about.
 
Gabe and I were talking last night about how he can never seem to get away, and it is really too dangerous to travel outside of the country.
 
So I thought I would surprise him with finding somewhere to spend a few days together here and there for a honeymoon of sorts.”
 
Kala felt some amazement at how easily the lie slipped from her lips.
 
She also found she wished very much that she spoke the truth.

“Mikala, what a wonderful idea!”

“I thought so,” she preened a bit.

“He works entirely too hard and he has forgotten how to have fun.
 
I will be oh so very glad when they catch the Little Tyrant, for he is destroying more lives than even he knows.”

“You are right, Judith.
 
Now let me dictate this letter and we can move on to other matters.”
 
Mikala dictated the second letter and prayed fervently that Judith would indeed keep her secret.

***

Gabe shook with a combination of anger and worry as he left the house.
 
The entire time he had fought with Southerby, he kept seeing flashes of Natalia, dead with that note pinned on her bodice.
 
Only, instead of Natalia’s face, it was Kala’s.
 
If she hadn’t moved between them and called for the footmen, he very well could have killed the man.

“Have Diablo readied immediately,” he instructed a groom, then walked over to some other men who were milling around the gardens.
 
“I am leaving town.
 
No one should come in or out of this house until I return.
 
Do you understand?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“If you should have need of me, I will be at Blackburn Hall.
 
There are some matters I must take care of there.”

“Of course, Your Grace.”

“Whatever you do, do not let anything happen to my wife.”
 
He couldn’t help the anxiety in his voice.
 
He knew that Kala believed him to be running away from the situation, but he needed time to think.
 
Besides he needed to talk to someone who had recently been in his shoes, as well as break the news that they were married.
 
Gabe dreaded this the most, not sure what Derek’s reaction would be, but found it to be a good enough excuse to leave his wife alone for a few days.
 
He needed the distance from her.

Perhaps his absence would instill a fondness for him within her.
 
Or perhaps he would realize everything she confronted him with to be correct.
 
If he and Derek had trusted her with their secrets, perhaps she wouldn’t be blind right now.
 
But dammit, she’s a woman.
 
What right does she think she has to know what all is going on in their lives?
 
She was your shadow for years and did know everything you did
, his conscience berated him.
 
She even knew when he and Derek had tupped the serving wenches for the first time at the local tavern.

She knew more than any girl had the right to know about the habits of two growing boys as they turned into men.
 
Perhaps that is why her mother and sister had always looked down on her following them.
 
She had always been one of them for as long as he could remember.
 
And then all of a sudden she no longer knew their secrets nor tagged along as she once had.

One of the stable lads brought Diablo around and he quickly mounted and headed towards the gates of town.
 
Perhaps she had thought to replace him and Derek with McKenzie, Southerby, and Dewhurst.
 
It would be a cold day in hell when that happened.
 
Gabe kicked Diablo into a cantor before letting him have his head as they passed through the gates that would lead him to Blackburn Hall.

Diablo ate up the road between London and Blackburn Hall, and before he knew it he stood on the stoop staring at the door.
 
How did one go about telling one’s best friend that he had been seen in a compromising position with his sister, and now they are married?
 
Dusk had fallen on the landscape and he finally raised his hand to knock on the door when he heard the clopping of hooves down the drive.
 
He turned to see Derek on his horse wearing homespun clothes.
 
Dirt covered almost every inch of him and he couldn’t look happier.

“What are you doing here?” Derek greeted Gabe with a bear hug after dismounting.
 
“Kala’s not in any trouble is she?
 
I can’t believe she wanted to stay in town.
 
She’s just so stubborn.
 
Let’s go stable our horses.”
 
The autumn air felt crisp, but not overly cold.
 
This could very well be a year that the temperature stayed fairly mild.
 
The two friends began walking back to the house when Gabe decided to broach the subject.

“Derek, I have something to tell you.
 
Where is Tessa?”

“Inside, I suppose.”

“Good.
 
I need to tell you alone first, and this news will not endear me to her.
 
Hell, it might even end our friendship.”
 

“Did you and Kala get in another fight?
 
When are you going to learn it is easier to walk away and let her talk to thin air?” He asked, picking up on the despondency in his best friend’s voice.

“No, that isn’t it, well not directly.
 
Derek, Kala and I were married a few days ago.”

“You what?” Derek roared, stalking towards Gabe, his hands fisted, his sunny disposition falling to the wayside.

Tessa came running through the open French doors, “What is going on?”
 
She quickly took in the situation and saw her husband charging towards his best friend.
 
She quickly walked over and stepped between the two.
 
“Please tell me your sorry hide is worth saving,” Tessa whispered behind her to Gabe.

“Do you consider me worthy enough to be your brother-in-law?”

“What?” She whipped around and stared at him.
 
For the first time since she met him, the man had a sheepish look on his face.
 
In fact the confidence he usually exuded was non-existent.