A Thin Line (35 page)

“He died that day.
 
You didn’t...”

“No.
 
I could have; I was that angry.
 
We came to blows.
 
Andrew gave me my scar,” he ran his finger along the ridge of puckered skin.
 
“He rode off on his horse and broke his blasted neck.
 
I wanted to be sad that I had lost my brother, but I couldn’t.”

“All my fault.
 
All of it.
 
How can you not hate me?
 
My God, I ruined your family, destroyed it.”

“No, my family had been destroyed for a long while.”

“What do you mean?”

“Andrew thought himself quite a ladies’ man.
 
Apparently he worked his way through many of the women of London.
 
Who knows how many children I am truly an uncle to?”

“Gabe,” she said softly and placed her hand on his arm.

“I haven’t even told you the most horrific part.
 
You see, mother and Andrew had been having an affair.”

“But, they were…”

“No blood relation.
 
And while society has rules, people break them every day.”

“Your mother blames me for his death, doesn’t she?
 
That is why she hates me.”

“That is why she hates us.”

“You mean she chose her lover over her son?”

“Mother was very like Andrew.
 
She had many affairs during her marriage to father.
 
He married her so that Steven and Andrew would have a mother figure, and then I happened along.
 
Father always regretted not marrying his true love.”

“Who would that be?”

“Stuart McKenzie’s mother.”
 
Gabriel watched as Mikala sat there mulling over what he said.
 
He found it fascinating as she pieced the puzzle together and came up with a startling revelation.

“Mack is your brother.”

Chapter 25

“Half-brother, just as Steven and Andrew were.”

Kala sat in silence as she mulled over the implications.
 
That explained his jealousy in regards to Mack.
 
It also explained the whispering that followed Mack anytime he entered a room, especially if Gabriel appeared in the same room.
 
Mikala could not help the sorrow she felt for those two men who were so much alike.
 
Deep down she felt if they took the time to get to know each other, they might come to like one another.
 
They were some of the only family each of them had.
 
Mack’s mother had died several years ago and his father had disowned him for some unknown reason.
 
Kala thought perhaps she now knew why.

“Perhaps you and Mack should…”

“I’m not going to talk about this now. And I don’t want you referring to him as Mack.”
 
Mikala thought better of asking him if he were jealous.
 
“I just don’t know what to do with Mother.”

“You sound exhausted and there is no reason to make those kinds of decisions now.”
 
She stood up and took his hand tugging him towards the bed.
 
“Let’s get some rest.”

“You’re going to stay with me?” Surprise laced his voice.

“Yes.”

“Are we just going to sleep?”

“I guess that depends on how tired you are.”

Sometime later they lay in each other’s arms.
 
She had needed this, to know that he at least still needed her physically.
 
It had been closer to two weeks since he had last touched her.
 
Since that time, he had disappeared, and they had fought non-stop.
 
Mikala rolled onto her side and felt her husband pull her into the cradle of his warm body.
 
She felt herself slowly relax and fall into a peaceful slumber.

***

Mikala woke early and slipped from her husband’s lax arms.
 
She desperately wished she could gaze on his supine form.
 
She wanted to see him in sleep, with no cares creasing his brow.
 
Slipping into her room, she quickly dressed and made her way down to the breakfast room.
 
When she arrived she found Judith already breaking her fast.

“Good morning, Mikala.”

“Good morning.
 
How is Sarah?”

“Sedated.
 
I’m sorry that happened.”

“I’m sorry you all felt the need to keep it from me.
 
I am surprised you don’t all hate me.”

“Mikala, you get that thought out of your mind right now.
 
Sarah brought much of this on herself.
 
And goodness knows, Andrew had problems.
 
I am glad that Gabriel has you and feels he can at least share things about his life with you.”

“Yes.”
 
As if talking about him made him appear, Gabe stood in the door of the breakfast room.
 

“I thought I might find the two of you in here.”
 
He dropped a kiss on the cheek of each woman before taking his seat.
 
He ripped what sounded like a piece of paper to Mikala before she heard him curse under his breath.

“Is something wrong?”

“No,” he read the note again.
 
“I can’t believe the nerve of him.”

“Now you have to tell me.
 
My curiosity is piqued beyond its limit.”
 
There was a pregnant pause.
 
“If you tell me, I might be able to give you advice.
 
You know I am a very bright young woman, at least my father thinks so.”

“He would.”

“Gabe,” she said in a warning tone.

“Fine.
 
Your brother, my best friend, talked me into letting another buyer in on our shipping business.
 
Derek said this man wants to remain anonymous.
 
This man was a soldier wounded in battle.
 
His parents were taken for their money, and he is trying to help them recover.”

“Ah, he guilted you, didn’t he?”

“Yes. Now this anonymous ex-soldier is trying to dictate what we go after in our next shipment.”

Kala pushed aside the twinge of guilt she felt over her false identity.
 
It couldn’t be helped.
 
If Gabe knew, he would refuse her outright.
 
Besides, she needed the money earned from these next shipments, didn’t she?

“Perhaps he has some good suggestions.
 
Read them off to me.”
 
She listened as Gabe began reading off the list Judith had composed for her.
 
When he came to the last item on the list, she leaned back and sipped her hot coffee.

“Well, what do you think?”

“Perhaps this anonymous soldier has a mistress who is a member of the
ton
.”

“Why do you say that?”

“The fabrics that you listed will go over well with the women of the
ton
.
 
You don’t know how many I heard complaining about the lack of exotic fabric choices.
 
As for the tobacco, the men of the
ton
complain just as much about that.
 
Snuff is out, and America is making smoking tobacco much more popular.”

“It’s a dangerous journey across the Atlantic.”

“Yes, it is.
 
But right now it is safer than facing French ships, isn’t it?”

“You have a point.”

“If you bring things from the islands and America, it will be a new fascination to people.
 
They are used to items from the continent.
 
This will give them the exotic items they crave.”

“You might be right.”

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

“We could lose the ship and its crew.”

“You could.
 
Or you could be optimistic and think about the profit that it could make.
 
Who knows, if the profit is enough, you might even be able to purchase a second ship.”

“All right, you have talked me into it.
 
What do I tell the men?”

“Maybe they are ready for a change of scenery as well.
 
From my studies, I understand that waters are warm where they will be sailing.”

“What happens if I lose my men to the climate instead of the dangers?”

“That’s just a chance you’ll have to take,” she said with a smirk, delving into her food.
 
He left not long after, but promised to come back for their day out together.

“I can’t believe he took your advice,” Judith said.

“He wanted to do it as well, otherwise nothing I said could have convinced him.
 
He just needed someone to verify his thoughts.”

“Do you think he suspects you are the anonymous investor?”

“His voice didn’t betray anything if he did.
 
I don’t see how he could.
 
Everything that I told him are things you can hear anyone speak of at social engagements.
 
And as for the weather and climate, those are things that I learned about in studies with Papa.”

“Just be careful.
 
Perhaps you shouldn’t act like you know so much about the situation.
 
He is bound to become suspicious if you keep providing him with ready answers to all of his concerns.”

“Perhaps you are right, but it is too late this time.
 
Maybe I should just act like I know everything about all subjects.”

“That would hurt his ego.”

“Or infuriate him.”

“Or both.”
 
Kala leaned back in her chair with her hands crossed across her midriff.
 
“Judith, I am so bored, I am about to go out of my mind.”

“There, there.
 
Everything will work out.
 
Perhaps this is God’s way of teaching you patience.”

“Perhaps.”
 
She took a deep breath and blew it out.
 
“Well, at least there haven’t been any incidents this morning with moved furniture.”

“Thank goodness for that.
 
I spoke to Hamlin last evening after our meal.
 
He insisted that he informed all the staff but would talk to them once more.
 
You know you really have won them over.”

“The staff?
 
Really?
 
How?
 
I do nothing all day but try to memorize rooms, play the piano or be bored silly.”

“I think it is the way you don’t let Gabe get the best of you.
 
Remember most of the older staff have known Gabe since he was in knickers and have seen the change that has come over him.
 
When you are around there is a glimmer of the old Gabe.”

“I wouldn’t say that I have had that much of an effect on him.”

“I would.
 
Look, he is going to take time off from work to take you to the park.
 
That is something.”

“I suppose.”

“Come, let’s go pick out what you are going to wear for your outing.”
 
Mikala let herself be pulled along and realized she actually ate all of her breakfast this morning, thinking with a smile that perhaps she had found some solace in her husband’s arms.

***

The little maid ran out the servant’s entrance after informing one of the stable lads to bring around the carriage.
 
She met her new lover exactly where they had met during their previous encounters.
 
If her fellow servants knew, they would brand her a harlot.
 
But she had fallen in love at first sight.
 
Something about him made her heart race.

He stood there behind the mews, a hat pulled low over his face.
 
She didn’t understand why a man who looked as he did would want to hide his handsomeness.
 
She sashayed up to him and ran a hand caressingly down his chest.
 
“Hello, love,” she whispered before leaning up to capture his lush lips.

He flipped around and pinned her against a shadowed portion of the wall where they would not be seen.
 
“Oh, I’ve missed you,” he moaned into her hot, wet mouth.

“I snuck out here the day before yesterday.”

“Yes, but that was too long without you.”
 
He lifted her skirt, running his hand up her leg and hooking it around his waist.
 
He ran his hand further up, encountering no clothing.
 
“Oh love, what you do to me.”
 
Her breaths were coming in short, raspy pants.
 
He quickly undid his pants, allowing his manhood to spring free, and entered her in one swift movement.
 
Her lover thrust and parried harder and faster until she came violently.
 
She felt her passionate scream captured by his mouth.
 
He kept pounding until he too fell over the edge.