Australian Outback Kings / The Cattle King's Mistress / The Playboy King's Wife / The Pleasure King's Bride (53 page)

“It was men's business, Christabel. You were a young woman of twenty-two. You lived under Bernhard's wing for almost three years. From your own experience of him, do you really imagine he would discuss something so personal as the murder of his son and heir with you?”

He paused, giving her time to remember the old man's patriarchal arrogance and his limited view of his daughter-in-law, then pressed home a truth she could not deny. “Your only function to Bernhard Kruger was to be a good mother to his grand-daughter.” His voice softened as he added, “In that, may I say, you have always excelled.”

Christabel instantly bridled.

“I advise you that repeating Bernhard Kruger's attitude towards Christabel is not acceptable,” Jared inserted coldly. “At this point, facts will serve you better than any sentiment which reinforces her position as Alicia's mother and ignores the respect due to her as a person in her own right.”

Once again she was surprised at how closely attuned Jared was to her feelings and took deep comfort in how at one they were.

Rafael raised a challenging eyebrow to Christabel. “Have I accurately summed up your situation in the Kruger household?”

“Yes. Before and after his death when
you
took over,” she answered bitterly, all the old resentments at being treated like a brainless chattel burning through her. “I was very young and very naive to have ever married Laurens in the first place. But then you banked on that, didn't you?”

He actually looked surprised at her reading this much into the part he'd played. “It was your choice, Christabel.”

“Under pressure from my parents.” Her eyes hotly accused him of being the source of that pressure. “You brokered a deal with my father. Don't bother denying it. He confessed it after I fled to Rio to get help from my family. A bigger better jewellery business in exchange for a daughter to beget another Kruger heir.”

There was a rustle of movement from her side of the table and she sensed more than saw the heightened interest her words had sparked. She had not spoken of this to anyone, shying from revealing her past foolishness. But it was pertinent here.

Aware she was adding more fuel to the fire she was building under him, Rafael instantly sought to cool it down. “You know it is the way the old families arrange it in South America. I was delegated to offer the bride price. That is all I did. The choice was still yours. And you seemed taken with Laurens.”

“You've already commented on how
young
I was, Rafael. I was flattered. Overwhelmed. But you knew what kind of man Laurens was and what I was being led into.”

He shook his head. “For all I knew of you then, you could have viewed it as an advantageous marriage. Many women would see it as a passport to a life they envied. You made the decision, Christabel.”

“And I'm sure you found it advantageous—a South American bride, approved of by Bernhard Kruger. Another little fortuitous connection on your way up the ladder.”

He lost patience with her argument, tersely replying, “It had no bearing on my situation, which only changed after Laurens was gone.”

“And then you came into everything. My point entirely,” she fired at him.

“Except it's based on a false premise,” he snapped. “I had nothing to do with Laurens's death, Christabel.”

“Prove it!”

The demand rang through the tension in the room, seeming to bounce off the walls. Anger showed clearly on Rafael Santiso's face, an anger that laced his voice as he bitingly asked, “Are you prepared to listen now?”

“By all means lay out your
train of events,
” she threw back at him.

He swept a dark burning gaze around the King family. “I understand that Christabel needed to voice the suspicions that have festered for so long, but that is all they are—suspicions. Justifiable in her situation, but unjustified by any proof. Please keep that in mind.”

He turned to the lawyer beside him. “Hans, take them through what was done.”

The lawyer was in his seventies, a long-time aide in the Kruger camp and undoubtedly privy to many secrets. As much as Christabel disliked him, Rafael's confidence in handing his defence over to the older man did intrigue her enough to command her attention.

“Bernhard instantly suspected that the boat which exploded and killed Laurens had been sabotaged,” Vogel related tonelessly. “He offered a large reward for the identity of the saboteurs. The information came in. The men directly responsible for Laurens's death volunteered the name of the man who'd hired them. He revealed a conspiracy within the Kruger network, a certain pressure group that was planning a division of interests which would be highly profitable to those involved.”

He paused, his light blue eyes zeroing in on Christabel. “It was centred on our South African connections, nothing to do with South America.”

“The boat blew up in the Caribbean,” Christabel swiftly reminded him.

“The Caribbean is an international playground,” came the instant rebuff. “A place for international gossip amongst jetsetters.”

She had to grant him that.

Hans Vogel continued with barely a pause, his eyes boring through the cynical reservations in hers. “Laurens heard a rumour of the conspiracy at a party and asked some indiscreet questions instead of bringing what he'd picked up to his father. You were married to him. You must know he liked to pump himself up, wanting to make himself a bigger man than he was. It turned into a fatal flaw.”

Yes, she did know, Christabel silently conceded. Laurens would have exulted in telling his father something Bernhard didn't know, showing off, proving how important he could be. “Do I know any of the conspirators?” she asked.

Hans Vogel shrugged. “I doubt it. I do have the entire list of names in my office safe. Not with me. I can assure you Rafael Santiso is not one of them. But I can produce the reports if you so wish. It is impossible, however, for you to speak to anyone on the list about these circumstances.”

“Why is that?”

“Regrettably, all of them have died…in accidents,” he said very dryly. “The hand of justice, is it not?”

The hand of an old man wreaking vengeance on those who'd agreed to the murder of his son! She should have been shocked but oddly enough it all seemed very distant to her—another life, another world, one she didn't want to return to.

Pieter Wissmann, the Swiss accountant, sat forward. He was a pale thin man in his fifties who always carried an air of precision. “If you want objective confirmation of what occurred, following on from Bernhard's investigation…”

He looked at Nathan, Tommy, then directly at Jared. “As men of business, you will appreciate that financial figures tell their own story. The rearrangement of the South African operation is quite dramatic, directly related to the elimination of corrupt connections and the building of a new network. If you wish to examine the records on this, I can make them available to you.”

Christabel frowned over the sheer weight of the revelations, her mind torn at having her own long-held belief in Rafael Santiso's guilt crushed. The offering of such confidential information was extraordinary. The list of the conspirators' names, their deaths, which could be officially confirmed, the money trail…she had to be wrong about Rafael's involvement in Laurens's death. There was too much evidence pointing elsewhere.
Firm
evidence, not suspicions based on steps that could have favoured him in his rise to the trusteeship of the Kruger inheritance.

Jared stirred beside her. “Do I understand, from both of you…” he said slowly “…that everything pertaining to Laurens Kruger's death was cleared up and acted upon while Bernhard Kruger was still alive?”

“Yes. The conspiracy, once uncovered, was excised with maximum efficiency,” Hans Vogel replied.

“The reorganisation took longer but it was in place and running to Bernhard's satisfaction before he died,” Pieter Wissmann confirmed.

“Thank you. We appreciate your candour and cooperation in offering this sensitive information,” Jared assured them respectfully, then leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table, his gaze trained on Rafael Santiso. “I have two questions,” he stated in a tone that demanded satisfaction.

“Ask them,” Rafael invited brusquely, emitting the attitude that he could answer anything at any time.

“Given that the conspiracy had been comprehensively dealt with…why was it so dangerous for Christabel and Alicia when you took over after Berhard's death, to the point of your becoming their
gaoler
?” He let Rafael's own word hang for a moment. “And given Christabel's obvious wish to be free of you and all you represent…why didn't you respect
her
choice,
her
decision…as you did when she married Laurens Kruger?”

Jared paused, then quietly added, “Please keep in mind that Christabel has the right to choose the life she wants, and as Alicia's mother, she has the right to choose what she feels is best for her daughter. That is
our
concern here. We are yet to understand
your
concerns…the purpose behind this uninvited and unwelcome intrusion on a life that literally has nothing to do with you.”

Again there was that relentless beat in Jared's phrasing, a quiet but very real menace underlying the words that spelled out the heart of the matter in unequivocal terms, and what had to be answered.

Even as Christabel felt a strong surge of love for this man at her side…her soul partner, her champion…she looked at Rafael Santiso and wondered if he sensed what he was facing—
no escape
.

No escape, she kept thinking, amazed that those words could now apply to the seemingly all-powerful figure she had fled from.

Maybe she and Alicia could be safe here.

Or was she assuming too much, too soon?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

J
ARED KNEW HE
was facing the most testing experience in his life. He'd dealt with many a cutthroat businessman in the pearl trade, but these three men were on a different level altogether. They accepted, apparently without question, Bernhard Kruger's ruthless
elimination
of the conspirators responsible for his son's death. No weighing the degree of guilt. A complete sweep.

While Christabel had not known of these extreme measures, she had certainly picked up what these people were capable of—power that recognised only its own law of maintaining power, whatever that took.

And while Rafael Santiso did not have her husband's blood on his hands, could her instincts be right about him where Alicia was concerned? Would he acknowledge that the child was not
his
to be controlled as it suited him? Even if he did, could he be believed?

Jared watched intently as the Argentinian considered the questions put to him. His mother was attracted to this man. Vikki Chan had not given any caution against him. Both women had finely tuned instincts that would normally pick up on any shading of integrity. But Jared had too much riding on the outcome of this confrontation to have blind faith in their judgment.

“Perhaps I was overzealous in protecting Christabel and Alicia, but I cannot regret what I did,” he said with an air of honest assessment. “If my precautions were extreme, it was because the responsibility of their safety sat heavily on me, knowing what had happened to Laurens, and I was very conscious that Bernhard's mantle did not fit my shoulders. Those who had respected his power were all too prepared to test mine.”

A different man at the helm—a deputy instead of the old master—yes, Jared could appreciate the pressure to perform would be on.

Hans Vogel broke in, his thin mouth curling in disgust. “Bernhard was not even in his grave before the challenges to his will began from those who led powerful factions within the Kruger organisation. As far as they were concerned, the king was dead and the throne was for their taking, regardless of Bernhard's legal appointment of Rafael as sole trustee of the inheritance.”

His bullish face turned to Christabel. “You owe Rafael more than you know. But for him…”

“Enough, Hans!” The silencing hand was lifted. “The prison Christabel found herself in was not of her making.” Rafael turned his gaze to her, his expression slightly puzzled, searching. “The fear you had of me must have made it worse. I saw hatred for what I stood for, resentment of what I enforced, but…” He shook his head. “…fear I did not read.”

“I would not give you any more leverage over me,” Christabel replied, pride ringing loud and clear.

Rafael nodded thoughtfully and looked back at Jared. “I've already said it was a dangerous time after Bernhard died. There were many in the organisation who believed he had become unhinged from his illness and grief for his son. They had expected him to appoint a board of trustees to manage the inheritance, not just me. Alicia was certainly perceived as a vehicle to gain more control.”

His eyes took on a mocking challenge. “What would you have done, Jared…if you were me? Let Christabel and her daughter run loose to be snatched and ransomed? Risk Alicia's life? Her death would have instantly fractured the structure Bernhard had set up—an advantageous situation to some.”

Jared recalled that he himself had taken command yesterday, not consulting Christabel about flying them to King's Eden, simply doing it, believing he knew best how to assure their safety. This place, too, could become a prison. The difference was… Christabel did not fear him as she'd feared Rafael. She
wanted
to be with him.

“Like you, I would have thrown a blanket of protection around them,” Jared answered slowly.

“As you have here,” Rafael was quick to point out, his eyes lighting with satisfaction.

“But I am not the oppressor,” Jared instantly countered. “To Christabel, you were and are, extending a life she hated. It's a question of values, Rafael. You were looking after the inheritance, regardless of any quality of life for her.”