A Thin Line (38 page)

What had changed?
He questioned himself silently.
 
In some way, Kala had gone from being the pest that had always tagged along to a woman he not only lusted over, but also cared about.
 
He felt that perhaps a stronger emotion lurked nearby, yet feared putting a word to it.
 
In the same breath, if something had happened to her, it didn’t bear thinking about.

He pushed up and stretched, then rolled his neck from side to side attempting to loosen the knots that had developed.
 
He had a great many things to do.
 
He found himself no closer to finding the government spy.
 
Worse yet, he had no hunches.
 
He had a list of men who it could be, but half were on the list because they had been close to his wife and he wanted them out of her life.
 
Someone had deliberately pulled him away from Kala’s side.
 
He had tied the horse’s reins to a tree as they took the stroll.
 
Perhaps she would be able to shed some light on what happened when she woke.
 

She shifted in her sleep drawing his eyes to her.
 
For the first time since he had returned from Blackburn Hall he noticed gray smudges under her eyes.
 
They were light, but present.
 
Her cheeks weren’t as full as usual either.
 
Could she be ill?
 
Was she eating?
 
Could she really have been worried for his welfare?
 
For the first time since their marriage he wondered how she spent her days.
 
She had told him she memorized the layout of the major rooms, but surely that didn’t take all day.
 
What did a woman who had been very active do when she could no longer see?

Gabe awakened Mikala.
 
She opened her eyes but quickly shut them.
 
When he questioned her, she would only mumble the word hurt, roll over and go back to sleep.
 
He rang for her maid and asked her to bring some sort of pack to put on Kala’s eyes.
 
She returned with a lavender scented washcloth that had set in chilled water.
 
He kept vigil over Kala until he could no longer keep his own eyes open, darkness having descended long ago.

Dressed in his shirtsleeves and pantaloons, he padded barefoot across the room.
 
He climbed onto the bed and settled himself before gently pulling his wife into his arms.
 
She moaned in her sleep at the disturbance before settling against him.
 
Gabe kissed the top of her head and commanded his body to relax.
 
Soon he joined her in slumber.

***

Kala awoke from a deep fog, confused.
 
Her head throbbed, making it difficult to think.
 
She saw the huge posts of the bed looming blurrily in front of her.
 
Were her eyes playing tricks on her or did she really see the bedpost?
 
She felt her head pillowed on a soft, yet hard body.
 
Shifting she could make out Gabe’s face, though it remained slightly blurry.
 
Her heart began to race in excitement.
 

In a flash, the events that had transpired flooded her.
 
The horse ran wildly through the park.
 
The threatening voice.
 
Being lifted in the air and dropped.
 
What had happened after that?
 
She shifted to her back and moaned.
 
Her back hurt, her stomach ached and her temple throbbed.
 
She rolled to her side with her back braced against Gabe and made out the blurry flames of the fire.
 
Feeling the need to visit the water closet, she squirmed away from Gabe to crawl across the bed.
 
An arm crossed her waist and pulled her back.
 

“Where do you think you’re going?” He whispered in her ear.

“Ummm, I have to, well...”

“What is it, Kala?
 
You’ve never been tongue tied before.”

“If you must know, I must use the water closet.”
 
Her jaw dropped when she heard him chuckle.
 

“You don’t know how good it is to hear you dressing me down.
 
Please, let me assist you.”
 
She couldn’t help the small moan that escaped her as she attempted to crawl from the bed.
 
“What’s wrong?”

“Everything hurts.
 
What happened to me?”

“One thing at a time.”
 
He helped her off the bed and slowly led her to an adjoining room that had a private water closet.
 
“Yell out when you are, ummm, finished.”

Embarrassed, Kala shut the door.
 
He knows what I’m doing in here
, she thought, mortified.
 
She attempted to convince herself it was natural, and even he had to do it from time to time.
 
She buried her hot face in her hands and let out an anguished moan.
 
A knock sounded at the door and her head snapped up.

“Kala, are you all right in there?
 
You’re not sick are you?
 
Do I need to come in?”

“No!
 
I mean, no, I’m not sick.
 
I’m fine, I’ll be right out.”
 
She quickly took care of matters so that he would not find an excuse to come in.
 
A bowl and pitcher of water had been considerately placed inside for refreshing one’s self.
 
“I’m done,” she called out and heard the hinges on the door creak as it opened.

“Are you sure you’re fine?”

“Only mortified.”

“Oh.
 
Do you feel like talking about what happened at the park?”
 
He pulled her hand through his arm and led her back into the duke’s chamber.

“Yes.”

“Would you prefer to lie down or sit?”

After thinking for a moment she said, “Sit.
 
I don’t remember everything.”
 
She sat in one of the chairs in front of the fireplace.

“I suspect not.
 
Tell me what you do remember.”
 
She began recalling the events when he stopped her mid-sentence.
 
“How did you know that a little boy stood in the path of the horse?” He asked suspiciously, wondering if perhaps she could see.

“A German man stood beside me and gave me a running commentary.”

“Oh.
 
I had to do something.”

“You could have been badly hurt.”

“But I wasn’t and we digress. What happened next?”

“A man grabbed me.
 
He told me you were a hero.
 
He tried to drag me off the bridge, but I fought him.
 
Then I felt myself being lifted into the air and dropped.
 
After that, I don’t remember anything.”
 
She could hear Gabe pacing as well as see his blurry image.
 
“Gabe, I am certain I know him.”

“What?” He growled trying to gather his control, as he relived the horror of watching her lifeless body enter the water.

“He deliberately disguised his voice so I couldn’t recognize him.
 
He seemed very happy that I remained unable to see.”

“Are you positive you would have recognized him?”

“Yes, Gabriel, I am certain,” she almost growled the response.

“How many people know you can’t see?”

“Other than you, your family and mine?
 
Two.
 
Dewhurst and Southerby.
 
And whoever was at the shops I visited with Judith might suspect, but we never said anything aloud.”

“Damn,” he muttered.

“What is it?”

“I don’t suppose it will hurt to tell you.
 
You know some of it already.
 
Natalia, worked with a traitor in our government.
 
I had given her false information with just enough truth in it to have her believe me so that she would trust me and tell me the name of the traitor.
 
Both Southerby and Dewhurst work for the government and are on my list of strong suspects.”

“Well, I guess we should be relieved that Mack isn’t on the list.”

“I wish you wouldn’t refer to him so intimately.”

“And I wish you would get to know your brother.”
 
Silence ensued for several minutes.
 
“Finish telling me what happened at the park.”

“You fell into the water below the bridge.”

“But I didn’t feel it,” she interrupted.

“No, because you were unconscious from hitting your head somewhere on your way down.
 
It took me a minute to get to you because of the crowd of spectators.
 
Out of all the people there, not one bastard thought to help you.”
 
She reached out a hand towards him and he grabbed it so she would not be grasping empty air.
 
He felt her hand tighten on his, her grip firm.
 
And to think, if I hadn’t been able to reach her, I might never have known how her hand feels in mine
, he thought as he realized in all their intimacy they had never just held hands.

“Gabe, you reached me and that’s all that matters.”

“I almost didn’t get to you in time.
 
When I got to the bank, all I could see was part of your skirt that had floated to the top of the water.
 
Once I finally pulled you out, you weren’t breathing.
 
I don’t know how long I pushed to get the water out of you.
 
And then when I did, you just kept heaving.”

“Is that why my back and stomach are so sore?”

“Probably.
 
We had to do it a couple of times to some sailors when I served in the Navy.
 
It only worked once that I remember, other than you.”

“I was meant to be around to torment you a little longer.”

“Thank God,” he whispered huskily and pulled her from her chair into his warm, strong embrace.

“You know, you never talk about your time in the Navy,” she hedged.

“I saw things that no one should see.”

“But. . .”

“No,” he stopped her.
 
“It’s no longer important.”
 
He sat in the chair she had vacated and pulled her onto his lap so that her side was cradled into his chest and he could run his fingers through her dark, wavy hair.
 
He felt her begin to relax against him.
 
“Who knew that you had information about a suspected traitor?”

“I think Drucilla suspected.
 
Justin delivered the message for me.”

“As your husband, I really wish you would quit referring to him in so intimate a manner.
 
Especially since he could very well be the one trying to kill you.”

“Justin?
 
You have to be kidding me.”

“Why?”

“I believe Justin wanted to marry me.”

“That even gives him a better motive for what happened in the park today, doesn’t it?”

“No.
 
Justin is not the type to hold a grudge.”

“He fits everything we now know about the traitor.
 
He works for the government.
 
He has access to classified information and to you.”

She jumped up from his lap and twirled to face him.
 
“For that matter, you fit the description as well.
 
Perhaps you are responsible for everything.
 
Could it be my husband is trying to kill me so that he can marry who he really wants?”

“Don’t be stu. . .”

“Don’t you dare say it,” Kala threatened.
 
“I swear if you call me stupid one more time in this lifetime, I will kill you and you won’t have to worry about spending the rest of your life tied to me.
 
Do you understand?”

“Are you threatening me?”
 
He noticed she shook with anger.

“No, it is a promise.
 
You will never make me feel like you did at Blackburn Hall.”
 
Kala’s anger flared as she remembered the time he had called her stupid.
 
Silence reigned in the room for a great while.
 

Anger coursed through Gabe.
 
How dare she threaten him?
 
At the same time, he berated himself.
 
They would not get anywhere if they kept fighting over events of the past.
 
Taking a deep breath, he decided to do something he had not done in a very long time—apologize.
 
He stood, walked over to her and rested his hands on her shoulders.
 
The fine silk of her nightgown felt sensuous against his rough hands.
 
He felt the stiffness in her shoulders and saw it in the way she wrapped her arms around her waist as if protecting herself from an oncoming blow.