The Longing (30 page)

Amelia sank back in the desk chair and stared
at the note wondering if she’d just found important information on
her father’s financial decline. Who was Samuel Klein and why was
Richard involved? Amelia reached inside her shirt pocket and
retrieved the counters she’d found in her father’s drawer several
weeks ago. She looked at the inscription with sudden understanding.
It wasn’t a
d
at the end—it was an o.
TLO
...the
initials for The Law Office. Cold, abrasive dread filled her
stomach.

After she took the kittens to the mess hall
for her mother to watch, Amelia went to the bank. Richard glanced
up in surprise when she entered his office. He sat behind a massive
mahogany desk, rolling a pen between his fingers. “By the
expression on your face I assume this isn’t a social call.”

She closed the door behind her. “I’d like to
know where the money went that my father deposited the day he
died?”

Richard’s expression flattened and it seemed
to Amelia that he was struggling to look nonchalant. “What are you
talking about?”

“The night you were at the Pemberton Inn with
Kyle, you told him Papa gave you a large deposit, but there wasn’t
any money in his account when I paid off our mortgage. That was
barely a week later. What happened to the money?”

Richard stood and faced her. “Kyle must have
misunderstood. He and Boyd were corned to their eyeballs when I got
to the tavern that evening. I doubt either one could remember
anything clearly.”

Though Richard didn’t look away from her hard
stare, something flickered in his eyes that confirmed Amelia’s
cause for suspicion. Kyle had come to the schoolhouse that night
and he was certainly not inebriated. And after seeing how much wine
he had consumed at his mother’s birthday party, Amelia knew it took
a good deal of alcohol to affect her husband. Still, a direct
accusation would yield nothing from Richard, so she shifted her
questions.

“Who is Samuel Klein?”

Richard’s eyes widened and he gawked at her
for a full two seconds before masking his shock. “He’s an old
friend of mine. What makes you ask?”

“Did you go to school with him?”

“I, ah...well, yes, that’s where we met.” His
eyes narrowed as he studied her face. “How do you know Sam?”

“He sent my father this note requesting a
meeting about some gaming counters you were trying to redeem. Why
was Papa sending you money?”

His color turned ashen and Amelia knew
whatever he was about to tell her would be awful. “Have you shown
that letter to anyone else?”

“No. Why?”

He reached out and plucked it from her hand.
“If this is found, Amelia, it will destroy your father.”

Her heart dropped to her stomach. “Why? What
did he do?”

“You don’t want to know. Just forget you ever
saw it.” He ripped the letter into small pieces then crossed the
office to drop it into the trash basket. “It’s over now.”

“Richard, I need to understand what was going
on with him. If you don’t want to give me an explanation, then I’m
going to write to Mr. Klein about it. I’ll ask your uncles to
investigate my father’s bank accounts, as well.”

“Don’t be an idiot!” he said, whirling to
face her, his expression so livid it turned her skin to ice. “I’m
serious when I tell you this could ruin your father’s
reputation!”

“Then tell me what this is about. Please,”
she whispered, too panicked to force the words out any louder. “I
have to know what he did.”

He opened his mouth as if to argue, then his
shoulders sagged. “Maybe you
should
know. The money was
for Catherine.”

Amelia frowned, confusion spiraling through
her mind. “Why would Papa give her money?”

Richard’s expression filled with sympathy.
“Why do you think, Amelia?”

His insinuation was too obvious to
misinterpret, but if Amelia lived two hundred years she would never
believe her father would cheat on her mother. He’d adored her
mother. Gambling was one thing. An affair would have been the last
possible vice she could ever have imagined her father being
involved in. Especially with a sweet woman like Catherine
Cameron.

“Papa was a friend of your father’s. Maybe he
felt inclined to help Catherine when she was widowed.”

“Maybe,” he said, but Amelia knew he didn’t
believe it. “He took over Catherine’s support when my dad died.
That’s all I know for sure.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat. God
help her, she didn’t want to believe it. But maybe that’s why her
mother had been upset the day they made streusel. Maybe she knew
the truth. Maybe Amelia’s father really had been having an
affair.

Amelia fumbled to open the door. She had to
get out of Richard’s office. She couldn’t bear to hear another
heartbreaking word about her father.

“It’s locked, Amelia.”

She reached up to twist the latch, but
Richard’s hand stopped her. She whirled to face him, surprised that
he’d crossed the room so quietly.

“I rigged it to lock when I shut the door.
It’s the only way to protect my privacy.” He gave the knob a quiet
turn to unlock it, but he caught her arm and stopped her from
bolting out the door. “If you rush out of here looking as if
someone just died, you’re going to cause a tidal wave of gossip. If
anyone finds out about this, your father’s reputation will suffer
as severely as Catherine’s.” He sighed as if his shoulders carried
an unbearable weight. “People make mistakes, Amelia. Most of us
regret it. Your father was a good man and I’m sure he never meant
to hurt anyone.” Richard gave her wrist a light squeeze. “Don’t try
to understand this. Just protect his privacy and let him rest in
peace.”

The realization that she may not have really
known her father crushed Amelia. All those years she’d adored him,
had considered him a pillar of integrity and honor, but if Richard
was telling the truth about Catherine, then her father had been a
gambling, two-timing liar.

Kyle glanced
up when Amelia pulled into the lumberyard after lunch. She drew the
carriage to a stop beside him and he could tell by her expression
that she was upset.

“Are you too busy to take a walk?” she
asked.

“Why?”

“I need to talk to you.” Her nostrils flared
and emotion filled her eyes. “Please. Can we go now?”

“Of course.” After flagging Jake to take care
of Amelia’s carriage, Kyle helped her out and gestured for her to
lead the way.

She took him back to the gorge where they’d
dug her boat out of the sand and enjoyed one of the happiest days
of their marriage. They sat on a fallen tree, its trunk stretched
across the rocky bank with its limbs sprawled in the water. For
several minutes they sat in silence, listening to the birds and the
gurgle of the creek.

“What’s bothering you?” Kyle asked, his gut
in knots wondering what had caused Amelia distress.

She glanced up. “I don’t want to spoil the
day by talking about Richard and my father, but you’re right about
keeping secrets. They’ll only cause problems for us later on.”

The warm feeling Kyle had been carrying
around with him since he and Amelia had made love started to turn
cold. “What happened?”

She raised her knees and hooked her arms
around her shins. “I know where Papa’s money went.”

Kyle met her eyes, but didn’t say
anything.

Amelia stared at the burbling water flowing
down the creek as she told him about the letter and her trip to the
bank. “I asked Richard why Papa was giving him money, and he said
it was for Catherine.”

“Why?”

“I asked the same question. Richard said Papa
was having an affair with Catherine and had been supporting her
since Richard’s father died.”

“Richard told you that?”

Amelia nodded, her expression beginning to
reflect her struggle to control her emotions. “For the first time
in my life, I’m ashamed of my father.”

“Amelia, this doesn’t make any sense.”

“Yes it does. It fits the timing of Papa’s
money loss. He stopped making bank deposits in his business account
five years ago. Alfred Cameron died five years ago. Fifteen months
after that Papa’s business account was empty and there weren’t any
more deposits made. Mortgage papers started appearing about two
years ago.”

Pure amazement filled Kyle as he gawked at
his wife. “How did you discover all of this?”

“I’ve been looking through his files like you
told me to do.”

Kyle snorted at his own ineffectiveness.
“I’ve been having discreet conversations with the local mill owners
and anyone else your father did business with, including James
Hale, hoping to uncover what he’d been involved in, and all this
time you’ve been gathering clues. Why didn’t you tell me any of
this?

Amelia shrugged. “None of it made sense until
I found that letter today. I honestly thought Papa had gambled away
his money.” She sighed and her shoulders sagged. “I wish that had
been the case. I don’t want to believe Papa cheated on my mother,
but there’s no other explanation.”

“Yes there is. I’d wager everything I own on
your father’s integrity.”

“Why else would he have given Richard or
Catherine money?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he’d had a business
arrangement with Alfred and felt obligated to continue it after the
man died. He was friends with Alfred. Maybe he felt a need to take
care of Alfred’s widow. It could be any of a thousand reasons.” He
hooked an arm around Amelia’s waist. “I’ll go see Richard tonight
and find out what’s going on.”

Amelia straightened up and gripped his arm.
“I know he’s your friend, Kyle, but I...I think there’s something
Richard isn’t telling me.”

“That’s why I’m going to see him.”

She held Kyle’s gaze. “I’d rather tell Duke
about this and let him see what he can find out about Richard’s
connection to Samuel Klein.”

Kyle’s heart kicked, but he couldn’t disagree
with Amelia. Too many things didn’t make sense.

She drew a shaky breath. “I’m sorry if this
hurts you, but I have to know what was really going on with
Papa.”

Kyle combed his hair back with his fingers,
feeling as though he were betraying his friendship with Richard,
but like Amelia, he had to know the truth. “I’m sure there’s a
sensible explanation for this,” he said, but he sure as hell
couldn’t guess what it might be.

“I hope so.” The wistfulness in her voice
shredded Kyle’s conscience. Her eyes misted and she looked away.
“You know, I finally understand what you went through the night
Papa died. This is the first time I’ve ever doubted my father and
it’s an awful feeling. I can understand how you might have felt
betrayed, Kyle, because I do, too. I’m so sorry I made you feel
worse about what happened that night with Papa. The only thing you
were guilty of is being human.”

If only that were the truth. Kyle felt
nauseous knowing Amelia would never forgive him for what he was
about to tell her, but Kyle couldn’t allow her to doubt her
father’s integrity when he knew the truth. Tom Drake was an honest,
loyal man who loved his wife and daughter, a man who had earned
Kyle’s respect and friendship. Kyle couldn’t let Tom’s memory be
tarnished because of a cruel accusation that he could correct. Nor
could he allow Amelia to be crushed by her own heartache over a man
she loved. She deserved to remember her father with respect and
love. And Kyle needed to honor his friend.

He lifted her chin, forcing her to look at
him. “Don’t you
ever
believe that your father cheated on
your mother. I made the mistake of doubting him once, and I’ll
always regret it.”

She raised her lashes, her eyes filled with
heartache. “I want to believe Papa’s innocent. I truly do,” she
whispered, her voice thick with pain, “but there’s so much
evidence.”

“He wasn’t having an affair with Catherine.
I’m certain of it.” Kyle knew he was the only man Catherine had
been intimate with because she hadn’t been looking for love. She
had needed a friend. She had shared her body and her heartache only
with Kyle.

“How do you know this, Kyle?”

Kyle’s gut churned and he felt nauseous, but
he forced the words from his dry mouth. “Because I was having an
affair with her.”

The life seemed to drain from Amelia’s eyes
as she stared at him.

“I didn’t want to tell you like this, Amelia,
but it is the only way I can assure you of your father’s
innocence.”

“My God,” Amelia whispered, shoving off the
tree trunk, unable to believe her ears.

Kyle reached for her arm, but she stepped
away from him.

“Don’t touch me!”

“I need to explain this, Amelia. It was a
casual thing between Catherine and I.”

“Casual? How dare you!” The flat of her palm
struck him across the face, the impact jerking his head. He stood
up, his eyes bright with insult, but Amelia didn’t care if Kyle
throttled her. Her entire body was quaking with outrage. “There is
nothing
casual about an intimate relationship, Kyle! A man
may think an affair only casual, but it’s a life-destroying event
for a woman.”

As if he sensed she was beyond reasoning
with, Kyle stood in stony silence, which only increased her
anger.

“How could you ask Catherine to our wedding,
or let me invite her into my home? For God’s sake, Kyle, you took
your lover into our bedroom!” A tear-filled sob burst from her
throat. “How
could
you?”

“She’s not my lover, Amelia. Our affair ended
when you and I decided to marry.”

Unable to bear hearing the details, Amelia
turned her back. Pain cut through her chest, but she couldn’t
condemn Kyle for something she herself was guilty of. She’d been
intimate with Richard, too, and though it was in the distant past,
it was no different than Kyle’s more recent affair with Catherine.
It just felt different.
Much
different.