Tread Softly (21 page)

Aileen turned
slowly away from a surprised Gareth, a wide-eyed Gavin at his side muttering,
"That tears it." She drew herself up to her full height, her nostrils
flaring as her mouth opened to speak.

"And don't
bother to begin one of your long-winded discourses, either." Dave spoke
through his teeth. "I'm fed up with it and I'm fed up with your damn
argumentative family." He jabbed his finger at her. "And if you make
one comment, I'll take the kids and get out of here and you can stay in this
bear's den."

The
silence would have been total if it weren't for Rafe going to the bar, pouring
a drink, and carrying it to his brother-in-law, saluting him with it before
handing it to him.

"What
the hell do you mean talking to my daughter that way?" Emmett came alive
out of his stunned silence.

"If you
don't like it, I'll leave." Dave took a long swallow of his drink, the
tremor in his hand barely discernible to Cady. "And if I do, I'm not
coming back."

"How
dare you!" Aveen sputtered, starting to step forward.

All
at once Aveen's husband, Harrison, rose and took hold of her arm. "Mind your
own business, Aveen. If you say anything else, I'll leave with Dave."

Rafe went back
to the bar, made another drink, and handed it to his other brother-in-law,
saluting him in the same way.

Aileen and Aveen
stared at their husbands while Emmett's color fluctuated from magenta to
scarlet to putty.

Samson
reentered the room, ran a quick eye around, cleared his throat, and announced,
"Dinner. It's hot."

Dave
took another swallow of his drink and offered his arm to Cady. Harrison came up
on her other side and took hold of her other hand. "Warmonger," he
whispered. "I haven't felt so good being at Durra in a long, long
time." He grinned over her head at Dave. They strolled past Emmett through
the double-doored archway into the spacious dining room. The others followed in
desultory fashion.

When they were
all seated, the children included, since Emmett insisted that his grandchildren
dine with their elders when they came to Durra, Rafe rose to his feet,
wineglass in hand. "I'd like to propose a toast. To my wife, Cady, who
takes on all comers and wins." He gave Cady an enigmatic smile, then
emptied his wineglass in two long swallows.

Her
two brothers-in-law and the twins jumped to their feet as well and shouted,
"To Cady," then quaffed their wine. Then they looked at the sisters
and Emmett.

Emmett's
mouth worked as though he had hot peppers in it, but he raised his glass and
mumbled, "To Cady." Aileen and Aveen took deep breaths, watching
their husbands as though they had turned into tigers before their eyes.
"To Cady," the cold voices echoed. Lee Terris reluctantly did the
same.

The conversation
at dinner was not the usual. The norm at Durra was for Aileen and Aveen to hold
forth on every subject, deferring only to their father. Tonight, as though
someone had untied their tongues, Dave and Harrison took the conversational
gambit between their teeth and worried it like puppies with a bone. Cady would
have been deeply impressed with the knowledge and scope of her brothers-in-law
if she hadn't been so immersed in her own misery.

After
the first shock of hearing their in-laws discourse on the advantages of having
technicians from Germany in their factories, Gavin and Gareth jumped in with
their own animated accounts of skiing in Germany the previous year and how
intrepid they had found the Germans on the slopes.

Cady
laughed with the others from time to time, but she felt her husband's eyes on
her, that blue-gray peeling back her skin and picking apart her mind. She was
convinced that if Rafe chose to, he could indeed read her mind.

When
dessert was offered, Cady declined, contenting herself with the grapes that
accompanied the cheese board. Her stomach seemed to be doing flip-flops, and
she had a full, uncomfortably swollen feeling.

All
at once she sat straight up in her chair, heat rising from her toes and the
tips of her fingers. She hadn't had a period in quite a while. Even discounting
her totally irregular cycle, she should have had one by now. What was it Samson
had said to her earlier? She had a different look to her tonight. Could that
superstitious Irishman have seen what she hadn't yet guessed?

"My
dear Cady, you look positively green," Lee Terris cooed from her place
across the table. "I hope you're not going to condemn the cooking at
Durra." The superbly groomed brunette sipped at her wine. "It
doesn't seem to bother you if you insult the Densmores." The voice had a
velvet lilt that just carried to Emmett's ears.

"I
wouldn't like anyone coming to Durra and insulting me." He seemed still to
be simmering from the actions of his sons-in-law.

Gavin leaned close to Cady, his body like a protective
shield. "Cady didn't say anything." He looked over at Lee, his face
contorting in dislike. "And I don't know where the hell you got the idea
that you could come here and insult anyone. If you insult my sister-in-law,
I'll take it personally."

Rafe's body seemed to stiffen as he caught fragments of
what Gavin was saying. He was too far up the table to have heard it all, but
the grim look on his face when he glanced from his brother to Lee boded ill for
someone.

Lee
looked at Rafe, her smile strained. "I think this silly conversation has
gone far enough. Aileen, do tell us about the Christmas party planned at
Bethesda."

"Don't
forget the Christmas party I'm having here," Emmett interrupted. "Lee
is helping me with it, and I expect you all to attend."

The evening
wound down early. Cady had a feeling she wasn't the only one glad to see it
come to an end.

On the drive
home there was virtual silence between her and Rafe. When they reached the
Highlands, she went directly to her room, not waiting for him to come into the
house. She was glad to strip off her clothes and head for a warm bath. She took
time to study her nude form in the three-way mirror in the bathroom. Her body
didn't look any different, but somehow she knew it was. All at once she
recalled the first night that she and Rafe had made love after his return from
the hospital. That night she had thought she might be ovulating, but then she had
forgotten about it. There had seemed so many other things to think about that
she hadn't really considered it again.

She
stepped into the frothy depths of the round tub that could easily accommodate
four people and rested her head on the foam bath pillow. If only she didn't
have Todd Leacock, Bruno, and those pictures to worry about, she could wallow
in the joy of impending motherhood. For all at once she had no doubts. She was
going to have Rafe's child. Oh, he would be happy enough about it. Rafe loved
children, and their earlier failure to have any had been as big a
disappointment to him as to Cady. But when he found out about those pictures,
he would be monumentally angry. He would consider her unfit to raise a child,
his child.

Cady
sank up to her chin in suds, the sting of tears in her eyes. She would have
nothing once Rafe found out. Nothing! She rose to a sitting position, causing a
wave of water to wash up the sides of the tub. Damn it, she wasn't going to go
down without a fight. She would take Bruno Trabold and Todd Leacock with her,
even if she never did another thing on this earth.

With
that victory uppermost in her mind, she dragged herself to bed to sink into a
restless sleep. Rafe hadn't said good night to her, she realized with a sigh
just before she closed her eyes.

Rafe
was gone before she rose the next day and Cady was glad, because a sudden
attack of nausea sent her to the bathroom in a rush. The sour taste left in her
mouth was not totally due to the nausea, but it kept her from eating breakfast.

Trock came to
tell her that he had found Greeley and Leacock meeting at a restaurant. He had
photographed them, and he had also managed to place a recorder in Leacock's
car; though he hadn't yet retrieved the transmitter, he felt it would hold
enough to implicate Leacock in wrongdoing. "You aren't eating."
Track's slate-gray eyes reproached her as he rubbed the ears of the bull
terrier. Graf had placed his head in Cady's lap. She knew the dog had missed
her while he had been away with Trock. "I told you not to worry,"
Trock accused her.

After
he left, Cady toyed with a triangle of toast and thought of her lunch with
Stacy Lande.

At
five minutes before one o'clock, Cady left her Mercedes sports car in the
parking lot of the posh French restaurant called Robert's. There was a chance
she'd be seen by people she knew, perhaps even Bruno, but since she and Stacy
had always been friendly, she hoped that anyone seeing them would think it was
just an ordinary women's luncheon. After all, Stacy was on Rafe's staff, and
Cady had been instrumental in getting her there.

Cady was fond of
Stacy and had found her an efficient secretary. Perhaps because she was the
only person in Rafe's office actually hired by Cady, the two women had become
close.

At
the beginning of lunch they had much to say to one another about people they
had worked with. Cady found the catching up amusing as Stacy recounted many
anecdotes about the staff.

Stacy
took a deep breath as she watched the waiter depart after pouring them more coffee.
Then she looked at Cady. "I have a feeling you didn't ask me to meet you
here to have me tell you about Senator Nielsen's Labrador running up and down
the halls."

Cady
smiled. "You're right." She pressed her napkin to her lips.
"Stacy, I'm going to be very frank with you because I think I can trust
you."

"You
can."

"I'm being
blackmailed." She exhaled, watching Stacy, who sat very still and returned
her gaze. "I feel sure that Bruno is behind it. Do you think he's capable
of it?"

Stacy
took a deep breath, her thirty-five years resting lightly on her
designer-suited shoulders. Her blond hair might have come from a bottle, but it
was well done and had a soft richness. "Yes, I do. He not only could do
it, Cady, he has done it to others. That's why I had to get away from there. We
all have to compromise in some areas on the job, but working for Bruno was like
working for the Syndicate." She took a sip of ice water and looked around
the elegant restaurant. "To give the devil his due, I really don't think Emmett
knew the extent of Bruno's shady dealings. Bruno Trabold is one of the most underhanded
people I have ever known, and I wouldn't trust him around the corner."

"That's
what I felt. And what about Silas Greeley?" Cady leaned both elbows on the
table. "You once told me that Greeley pimped those parties at Durra."
Cady bit her lip, fighting the sick feeling rising in her throat.

"Not
just at Durra. Greeley and Bruno Trabold set up situations like that for many
political galas. That's how they obtained a hold on so many legislators. I
don't think Mr. Densmore ever knew that the women brought to the parties were
prostitutes controlled by his closest business associate. Once I saw Bruno's
little black book. In fact, I copied it on the sly to protect myself if he ever
tried anything funny with me. Fortunately I never had to use it, but I brought
the copies with me today, in case you need them." She smiled in response
to Cady's slack-jawed look of surprise.

"I
never expected anything like this, Stacy. Thank you."

"Listen,
I saw how you were with Rafe when he was flat on his back. Rafe was good to me;
he always treated me right." She frowned down at her napkin. "I saw
how people tried to manipulate Rafe when he came to Durra... his father, who
brought oil men to the house in order to pressure Rafe into not supporting a
bill that would impose fines for oil spills, antienvironmental people,
loggers, mining interests, and many others. Bruno harried Rafe constantly. They
tried to turn Rafe into a puppet for their own uses, but they couldn't do it.
Rafe is strong and he fought back. I remember how ashamed he was about the
scandal at Durra and how he never tried to excuse himself. But from that day on
there was no more hanky-panky with him. Long before he met you, Cady, Rafe had
become the straight, honest legislator he is today."

Cady
felt frozen to her seat. "You mean he didn't go to other orgies at
Durra?"

Stacy
shook her head vehemently. "There were no more orgies at Durra. Neither
Emmett nor Rafe would have allowed it. Oh, Bruno's tried to get Rafe into compromising
situations elsewhere, but Rafe would have none of it. If he went to a party
that wasn't totally on the up and up, he left immediately, and he ignores his
father's attempts to throw that scheming Lee Terris into his lap at every
opportunity, too. This is what I tried to tell you when I came to work for you
on Rafe's staff, but you didn't want to listen. I'm glad you're listening now.
I owe you and Rafe a lot and I'd like to see the two of you happy."