Tread Softly (25 page)

She
took a deep breath and glanced from Bruno to Todd, realizing at once that Bruno
hadn't seen his cohort.

"Take a
seat, Bruno," Emmett roared, flapping his hand to bring the man forward.

Bruno
relaxed against the doorjamb. "I won't bother, since you seem to be
through." He straightened from the door and left, presumably for the
solarium.

Cady
exhaled a shuddering sigh, not aware until that moment that she had been
holding her breath.

As the diners
rose and separated into chatting groups that moved leisurely toward the
solarium and the music, Cady stretched her neck to watch Rafe. He winked at her
but made no attempt to join her. He was smiling and seeming to maneuver several
people, including his father, toward the library. Aveen and Aileen, as their
father's hostesses, had gone immediately to the solarium.

"I
think the time is near," Rob said in a mock-sepulchral tone.
Cady
could sense his excitement.

The
twins were waiting in the doorway leading from the ballroom as Cady and Rob
approached.

"Rafe said
to come to the library." Gavin leaned down toward her and added in a
whisper, "Gareth is bringing Leacock last. Leacock thinks he's meeting Bruno
there."

As Gavin pushed
open the door, Cady could hear Emmett growling at Rafe that he had to get back
to his guests. Then, as Cady and the twins stepped through the door, Bruno's
eyes fixed on them, narrowing. He was standing with Emmett, a bored-looking Lee
Terris next to him.

When
Trock walked through the door with the dogs, Bruno's face had a ferret cast to
it. Cady had the feeling that he had penetrated every mind in the room and
sniffed out danger to himself. When she saw him turn in a casual way toward the
double doors leading from the library to the terrace, she turned to tell Trock.

Trock had already whispered a command to the Doberman, who
needed no urging. Graf flung himself at Bruno, taking a growling stance between
the doors and the man.

"What
the hell..." Bruno snarled. "Get this dog out of here. Emmett, are
you going to let this beast—"

"Rafe,"
Emmett roared, "what did I say about those
 
dogs?"

"Simmer down, Dad. Graf is only following orders. My
orders.'' Rafe's voice was bland, but there was a hard glitter in his eyes as
he turned to Cady, then watched as the door opened and Gareth almost pushed
Todd Leacock through it, followed him, and closed and locked it behind him.
Todd's face was a hunted mask as he watched Trabold's face.

"Now I think we're all here." Rafe looked around
the room, giving a grim smile to his fellow legislators and their wives and
husbands, who were clustered near the Adams fireplace.

"Actually, not all the people who volunteered to get
involved in our little experiment are here," Rafe announced. "There
were too many volunteers, but I think most of you recognize Senator Jack Van
Orden and his wife, Senator Bill Darien and his wife, Congresswoman

Gilda Reeves and
her husband, Senator Mary Lake and her husband and, of course, Congressman Rob
Ardmore. I have a list of many others who—"

"Rafe, what
the hell are we doing here?" Emmett bellowed.

"I'm
getting to that, Dad. First I want you all to see some pictures. Gavin, bring
over that corkboard standing in the comer." Rafe smiled at the assembly.
"Gavin managed to sneak this into the library for me this evening."

Graf
growled as Bruno tried to move. When Todd Leacock sidled toward the door, Trock
whispered to the pit bull, who at once stood spread-legged in front of Leacock.
The dog's mouth was open in a snarling threat.

When the board
was turned toward the assembled group, there were gasps, groans, hisses,
imprecations.

Cady
closed her eyes, unable to look at herself in that promiscuous pose, even
though the other wives and female legislators were on the board with her. She
clenched her fists and opened her eyes.

"Really,
Cady, you might have considered the family name." Lee stepped closer to
Emmett.

"Shut up,
Lee," Rafe said lightly, his voice friendly but his eyes agate-hard.
"What you're seeing is an abortive attempt at blackmail. An attempt by—well,
let's just say, for the moment, very criminal
type people
-
to put
pressure on my wife, who would, in turn, put pressure on me to pull my support
away from an environmental bill that would help my state and the country."
Rafe turned to Gareth. "Bring Greeley in here, along with Dave and
Harrison. If Aileen and Aveen want to come, let them. Tell them to let Cousin
Michaeline play hostess."

"She'd
love that," Gareth said cheekily before closing the door behind him.

Emmett was
red-faced and pop-eyed as his graze traveled from the pictures to Cady to Rafe
to the other women to Rob Ardmore. "Why are you calling Greeley?" he
demanded. "He would have none of such stuff."

"But you do
see what a phony setup this is?" Rafe took a cheroot from his gold case
and lit it. Then he looked at Professor Nesbitt, who stood off to one side,
stony-faced and silent. "Only you and I, sir, would know that a picture of
Cady would have to include her most interesting mole."

"Rafe!"
Cady exclaimed, mortified. She wasn't placated when her father chuckled.

"Sorry,
darling." Rafe's smile was tender.

A sudden silence
filled the room, so that the rather hoarse breathing of Todd Leacock was
abrasive to the ears.

Greeley came through the door, his bald pate having a
pinkish sheen in the red and green decorative lights from the foyer. The cigar
in his mouth flapped up and down as he looked at the people in the library. His
button eyes, lost in the folds of fat on his cheeks, stared from Emmett to
Bruno. It was Gareth's ungentle urging that propelled him into the center of
the room after his shifting eyes found the corkboard with its interesting array
of pictures.

"I want to talk to my lawyer," Greeley snarled,
glaring at Bruno. "I didn't want any part of this, Rafe. It was that damn
fool who thought he could sink you."

Bruno
snarled and turned toward the door. At once the Doberman rose to attack. Rafe yelled
at the dog and threw himself forward at the same time. "Back, Graf. I want
him for myself."

When Bruno heard
this, he turned around and launched himself at Rafe. It seemed to Cady that
they met in midair.

She stood there, mute. The snarling, whining dogs,
prevented from helping their beloved master, quivered with frustration. Emmett
yelped when a small table with some of his precious Belleek china crashed to
the floor. Lee Terris moved to get some of the other precious artifacts out of
the way. Cady was frozen to the spot. She wanted to kill Rob Ardmore when he
urged Rafe to "Let him have it with a left." Rafe, be careful, she
screamed in her mind.

The noise increased as the twins egged their older brother
on to the kill. Gareth stood close to Leacock, telling Hobo what a good boy he
was for watching the "bad man." Hobo only snarled.

Cady
felt fright and anger when Rafe's fellow legislators and his twin brothers
formed a loosely knit ring around the fighting men. For a moment Cady couldn't
see, even stretching her neck and standing on tiptoe. Finally she stepped onto
one of Emmett's fine needle-pointed Sheraton chairs. Graf whined at her feet.

What
Cady saw made her knees turn to jelly. "Father, stop them, stop
them!" Cady was sure her father couldn't even hear her hoarse whisper.

All
at once the fight was over. Rafe was standing there swaying, the back of one
hand dabbing at the corner of his mouth.

Cady
jumped down from the chair and pushed her way through the knot of men just as
Jack Van Orden hoisted Bruno to his feet.

For
a moment Cady paused, then she catapulted herself onto Rafe. "Did he hurt
you? Did he hurt you?" She ran her fingers over the swelling under his
left eye, not even trying to check the tears coursing down her cheeks.
"Oh, Rafe, your poor face." She slipped her hands around his waist,
cradling him to her. "That monster marked your cheek," Cady railed,
turning in front of him to glare at the staggering Bruno. "You—you—louse."
Cady lifted her hands like claws, feeling anger fill her veins. Before she
could move, two arms clamped around her waist.

"Easy,
darling," Rafe muttered into her hair. "The fighting is over for
today... and
I
feel so damn good."

Cady
looked up at him. He was glowering at Bruno. "Rafe, Bruno tried to
blackmail the twins, too," she told him. "He accused Gareth of
shaving points in a game. It's a lie. Todd was in on it, too."

Emmett's
angry roar drowned out Rafe's answer. "You viper! Try to destroy my boys,
will you? I'll have you put away for a thousand year
s.
" * *
*

By
the time Bruno and Todd had been led away by the security people that Emmett
employed, Aileen and Aveen, who had come to the library to see what was keeping
their father from his guests, had a fair idea of what had taken place.
White-faced, they stared at Bruno as he walked past them.

"We trusted you," Aileen accused. Aveen nodded in
agreement.

"Which
shows how foolish even you can be at times, darling," Dave said mildly,
putting an arm around his wife.

Aileen swallowed
and nodded. "In more ways than one." She leaned against her husband,
her eyes misty.

"I
never expected Cady to be such a ruffian," Aveen mumbled to her husband.

"Don't be a
fool. She's more a lady than anyone I know.
.
.
except you, of
course." Harrison squeezed her hand, but Aveen's smile was shaky.

"Aveen and Aileen have just passed through a belated
puberty of the soul," Gavin whispered to Cady. "Maybe now their
spiritual growth will pull even with the ego growth—they might mature."

Emmett began ushering
his guests out of the library, vowing to each one to see to it that Bruno and
his cohorts were punished.

Gavin
grinned at Cady. "One by one, you've turned the Densmores into humans,
Cady dear. Now if you'll find me a girl just like you, I'll be content for
life."

"Me,
too," Gareth said, lifting Cady high in the air.

"Hey, be
careful with her." Rafe was there, taking Cady out of Gareth's arms into
his own. He held her against his chest, chuckling at her flustered look.
"She's going to have a baby. I don't want her handled roughly."

The
twins whooped, making Emmett, who was standing at the library door with Lee
Terris, turn and glower at them. Dave and Harrison kissed Cady. Aileen and
Aveen kissed Rafe. Rafe kissed Cady and didn't release her. Still, he managed
to shake hands all around. Thomas Nesbitt watched his daughter, a contented
smile on his face.

Cady
was sure that Rafe would be worn out and she suggested that they leave rather
then go back to the solarium and dance.

"Not on
your life, my love. I'm celebrating. The only reason I'll leave is if you tell
me you're tired. Then I'll go." His face seemed to have an aura all its
own as he looked at her. "Aveen said she would mend the tear in my jacket.
Aileen put peroxide on my face. Now I want to waltz with my beautiful wife and
discuss a trip to Santo Tomas the day after Christmas... just the two of
us."

"I'd
love to dance for a while." Cady glowed at the look in her husband's eyes.
"As for Santo Tomas, it can't come too soon for me." She swallowed
and looked deep into his eyes as he swept her onto the floor to the waltz music
that Emmett was so addicted to. "The best Christmas present I could ever
have would be to have you all to myself. You see, I love you so much, I can't
see straight." She gulped a laugh as Rafe stopped dead in the middle of
the dance floor.

"Do
you mean it?" His voice had the roughness of velvet rubbed the wrong way.
The bones in his face seemed to crack, spread, and mend in different places as
he struggled with the words she had spoken to him. "Cady, my God, you do
choose your times!" His voice seemed forced from his throat. "What do
you think my father would say if I picked you up in my arms and ran out the
door with you?" He was trying to be flip, but Cady could see the blue flame
leaping in his eyes as he watched her. He began dancing with her again, his
body bent over her in a protective bow.

When the tempo
changed to a rock and roll beat, Emmett was not the only one who frowned.
Rafe's face creased with concern as Cady swung away from him, her body gyrating
in delighted concert with the music.