A Thin Line Read online

  “I wouldn’t do that to Clarissa,” he denied.

  “Perhaps not intentionally, but you would Gabriel. What happened between you and Mikala besides that ridiculous treason business?”

  “She’s not titled.” He watched his grandmother shake her head sadly.

  “There is more to life than marrying for money and a title. Are either you or Clarissa truly happy with this courtship?”

  “I believe we are both content.”

  “I do believe those are the saddest words I ever heard.”

  “Grandmother...,” Gabe began, looking slightly taken aback.

  “Promise me you won’t do anything rash. Remember where this came from and why before you completely write Kala out of the story,” she softly kissed his scarred cheek. “By the way, I think the scar makes you look like a pirate,” she said as she rose from the settee and walked across the room. “Did you know that I knew a pirate? He was quite handsome and I was quite smitten,” she said before leaving the room, looking like she floated on air. Gabriel stared after her feeling bemused and bereft.

  Chapter 5

  Kala came down the stairs and met Richard and Drucilla at the bottom. She wore a rose colored gown and had a matching ribbon tied around her neck. Jet beads dangled from her ears and black gloves covered almost her entire arm. A black beaded reticule dangled from her right wrist.

  “Kala, you look beautiful.”

  “Thank you. I will be the talk of all the women for not dressing in pastels,” she told Drucilla who wore a sapphire blue gown.

  “It is time someone defied that rule.”

  “You look quite the thing as well.”

  “I look fat.”

  “Not yet, love, but you will,” Richard said as he walked up and placed a kiss on his wife’s neck. Drucilla swatted Richard’s shoulder and they moved toward the door held open by the butler. The town coach stood ready and waiting to take them to the Chatham’s.

  “I truly dread this evening and am so glad that you decided to come,” Kala sighed.

  “At least he didn’t meet us here,” Dru put in.

  “True.”

  “Who are we talking about?”

  “Lord Dewhurst.”

  “That little rat?”

  “You don’t like him either?”

  “Not so much that as he just reminds me of a little rat. He’s never done anything I could put my finger on he’s just. . .”

  “Trust me, I know. I would have been rescued from having him escort me if Justin Southerby had arrived five minutes earlier.”

  “Don’t be too trusting with Lord Southerby either Kala.”

  “Why do you say that Richard?” Kala asked intrigued.

  “I just think there is more there than appears to be,” he attempted to shrug off her questions.

  “I’ll be careful.”

  “See that you do.” They stopped and picked up Derek and Tessa before traveling on to the Chatham’s. On the way they informed them that Dewhurst would be joining their party once they arrived at the ball.

  “Kala, I thought you were a better judge of character,” Derek said disgustedly.

  “He cornered me,” Kala defended.

  “He really did, Derek,” Dru joined in. “If Lord Southerby had been earlier, the circumstances would be entirely different.”

  “Dewhurst, Southerby and McKenzie. Mikala, don’t you think you have enough men sniffing at your skirts?” Her brother asked irritated.

  “I didn’t ask for their attention. Besides, what harm will it cause?”

  “Have you thought about your reputation?”

  “If my father were titled, it would be a different story entirely.”

  “But there’s the rub. Your father is not titled and half the women of the ton despise you already.”

  “Derek, that is enough,” Drucilla interceded, foreseeing her niece’s temper making an appearance if she did not diffuse the situation. “There is nothing wrong with Kala having several men seek her attentions as long as she is properly chaperoned.”

  “And has she always been properly chaperoned, Auntie?”

  “Derek,” Tessa swatted her husband’s leg.

  Kala’s guilty flush answered his question. “And where were you not chaperoned, sister dear?”

  “When Mack and I went riding in the park.”

  “You will not call him Mack!”

  “He gave me leave to.”

  “I don’t care if he gave you leave to call him King Tut! You do not refer to a man that intimately until he is your husband. Do you understand?”

  “Derek, calm down,” Richard said. “You know what happened to you the last time you upset Dru.”

  “Apologies,” he bit out, still staring daggers at his sister. The carriage settled into an awkward silence.

  The conveyance lurched to a stop indicating they were now in line to disembark. They did not have to wait overly long for their carriage door to be opened by one of the Chatham’s servants. Once they left the carriage, they were met by Dewhurst who greeted Their Grace’s first, then Derek and Tessa. Finally he turned to Kala and gave her a smile that never met his eyes.

  “You look simply stunning this evening, Miss Simmons.”

  “Thank you, Lord Dewhurst,” she said in her naturally raspy voice. She had yet to realize what a voice like that could do to a man. “You look very nice, as well.” And he did, as he was always turned out in the latest fashion. “Shall we go in?”

  “Of course,” he held out his arm for her to take. She had to hide the little shudder of revulsion that ran through her. He seemed like such a nice man, why couldn’t she like him?

  “Good evening, Miss Simmons,” a familiar voice said on the other side of her.

  “Miss Simmons, is it?” She asked playfully. “Very well then. Good evening, Lord Southerby. How are you this evening?”

  “Ever watchful,” he replied and stepped behind her and Dewhurst in the receiving line.

  “Odd.”

  “What is that?” Dewhurst asked unconcerned.

  “Nothing,” she replied and turned to greet her host and hostess. Richard and Drucilla were first announced to the group in attendance followed by her brother and sister-in-law then herself and Dewhurst. She happened to glance over and saw that the man practically beamed from ear to ear. She heard Southerby’s name called and then their little entourage made their way down the stairs into the ballroom.

  Dewhurst led her onto the dance floor with the first announced dance. They were still lacking a partner group when the Duke of Hawkescliffe and Lady Clarissa Blackerby were announced. Kala felt anger that the man could still make her heart race even after everything that had happened. Kala looked up to find the object of her reverie and his escort pairing them for the dance. Gabe never danced, so what had possessed him to begin dancing now? He looked intently at her as if she had done something wrong. How dare he look at her like that? She had not committed the crime.

  Before she could decide on the sanity of questioning him, the music started, delaying the confrontation. Kala and Dewhurst spent the first several bars of music together before she became Gabe’s partner.

  He spun her in a perfectly executed move before he bent and whispered fiercely in her ear, “What are you doing here with Dewhurst?”

  “I don’t believe that is any of your business.”

  “Do not play games with me,” he bit out. “Just answer the question.”

  “He escorted me tonight. Jealous?” She teased. He said nothing, just seemed to stiffen more as he left her and partnered with Clarissa once more. She gave Dewhurst a smile when they came back together, but did not speak to him.

  Gabe came back to her and she took a deep breath to bolster her courage.

  “You know, I’m really happy for you and Lady Clarissa.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She will make a wonderful duchess. I hope you two will be very happy together.”

  Gabe should have been happy
by this announcement. Didn’t this prove an end to Kala’s interference in his life? Instead he felt like he had been punched in the gut, much like Dewhurst this afternoon. What was wrong with him? He didn’t care for Kala, not in that way.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Fine,” he hissed turning away from Kala once more. He studied Lady Clarissa as they went through the next steps together. She was a diamond of the first water, of that no one could argue, and she would make the perfect duchess. She knew the right people, and served her father well in the role of hostess. Clarissa handled difficult situations with dexterity, as she had shown since her father had remarried a much younger woman after her own mother’s death.

  “Your Grace, is something wrong?” Clarissa asked in a timid voice.

  The music came to a halt. Gabe shuttered his expression.

  “Would you like some refreshments?”

  “That would be nice,” Clarissa said on a sigh. Gabe led Clarissa far across the room from where his best friend and his family stood. He knew he had begun alienating himself from his friends, but he didn’t know what else to do. He had made his choice and everyone needed to recognize that fact and move on with their lives.

  Dewhurst returned Kala to Richard and Dru and then excused himself to retrieve her a glass of punch. Justin came and stood at her side sandwiching her between himself and Drucilla.

  “What’s wrong with everyone tonight?”

  “What do you mean?” Dru questioned.

  “Gabe and I just had the oddest conversation during the dance and now Justin is acting as if he is my protector.” The man she talked about just glanced down at her before looking out over the crowd once more.

  “I don’t know. Perhaps it’s something in the air.”

  “Perhaps they should quit breathing it.”

  “Tell me about your conversation with Gabe.”

  “First he asked me why I came with Dewhurst. Then I wished him and Lady Clarissa the best. He just clammed up.”

  “That is odd,” Dru said with a gleam in her eye. A waltz began to play. “Richard, I would like to dance.”

  “Whatever you wish, my love.”

  “Kala?” Southerby queried.

  “I would be enchanted, if it is all right with my brother,” she stared mutinously at Derek until he acquiesced. By the time Dewhurst returned, all three couples were dancing around the ballroom. He watched as Southerby held Kala closely and spun her around the dance floor, and in his opinion, a bit too closely. That should be him out there that she laughed and talked with. He seethed as he realized that she had not spoken once to him while they danced, but had found a few words for Hawkescliffe.

  Dewhurst noticed the music had stopped and the couples were leaving the dance floor. He forced himself to relax and fix a smile on his face. Miss Simmons approached him and he noticed that her smile seemed a little more forced than it had been only moments earlier.

  “Oh, thank you, Lord Dewhurst,” she took the punch from his hand, sipping gratefully.

  “Anything for you, Miss Simmons,” he bowed over her hand, attempting to contain his anger. Soon another unwelcome visitor joined their group in the form of Stuart McKenzie and once more he watched another man escort Mikala onto the dance floor. He could not wait to have her to himself.

  ***

  Kala caused waves once again when she granted a dance to Stuart McKenzie upon his arrival. The rest of the evening she spent chatting about mundane topics with Dewhurst while trying to determine what exactly the other three gentlemen were about. Gabe stared daggers at her from across the ballroom, while McKenzie and Southerby stood like two sentinels on either side of her. She wanted to stomp her foot in impotent fury, but knew she would look childish.

  Thankfully, Dru would not permit her to waltz with Dewhurst after having danced with him once already. In this society, more than one dance could mean a looming engagement, and Mikala did not want that. Wanting to refresh herself, she excused herself from the group and wove her way through the throng of people to the retiring room. She opened the door and the talking and giggling quickly became an uncomfortable silence. This was not the first time she had received this treatment. Most of the women considered her an enemy, a commoner who might take one of their allotted men from them. She turned to leave the women to their opinions when the door opened and Lady Clarissa entered.

  “Mikala, you look absolutely delightful this evening.”

  “Thank you, Lady Clarissa,” the two moved toward a vacant corner. “That dress is a beautiful match with your eyes.”

  “Thank you, and you know you have leave to call me Clarissa. I consider us friends and hope you do as well.” The few women present gulped audibly at that statement and scurried out of the room to share the latest on dit. Mikala could only imagine what they were saying, Imagine a duke’s daughter lowering herself to befriend a commoner!

  “Clarissa, you really shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Oh, but it is fun to stir their blood once in a while,” she said mischievously and the two giggled. “I saw that three gentlemen are dancing attendance on you. How very lucky you are.”

  “I wouldn’t call it luck, Clarissa. Dewhurst is an acquaintance only and the other two are friends.”

  “Did you know them before this season?”

  “Actually, no. Southerby and I met at the museum. We were both confused by an artist’s work. A gentleman explained it to us. We looked at each other and just laughed and the man took off in a huff. The gentleman was the artist of the work in question.”

  “Oh, my,” Clarissa gave a soft chuckle.

  “Indeed. I met McKenzie through my brother, and Dewhurst just seemed to appear.”

  “Well, I do not know any of them very well, but Southerby’s godmother is my aunt. We played together some as children, but have lost touch over the years.”

  “You really should renew your acquaintance. He is a wonderful man and does not deserve the treatment some of the ton has given him just because of his mother’s background.”

  “I agree. People can be very judgmental. Are you ready to return to the ball?”

  “Of course,” the two women walked out of the room arm-in-arm.

  “Come, let’s take a turn around the ballroom.”

  “Are you certain you want to be seen with me? I might tarnish your reputation.”

  “Pish, I am a duke’s daughter. I can do more damage with one well-placed word than any of them can do over an entire season,” she smirked.

  “Why Clarissa, I didn’t know you had it in you.”

  “There you are Clarissa. Where have you been?” An older, very distinguished man interrupted their conversation.

  “Visiting with Mikala. Miss Simmons may I present my father the Duke of Hamilton?”

  “Miss Simmons, it is an honor,” the tall, slender, silver-haired man bowed deeply over Kala’s hand. She curtsied deeply in return.

  “No, Your Grace, the pleasure is mine.”

  “Clarissa, your step-mother and her brother were asking after you.”

  “Of course she was,” Kala heard Clarissa mutter.

  “What was that?” Clarissa’s father bent low to catch what she said.

  “I said, was she now?” She said loud enough for her father to hear and Kala could see the strain behind the smile. The two women said their goodbyes and parted ways. Perhaps she would pay a visit to Clarissa and offer a shoulder for her to lean on if she should need it. Something did not seem quite right about her father’s new wife and it was the least she could do after she stood up for her against those piranhas in the retiring room.

  Kala walked past a gallery on her way back to the ballroom and witnessed Gabe quickly open a door and disappear inside. Suspicious, Kala moved quickly down the hall and ducked into an alcove not too far from the room that Gabe entered. She hid behind the curtain, not waiting long before an exotic beauty also entered the room. In fact, she looked to be the same woman she had spied him sequestered wit
h at the earlier ball.

  Anger radiated from every pore of her body. Kala quickly hurried over to the door and pressed her ear to it, silently cursing the noise from the ballroom that overflowed into the gallery.

  “My superior was pleased with the information you gave me when last we met,” the feminine French voice said with a touch of sultriness.

  “What took so long to make the connection? I expected to meet with you again before now.”

  “What with the war, it is harder to send messages, darling,”

  “I see,” Gabe replied but sounded suspicious. Kala bent down and looked through the keyhole. Blessedly no key hindered her view. The duo stood almost on the other side of the room. Kala watched the other woman move seductively towards Gabe. She lifted a finger and ran it down his scar.

  “Do you not believe me?” The woman asked with a pout.

  “Should I?”

  “Did the information I gave you last time not come true?” She continued with the pout. Instead of looking sad, it only made her lips look more sensuous and kissable.

  “Yes.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “Nothing.” He started to turn towards the door, but her hand on his sleeve halted him.

  “Darling, that is no way to act,” the woman snaked a hand around Gabe’s neck and pulled him down into a heated, passionate kiss. Kala felt a trembling rage work through her body. He was kissing that...that whore!

  “When does he want the next shipment?” Gabe whispered the question in her ear. Now he nibbled her ear! The nerve of him!

  “In two weeks. My superior is getting a little nervous.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “He thinks someone is suspicious.”

  “No one is going to suspect anything.”

  “I tell him that, but,” she broke off with a shrug. “Will I see you soon?”

  “You know you will.” He bent down and kissed her deeply once more. Then he turned towards the door, this time no hand halted his progress. Kala flew across the hall to the alcove, plastering her body flat against the wall, barely breathing. The curtains swished softly as they drifted shut just as the door opened and closed. She held her breath until she heard his retreating footsteps.