Mary Putney - Shattered Rainbows

His first kaleidoscope had provided comfort at earlier times in his life. After Caro's death, he had gazed into it for hours, trying to lose himself in the shifting, hypnotic shapes as he sought order in the chaos of his life.

Unlike Stephen, he was not a good judge of character. He could not stop wanting Catherine even though she had deceived him again and again, then coldly rejected him for a better offer.

He turned the kaleidoscope. The original figure dissolved into a shimmering, multicolored snowflake.

Until tonight, he would have said he and his brother were doomed to a lifetime of barely veiled hostility. He had been wrong. If he could be so wrong about Stephen, could he also be wrong about Catherine?

Basic character doesn't change.

Another twist, and the rainbow fragments formed into flatter angles. He stared at the shape, unseeing, as new patterns formed in his mind, analyzing them with the same cold detachment he would have used on a problem of military tactics.

Even when he had been most hopelessly besotted by Caroline, he had been aware of her character flaws. Though he did not discover the depths of her malice and deceit until years later, he had recognized her vanity and her petty deceptions, her selfishness and her need to always have the upper hand.

Catherine was different. Though she had lied often and well, it had always been from necessity. She had been honest otherwise. And she had never, ever been cruel. Stephen was right: to an objective observer, her behavior at their horrendous last meeting had been strange to the point of being unbelievable.

He had blindly accepted the premise that Catherine didn't really want him. Caro had made it easy for him to believe he was a fool where women were concerned. But perhaps he had accepted dismissal too quickly.

Forget what Catherine had said; bury her brutal words and the pain that went with them. Think about her actions instead. What unknown factor would have convinced her to send him away?

Not greed; a greedy woman would not sell her mother's pearls to provide for her faithless husband's bastard.

A desire to placate the dying laird? Perhaps, but she had only known her grandfather a few days. Her loyalty to the laird should not be stronger than her loyalty to himself.

Had she feared that being disowned by the laird would deprive Amy of the girl's rightful heritage? That was a real possibility. Michael would have provided for the girl's future as if she were his own daughter, but Catherine might not have realized that. Also, she had no idea of the extent of his wealth. If she had thought he had only the usual portion of a younger son, she might believe maternal duty demanded that she do whatever was necessary to secure Skoal for her daughter.

Yet while such a motive made sense, it was still not enough to explain the cruelty of her behavior.

He turned the kaleidoscope again. Could Catherine have been struck by mad lust for Haldoran? Highly unlikely. Her cousin's nature was essentially cold. He was no partner for a woman reveling in newfound sensuality, particularly one who already had a satisfactory bedmate.

Michael sorted through possibilities until he arrived at the most likely cause for Catherine's inexplicable behavior: fear. But what would she be afraid of?

He tilted the kaleidoscope and a spiky, fragile star formed, bringing a sharp new awareness.

Haldoran was his enemy.

According to Catherine, her cousin had recognized Michael immediately. An honest man would have exposed them then. Concealing the knowledge marked Haldoran as a man with hidden motives. He was ruthless, and his hatred of losing might extend to Skoal. What better way to keep it than to force his beautiful cousin, the chosen heir, into marriage?

Such a goal might be hard to achieve elsewhere, but in the small, feudal world of the island, it was possible. Haldoran had been listening when Catherine had told Michael to go. By the end of their interview, she had been almost frantic to drive Michael away. If Haldoran was holding a gun on her, it would explain everything.

He lowered the kaleidoscope. Perhaps he was creating a mystery where none existed, perhaps not. The only way to be sure was to return to the island and speak to Catherine when Haldoran was not within earshot.

If he was wrong, the worst she could do was slash his emotions to ribbons, reduce him to suicidal depression, or trigger another life-threatening asthma attack. His mouth twisted. He'd survived that once, and was willing to risk it again. Because if his deductions were correct, Catherine's life might be in grave danger.

He wanted to leave immediately, but that would be madness in his present state of exhaustion. He must wait until morning.

Mind racing, he dowsed the candles and settled back into bed. Rather than ride back to Cornwall, he would hire a chaise. It would be faster and less tiring, getting him to Penward by tomorrow evening. No, not Penward; the village was too closely connected to Skoal. It would be impossible to make a covert journey to the island from there. He must look for transport in one of the neighboring villages.

Then he would go to the island. And this time, he would not be so easily dismissed.

The Duke of Ashburton frowned over the note from his younger brother. How typical of Michael to do something exhausting like bolt back to Skoal at the crack of dawn. It would have been pleasant to spend a little time together. Explore the dimensions of their new relationship.

His frown deepened when he thought of what his brother might find in Skoal. No doubt the situation was harmless and Catherine Melbourne was merely a heartless slut. But there might be more dangerous game afoot. Stephen had met Lord Haldoran several times and had found the man disturbing. Dangerous, even. Perhaps he should go to Skoal himself. Michael was the expert at violence, but as a duke, Stephen knew quite a bit about throwing his weight around. Perhaps that would be useful.

Decision made, he rang for his valet.

The crescent moon that faintly illuminated the beach made the shadows seem even blacker when Michael stepped ashore at Dane's Cove. He reached under the dark fisherman's jersey he wore and brought out a letter he'd written to Lucien, asking for an investigation if Michael disappeared. Though it wouldn't save his life, it might save Catherine, and it would ensure that Haldoran was punished. To his boatman, Caradoc, he said quietly, "If I don't return by dawn, go back without me, and send this letter to London right away."

Caradoc nodded and tucked the letter away. A former Royal Navy boatswain, he not only knew the waters around Skoal, but he had unquestionably accepted Michael's request for secrecy.

Michael had set off by chaise early that morning. He'd found Caradoc in the village of Trenwyth, a few miles east of Pen ward. The boatman's mother, a famous local knitter, had also provided the wool jersey. The warm, flexible garment was better suited to a clandestine mission than the garb of a gentleman.

Dressed in dark clothing and with lampblack smeared on his face, he silently went up the precarious cliff path. Fortunately he'd always had a feline ability to make his way through the night. Other, harder-to-describe senses informed him that the fair weather was about to change. There would be a major storm within the next day or so.

It didn't take long to reach the castle. Since it was past midnight, the building was entirely dark.

Deciding to try the direct approach, he went up the front steps and tried the doorknob. Locked. Interesting on an island where theft, criminals, and locked doors were unknown.

A shadow among shadows, he circled the castle. Though he hadn't done any housebreaking since that amusing little episode with Lucien, he didn't think the castle would be difficult to enter. The real question was where to find Catherine. She could be in their old room, or-stomach-turning thought-she might be sharing a bed with Haldoran in Ragnarok. But if her grandfather was still critically ill, she was probably with the old man.

Michael reached the back wall of the castle and studied the windows of the laird's rooms. A light glowed in the bedchamber. Hoping Catherine was there, he decided to enter by the sitting room so he could approach her without warning.

A cherry tree grew near the balcony. The upper limbs would put him within jumping distance. He leaped and aught the lowest limb, the bark rough against his palms. Then he began to climb.

Catherine always slept lightly when she was staying with a patient. A faint sound brought her awake quickly. She glanced toward her grandfather. The light of the night candle showed that he was making feeble, restless movements, so she rose from her pallet and went to his bedside.

A physician had come from the mainland, examined the laird, and agreed that the problem seemed to be apoplexy. Impressed with Catherine's nursing experience, he had bled the patient again and returned to the mainland, leaving the sickroom in her charge. She had been grateful, both for the chance to care for her grandfather and because the task separated her from Haldoran.

She checked her patient's pulse. A little faster than it had been. "I have the feeling that you're very close to waking, Grandfather," she murmured. "Can you hear me?"

His fingers twitched, then went still. She found it encouraging that both sides of his body seemed to be working. That meant that the apoplexy might not have caused massive damage. She uttered a brief prayer that he would wake soon, and in reasonable control of his faculties.