Orchid sh-3

by Джейн Энн Кренц

  "Of course not." She indicated the seat on the other side of the tiny table. "Why were you looking for me?"

  "Because you and I need to talk, Ms. Adams." Selby sat down across from her. "We have a mutual problem."

  "What problem is that?"

  "My cousin Rafe." Selby smiled again. His eyes glinted behind the lenses of his stylish glasses. "Fortunately, I have a solution."

  "I don't understand."

  "I'll get right to the point. The Stonebraker board is a very conservative bunch, Ms. Adams. They would never appoint a C.E.O. who was not married or, at the very least, engaged to be married."

  "Is that a fact?"

  "Yes," Selby said. "It's a fact. But I strongly suspect that you are already aware of it. I admit that, until recently, I've been working under the assumption that my cousin has no interest in Stonebraker. But I may have figured wrong."

  "What changed your mind?"

  "Seeing you with Rafe at Uncle Alfred G.'s birthday party last night. I can think of only one reason why my cousin would suddenly spring an agency date on the family. I think he's decided to try to take back what he walked away from all those years ago when he quarreled with Alfred G."

  "Why are you telling me all this, Mr. Culverthorpe?"

  "Because I don't think you know what you're getting into, Ms. Adams. Rafe may have found you through a matchmaking agency, although, I have some doubts on that score. But even if it's true, I'm willing to bet that it's not a high-probability match."

  "What do you mean?"

  "If it's a real match, my guess is that he applied pressure to his agency counselor to force him to come up with a candidate." Selby paused deliberately. "But it's equally possible that Rafe found one for himself and bribed her to play the role."

  "Are you implying that Rafe would resort to intimidation or bribery?"

  Icy amusement flared in Selby's gaze. "Don't look so shocked. I know my cousin. Rafe will do whatever it takes to get what he wants, if he wants it badly enough."

  "What makes you so certain Rafe and I might not be a good match?"

  "Give me a break, Ms. Adams. I'm not a fool. My cousin is a strat-talent."

  "So?"

  "He's an exotic. A high-class one at that. The agencies don't have much luck matching people like him. Even if you were told that you might be a halfway reasonable match, I'm surprised you'd considered it at all. Very few intelligent women want to risk marriage to a hunter. Too many unknowns. Marriage is a life sentence, Ms. Adams."

  "I'm well aware of that. But Rafe's grandfather is a strat-talent and from what I saw last night he appears to be happily married."

  "Uncle Alfred G. is only a class-four strat-talent. Rafe is a six. I suspect he may even be much higher." Selby's eyes narrowed. "Furthermore, I'll let you in on a little family secret. Uncle Alfred G. and Aunt Ellen were not introduced through an agency."

  "Is that true?"

  "It was a marriage of convenience that took place over fifty years ago. Aunt Ellen's father owned a company that Uncle Alfred G. wanted. Ellen's father wanted his daughter to marry into the Stonebraker family. They struck a deal. Aunt Ellen went along with it."

  "It looked like a good match to me."

  Selby dismissed that with a casual hit of one shoulder. "Occasionally unmatched arrangements do work out. Hell, if legend is to be believed, that's the way marriages were routinely handled back on Earth in the old days before colonization. They say divorce was routine, also."

  "And families were routinely destroyed because of the system. Fortunately our Founders were smart enough to establish a different way of doing things here on St. Helens," she murmured piously.

  "Exactly my point, Ms. Adams." Selby leaned back in his chair and gave her a meaningful look. "The risk factor is huge in an unmatched marriage. And there is no escape through divorce here on St. Helens."

  "Everyone knows that."

  "You'd better think twice about a low-probability match, too, Ms. Adams. Even if your prospective groom is rich."

  "You're so sure that Rafe and I are a bad match."

  "You may think it's worth the risk. Maybe you're assuming that if things don't work out after the wedding, you and my cousin can live separate lives. Maybe you think you can have it all, the Stonebraker money, social position, and a few discreet affairs on the side. But it won't work that way."

  "Why not?"

  Selby smiled grimly. "Because my cousin is a strat-talent. Take it from me, strat-talents aren't real sophisticated and modern-thinking when it comes to matters of wifely fidelity. There's a reason they're called throw-backs, Ms. Adams."

  "I beg your pardon?"

  "I would have thought you'd know all this. You're a trained, professional prism, after all. Strat-talents are primitive in more than just the paranormal sense. If you're planning on a marriage of convenience, think again."

  "Is this a warning?"

  "Yes, Ms. Adams, it is." Selby leaned forward. "I've got nothing against you, personally, but I've worked too hard and planned too long to let you or anyone else get in my way. I'm going to destroy Stonebraker. If you don't step aside, you'll get hurt."

  "Tell me," Orchid said gently, "why are you so determined to destroy the company? You're part of the family, after all."

  "My reasons are none of your business."

  "I disagree. I think I've got a right to know why I'm being threatened by a rich and powerful man such as yourself."

  Selby frowned. "I'm not threatening you. I'm simply telling you how things are."

  "I feel threatened. I want to know why before I make any decisions."

  Selby drew back, scowling. "I'm sure as hell not going to tell you a lot of private family information."

  Orchid stirred her latte with a tiny stick. "Tell me, Selby, what did Rafe's side of the family do to your side to make you so angry?"

  It was as if she had pulled a sandbag out of a dike that held back a wall of flood water. Selby's face contorted with sudden fury. Sharp, short bursts of energy came and went quickly on the psychic plane. A sure sign of paranormal power not under firm control. Orchid recalled Rafe telling her that his cousin was a tech-talent.

  "Maybe I should tell you what happened," Selby said. "Maybe the truth will convince you of just how dangerous a strat-talent can be, especially if he also happens to be very wealthy and powerful."

  "I'm listening."

  "Uncle Alfred G. is responsible for my father's death. That's what the Stonebraker side of the family did to my side. Satisfied, Ms. Adams?"

  Orchid's hand froze on the latte stick. "That's a very serious accusation."

  "Unfortunately it's one I can't make in a court of law because there is no evidence. Alfred G. saw to that. But I have crafted my own justice, Ms. Adams. Don't get in the way."

  "What makes you think your father was deliberately killed?"

  Selby hesitated. Orchid watched him as he visibly reasserted his self-control. She sensed that he already regretted the fierce outburst.

  "My mother told me the whole story when I was a child."

  "What did she say? What happened to your father?"

  Selby shook his head once, as though ridding himself of the last remnants of a spell. "This is none of your affair. You don't need to know the details. All you need to know is that men like Rafe and Alfred G. Stonebraker are dangerous."

  "I only want to understand."

  "You don't need to understand anything except that if you don't get out of this thing while the getting is good, you'll be hurt." He pushed back his chair with an abrupt movement and surged to his feet. "There won't be any more warnings, Ms. Adams."

  "Wait, please."

  Selby had himself back in hand now. The seething emotion that had blazed briefly in his face was gone. He looked down at her with cool speculation. "You appear to be a smart woman. I would have thought you'd know better than to get involved with a strat-talent. If you're in this for the money, I sympathize. But there are other ways to get rich withou
t risking marriage to my cousin."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "I'm a wealthy man now, but I'm going to be far richer after I carry out my plans for Stonebraker. I'll make it worth your while to drop out of the picture."

  "Oh, wow." She opened her eyes very wide. "No one's ever tried to buy me off before."

  Selby's jaw jerked. "Think about my offer, Ms. Adams. Think about it very carefully. Because one way or another, I'm going to win."

  He turned and walked out of the espresso bar without another word. An invisible wake of old rage and pain churned in the air behind him. Orchid picked up traces of it on both the physical and the metaphysical planes.

  Chapter 13

  Rafe grabbed the phone before it had a chance to ring a second time. "Orchid, where the hell are you?"

  There was a short, baffled pause on the other end.

  "Uh, it's me, Whistler, Mr. Stonebraker. Here at the hospital guarding Mr. Lambert, remember?"

  Rafe closed his eyes briefly and willed patience and control. This was insane. He was getting downright jumpy where Orchid was concerned. She was only a few minutes late, after all. She'd probably stopped to do some shopping or collect her mail.

  "Sorry, Whistler. I was expecting someone else. What have you got for me?"

  "Nothing's happening here but, y'know those guys you asked about? An illusion-talent and prism team who might do odd jobs if the money was right?"

  "Did you find them?"

  "Maybe. There's a talent-prism magic act working at a low-rent club in Founders' Square. They use knives in the show. Word is, the talent is pretty good with them. The special effects aren't all illusions, if you see what I mean."

  "What about the odd jobs?"

  "I hear that, for a price, you can hire them to do some rough work. A man I know says he thinks they've been working off the books a lot lately."

  "Did your associate tell you who hired them?"

  "He doesn't know who the employer is. Fact is, he didn't know much of anything. Whatever is going on, it's real hush-hush."

  "What's the name of the club?"

  "Place is called the Icy Dicey Casino." Whistler lowered his voice. "I'm not sure if these are your guys, but I can't turn up any other talent-prism team that fits the description you gave me."

  "This sounds promising." Rafe heard a car in the drive. He got to his feet. "I'll check it out. Thanks, Whistler."

  "What about my money?"

  "The usual arrangements. You'll have it tomorrow morning. In the meantime, stay with Lambert."

  "You got it."

  Rafe slammed down the phone and went to stand in the door of the study. He would remain calm, he promised himself. Poised. Serene. Casual. He would not demand explanations for the fact that she was twenty minutes late. She would get nervous if he leaped down her throat every time she walked through the front door. The last thing he wanted to do was make her nervous.

  The door opened. Orchid stepped across the threshold. She smiled wanly when she saw him.

  "Hello, Rafe."

  "Where the hell have you been?" He winced at the sound of his own harsh voice. So much for serene and casual.

  "Charming greeting." She tossed her purse down on a side table. "Good thing we're business associates, not an engaged couple or else I might be tempted to walk back out the door."

  The tension shimmered like an aura around her. He started forward. "What happened?"

  "Nothing."

  "Don't give me that. I know something happened. What was it?"

  "Take it easy, Rafe. I had a short, informative conversation with your cousin, that's all."

  He wasn't sure he had heard correctly. "No."

  "No?"

  "Selby wouldn't have dared." But he could see in her eyes that he had dared. "Sonovabitch. What did he say?"

  "Among other things he said he doubted that you and I were a high-probability match. In fact, he's not altogether sure we're even a legitimate agency match. Can you imagine? Oh, yes, he also warned me against the risks of marriage to a strat-talent. And then he tried to buy me off."

  Rafe was startled by the wildfire heat of his own anger. "Bastard." He did not realize he had lost control of his talent until he felt the familiar slight disorientation that occurred whenever he initiated a quest for a prism. His instincts revved to full throttle.

  "Calm down, Rafe." Orchid watched him. She did not offer him a prism.

  Rafe felt the uncomfortable heat rise in his face. Instantly he clamped down on his unquiet psychic energy. Until Orchid had entered his life, he had never had these problems. He had always been in full control of himself and his talent.

  "I'll talk to Selby," he vowed. "He won't bother you again."

  "He didn't actually bother me. He made me very curious, however. He's obviously as determined to wreck Stonebraker as you are to save it." She folded her arms and leaned back against the table. "Mind telling me what actually did happen to his father back when Selby was a kid?"

  Rafe gripped the edge of the door. "He told you that old story about how my grandfather is responsible for his father's death?"

  "He wouldn't give me the entire tale. Just enough to, shall we say, pique my interest."

  Rafe felt as if the floor had fallen away beneath his feet. "You didn't believe him, did you?"

  "I don't know what to believe. That's why I'm asking you for the truth."

  Rafe watched her. "You're serious, aren't you?"

  "I'm assuming there's a logical explanation here. I'd like to have it."

  He stilled. "It's a family thing."

  She gave him a humorless smile. "Yes, of course. It always is, isn't it? And I'm not family."

  "It's not that." He broke off. "Okay, it is that."

  "If you want my help on this family thing, you'd better tell me the whole story."

  He hesitated and then made an executive decision. "I don't know the whole story, myself. My grandfather has never talked about it. But a few years ago, I got curious. I did some checking."

  "What did you discover?"

  Rafe shoved a hand through his hair, turned, and walked into the library. He heard Orchid's footsteps behind him. When he stopped and glanced back at her he saw that she was watching him very closely. Too closely.

  It occurred to him that she had no real reason to trust him on this or anything else. He was surprised by how restless the knowledge made him. He had no claim on her loyalty, he reminded himself. As far as she was concerned, he was only a business associate and a temporary lover.

  Depressed by that thought, he sank into one of the deep chairs in front of the cold hearth.

  "Selby's father was named Perry Culverthorpe. The Culverthorpes are cousins on my grandmother's side."

  "I figured that much out for myself." Orchid took the seat across from him. "Go on."

  "At one time the Culverthorpes were a lot more powerful than the Stonebrakers. But things changed. Perry Culverthorpe never really accepted the reversal of fortunes that gave the Stonebrakers the more prominent role in the New Seattle shipping business. He felt he'd been somehow cheated of his rightful heritage."

  "What happened?"

  Rafe met her eyes. "My grandfather put him in charge of the New Vancouver office. There were some problems. A series of thefts occurred. It became obvious that someone was bypassing the jelly-ice seals on the cargo containers. The only one who had the code was Perry Culverthorpe."

  "Did your grandfather accuse him of stealing valuable freight?"

  "Not exactly. From what I was able to discover, Alfred G. went to New Vancouver to find out what the hell was going on. Perry was furious. He felt he'd been humiliated by my grandfather's lack of trust. He and Alfred G. had a major blow-up. Alfred G. removed Perry from his position as head of the New Vancouver office."

  "Perry must have been enraged."

  "Yes. In an effort to prove that he was innocent of the thefts, he set a trap for the thieves. He succeeded in surprising them, but he was
killed in the process."

  "How awful."

  "When it was all over, the real thieves were caught, but Perry's wife never forgave my grandfather. She blamed him for Perry's death."

  "And she taught Selby to blame him, too."

  Rafe shrugged. "She taught him to blame all the men on my side of the family. Aunt Elizabeth was very ill for a long tune. It affected her mind. By the time she died, she had convinced herself that if Perry had lived, he would have taken my grandfather's place at the helm of Stonebraker Shipping and Selby, ultimately, would have followed in his father's footsteps. Selby grew up believing that."

  "I see."

  Silence descended. Rafe listened to it while he watched the play of emotions across Orchid's face. It should not have mattered so much that she believe him, but it did.

  It did.

  "How sad," Orchid said eventually.

  Rafe relaxed slightly. "From Selby's point of view, maybe it's sad. From mine, it's a major pain in the ass."

  She startled him with a grin. "Rafe, you were born to deal with major pains in the ass. In fact, I'll bet you're bored stiff when you're between pains in the ass. What do you do to amuse yourself when you don't have a pain in the ass to keep you busy?"

  "Recently I've experimented with having an affair with an ice-prism."

  She gave him an ingenuous look. "Talk about a major pain in the ass."

  "On the plus side, I'm never bored."

  "Sounds a bit like dating a strat-talent. What did you accomplish on the home front today?"

  Rafe's spirits were rising so quickly that he spoke before he considered his words. "I think I found the talent-prism team who tried to kill your friend Lambert yesterday."

  Her eyes widened. "Really?"

  "Yes." Rafe was chagrined to realize how much he enjoyed the blatant admiration in her eyes.

  "That's fantastic." Orchid leaped out of her chair and tumbled into his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Brilliant work. You really are good at this kind of thing. Tell me everything."

  He grunted as her soft weight settled on his thighs.