“I will, Father.”
“You don’t have to be afraid to talk to me about her. Ask me anything you like.”
Jason had so many questions. For some reason, one memory nagged at him. It was one of the clearest from his childhood. “Did she used to cheat when we played Hide the Thimble?”
Robert laughed. “Oh, I wondered if you ever figured it out. That wasn’t really her doing, but mine. She insisted we play games together as a family when you were a little boy. There was an age when you simply adored her thimble for who knows what reason. As a toddler you used to climb up on her as she was sewing and pull it off her thumb. As you got older, she introduced you to Hide the Thimble. Every day that you were a good boy and didn’t steal it from her while she was working, she would hide it for you in the evening, and we would direct you saying hot or cold until you found it. She thought this was a marvelous idea.”
“I can remember waiting for the six chimes of the grandfather clock when she’d let me search for it.”
“That’s right. It was always at six o’clock. That one we learned the hard way. If we didn’t have a set time, you simply pestered her all day. Anyway, the first night of this game, you took over an hour to find it, but you wouldn’t let anyone else find it for you, and you wouldn’t let me give directions. Anytime I tried, you would stomp your foot and say, ‘No. Mutter o’ly.’ After about fifteen minutes, I stood up to go get it, and you burst into tears. I was about ready to give you something to cry about, but your mother shushed me and told me to sit. She said it was important that you learn and that you’d improve with time. You didn’t. After a week of this, I was beside myself, so I convinced Lena to hide multiple thimbles. You didn’t know she had more than one, and I pointed out that you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. She didn’t like it, but for the sake of my sanity, she agreed. She started out by hiding three. That night, it took you a mere fifty minutes. The next she went to five. I think she was starting to get tired of the game as well. Eventually, she was hiding two dozen thimbles, and you would run to her after five minutes having found one, beaming with pride.”
Jason joined Robert in a full-bellied laugh, the happiest he’d been since he’d arrived.
His father told story after story about his mother, and Jason asked every question he could think of. As the time passed, Robert’s coughing fits grew increasingly frequent, and each seemed to tire him a little more. Jason would have to leave him to nap soon.
“I have one more question for you. Don’t be mad.” Jason felt like a child again, about to ask something that he felt was taboo. “I’ve always wondered…the baby mother had…I never knew…was it a boy or a girl?”
Deep sorrow etched Robert’s face. “It was a girl. You had a little sister. Your mother wanted to name her Lydia.”
“But her grave marker says Baby Wadsworth.”
“Yes. It made it easier on me. We had dreamed about little Lydia for years. Lena always wanted a sister for you. I couldn’t stand the thought that we had lost her, that bringing her lifeless body into the world had killed your mother. I didn’t want to picture our little Lydia under the ground. Your mother never even saw her. How could she be our Lydia if Lena never saw her?” Robert’s voice cracked. It was the first time in Jason’s life he had heard his father’s voice falter with emotion.
Jason took Robert’s hand in his. “That’s enough, Father. Thank you. I always wanted to know.”
Robert nodded. “I think I should sleep now. For a little while. You go check on Kale.”
“All right, Father. Sleep well.” Jason stood and kissed his father on the forehead before departing. His heart ached for how few days he had left with the man he was only just getting to know.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Mr. Conroy, this is Kale Wadsworth from P and C Enterprises.”
“Yes, Mr. Wadsworth, my secretary told me. What business do you have with me?”
“I understand you have a valet named Thomas. My company would like to purchase him from you.”
“Thomas? Why would you want to do that?”
“Our company is in possession of his brother. We want the other to make a matching set.” Kale swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. This was all for Thomas’s good.
“I see. Well, he’s quite a capable valet. I would have a hard time replacing him.”
“We are prepared to compensate you adequately.”
“I don’t think you understand the hassle this is going to cause me. I’m going to have to wait for an acceptable slave to become available and then train him to my tastes.” Kale really didn’t want to consider what Mr. Conroy’s tastes included. “I bought Thomas a couple of years ago. Prices have gone up for good slaves. I could be out a lot of money and time. I don’t need to tell you that time is a valuable thing.”
“No, you don’t, Mr. Conroy, and I don’t want to waste yours. I think it is you who doesn’t understand. We are willing to pay forty-two thousand for your trouble. We certainly don’t want P and C to get a reputation for stinginess.”
“Forty-two thousand?”
“Yes.”
“Why would you pay forty-two thousand? What’s so special about him?”
He’s my brother, you greedy prick. “Nothing other than his value to us as a match in appearance to his brother. The price is more a sign of the value we place on your time and cooperation. It should be plenty for you to find a suitable replacement and even rent one in the interim.”
“All right. I hate to see him go, but if you’re fool enough to offer that much for him, I won’t be the fool who refuses it.”
“Excellent. If you can have the paperwork ready, I’ll be by tomorrow to sign it and take possession of the boy.”
“Bring cash. I won’t accept anything else.”
“Very well, cash it will be. I will probably arrive by early afternoon.”
“That’s fine. I’ll have the registration and title ready for you.”
“Thank you, Mr. Conroy. It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.” The call disconnected. It was done. All Kale had to do was get the money, and he would see his brother in a day. He had one more call to make.
“Martin?”
“Kale? How are you doing? I was sorry to hear about your mother.”
“I’m fine, thank you.” Kale remembered he was talking to a friend. “Or at least as fine as I can expect to be. I’m doing a lot better, thanks to you. I just got off a call with Mr. Conroy. He’s agreed to sell me Thomas for forty-two thousand.”
“That’s great news.”
“Yes, it is. He wants the payment in cash. I was hoping you could speak with the bank and arrange for me to pick up the money from the branch in town today. I don’t want the regular delays from withdrawing such a large amount.”
“Of course. Consider it done. I’ll be able to make the call before you can get there.”
“Thank you.”
Martin didn’t balk at the amount. He knew how much had been paid for Thomas previously. Kale had half expected Martin to fight him on spending so much money. He should have thought more of Martin, especially after all this time.
After the call disconnected, Kale went in search of Jason and found him in the dining room eating a sandwich.
“Here, I had one made for you too.” Jason slid a plate in Kale’s direction.
“Thanks.” Kale seated himself and bit into the roast beef sandwich. There was just the right amount of horseradish and cheddar cheese. The lightly toasted bread had a pleasant crunch.
“How did it go with Mr. Conroy?”
Jason’s attempt at a neutral voice was amusing, and Kale was tempted to have a little fun with him. However, he couldn’t help the grin that split his face. “I’m going to the bank as soon I’m done eating to get the cash. I’m picking Thomas up tomorrow.” The reality began to sink in, and a happy flutter tickled his stomach.
“That’s excellent.” Jason threw down his sandwich and crossed to Kale,
planting a sloppy kiss on his cheek. “I told you it would all work out.”
Kale wiped off the breadcrumbs Jason had left on his cheek. “Yes, well, it’s not a done deal. Plenty could still go wrong.” Kale tried to rein in his excitement.
“Things are done going wrong.” Jason took a big bite of his sandwich, storing it in his cheeks as he chewed like a little kid.
“I hope so. But even if everything goes right, there’s no guarantee he’s even going to like me.”
“How could anyone not like you?”
“You didn’t when we first met.”
“Well, the likelihood of your brother being a blathering idiot is extraordinarily slim. He is related to you.”
“Especially the blathering part. Blathering isn’t a desirable quality in slaves.” The jovial tone outshone his fears of not connecting with his brother. What would be would be, and Kale would always love him, even if Thomas couldn’t warm up to his stranger of a brother. “How were things with your father?”
“Really good. We’ve never talked the way we did this morning. I felt like I was meeting him for the first time.”
“Good. Any particulars you want to share?”
“Do you know I always thought he didn’t love my mother, but he’s been carrying a miniature of her around this entire time? Every day, right there in his pocket watch, and I never knew.”
“It’s amazing what you can learn when you decide to listen.”
“Yes, yes, I know. You’re right. He told me the funniest stories from when I was a child.”
“Which you will be telling me when we have more time. I can just picture little Jason toddling around.” Kale smiled at the image. Jason would’ve been an entertaining child.
“Yes, I will regale you with tales of my childhood later, despite never hearing any of your stories.”
“I’m willing to bet all the money we have that my stories aren’t nearly as cute as yours.”
“Fair enough.” Jason finished off the last bit of sandwich and wiped his mouth on his napkin. “I did learn some interesting tidbits and got the facts straightened out regarding some issues.”
“Oh?” Kale suspected there were a quite a few things Robert set Jason straight about.
“For starters, my father offered to move to Perdana for my mother. She’s the one who insisted they stay here.”
“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed that.”
“Me either, which is why I always assumed it was the other way around.”
Kale shook his head. “When are you going to learn to stop assuming things?”
“Probably around the same time you learn to accept just how amazing you are.”
“Hmph. What else did you discover?” Kale stuffed the last piece of sandwich into his mouth.
Jason’s voice lowered. “That I had a baby sister. Lydia. She died the same day as my mother.”
Kale struggled to swallow the huge bite of roast beef in his mouth. He reached across the table for Jason’s hand. “I thought you knew your mother died in childbirth.”
“Yes, but I didn’t know the gender of the baby. Her headstone simply says Baby Wadsworth. Father didn’t feel right about putting her name on it since she never lived.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m glad I finally know.”
“It can be comforting, but don’t torture yourself with thoughts of what might have been.” Kale could imagine Jason staying awake at night, envisioning a little sister who would never be.
“I won’t. I promise. It’s nice to know that at least my mother died trying to fulfill her dream of having a little girl. It gives it meaning somehow. I don’t know why that matters, though. It doesn’t change anything.”
“It makes it easier for you. That’s something.”
“I suppose it is.” Jason tossed his napkin on the table. “Anyway, Demetri is finding the paintings of my mother that Father stored in the attic. I have permission to display them.”
“That’s good.” Kale withdrew his hand and leaned his elbows on the table.
“Don’t you want to know why he put them there to begin with?”
“I imagine he did it for the same reason I never drew my mother or Thomas and why I never let myself think about them in those early years.”
“I suppose it is the same reason when it comes down to it. Who would have thought you and my father had something in common?”
Kale chuckled. “I always figured I was more like him than I am you.”
“I can see that.”
Kale stood. “I’d love to stay and talk, but I need to get to the bank before it closes. Do you want to come with me?”
“Sure. Father will be asleep for a while. Besides, I’ve never seen forty-two thousand in cash before.”
“Really?”
“Really. I always deal in transfers and checks.”
“Then this should be fun.” Kale retrieved their documents and a valise from their room. In less than an hour, it would be heavy with the exact amount of cash required to buy a man’s life.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Demetri, where’s my father?” Jason had just entered the dining room with Kale. He hadn’t seen his father since they’d parted earlier in the day. The seat at the head of the table was conspicuously empty, and Demetri stood dutifully behind it, as if unaware that his master was missing.
“He wanted me to send his apologies, sir. He’s not quite feeling up to dinner tonight.”
Robert hadn’t been able to sit all the way up earlier, but Jason had assumed he would be fine once he was able to rest. It dawned on him that he may never see his father sit in a chair again. The thought winded him. “Please, tell him not to worry. Kale and I are fine on our own.”
“Of course, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“No, go back to my father.”
“Thank you, sir.” Demetri’s tone was thick with gratitude.
When Demetri passed, Jason grabbed his arm. Demetri stopped, and Jason gave him a gentle shake until the slave met his eyes. “Make sure he eats something. And come get me if you think anything’s wrong. Do you understand me, Demetri? If you think anything’s wrong, whether or not he does.”
“I understand, sir. Don’t worry, between myself and Darlene, he doesn’t get away with an empty stomach.”
Jason nodded and released his grip. Robert’s vacant chair at the table seemed as strong a presence as the man himself. It was strange to be eating dinner in this room without him present. Jason had begun to take their nightly meals together for granted.
“I’m sure he’s fine, Jason. Probably just tired. He can take soup in his room without having to worry about entertaining us.”
The smooth strength of Kale’s voice lulled Jason into the lie. There was nothing fine about a man who was too weak to sit up to a table.
* * *
Jason heard the footsteps creaking on the wood floor outside the bedroom door. He had been half awake all night listening for the sound. Slithering out of Kale’s hold, he stepped softly to the door, opening it before the visitor had a chance to knock.
“Sir!” Demetri’s startled exclamation was what Jason expected. He hurried to close the door behind him, muffling the sound of their voices. No need to wake Kale.
“I was awake and heard you approaching. It’s my father, isn’t it?”
“Yes, sir. He didn’t hold down any of the food he’s had today. His breathing is shallow, and I’m worried he’ll stop breathing or choke on his own phlegm.”
Demetri’s impeccably distanced demeanor fell away, and Jason saw the man who had cared for his father for more than two decades. “Can’t we telephone a doctor?”
“The doctor’s already said there’s nothing he can do. He’ll send a nurse with some drugs, but the master hates being fussed over.”
“Well, the master is going to have to learn to deal with things he doesn’t like. Send for the nurse. If need be, I can fetch her in the car. I’l
l go sit with him. Come back to his room when you’re done.”
Demetri headed downstairs, and Jason walked down the hall to his right. He hadn’t been in his father’s room since he was a little boy, shortly after his mother had died. Out of habit, he stepped over a loose floorboard outside the door. As a youngster, he had spent many a night creeping into his parent’s room when a bad dream had scared him from his bed.
The room was dimly lit by a gas lamp. Not enough light to disturb Robert, but enough to see if anything was amiss. A straight-backed chair was pulled close to the bed. Demetri must have been using it. Jason sat and examined his father. Each quick, shallow breath rattled the phlegm in Robert’s throat. Every so often, the breaths would be swallowed in a cough. It was tempting to wake him, to tell him to clear his throat, spit out the mucus, and go back to sleep, but Jason wasn’t naïve enough to believe that would fix the problem.
Demetri returned. “The nurse is on her way. It will probably take her close to an hour to get here. Is there anything I can get for you?”
“No, thank you, Demetri. Here, take your seat back.” Jason’s movement to rise was halted by the mortified look on Demetri’s face.
“I’m find standing, sir. Thank you.”
“Worried my father will wake and see you sitting here and me standing?”
“He wouldn’t like it, sir.”
“He doesn’t seem that strict with you, not as strict as I would have thought.”
“Only because I don’t give him reason to be. He wouldn’t tolerate me acting above my station, sir.”
Jason knew that all too well. His father was incapable of viewing people in terms of human relationships instead of the roles they played. When he saw Demetri, he saw a slave, not the man who had cared for him for years when no one else was around. When he saw Kale, he saw a slave, not his son’s lover and life companion. Then again, that seemed to be changing. Robert had been treating Kale as more of a person. Between dinners together, the card game, and offer of hospitality to Thomas, the last few days had shown Jason a different picture of his father. However, it was hard to let go of such ingrained views, especially when confronted with more proof of his old assumptions. Besides, he needed more than politeness from his father; he needed acceptance.
[Measure of Devotion 01.0 - 03.0] Box Set Page 66