“Are they not beautiful?” she cooed the next morning as she held her son while he nursed and Derek held their daughter as she waited her turn to feed.
“Handsome and beautiful. So now that we have had time to rest and think, what are we going to name these two?”
“I would like to name him Jonathan Finn in honor of my father and brother.”
“And how about Serena Rose for the woman that predicted we would have her and the woman who gave her to me?”
“Oh Derek,” Tessa said as tears pricked her eyes. After the twins had been fed, a knock sounded on the door and Kala peeked in. “Lucas wants to see the babies. Is everyone decent?”
“Yes, please send him in.”
Lucas had grown almost half a foot in the last six months and had filled out quite nicely. He quickly got over the death of his father and showed a promising future with horses. He looked on in reverence at the two bundles.
“They are so little.”
“You were that small once.”
He first examined Jonathan in Tessa’s arms. “Do not worry, he will grow to be tough just like you.”
“Gosh. Can I touch her?” He asked when he moved on to look at Serena.
“Of course,” Derek answered. Lucas gave Serena his finger and she gripped it and held on as if she would never let go. His eyes glowed with adoration.
“She has a firm grip for a girl.”
“Just like her mother,” Derek said and then looked at Tessa and they both laughed.
Neither of the adults heard Lucas when he said, “I’ll always protect you, little girl.”
Excerpt – A Thin Line
“Oh how dare he?” Kala questioned the empty room. Her voice sounded raspy even to her own ears. Most would think she had a cold or the ague, but no, this was her new voice courtesy of the villain who had been after her sister-in-law, Tessa. Who knows? she thought wryly. Perhaps I will start a new trend among the ton.
Back to the matter at hand. She had found Gabriel Hawke, the Duke of Hawkescliffe to be a traitor in the true sense of the word. She had argued with herself for over a month that she had misunderstood what the voices on the other side of the door had been saying the night of Derek, her brother, and Tessa’s ball. As many times as she tried to deny it, she could not deny overhearing him speak of troop movement, nor could she come up with a plausible answer for his actions.
The man had given away government secrets to a French whore. What made the treason so much worse remained the fact that he was Derek’s best friend. Her brother's best friend and a traitor to King and Country. And to make matters worse, at one time she thought herself madly in love with him. He had definitely ruined that possibility for both of them. No way she could even stomach the idea of being married to him now. She could barely look at him. And to think, he had once stood alongside Admiral Nelson at Trafalgar.
She pushed herself out of the big bed, paced to the window and threw back the curtains. The moonlight streamed into the room but did nothing to calm her. The rare cloudless and fogless night in London showed off the true beauty of the city, but she failed to see it. She had too many thoughts wrestling about in her mind for superiority.
“How could he?” she muttered helplessly, pressing her forehead against the cool pane of glass. He had witnessed the heartache Derek had gone through when he believed his wife to be a traitor. Thank goodness all that had turned out to be false. So how could he, Derek’s best friend, do something like this? The man must have lost all the good sense he had been born with. Perhaps the stress of being one of the highest peers of the realm finally affected him.
She shook her head sadly replaying that awful night in her mind. So many things had happened that night. Tessa had been kidnapped for one. But first she had heard Gabe giving information on troop landings to that exotically beautiful woman. She had a French accent, claiming to be an émigré to all other members of the ton. And there lie the real crux of the matter. Not only did he divulge information to the enemy, but the enemy had been beautiful and seemed to have him firmly in her clutches, if the way the woman had been adjusting her dress been any indication. She thumped her hands on the windowsill and let out a little growl of frustration. She had to decide what to do about this matter and soon.
One thing had made itself abundantly clear though. “She can have him. I’m done with him.”
“Done with whom?”
Kala whirled around and clutched at her throat with one hand. “Dru, you startled me. I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“I couldn’t sleep. Indigestion,” Kala’s aunt explained as an aside as she patted her swelling tummy. “Now what has you in such an uproar?”
“Oh, I’m just excited over all the events of the last few weeks,” Kala stuck as close to the truth as possible.
“It has been quite an adventure, hasn’t it?”
“Yes. Derek and Tessa will be leaving for the country once more. Then we will all gather there for Christmas in a few months.”
“Now what are you so worked up about?”
“I can’t tell you, Dru,” Kala said, her shoulders drooping.
“What? You used to tell me everything. I am your favorite aunt, you know,” she waggled her brows for effect.
Kala giggled but shook her head adamantly. “No. This is something I must figure out and address on my own.”
“If you insist,” she reached into the pocket of her dressing robe and took out a deck of playing cards. “What do you say we pass the time with a few games?”
“Yes, but no bets this time. Derek yelled at me for an hour for losing my quarterly pin money to you,” she shook her head sadly. “I had three queens and two tens. I still don’t understand how you beat me,” she lamented.
“Derek is a spoilsport.”
“Derek is right,” a deep voice drawled from Kala’s doorway.
“Richard, I hope you didn’t miss me.”
“Of course I did, my love.” He dropped a kiss on her lips and then covered her stomach with one of his large hands. “Is she keeping you awake?”
“Yes.” Kala watched the byplay unashamedly and with a great deal of envy. She had been raised in a household like this one, with parents that adored one another and touched and kissed. She had hoped that she and Gabriel could have had something like this, and perhaps they could have if he had never become the Duke of Hawkescliffe. He had changed drastically in so many ways after receiving the title, a title he never should have had to don. A large part of her mourned that fact. Another part of her knew she must get on with the job of living.
“Richard, please stay and keep an eye on Dru. I think she cheats,” she whispered loudly.
“Kala, I’ll let you in on a little secret,” Richard replied.
“What?”
“I know she cheats.” The three stayed up until early morning playing, laughing, and talking.
* * *
The next morning, Kala quickly dressed in a plain, serviceable dress and scampered downstairs before anyone else arose. She asked a footman to call for a carriage. He performed the task reluctantly, seeing a dressing down in his future for letting her leave the house unescorted. Miss Kala would be the death of them all in his lowly opinion.
The carriage arrived and Kala embarked on a journey across town to the Horse Guards. She left the conveyance and paid the driver. She paced back and forth in front of the building, chewing on her thumb as she tended to do when nervous. She had let her sable hair fall in loose waves down her back, not wanting to waste any time in getting here. Her thick, black lashes fluttered, hiding the mercurial changes of her hazel eyes.
She needed to speak to Director McKenzie as soon as possible and silently cursed the man for choosing this morning to not arrive before everyone else to the War Office, the central headquarters where plans were made to defeat Napoleon, and as she so recently found out where her brother and Gabe worked as well. So caught up in practicing her speech, she did not hear the brisk footfalls until they wer
e upon her.
“What do you think you are doing here?”
“Director McKenzie, the Duke of Hawkescliffe is a traitor,” she said as she turned around to look at the man. Her mouth fell open in horror as she realized she had just told the information to the suspected traitor himself.
“Now that you know, what am I going to do to keep you silent, pest?” Gabriel Hawke, the Duke of Hawkescliffe snarled as he pulled her close, the scar that slashed down his cheek made him appear piratical. Kala did the only thing she knew to do, she raised her knee and in his moment of agony, she tore free of his hold and ran for her life.
Coming Winter 2013/2014
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Visit http://www.tammyjoburns.com
A Traitorous Heart Page 32