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challenged him. "Paris no longer possesses what I need. Tell me dear brother,"
she continued boldly standing up to him. "Do you miss your beloved trips to
the Orient? Is it true what I ve heard about your other family?"
"Insolent bitch," Horatio scowled. "Those brats aren t mine."
"Of course they aren t," Catherine, droned as she brushed past him. "A good
Christian man such as yourself would never be a party to such degradation.
Speaking of which," she called back over her shoulder. "If Anna has another
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spill, it wouldn t do your reputation any good now would it? You may have the
town in your pocket, but I know your business associates, including those that
would frown upon your bride s clumsy nature."
"Are you threatening me?" He growled.
"Never dear brother," she retorted coldly. "But I am very close to Mrs.
Bonner, the wife of Jonathan Bonner. He is the owner of the wharf that harbors
the family s ships is he not? They are such a fine family, who find many
things abhorrent, such as clumsiness and respectable men weighing anchor in
foreign ports."
"A very pious man," Horatio bitterly conceded.
"Yes he is," Catherine beamed. "And so influential in the import export trade.
Best to let Anna get some rest tonight," she added her warning before her
brother stormed down the staircase.
Never in her young life did Catherine Stratton ever think that she would be
capable of blackmail, and now she was berating herself for not doing it
sooner. Horatio wavered only slightly, yet it was enough to spare Anna from
any further abuse, physical abuse at least. Catherine never revealed to her
young lover just how low she had sunk in order to protect her. Instead she
reveled in the joyous holiday that she shared with the petite woman and her
adorable son.
Catherine vowed that she would indeed call upon Mrs. Bonner if Horatio ever
struck Anna again. Of course if the pious Mr. And Mrs. Bonner ever discovered
just how close their young daughter Lily and Catherine truly were in their
youth, the blonde held no doubt that it would be she that would end up sitting
in a jail cell. None of that mattered to her. What mattered was the light that
had returned to Anna and Richard that Christmas. Soon after the holiday,
Richard was returned to school and, thankfully, Horatio returned to the sea.
What Catherine was unaware of that at the same moment she was blackmailing her
brutish brother, Miranda Wilkins was having a very intense conversation with
Rufus Mulder the town s sheriff.
"It just isn t right," the maid protested as she wagged her finger at the
stodgy man after she had been badgering him in his office well into the night.
"Miranda," Rufus grumbled uneasy with the entire conversation. "You don t know
that he is doing anything wrong."
"He beats that poor woman," Miranda released bitterly her tirade growing to an
epic proportion. "I swear that if you don t do anything, someday he ll kill
her."
"What would you have me do?" Rufus protested as the sick feeling in his
stomach grew. He knew that the maid was probably telling him the truth, but he
was helpless. If it was any other man in town, he could pull them aside and
threaten him. Employing the same tactic on Horatio Stratton would cost him his
position and more than likely his home. "She s his wife," he pleaded with the
frantic woman.
"Don t make it right," Miranda howled. Emotionally Rufus agreed with her, yet
again he was helpless. "It is because you re on his payroll isn t it?"
"So are you," Rufus boomed back with defiance. "Everyone in town knows how the
staff up there just does the old man s bidding for a few extra coins."
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Miranda s shoulders slumped in defeat. "She is a nice lady," she said wearily.
"I hate spying on her. She doesn t do anything wrong. Sets him off when you
tell him that. I hate that he pays us so well so we will treat her badly."
"He owns the whole damn town and there isn t anything we can do," Rufus tried
to reason with her. "I thought things were better after his sister arrived."
"Oh she s a pistol that one," Miranda laughed. "She doesn t take any guff from
the old man and can play him like a fiddle. At least she could, until last
evening. I ve never seen a man act like that just because they put up a tree
and a few trimmings. The way he grabbed the poor missus by the throat you d
think she was buggering the butcher."
"Maybe she is." Rufus reasoned. "I can t believe he started choking her for
decorating the house."
"I swear to you that is what got him going," Miranda argued. "She isn t
stepping out on him. She spends all of her time with Miss Stratton. It is just
the two of them up there in that big old house. All they do is talk and work
on their stitching. Half the men in this town would give their eye teeth for
such a devoted wife." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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