Page 35 of Leon

"Were heartbroken of course. They cut her off, which I could not agree with. They gave her just enough to live on, but not all of it. She didn't care, but he did. The bastard had every intention of cashing in. They left the entire bulk of their money to the various charities the mother was involved with."

"Wasn't that a little harsh? Surely when the daughter came..."

"They died before Kadian was born." He rubbed his hands over his face. "She tried to get me to agree to go into business with him and because of our friendship, I reluctantly agreed. I shouldn't have. I knew it was a mistake, but I loved her. Christ! She was my best friend, and I would have done anything for her."

"You loved her."

"Not like that. Never like that."

"But mother suspected you were..."

"And the bastard accused me of trying to steal her away." He acknowledged grimly. "It was an oil deal in Texas. There were a lot of risks and people depending on the deal coming through. I had the most stake in it and I was persuaded to loan the money to him for his share. By this time, he had gone through her inheritance. And still she stood by him." He fisted his hands on the desk, expression bleak. "I could see that she was unhappy, but she would deny it. He was constantly pressuring her and blaming her for the fact that her parents had given away what should have been hers."

"That's ridiculous. She could not have known the results."

Robert nodded in approval. "That did not matter to him. He wanted her money and was bitterly disappointed when it was not forthcoming." He took another sip of the drink. "The oil deal fell flat, and we lost some money. At the last minute, I decided against putting too much into the deal. It looked fishy to me, and I told him that. But he didn't listen. Wouldn't. I even asked Kathy to speak to him, try and convince him to pull out. He still went ahead and lost everything. And ended up blaming me. That's what he does. Luke Donaldson does not take responsibility for his actions and always finds someone to blame for his mistakes. He drove her to her death." His mouth thinned. "He married that beautiful, classy lady and turned her into a drudge." Even now, he could feel the rage rushing through him. "He accused her of cheating on him with me. Kathy would call me just to talk and we would meet occasionally. It had to be a secret because he was so paranoid he would keep her caged upinside the house. I offered to give her money, but she refused." He finished the drink and wished he could drown his sorrows. "She was loyal to the end and would never say a bad thing about him. Never. The bastard continued to nag her, even when it was discovered that she was ill. Cancer. I found out too late. If I had known she was ill, I would have done everything in my damn power to take care of her. I was too late. That bastard was instrumental in killing my best friend and for that, he can go ahead and rot in hell. I hope he's suffering."

He cancelled the rest of his meetings and told David that he was taking the rest of the day off. He also apologized to him. It wasn't the man's fault that his life was in such a bloody mess. And it was a colossal mess, even worse than he thought. He did not go to his apartment but decided to drive to the cottage. He needed the quiet. The solitude to do some thinking.

The several days of rain had finished stripping the trees of their leaves. The temperature had dropped drastically, the wind whistling eerily through the naked branches. He had called the caretaker while he was on his way and the man promised to get a fire going. Slamming out of the vehicle, he made his way towards the cottage and pushed the door open. The warmth of the fire dispelled the cold and had him shrugging out of his outer coat.

Striding into the living room, he pulled up a chair in front of the fire and sat there staring at the blaze. His wife had it all wrong.If the story his father told him was true, and he had no reason to believe it wasn't, then her father had been lying to her all along. He had to decide how much to tell her. He had called her while he was on his way and told her that he would be out of touch for the rest of the day. He couldn't face her not yet and was going to have to decide how to tell her what he had been told.

Shoving back the chair, he wandered around the small room restlessly. It had been on the tip of his tongue to tell his old man the truth that he was married to Kadian, but the bitterness that had accompanied his story had made him change his mind.

There was a lot of blame going around. And he had no idea what to do about it. Both men obviously hated each other, and he and his wife were caught in the middle.

"Oh Christ!" he whispered hoarsely, rubbing his hands over his face. "What the hell are we going to do?"

*****

"So? What are you going to say to him?"

"I'm still thinking about it." Kadian toyed with the rim of her cup and gazed at the display of colored vases that had come in just this morning. The store was closed for the day and to her relief, her dad had gone out to play cards with some friends. She had called Grace to come over to try and help her come up with a solution to the problem. Time was running out on her and she had yet to tell her dad about the trip.

"I was wondering if I should say that it has to do with an author."

"All the way in Scotland? Is he going to buy that?"

She shrugged listlessly. "God, I feel so stressed. If I tell Leon that I changed my mind..."

"That would be a mistake." Grace waved an impatient hand. "I don't see why you cannot face your father and tell him the truth."

"You know why."

"Honey, how long do you think that husband of yours is going to put up with this nonsense?"

"Did you see him with that woman, Constance Merrick? The opera singer? They had lunch at Luce's, and he never said a word to me. The papers said they were involved."

"I saw it." Grace said quietly. And she secretly wondered if there was something there. The couple looked as if they were more than friends. "Have you spoken to him about it?"

"I have this feeling that I don't deserve to ask him anything. He told me he would be out of reach for the rest of the night."

"I happen to know that Ms. Merrick is performing at the Regal tonight."

"Oh." Closing her eyes, she let out a breath. "What am I going to do Grace?"

"You're not going to put off the trip." Grace said firmly. "Your marriage depends on it. And if I were you, I would use the time to gather your thoughts and courage to tell your dad that you're a married woman."

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