Intolerable Civility

Chapter Thirty-Two: Malicious Ends

Cate woke to the sound of Luke crying in the distance. She lay with her eyes shut wondering why he was so far away, stretched out to find the edge of the mattress, and found instead a warm, naked body. David.

She opened her eyes. He was sleeping. But then, they had only fallen asleep as dawn had started to lighten the room. When they had not been talking, they had been making love, and when they had not been making love, they had been talking. There were a lot of things they hadn't known about each other. More things to discover still no doubt.

She kissed his shoulder and slipped out of bed, slowly so as not to disturb him. Their clothes were scattered about the floor of his room, but she could not see where her shift had ended up, so she padded naked to the door that separated their suites and tried to turn the key in the lock. It would not budge. She stared at the door, perplexed, and tried again. Nothing.

"Cate?"

She had woken David after all. "I have to go to Luke."

"Mph." He was clearly still half-asleep.

"The key won't turn," she added, jiggling it.

"Door's not locked," David grunted.

Cate tried the handle. Sure enough, it turned and the door swung open.

"When did you stop locking it?" she asked.

David grunted and rolled over to plant his face in a pillow. That was clearly the only answer she would get right now, and Luke was still crying distantly. Cate shrugged and went through. In her bedroom, she paused long enough to find a dressing gown and slip it around her. When she came into Luke's room, he was starting to quiet himself. She picked him up and soothed him.

"Sorry, darling. Mama's late this morning."

"Hungy," he sobbed. "M'hungy."

He tugged at the front of her dressing gown. She was meant to be weaning him, but she loosened her collar and sat down to let him nurse, feeling guilty for staying away all night. Not entirely away, but further than the next room, which in Luke's small world might as well have been miles.

After Luke's hunger was soothed, Cate changed and dressed him and called a maid to prepare a boiled egg for Luke and tea for herself so that they both could face the day properly. Then she took Luke into her bedroom to play with his toys on the floor while she washed and tidied herself. While she was brushing her hair, there came a knock at the door and David entered, dressed in plain riding clothes. There were shadows under his eyes from lack of sleep, but he was smiling.

"I haven't locked that door in weeks," he said. "It stopped being necessary a long time ago."

Weeks. The idea of it sent flickers of joy throughout her body. She wondered for how long she might have just walked through at night and crept into his bed. Though if she had, they might not have said all the things they had last night. "I'm going to be using it a lot more from now on."

"I certainly hope so." He kissed her gently on the lips. "I'm going to see Sarah off in a moment. See her to the coach. Make sure she leaves."

The reminder of Sarah's existence dulled Cate's joy. "David, I hope you understand that I can't possibly host her here again. She said those things last night deliberately, to humiliate me."

"I know, and I'm sorry." He rubbed her hand. "I promise you, she will never spend another night under our roof. I think she already knows that, but I'm going to make sure she understands."

The seriousness of his tone gave Cate an unexpected shiver of anticipation. Or perhaps it was the fact that he was still holding her hand.

"I'm also going to take your parents out to the quarry today," David added. "I think it would be best if you and they spent a little time apart, after last night's argument."