“Yes,” Erik answered. “I bought a condo. Right now, it’s four empty walls. I’ve got to furnish it.”
Seth laughed. “Then you’re in luck. Kathleen is great at that. I’m sure she’ll be glad to help. Won’t you, Kathleen?”
Chapter Fourteen
Kathleen darted a quick glance at Erik and then looked back at her husband. “I… I’m sure that if Erik wanted a decorator, he would engage one,” she said safely. What had Erik just told her? What had he said? He had no wife? He had no wife! And never had!
“Oh, but decorators are so… professional. If he hires a decorator, his place will look like our living room—too perfect for people to live in.”
That was the first time Kathleen had heard Seth make even a veiled criticism of his sister. Right now, that wasn’t important. Indeed, it barely registered. Her mind was still circulating around what Erik had said. He had no wife. I’ve never been married. The words were repeated in her ears like a chant. The statement meant everything in the world to her.
“Kathleen is too busy to get involved with decorating a bachelor’s apartment,” Erik said.
Had he stressed the word bachelor?
Seth wheeled behind his desk and yawned politely behind his hand. “Excuse me,” he said. “I ate too much lunch.”
Seth seemed oblivious to the tension in the room, an aftershock that vibrated off the walls, a lingering remnant of the revelation that had been spoken moments before. “Tomorrow is Thursday, isn’t it? That’s one of your days off. Did you have anything special planned?”
“No, but I—”
“Erik, you?”
“No.”
“Great. Tomorrow you two can shop all day. When you’re finished, come back to the house and I’ll grill steaks out on the patio.”
Since neither of them said anything to the contrary, Seth considered the matter closed and went on to other things. Kathleen excused herself, leaning down to kiss Seth goodbye and nodding to Erik as she left.
That evening at dinner, the matter of the canceled order came up again. This time, it was Hazel who br
oached it. “I think,” she said, wiping her mouth daintily on the linen napkin, “that Kathleen has far too many responsibilities. How else could she have made such a costly error?” Seth missed the stinging implication and heard only his sister’s concern.
“I didn’t make the error,” Kathleen replied calmly.
“Darling, it doesn’t matter,” Seth said soothingly. “Everything has been taken care of now. We should have the goods within the week.”
“It does matter if someone is accusing me of being incompetent when I am no such thing,” she protested vehemently.
“Hazel didn’t mean that—”
“I’ll decide if and when I have too many responsibilities and deal with it myself. I won’t need anyone else advising me.” She stood up abruptly. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going upstairs to play with Theron.”
Kathleen left the two of them in the dining room and didn’t go down again until she knew Hazel had come upstairs to her suite of rooms.
As she descended the last steps, Seth was being wheeled into his room by George. She was struck by the fatigue she saw around his eyes and mouth. His complexion, which was usually healthfully tanned by the hours of therapy he spent in the heated pool, was gray. Violet shadows under his eyes, which had appeared faint in the daytime, now looked drastically darker in the evening.
“Seth,” she said, squatting down so she could rest her head against his knee. She noticed that George had tactfully withdrawn. “I’m sorry if I sounded out of sorts at dinner. I can’t explain what happened, but you must know that I didn’t cancel that Polo order, no matter what other crises I may have had on my mind at the time.”
She felt the steady pressure of his hand as he stroked her hair. “My sweet Kathleen. I don’t know what happened either, but I’d forgive you no matter what you did. I love you.” His voice was soothing, and his words, which she knew he meant deep in his soul, pierced her heart. She burrowed her head closer against the legs that couldn’t feel the tenderness she felt for him.
“I’ve been worried about you, Seth,” she said quietly. “Are you feeling well these days?” She raised her head and looked closely into his eyes, which were clouded with something she couldn’t define. All she knew was that they didn’t shine with the exhilaration she usually saw there.
“I’m fine. What could be wrong?”
“I don’t know,” she said slowly. “You’d tell me if you didn’t feel well, wouldn’t you?”
“If it would guarantee your love, I’d tell you my deepest, darkest secrets.” He smiled, but his jest fell flat.