Wicked Forest (DeBeers 2)

"Frustrated and alone, he claims, he was vulnerable to Grace's young charm. She worshiped and admired him so much it made his head spin, and he gave in to temptation. Yadda. yadda..." Thatcher added, waving his hand in the air.

"I got into the business about my mother, and that's when his disposition and confidence took a nosedive. His lips actually began to tremble with his denials: If I was seeking to start some sort of lawsuit... on and on, until he produced some hard evidence that I could follow up and, as I told you. confirm,

"We returned to talking about Grace and Jackie Lee. He claimed Grace was always quite an

introverted girl, had few friends and hardly socialized. She was content living through his experiences and would sit for hours and hours to hear him describe his travels, his adventures. He made himself sound like Othello charming Desdemona with tales of battle and journeys to exotic lands.

"Of course. according to him, he never realized how attached to him she was becoming. She was a very beautiful young woman, and when she enticed him, he weakened. Once he realized what he had done, he says, he made the decision himself to leave Joya del Mar,

"I told him if he continued to spread such a fantastic tale, especially now. I would indeed take him to court. He surprised me by 'mowing all about you and confidently declared that your existence and Grace's affair at some clinic demonstrated the truth of what he was saying and had been claiming as a defense. In other words. he wasn't a bit frightened of me when it came to that and. instead. suddenly showed great interest in you."

"In me?" "He was intrigued and began asking all sorts of questions."

"Like what?"

"Just questions." Thatcher replied quickly. "I told him if he should so much as come within ten yards of you. I would personally put him in a permanent coma. I wanted to leap over the table at that point and choke him. but Jill came out and I had to be civilized. My eyes continued the hot threat. and I'm sure he understood I was serious.

"Anyway. I followed up on his information, leading me to the wonderful conclusion that he is by no stretch of the imagination my father. After having met him and seen what a shrewd, conniving, and unfortunately charming rogue he can be. I was happy to disprove what my sister and my mother were trying to convince me to believe. It made me even angrier, and I told my sister off like I have never told her. By the time I was finished. she was crying over the phone."

"I hope they weren't crocodile tears," I said. and he laughed.

"Amway. for now it might be better if you didn't tell Grace and especially Linden that Kirby is in Palm Beach, I'm sure he won't be here long. Jill has her own luxury ship and was already talking about going over to Barbados." Thatcher said.

I agreed.

Afterward. when we returned to Joya del Mar, he walked me down to the beach house. We kissed and said good night. He told me that as soon as he returned from Miami, he would call and we would begin to plan our wedding.

"I want Grace to do as much as she wants," he said, "but let's keep the pressure off her. too."

"Will your mother want anything to do with it?" I wondered aloud.

"You can be sure she will," he assured me. "It's a Palm Beach high event. She won't be able to ignore it. In fact. I'll make this prediction right now: We'll have our hands full keeping her from taking over the entire affair."

"Don't worry. I'll see she doesn't do that." He laughed.

"Don't underestimate the tenacity of a Palm Beach socialite when the opportunity to ring bells, direct spotlights, and impress the town comes up." he warned,

"I should think our wedding will be more special," I said.

"That's the point. So will she. You'll see," he said with a chuckle. He kissed me again, and returned to the main house.

When I stepped onto our loggia. I almost didn't see Linden sitting in the corner in the shadows. He didn't acknowledge me.

He sat so still. I was afraid he had wandered out in his sleep again and was actually asleep in the chair.

"Linden?"

Slowly, he turned, but he didn't speak.

"Why are you out here so late? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he said with remarkable alertness. "Sometimes, I like to stare out at the sta. Most people think it looks the same all the time, but they don't see the changes in the water, the movement of starlight and moonlight and even the fish. You can tell the future by studying the sea at night."

"How?"

"It takes practice. You learn by watching how far away the darkness stays, where it is. It comes from the horizon," he said, nodding toward it. "It's coming closer and closer. That's not good."

"Linden, you must not dwell on dark and sad things." I told him.