Julie Garwood - The Gift

Sara didn't want to talk about Nathan, but she felt it would be rude not to show some interest. "Oh? And what might those qualities be?" she asked.

Jade opened her mouth to answer, then stopped. She looked as if she'd forgotten the topic. She turned to Caine for assistance. "Explain Nathan's wonderful qualities to Sara."

"You explain them," Caine replied as he reached for another sweet biscuit.

That statement earned him another kick under the table. He glared at his wife, then said, "Nathan's trustworthy."

"He might be trustworthy, but he certainly doesn't trust anyone else," Sara said. She started to fold her napkin.

"The boy's got courage," Jimbo blurted out. He grinned, too, for he was inordinately pleased to have come up with something.

"He's remarkably… tidy," Jade said. Even as she gave that bit of praise she wondered if she was right,

Sara neither agreed nor disagreed. Caine decided they were taking the wrong approach. His hand covered Jade's, and when she looked over at him he gave her a conspiratorial wink. "Nathan's probably the most stubborn man I've ever known."

"He might be a little stubborn," Sara immediately countered, "but that certainly isn't a sin." She turned her gaze to Jade. "Your brother reminds me of a beautifully sculptured statue. On the outside he's so handsome, so perfect, but inside his heart is as cold as marble."

Jade smiled. "I never considered Nathan beautiful," she said.

"Sara can't possibly consider him beautiful." Caine squeezed his wife's hand before adding, "Nathan's an ugly bastard, and everyone knows it. His back is covered with scars, for God's sake."

Sara let out a loud gasp, but Caine held his grin. At last they were getting her to show a little emotion.

"It was a woman who scarred Nathan's back," Sara cried out. "And it was this same woman who scarred his heart."

She tossed her napkin on the table and stood up. "Nathan isn't ugly, sir. He's incredibly handsome. I think it's dreadful that his own brother-in-law would say such insulting things about him. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go upstairs."

Jimbo frowned at Caine for upsetting Sara, then chased after her to make certain she did in fact go back above the stairs.

"Caine, you've upset her to the point where you're going to have to apologize," Jade told her husband.

Just then, Jimbo came rushing back into the dining room. "Sara's looking in on the little mite now," he said. "Tell me why you snatched her letter out of my hands. You weren't thinking I'd actually deliver the thing, were you?"

"The letter's in my pocket," Caine said. "I took it from you because I wanted to read it."

"Caine that's an invasion… what did it say?" Jade asked.

"Just what Sara told us she'd written," Caine answered. "She requests an audience to discuss the contract."

"I'm assuming the boy's put together some sort of plan," Jimbo interjected.

"Yes," Caine answered.

"What did Sara mean when she said it was a woman who scarred Nathan's back? Who planted that misinformation in her mind? It was the fire that trapped him inside the prison."

"But wasn't Ariah responsible for having him locked up?"

"She was," Jimbo admitted. "It happened so many years ago, I doubt Nathan even holds a grudge. He came through it seasoned, to my way of thinking, and we didn't leave the island without a full booty to share amongst ourselves."

Caine stood up. "I've got a couple of details of my own to see about. I won't be home until late, Jade. Sir Richards and I have a little business to discuss."

"Why do you need to talk to the director of the War Department?" she asked. She couldn't hide her fear. "Caine, you haven't started back doing secret work for our government without discussing the matter with me first, have you? You promised-"

"Hush, love," Caine soothed. "I'm helping Nathan sort out a little matter, that's all. I'm fully retired and have no desire to return to the cloak-and-dagger days."

Jade looked relieved. Caine leaned down and kissed her. "I love you," he whispered before he started for the doorway.

"Just one minute," Jade called out. "You still haven't explained to me why you deliberately riled Sara up. Caine, we already know she loves him. All you have to do is look at her face to know that."

"Yes, we know she loves him," Caine said. "I just wanted to remind her," he continued. His grin turned devilish. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've just thought of a few more endearments, and I want to write them down before I leave."

He left Jimbo and Jade staring after him.

For the first time that day Sara was able to stop thinking about Nathan. Little Olivia took her full attention. She was a beautiful infant. One minute she was smiling and drooling, and the next she was bellowing like an opera singer.

Olivia had her mother's green eyes. The sprinkle of dark hair on her crown looked like it might curl just like her father's. Sterns hovered by Sara's side the entire time she held the baby.

"I fear my little love has inherited her Uncle Nathan's inclination to bellow. She can be as loud as he is," Sterns confessed with a smile. "Olivia's wanting immediate gratification," he explained when the babe began to fret in earnest.

He took Olivia back into his arms and held her close. "Shall we go and find your mama, my little angel?" he crooned to the infant.

Sara was reluctant to go back to her room. It was lonely there, and she knew her problems would once again overpower her.

She went to bed early that night, and because she was so emotionally distraught she slept the full night through. She vaguely remembered cuddling up against her husband, knew he had slept next to her, for his side of the bed was still warm, and she came to the sorry conclusion that Nathan was still too angry with her to bother waking her up. He must still believe she'd betrayed him, she thought to herself.

Needless to say, that possibility infuriated her all over again. She worked herself into a rage by the time she'd finished her bath. Even though she'd rested long, uninterrupted hours she felt as refreshed as an old, wrung-out hag. She thought she looked like one, too.

There were dark half circles under her eyes, and her hair was as limp as her spirits. Sara wanted to look her best when she went to plead with the prince regent. She fretted over which gown to wear, just to take her mind off the real issue at hand, and finally settled on a conservative, high-necked pink walking dress.

Like a wallflower at a formal ball Sara sat in the corner of the bedroom all morning long, waiting for the invitation that never arrived.

She refused luncheon and spent a good portion of the afternoon pacing her room while she tried to figure out what her next step would be. It was terribly upsetting to her that the prince regent had ignored her urgent request. Caine had been right, she decided, when he'd said that the prince wasn't interested in the problems of his subjects.

Caine knocked on her door then, interrupting her thoughts. "Sara, we have a little errand to do," he said.

"Where are we going?" she asked. She started to put on her white gloves, then stopped. "I shouldn't go out," she explained. "The prince regent might still send word to me."

"You have to come with me," Caine ordered. "I don't have time to explain, Sara. Nathan wants you to meet him at the War Department offices in a half hour's time."

"Why?"

"I'll let your husband explain."

"Who else is going to be there? Why do we have to meet at the War Department?"

Caine was terribly smooth when it came to evading her questions. Jade was waiting in the foyer. Olivia was draped over her shoulder. "It's all going to turn out just fine," she told Sara. She was diligently patting her daughter's back.

The baby let out a loud belch. The sound made everyone smile. Caine kissed his wife and daughter good-bye, then gently nudged Sara out the front door.