Radclyffe - Word of Honor

Diane curled up beside her on the deep red sofa, drawing her legs up beneath her and turning sideways to face Blair. “I got an e-mail from Emory. She’s coming into the city tomorrow for some kind of grant meeting and she mentioned she was going to spend a few days here before heading out to Colorado. I invited her to get together with us while we put the finishing touches on the wedding plans. Do you mind?”

“No, that’s great. I like Emory.” Blair stared moodily into her wine. “I’d offer for her to stay at my place, but who would want to stay there? I don’t even want to stay there.”

“I already told her she could stay with me, but she said she was fine at the hotel.” Diane tapped a polished fingernail on Blair’s knee. “What’s Cam done, sweetie?”

“What makes you think it’s her?”

“You’re fretting. Lucinda annoys you. Nosy reporters make you swear. I have even been known to irritate you now and then. But only Cam makes you fret and pine.”

“I’m not pining. I’m pissed off.”

“Okay.” Diane stroked Blair’s leg, then patted it. “So. Tell.”

“Lucinda had the bright idea of assigning a reporter to cover the wedding, and Cam agrees.”

Diane frowned. “You knew you were going to create a buzz. After the press announcement this morning, I’m surprised you don’t already have a news van parked in front of your building.”

“I do. Three of them.” Blair grimaced. “Fortunately, they can’t come within thirty feet of the entrance, so all they can do is yell questions. This situation is different.”

“What, Lucinda promised some reporter a one-on-one? You’ve done plenty of interviews before.”

“We’re not talking an interview,” Blair said glumly. “We’re talking a member of the wedding. She’s showing up tomorrow and she’s going to be with us all day, every day, until this is over.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m not.”

“And you agreed?” Diane got up to refill their glasses. “Why?”

“ I didn’t agree. Lucinda ordered it and Cam backed her.” Blair waved Diane and the wine away. She hadn’t even finished half a glass yet. She hated being at odds with Cam. For so many years, anger had fueled her life. Her resistance to the restrictions imposed by her father’s career had actually invigorated her. Certainly, her rage had inspired some of her best paintings. Since Cam, she had learned to compromise, and the new balance in her life had led her in surprising new directions in her art. She didn’t resent the changes, but there were times, like now, when she needed Cam to take her part. And it hurt when she didn’t. “You know what it’s like saying no to Lucinda.”

“But that’s not what has you drinking wine on my sofa in the middle of the night.”

“It’s silly, but I want Cam to care about the wedding like I do.”

Diane wrapped her arm around Blair’s shoulders and hugged her. “Congratulations. I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard you say that you wanted something from a lover before. Other than hot sex, that is.”

Blair laughed. “That’s one thing I never have to request from Cam.”

“Don’t gloat.”

“You should talk,” Blair teased. “If wanting something from her is such a good thing, why does it feel lousy?”

“Just because we want something doesn’t mean we’re going to get it, or even that we should. But we rarely want things from people we don’t care about, and you never let yourself care before.”

“You already know I’m crazy about her.”

“I know,” Diane said, “but that’s not the same thing.” Diane rubbed Blair’s shoulder. “But she probably can’t read your mind, so you’ll have to tell her what you need.”

“It sounds silly when I say it out loud.”

“No it doesn’t.”

Blair sighed. “Besides, she’s not going to change her mind about the reporter.”

“Cam doesn’t strike me as the type who likes publicity any more than you do. Why is she going along with it?”

Blair said nothing.

“Aha. What aren’t you telling me?”

“Cam thinks it will make security easier because we’ll be able to limit my exposure. Fewer press conferences, fewer interviews. You know the drill.”

Diane laughed. “You don’t really expect Cam to say no to anything that’s going to keep you safe?”

“I am safe,” Blair said vehemently. “Have you looked outside your door? Hara will be there until I come out. And there are more downstairs, outside the building and in the car.”

“Well, I happen to be glad about that. I wish Valerie had people following her everywhere she went.” Abruptly, Diane stood and strode to the balcony doors. She wrapped her arms around her body as if she were cold. “I know the lack of privacy is horrible for you.” She spun around, her eyes fierce. “But you have a team of experts to keep you safe. No one is protecting her.”

“I’m sorry,” Blair said softly. “I should be grateful, and I’m not. And you must be sick with worry over her.”

Diane pushed her fingers through her hair and heaved a deep breath. “I want to believe that no one cares about her or about what she might know any longer, but it’s hard. I know that agents like her have very little connection to one another, and almost no one except their handlers even know who they are. But every time she walks out the door…”

“You’re afraid she won’t come back,” Blair said, voicing their shared nightmare.

“I can’t tell her because she already thinks I’ll be better off without her.”

“God, they don’t get it, do they?” Blair said in exasperation.

Diane laughed. “Which part? That if we’d be better off without them, we wouldn’t be so terrified of losing them?”

“For starters.” Blair held out her hand and Diane took it, settling beside her on the couch once again.

“So,” Diane said. “Tell me about this reporter.”

“The only good thing about this,” Blair said, “is that she’s not any happier about it than I am. Dana Barnett. She’s—”

“The investigative reporter? I’ve seen her on television. God, she’s gorgeous.”

Blair leaned back and regarded Diane through narrowed lids. “I thought you were off the market?”

“Off the market, yes. Dead and buried, no.”

Blair laughed. “She’s very good looking. She also seems tough and smart and doesn’t want this assignment. So maybe she won’t bother us very much.”

“She can bother me all she wants,” Diane muttered.

“Well, don’t expect me to run interference. I’m out of practice.” Blair nudged her. “And don’t forget that Valerie is armed.”

Diane smiled. “I never thought I’d say this, but I really can’t imagine being with anyone except her. God, that is terrifying.”

Blair leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “Tell me about it.”

Paula Stark rubbed her eyes and picked up the most recent stack of intelligence reports in one hand and a cold cup of coffee in the other. She sipped absently while scanning the memos from that day’s summaries, focusing on the sections that had been highlighted by Iggie Jackson, the acting communications coordinator while Mac was in Colorado. She paid particular attention to anything mentioning Andrew Powell, New York City, the Midwest, patriot organizations, or Blair. Five of the twenty pages were devoted to excerpts from newspaper articles, Web posts, speeches, or other responses to the official White House press release regarding the upcoming wedding. All of the usual suspects were represented—fundamentalist Christians, the Roman Catholic Assembly of Archbishops, the Anglicans, and any number of other religious institutions opposed to gay marriage—but what interested her most were several statements from patriot organization leaders. She circled one from Randolph Hogan.