Canvas Skies (Reliance on Citizens Makes Us Great!) (20 page)

“You're sure about this?” Keira said, after
Aimee left.

I pulled her onto my lap and embraced her.
“All children need love and security. We've got plenty of love, and
if anyone can keep those two safe, we can.”

“I think we should celebrate.”

“Because we're finally alone together?” I
asked.

“Yes, and because Aimee finally talked about
that little one of hers. You have no idea how long I've been
waiting for that.”

“Oh, yes I do. It's practically all you've
talked about for the past year.”

Keira stood and moved in front of the wine
rack. “I have not! Red or white?”

“How about purple?”

She turned and gave me the evil eye. “I'll
just choose then.” She grabbed a bottle and two long stemmed wine
glasses.

I followed her into the bedroom and flipped
the lights off behind us before closing the door with a click.
Keira placed the bottle of wine and the glasses on a small wooden
desk by the window. I moved to stand behind her. Pockets of the
city were bathed in light, little puddles in a sea of darkness. She
leaned against me, and I wrapped my arms around her. Her hair
smelled fresh, like lilacs.

“Do you want children of your own someday?”
I asked. It was something we'd never discussed.

“Is that a question you're allowed to ask a
lady?” she teased.

“To hell with what I'm allowed to ask!” I
said, using one of her favorite phrases.

Keira grinned. “Okay then. I'm not exactly
the motherly type, but...”

“But what?”

“Well, raising Noah and Nadine would be
different. They're like me. I hope it won't come to that though
because they belong with Scott and Dani.”

“So you don't want children of your
own?”

She leaned her head against my shoulder and
looked up at me. “Have you looked around lately? Do you seriously
want to bring a child into this mess of a world?”

Usually, I saw the lights. Tonight, I
focused on the darkness. “What if we can make it better?”

“Maybe. If we make it a whole lot
better.”

I gave her a gentle squeeze. “You're still
worried about her.”

Keira nodded. “She's all broken up about
Hisoka.”

My arms dropped to my sides. Keira leaned
forward, then she popped the cork and poured the wine. I accepted
one of the glasses and raised it to my lips.

“And she won't talk to me about him either.
I think she's worried I'll say, 'I told you so.'”

“Would you?”

“Of course not!”

“If that's all you're worried about, you can
relax. We talked about it while you were in the bath.”

“She talked to you about her love life?”
Keira's bright green eyes widened.

“Why does that surprise you?” I ran my
finger down her cheek. “Don't you feel like you can talk to
me?”

“Well yes, but Aimee's not like that. Since
she moved back, we've been struggling to communicate about...well,
just about everything.”

Keira sat cross-legged in the middle of the
bed and sipped her wine. I laid down on my side, balancing my glass
on top of the dark blue comforter, and waited for her to
continue.

“And there have been a lot of secrets
between us too.”

“I'm not keeping secrets from you. We just
haven't had much chance to talk freely. I don't like it any more
than you.”

“No secrets, huh?”

I shook my head. “No secrets.”

“How well do you know Adira?”

I swallowed the rest of my wine in one gulp.
Are we really going to have that discussion now? I kept my voice
steady. “How well do you know Cole?”

“You know all about Cole! I never kept that
from you.” Her eyes flashed. Angry already.

“He seemed awfully friendly for someone you
claim doesn't care about you.”

She finished her drink and reached over to
set the empty glass on the bedside table. “I never said he didn't
care about me. I said he didn't love me.”

Honesty. Honesty is best. “Yes. Alright?
Yes.” I sat up and set my empty glass next to hers.

“What do you mean, yes?” Her eyelids
narrowed suspiciously.

I shrugged. “I've slept with Adira. That's
what you're really asking, isn't it? It was before we met. We've
both been with other people. That's never been a secret.”

“Yes, but,” she sputtered. “Of all people,
why her?”

“If she'd shown any interest, she could have
been a terrific asset to our cause.”

“An asset to the cause? Is that how you see
me?”

“No, you're more of a liability.”

“What?”

I grinned and pinned her to the bed.
“Promise me you won't kill her.”

Surprisingly, she became still and said,
“Aimee told you about that too?”

“No.” I pulled back and studied her
carefully. She turned her head, refusing to meet my gaze. “Promise
me,” I whispered.

“Oh, fine! I won't touch her.”

“Good. Because even though Cole loves you,
I'm not considering anything of the sort.”

She shook her head fiercely. “He doesn't,
and you wouldn't. That's not your style. And it doesn't matter how
he feels about me anyway because I don't love him.”

I shifted my left hand to the bed and put
all my weight on it. With the other, I gently traced along her
jawline. When she finally turned to look at me I continued,
confident that I had her full attention. “Yet another reason for
the Adira-Cole comparison. You have nothing to worry about.”

“Prove it,” she said.

I was glad to see the twinkle return to her
eyes.

I'm in the study. What a mess! This is going
to take all day! I pick up a large leather bound volume titled, The
Inner Workings of the Gov. I place it on top of a stack that needs
to be shelved – G for Gov. And then another, this one with a bright
red cover, Trust and Murder. Hmm... T for trust or M for Murder? A
loud pounding thunders all around me. What is that? I stand and
hurry to the window, the books forgotten. It's Ashton. My heart
goes out to him. Where has he been? No matter, he's here now, and
he's building a pagoda in the garden. It will be perfect for the
wedding, if only he can finish it in time.

“There will be no wedding.” Mr. Beckett
rests his hands on my shoulders.

Darkness surrounds me, and a scream pierces
the night.

***

I gripped the sheets and wondered, Was that
me? No. Someone was still screaming. I pushed my blankets to the
side and climbed out of bed. Keira? My heart thundered in my ears,
and my mouth ran dry. Will we never be safe? My feet sank into the
plush carpet, cream in the moonlight, as I hurried to her room.
Should I grab a knife? No. No matter what, I can never do that
again. I hesitated with my hand on the cool silver door handle as I
heard yet another scream. That's when I remembered. Guy! He'd come
by for a visit, and those weren't screams of pain.

My hand flew to my mouth, and I bit hard on
my knuckles. I spun around and slid to the floor, shivering long
after quiet had returned to the night. I wrapped my arms around my
legs and squeezed, letting the tears run their course.

When I could cry no more, I pushed up on
shaky legs and meandered into the kitchen for Noah's remedy of
chocolat chaud. It was worth a try, but sleep would likely be a
stranger tonight. I curled my fingers around the warm mug, settled
on the sofa in the living room and turned on the teleview. Images
of Keira and Guy flitted across the vidscreen. Guy leaped up onto
the stage and took the microphone. He walked across the dance floor
and knelt down on one knee. I kept the volume turned low and
studied their expressions. Will I ever have someone like that? Then
will I be able to forget?

“We're nearly there. It's just ahead on the
right.” Eberhardt looked at me in the rear view mirror.

I quickly rubbed my hands up and down my
arms, trying to fend off goosebumps that threatened to appear
despite the heat. Beatrice Burke had offered her front parlor for
our first committee meeting. After her speech at the benefit, she'd
sought me out and suggested that my apartment was not suitable for
hosting social events or committee meetings. I should have been
insulted, but instead, I'd agreed with her. My apartment was no
place for a group of Elite women hell-bent on keeping money within
their own ranks. In my sanctuary, they were not welcome.

“You two need to start looking for suitable
housing so it will be ready once you're married,” Beatrice had
said.

That was something else Guy and I needed to
discuss. He already knew how I felt about overspending, so I didn't
think it would take much to convince him to let me move back into
his apartment rather than buying, or building, a house that was
much too big for two people.

Eberhardt slowly guided the car through
black iron gates and drove for what felt like miles beneath two
rows of maple trees. Their branches formed a green canopy overhead.
Beyond the trees, gardens of flowers in full bloom displayed their
colorful dresses of red, blue, purple, yellow and orange. When the
elegant yellow two story manor came into view, I could only stare.
The car slowed and then stopped. This was where Guy had grown
up?

Eberhardt walked around and opened my door.
He smiled reassuringly and held out his hand. “Well, are you going
in or not? That meeting isn't going to run itself, you know.”

I blew out a breath of air. “Okay, I can do
this.” From the seat next to me, I picked up a brand new pad of
paper, Aimee's black leather folder and a fountain pen. Then I
accepted Eberhardt's outstretched hand.

“You'll be back in an hour?” I asked.

“Don't worry.” He patted my hand. “I don't
plan on leaving today. I'll just hang out in the kitchen with the
butler and cook. Send Cadence back to get me when you're ready to
go, okay?”

“Cadence?”

“The maid.”

“Okay.” I nodded with relief but was nervous
all over again when I knocked on the front door. I was used to big
houses but from a back door, illegal entry point of view. The
butler greeted me and held the door wide open. He then showed me to
the parlor.

Adira sat on a white davenport, her legs
crossed at the ankles. She sipped tea out of a dainty porcelain
teacup. Today, she wore a long black sundress with a fine blue
print. A light blue ribbon kept her long blond hair out of her
face. She looked up when I arrived.

“What are you doing here?” I asked in a
pointedly unfriendly manner.

“Keeping an eye on you.” She sat back and
took another sip.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“It means I don't trust you.”

I sighed. “And why not, Adira? What have I
ever done to you?”

Her eyes narrowed. “What do you want with
Richard?” When I didn't answer, she continued, “I don't think you
are who you say you are. People talk, you know.”

I rolled my eyes. “And just what do they
say?”

“That Kendra James has been in Tkaron much
longer than you claim.”

“You're delusional.” I turned and walked to
the opposite side of the room. There I placed my materials on a
small wooden table and sat on a light green upholstered chair. Then
I proceeded to ignore Adira. Cadence entered and offered me a cup
of tea. I thanked her but declined. It would be too tempting to
throw it in Adira's face.

Before long, the next three women arrived,
one right after the other. Then two more entered the parlor,
arm-in-arm, chatting and giggling. In all, nine women had joined
this committee, just like the nine members of Parliament, I
realized.

As head of the committee, I told the ladies
that I thought we should always begin on time with a rundown of the
agenda and save socializing for the end. Guy had given me some
pointers on how to run a productive meeting. Even though his mother
wasn't a member of this committee, she stopped by to see how it was
going.

The last item on the agenda led to a heated
debate, so I suggested tabling the discussion. “You've all offered
some excellent suggestions, and I think we're off to a wonderful
start. I'll discuss our ideas with Mrs. Burke before contacting the
orphanages we've selected. I'm confident that we can begin helping
these children by the end of the week.” I smiled graciously at the
ladies. “Shall we meet again next week, to discuss other fund
raising options?” And so it was decided.

As the women around me began to preen,
criticize and discuss topics I could care less about, I shifted in
my seat and finally accepted a cup of tea to quiet my hands.

“What a surprise,” said Adira. A few of the
women looked at her, as did I. “The way Richard popped the question
at the benefit,” she clarified.

The others smiled and turned to me.

“Yes, it was.” When I said nothing more, an
uncomfortable silence began to grow.

Adira glanced at the girl on her left and
nudged her with her elbow.

“Has Richard cooked for you yet?” the girl
asked.

I stared at her refusing to give Adira any
sort of reaction.

The girl squirmed under my intense gaze.
“I've just heard that he's a superb cook,” she finished meekly and
looked down at her hands.

After that, the others began to politely
excuse themselves. Adira was the last to leave. She stood and
walked directly to Mrs. Burke. “Thank you for allowing us to use
your beautiful home today.” Then she turned to me. “I'd like to
offer one of the smaller conference rooms at the Justice Center for
future meetings. My father said it would be all right.”

“Thank you, Adira,” I said in a stiff voice.
“But I think we'll continue to meet here for now, if that's alright
with you, Mrs. Burke?” I didn't really like either option, but in
this case, the Burke estate was the better choice.