"Your bark, sir, is just as irritating as your son's."
"And which son is that?" he asked, a hint of a smile coming into his eyes.
"Caine."
"Is this visitation concerning Caine? Has he done something to offend you? You might as well know
now that Caine's his own man. I won't interfere unless there's real cause."
"No," Jade answered. "This isn't about Caine, though I'm happy to know you have such faith in your eldest son's ability to make his own decisions. By not interfering, you show your pride in your son."
"Then who is it you wish to discuss?" he asked.
"I'm a friend of Colin's."
"You knew him?"
She nodded. "I know him, yes. You see, he's…"
"Dead," he interjected, his tone harsh. "Pagan killed him."
Jade reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. "Look at me, please," she commanded in a soft whisper when he turned his gaze toward the windows.
When Caine's father did as she ordered, she nodded. "What I am about to tell you will be difficult for
you to believe. First, understand this. I have proof."
"Proof?"
She nodded again. "Pagan didn't kill Colin."
"He did."
"I'm sick of hearing about Pagan's sins," she muttered. "Colin…"
"Did Pagan send you to me?"
"Please lower your voice," she returned. "Pagan didn't kill your son," she repeated. "He saved him. Colin's very much alive."
A long minute elapsed before the Duke reacted. His face slowly turned a blotchy shade of red while he stared at her. His eyes turned so cold, she thought he might cause frostbite.
Before he could shout at her again, she said, "I told you I had proof. Are you willing to listen to me or
is your mind so set…"
"I will listen," he returned. "Though if this be some sort of cruel jest, I swear I'll hunt Pagan down
myself and kill him with my bare hands."
"That is a fair exchange for such cruelty," she agreed. "Do you remember the time when Colin had climbed up a giant tree and couldn't get down? He was four or five years old then. Because he was
crying and feeling very cowardly, you promised him you'd never tell anyone. You also convinced him
that it was quite all right to be afraid, that fear was not a sin, that…"
"I remember," the Duke whispered. "I never did te' anyone. How did you…"
"As I just said, Colin told me that story. Many others, too."
"He could have told you these stories before he was killed," the Duke stated.
"Yes, he could have, but he didn't. Pagan fished Colin out of the ocean. Your son was in sorry shape.
Do you know the physician, Sir Winters?"
"He's my personal physician," the Duke muttered.
"Don't you think it odd that he disappeared?"
The anger was slowly easing away from the elderly man's expression. "I do think that odd," he admitted.
"We took him," Jade explained. "He was needed to tend to Colin. I thought it important that your son have his family physician. He was in terrible pain, sir, and I wanted him to have as many familiar comforts as possible."
Jade nibbled on her lower lip while she contemplated another way to convince him. He still looked disbelieving to her. "Colin has a birthmark on his backside," she suddenly blurted out. "I know because
I took care of him until Jimbo and Matthew could take Winters captive. There! Is that proof enough for you?"
In answer to that question, the Duke slowly leaned back in his chair. "Proof was sent of Colin's death."
"By whom?"
"The War Office."
"Exactly."
"I don't understand."
"I shall explain after Colin comes home," Jade answered. "Will you explain something to me before I continue to try and convince you?"
"What is it?" he asked, his tone weary.
"Do you happen to know why Colin would make me promise not to tell Caine he was alive? I've learned to trust your eldest son, and I don't understand the reason behind this promise. Colin was half out of his mind at the time, however, and perhaps his mumbling about the Bradley brothers wasn't…"
Caine's father bounded out of his chair again. "Colin is alive."
"Please lower your voice," she ordered. "No one must know."
"Why? I want to shout it to the heavens. My boy is alive."
"I see I've finally convinced you," she countered with a smile. "Please sit down, sir. You look faint to me."
She waited until he'd resumed his seat, then asked, "What was it that made you realize I was telling the truth?"
"When you said that Colin didn't want Caine to know…" He stammered to a stop, then whispered. "Lord, the Bradley brothers. I'd forgotten that incident."
Now it was her turn to look confused. "Why?" she asked, unable to keep the worry out of her voice. "Doesn't he trust his own brother?"
"Oh, no, you misunderstand," he replied. "Colin idolized Caine. I mean to say, he idolizes him. My God, this is difficult to take in."
"But if he idolizes Caine, why would he make me promise not to tell him? You've still to explain. And who, pray tell, are the Bradley brothers?"
The Duke of Williamshire let out a deep chuckle. "When Colin was just eight or nine years old, he came running home with a bloody nose and cut lip. Caine happened to be home. He demanded to know who'd done the damage, and as soon as Colin said that the Bradley brothers were responsible, Caine went charging out the door. Colin tried to stop him, of course. He hadn't told him the number of brothers,
you see. A half hour later, Caine came home as bloody as his brother."
"How many brothers were there?" Jade asked.
"Eight."
"Good heavens, do you mean to say all eight brothers attacked Colin and…"
"No, only one went after Colin, a boy named Samuel if I remember correctly. Anyway, Samuel must have known Caine would retaliate, and he raced home to get his own reinforcements."
"Caine could have been killed," she whispered.
"Actually, my dear, your sympathy should be for the Bradley brothers. Caine was only going to put the fear of God into the boy who'd hurt Colin, but when they came at him in force, he gave them what for! My boy gave equal measure."
Jade shook her head. She didn't find the horrid story the least bit amusing. Yet Caine's father was smiling like a proud papa.
"And so you see, my dear, it isn't out of mistrust that Colin made you give your promise. It's just that Colin knows Caine very well. Colin must be thinking to protect Caine until he can explain the full situation to him. He doesn't want him charging into another group of Bradleys again. Of the two, Colin's always been the more cautious. Caine didn't know Colin was working for our government," he added. "As to that, I didn't know either. I never would have allowed it, especially when I learned that Sir Richards wasn't his superior."