Even a Governor could
not kill a woman without cause, and Stephen was astute enough to know
it. The political winds, to which his father was not immune, were
shifting. A move toward reconciliation had begun, and such acts of
wanton violence, as well as the men who employed them, were rapidly
losing favor in the eyes of the Court. Also, his father had made many
enemies in his rise to power, men who would use such a thing against
him, as they had tried to use the escaped prisoners. To burn a corpse
as a scare tactic was one thing. To murder a woman in cold blood was
quite another. Not that the younger man put it to himself in this way.
He did not have to. He knew the realities, and he knew the man. His
father was bluffing.
The woman was startled out of her black study by the last sound on
earth she expected. Rather than the slow, sinister footsteps she had
tried to anticipate, she was called back instead by the sound,
infinitely more mocking than laughter, of strong male hands striking
together. She looked up, and he was clapping!
"Madame," he said, "I salute you.
Pages:
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173