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It was there that Callum finally tracked him down.
"I'm sorry as hell to have to bring you the news, Rogue.
We sent word
right off, but we had no way of knowing you'd sent Dick on
with the
Witch and stopped off here."
If Rogan had suffered a blow, he'd covered it well.
But then, thought Callum, he'd always been one to play his
cards close
to his vest, even when he was among friends.
"I reckon you'll be wanting to get on home to your wife?"
He waited for a reaction, and when none was forthcoming,
he
continued.
"We can probably connect with the mail boat if we hurry."
"I'm meeting with a man from Lloyd's at four this
afternoon. I still
have to make arrangements for the crew, or we'll not have
a hand left
by the time we get ready to sail again."
Rogan ceased his pacing and stood at the window
overlooking the
harbor.
He'd been shocked, yet not surprised.
Saddened, yet already he was beginning to accept the loss.
Hetty, bless her, had changed so over the past few years
that she bore
little resemblance to the woman who had dragged him up by
the scruff of
the neck and managed to turn a wild young hellion into a
fairly
respectable citizen.
It hurt like hell to lose her.
But then, he'd been losing her for years.
It might have hurt even more to watch her change beyond
all
recognition.
Soon she would have been unable to take care of her
personal needs,
beholden to strangers.
No, not to strangers.
To Kathleen.
"How's my wife bearing up?"
"Uh, that's something I've been wanting to speak to you
about. Now I
don't want you to take this the wrong way, Rogue."
Callum smoothed a hand down the revers of his pearl-gray
worsted
coat.
He was tempted to back out, but dammit she was hurting!
And if he couldn't have her for himself, at least he could
do this much
for her.
Clearing his throat, he said, "The thing is, Rogan, I
thought maybe now
that--ah, that is, now that you and Kathy--" With a sudden
release of
pent-up energy, Rogan spun around and glared at his
friend.
"Now that Kathy and I what?
Exactly what the devil are you driving at, Cal?
" Here we go, ladies and gentlemen, place your bets.t "
Ix)ok, you know
how it's always been with us, ROgue.
In the past, that is.
I mean, not with Kathy--that's different.
" He ran a finger along the stiff edge of his collar,
wondering why the
hell he hadn't just written a letter telling Rogan that
his step mother
had passed away, and that, by the way, if he didn't need
his wife any
longer, could Callum have her? It would have served the
same purpose,
and he could have remained safely out of the direct line
of fire.
Sensing an ominous quietness in the room, he sorted
through his options
and said cautiously, " Well, the thing is, Kathy's all
alone now.
" " So?
" " So.
Well, a woman don't need to be alone, Rogue.
Not a woman like--" I " Women have always been alone.
Why should my woman be any different?
"Because, dammit, she is! She just is, that's all!"
There was a ring of truth in the statement that startled
Callum perhaps
even more than Rogan.
"If a woman can't get along without having a man living in
her apron
pocket, then she damned well ought to marry a farmer or a
storekeeper!"
"Still, Kathy--" "Her name is Kathleen. Kathleen Rawson.
She married
me knowing damned well what I was!"
Rogan's eyes had narrowed to glittering slits.
His face, perennially bronzed from a life at sea, had
turned an
unngmral shade of gray.
If Callum had happened to look just then, he might have
seen the muscle
clenching beside that angular jaw and begun considering
ways to defuse
the situation.
But he didn't.
Instead, he forged on with the plan he'd devised, the plan
that would
bring Kathy and Rogan together and keep himself from
doing- something
angerously foolish.
Like falling in love with his best friend's wife.
'Look, it's always been a game with us before, Rogue.
But this time I'm not playing.
I want her.
I wanted her the first time I laid eyes on her, and I mean
to have
her.
Naturally, I don't intend to marry her, so whether or not
you want to
apply for a divorce is up to you.
It won't make a speck of difference to Kathy and me.
Look at it from her standpoint, Rogue," he urged." She's
buried alive
there on the island with no man, not even a baby to fill
her time.
At least I can take her places, show her a life she's
never even
dreamed of.
I can dress her the way she deserves to be dressed, and
give her
jewelry and a maid to help her with her hair and her
clothes.
when I'm not there to help her, that is.
" He grinned, calculating the effect of his argument.
Should he turn up the heat another notch?
Sure, why not?
In for a penny, in for a pound.
"You see, I know she already likes me. Once you're out of
the picture,
it'll be a cinch to make her forget any girlish fantasies
she might've
harbored. Oh, she might think she's in love with you now,
but that's
just because--well, hell, how would I know? You're not my
idea of a
hero."
He assayed a laugh that didn't quite come off.
Damn, he was sweating!
He never sweated!
"Poor little fool, she probably thinks you' re romantic.
You
know--tall, dark and absent? The stuff a maiden's dreams
are made o
But Kathy needs more than dreams, Rogue. She deserves
more, and I
intend to see that she--" Rogan's fist shot out with no
notice.
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