Fate's Intervention (48 page)

As
the four of them settled in at the dinner table, she said a quick prayer, and even added the sign of the cross as good
measure
, even though she
’
d been raised a Protestant.
As
far as she was concerned, she
’
d try every religion under the sun to ensure that God answered her prayers for an uneventful meal.

It
seemed to work. While dinner was a morbid affair and the conversation was nearly nonexistent, nothing untoward happened, and by the time
the maid served the dessert
, Lilith began to
breathe
a little easier.
S
he did her best to be a gracious hostess,
but
no one responded to her endeavors more than one word at a time, so she finally abandoned the effort and simply finished her meal as quickly as
the maid
placed
it
before her.
A
quick glimpse at the others showed that they were inhaling their food just as quickly. She sighed audibly in relief.

“
A
re
you tired, Mother?
”
Matthew asked, returning a spoonful of crème brûlée to his plate.

“
Only slightly, dear,
”
Lilith admitted.
“
It has been a
rather
trying couple of days for me.
”

“
Why don
’
t you go ahead and retire for the night? Mark and I obviously have business to conclude, and I
’
m sure
Elizabeth
can find something to amuse herself with until we
’
re done.
”

“
A
re
you sure that would be all right,
Elizabeth
, dear?
A
fter
all, this is your first visit to
Daragh manor
, and I feel I may be failing in my duties as hostess if I leave you to your own devices.
”

“
Quite,
”
Elizabeth said shortly.

“
Very well,
”
Lilith said, sliding her chair back. Matthew got to his feet to assist her.
“
I
’
ll bid you all a good evening. I wish I could say that this has been a pleasant affair, but I find dishonesty reprehensible.
”

Mark and Elizabeth had the good sense to look abashed at the insult, but Matthew merely smiled and kissed his mother on the cheek. 

“
Well, hopefully, all this will be behind us soon and we can get on with our lives,
”
he said, escorting her from the dining room.
“
If it will help any, try dwelling on our upcoming trip instead of all the unpleasant business affairs.
”

“
You are a good boy, Matthew,
”
Lilith said, stopping at the foot of the stairs.
“
I don
’
t think I ever told you that, but you are.
”

“
Thank
you, Mother,
”
Matthew said.
“
I do try.
”

“
I know. I also know that I
’
ve tried to persuade you on more than one occasion to return home, but I never really meant it. That
’
s why I never pressed harder than I did.
”

Matthew
’
s brow knitted at that,
“
A
re
you saying you don
’
t want me here?
”

“
That
’
s
exactly what I
’
m saying,
”
Lilith said,
“
a
nd
before you go getting overly upset, I
’
m glad you left when you did and had the common sense to stay gone. You are who you are today because of that decision: a wonderful, caring, hardworking, moral man. In fact, I shudder to think what would have happened had you remained under your
father
’
s sphere of influence.
I love your brother, make no mistake. I brought him into this world just like you, but can you imagine there being two men like him in this world?
”
Matthew shuddered at that thought and Lilith laughed softly,
“
E
xactly
.
A
ny
way, I told you that
,
because I wanted you to know that, while I was sad
at
not being able to see you more often, I would have been devastated if you
’
d returned.
”

“
I love you, Mother,
”
Matthew said, giving her a tight hug.

“
I love you, too,
”
Lilith said, then pulled away,
“
a
nd
now I
’
ll leave you with one more warning before I go up those stairs. Be leery of your brother, Matthew,
”
she said, and then
rose
a hand to prevent the interruption that she knew was coming.
“
I know that you are a strong, capable man, but you don
’
t know Mark all that well, or what he
’
s capable of. Just promise me you will handle him with kid gloves.
”

“
I promise that I will
try
to
inform Mark of the sale of the business with concern for his sensitivity. Is that sufficient to put your mind at ease?
”

“
Not really, for in reality, I fear that no matter how cautiously you handle the situation, Mark will not respond well.
”

“
I will do what I can to ease his concerns, but he
’
s twenty-eight-years-old, Mother. Not a baby. If he can
’
t accept something without acting childish, then there
’
s hardly anything that I can do about that.
”

“
A
ny
thing you can do about what, Matthew?
”
Mark said, exiting the dining room,
Elizabeth
in tow.

“
Nothing, Mark.
”

“
Were you planning
to leave
us in the dining room all evening, by the way?
”
Mark asked.

“
I was just on my way to fetch you.
”

“
Well, good night all,
”
Lilith said, heading up the stairs.
“
Do remember what I said, Matthew.
”

“
I will mother,
”
Matthew replied.
“
Pleasant dreams.
”

“
Good night, Mother,
”
Mark added, almost as an afterthought.

Matthew waited until his mother reached the landing, then turned back to his brother,
“
Let
’
s move our business into the study. We have much to discuss.
Elizabeth
,
”
he continued, turning his attention toward Mark
’
s wife,
“
you go to the
library,
and wait for Mark. I
’
m sure you can find something suitable to read. My parents have an extensive library.
”

Without a word in response,
Elizabeth
turned away and headed in the direction that Matthew indicated. He could see that the few days she
’
d spent with Mark had already aged her beyond her years, and wished he could feel more pity for her, but she
’
d invited the situation and earned the consequences.

“
S
hall we?
”
Matthew said, then turned and headed for the study. Despite the confidence that his decision regarding the company was the right one, his mother
’
s warning voice nagged at the back of his mind. Was his brother
as
unstable as she portrayed him to be? If so, where did he develop that trait?

Yes, their
father
had been a driven man, determined to succeed and to protect the family
’
s name at all costs, but had he become unstable in his later years. Matthew wouldn
’
t know. He
’
d only visited his mother when she sent a telegram informing him that Edward was out of town.
Still, Mark had to have obtained his personality characteristics from somewhere and that somewhere definitely wasn
’
t their mother.

“
Have a seat,
”
Matthew said the moment the study door closed, eager to conclude this nasty affair. He settled behind his
father
’
s large oak desk and immediately pulled his Gladstone bag from beneath. He unfastened the straps and laid open the bag, then slid some papers from the compartment on the left.

Mark
’
s impatience showed in the strumming of his fingers on the arm of his chair,
“
Could
we get on with this? It
’
s a long ride back to town.
”

Matthew sighed, ignoring his brother
’
s baiting impatience.
“
The
first set of documentation I need you to review will outline, in detail, the plans for Daragh Steel.
”
He slid the papers across the desk, but wasn
’
t surprised when Mark simply stared at them dumbly.
“
I duplicated the documentation as a courtesy for you, so you can read it now or take it with you.
”

Mark sat frozen. The way Matthew was talking held implications of something other than a simple signature turning possession of Daragh Steel over to him, as he anticipated. He shook his
head to clear his thoughts so that he could hear what his brother was saying. He
’
d already missed the first part.

“
Because
they
’
ve been running the company since
father
’
s retirement ten years ago, it seemed only right . . . ,
”

“
Wait a minute! What are you talking about? I
’
ve been running the company since
Father
’
s retirement. Who are
‘
they
’
?
”

“
Okay, let
’
s start again,
”
Matthew said calmly, hoping that Mark
’
s certain outburst over the news that he
’
d sold Daragh Steel, would not disturb his mother
’
s much-needed rest. He took a deep breath and started again.
“
The
board of directors combined their finances and bought Daragh Steel
, a
nd
, as I was saying, they are better able to continue running a successful enterprise since they have been doing so since
Father
retired ten years ago.
”

“
No! I
’
m head chair!
”
Mark argued. He snatched up the document and scanned the contents worriedly, hoping that perhaps he
’
d heard his brother wrong and the pages before him would refute what was being said, but it didn
’
t. The document he held outlined the sell in black and white. To make matters worse, it wasn
’
t just a proposal, but a done deal
–
signatures and all. He slung the papers across the desk and slammed his hands down against the solid surface, his face flushed with anger.