Emilie gazed at him fondly for a few moments. “I know, dear,” she said. “But my mind is quite made up. I intend to help Miss Appleton recover Crudley. You’ll just have to find a way to keep all three of us out of danger.” Gabe shook his head and rolled his eyes heavenward. Emilie leaned toward Cass and confided in a loud whisper, “That means he knows he’s lost the argument.”

“I heard that,” Gabe announced. “And contrary to your interpretation, all it really means is that I’m willing to call a temporary truce. I’m not making any commitments. You’re not making any commitments, Emilie. But Miss Appleton says she has the money. The kidnappers are supposed to call back Friday with further instructions. We’ll wait and see what they have to say.”

“That’s all we ask, dear,” Emilie assured him soberly while giving Cass a surreptitious wink.

As if on cue, a servant entered carrying a tray with three glasses of iced tea. The timing made Cass suspect the woman had been listening at the door, waiting for a break in the conversation. A second look at the woman’s elegant dress and regal bearing caused Cass to reconsider. She was hardly the type to eavesdrop. Her manner was deferential, but not the least bit servile. Tall and slender, she had the same smooth caramel complexion and piercing amber eyes of the gate guard. The two employees had to be related.

Tempting as the iced tea looked, Cass decided to take advantage of the natural break in events to leave. “Well,” she said, standing and ineffectually trying to smooth her wrinkled skirt, “I’ve taken enough of your time. I should be going. Despite Mr. Preston’s conviction that the police won’t be interested, I’d still like to stop by the station and make a report.”

“Suit yourself,” Gabe said with apparent indifference.

“I think that’s a fine idea,” Mrs. Crosswhite said. “And if you think it will help poor Crudley at all, be sure and tell the police that you’ve spoken to Gabriel and me and we’re willing to cooperate in every way.”

Gabe tensed at this suggestion and came dangerously close to scowling at his employer. “I’ll show Miss Appleton out,” he said curtly, striding to the door and waiting with obvious impatience as Cass thanked Emilie Crosswhite one final time.

Chapter Three

Outside, the heat seemed more intense than before. Where were Newport’s famed cooling ocean breezes?

Cass trailed her swift-moving escort back across the broad green lawns to the service road. By the time they reached the rear gate, Cass felt wilted all over again. “I hope you remembered to bring the key,” she said irritably. “I don’t feel like leaving the same way I came in.”

Gabe ignored her tone and stepped to one of the brick stanchions flanking the thick iron gate. Deftly he exposed a hidden control panel and punched in a coded number sequence. The heavy metal grillwork slid smoothly back.

Cass regarded her guide with a fresh flare of anger. “You knew all along how to open the gate. Why did you make me climb that fence?”

Gabe met her hostility impassively. “I needed to confirm my suspicions.”

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you,” Cass said with a superior tone.

“You didn’t disappoint me at all. I suspected you had great legs, and you do.”

The unexpected turn of the conversation flustered Cass completely, as she was sure Gabe had intended. He was probably still testing her, hoping to provoke some revealing reaction. She wheeled and stalked through the gate.

Gabe caught her before she’d taken two steps, grasping her wrist gently but firmly to pull her up short. “I had to know how serious you were about needing to see Emilie,” he said unapologetically. “It’s your own fault,” he added. “You refused to tell me what was going on.”

“Oh, right. I’m sure if I had told you that my cat was mistakenly kidnapped, you would have flung the gates wide and happily ushered me in.”

“You’ll never know now, will you?”

“I can make a pretty good guess, based on the way you acted up at the house. I would never have been permitted within a mile of Mrs. Crosswhite.”

“Maybe not. Just remember, I don’t have to justify my conduct to you. I’m not only Emilie’s godson and friend, I’m also chief of security for Crosswhite Enterprises. I’m certainly not going to defend myself for wanting to protect Emilie from the con artists and opportunists who’ve been trying to get at her ever since her husband died.”

“Con artists? Opportunists?” Cass bridled. “You have no right to lump me in with people like that. I work for a living. I pay my own way. I came here to ask for the smallest of favors—a little of Emilie Crosswhite’s time and an inconsequential delay in telling the kidnappers they goofed. I’m the only one who’s been taken advantage of.”

“Maybe.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Just that I’m reserving judgment until this scenario has played itself out. Completely.”

“I don’t expect you to be around for the finish. Once I have the ransom instructions, I’ll gladly disappear from your life. What happens after that is between me and the kidnappers. It won’t concern you or Mrs. Crosswhite.”

“I hope you’re right. I hope you don’t give me any reason to regret the impulse to let you in here today.”

“What are you talking about?” Cass demanded in exasperation.

Gabe stared at her for a long moment, making his face an unreadable mask. “Let’s pretend,” he said evenly, “that you weren’t strictly on the up-and-up. Let’s say that you wanted to win Emilie’s confidence, and her sympathy. You might come to her with a story exactly like the one you told today. You’re an innocent bystander, caught up in a bungled extortion attempt. Fortunately you have just enough money to meet the kidnappers’ demands.

“Then on the day the exchange is to take place, and at the very last minute, the crooks demand more money. You’re totally tapped out. You’ve mortgaged your soul to scrape together the ten thousand they originally wanted. Tears and hand-wringing. What are you to do? Oh, happy day! Mrs. Emilie Crosswhite, noted philanthropist with enough money to pay the ransom a thousand times over, steps in quickly to offer assistance. Whether you let her give you the money or force her to accept a promise of repayment, the result is the same. You and the money and the phantom kidnapped cat vanish forever.”

Cass jerked her wrist out of Gabe’s fingers. Angry color mottled her cheeks. “That’s a very convincing story, Mr. Preston,” she said tightly. “Except that my cat is not a phantom and I am not a thief. If you’re really worried about people taking advantage of Mrs. Crosswhite, I suggest you look in the mirror. You’re a little too familiar with the worst in human nature. You might ask yourself why.”

“My character is not in question,” he said softly.

“And mine is?” Cass challenged.

Gabe raised one shoulder and tilted his head to regard her speculatively. He didn’t answer.

Cass reached for her car door, brushing aside Gabe’s attempt to open it for her. With an unnecessary roar, she started the vehicle and backed down the road. Her last view of the Crosswhite estate showed the enigmatic figure of Gabe Preston framed between the pillars in the high iron fence.

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