Gypsy Lady by Busbee Shirlee

Author:Busbee, Shirlee [Busbee, Shirlee]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Avon Books
Published: 1977-12-15T08:00:00+00:00

21

The question was hurled at her like a knife, and almost physically Catherine felt it strike. Clive's interest in Jason's ownership of a nebulous map and his blackmail threat against Rachael had all faded from her mind in the past weeks. Since that morning at Jason's lodgings in London when she had bargained for her freedom with that knowledge and Jason had refused, she had completely forgotten it. Now when she least expected it and was already jangling with nerves, he sprang it on her. Dumbfounded by the sudden and unrelated questions, she missed the slight hint of jealousy that colored his last question.

It was late, she was tired, and she owed Clive no loyalty—quite the reverse in fact. Consequently, in halting words, she told Jason the truth—even Clive's threat to harm her mother. She did not clarify her relationship to Clive because to her mind there was nothing to explain —Clive had merely been her father's godson.

She told Jason how Clive had wanted her to search for a map, and at the first mention of the map, Jason's brows had gathered in a frown. Catherine, concentrating on her story, her eyes downcast as she stared at the nervous movements of her fingers, didn't see the ugly gleam that lit Jason's eyes when she elaborated upon Clive's method of forcing her to do his bidding. When she had finished she glanced up at him defiantly and said, "That's all I know—that's all I ever knew! You can believe it or not!"

Mildly he drawled, "Calm down, my little scowling kitten. I didn't say I didn't believe you. I'm just puzzled. Clive's not stupid nor is he likely to chase off after fairy tales—and either he's confusing me with someone else, or he's fallen for a Bandbury tale. Are you certain he wanted just a map?"

She frowned. "He said a map—no, wait! he said there might be a map. And that if I didn't find it, he would have to search your London lodgings."

An arrested expression in his eyes, he asked slowly, "Would have to search—or had searched?"

Bewildered by his curious intentness, she stared at him for a minute. "I can't remember exactly, but I'm more than certain he said he hadn't searched in London—but that if I couldn't find anything, he would have to have someone trace it in London."

Her words didn't seem to be the answer he sought, and after a sudden and abstracted good night, he left the room.

For a moment Jason had thought the solution for the man in his London apartment had been solved. But if Catherine—it seemed peculiar to think of her by that name—was to be believed, and he did believe; her, Pendleton couldn't have had any connection with that event. Still, he knew more than he had, and while he possessed no map, it opened up a whole new avenue of possibilities.

If Catherine had said Pendleton had been after official documents, that would have been another matter. Spain, England, and France all had reason to be curious about Jefferson's plans with regards to Louisiana.

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