Amaryllis

'I know.'

'Lodestar is the chief employer in the islands. The company provides all the basic services and ensures reliable supply lines. Taking control of Lodestar means taking control of the islands and vice versa.' Lucas paused. 'I didn't want to get rid of Jackson Rye. He wanted to get rid of me. He knew he needed help, at least at the beginning, because my employees, on the whole, are loyal. And I have a lot of friends out there. He required manpower so he did a deal with the pirates.'

Amaryllis hesitated. 'He wanted sole control of Lodestar?'

'The idea was that when the gang took control of the islands, I would be among the victims. I was supposed to be the dead hero. With me out of the picture, Jackson would take control. He planned to run Lodestar single- handedly.'

'But what about his deal with the raiders?'

'You'd have to have known Jackson to understand. He expected to win at everything. He was from a world in which Ryes always came out on top. He thought he could handle the pirates after he was in charge of Lodestar.'

'My God.'

Lucas met her eyes. 'Truth is, it wasn't a bad plan. He probably could have gotten rid of his so-called allies once he was in control. The pirates were loosely organized and undisciplined. They had few supplies. They couldn't have lasted long without Lodestar assistance.'

'So Jackson Rye planned for the pirates to do his dirty work for him. Then he intended to turn on them once you were safely out of the picture.'

'That pretty well sums it up,' Lucas said wearily. 'But the leader of the raiders had already figured out that Jackson was potentially dangerous. He never had any intention of allowing Rye to remain alive. He just used Jackson and then killed him.'

'The story was in the papers for weeks,' Amaryllis said slowly. 'But I never heard that your partner had betrayed the company and all those people.'

'You didn't hear about it because I kept it out of the news reports.' Lucas's smile was cold. 'Figured it wouldn't do the company image any good.'

Amaryllis watched him. 'Is that the real reason you hushed up the facts?'

'I'm a businessman at heart. I always do what's best for the bottom line.'

'Mr. Expediency, is that it?' Amaryllis took a sip of coff- tea. 'Know what I think? I think that there were a few other reasons why you decided to bury the truth.'

'What other reasons?'

'The Ryes and Miranda Locking. You didn't want any of them to learn the awful truth about Jackson, did you? You tried to protect them all.'

Lucas's expression was unreadable. 'Like I said, it wouldn't have been good for the company image.'

'I think it was very noble of you to protect his name and reputation,' Amaryllis said.

He gave her a derisive smile. 'If you really believe that, you're not nearly as smart as full-spectrum prisms are supposed to be. What I did wasn't noble. It was pragmatic.'

'No.' She shook her head. 'Definitely noble. But I must admit. I'm amazed you were so successful at concealing the facts.'

'As president and sole surviving owner of the company, I was in charge. I also had a couple of friends who helped me handle the situation. The reporters got the news I wanted them to get.'

'I see.'

Lucas swallowed the last of the coff-tea. 'And if you still believe that I kept things quiet because I was so damn noble, there's one other fact you should consider.'

'What's that?'

'I mentioned that Jackson Rye took a companion with him the day he rendezvoused with the pirates.'

'Yes. You said he was killed, too.'

'That companion wasn't a man. It was my wife.'

Amaryllis's eyes misted. 'I'm so sorry, Lucas. I recall reading that your wife also died during the initial raid. How terrible that she happened to be with Jackson that day at the camp.'

Lucas's mouth curved in a bleak smile. 'Are you always this naive or do you have to practice?'

'I beg your pardon?'

'Dora and Jackson were having an affair. Now do you understand? She didn't just happen to be with him that day. They went to the camp because she was sleeping with him, because they often disappeared together, and because she knew all about Rye's deal with the pirates.'

This time coff-tea did splash over the edge of Amaryllis's mug. She ignored it. Unable to think of anything to say, she reached out to touch Lucas's hand with what was meant to be a fleeting gesture of silent sympathy.

Lucas caught her fingers before she could withdraw. He squeezed gently, just enough to convey a warning. 'I don't know why I told you the story. I've never told anyone else. I expect you to keep it confidential.'

'Of course.'

'Absolutely confidential,' he emphasized. 'I don't even want your boss to know. Understood?'

'Yes.' Amaryllis could have sworn that she felt another whisper of the cold wind she had sensed earlier in the museum corridor. 'Understood. You have my word on it.'

'The word of a professional prism.' Lucas turned her hand over, exposing the inside of her wrist. He studied the veins that ran just beneath the skin as if they were lines on a map that led to some unknown destination. 'If you tell anyone else what I told you tonight, I can make life difficult for you.'

Amaryllis looked into his eyes. In that moment she knew that the chill that filled the kitchen emanated from him. A dark fog seemed to be gathering beneath her kitchen cupboards. She was afraid to turn her head and look.

Lucas was doing this, she thought. She did not know how, but she knew that he was responsible. Anger blossomed inside her.

'Don't you dare threaten me, Lucas Trent. I gave you my word of honor.'

'Sorry.' Lucas released her hand abruptly. 'I'm in a lousy mood, and you're catching the brunt of it. That's not right. None of this is your fault.'

'No, it isn't.' Surreptitiously, she waggled her fingers to make sure they all still functioned properly. The sensation of a cold wind blowing disappeared. She glanced at her kitchen cupboards and saw nothing but clean black-and-white tiles. 'And I don't appreciate being intimidated.'

'Something tells me there's not much that could do that.'

And I'll bet it would take a heck of a lot to intimidate you, too, she thought. 'Look, don't be too hard on yourself just because you put your trust in the wrong people. It happens to everyone. Even prisms make mistakes like that.'

'Even prisms, hub?' Amusement flickered in his gaze. 'That certainly makes me feel a lot better. You ever make that kind of mistake?'

She reflected fleetingly on her relationship with Gifford Osterley. 'Even me. Being a prism doesn't guarantee perfect intuition, you know.'

'Amazing. I would never have guessed.' Lucas's lashes lowered slightly, just enough to veil his eyes. 'Who was he?'

Amaryllis was so irritated by his undisguised condescension that she considered showing him the door right then and there. But she felt a niggling sense of guilt at the thought of throwing him out. He had, after all, just spilled his guts to her. That couldn't have been easy or simple for a man like him. He obviously regretted the indiscretion already.

It occurred to her that telling Lucas one of her own small secrets might make him feel that the scales had been balanced. Perhaps that would put him in a better mood when he received the bill in a few days. One of Clementine's many axioms rang in Amaryllis's head: A happy client is a repeat client.

'His name was Gifford Osterley,' Amaryllis said quietly. 'We worked together at the university until I left six months ago. He's a full professor. Next in line to become head of the Department of Focus Studies.'

'Prism, I take it?'