Love and Honor: The Coltrane Saga, Book 7 Read online

  Her lavender eyes sparkling mischievously, Kit said sweetly, “You won’t have to miss the tea, Mother. I can go shopping by myself, and I really want to.”

  “Are you sure?” Jade asked suspiciously.

  Kit was quick to reassure her. “Oh, yes. Don’t worry.”

  “And you’ll choose a nice gown? Something fashionable?”

  Kit nodded again, turning her face to the window lest her amusement be detected. What she planned was a harmless prank, but it would make her mother see that it wasn’t always desirable to be the center of attention.

  When they arrived at the depot in Madrid, Kit was delighted to see her cousin, Marilee, with her father. That meant that her brother and Grandma Kitty had made the trip from Paris for the festivities.

  As Kit hugged her father happily, he asked why they’d missed the train the day before, as they’d sent a telegram with no explanation. Her mother was only too glad to tell him, reaffirming her argument that it was time they left Spain if Kit was to be saved from becoming one of the common bourgeois.

  Kit turned away to greet Marilee. She was a pretty girl, with friendly brown eyes and thick, naturally curly chestnut hair. She had a heart-shaped face, a sprinkle of freckles across her upturned nose, and dimpled cheeks. Tall and slender, she had already developed curves that turned men’s heads even though she was not quite fourteen.

  “I want to hear what happened,” Marilee protested as Kit drew her away from her mother’s impassioned account of the day before.

  “Oh, it’s just the same old thing.” As they walked through the terminal, Kit told Marilee about the birth of the colt. “He’s beautiful. I can’t wait for you to see him. Doc Frazier said since I delivered him I can keep him and Belle till spring, so I can watch him grow. I wish I could buy them both, because I know he’d sell them to me, but…” Her voice trailed away.

  “You’re in a lot of trouble, aren’t you?” Marilee asked worriedly. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that her aunt was still talking angrily about Kit’s causing them to arrive a day late.

  Kit nodded, then grinned impishly. “But not as much as I’m going to be in. Want to go shopping with me tomorrow morning? I have to buy a dress for the ball tomorrow night.”

  “You mean you don’t have one?” Marilee asked incredulously.

  “Mother wants me to have a new dress, Marilee,” Kit explained carefully, “and she wants it to be a very special dress. She wants me to be the center of attention, so I’m going to be an obedient daughter and do exactly as she wants.”

  Marilee wasn’t fooled. She’d witnessed too many of her cousin’s antics in the past to take her seriously. She warned, “I’ve got a feeling that you’re right—you really are going to be in a lot of trouble.”

  Kit giggled. “I’m just obeying my mother’s wishes!”

  The lavish Coltrane apartment was situated in a section of Madrid replete with foreign embassies and luxury hotels. They occupied three floors of a tall, narrow stone building on the Paseo de la Castaellana boulevard.

  When their car pulled to the curb in front, a doorman waited to assist them. He stepped back quickly as Kitty Wright Coltrane nearly knocked him down running from the building to hug her namesake.

  “Oh, how I’ve missed you!” Kitty squealed with delight, hugging Kit tightly. She then held her at arm’s length to confide, “And I missed you last night, too. Travis and Marilee and I went to the Casa Mingo, your favorite tavern.”

  “Oh, Kitty, really!” Jade sighed with displeasure, tugging at her gloves as they walked toward the entrance. “I can’t believe that with so many splendid restaurants in Madrid, you took the children to a common tavern!” She looked at Colt, hoping that he would voice his agreement, but, as always, he refused to comment and did not meet her gaze.

  Kitty responded with a haughty toss of her head. “It is not a common tavern. In fact, it’s very popular and happens to be the only place in Madrid where authentic sweet Asturian cider is served.”

  Kit chimed in to agree. “It really is. The waiter holds the glass as low as he can in his left hand, and the bottle of cider as high as he can in his right. Then he pours. It’s like a ritual. And you can also get crusty bread and cabrales—goat cheese.” Glancing at her grandmother, she felt a strange, familiar sensation at seeing another pair of lavender eyes, so like her own. It was like looking in a mirror. She did favor Kitty, and she was glad, because she thought her grandmother was beautiful. “Would you mind going again tonight?”

  Kitty started to say that of course they could, but Jade declared sharply that was out of the question. “We’re all invited to a dinner party being hosted by Don Jose Yubero and his wife. She sent me a personal invitation in Valencia, and I accepted.”

  Kit groaned, following her mother into the foyer, with its black marble floors and ceiling-high mirrors. “I don’t see why Marilee and Travis and I have to go,” she moaned. “I hate eating with the Yuberos.”

  Jade turned on her furiously. “Don Yubero is a very important man, Kit, and he and his wife have always been nice to us. Why don’t you want to go?”

  Kit’s jaw set stubbornly. “Well, for one thing, I think the food they serve is disgusting—bull testicles!”

  Kitty made a face and cried, “Is that what that horrible dish was the last time we were there? Now I don’t want to go, either.”

  Marilee, instinctively moving closer to her grandmother and cousin for support, chimed in meekly, “They also had eel, Aunt Jade, and it made me sick to look at it. I don’t want to go, either. I’d rather go to the tavern.”

  Jade gave them all a scathing look while Colt moved toward the stairs, trying to hide his amusement. With hands on her hips, Jade informed them firmly, “Well, I accepted the invitation, and we are all going. And as for the food they serve, young lady…” She pointed a scolding finger at Kit. “If you had the culture and refinement I’ve tried, unsuccessfully it seems, to instill in you since birth, you would realize that you never turn your nose up at local cuisine, especially in a person’s home. It is the epitome of bad manners.”

  Kitty bristled. “That doesn’t mean we want to eat bull testicles, Jade, for heaven’s sake. I don’t think I’ll go.’’

  Jade murmured under her breath that Colt had to do something about his mother’s interference. As she stomped up the stairs, she called back that Kitty could do as she pleased, but the children were going.

  “Children, she calls us.” Kit shook her head and sighed. “That’s all we’ll ever be to her.”

  Kitty gave her an encouraging hug. “Don’t worry. One day you’ll grow up and leave the nest, and then your mother will have to acknowledge that you do, indeed, have wings, my dear.”

  “She’s going to realize that sooner than she thinks,” Kit mumbled, heading doggedly up the stairs.

  Baffled, Kitty asked Marilee what Kit meant. Since Kit had not sworn her to secrecy, Marilee obligingly told her grandmother about her cousin’s plans.

  As Marilee spoke, a slow grin spread over Kitty’s face. Kit’s scheme sounded exactly like something she would have done in her day. And, she thought wickedly, she was going to lend a hand!

  Chapter Three

  “Kit, wake up, darling.”

  Kit blinked against the sudden flood of light as her grandmother opened the drapes. She sat up and sleepily rubbed her eyes. It had been late when they got home last night, nearly two a.m., but not because she had wanted it that way. She had been bored silly, especially when the Yuberos’ son, Esteban, had had a few too many glasses of sangria and had reached under the table to give her thigh a suggestive squeeze. Twice she had brushed him away, giving him icy glares. The third time she gave his hand a sharp little prick with her fork. He kept his hands to himself after that, but continued to fawn over her and make a nuisance of himself.

  “It’s nearly ten,” Kitty told her. “Marilee is dressed and waiting for us downstairs, but your mother is still asleep, and we need to be on our way before she wak
es up.”

  Kit was bewildered. “Where are we going?”

  “Why, shopping, of course, to buy your gown for tonight.”

  Kit’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Who told you I was going shopping for a new gown?”

  “Marilee. She didn’t think it was a secret.”

  “Did she also tell you—”

  “About your scheme to make your mother stop nagging you to be a ‘femme fatale’?” Kitty interrupted with delight. “She did, and I think it’s a fine idea. I want to be a part of it.”

  “Oh, Grandma…” Kit scrambled from the bed and ran to give her a big hug. “I should’ve known you’d be on my side.”

  “Of course. Did you think I wouldn’t be? And,” she scolded, “I’ve told you and Travis and Marilee a million times—don’t call me Grandma. Call me Kitty. Grandma makes me feel old, and I don’t like that.”

  “But Mother says it isn’t proper.”

  “Your mother and I disagree on a lot of things, but don’t misunderstand,” Kitty was quick to add, “I love her like a daughter. We just have different views on life sometimes and, unfortunately, I’ve never been the kind to keep my opinions to myself.”

  “But what about Daddy?” Kit asked worriedly.

  “Do you think he’ll be mad?”

  “Because his daughter is the belle of the ball?” Kitty asked incredulously, laughing. “He’s going to be furious. So furious, in fact, that he’ll make your mother see that she’s wrong to nag at you as she does. It’s fine to expect respect and obedience from your children, but it’s very wrong to demand that they think as you do. This is just your way of letting them know that.”

  “She wants us to leave Spain, you know,” Kit told her sadly, “and go back to New York to live.”

  “I’m not surprised. She’s been wanting to go back for some time now. There are lots of things happening there, things she’d like to be involved in. But that’s no reason to drag you away from the life you’ve come to know and love. After all, you’re nearly eighteen years old. When I was your age, I was on my own.”

  “Mother doesn’t think that way.” Kit sighed. “She’s perfectly content for you to raise Travis along with Marilee, but she wants me with her every second.”

  “Well, it’s different with a daughter, I suppose. She loves you, and she means well. She just doesn’t realize that she’s smothering you. Maybe tonight’s little display will make her see that she’s wrong.”

  While her grandmother waited, Kit quickly washed and dressed. She was wearing a simple white blouse and a long blue wool skirt. November could be quite cold in Madrid, so she slipped on a short, snug-fitting seal jacket. She hated to wear a hat but she knew her mother would fuss if she didn’t, so she chose a small button-type, with a veil only to her nose. Picking up her leather gloves, she announced, “Well, I’m ready, but I haven’t got the slightest idea where to go to look for the kind of gown I need on such short notice.”

  “Well, I do!” Kitty was happy to announce, her lavender eyes bright with anticipation. “I happen to know the perfect place—the Casa del Pasion, a shop that has all the latest and most daring fashions from Paris. The owner is Mademoiselle Denise Delacorte, and her mother is a good friend of mine in France. She has the only shop in Spain that’s able to offer the creations of Paul Poiret. You’ve heard of him, haven’t you?” She did not give Kit a chance to admit that she hadn’t. “He’s considered the most fashionable designer in France, and he’s credited for doing away with that unbearable ‘kangaroo’ corset. I hate those things—hide a woman’s curves, make her bend over like she’s got a bellyache. Anyway, he’s designed one with a natural shape, as well as some new and sophisticated evening gowns, so he’s quite famous in the fashion world. I’m sure we’ll find exactly what we’re looking for.”

  When they reached the foyer, Marilee was waiting anxiously, nervous that Kit would be angry. “Was it all right that I told her?” she asked. “I mean, you didn’t tell me not to tell.”

  “I didn’t think I had to,” Kit told her, “but it’s all right since it’s just Grandma you told.”

  Marilee breathed a sigh of relief, and they hurried on their way. Kitty had one of the family cars waiting. Once they were settled in the back seat, Marilee declared exuberantly, “I’m so excited about tonight that I can’t wait!”

  Kit and Kitty exchanged amused smiles, and Kitty observed, “Well, bless your heart, child, you really are beside yourself, aren’t you? So tell me about this young man who has you all aflutter.”

  Marilee blinked in astonishment. Kit laughed at the expression on her face as Kitty said with feigned indignation, “Well, I was young once myself, and I know all the signs of a young lady being smitten with a young man. But who do you know in Spain?”

  “I don’t actually know him,” Marilee admitted reluctantly. “I mean, I’ve never met him, but I don’t suppose there’s a girl in Europe who hasn’t heard about him…how handsome and exciting he is.”

  “Who?” Kit prodded, trying to hide her amusement. She didn’t want her cousin to think she was making fun of her.

  Marilee turned on her almost angrily. “Well, you should know,” she said defensively. “He lives near Valencia, and it’s said he owns one of the largest ranches in all of Spain.”

  Kit raised an eyebrow. Surely, she didn’t mean…

  “Yes!” Marilee’s long auburn curls danced about her face as she confirmed Kit’s unspoken question.

  “Kurt Tanner. He’s rich and handsome and exciting, and—”

  “And he’s legend with women,” Kit supplied harshly. “And I said women, not girls.”

  “Oh, what difference does that make? Lots of girls my age are married!”

  “You just get those kind of thoughts out of your head, Miss Mikhailonov,” Kitty admonished quickly. “Your father would have a fit if he heard you talking like that. He promised your mother he’d send you to that finishing school in Switzerland, and—”

  “Well, there’s nothing wrong with my just dancing with him tonight,” Marilee told her petulantly. Then she added wistfully, “If he asks me.”

  Kit snorted with unladylike disdain. “Honestly, Marilee, why would you even want to be seen with a man of his reputation?”

  “What reputation?” Marilee demanded “He wouldn’t be invited to the embassy ball if he wasn’t somebody important.”

  “I’m talking about his reputation where women are concerned. Don’t you have any pride?”

  With haughty indignation, Marilee challenged, “How would you know? Have you met him?”

  “I wouldn’t know him if I saw him,” Kit was quick to inform her. “I just know what I’ve heard.”

  “Then you really don’t know anything about him except gossip, and that’s not fair!” Marilee declared, settling back against the seat and folding her arms across her bosom.

  Kit said nothing more. She was reflecting on the intimate talks she and Carasia sometimes had, sharing their personal feelings about life and love. It had been Carasia who had told her about the enigmatic Señor Tanner, and how it was said that he was so fascinating and exciting that any woman who had ever known him whispered his name into her pillow with longing at night…and fantasized about him when other men held her. At the time, she and Carasia had wickedly and deliciously pondered what it could be about him that cast such a spell over women, but, of course, Kit would never admit to such nonsense.

  After they had a quick lunch, Kitty led the way down a narrow, cobblestoned street, away from the main shopping district. They would have just enough time to buy everything they needed before the afternoon siesta began and all the stores closed for a few hours.

  The Casa del Pasion was down a flight of steps, its glass window just visible from the sidewalk. The instant they entered, an elegantly dressed woman rushed from behind a velvet curtain at the rear to meet them. “Madame Coltrane! Welcome. And these are your granddaughters?” She clapped her hands together in delight. “I don’t b
elieve it! My mother was right when she said you are beautiful. I cannot believe you are old enough to have grandchildren!”

  Kitty smiled indulgently, for she was accustomed to being flattered and fawned over, as the Coltranes were known and respected internationally. She introduced Kit and Marilee, explaining to them that she had called earlier to say they were coming. Then, patting Kit’s shoulder, she instructed Mademoiselle Delacorte, “Now, make this young lady bewitching, beguiling, and even more beautiful than she already is.”

  “Ah, but you have given me an impossible task, madame, because how can one improve on perfection? But I shall try, and—” she winked conspiratorially, “—I think I have just what you might be looking for—a new creation by Paul Poiret that arrived only last week. If,” she challenged Kit, “you are daring enough to wear it.”

  Kit asked to see the gown, fighting the impulse to say that she was willing to wear anything to make her own personal declaration of independence to her mother.

  Mademoiselle Delacorte went back behind the curtain and returned a few moments later looking quite pleased as she held up a sensuous creation of black velvet. Poiret had revived the empire style by wrapping a band of gold cording just beneath the bosom, but that was not all. A daring slit went from floor to upper thigh; Kit’s leg would be exposed when she walked or danced. She’d heard about these new sheathlike dresses with slits that were declared indecent by bishops and ministers.

  Marilee stared at the dress for a moment, then cried, “Oh, Kit, it’s gorgeous…but do you dare?”

  Kit looked at her grandmother. There was no mistaking the approving gleam in her eyes. “I’ll try it on,” Kit said tonelessly, trying to hide her own excitement.

  Moments later she stared with a mixture of emotions at her reflection in the full-length mirror. The cap sleeves were draped off her shoulders, and beneath a sensuous spider web of black lace, her full bosom showed above the straight-line bodice. Beneath her bosom, it hung in a straight sheath, curving provocatively to her small, rounded rear. The dress fit perfectly—not a nip or tuck would have to be taken. Did she dare? she wondered anxiously as Kitty and Marilee called to her to let them see.