Children of the Storm Read Online Free PDF Page B

the house,” Saine went on, “I'm right there with them about half the time -or I'm within sight of them, or within earshot if they should call for me.”
        Sonya supposed Saine's diligence was admirable, but she wished that he wouldn't go on about it so, for it only served to remind her what Bill Peterson had told her on the boat, earlier. She was trying to think about the vitality of the Caribbean, the bright future she had, the good times that awaited her. She did not want to face the fact that death might have followed her from the north into this sunny land.
        She said, “Rest assured, I'll not take them anywhere without you.”
        His thin lips seemed to grow even thinner. He said, “I sleep next to their room, and I usually remain awake until four in the morning, for it's between two and four that most people choose to break into a house. I sleep from four until eleven, and I'm up and ready for duty by noon. I'd appreciate it if you could limit your excursions, away from the house, to the afternoons or evenings.”
        “No trouble,” Sonya said.
        “Thank you.”
        “Anything else?” she asked, getting up, trying to imply by her movement that she wasn't anxious to hear anything else, even if he were not finished.
        “One thing.”
        “That is?”
        He hesitated, looked away from her for the first time and, then, gaming resolution from some source she could not guess, looked back again and said, “Occasionally, Miss Carter, you might think that it isn't necessary to call for me-so long as another member of the staff is with you and the children. I want you to understand that no one else can take my place in this respect. You must always call for me, no matter who on the staff offers to accompany you in my place. And if, for some reason, I am not available-should it be my day off, or should I be on the mainland for some other reason, you must cancel your plans and remain with the children in the house.”
        She felt that chill along her backbone again, like a fingernail of ice slicing her flesh.
        “Do you understand?” he asked.
        “Yes.”
        “I would appreciate it if you didn't tell the rest of the staff what I have just told you.”
        Quietly, her voice nearly a whisper, though she had not meant for it to be so low, Sonya said, “Then you don't trust them?”
        “No.”
        “None of them?”
        “None.”
        “Then you think that those threats might have been made by someone within the household?”
        Saine stood up with fluid grace, like an uncurling cat despite all his muscles. He towered over her, and he looked capable of handling anyone who might try to harm the children.
        He said, “Perhaps.”
        She said, “Is there anyone you suspect especially?”
        “Everyone.”
        “Even me?”
        “You too.”
        She said, “But I didn't even know the Doughertys when they were having all this trouble.”
        He said nothing.
        She was determined to press the issue. “Well? How can you think I might be the guilty one?”
        “I did not say I could show how all the suspects came to be suspects in my mind. My personal form of judgment does not operate according to the normal standards of law, Miss Carter. In my personal, private, mental court, everyone is guilty until proven innocent.”
        “I see.”
        He went to the door, opened it, turned and looked at her with those piercingly blue, blue eyes. “Since you will be nearly as responsible for the children as me, Miss Carter, I suggest that you adopt my own pessimism. Trust no one but yourself.”
        “Not even you?”
        “Not even me,” he said.
        He stepped into the corridor, closed the door and walked quietly away, the deep-pile carpet soaking up his footsteps.
        Sonya had lost her enthusiasm for unpacking.

----

    THREE
        
        The front dining room was fully