Gift of Gold

past.”
    “He’ll use the same rapier on Kincaid that was used on you,” Tavi concluded with deep, knowing compassion.
    “Yes.” Caitlin’s face was a frozen mask. The scar was white against the cream of her skin.
    “Your plan hinges on Kincaid trying to seduce Verity. What makes you so certain Kincaid will find Verity sexually interesting?”
    Caitlin looked at her companion in surprise. “After all these years of studying him, I know Kincaid’s habits very well. He’ll be bored and looking for sexual entertainment on the night of the ball. I have made it clear that his invitation is for one, only. He won’t be bringing any female companion with him. Verity will appeal to him. She’s just the type to bring out the evil in his nature. In addition, I’m counting on this house, looking exactly as it did that night all those years ago, to inspire some memories in the man.”
    “The kind of memories that will incite his lust?”
    “Inciting lust in Kincaid is never difficult. It’s his nature to always be on the lookout for victims. I will see to it that Verity will look like a victim. Dressed in a Renaissance gown with her hair pulled into one of the classic styles, I think she will be quite striking. In addition, there is a rather charming aura of innocence about her, don’t you think? That should be the frosting on the cake as far as Kincaid is concerned. He won’t be able to resist the opportunity of despoiling something that is cleaner and more innocent than himself.”
    “Verity is no innocent. She’s sleeping with Quarrel,” Tavi pointed out quickly.
    Caitlin smiled. “Innocence is not just a matter of virginity, Tavi. You should know that. It’s a thing of the spirit. Verity’s spirit is still bright and clean. It shows in her eyes and in her smile. I’m sure that’s why Quarrel hangs around her. To a man with a spirit as haunted as his must be, she would be a compelling creature. In a different way, Kincaid will find her equally fascinating.”
    “I don’t like it, Caitlin. I don’t like any of it. This plan you’ve constructed is too complex, too dangerous. It’s not too late to cancel everything. We can put all the vengeance behind us and get on with our lives.” Tavi spoke with the desperation of a woman making one last stand against a terrible future. “Please think this through one more time, I beg you.”
    “I have thought of little else since the night Kincaid raped me, Tavi. Believe me, I have done all the thinking necessary. The way I have chosen will bring me justice and satisfaction and maybe peace. It is the only way that will. When this is over, everyone will call it a great tragedy. They’ll say Quarrel was mentally unstable, that he must have gone crazy. No one will connect the killing with me. Only you and I and Kincaid will know that justice has finally been done.”
    “In killing Kincaid, I fear you will kill yourself, Caitlin,” Tavi said. “It’s not worth it.”
    “You’re wrong,” Caitlin said calmly. “It will be worth it.”

 
    Chapter Eleven
     
    Damon Marcus Kincaid picked up the exquisitely crafted stiletto and caressed it with a lover’s hands. Kincaid’s assistant, a man of carefully cultivated colorlessness, watched respectfully.
    Although he was silent, Hatch was secretly awed by the breathtaking resemblance between his boss and the small dagger. Kincaid, Hatch knew, would treat the stiletto with infinitely more care and consideration than he would ever offer another human being. Hatch suspected at times that his employer wasn’t all that fond of his fellow human beings. Those strong, tapering fingers moving over the dagger should have belonged to an artist, someone who had the soul of a creator. The only thing Kincaid created was more money and power. Kincaid would have made a terrific Borgia.
    Hatch knew better than to inquire too deeply into the recent history of the stiletto. It was rumored that Kincaid had connections into a shadowy world whose members frequently went far beyond the limits of normal business practices. There was some clout to be had from working for a man who wielded such power, but it was safer not to look into the shadows around him.
    Hatch was getting quietly concerned about those shadows, however. Kincaid paid well, but money wasn’t everything. There were other potential employers in San Francisco. He had already started looking. Quietly, of course.
    “Lovely, isn’t it?” Kincaid said, admiring the