Smoke in Mirrors

palm as she went past him into the hall. “It belonged to Meredith.”
    Wrench appeared, a badly gnawed leather chew-toy in his mouth. He sat down on his haunches in front of Leonora and dropped the imitation bone at her feet.
    She stooped, picked up the toy and patted Wrench on the head.
    “Thank you, Wrench. It’s lovely.”
    Wrench was satisfied with the response.
    Leonora handed Thomas her jacket, went into the living room and stood at the window, arms folded tightly around herself.
    He examined the bracelet. There was a small gold plaque inscribed with Meredith’s name.
    “I gave it to her when she graduated from college with a terrific grade average.” Her mouth curved in a wry smile. “Of course, that was before I discovered that she had fiddled with the computer database in the college records office to adjust her final grades.”
    He studied the gold links coiled in his palm. “Where did you find it?”
    “Behind the card catalog in the library office. There’s a door there. It opens off a flight of servants’ stairs. Do you know, I never saw Meredith without that bracelet after I gave it to her. She even had it on the day I found her in bed with Kyle.”
    Thomas looked up suddenly, his attention caught by the grimly resigned inflection of her voice. Leonora’s face was angled away from him. She appeared to be fascinated by the view of the cove.
    The light of the flames on the hearth gave her khaki-green silk sweater a soft sheen. The garment had a rolled neckline and long sleeves. It fit snugly across her elegantly sculpted shoulders and skimmed over her small, high breasts. The trousers she wore were also green, ahue that was several shades darker than the sweater. Her hair was caught up in its customary sleek knot.
    He forced his attention back to the broken bracelet.
    “I remember seeing it on her wrist,” he said, not stopping to think.
    Leonora looked at him over her shoulder. The icy irritation that glittered in her eyes made him tighten his fingers around the bracelet.
    “What do you want me to do,” he said, “pretend that I didn’t have an affair with her?”
    “Of course not.” She turned back to the window. “What would be the point? I already know the truth. There are enough lies and half-truths floating around as it is.”
    Anger sparked, catching him off-guard. He crossed the room in three strides and came to a halt directly behind her. Close enough to catch her scent. He did not touch her.
    “That’s the real issue here, isn’t it?” he said. “You want me as much as I want you but you can’t handle the fact that I had a brief affair with Meredith.”
    “Let’s stick to the problem at hand, okay?”
    “Hell, no, it’s not okay. There’s something we need to get settled first. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I get the feeling that you see me as just another one of Meredith’s dumb-as-a-rock conquests.”
    “That’s not true.”
    “It is true and I don’t appreciate your low opinion of my intelligence, maturity or self-control.”
    “I never said you weren’t intelligent or mature or self-controlled.”
    “You didn’t have to say it. You’ve made it clear in a thousand other ways. For the record, I’m not some nineteen-year-old, hormone-driven kid who follows his balls wherever they lead him.”
    “There’s no need to get angry about this.”

    “Too late. I’m already angry. You know what? It really pisses me off that you assume I was powerless to resist Meredith. You think she was some kind of succubus? A siren who was totally irresistible to weak-minded men like me and your ex-fiancé?”
    “I never said you were weak-minded.”
    “I’m not your ex-fiancé, either.”
    “I know that.” She took a jerky step away and swung around to confront him. “You’re not anything like Kyle. You’re very different.”
    “Thanks for that much, at least.” He closed the space between them. “While we’re on the subject, I’d like to clarify a couple of other issues here. Meredith and I had a very short-lived relationship. You want to know who ended it?”
    Leonora took another step back and came up against the window ledge. “I’m sure it was Meredith who ended it. She was always the one who ended things. There’s no need to go into the details.”
    “Tough shit. We’re already into the details.” He planted one hand on the windowsill behind her head and leaned in close, wanting her to get the point. “I’m the one who called a halt to the