“I never abandon myself to anything.”

That was the warning he had given her the first time that they made love and for almost a year now he had kept that promise. Yet she had abandoned herself to him almost from the moment they met. For two years she had loved him in silence; had longed for him from afar. She had been his ally, his associate, and at times, she flattered herself, they had almost been friends. But he had never seen her true feelings. She had taken great pains to hide them; afraid she would lose him forever if he were to find out.

It had been by mistake that they had come together. He had been handling his brother Diogenes’ estate. Allotting the last of it to various causes. After his brother had died at his hands, Aloysius Pendergast had sworn he would have nothing to do with the younger man’s fortune. In the end, however, he had been forced to, at least, find places for the money and the task of going through old papers and forms always seemed to bring about an unfair number of painful memories.

It was following one of these sessions that they had met...   read more »