wife.
"Will you
help me, Cady?"
"I'll help
you to achieve your aims, because I believe in them, too, but I won't..."
Rafe
put his finger to her lips. "Don't say any more. We'll just go with what
we've got." His lips curved in a twist of a smile. "We'll give them a
hell of a run for their money in this election, won't we, Cady?"
CHAPTER FIVE
The
campaign swung into high gear almost at the moment of their return to New
York. Cady was rather startled to find that she was well known to so many of
Rafe's constituents. Many even called her by name. Even more astonishing to her
was that she enjoyed accompanying Rafe and talking to the people. She had never
considered herself an extrovert, but her months of working in Rafe's Senate
office had whittled down the rough edges of her shyness. She tried to explain
this metamorphosis to her father one evening when Rafe was dining with some of
his political strategists in the area. She had taken advantage of the brief
respite to visit with the professor.
"It's
incredible, Father, really!" She smiled at him, taking note of the
piercing stare that seemed to see through her. "All those years at school
when I would tremble and shake over giving reports and taking oral exams, and
now I'm meeting hundreds of people at once and carrying it off. Amazing, isn't
it?"
"Amazing," Professor Nesbitt echoed, his tone
dry. He tapped his pipe against his left palm, not taking his eyes from her.
"We've skirted any discussion of you all evening, my darling
daughter," he observed, filling the pipe with slow, measured movements.
"And though I'm fully in accord with my son-in-law's aims—in fact I'm most
curious about his new wariness toward the Greeley people he had in his camp—for
the moment I would like to hear about you. You have shadows under your eyes,
Cady. What's wrong?"
"Nothing,
Father," she choked, trying to keep her smile in place. "The campaign
is tiring, of course, and I don't look as sharp as I should..."
"It's not
your looks, even though you are too thin. That happened after Rafe's accident,
and I can understand it. It was a very rough time for both of you; but that
crisis is past. What's bothering you now, Cady? I see the hurt etched into your
face and I don't like that. Do you want to talk about it?" Her father's
voice was gentle, as always, but Cady detected a thread of steel in it. "I
knew there would be pain for you," he went on, "marrying a man like
Rafe, but you loved him so much." He shrugged, a bitter lift to his mouth.
"I
still do," Cady choked, wanting to talk with her father but unable to
confide to anyone that Rafe didn't love her and would, perhaps soon, be asking
her for a divorce. "I'm not trying to fool you, Father. It's only that
speaking about the problems between Rafe and me makes me so miserable."
"Then
you admit there are problems." Her father's voice was gruff.
"There are
problems in every marriage. You know that." Cady's mouth felt like rubber
as she tried to smile.
"All
right, child; but promise me you'll come to me if things get too rough."
"I promise, Father."
"Now
tell me about this Greeley thing. Where did all the bully boys go who used to
be on the fringe of Rafe's camp?" Professor Nesbitt's eyes sharpened when
her lips curved upward.
"Rafe was a
tiger with them. Bruno Trabold made the tactical mistake of trying to back Rafe
into a corner on an issue." Cady kept her eyes on her father's chin, determined
not to give him any details about the Durra scandal, even though she sensed
that he knew more about Rafe than he let on. "Bruno underestimated Rafe's
fighting ability and overplayed his hand. When he revealed that Greeley had
been trying to manipulate Rafe, Rafe came out of his corner like a pit
terrier," she finished, her lips a straight line.
"Speaking
of pit terriers," her father said, tamping his pipe, "I understand
from the newspapers that my daughter has entered the fray on the side of the
Society for Prevention of Cruelty to
"Will you
help me, Cady?"
"I'll help
you to achieve your aims, because I believe in them, too, but I won't..."
Rafe
put his finger to her lips. "Don't say any more. We'll just go with what
we've got." His lips curved in a twist of a smile. "We'll give them a
hell of a run for their money in this election, won't we, Cady?"
CHAPTER FIVE
The
campaign swung into high gear almost at the moment of their return to New
York. Cady was rather startled to find that she was well known to so many of
Rafe's constituents. Many even called her by name. Even more astonishing to her
was that she enjoyed accompanying Rafe and talking to the people. She had never
considered herself an extrovert, but her months of working in Rafe's Senate
office had whittled down the rough edges of her shyness. She tried to explain
this metamorphosis to her father one evening when Rafe was dining with some of
his political strategists in the area. She had taken advantage of the brief
respite to visit with the professor.
"It's
incredible, Father, really!" She smiled at him, taking note of the
piercing stare that seemed to see through her. "All those years at school
when I would tremble and shake over giving reports and taking oral exams, and
now I'm meeting hundreds of people at once and carrying it off. Amazing, isn't
it?"
"Amazing," Professor Nesbitt echoed, his tone
dry. He tapped his pipe against his left palm, not taking his eyes from her.
"We've skirted any discussion of you all evening, my darling
daughter," he observed, filling the pipe with slow, measured movements.
"And though I'm fully in accord with my son-in-law's aims—in fact I'm most
curious about his new wariness toward the Greeley people he had in his camp—for
the moment I would like to hear about you. You have shadows under your eyes,
Cady. What's wrong?"
"Nothing,
Father," she choked, trying to keep her smile in place. "The campaign
is tiring, of course, and I don't look as sharp as I should..."
"It's not
your looks, even though you are too thin. That happened after Rafe's accident,
and I can understand it. It was a very rough time for both of you; but that
crisis is past. What's bothering you now, Cady? I see the hurt etched into your
face and I don't like that. Do you want to talk about it?" Her father's
voice was gentle, as always, but Cady detected a thread of steel in it. "I
knew there would be pain for you," he went on, "marrying a man like
Rafe, but you loved him so much." He shrugged, a bitter lift to his mouth.
"I
still do," Cady choked, wanting to talk with her father but unable to
confide to anyone that Rafe didn't love her and would, perhaps soon, be asking
her for a divorce. "I'm not trying to fool you, Father. It's only that
speaking about the problems between Rafe and me makes me so miserable."
"Then
you admit there are problems." Her father's voice was gruff.
"There are
problems in every marriage. You know that." Cady's mouth felt like rubber
as she tried to smile.
"All
right, child; but promise me you'll come to me if things get too rough."
"I promise, Father."
"Now
tell me about this Greeley thing. Where did all the bully boys go who used to
be on the fringe of Rafe's camp?" Professor Nesbitt's eyes sharpened when
her lips curved upward.
"Rafe was a
tiger with them. Bruno Trabold made the tactical mistake of trying to back Rafe
into a corner on an issue." Cady kept her eyes on her father's chin, determined
not to give him any details about the Durra scandal, even though she sensed
that he knew more about Rafe than he let on. "Bruno underestimated Rafe's
fighting ability and overplayed his hand. When he revealed that Greeley had
been trying to manipulate Rafe, Rafe came out of his corner like a pit
terrier," she finished, her lips a straight line.
"Speaking
of pit terriers," her father said, tamping his pipe, "I understand
from the newspapers that my daughter has entered the fray on the side of the
Society for Prevention of Cruelty to
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