Honor Under Siege

that she was involved with Valerie Lawrence, other people do too.

Other people may think she can help them fi nd Valerie.

“Shes with me, and for the time being, I intend to keep her

with me.

“That might be a good idea, Lucinda mused. “If shes with you, shel be

under surveil ance by our people.

“Shel be safe , Blair snapped. She jumped up, too agitated to continue

to sit and pretend they were having an ordinary conversation. “God,

Lucinda! Is this what it costs to keep my father in of i ce? People you

know, people you love, become pawns?

A hint of color fl ared on Lucindas cheeks. “Sometimes it costs a great

deal more than that, Blair. It goes without saying that being under surveil

ance by the best security team in the world wil keep her safe. It also

might help us, and Id be a fool, or worse, to suggest otherwise.

Blair closed her eyes for an instant, and when she opened them again,

she gave Lucinda an apologetic look. “Im sorry. I couldnt do what you

do, and I know how necessary it is. She sat down again. “As soon as

Cam set les whatever she needs to do in this new position, Im taking

the whole team and Diane back to where weve been staying for the last

month.

Lucinda raised an eyebrow. “Cameron intends to go back with you?

She held up a hand. “Never mind. Im sure Averil wil discuss that with

me. She crossed her legs, her black skirt rising to reveal the barest hint

of shapely thighs. “Let me give it some thought, but that just might be

an excel ent plan. Of course, youre going to have to tel me where it is.

“Just you?

“For now.

“Whitley

Point.

“Tanner

Whitleys

place?

Blair

nodded.

Lucinda laughed. “Oh my God, you and Diane and Tanner together? I

feel for your security team.

“Tanners married, Blair said, grinning. Lucinda had been around for most

of her wild prep school years and was aware of some of the trouble the

three of them had got en into. Of course, most of the time theyd been

successful in pul ing of their fairly frequent disappearing acts. “Which

brings me to the other thing I wanted to discuss with you.

“Oh?

“Cam and I intend to get married this

fal .

“That may be problematic, since same-sex marriages arent legal y

recognized anywhere in the United States.

“Neither is my sexual orientation, Blair said, “but that hasnt stopped me,

and it never wil . We wont have any dif i culty fi nding someone

to perform the ceremony, legal or not.

“That wil be dif i cult to keep quiet, Lucinda

said.

“It wasnt my intention to keep it quiet. At Lucindas look of surprise,

Blair went on, “Im not planning on taking out an ad in the New York

Times, but Im not going to sneak around with this either.

“The fi rst person outside of your immediate circle who gets a hint of this

wil go straight to the papers with it. A caterer, a dressmaker, even

someone you think is a friendthis is going to be news, Blair, and

people wil pay for this kind of information.

Blair fl ushed. She hated the thought that her life was tabloid material.

“I cant stop that. Ive never been able to.

“Wel , at least consider the timing. Lucinda sat forward. “Wel be

facing midterm elections soon and then swinging directly into the

presidential reelection campaign. Your timing couldnt be worse for

something like this.

“Something like this, Blair said fl atly. “Something like this would be

my life , Lucinda.

“I know, Lucinda said gently. “I know, and I know how much of your

life has been overshadowed by your fathers career. Im not going to

apologize for that, but I do know.

Blair rubbed her forehead. “Dont switch sides on me now, Lucinda. Just

stick with the hard-ass routine.

Lucinda smiled. “Youre going to expose your personal life to

international scrutiny. To say nothing of fueling every right wing fanatic

in this country. Do you real y want that?

“What I want is to do what feels right for myself and my lover

and our relationship without worrying about the politics of it. Blair

sighed. “Dont tel me you cant fi gure out a way to spin it.

“Probably. At least give me time to work on

that.

“Il postpone hiring a fl

oat.

“Thank you. Lucinda glanced at her watch and then rose. “Ive got a

budget meeting, so Il get back to you on this.

“Il let you know before I leave

town.

“Good. By the way, theres a fundraiser in Boston this weekend that I

need you to attend.

“I cant do it, Luce. Theres just too much going on right

now.

“I understand. Lucinda walked back to her desk, sat down, and drew a

fi le toward her. “Its for stem cel research. One of the primary

investigators at Harvard wil be there, and I just thought you might want

to show your support.

“Damn it. Blair had no doubt that proponents of stem cel research,

including major pharmaceutical companies, were lobbying hard in

Washington to prevent legislation aimed at restricting the source of