“It might be easiest to demonstrate,” Cade said. Tamsyn sat on his left and Andre on his right, so he joined hands with both of them. “Bran, close your eyes while we try invoking stealth. You can tell us what you sense and then what you see.”
Bran obediently closed his eyes. Cade glanced at Tam and Andre as he shared energy with them and then summoned stealth. It was easy compared to the hard work they’d done to protect theSea Swan.
After a couple of minutes passed, Bran gave a soft whistle. “Interesting. Even with my eyes closed, I could sense all three of you. And then you slipped out of my mind. Andre first, probably because I’ve only just met him. Then Tam, then you last of all, Cade.”
“Presumably because you’ve known me the longest,” Cade said. “What happens when you open your eyes?”
Bran’s eyes opened. Looking bemused, he said, “I can see all three of you, but if we weren’t all sitting at the same table only a few feet apart, I think my gaze would slide away from you. Very interesting.”
“The next best thing to invisibility,” Tam observed. “I wonder if any of us can do this alone, or if Cade has to be part of the link?”
They experimented further. Cade definitely had the strongest gift for this particular action, but all of them had some ability now that they knew how to tap into it.
The dinner ended when Mrs. Williams provided a large pot of tea and a plate of small currant cakes. Another round of eating and drinking followed. When they were about to break up, Andre said, “Dining with the Tribe of Tremayne is amazingly educational and entertaining! Are all of your meals like this?”
Bran laughed. “Not usually, but we’ve had much to discuss.” He considered. “Do any of you three want to join me on my visit to the Portsmouth Royal Navy Yard? It would be interesting to see if this energy-sharing technique might be useful in detecting potential threats to the facility.”
“Thank you for the suggestion, but I want to go home! We should be getting back to London,” Tam said firmly.
“You can send a message to Rhys and Gwyn that you’re both safely back in England and that you’ve found a new cousin,” Bran said persuasively. “You’ll only be delayed a couple of days.”
Tam stood and covered a yawn. “I’ll sleep on it. For now, Mr. Williams has promised me hot water for washing up, after which I’ll collapse on that very fine bed in a place where Cade and Andre and I can all feelsafe!”
“Can’t argue with that!” Bran said with a smile. “We can discuss the possibility of Portsmouth in the morning.”
Cade trailed the others up the stairs to their rooms. He’d hope for an unobtrusive private moment with Tam, but that didn’t turn out to be possible. They exchanged glances when she turned at her door to say good night, and her smile made it almost like a kiss. Alas, not close enough.
He followed Bran into their shared room and immediately pulled off his coat and boots. Bran did the same, saying, “I know you’ve had a very difficult time. I want to hear as much as you want to talk about, which probably isn’t everything.”
Cade thought back through the eventful weeks since Bran and Merryn’s wedding. He’d known excruciating pain and bone-deep fear . . . and so much more. “You’ve always been an excellent listener. But much of what happened you already know, and some things really shouldn’t be talked about.”
Quietly Bran said, “Does that include you and Tamsyn?”
Cade froze. “Is it so obvious?”
“It is to me. We each have things we don’t care to talk about, but we’ve never really kept secrets from each other.”
Cade straightened up and studied his brother’s expression. “Are you horrified?”
Bran’s brows drew together. “My first reaction was shock and surprise. My second wasnotto be surprised. When Gwyn and Rhys brought us to Tremayne House, frozen and half starved, Tam welcomed us to the family with open arms. She was wonderful and I knew I would love her as my sister forever. You had your own relationship with her that was equally strong, but different. Unique to the two of you. Looking back, I realize that you’ve always loved her, but not as a sister.”
Cade sank down on the chair beside his bed. “You notice too damned much!”
“One of the downsides of being gifted,” Bran said dryly. “I’m guessing that you never spoke about your feelings to Tam or anyone else.”
Voice hard, Cade said, “Of course not. But Claude Bastien, my unwanted half brother, thought we were married and said as much to me. In my addled state, I believed him. After Tam rescued me, I kissed her as if she was my wife.”
Bran’s brows arched. “That surely set the cat among the pigeons!”
“Much mutual confusion followed,” Cade agreed, thinking back to the satisfaction and shock of that kiss. “I apologized for the kiss, but . . . we found that what I’d said changed . . . everything. Yet I can’t see a future for us because of the damage our relationship would cause to the rest of the family.”
Bran nodded gravely. “What does Tam think?”
“She’s more optimistic than I am.” Cade smiled involuntarily. “She always has been. One of the many reasons I love her.”
“She’s very lovable,” Bran said. “But as you both know, the situation will be . . . challenging.”
“I’m all too aware of that.” Cade drew a deep breath before asking the hardest question. “What do you think will happen in the family if Tam and I say we’re in love and want to marry? Will Rhys and Gwyn forbid me to ever enter Tremayne House again?”
