Read Signed and Sealed for Free Online Page B

commented.

    “I teach piano for extra money, but I’m actually an accountant for a local farmers’ cooperative.” He continued to drink his coffee and push his food around on the plate. Elijah immediately refilled his cup when he emptied it.

    “Thank you.”

    “You’re welcome,” Elijah said. “You haven’t eaten very much,” he commented. “Is there anything special that I can get for you?”

    “No, thank you. I’m just not very hungry.” Will was surprised by his attentiveness.

    “You work hard,” Elijah stated offhandedly, yet very impressed by his ambition and self-reliance.

    “I have to. I have student loans and exorbitant property taxes. But I like what I do,” Will added.

    “Where did you go to school?” Martin asked.

    “University of Michigan.”

    “Your parents must have been very proud of you,” Elijah commented.

    “I wouldn’t know.” Will’s response had a sadness to it that he didn’t hear, but Elijah did.

    After dinner, Martin excused himself, saying that he had business to attend to. He had read the look in Elijah’s eyes and knew he wanted to be alone with Will. Like Elijah, he, too, did not know what to make of him. He appeared to be so completely different from Katrina that it was hard to believe they were siblings. It was also hard for him to believe that Will could have had any part in what Katrina had tried to carry out.

    He was shy and extremely careful with his words. He seemed fearful, yet also too proud to admit it. Will was nothing like Katrina. Katrina blew into this house like she owned it. The first time she talked down to Mrs. Coleman, treating her like a personal maid, was the last time she was allowed to speak to Mrs. Coleman. Elijah tore into her and made it clear she would show respect or she would be sleeping in the stable. Elijah never made idle threats, and she knew it. Katrina harbored very intense hatred for both Elijah and Mrs. Coleman after that episode.

    Elijah and Will moved to the large living room to have their discussion. Elijah poured him a glass of brandy and, handing it to him, stated, “Just in case.” He was laughing when he seated himself next to Will on the sofa. He rested his arm on the back, directly behind Will’s head. He was much too close for Will’s comfort, but he wasn’t going to pull away. Elijah was baiting him and trying to put him off balance. Will was beginning to recognize some of his game.

    “Tell me about yourself, Will,” he prompted. “I know you’re an accountant, you went to school at U of M, and you live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Tell me more about you, personally.”

    “There isn’t much to tell,” Will answered, a bit too grim.

    “Can’t be that bad,” he chided him good-naturedly.

    His statement was a trigger, and Will took immediate offense to what he saw as his condescending attitude. Throughout his life, people always responded to his troubles with, “Can’t be that bad,” or “I’m sure you must be overreacting.” His parents, Katrina, George, no one ever took him seriously. Why did everyone treat him like he was not important? No one in his entire life had ever heeded his call for help. “Will is just overreacting,” “Will can take care of it himself,” “Will doesn’t matter.”

    Eli isn’t interested in my life. He has already said in the most unflattering way possible that he finds me undesirable and considers me to be a party to blackmail. There was no danger that he would ever damage my virtue. All of these feelings came to a startling head as he responded coldly to his statement. “No, of course not. How could anything in my life be that bad?” The indignation he felt began to flow and became unstoppable. He was done playing games.

    “I don’t like you, Mr. Hunter. I think you are the worst kind of man. The kind that gains a little money and with it, a little power. Suddenly you believe that the rest of the world is beneath you and there strictly