Tony saw the older woman to a chair as the
others followed. Katherine's eyes scanned the wall of photographs
before her. "I can see Megan in those eyes. The
eyes of a dreamer."
"Was she a dreamer?" Laura asked.
"Oh, yes. I was the realist.
Megan always believed that things would be perfect, that everyone
was inherently good."
"The eternal optimist?" Laura
questioned.
"Precisely, Mrs. Steele."
"Call me Laura."
Katherine smiled at her. "Laura,
then. When do you expect- Remington to return?"
"I'm not certain. Fred- the agency
chauffer- is supposed to call and warn us- "
The room fell silent upon Laura's words, as
she winced at the poor choice. "I tried to tell Jessica
and Antony that he wouldn't want to see me. Not that I can
blame him. The last time he did, he was eleven years old.
He'd been with me for most of year when it was decided that he
would be better taken care of by a distant cousin and her husband
who lived in London. I was determined not to let them know
how much it hurt me to let him go. So I put on the act of
my life, said I was tired of having the boy around, bored with
playing mum, and that he was more trouble than he was worth.
I thought he was still in his room, packing his one small case
with his few belongings. When I finished my- performance,
I realized that he had heard every word. Every damning word.
Those eyes - for a moment, I almost took it all back. But
I couldn't. Every day he was with me, was one more day that
I was tempted to tell him the truth."
Laura placed a hand on hers. "You
really cared about him, didn't you?"
"I've never stopped, Laura. He was
Daniel's son- and Megan's. Just before he was born, she
asked me to take care of him for her, until Daniel was able to.
I never had any children of my own. I suppose I always thought
of him as my own."
The telephone rang, and Mildred jumped to answer.
"Remington Steele- Fred-What?" She looked at Laura
with panic stricken eyes. "But- All right." She
hung up. "Mr. Steele's on his way up stairs -"
"Anyone here?" Steele's voice
asked as he entered the outer office.
Laura went into action. "Jessica, Tony,
take Mrs. Morgan into my office. Mildred, the coffee cups-"
she opened the door just as her husband put a hand on the knob.
"Hello, darling. You're back early."
"I left right after the meal, actually.
It was so boring- are Jessica and Antony back?"
"No," Mildred came out of the coffee
room, giving Laura a quick "all clear".
"Mr. Steele. I didn't hear you come
in. I just made some coffee-"
"Thank you, but I'm about coffeed out,
actually-" he went into his office, Laura right behind.
"I'm beginning to grow a bit weary of attending these luncheons
and dinners," he said, stopping as he loosened his tie.
"Has someone else been here?"
"Why do you ask?" Laura wanted
to know.
"Don't you smell it? The scent of
lilacs?"
"Lilacs?"
"I've always associated that scent with
a - woman I stayed with when I was ten or eleven. A former
stage actress who lived in Dublin. We spent part of every
day at the movies. I rather liked it- thought she did as
well."
"She didn't?" Laura asked.
"Not according to what she told the cousin
who came to take me to London to live. According to her,
she'd been looking for a reason to get shed of me - that she was
bored."
Laura put her hand on his arm. "It
hurt you a lot, didn't it?"
"Well-" That crooked, little
boy smile drew Laura to slide her arms around him.
"Did you ever see her again?"
"No. I never wanted to. I
stayed with my cousin's family for barely three weeks before I
ran away."
"Did you ever consider that perhaps she
had a reason for what she did? That she thought someone
else could give you a better life than she could- and the denials
were only a cover for her own feelings of loss?"
"You might be right, Laura, but it doesn't
matter now -"
"Doesn't it, Danny?"
Laura felt every muscle in Steele's body tense
as he heard that voice. He slowly turned to face the woman
he hadn't seen in over twenty years. If the changes in her
appearance rattled him at all, there was no evidence of it in
the frozen gaze of those blue eyes. "Kitty - or should
I call you Mrs. Morgan?"
"Whatever you prefer, Danny," she
said, obviously in pain herself, but unwilling again to reveal
it.
"My name is not- Danny."
"It was the name your mother put on your
birth certificate. Harrison Daniel," she told him softly.
"I've seen my birth certificate.
The name isn't readable- it could be anything."
"Father tried to change that record,"
she told him. "When Megan began to talk about wanting me
to take care of her baby, I realized that she wasn't going to
make it. So I called our parents. Father came-and
when Megan died seconds after you were born, they asked about
a name. I told them Harrison Daniel O'Hara. But Father
declared that there should be no tangible reminders of Daniel
Chalmers- and he refused to even consider my taking care of you.
He told the authorities to find a foster home until he could make
other arrangements. I wrote to Daniel, about Megan's death,
about - his son-" there were tears in her eyes.
"You could have gone to court," Steele
suggested, but Laura could see that the ice was beginning to thaw.
Katherine shook her head. "A second
rate actress with a police record? I stood no chance of
winning a court battle. I stayed as long as I could, kept
in on your whereabouts, but I was offered a job in London and
decided to take it. When Daniel was released, I went back
with him, tried to convince Father to tell us where you were.
He refused to even speak to Daniel, threatened to go the police
if Daniel didn't stay away. We tried on our own, but the
family was one step ahead of us, always moving you to a new cousin
or friend. Finally, I made Daniel go back to London.
Told him to get on with his life. He disappeared into pubs
in Whitehall, and told me to leave him alone. I didn't see
or hear from him again for almost ten years."
When Steele was silent, Laura asked, "How
did you overcome your father's objection to your taking care of-
Danny?"
"He died six months before the cousins
that were keeping Danny decided to emigrate to Australia.
So I convinced my mother to let him come and live with me in Dublin-
just until someone else agreed to take him in. She agreed,
on the condition that I promise not to tell him anything about
Megan- and not to contact Daniel."
"And you agreed to that?" Steele
asked.
"I was desparate," she insisted.
"I wanted to keep my promise to Megan in some small way.
I took a small cottage near the theatre district - one of the
movie houses was devoted to classic American movies, and I enjoyed
watching them. I doubted that a ten year old boy would share
my enthusiasm, however. I fully expected him to be a handful-
angry, resentful. The truth was a surprise."
Steele turned away, going to stare silently
out of the window. Curious, Laura asked, "What was
he like?"
Katherine smiled at the memory. "Quiet.
Too quiet. He spoke only when spoken to- I shuddered to think
about what could have broken his spirit and so damaged his self
confidence. I started taking him to the movies with me-
and I began to notice a change. His favorite was anything
with Humphrey Bogart, but he enjoyed them all. No matter
how many times he'd seen a picture, he would want to see it again."
"You mentioned a change?"
"That charm began to show through.
And his eyes-his eyes started to glow. The same glow his
mother's had had. It took a year for me to gain his trust.
We talked about so many things- even about his desire to find
his parents, to have a place to call home. I was considering
breaking my promise and telling him the truth when my mother's
cousin and her husband arrived on my doorstep to take Danny to
London." Katherine stole a glance at the taunt jawline
of the man behind Laura. "Danny didn't want to go,
bless him. Nor did I want him to. But I knew I had
no legal recourse, and I would be damned before I let those people
know how much it hurt me to give him up again. So I sent
him to his room to pack. The cousin's gloating face made
me lose my temper, and I- I told them I was glad they had come
to take him off of my hands. That I was bored, tired of
being tied down by the kid. I told them he was nothing but
trouble, never doing what he was told, a poor student, always
threatening to run away. It was all lies," Katherine
admitted softly, greatfully accepting the tissue that Jessica
held out. "I couldn't have wished for a more obediant,
brighter child. I suppose I hoped they would change their
minds. That's when I heard him say he was ready to go.
His voice- it was so different. And those eyes- like blue
ice. He left that house and never once looked back.
I cried for two days," she finished quietly.
"I never once saw you shed any tears,"
Remington said at last. "In all the time I was with
you. You were too strong, I always thought."
"Perhaps. But not when it came to
you. I DID cry," she said. "And then I went
to London. Since you were gone, I was free to find Daniel
and tell him where you were. I thought I could make it up
to you, somehow. But it took me six months to track him
down. He agreed to come with me - but you had already run
away a week earlier, and the cousin had written you off as a lost
cause. Apparently you became quite the rebel."
Steele shrugged dismissively. "They'd
only wanted me for the free labour in their print shop.
I'd go on a delivery and detour by a movie house. I'd sneak out
at night and began to run with a rather rough crowd. The
police brought me home more than once for violating curfew.
Finally, one day, I took the money they owed me for my work from
the till and just left. I decided that I didn't need anyone
to take care of me." He felt Laura slip an arm around
him. Until I met you, his eyes told her.
"Daniel and I searched everywhere for
you, but you were nowhere to be found. Mother became ill
and I had to return to Ireland, and Daniel went on about his business,
but always with an eye out for the boy whose photograph I'd shown
him. Do you remember that photo, Danny?"
"The photographer in the park," he
said. "We'd gone there after watching 'The Maltese
Falcon" for the tenth time."
"Yes."
"So Daniel knew who I was from the beginning?"
"Not immediately. At first, you
were only a cheeky young pickpocket who lifted his waller.
It was only after he hunted you down and got a good look at you
that he realized who you were." She looked at him.
"He wanted to tell you, but he sensed the anger that you
had built up and was afraid of losing you comepletely. So
he made you his protoge, and taught you everything he could.
He contacted me, asked me to come and make amends. I didn't."
"Why not?" Steele asked.
"There were several reasons. I knew
you'd never agree to listen to me, and to explain who I was
would mean revealing Daniel's secret, and he wasn't ready to do
that. I stayed away until after you went out on your
own when you were- what? Sixteen?"
He nodded at the memory. "Almost
seventeen, actually. I felt I'd learned as much as I could
from Daniel, and needed to continue my lessons elsewhere."
"He understood that. I met him in
London and agreed to help him with another confidence scheme.
He was so certain it would work. But it didn't. Daniel
managed to get away, but the authorities questioned me about how
well I knew the man. I said not at all, but the barrister
who was invovled in the investigation kept calling, taking me
to dinner."
"Jason Morgan," Laura guessed.
"Yes. Jason knew about my past association
with someone matching Daniel's description, and he didn't seem
to mind. I saw Daniel one time before I agreed to marry
Jason. He didn't even try to talk me out of it, simply said
that I deserved to be loved and taken care of. I saw him
infrequently until after Jason's death. He found me in the
cottage, and tried to convince me to go back into that life.
I refused, but told him he was welcome to visit me whenever he
wished."
"Did he?"
She smiled. "Often enough that I
knew that my Danny was now known as Remington Steele. He
told me about how you thought the Earl of Claridge might be your
father. I was furious that he hadn't taken the opportunity
to tell you the truth then."
"When did you last see him?"
Steele wanted to know.
"Just after the Earl's death. He
acted so strangely and his goodbye sounded so- final, that I refused
to let him leave until he told me what was wrong."
"He told you he was ill, then?"
"Very ill," she said gravely.
"A combination of working in the coal mines as a boy and
a minor heart problem. Both were controlled with medication
for several years, but finally Daniel's way of life, the stress,
always living on the edge, it caught up with him."
Steele shook his head. "I don't
recall ever seeing him take anything stronger than an aspirin--
but I do recall now asking about a spell of terrible sounding
coughing. He passed it off as a cold that he couldn't quite
get rid of, told me not to worry."
"That was Daniel," Katherine told
him.
Laura recalled that when Daniel had met the
Earl of Claridge, he'd pretended to have a 'touch of the black
lung'. "He never told you about his child hood, Remington?"
"Not a word. I never even knew where
he'd been born."
Katherine said the name of a small town in
Wales. "I wouldn't have known but for an actor I worked
with in the early days. He'd grown up with Daniel. They
were cousins. Daniel came by to see him one evening, and we met.
Harry - his friend- told me about how they'd worked the mindes
until they were fourteen, then cut and run away. Harry convinced
Daniel to use me in one of their schemes. The three of us
became inseperable. Until one night Harry played cards with
the wrong man and got knifed when he was caught cheating.
Daniel was devastated, but he insisted on going ahead with the
game we were planning. Of course, it didn't work, we both
barely escaped the police. I invited him to stay with me
in Dublin until things cooled down a bit. He'd only been
there a few days when Megan came for a visit. One look at
Megan, and Daniel was hopelessly lost. I could see how much
he loved her by the look in his eyes. I truly believe he
might have changed, if the police hadn't traced us down.
They questioned me, threatened to take me to jail if I didn't
give them Daniel. I was willing to go, but Daniel came into
the room and gave himself up. He was sentanced to two years
for his crime. Megan went back home, already talking about
how when Daniel was free, they were going to be married.
She wrote to him almost every day, and since our parents disapproved,
he sent the replies to my address. About two months after
Daniel's arrest, Megan suddenly appeared on my doorstep, case
in hand, saying that Father had thrown her out. She wouldn't
tell me why, so I went to see him myself. He said that Megan
was going to have Daniel's child, and he wanted no part of it.
There was more, but I was so used to his tirades about how disappointed
he was in me that I didn't listen to it. Megan had already
written Daniel about the baby, and she began making all sorts
of plans. She was going to have the baby, which she was
certain would be a boy, and then go to work until Daniel was free
and could marry her. She said Daniel would surely find a
real job, and they would live happily ever after."
Her eyes were misty. "I think they would have.
Daniel was a changed man after he met Megan. If she had
lived- But she didn't. And everyone suffered. Daniel,
me. You, most of all." She rose slowly to her
feet. "If you want me to leave, all you have to do
is say that word. I'll return to London and never bother
you again."
Steele met her look squarely, then looked away
again. "I have to think," he said, and left the
office before Laura could say a word.
"He'll be back," she told Katherine.
"He's confused. That was a lot of information for him
to take in."
"He did the same thing after Daniel
told him the he was really Mr. Steele's father," Mildred
told her.
"I've no doubt that Daniel's confession
disturbed him deeply," Katherine commented.
Jessica tried unsucessfully to hide her yawn.
"Excuse me. Jet lag. I think I'll go home and
get some rest."
"I'll drive you over-" he offered,
getting ready to duck if she took a swing at him.
"Very well, Antony," she responded
less coolly than he had anticipated.
"Oh, Tony, I have some news about your
application for an investigator's liscense."
"What now?" he wondered.
"They've agreed to count your time as
a government agent - if you stay with the agency for six months
to learn proper procedure."
"Six months, eh?" He grinned.
"Well, if Steele can handle it, so can I."
Jessica came over to Katherine, taking the
woman's hands in hers. "I'll see you later, Mrs. Morgan."
"I'll look forward to it, Jessica.
And you as well, Antony."
"Tomorrow, Laura."
Laura let them go, then turned to Mildred.
"Have Fred bring the limo around, Mildred. Mrs. Morgan
and I are going to the apartment."