The information he'd most feared wasn't there. Apparently Mildred's investigation had only gone as far as who Daniel Chalmers really was. So far, at any rate. "It would be silly to deny it, my dear, with the proof right here, practically staring me in the face. Yes. The Earl of Claridge and I are first cousins. My father was the younger son, just as I told you he was."

"You never said a word- "

"Because there was no need to."

"But- Mr. Steele thought that the Earl was his father- and you were willing to let those miners kill the Earl-"

"No. I never intended that they would succeed in that endeavor, Mildred. Without Harry's interference, they wouldn't have realized they'd been hoodwinked until Felicia and I were away with the jewels from the wedding reception."

"But- he's your cousin!" Mildred insisted. "And you planned to rob him!"

Daniel sighed deeply. "Yes, I did." She glared accusingly at him, and Daniel reached out across the table. "Sit down, and I'll attempt to explain."

Mildred adjusted the burners under the food, and seated herself at the table. "Why didn't the Earl recognize you?"

"If you'll recall, I was wearing a disguise. I was passing myself off as Bertie Carstairs," he told her, slipping easily in that character's accent. "A simple miner, just wantin' t'pay tribute to the Earl and 'is lovely new bride."

"And steal the family jewels in the process," Mildred added darkly, not cracking a hint of a smile at his words.

"Ill gotten gains," Daniel muttered.

"Oh, Daniel," she sighed.

"Mildred, ask Harry. He'll tell you himself that the majority of our targets over the years were the upper crust of society. Those who had made their fortunes, inherited or otherwise, on the backs of the common people. According to my grandfather and uncle, my own mother was one of those so-called 'common people'. But she had more class in her little finger," Daniel declared, holding up a pinkie, "than either of them had in their entire bodies." He smiled tightly. "Besides, I'm not at all certain that Felicia and I would have gotten away with much- perhaps a few baubles from the safe in Kevin's study, but-"

"You really just wanted to be there, didn't you?" Mildred said in a quiet voice. "To be part of it all- and you nearly got the Boss killed because of it."

Daniel's face revealed the truth in Mildred's words. "I had no idea that those miners were that desperate until I was in far too deep to extricate myself. And, if you'll recall, Mildred, it was *I* who ultimately gave the warning that saved Kevin's life."

"But he still didn't recognize you."

"Until that event, Mildred, it had been over forty years since Kevin and I had seen each other. And he's a few years younger than I."

Mildred nodded. "Nearly seven years, if I remember correctly."

"Kevin's father married late, unlike my father. For seven years, my grandfather and uncle were both terrified that I might someday be installed as the Earl. And with my background, that simply wasn't an option. I've always thought that the old Earl laid down the law to his elder son and told him to either marry and produce an heir or else."

Mildred looked at him, sitting there, trying to hide his anger and pain behind a smile. "That hurt you, didn't it?"

Daniel lifted his shoulders dismissively. "I learned to deal with it."

"What did the Earl do when he realized who you were?" Mildred asked. "Or did he?"

"Oh, yes, he recognized me the moment I entered his study as myself. Wanted to go out and shout from the rooftops that he'd finally found me."

"Why didn't you let him?"

"Can you imagine the scandal if a tabloid got wind of the fact that the long lost cousin of the Earl of Claridge was a con man?" He shook his head. "And they would have. But I really do think Kevin wanted to make up for the things our grandfather and his father did."

"Is that why he offered you the security job? To keep you close by and out of trouble?"

"I think so. He and I spent a bit of time together after you all returned to Los Angeles."

"So he does know-"

"About my being ill?" Daniel finished. "Yes. And he offered to help- financially, of course. But I turned him down. I'd been on my own for most of my life without the help of my father's family," he explained when Mildred gasped in consternation.

Mildred seemed to accept his reason, and stirred her coffee before saying anything else. "It would have been a real coincidence if the Earl had turned out to be Mr. Steele's father, huh?"

"Ironic, actually," Daniel agreed quietly, not quite meeting her probing gaze.

"I mean, your having practically raised him and all- and if it turned out that you were his cousin-"

"I believe something is burning, Mildred," Daniel said in an attempt to change the subject.

Mildred jumped from her chair to check the contents of the pans on the stove. "I don't think so. Everything's fine-" she checked inside the oven.

"I'm ready for some coffee," Daniel announced, rising to go toward the coffee maker.

"Hold it right there, Peter Daniel Matthews."

Daniel's eyes widened as he turned to look at her, and then he began to laugh. "Do you have- any idea how long it's been since- anyone has called me that?" His laughter was punctuated by a spate of coughing.

Mildred, accustomed now to his coughing, watched him with muted concern and waited for the spell to pass before responding. The one time she'd offered her assistance during one, he'd waved her attempt to help aside. "Oh, probably- forty years?" she guessed.

"At least."

"Which still doesn't tell me why you were so certain that the Earl WASN'T Mr. Steele's father."

"Was I?" Daniel asked.

"Your attitude said you were. After all those years of Mr. Steele wondering who his father was, if you'd believed that it was the Earl, I think you would have acted differently."

"Interesting. How do you think I would have acted?"

"Happy for the Boss. That he'd finally grabbed onto the brass ring that you'd been aiming him at all those years. If he hadn't been so nervous about meeting the Earl, I think that Mr. Steele might have picked up on it." Mildred turned off one of the burners on the stove. "Did you know that the Earl had an illegitimate son?"

"I had heard a- rumor to that effect," Daniel admitted cautiously. "But nothing concrete. When we spoke that morning at the Manor, Kevin told me about the boy, that he hoped Harry might be this- Sean James."

"But you knew he wasn't, didn't you?" Mildred insisted. She had to keep going. It was too important not to.

"Now, how could I possibly have known something like that?" Daniel asked. "I had no real contact with my father's family from the day I turned sixteen." He put a hand in his lap and crossed his fingers. "For all I knew, Harry MIGHT have been Kevin's long lost son. I would have been delighted for him if he had been. Harry deserves a father like Kevin, don't you think?" Daniel began, but Mildred kept hammering away.

"Why don't I believe you, Daniel?" Mildred questioned, eyeing him carefully. "I still think there's more to this than you're telling me, Daniel," Mildred said, but she got the coffee cups and filled them before handing one to him. "You might as well tell me everything. I'll find it eventually."

Daniel studied his coffee. "You and your trusty computer, hmm?" he asked, finally looking at her through the steam.

"You got it."

He took a sip of the liquid. "Then I'd set to work, if I were you. Because there's not much more to tell, really," he said, sitting down again. "You have most of it here." He indicated the folder.

Mildred shook her head. "I only went up to your discharge from the Army in '44. After that, you vanished. Changed your name-"

"Chalmers was my mother's name before she married," Daniel said. "Thought it would be more difficult to trace."

"It would if someone was looking for Peter Daniel Matthews," Mildred agreed. "I don't think it will take me very long to do a background check on Daniel Chalmers. Interpol, Scotland Yard- And I seem to recall Miss Holt mentioning some aliases-"

"You're not going to let this drop, are you?" Daniel asked.

"Not on your life. Because if what I suspect is true, then you have to come clean. And not necessarily with me."

"And exactly what is it that you suspect, Mildred?" Daniel's voice was soft- and if Mildred had been almost anyone else, she would probably have heeded the warning in his tone.

Instead, she looked him straight in the eye and said, "That Mr Steele- Harry- is your son."

***

Laura glanced at Remington as they entered the apartment. "You've been awfully quiet, Mr. Steele," she teased. "Could it be that you're upset because I was right about Mrs. Dawes?"

"Nonsense, Laura," Remington insisted, removing his jacket and loosening his tie. "I could use a drink- care for a glass of wine?" he asked, turning toward the kitchen.

"How about champagne instead?" Laura suggested, following him. "And stop changing the subject. You're upset because my theory proved correct-"

"On the contrary. I'm delighted that Mrs. Dawes is under arrest for attempted extortion and that Hero is once again ensconced in his Bel-Air mansion with a new caretaker due to your expert sleuthing." He pulled a bottle of champagne from the refrigerator, found two glasses. "The woman should have been shot for drugging the poor animal that way. You heard the veterinarian. Another dose of that drug and Hero would have been a dead duck- er, dog." He handed her a glass of sparkling wine. "To Hero," he said, lifting his own glass.

"To Hero," Laura echoed, touching her fluted glass to his before drinking from it.

Remington returned to the living room and sat down in a chair. "It made sense that Mrs. Dawes was responsible for the kidnapping," Laura continued as she joined him. "No one heard Hero barking the night he disappeared. And everyone else had an airtight alibi. It was a snap for Mrs. Dawes to lure poor Hero into that shed and then to administer the drug that would keep him quiet. If we hadn't discovered what she was up to, she would have gotten away with it."

"I must say that getting her to agree to let her think that you and I were delivering the ransom while you in reality followed her was a brilliant move," Remington agreed, toying with the stem of his glass.

"It was all part of HER plan, really. Well, except for my following her to where she was keeping Hero. It's the reason she contacted us to begin with. With someone of Remington Steele's impeccable reputation unable to find Hero, she would have simply retrieved the ransom later, once proof of Hero's tragic death had "arrived" at the estate, and no one would have been the wiser." Laura took another sip of champagne. "Okay, if you're not upset about my saving Hero, then what IS the problem?" she asked.

"IS there a problem?" he asked, staring into his wine.

"Well, something's wrong," Laura insisted. "You haven't been yourself all day You've been so quiet,- and not as- attentive-" She attempted a smile. "In the old days, that usually meant you were planning something you knew that I wouldn't like."

He didn't smile in response. "I've just got a lot on my mind, Laura," Remington reminded her. Finishing his wine, he stood up, grabbing his jacket.

Laura watched him, alarms sounding loudly in her head. "Where are you going?"

"Out."

"At this time of night?" Laura asked.

"For a walk. I need to clear my head-" He planted a light kiss on her forehead. "Go on to bed. We've got a long day tomorrow. I shouldn't be long."

Laura stopped him from turning away toward the door. "You WILL be back?" She felt like she was a little girl again, watching her father walk out of the house. Was it really her destiny to watch every man in her life leave it?

Remington stopped, and his eyes softened to a lighter hue. He touched her cheek with a gentle finger. "I give you my word, I'll be back before you know it." He leaned down for another, longer kiss. "Keep my side of the bed warm. I'll wake you when I get in." Sliding his hand around the back of her neck, he pulled her close again for yet another kiss, then was gone.

Laura looked at the closed door for a long moment, and then sank down on the sofa. He'd promised. And Remington Steele had never broken a promise he'd made to her. She pulled a throw pillow into her arms and hugged it to her. After all, Remington Steele's word was his bond. Isn't that what he always told her?

If she was ever going to trust him, she had to trust him now.

***

Daniel paused as he climbed the second flight of stairs, catching his breath. Harry and Laura had mentioned that they would be moving to the new house in Malibu by the end of next week- perhaps it was a good thing that he'd be in hospital starting on Monday morning for a few days. At least he'd be away from these bloody stairs. Strange that they hadn't seemed to bother him unduly before tonight, though.

"Face it, Daniel," he said aloud into the empty hallway, "you're just trying NOT to think about your earlier conversation with Mildred." He'd been surprised by her intuition- and had found himself telling her things that he hadn't told anyone in over thirty years. Anyone except for Kevin, that is. Kevin and Mildred were the only two people that knew the truth. And Dr. Becker, a small inner voice added. But Becker didn't know the entire story.

He sighed over his promise to Mildred that he would tell Harry that truth- he needed more time. Time to make sure that Harry was ready to hear what he had to say. That he wouldn't turn his back in anger. The third flight of stairs wasn't as difficult as he mused over his prickly dilemma. Mildred had given him a week. Any longer, and she would tell Harry the truth herself, and let the chips fall where they may.

He placed the key in the lock and slid the metal panel to the left, then entered the loft. His fingers searched for the light switch beside the door. When he located it, Daniel flipped it on, and then went still as a familiar voice spoke.

"'Lo, Daniel."

Looking up, Daniel found his visitor reclining in chair, his long legs stretched out before him. "Harry. What are you doing here?"

To Be Continued . . .

---

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Original content ©2001 by Nancy Eddy