The Bed You Make,
chapter 1, continued

Dara ran the tip of her tongue lightly over her lips. She could still feel the tingle from the sensation of her new husband's lips upon her own. The young attorney was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she did not see Stefan's eyes darken at the sight.

“An error on my part?” she asked evenly. “What do you mean?”

“The guard you observed is currently on Helena's payroll.”

“If you know that he is spying for your mother, why haven't you fired him?”

“Better the devil that you know…” Stefan quoted. He briefly stroked his goatee. “In actuality, it suits my purpose to allow Timoshka to remain in my employ. While Helena is unaware that her spy's identity has been compromised, I am able to manipulate the flow of information she receives.”

Dara frowned. “What will that accomplish?”

“Very little,” Stefan admitted. “I am not so naïve as to believe that Helena would expose any of her many secrets based upon the information gleaned through Timoshka's espionage. But if I,” he smoothly corrected himself, “ we are able to maintain for any length of time the pretense of Timoshka's loyalty, then the advantage becomes ours. When Helena realizes that she has been fed a steady diet of erroneous information, she will have no choice but to revisit the decisions she has made during that time.” Stefan took in his new bride's skeptical frown. “Victories against my mother are gained in inches; defeats are immeasurable. It is how our family's battles are fought.”

“Why do I get the feeling that the entire Cassadine family history could be condensed down to one simple motto – ‘do unto others before they get the chance to do away with you'.” Dara recalled all the subtle warnings Stefan gave her about his family's willingness to take extreme measures to insure success. After her limited exposure to Cassadine dealings, the young attorney conceded that perhaps she had not given Stefan's warnings sufficient due. “Two years of never being able to let my guard down,” she mused. The enormity of the task before her began to sink in for Dara.

continued