Page 70 of With Love in Sight
Finally he was at the churchyard gate. He let himself in, walked unseeing past the graves of known and unknown people of the town, headed for the more stately tombs of his ancestors. He was nearly upon the two figures at the far end before he even realized they were there.
The shock of seeing Imogen and Emily before Jonathan’s grave froze him. In the next instant he had the horrified thought that he should move away. He could come back to make his peace another time.
But as he made to leave, Imogen’s words reached him, sending a jolt of despair through him.
“I cannot marry Caleb. Not now. I don’t think ever.”
Chapter 29
Unable to help himself, Caleb turned back to the two women. Imogen’s words swirled through his head. Had Emily been working at hurting his suit? Had she purposely sabotaged his chances with Imogen?
The answer was glaringly obvious. Of course she had. He was guilty, deserved every bit of pain he had received for it. But when would it end? Was he forced to pay for one mistake—as heinous as it had been—for the rest of his life?
Hurt, followed quickly by fury, lanced through Caleb, consuming the confusion that had overwhelmed him but moments before. He ignored the desperate reasoning in his head that told him Imogen had always been opposed to marriage to him, that her words could well be nothing more than a reflection of those earlier thoughts. Instead his heart took over, silencing all else.
He marched toward them, each step sending a jolt up through his limbs, feeding the rage that hummed through his body. He was hurting; he wanted to make someone else hurt as well.
He could tell by the stiffening of her shoulders that Imogen sensed him first. She released Emily’s hand and turned to face him, starting violently. Her eyes widened behind her spectacles.
“Caleb, what in heaven’s name are you doing here?” she exclaimed, attempting a smile. But she had always been an abysmal actress. The remembrance made his chest ache, and he pushed it aside.
Her voice, normally so quiet, was overloud in the hush of the early morning air. Emily faced him with a sharp pivot, her surprise evident.
Caleb remained silent. He watched with narrowed eyes as Imogen’s false smile wavered on her lips—lips he had kissed just the night before—and she peered sideways at Emily. His sister, for her part, had gone uncommonly pale. Her scar stood out, angry and red on her cheek. Pain overwhelmed him, as it always did when he looked on his sister’s injuries. It was a visible reminder of the sins of his past.
“I could ask the same of you,” he finally stated with barely controlled fury in his voice. “It is not a common place for two young ladies to walk at the break of dawn.” He took a step closer.
Imogen watched him closely, guilt evident on her sweet face. “It is not uncommon to pay one’s respects to the departed,” she said, her voice full of false bravado.
“Am I to understand that you typically walk out of doors before breakfast to visit the grave of someone you never knew? My goodness, I seem to learn something new about you every day, my dear.”
At his tone Imogen’s eyes narrowed. “It is not unheard of, if one’s friend was close to the departed.”
The words shot like a barb. His guilt made him harsh as he turned to Emily. “Ah yes. Your friend. How could I forget that you two have grown so close in the past days?”
“We have,” Imogen answered, a new caution coating her words.
“I wonder just how much my dear sister has told you of that long-ago day when Jonathan died,” he mused, his voice cruel. Emily made a strangled sound in her throat and backed up a step.
He clenched his teeth. Her reaction was answer enough.
“Yes, I see you have been filling Imogen’s ear with every detail,” he choked.
Imogen stepped into his path, her eyes turquoise flames. Her action was blatant; she was protecting Emily from him. The thought was almost laughable. It had been Emily who had done the damage this day.
“She has told me nothing of how your brother died,” Imogen said, her voice tight. “And, indeed, I do not know why you are attacking your sister, my lord. She has been nothing but your champion.”
This he did laugh at, the sound harsh and raw even to his own ears. “My champion? Is that what you call ruining one’s chances for marriage?” He turned back to Emily, his anger mounting. “You must have seen how I’ve been suffering all this time. Why did you do it? Why have you punished me even more?”
Suddenly Imogen’s hand was on his arm, tugging him back. “Caleb, what in heaven’s name are you talking about? What is wrong with you?”
He spun on her, his anger spiraling out of control. “And you,” he said through gritted teeth, “I thought you were unlike everyone else. I thought you would not hold it over my head, would at least attempt to hear the story from my own lips before you rushed to judgment. But you could not give me even that, could you?”
A sudden movement drew his attention. He caught sight of Emily just as she crumpled against the smooth stone of their brother’s tomb, her head bowed. Before he could move toward her, however, Imogen was there. She pulled Emily’s arm up and over her shoulder, supporting her around the waist with the other. Emily’s head lolled on her shoulder.
When Caleb made an instinctual move to help, Imogen looked at him. Her beautiful gaze was full of disappointment, confusion, and condemnation.
Suddenly an overwhelming weariness pressed down on him. All was lost. Imogen was lost.
