Page 32 of The Secret of Drulea Cottage
Santiago frowned and lowered his hand. When he next spoke, the icy edge had returned to his voice. “I’m still in the early stages of healing, so it will probably be weeks before I’m ready to depart. Then again, Briony has been walking with me regularly so I can regain my strength. She’s very kind to those she considers friends.”
“Briony has always been far too willing to give o’ herself to help someone. I wonder if you might recover even faster if ’twas someoneelsehelping you.”
Santiago’s face morphed at that moment as all pretense of courtesy fell away, leaving only aggression in its place.
Niall smirked back at him, seeming to enjoy that his words had gotten under Santiago’s skin.
Why are they so angry with each other? Whatever the reason, I better get rid o’ this friction quickly.
“Santiago, I’ve been meaning to talk to you.” She put as much warmth into her voice as she could while saying the merchant’s name.
The line of his mouth softened just the slightest, and he nodded.
“Lucia, may I exchange places with you?”
Lucia gave her a relieved look as Briony took Santiago’s arm, but Niall looked hotter than a Johnsmas bonfire.
“I’ll be back in a moment fer dinner, Niall. Adaira will be bringing out the food soon, so please let her know I’ll be joining you.”
Niall gritted his teeth, glaring at Santiago’s hand on Briony’s arm. Without giving a response, the dark-eyed man stomped off to the sitting room, taking the tension with him.
At least, Briony thought he did until she looked into Santiago’s eyes and felt a completely different kind of tension. A shiver shot down her spine, and she broke eye contact, but she knew the flush in her face must be visible to everyone.
Lucia’s brow furrowed as she looked between the two of them, but then she pursed her lips and said, “I suppose I’ll go see if Mr. Burgess is around. I’ve been meaning to run into him again, after all.” She gave Briony a final smile before sauntering away.
Briony, breathing a little easier now that everyone was gone, tugged Santiago to the door.
“Briony, why are you taking us outside? I thought you said dinner was almost ready.” There was no trace of bitterness in the man’s voice, only confusion, which gave Briony a thrill of hope that things could be patched up between them.
“I’d rather this be a truly private conversation. I don’ know about yer sister or Niall, but Adaira is notorious fer eavesdropping. Better to be safe.”
Something akin to humor snuck onto Santiago’s face for a few seconds, but then a neutral countenance replaced it. “And what sort of conversation will we be having?”
Briony didn’t answer at first as they ambled out and then onto the path. They reached the same edge of Cramer’s Field where they had stood before. She gestured for Santiago to sit down on the stone where they had rested last time, which he did without saying anything more.
She took a deep breath, looked straight into those shining green eyes, and said, “An honest one, I hope. I care too much about you to let one argument destroy our friendship. You may claim that we were never friends, but I don’ believe that. And I don’ know if you value our friendship as much as I do, but I want to give it another chance if yer willing. What do you say?”
The man’s face, which hadn’t betrayed any feeling when she’d started speaking, now shifted into a smile so large his beard couldn’t conceal it.
And suddenly, everything felt right in the world again. The beautiful warmth of sunshine after a rainstorm filled Briony’s heart, and before she was even aware of it, she was smiling back.
Then Santiago turned somber. “Briony, I-I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things. You don’t have to tell me anything about yourself that you don’t want to. Your secrets are your own, and I don’t have any right to pry.”
“Nay, you were right. I told you before ’tis better to risk some hurt by letting people close to you, and here I’ve done the exact opposite by pushing you away. I want to change that if you’ll let me. Would you mind if I resumed my morning walks with you?”
Santiago clasped her hand in his. “I’d like nothing better. But, Briony, what I said before about the docks…” He sighed. “If you wish to see theSão Nicolausometime, please let me know and I’ll go with you, all right?”
And here we are, back to the same place again—secrets. But maybe if I open up more, so will he.
Briony nodded and rose. “I will. Now, we better get back to the inn; otherwise, we’ll miss dinner.”
Santiago grinned, but this time, it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
They shuffled into the dining room, but just as Briony helped Santiago to a seat, she heard a growl from the kitchen.
“Do you think I’m a fool?! I know exactly who you are, and I rememberwhat you did…”
Briony raced toward the sound and found Niall glaring across the room at Adaira, who looked ready to collapse from fright.
