Page 84 of Sands of Sirocco
Her heart thudded as she flipped through it.
Paul Hanover.
And an address listed for him in Giza.
She covered her mouth, a bubble of victorious joy rising within her.
The doorknob jingled.
Ginger held back a cry and slid the drawer shut, still holding the book.As the door opened, she noticed the bracelet still on the desktop.She palmed it as William opened the door.
“Ginger.”His gaze swept over her.“I didn’t expect to find you in here.”
She tightened her shawl over her dressing gown.“I …” Taking the bracelet and the address book, she came around from behind the desk.“I was thinking of my father.Wanted to spend some time in the space he used to inhabit.”
William slipped inside, closing the door.“I can only imagine how difficult it is to have lost him.”He came closer.“I was hoping to have some time to speak with you about it one day.But you seem to slip in and out of the house before I even see you.”
“Oh—” She felt her face flush.“That’s the difficulty of my schedule, I suppose.Nurses keep odd hours.”
William shifted his weight onto his back foot, his head tilting as he considered her words.“That’s good.I worried I might have chased you away.”
“No, of course not.”Her palm broke into a sweat against the objects there.She had no desire to explain them or herself to William, however likeable he was.He looked different tonight.His left arm wasn’t in a sling and hung by his side instead.In his striped pajamas, he could have passed for one of the many patients she tended to in the hospital.
They stood in silence, then Ginger nodded.“I should go to bed.”She hurried past him.
William reached out toward her.“Oh, Ginger—”
She sidestepped to avoid his hand and bumped into a chair near him.As her foot snagged on the fabric of a sheet draped over the chair, it entangled, and she tripped.
With catlike reflexes, William leapt forward, both arms outstretched.He caught her, keeping her from tumbling onto the floorboards.
Ginger froze, his face inches from hers.
Her eyes scanned his, then widened as she sprang away from him.
He’d caught her with both hands.Her jaw dropped and she stared at his left arm.He rubbed the back of his neck.“I—”
“You’re not a cripple.”Her words were a whisper.
William’s face reddened and his head hung in shame.“No.”
“But …” Disappointment crashed into her lungs and stole her words.“But why?Why would you lie?”
William sank into the chair she’d tripped on.“I wasn’t—” He didn’t meet her gaze.“I was never in the service.I’m a fraud.”
On another day, she might have been able to handle his lies with more grace, but tonight her eyes stung with angry tears.“Why, William?Why would you lie to us?”
He paled, then swallowed.“I have a heart murmur.Since I was a boy.I tried to sign up for the service.It was my dream to serve my country.But they rejected me.Instead, I was handed white feathers for my cowardice.So many I could practically make wings.”
Ginger thought of the many soldiers she’d known who lied about medical conditions or their age to serve.Either William was an honest man or he actually deserved those feathers for being a coward.And, right now, she didn’t think of him as honest.“So you lied about your service?And the uniform?”
“The uniform belonged to a friend of mine who died.He was the pilot at the Battle of Aubers.Shot down.Killed.”William flinched.“But when I heard I was to be the new Earl of Braddock, it occurred to me: how could a coward hold such a rank?So I pretended when I arrived at Penmore.And, from there, I didn’t know how to stop the lie.”
She didn’t know how to respond.What if there was even more?
She crossed her arms.“What of the other things you’ve bragged about?”
His voice dropped by degrees.“Those were to impress you.Once I told your family about being a pilot, something seemed to change in the way they viewed me.Even you.The other lies came more easily afterward.”He pulled at his collar.“I heard about the doctor you were engaged to.”He cleared his throat.“I’m good at numbers.Nothing to interest a brave and intelligent woman like you.”
