Page 9 of Avenging the Earl's Lady
“He picked her up and threw her over.”
He’d punched every word from a well of anger, though his face remained eerily calm.Frightening, this man could be, and indomitable.She could see why his children resisted him…and how he still steered them around to his way.And how he managed other members of his household, like herself.
He was like the waves below.He would crash and withdraw, and rise up to crash again.He would never stop.
If she stole from him, she’d pay a price.
“I’m sorry.”She mumbled the words by rote, unable to unscramble her emotions.
Pain stabbed her chest and sent moisture to her eyes, and she took a step back into the stone wall.Her brother had died on a beach below rocks like this, and her brother’s friend, Reginald, also.Shaldon had been there that night, a part of the unsolved riddle of what happened to the two younger men.Shaldon had been there, and somehow, he and his indomitable will had been involved, though Father would never explain how.
She sucked in a breath.The time for mourning had long passed.She must live in the present, and to hell with the old pains that from time to time flared.
And to hell with worries about the future.She’d do what she must to fulfill her most sacred commitment.
“I’m sorry, “she repeated.“Such a trite phrase, but there it is.”Best to push him off his guard.“And the painting?Sir Richard had the real one, not the copy?”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Perry told me the story.”
“She should not have.”
She shrugged and stepped out again.“If you want to lure the Duque de San Sebastian, you have the perfect instrument.”She held her breath and waited for a cutting reply, but he only grunted, keeping pace with her.
“Bakeley wrote to me that Lady Sirena was forwarding an urgent letter from your solicitor.”
Oh, that was so much worse than a cutting remark—he was turning the conversation back upon her and prying.
But she was not one of his children to be ruled and manipulated.“Yes, I have it,” she said.
“I hope all is well.”
“Hmm.”He could hope until the sea rose up and washed away this road but she wouldn’t discuss the matter with him.She’d kept her secrets for decades, as he had kept his.
“If you will stay and help Kincaid for a few days, I would greatly appreciate it.When Kincaid is able to travel, Bakeley will send someone to bring you to Shaldon House, if not in time for the coronation, then at least in good time for the festivities after.”
He’d not bother himself with the task of organizing her return, he’d have his son Bakeley do it.
The heat rising in her now was not shock or embarrassment or grief.
She caught her breath again.Why should it matter to her who he sent?
She quickened her pace, and almost tripped on a jutting rock.
“Careful.”He had her by the arm again.
“This road needs maintaining,” she said.
“It is seldom used.”
“Perhaps now, with Lady Perry marrying, she and Fox will see to it.”
He tucked her hand over his arm, drawing her closer.“Perhaps it’s time you see to your future, Jane.”
Excitement pulsed through her as she remembered the feel of his lips on hers the night before, his hand caressing her.What if…Her throat went dry.
“Mr.Morton has made a good offer,” he said.
