Page 22 of A Lady's Heart Deceived
Maggie let out an anxious sob. “It’s not real, is it? That letter didn’t come from the British Army. I have been a bloody fool.”
Piers folded the paper and handed it back to her. He couldn’t imagine why someone would pen such a letter unless they were unable to get their hands on the real one.
“No, I don’t think it came from the war office, but that does not imply that the contents are false. It could have been sent from a friend seeking to do you a kindness. Robert’s family would have received the official letter as his next of kin. You were only his fiancée.”
Idiot, why did you have to frame it that way?
“I mean, you and he were not …”
“I know what you mean, Piers. I was never his wife and so shouldn’t expect to have been accorded the respect due of one. But I still feel that somehow, somewhere, this is all wrong. It’s a suspicion that has been growing in my mind for some time now.”
He hadn’t expected to hear that from her lips. His own theory was that Robert Taylor, or whatever his real name was, had duped Maggie into falling in love with him. There was a strong doubt in his mind that the man had been a captain. But this poor girl had grieved for him, had put her life and happiness away while doing what she believed to be honoring his memory.
If he had lied to her, the blackguard hadn’t deserved one minute of her time, let alone her promise to be with him forever.
Piers sat forward in his seat, offering her his hand. Maggie took it, giving him a faint smile when he placed his other hand over hers. “Let’s assume for the time being that what you know of Robert is the truth. But we should keep an open mind. If it transpires that Robert was a fraud, then at least it will settle a great number of questions. Either way, that puts the power back in your hands. The choice to move on with your life can’t be taken away from you. Let us see what we can find—only then should you decide. I am not trying to tell you what to do; I am simply asking that you don’t leap to any conclusions. I have seen others do that, and the price that was paid was far too high.”
Maggie nodded. “It’s strange to think that coming out of grief could somehow be more painful than being in it. I spent so long in a fog of misery. But my vision is becoming clearer every day, and I am finding that the closer I look at what I know of Robert’s life, the less it makes sense.”
Piers caught the unmistakable note of sadness in Maggie’s voice. It tore at him. If only he could wrap his arms around her and offer Maggie comfort. Hold her and give her reassurance that things would sort themselves out.
You could do that, but since you don’t believe in happy endings yourself, it would be the height of hypocrisy to promise Maggie that she could have one.
“Thank you, Piers. We haven’t known one another very long, but I value your advice. You speak plainly. I don’t need someone who is trying to placate me with pretty words.”
He let go of her hand and sat back in his seat. She had already placed her trust in him, and that was a mistake. Shame sat heavily on him; his intentions were not honorable when it came to Maggie Radley. The longer he spent in her company, the more convinced of that he became.
Maggie was bright. Alluring. Piers hadn’t ever thought that it was possible for him to be so engaged by a woman, but there was no doubt it was happening. Every minute they spent together, she was, bit by bit, stealing his heart.
The thought of Robert Taylor had jealousy stirring within him. He wanted nothing more than to reveal the man to have been a fraud, a liar. Only when Maggie stopped thinking of him as being some sort of war hero might she decide that it was time to find love again.
And when she did, Piers would be waiting.
Chapter Fifteen
Their stay at the Saracen’s Head was brief and uneventful. The food was good, the company in the main tavern lively and engaging. But Maggie was subdued and retired to her room early. Piers could imagine that her mind was a constant worry of what she might discover in Coventry. Or what she might not. There were no guarantees in life.
He didn’t linger in the tavern late. Instead, he paid a quick social call to some cousins who lived nearby, then returned to the inn and went to bed. Spending all day sitting in a travel coach was a surprisingly tiring occupation. His fatigue was worsened by his constant worry about Maggie, about what she may be thinking. And also, how she would react to whatever they might uncover in Robert’s hometown.
They were barely beyond the stage of being strangers, but he found himself thinking about her far more than he should. He kept reminding himself that this wasn’t some country jaunt; he had a job to do, and when it was done, he had to return to London.
But even as they sat opposite one another in the travel coach the following morning, Piers couldn’t stop from sneaking sly little glances at her. He silently chided himself. He was acting like an infatuated fool.
Why am I behaving this way around her? It doesn’t make sense.
A slow, deep breath, followed by yet another concerted effort to read his book, failed to stop his mind from wandering. With an exasperated huff, he tossed the book onto the bench.
Maggie lifted her head and their gazes met. “A boring tome?”
“Something like that,” he lied.
She snapped her own book closed and set it on her lap. “Perhaps we should talk. We have a long day ahead of us. There will be time to attempt more reading later.”
Piers nodded. There were plenty of letters he could write but the roads in this part of the county were not particularly well maintained. Any attempts to put pen to paper were doomed to fail. His handwriting was poor enough without making it look like a drunken pigeon had walked across the page. The carriage bounced along well enough most of the time, but there had been several occasions when both he and Maggie had quickly grabbed a hold of their armrests and held on for dear life.
“What would you like to talk about?” he replied.
Please don’t let it be about Robert.
