A Winter's Knight: A Regency Romance by Elizabeth Cole Read Free Book Online Page A

fact, she avoided looking at his face at all. His scar, which he had barely noticed lately, suddenly began to itch. “So you started with the rest of the world,” he said.
    “I shall be quite content to be your wife, Tony,” she went on hurriedly, still not looking directly at him. “We’ll be married, and all shall be like it was supposed to be… before you were hurt. We’ll be perfectly happy, and we shall live at Banstoke Hall.”
    “Banstoke Hall?” he echoed.
Ah, that’s what this is about
, he thought. Some news about his inheritance had got around at last.
    “Of course,” she went on blithely, ignoring his chilly manner. “Not that I need such surroundings. I only need the ring you once gave me.”
    “The one you gave back when you decided I was not the man for you, broken as I was.”
    “Don’t dwell on the past. It’s depressing. Just give me the ring, Tony. You
do
have the ring still?” Angela asked with an edge to her voice.
    He gripped the handle of his cane, feeling the uncomfortable urge to strike her with it. “In fact, I have given it to someone else,” he said, which was the absolute truth. Tony had given it to the jeweler, as part of the payment for Phoebe’s ring, but he felt no urge to tell Angela that.
    “Someone else? When?” she squawked, losing her careful composure. “Who else would take a crip…” she stopped short, seeing a hard glint in his eyes. She had gone much too far, and she finally realized it.
    When Tony finally spoke, his voice was tightly controlled. “It was your right to break off our engagement, Miss Donahue. It is not your prerogative, however, to reinstate it. I think it’s best if you leave now. I never wish to see you or hear from you again.” Leaning lightly on his cane, Tony turned his back on her and walked out of the room.
    * * * *
    How had she lived before meeting Tony, Phoebe wondered. She drifted about the little house she had lived in all her life, hardly knowing what to do with herself. Nan had finally set her to work mending, the only type of work that didn’t require any real attention. Nevertheless, lost in a daydream about Tony taking her to see London, Phoebe suddenly realized that she had sewn no fewer than five buttons on the wrong side of a shirt.
    “Oh, bother,” she muttered as she reached for her scissors.
    Nan hurried in. “The post came, dear. What a surprise, a letter from Captain Sterling! And here’s a letter from Gwendolyn.”
    “Gwen wrote! How wonderful, I haven’t seen her since summer.” Smiling, Phoebe opened the letter from her childhood friend, who was now living in London, and always had exciting news for her old schoolmate. She began to read avidly, sometimes reading a sentence aloud to Nan, who listened just as eagerly to Gwen’s tales.
    Then, all at once, Phoebe’s expression tightened.
    “What is, lamb?” Nan asked.
    “It can’t be…” Phoebe murmured. “It must be a mistake…”
    “What, for heaven’s sake? Tell me!” Nan insisted, staring worriedly at her ward’s pale face.
    Phoebe blinked, as if just realizing that Nan was still in the room with her. Then, in a trembling voice, she began to read from the letter.
    …London is its own world, and I meet the most interesting people. The world is a small one, though. My new acquaintance, Miss Donahue, is engaged to a real hero of the war…he was wounded at Trafalgar. Soon she shall be Mrs Sterling, and guess where they will live? At Banstoke Hall, that old place we used to wonder so much about as schoolgirls! Isn’t it odd the way things happen? Of course, I told Angela all about our childhood games about that place. She was delighted by the stories and looks forward to being mistress of the manor there…
    Phoebe broke off then. Her heart thumped painfully against her chest. Surely it could not be true. But the details fit so well, and Gwen had no reason to lie.
Isn’t it odd the way things happen?
She was a fool. Tony had played with her