Sea of Christmas Miracles by Christine Dorsey Read Free Book Online

nieces and nephews pulled him into the parlor to see the grand
cedar with its candles and garland of popcorn. And he’d answered
all his mother and father’s questions, well almost all, while they
fed him a hearty stew and canned pears.
    But he still couldn’t understand what
happened to him.
    The voice. He hadn’t imagined it. Thomas was
almost positive. Someone... or something, had helped him save
Margaret and himself. But who? His glance strayed to the portrait
above the mantel. The swashbuckling pirate seemed to return his
stare. Thomas swallowed and looked away. What he was thinking was
ridiculous.
    Perhaps he should concentrate on trying to
figure out why he’d brought Margaret here? Merry was right about
one thing. His mother thought he and Margaret were the love match
of the century. Well, probably not the century, because that would
cover her and his father, and Merry and Andrew. But he and Margaret
were destined for “happily ever after,” at least in his mother’s
eyes.
    Thomas leaned against the paneled wall. He
knew she’d think that. And he brought Margaret anyway. Someone who
hated him enough to kidnap him at gunpoint... even if the gun
wasn’t loaded.
    By all rights he should be in Charleston,
turning Miss Margaret Howe Lewis over to the police and apologizing
to Sander Rhett about missing his holiday gathering. A logical man
knew insulting Rhett was not the way to make a deal with him.
    And Thomas was a logical man. At least he had
been until Margaret kidnapped him. Now he was hearing voices and
doing illogical things... and thinking about her all the time.
    She hadn’t come down to dinner and it was
only his mother’s calming voice that kept him from taking the
stairs two at a time to find out why. So he sat and ate and talked
with his father about the phosphate mines and the rice crop. And as
soon as he left the table he sent word for Margaret to meet him in
the library.
    He was still waiting.
    Thomas stalked to the fireplace and stared up
at the portrait of Jack Blackstone again and wondered if the story
about his kidnapping his wife was true.
    Margaret tapped on the paneled door. Without
waiting for his acknowledgment she took a deep breath and twisted
the knob. He turned to face her when she entered, and she steeled
herself again. While in her room she thought she could see him
without thinking about how handsome he was or how his dimples
flirted with his cheeks when he grinned, or how one lock of dark
hair kept spilling onto his forehead. But she couldn’t, even though
she knew none of that was important... not really.
    Well, she’d just have to force all of that
from her mind, along with the fact that he saved her life, that he
wasn’t near the ogre she’d made him out to be, or that his family
was very nice. What mattered was the children at the orphanage. And
she had to put their welfare first.
    “I’m leaving,” she said before he could open
his mouth. “I realize I’m your...” She shrugged. “Prisoner. But I
can’t stay here.”
    He suppressed his surprise quickly. “Do you
mind telling me why? It appears to me you’re being treated rather
well, considering the circumstances.” She was wearing one of his
sister’s gowns, high necked and slightly bustled. It fit too
loosely. Still, Thomas thought she looked beautiful.
    “Your family has been wonderful.” Her gaze
caught his and held, her eyes squinting slightly. “And I owe you
for saving my life, and am grateful. However—”
    “You’re having a difficult time seeing,
aren’t you?” He’d noticed all day the way her brows knitted in a
slight frown.
    “Yes, but—”
    “Try these.” Thomas moved to the desk and
held out a pair of spectacles. “They belong to my father. He said
you could use them.”

    “That’s very kind, but...” Margaret took the
wire-rimmed spectacles because he stood there holding them out to
her. She tried them on... and quickly took them off. “They make
things more blurred,” she