Seductive Lies (Secret Lives Series) by Colleen Connally Read Free Book Online Page A

you,” her aunt complained. “Your presence here in Torquay serves only as a reminder to Lord Daneford. I believe it would be best if you left for the time being.”
    “Where, pray tell, would you have me go? The only home I know is here,” Harriet protested. “I can’t go. Word will come of Arthur. I need to be here.”
    “It is foolishness on your part if you cling to false hope. Reginald says that it could be years before he is declared legally dead, because they have no body. But there is little hope he is alive.”
    “It is my hope,” Harriet responded, adamantly refusing to leave.
    She couldn’t. She had to be there when Arthur returned. She wrote continually to Arthur, but now she had nowhere to send the letters. She kept them in her dresser drawer. When Arthur returned, she would give them to him to show him she never gave up he was alive.
    The only solace came upon her rides and walks. She would walk for hours on end. Clarissa urged caution , for Harriet walked close to the edge of the cliffs, but to Harriet, it was where she could feel Arthur.
    He was out there. She was certain of that fact. Staring down at the ocean below, she swore she heard Arthur call to her in a whisper . Do not doubt me now. Have faith .
    Less than a month after the news of Arthur’s disappearance, Harriet rose from her bed. Sleep once more evaded her. The moment she closed her eyes, Arthur haunted her. She walked to the open window. A brisk sea breeze greeted her.
    Dark clouds loomed on the horizon. A storm brewed. She smelled it in the air.
    Harriet. Startled, she turned round. She was alone in her room.
    Harriet. There was no mistaking it was her name. She turned back around. Harriet.
    A voice beckoned. Barefoot with only her nightgown upon her, Harriet answered the call. She ran out of her room, down the stairs, and out through the veranda into the fog. She followed the voice. Before her, a presence called to her in a dark swirling haze.
    Harriet. He lives.
    Was it a woman’s voice? Suddenly, a magnitude of shadows encompassed the presence. A chill rushed through Harriet. Below her, the sounds of waves crashing against the rocks echoed. She collapsed upon her knees. The wind blew harder as the rain descended from the heavens.
    Looking upward, the presence disappeared. She was alone, oh terribly alone. She cried and the rain fell.
    In the distance, she heard her name again. This one she ignored. Her outburst must have given cause for alarm. It sounded as if the whole of the household searched for her. Harriet wanted nothing more than for the world to open up and swallow her. Oh, the looks she would receive! She knew well the meaning of such looks.
    Through the fog, a figure appeared and walked toward Harriet. He said nothing, but bent down and lifted her back to her feet. James Carlisle. Harriet recoiled, but he caught her, for she stood dangerously close to the edge. Not asking permission, he picked her up and brought her into Beebe Manor.
    He did not release Harriet. Instead, he carried her up the stairs behind one of the maids and placed her down on the floor of her chamber. Glancing round the small room, his eyebrows rose. “This is yours?”
    Flicking her wet hair back from her face, Harriet regained her balance. She answered simply, “Yes.”
    He nodded in a way that he thought the information interesting. “Change into dry clothes. Then we will talk.”
     
    “Do you have a suicide wish?”
    The words hung in the air. Harriet stared at Carlisle, irritated beyond measure at the man and his arrogance. What did he know of her loss? She fought the impulse to tell him frankly, but her actions could not be explained away with words.
    Harriet had taken her time getting dressed. She hoped the man would be gone before she made her appearance downstairs, but he had waited in the drawing room. Impatiently, by all appearances.
    “I do not have to defend myself to you .” She shook her head in silent anger. Refusing to be