Silent Deception by Cathie Dunn Read Free Book Online Page B

the glass and took a draught. Minnie watched him, tense, yet relaxed, as if accepting his company. A good sign after ignoring him for four long days. “Two years after my grandmother’s death, Rufus disappeared to Paris, never to set foot on English soil again. Father only told me once, then forbade me to ever mention it again. Up to the day he died, Father tried to obliterate Rufus from the family history.”
    Sympathy shone in her eyes. “How lonely your father must have been; his mother dead, his father abroad. ’Tis no wonder he grew up hating him.”
    “Yes, ours wasn’t a happy home. My mother, well, she has firm views on Rufus, my illustrious ancestor, eloping with a then widowed woman.”
    “They eloped?”
    “I believe so. I only realized when I found their marriage license–Rufus had arranged for a special dispensation to avoid scandal–that he must have been hiding Henrietta after she’d fled from Walker, most likely at our country house in Kent.”
    A gust of wind rattled the window he’d entered through, and Gideon went to secure it. A glance outside quashed any idea of a ride back soon. “Looks like a storm is brewing.” He closed the curtains, glad he had stabled his horse before breaking in.
    As he sat down again, the blanket slipped off Minnie’s feet. He swallowed and reached out to adjust it again, his fingers slowly caressing the delicate skin. She shivered beneath his touch. “Min–”
    “No.” Her sharp tone matched the fire in her gaze. She pulled her feet under her body, elaborately covering every bit of exposed leg. “Not again.”
    “You weren’t disinclined last time, nor the time before.” His thumb brushed her cheek. “You know what I want. And I know you want it, too.”
    She shifted slightly. “That may be the way of the girls in London, but not me. I’m…I’m…”
    “You’re different?”
    “Umm, you could say so, yes.”
    “I see.” His gaze raked over her body, half wrapped in the blanket. “Absolutely.”
    Minnie’s eyes drifted across the room, and she pulled the blanket tighter. “You were suggesting your grandfather and Henrietta lived together while Bartholomew was still alive?”
    “No, I don’t think they dared, even though it’s likely Rufus helped her disappear. I don’t think either of them expected the public reaction, the threat of a murder trial, or even Bartholomew to kill himself.”
    “He must have been distraught, thinking his wife dead.”
    “Or run away.”
    “You think he knew she was alive?” Her breath hitched.
    Gideon wasn’t surprised she found the story unbelievable. His first thoughts had been full of doubt. Only once he’d discovered the marriage license had he realized the truth. “I don’t know. That’s one of the reasons I’m here.”
    “Ah. And the other?”
    “I want to find proof of an earlier link between Rufus and Henrietta. Secret letters, notes, gifts, perhaps.”
    “You wouldn’t find those in this room. It was his. If she had letters from Rufus, she’d hide them from her husband.”
    Of course. Minnie’s words made sense. “Back to the beginning?”
    “Perhaps not quite all the way. He–” Minnie jumped as thunder rolled above the house.
    The continuing growl made Gideon uneasy; a shudder ran down his spine. He glanced around the room, then put a calming hand on Minnie’s shaking shoulder. Just who did he want to calm–her or himself?
    They sat in silence, staring at the closed curtain. Gideon’s heartbeat slowed steadily, and Minnie’s breathing grew steadier beneath his hand.
    “What I began to say…perhaps Bartholomew knew about Rufus. Did they ever meet?” Her voice still trembled.
    “I guess. Henrietta must have met Rufus at a ball or a recital. It appears he wanted to marry her but had to wed Annabelle instead by his father’s orders. So Henrietta ended up here, unhappy.”
    “Then Annabelle died.”
    He nodded. “And she must have hated it here so much she ran