The Pursuit by Lori Wick Read Free Book Online Page A

speak.
    “Would you like me to sit with him?”
    “No, I’ll do it.”
    “I’m going out for a little while.”
    “All right.
    Edward left without further word, unaware of the way Niki sat and thought about him for a long time. She then remembered his Bible on the ledge. Hoping he’d meant what he said before, she went for it and returned to the bedside.

    I’ve been delayed but still plan to be with you before Christmas. Don’t worry after me, but please pray for wisdom as I make final plans to come home. If I don’t make it by Christmas Day, I shall be with you shortly thereafter or send word to the contrary.
    Edward hated how cryptic his note sounded, but he was not willing to be more informative at this point. Had a few more answers come to the surface, that might have been possible, but right now he felt it best to be as secretive as his traveling companions.
    Having written and posted the letter to Henry, Edward made his way slowly back to the inn. He passed the bakery and purchased a few sweets, enough to share with Niki, but then moved directly on. He wondered whether his absence might be taken as suspect, but he knew better. He also knew that if Niki asked him, he would tell her the truth: He’d sent a letter home, telling his family he’d been detained.

    “Your eyes have darted behind me to one corner of the room the entire meal,” Edward commented during supper that evening. “What is going on?”
    Niki looked at him in surprise. The day had been quiet. Lunch and their walk after had been uneventful, and Edward had said little even when Denley had managed more broth and remained awake a bit longer. The servant even had some color in his face.
    “I think I’ve been spotted.”
    “By whom?”
    “Someone I wish to avoid.”
    Thinking, What a horrible way to live, Edward asked, “What will you do?”
    “I’ll wait until morning and see if I’m right.”
    “And if you are?”
    “We’ll have to move.”
    “Move where?”
    Niki’s eyes were suddenly full of suspicion.
    “What did you do this morning when you left for a time?”
    “I wrote my family a letter to say I’d been delayed in my return.”
    Niki watched him carefully.
    “If you’re thinking that I’ve betrayed you in some way,” Edward went on quietly, as though they were discussing the weather, “I haven’t. I have no reason to do such a thing. I’ve tried to assure you of my honesty, but I realize you’re going to have to learn that on your own. As for my involvement with you and Denley, I only hope I don’t land myself in trouble because of it. If I do, you’ll have to live with the way you betrayed me.”
    Niki couldn’t hide her surprise. While brief, it nonetheless showed in her eyes just long enough for Edward to be convinced that he’d figured her out.
    “So I’ll ask you again,” he started quietly. “Move where?”
    “From here.”
    “The inn or Lisbon?”
    “Lisbon.”
    “With or without Denley?”
    “I would never leave Denley behind. Surely you’ve assumed that much.”
    “True, I have, but since I don’t know how desperate you are, from whom you’re hiding, or why, I naturally have questions.”
    Niki nodded in understanding even as her eyes darted across the room again.
    “I’m quite finished,” Edward said. “Shall we go up?”
    Niki met his eyes, questions filling her. Why was he helping? Why did he care? And how did he seem to know her needs before she could even voice them?
    With only a nod of agreement, Niki rose to her feet. Not for the first time Edward reminded himself to treat her as he would another man. He was at the stairway ahead of her and started up. It went against everything he’d been taught, but he did it. Not even at the bedroom door did he stand on propriety. He went in ahead of Niki, nodded to Rosario, and checked on Denley.
    Niki paid the young woman and joined Edward across the bed. Denley opened his eyes.
    “I think we’ve been discovered,” Niki wasted no time