Unlaced by the Outlaw (Secrets in Silk) by Michelle Willingham Read Free Book Online Page B

that? Henry, you were away for years. You never saw our girls growing up the way I did.”
    His silence hung over both of them, before he admitted, “It wasn’t by choice.”
    No, but when he’d had the chance to return, he’d gone to London instead. He claimed it was to settle the details of the inheritance after his older brother’s death, but it had felt like he was avoiding her. Their marriage had slowly deteriorated over time, and now she didn’t know how to repair the torn seams.
    Beatrice took a deep breath and forced herself to meet his gaze. In his eyes she saw sympathy and a trace of grief. “I’m sorry. It’s just been a difficult day for me.”
    He stood and straightened, looking more like an officer than her husband. “You’re not alone in this, Beatrice. But for one day, you must put aside your melancholy and try to be happy for Amelia. She needs both of us to stand at her side.”
    She knew he was right, but she asked, “Give me a few minutes more, and I’ll return.”
    After he’d gone, she touched her cheek where he’d kissed her. He was trying so hard to mend the differences, but she didn’t know if that was possible anymore. The heartache inside her was more than grief over Margaret. It was loneliness and years of regret. She wasn’t the sort of wife Henry needed anymore, and she was struggling with the words she wanted to say. The marriage she had and the marriage she wanted were two different things.
    You have to try again, her conscience urged. Allow him to kiss you and comfort you.
    But she didn’t know if she had the strength to try again.

    The days and nights blurred and were impossible to count. Cain was only aware of each breath and the agonizing fire upon his back. He vaguely remembered the accident and that he’d somehow fallen against the surface of the coach, his shirt catching fire.
    A cool, damp cloth rested across his shoulders, and there was a pillow beneath his cheek. He didn’t know where they were or what had happened to Margaret, but the vague memories suggested that she’d fed him and given him water during the past few days.
    It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but as he opened them, he saw Margaret seated on a stool, warming her hands before a fire. Her hair was down around her shoulders, and her sage-green ball gown was ragged and torn. Despite her unkempt appearance, he’d never been so glad to see her face.
    “Good morn to you, lass.” His voice came out raw, hoarse from all the smoke he’d inhaled.
    She spun, and her eyes revealed a blend of shock and relief. “You’re awake.” A fragile smile bloomed upon her face, and it warmed him to see it.
    “Where are we?” he managed to ask.
    Her shoulders lowered, and she admitted, “I found this village, and I made arrangements for us to stay here.”
    His suspicions sharpened at that. “How?” No one would willingly give up a cottage without a good deal of money. Had she found the coins he’d hidden within his plaid? He’d deliberately kept very little in his sporran, for it was too easy for thieves to steal.
    Margaret’s gaze turned downward, and she flushed. “I told them you were my husband. I offered to pay them with my pearl necklace so we could stay here until you recovered.”
    The necklace was far too much to offer. It was a wonder someone hadn’t stolen it from her at night. It bothered him even more to think that if anyone had tried to harm her, he couldn’t have lifted a hand to stop them. “That was too dangerous, lass. They could have taken the necklace and killed both of us.”
    “No, this is the vicar’s house,” Margaret explained. “He and his wife agreed to stay with his brother while you recovered.”
    So far as he knew, there were no villages near the location of the accident. Which raised another question in his mind. “How did you bring me here?” Surely she must have had help. Margaret was tall but slender, and he doubted if she had the strength to lift him.
    “On