Without Saying a Word by Amanda Ward Read Free Book Online

games.
    “Speaking of the library...”  Rhean spoke to Laura out of the blue.
    “Yes?” she answered him, still subdued. Laura was still on edge and her stomach was in knots after her earlier attack.
    “Mum came up with an idea. Why don’t you work here as a tour guide during the day?” he suggested.
    Laura’s face drained of color and she looked down.
    “What do you say? You know us and the house,” he urged “there is a good salary you know.” Rhean named an exorbitant sum, but Laura shook her head.
    “Not at the moment,” she said hesitantly. Laura looked at her soup, hoping the answer would be in the bowl, which of course it wasn’t.
    “I appreciate the offer Rhean. Please let me think about it for a few days.” Looking up, she saw Rhean’s hopeful smile fall. She felt guilty, and torn between keeping herself and her children safe, and not wanting to let Rhean down. Tamping down her emotions, she concentrated on her meal as the subject changed to the latest computer games the boys found.
    Later that afternoon, after Rhean and Laura  ploughed through the ideas and suggestions for the fayre and ball, Rhean took Laura on a personal tour of the grange. He’d grown up there with his two older sisters and younger brother. It had been his grandparents’ idea to allow visitors entrance to the house and grounds. The money they raised helped with the upkeep of the house and any extra went back into the town. The grange was self-sufficient itself and from the use of local businesses. The grange was not only a formal home, it was also a family home. As children, Rhean and his siblings had the run of the house. Now all was quiet, and their footsteps echoed in the great hall. It was wood lined and portraits of his family’s ancestors hung on the walls. A red woolen rug ran down the middle of it, which gave an ambiance of elegance and warmth.
    “Does being the eldest son put more pressure on you to ensure the family line?” Laura asked. She felt drawn to one particular portrait over the large fireplace. It was of a couple in Regency court dress. A simple diamond tiara with pale green stones adorned the woman’s red/gold hair worn swept up at the back.  Curls at the front framed her face. Her dress flowed from the empire waist line in pale green, with a slight shimmer to the fabric creating an iridescent effect. A lacework pendant, long drop earrings and a cluster ring with the same green and blue stones completed the set of jewelry. The man was dressed in the red velvet robes of state, a large gold chain of office around his shoulders. Although formal, the portrait was also intimate as the couple gazed at each other and held hands. Rhean walked over and looked up at the painting. He smiled.
    “Ah, you found my family secret.” Rhean nudged Laura’s arm in a playful manner.
    Laura was confused, yet intrigued at the same time.
    “What family secret?”
    “That Leightons marry for love and not fortune,” he confided in a stage whisper and chuckled. “Can’t you tell by the way they are looking at each other?” Rhean put his arm around her under her breasts and held her tight. “You have heard the story about how my parents met?”
    Laura shook her head.
    “My grandparents own a small bed and breakfast in Ireland. Dad was over there on business and, as he always said to us, it was love at first sight. It just so happened to be when Mum served his breakfast. He used all his Cumbrian charm to persuade her to join him and since that day, they’ve always breakfasted together. Of course, the Irish influenced our names too.” He smiled and pulled Laura closer into his embrace, and as he gazed deep into her hazel eyes, his face became all seriousness.
    “Laura, there is something I need to say, and for me to tell you this, well, it’s very difficult. But I need to be straight with you.”
    Laura shook her body, and stepped away from him with a frown on her face.
    “You are going to tell me you are gay,”