Page 53 of A Night of Secret Surrender

‘From tragedy to farce.’

‘You think it so?’

‘No one ever escapes so easily. Who tied her up in the first place?’

‘Her jealous mother. She was reputed to be envious of her daughter’s good looks.’

‘Because once she herself had been the fairest in the land?’

He decided to play her at her own game. ‘You have the drift of it. No one likes losing what they were once fêted for and all families hold secrets that they would rather others not know of.’

‘Mama tried to kill me twice.’

The shock of such words spread through him and Shay measured his response.

‘Mary Elizabeth had always been weak. Not physically, but mentally.’

Her fingers found his as he spoke and wound in.

He struggled to find the right words. ‘I met her by the pond one snowy winter’s day and she was trying to save a kitten who had fallen into the water.’

‘Did she save it?’

‘No, but she tried. She was kind when she wasn’t sick.’

The small laugh heartened him. ‘Papa said that of her, too.’

‘People are never just one thing. They are usually a mix of good and bad.’

‘Even heroes?’

‘Especially them. The expectations of others can be exhausting and there are times that escape is the only way of keeping sane.’

‘Escape?’

‘My uncle wanted me to come home and help Jeremy. He hoped that I would take over some of the responsibility of Luxford, but I couldn’t find it in myself to do that. I feel like if I return, my brother will die sooner than he should because he will simply give up. I know I would.’

‘So you came to Europe and stayed. That was one of the reasons you came north to Paris, too?’

He nodded.

‘And now?’

‘I am living all these minutes for what they are and trying not to think of going back.’

* * *

She turned and her gaze met his. She was perfectly still as she looked at him. He traced the shape of her nose with his first finger and then the outline of her mouth. She had a small scar on the lid of her left eye under the brow that creased when she smiled and he ran the pad of his finger over it in silent question.

‘I fell against a wardrobe and split it open.’

‘You don’t strike me as a clumsy person.’

‘Being a wife blurred the lines. My marriage was one of convenience, though my husband, unfortunately, wished for more.’

‘He wanted love?’

‘And what is that in a city where each moment could be your last?’