Read Online Cachet by Shannah Biondine - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Shannah Biondine
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Perhaps the lamp you saw in Newcastle?"
"You paid for supper. That's enough. Good night, sir." She tried to pull away, but his arm only tightened.
"I'll walk you to the cottage."
"No, I don't need you to. I'm sure it's perfectly safe out here. I—"
"It's not safe anywhere for a young woman alone past dusk. I said I'll see you home."
"Please, just leave me alone!" The last shred of her composure snapped. She stepped back a few feet and burst into tears. Now her humiliation was complete. She'd given him yet another weakness with which to taunt her.
"Blast me!" he swore softly. "That rotten comment about your husband. I never dreamt I'd hit on the truth." He gently took her face between his palms and tipped it up so her eyes met his. "I was thoughtless and you're overtired. Put in a full day at the office, then this fool's errand tonight. Need to get you home beside a nice roaring fire."
She managed a tremulous smile. "Sounds wonderful, but your hearth doesn't permit a fire to exactly roar. The best I get is a weak sputter. I'd take even that now, along with some coffee to wash away all that insipid tea. It worked, though. You've sobered a bit."
"Thanks to my insolent little clerk." He pulled her close against his side and set out for the cottage. "There's a secret to coping with the firebox. You'll have a roaring flame tonight." He unlocked the front door and immediately set to building a crackling blaze. Then he eased beside Rachel on the settee. "The hearth's always been temperamental in this house. Not unlike its resident."
"You mean its owner."
"I apologize, Rachel. You're quite good at fencing with words. Sometimes I forget that still and all, you are widowed. A man must make allowances. It's only natural you'd find discussion of your husband's demise painful."
Rachel stared at the dancing firelight. For some reason, she thought Morgan might understand what no one else had. "It's all painful. My husband's name was Cletus. He drank and gambled and left me his debt. If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't even be here now. He always had the worst luck. Then he died and it seems that awful luck has come to roost with me. Cletus was crude and selfish and I only hope he's burning in hell."
Strong fingers closed over hers, and when Morgan spoke, it was in a soft tone he'd never used with her before. "I know more than a man should about grief, Rachel. You're resentful. I felt the same when my father died; worse yet when my sister followed soon afterward. It's not how the person lived, but that he or she had the temerity to up and die . To utterly change the lives of those around them by doing something so final and irreparable. The pain will lessen in time."
Her eyes were huge as she turned to look at him. "I can't believe it! A soft heart beats within you, after all."
"Shall I tell you something, Colonial?" He released her hand and moved back to the grate. He prodded at the burning logs with the iron poker. "I bark and rant and act impossible because I never wanted you to make that discovery." The smoldering gaze he turned on her was astonishing in its intensity. "Now that one secret's out, mayhap I should show you something else." He fished a folded square from a pocket of his coat and handed it to her. "Your list." There was only one name on it.
"I don't underst—"
"Aye, you do. I've purposely kept myself at odds with you because you're in mourning and you work for me. You're my tenant. To think we could be—" He stopped and lowered his voice. "I've been over this a dozen times in my mind, but it doesn't stop me from prowling my rooms at night, unable to sleep for thinking of you. I've stood across the street and fought the urge to pound on your door."
"One night I thought there was someone hiding in the shadows. It frightened me, until I recognized you. Or thought I did. I woke up thinking it must have been a dream."
He snatched the paper from her hands and threw it on the flames. "Perhaps it was. Forget I
"You paid for supper. That's enough. Good night, sir." She tried to pull away, but his arm only tightened.
"I'll walk you to the cottage."
"No, I don't need you to. I'm sure it's perfectly safe out here. I—"
"It's not safe anywhere for a young woman alone past dusk. I said I'll see you home."
"Please, just leave me alone!" The last shred of her composure snapped. She stepped back a few feet and burst into tears. Now her humiliation was complete. She'd given him yet another weakness with which to taunt her.
"Blast me!" he swore softly. "That rotten comment about your husband. I never dreamt I'd hit on the truth." He gently took her face between his palms and tipped it up so her eyes met his. "I was thoughtless and you're overtired. Put in a full day at the office, then this fool's errand tonight. Need to get you home beside a nice roaring fire."
She managed a tremulous smile. "Sounds wonderful, but your hearth doesn't permit a fire to exactly roar. The best I get is a weak sputter. I'd take even that now, along with some coffee to wash away all that insipid tea. It worked, though. You've sobered a bit."
"Thanks to my insolent little clerk." He pulled her close against his side and set out for the cottage. "There's a secret to coping with the firebox. You'll have a roaring flame tonight." He unlocked the front door and immediately set to building a crackling blaze. Then he eased beside Rachel on the settee. "The hearth's always been temperamental in this house. Not unlike its resident."
"You mean its owner."
"I apologize, Rachel. You're quite good at fencing with words. Sometimes I forget that still and all, you are widowed. A man must make allowances. It's only natural you'd find discussion of your husband's demise painful."
Rachel stared at the dancing firelight. For some reason, she thought Morgan might understand what no one else had. "It's all painful. My husband's name was Cletus. He drank and gambled and left me his debt. If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't even be here now. He always had the worst luck. Then he died and it seems that awful luck has come to roost with me. Cletus was crude and selfish and I only hope he's burning in hell."
Strong fingers closed over hers, and when Morgan spoke, it was in a soft tone he'd never used with her before. "I know more than a man should about grief, Rachel. You're resentful. I felt the same when my father died; worse yet when my sister followed soon afterward. It's not how the person lived, but that he or she had the temerity to up and die . To utterly change the lives of those around them by doing something so final and irreparable. The pain will lessen in time."
Her eyes were huge as she turned to look at him. "I can't believe it! A soft heart beats within you, after all."
"Shall I tell you something, Colonial?" He released her hand and moved back to the grate. He prodded at the burning logs with the iron poker. "I bark and rant and act impossible because I never wanted you to make that discovery." The smoldering gaze he turned on her was astonishing in its intensity. "Now that one secret's out, mayhap I should show you something else." He fished a folded square from a pocket of his coat and handed it to her. "Your list." There was only one name on it.
"I don't underst—"
"Aye, you do. I've purposely kept myself at odds with you because you're in mourning and you work for me. You're my tenant. To think we could be—" He stopped and lowered his voice. "I've been over this a dozen times in my mind, but it doesn't stop me from prowling my rooms at night, unable to sleep for thinking of you. I've stood across the street and fought the urge to pound on your door."
"One night I thought there was someone hiding in the shadows. It frightened me, until I recognized you. Or thought I did. I woke up thinking it must have been a dream."
He snatched the paper from her hands and threw it on the flames. "Perhaps it was. Forget I
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