do.’
Said with the conviction of a woman who did know, the strange intimacy between them confounding her with the very brevity of their acquaintance. She had never talked with anyone before as she had talked with Taris Wellingham, sparring with words and yet safe! Here was a man who was big enough to allow others their differing opinions whilst testing his own.
So unlike her husband!
‘There is another matter that I should like to discuss with you,’ he said. She felt him looking at her, felt the position of his body straight against her own. ‘I have had a report on the cause of the accident. It seems that the wheel did not shear off on its own accord, but was assisted.’
‘Assisted?’
‘Sawn. Almost in half.’
Taris did not soften his words at all and when she tripped against him held her still.
‘Someone tried to kill me?’
Her question was odd. ‘There were five people in the carriage. What makes you think it was you that they were after?’
Her breath was taken in one trembling gasp and he knew even as she remained silent that there were things she had not told him, but the final strains of the dance had just ended and his brother moved over to join them.
‘Thank you, my lord.’ Beatrice was all distance and good manners and he tried to determine in which direction she had stepped away, but could not.
‘I hope she gave you an apology for the other day.’ Ashe placed his arm against his own.
‘I think she gave me more than that.’
‘The Bassingstoke money is forged in steel, Taris, Ipswich steel, and the workers as poorly paid and as underaged as any in England.’
‘You have been busy, brother.’ An edge of criticism curled in Taris’s answer.
‘I like to think of it as careful. The woman was with you overnight, after all, and I thought it only prudent to find out something about her.’
Hating himself for the question, Taris nevertheless asked it. ‘And what did you find out about her?’
‘She was widowed a month before the carriage accident, though few in the area knew her or her husband socially as they did not seem to mingle much. Indeed, it was said that she was rather reserved so I am hoping that she will not present…a problem.’
‘Problem?’
‘She is a widow of means. If she decided that your night together ruined her reputation, you might find yourself in trouble.’
‘The woman came as a friend tonight, Ashe, not to hold me accountable for the consequences of a carriage accident.’
‘Emerald implied that she could be interested in you in other ways.’
‘Other ways?’ Taris did not like the tone of entreaty in his query. What had Emerald seen that he himself had not? The feel of Bea against him was hard to forget. Even here in a roomful of women all vying for his attention he still sought the honeyed and gently lisping tones of the clever Widow Bassingstoke, yearning like an adolescent for her soft full breasts and for her eagerness.
‘Emerald thought perhaps there was more to that night in the barn.’
‘More?’
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
