“Everything.”
“I’d prefer to hear specifics,” she said coldly.
Perhaps this wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d hoped, but then if it were easy, wouldn’t everyone be deliriously happy all the time? She was watching him surreptitiously, trying to read his thoughts, and he put on his most charmin
g and dependable face, aware it was spoiled a little by his black eye. Her response wasn’t promising.
“You lied to me, Richard. You’ve been lying to me from the first day we met. I find that impossible to forgive.”
Ah, so that was the problem. And he didn’t like the way she said “impossible.” Still, he wasn’t going to be put off by an adjective.
“I didn’t know you then, Tina. I was doing a job, a difficult and important job, a job I’d been doing two years. I couldn’t have imagined that the day you came to see me I was going to meet the woman who would mean more to me than . . . than anything else.”
Richard knew his ending was lame; he could have done better there. But Tina had that effect on him, turning his wits to water.
“I love you,” he blurted out.
Her eyebrows lifted, and she curled her lip. “You love me? I doubt it. I don’t think you have a clue what love means. And if I ever believed myself in love with you, then I’ve learned the error of my ways. You are a stranger, Richard.”
And with that she stalked from the room, leaving him sitting there by the fire, alone.
Richard groaned and rubbed his hands over his face, wincing when he touched his sore eye. Obviously he’d overestimated his expert abilities. This wasn’t going to be easy. But he refused to give up. He would win her back . . . after he’d saved her life.
Sutton watched the group at the inn from the shelter of the trees, eyes narrowed, sitting very still upon his horse, as if he were part of the landscape. Earlier he’d lured one of the stable boys into a quiet spot with a couple of shillings and asked questions; as he expected they were heading for Eversham’s estate in Kent. He intended to leave them now and ride on alone, taking the shorter cross-country route.
He had plans to make.
The woman had seen him, and he knew it would be her testimony that would hang him. He dismissed any threat offered by Branson—he was a fool, and everyone knew it—and as for the other one, the gent—Sutton smirked with derision. No, it was the woman he had to get rid of before the truth came out, and as soon as possible.
He turned his horse and began to ride.
Sutton decided he’d kill her slowly, take his time. He might even kidnap her and hide her away somewhere, taking out his frustrations on her body—she was a beauty. Remembering her now, standing in the library, the shape of her body, her dark hair and white skin, the brilliance of her eyes. A real lady, she was, and Sutton hadn’t had a real lady for a while.
Oh yes, he was going to enjoy himself, and afterward, the devil could have him, he didn’t care. His time was probably up anyway. But just in case it wasn’t, he might head toward Faversham. He had a sister there, who’d always been fond of him, and he of her. She’d look after him and scold him and tell him to behave himself.
Sutton smiled. His soul may be beyond redemption but it was still nice to have someone who loved him.
Chapter 34
Tina opened her eyes, complaining as the shaking continued, and realized someone was trying to wake her. It was Richard, so close to her that she could feel his warm breath against her skin. The bruise around the eye Horace had punched was finally fading, but she wanted to reach out and stroke it gently. He smiled, and just for a moment she smiled back, forgetting everything that had come between them, and then she remembered and sat up abruptly. He moved away with a nod to Maria, who came to help her from the coach.
“We are here, miss!” Maria said in a cheerful tone belied by her tired eyes and pale face. “This is Mr. Eversham’s house.”
Tina blinked at the building lit by the setting sun. It was built of mellow pink brick, and with its turrets and gables and arched windows, looked rather like a magical castle. And then the front door opened, and the most beautiful woman she had ever seen came to greet them—a magical princess for the magical castle. Her glorious red hair shone in the lingering sunlight, and her violet-blue eyes were matched by the dress she wore.
“Richard!” she cried, hands outstretched to grasp his. “You have come home.”
Richard seemed to hesitate, then took her hands briefly, and turned toward Tina. But the woman clung to his arm, hurrying along beside him, as if they were . . . well, Tina—wide-awake now—couldn’t help but wonder just how close a relationship these two had.
“Evelyn, this is Miss Smythe, and this is Will Jackson, an associate of mine. This is Evelyn, my brother’s widow.”
Ah, the widow, thought Tina, as Evelyn gave her another of her perfect smiles. The unfaithful widow. Lady Isabelle Arlington might be described in a similar manner, but Tina didn’t get the same warm sense of liking with this woman. Despite her beauty and her welcoming smile there was something cold and off-putting about Evelyn Eversham.
“We get so few visitors here, don’t we, Richard?” she was burbling on, glancing at him as if they were in league. A couple. “Are you staying? Richard, are they staying with us?”
Richard had grown more and more uncomfortable, and now he removed his arm from Evelyn although not without a forceful effort, Tina noted, hiding her smile behind her hand. “Miss Smythe’s life is in danger,” he said gravely.
Evelyn gave a gurgle of laughter. “Her life in danger? My goodness, Richard, that is dramatic.”