"His health isn't the issue. Now will you give me your word, or not?"
"You should know better than to have to ask."
"Forgive me then, but this is too important a subject to be bandied about."
Byron crossed the short distance between them, and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Are you never going to satisfy my curiosity? Must I ride into Williamsburg and have a look at the child?"
Feeling as trapped as Melissa must have, Alanna tried to state the facts calmly, but when she revealed that Christian was Hunter's child, Byron reacted even more emotionally than Elliott. For several seconds he simply stared at her, too shocked to speak, but then he shoved her away and bolted from the room. She ran to the door and watched him sprint down the stairs and out the front door. She didn't have to wonder where he was going, she knew, and she couldn't let him go alone.
Chapter 14
The black taffeta gown Sally Lester had provided for the funeral was far too expensive and elaborate an outfit to wear on horseback, and Alanna went to her room to change into one of the comfortably worn dresses she wore for riding. The earlier rain had gradually diminished to a heavy mist, and while her cloak was still damp around the hem, it would keep her warm and dry. With the hood drawn up to cover her curls, she thought she could succeed in leaving by the back door without being observed, until Graham Tyler called her name.
Obviously concerned about her, he was frowning slightly. "Surely you're not going out again?"
Alanna had seen Graham among those at the church, but she hadn't spoken with him. She had been at Charity Wade's the morning he had come to the house after learning of Melissa's death, but Ian hadn't felt up to seeing anyone and he had been sent away. He had made the effort to console his friend, however, and she admired his thoughtfulness.
"I have to go back into Williamsburg. Byron's gone to see the baby, and I need to be there."
"I have a carriage for the day, I'll take you."
"That's very kind of you, but then you'd have the bother of bringing me back home. I'd rather ride, and then I can return home with Byron."
"There's no reason for you to risk falling ill by riding in the rain. I'm free for the whole day, and it will be no trouble for me to bring you back here."
Alanna was in too great a hurry to argue with him. "All right, thank you. Can we leave right now, please?"
"Of course." Graham turned to gesture toward the front door, and Alanna hurried by him. Outside more than a dozen carriages were parked in a single row, and while he found his immediately, it took him several minutes to locate the driver who, along with the other drivers, had been invited into the kitchen to keep warm.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting," he said. "It's a shame Byron has already left, or we could have all ridden together."
"It was a hasty decision on his part. I'm sorry to have drawn you into it."
Graham had taken the place beside her and reached for the blanket lying on the opposite seat. "Here, let's wrap this around ourselves, so we don't become chilled. It will do little good if I keep you out of the rain and then still allow you to fall ill."
"I'm seldom ill." Alanna wasn't used to being fussed over, but she soon realized what Graham had really wanted was an excuse to cuddle up close. He was a sweet man, but his timing was so incredibly poor she couldn't abide it. "We buried Melissa only this morning, and I'd rather not be fondled."
Mortified that he had offended her, Graham moved aside several inches. "Forgive me if I seemed too forward, but it's been difficult for me to keep my feelings to myself all these many months. We met last spring and—"
Graham had recently been promoted, and Alanna remembered to use his new title. "Captain, please. I've never encouraged your affections, nor misled you in any way. Perhaps you ought to tell your driver to turn around, and I'll get into town on my own as I'd originally planned."
"No," Graham responded too sharply. "I'll behave myself."
He looked thoroughly miserable, but Alanna was more concerned about how Byron might behave at Charity's house. Byron had a temper, but she prayed he would not vent his anger on a helpless babe. "Melissa's death is not our only problem," she explained. "There's also her son's welfare to consider. I shall undoubtedly be preoccupied with his care for several months, if not years, and you ought to find yourself a young woman who can devote herself solely to you."
"I'll decide what's best for me. Besides, the babe is rightfully Ian's responsibility now, not yours."
"You saw how he looked today. He doesn't even remember he has a son."
"He loved his wife dearly, so his grief is natural, but it will lessen over time, and he'll take more of an interest in their child."
"A young widower with a commission in the King's army? It's unlikely."
"I think you're underestimating Ian. He's not one to shirk his responsibilities. He'll want to provide for his son. He's kept up the rent on the house he and Melissa lived in briefly. He can well afford to live there, and hire a housekeeper and nanny to make a home for the boy."
Reluctant to spin a web of lies as intricate as Melissa's, Alanna nodded rather than argue. She had given the driver Charity's address on Nicholson Street, and when they reached her house, Byron's horse was tethered to the gate. "Would you mind waiting here?" she asked. "Mrs. Wade wasn't expecting us, and I don't want to trouble her."
"I'll do whatever pleases you."