Jane Bonander (18 page)

Tristan gave her a languid smile, knowing she’d caught herself before telling him the truth. “Before you took your position at Trenway?” he suggested smoothly.

She blinked and sighed, appearing relieved. “Exactly.”

He lowered himself into his chair, rested his elbows on the desk, and steepled his fingers, peering at her over the tops. The surprise appearance of someone from her past didn’t bode well for any of them.

“Don’t you think it’s time for the truth, dear wife?”

A look of horror crossed her features. It turned quickly to resignation.

“Th-there’s nothing between us, Tristan, I promise.”

“Go back and entertain the pup, Dinah. When you can tell me the truth, come and find me. Until then, I’m too busy to fuss with you.” He was angry that she wouldn’t tell him the truth, and jealous that she could laugh so gaily with another man. Both emotions made him miserable.

“Am I being dismissed?”

Nodding, he studied a voucher, not really seeing it.

She went to the door. “Yes. I’d better see if Charles is all right. We left him with the dogs. They could have had him for dinner by now.”

“By all means, see to your suitor. But don’t worry about the dogs. They’ve never acquired a taste for soft, balding young men.”

She made a sound of annoyance, then slammed the door, leaving him alone.

He rose, shoving the chair away with his calves, and left the study in search of Emily. Tristan wanted the boy to stay long enough for him to discover what he was up to. He wasn’t fool enough to believe Avery’s appearance in their lives was as innocent as it seemed. First thing in the morning, he’d send a wire off to David asking him to dig into this pubescent pup’s background. Tristan had learned long ago not to trust those who appeared too innocent.

He knocked on Emily’s door, then entered. His sister turned from the canvas she was working on, her face lighting up at the sight of him.

She drew a cloth over the painting, rose, and went to him. “I hate it when you leave without telling me, Teddy.”

“I apologize. I have no excuse.” Stroking her silky hair, he gazed over her head toward the large painting that sat against the wall. He smiled. “I haven’t seen that picture in years.”

Emily turned in his arms. “I found it in the attic. Remember all the questions you used to ask me about it?”

They crossed to the painting together. The tiny house with the warm light behind the windows brought back memories. “Does the cobbler still live there, Emmy?”

She laughed, and a little gasp escaped with the sound. “Look at the dogs, Teddy. They’re just like Amy and Wolf.” She turned a beaming face to his. “You always said you’d have dogs like that, and a horse like that,” she added, pointing to the black stallion who reared in the background.

She clasped his arm. “You will take care of me, as you promised, won’t you? Marrying Dinah won’t change anything, will it?”

“Nothing will ever change, Emmy.” At least, not between the two of them. He wondered what changes would come out of his relationship with his wife.

There was a bubble of agitation in his stomach that threatened to explode. Things would have been so much simpler if he’d let Dinah go when she’d wanted to. But in retrospect, he hadn’t wanted her to go even then. Perhaps there was no way to protect her. If this suitor could find her with such ease, how easy would it be for Martin Odell to do the same? For all he knew, the boy could be working with both Odell and the police.

As he held his sister, he wondered if his good intentions would put them all in danger. He also knew it was a chance he would have taken even if he’d known the dangers beforehand.

He wasn’t yet willing to admit he loved Dinah. The smarting jealousy that had assaulted him with such force and surprise when he’d seen her with another man meant something. As he’d grown to manhood, he’d yearned for things of his own, not things that had been given to him by a reluctant parent. That’s why he’d bought the dogs and the stallion. They were his choices. And whether he chose to believe it or not, Dinah Odell had been his choice for a wife.

Dinah escaped to her room to rest before dinner. Even though she hadn’t expressed it, she was concerned about Charles’s arrival. Until now, days could go by without her remembering she was a runaway. Seeing Charles brought all the bad memories back. Tristan’s homecoming might have started out wonderfully, but it was becoming a dismal failure.

Oh, how she felt when she saw him standing there. At that moment, she knew that no matter what, she loved him. It was as if all of her blood had left her head, making her feel dizzy. Part of it might have been because she’d been running, but part of it was because of him. The sight of him had thrilled her. And frightened her. And infuriated her.

Even now, she simmered at how he could raise her hackles with a few well chosen words. She reached for her brush and yanked it through her hair, relishing the pain as the brush met with snarls.

His words continued to haunt her. Tell him the truth? The truth about what? Her nonexistent affair with Charles? How foolish Tristan was to accuse her of such a thing. She tossed the brush onto the dressing table, her scalp tingling from the harsh brushing. She had to speak with him before dinner. Alice had invited Charles to stay, and if Dinah didn’t talk to Tristan first, he might order Charles to leave his private, personal, beloved property. He was good at giving imperious orders.

Actually, she was torn about Charles’s appearance in her life. On one hand, she’d felt a certain nostalgia when they talked. On the other, she was afraid because her past had caught up with her.

Having decided to change before dinner, she crossed the room and threw open the dressing-room door. Tristan stood at the dry sink, wiping his chest with a towel. Her mouth turned to cotton fluff and her palms began to sweat.

“You want the bloody truth?” She focused on his face; his naked arms and chest would only distract her.

He tossed the towel aside and turned, causing her heart to skip. “That would be refreshing.”

She attempted to study the clothes that hung on the rod behind him. “Charles Avery was a suitor of mine. He…we didn’t have a lengthy relationship, because…because—”

“You got a job at Trenway?” His voice was as smooth as a hustler’s tongue.

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Has he come to ask for your hand?”

She rolled her eyes at the ceiling. “Rather difficult, don’t you think, since I’m already married?” She swallowed. “That is what you said, isn’t it? That we are married?”

He shrugged into a clean shirt, drawing her gaze to his chest again. “If you were free, would you marry him?”

Her stomach caved in around her hurt. “Do you want to free me so I can?”

His jaw tightened as he buttoned his shirt. “When I left here, you were chaste. Can I assume that nothing has happened to change that?”

Anger bubbled up through her pain, oozing over it like swill. “I already told you I take my vows seriously, even if you don’t, you miserable savage.” She could not rid herself of the image of him, slaking his lust with another woman.

He raised an inky eyebrow. “Name calling isn’t very ladylike, Dinah, even if the name is accurate.”

That stopped her for a moment, then she stiffened. She would not be affected by those tactics. Not this time. She was too angry.

“You are so clever at turning my words around and using them against me. But I won’t let you get away with it this time, you…you…horny whoremonger.”

“Tsk, tsk. Your language leaves much to be desired, Dinah. Too much time spent in the gutters of Trenway, no doubt.”

“Oh, you don’t know the half of it, you pompous, randy billy goat.”

He gave her a sly smile, taking in her curves, then glanced away. “No more name calling, Dinah.”

She swallowed hard. “No?”

He moved closer and she smelled his soap. “Just one.”

“Naturally you get the last word,” she answered with a smirk.

He dragged her to him, his eyes no longer languid. He gave her a shake. “Liar.”

She gaped at him. “I’m not—”

He flung her away. She stumbled but did not fall. “You are a liar, Dinah Odell. When were you going to tell me who you really are and how you came to be here?”

Her heart sank like a stone. “Oh, sweet Mary.”

His eyes shimmered. “You’re not a nurse, Dinah Odell, you’re an escaped inmate.”

She sank to a stool, clutched her knees, and rocked. She’d known this time would come. She’d hoped to have control over it, but she’d waited too long. “How did you find out?”

“That’s not important. When were you going to tell me? When someone came around to get you? Like that soft-bellied suitor you’ve been entertaining in my great room?”

She opened her mouth to argue, then shut it. Surely he didn’t suspect…“Charles?”

1 He turned on her. “Did it ever occur to you how convenient it is that he found you?”

She swallowed a morsel of fear. “He told me how he found me.”

“Well, tell me.”

“Um…he’s with the
Times.
The newspaper. He saw the article about…about me and…and—”

“I know all about that, Dinah. I know about Daisy Jenkins, the nurse David hired for me, and how she was identified as the body found at the asylum.”

Dinah lowered her face to her hands, feeling them shake against her cheeks. “What else do you know?”

“Everything.”

She pressed one hand over her heart. “Everything? Even about Uncle Martin?”

“Everything. Your uncle. Your father’s will. What happens to the money if you marry and have children or die before that happens. As I said, Dinah, I know everything.”

She caught her breath and frowned at the floor, biting down on her lower lip. He only thought he knew everything. If he did, he wouldn’t be so angry with her. He’d have a little more compassion for what she’d been through. “How long have you known?”

“Long enough.”

She had a flash of insight. “Since before we were married?”

He gave her a sharp nod.

“There was no marriage stipulation, was there?”

“Yes, there was. I was anxious to get a compassionate companion for Emily. Believe me, Dinah, there was an agreement.” He stood before her, his arms across his chest.

“Why didn’t you tell me you knew who I was?”

He glanced away, “I’m not sure I can.”

Hope sprouted in her chest. “Try.”

Some of his arrogance slipped away and he sighed. “At first I didn’t because Emily was doing so well, thanks to you.”

Getting him to commit his feelings was like bathing a cat. “And later?”

He drew in another labored breath, exhaling noisily. “Later it seemed the right time had passed. That’s why I felt the only decent thing to do was have our marriage annulled to set you free. I’d deceived you and I couldn’t forgive myself for that.”

She gave him a humorless laugh. “Oh, but I’d deceived you as well. At least I thought I had.” She gave him a wry look. “All the time I was feeling guilty about not admitting who I really was,
you
felt guilty because you knew, and didn’t tell me.”

One corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. “Perhaps we deserve each other after all.”

She’d known it from the beginning, but she said nothing. His wry admission had not included any great feelings for her. She drew her lip between her teeth once more. “If you knew I wasn’t a nurse, why did you go through with the marriage? You could have simply kept me on as Emily’s companion. Marrying me made no sense, Tristan, no sense at all.”

“I was trying to protect you.” The words sounded like a threat.

Incredulous, she asked, “Protect me from Uncle Martin? But, why?”

He cursed. “If I knew the answer to that, I’d be sleeping nights.”

He cared for her. On some level, he actually cared. There was a flowering in her chest as their conversation whirled in her brain. “You honestly think Charles could have been sent by Uncle Martin? Oh, Tristan,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t see how. Uncle Martin hated it when Charles came to call.” She continued to shake her head. “No. Charles may not appear like much to you, but I believe he’s honorable. Even if Uncle Martin had wanted him to do this, he wouldn’t have. It’s too sneaky. Anyway, I could tell when Charles was lying to me. He wore his emotions on his sleeve. He still does.”

“You don’t believe he’d do this for money?”

She frowned, remembering the times he’d talked about his ailing mother and how much it cost to care for her. “I’ll be honest with you, Tristan. Charles always needed money. His mother was very ill. But unlike Uncle Martin, Charles chose to care for his mother in a fair, valorous way. Not toss her into an asylum because she’d become a burden to him. And he could have, Tristan. A lot of families did just that to unwanted women. I’m…I’m proof of it.”

Tristan went to the door to his room, bracing himself against the doorjamb. “You sound fond of him.”

She uttered a humorless laugh. “Not as fond as I would have been had he tried to get me released from Trenway.”

Tristan appeared to study his boots. “If you were free, and he could promise to keep you safe from your uncle, would you go with him?”

Something in her chest seized up. “We’ve already been over this, remember?”

“Answer me, damn it.”

“No. I wouldn’t go with him under any circumstances. I don’t love him, Tristan. I’m fond of him, and perhaps that’s enough for some women, but it’s not enough for me. If I…If you wanted me to leave,” she answered, knowing it would break her heart to do so, “I’d find another position.”

He gave her a wry smile. “You aren’t a nurse, Dinah.”

She stiffened. “I’m aware of that. But since you know where I was before I came here and what I’ve been able to do for Emily in spite of my inexperience, surely you’d agree that I could be of some use somewhere.”

He studied her from the doorway. “You’re of some use here.”

In spite of the ache in her heart, she gave him a sassy look. “Even though I’m an escaped mental patient?”

“No more levity, Dinah. For now, I don’t want you to tell your friend anything.”

“He’s harmless, Tristan, I’d stake my life on it.” She could only hope she was right. After all, she’d told Charles nearly everything already.