A Search for Refuge by Kristi Ann Hunter

Author:Kristi Ann Hunter [Hunter, Kristi Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Historical Fiction;FIC042030;FIC042040;FIC027070
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2018-01-15T16:00:00+00:00

Margaretta didn’t realize she’d grabbed Nash’s hand until she had to let go in order to follow Mrs. Lancaster into the cottage. She had to make a conscious effort to let go of him, but she wasn’t going to miss her chance to talk to Katherine, and Nash didn’t seem in any hurry to follow their hostess into her home.

The interior was considerably darker than the street outside, and Margaretta blinked to accustom her eyes to the dimness and to the unexpected surroundings. She remembered visiting Katherine in London, remembered the silk-hung drawing room, the plush Aubusson carpet in her bedchamber. The contrast between those memories and the stark simplicity in front of her now was startling.

The wide-planked wood floor was swept clean, and two plain but comfortable-looking wooden chairs flanked a fireplace, where a fire burned low. On the other side of the room, a smooth wooden table, a bench, and three more chairs sat in front of a basic kitchen work area. Two doors led from the room, presumably to the bedchambers.

Even assuming that the chambers in the back of the house combined to the size of the room in the front, the entire living space was smaller than the double drawing room in Katherine’s father’s house where Margaretta had attended more than one social gathering.

Mrs. Lancaster moved comfortably about the room, taking the baby in her arms and making her way to a rocking chair in the far corner. It was obvious she had done more than give these women a home. She’d been visiting them with some frequency, probably when she’d taken those long evening walks.

Margaretta stared at Katherine. Her old friend stared back. From the corner of her eye, Margaretta saw Nash shifting his head back and forth as he looked from one woman to the other. How strange it must seem to him that she’d been so desperate to find this woman and now that she had, she was saying nothing.

What could she say, though? How did one broach such a subject?

“I see the rumors are true.” Margaretta winced. That had probably not been the best way to open the subject.

Katherine’s eyebrows lifted, and she looked over her shoulder to where Mrs. Lancaster was rocking and cooing at Benedict. One side of Katherine’s mouth tipped up into a sad smile. “Not as true as you think.”

The baby let out a gurgle that slid into a bit of a whimper, as if to call Katherine’s statement a lie. Margaretta said nothing, allowing the circumstances to ask her questions for her.

“Mrs. Lancaster didn’t tell me you were here.” There was an undeniable note of censure in Katherine’s voice, even if the look she sent Mrs. Lancaster’s way was edged with indulgence.

“Of course I didn’t, dear.” Mrs. Lancaster never looked up from the baby. “You’d have taken this precious boy and made a run for it. When I said I’d protect you, I never said that didn’t include protecting you from yourself.”

A sigh that could almost past

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