Betrayal by Sandra Schwab

Author:Sandra Schwab [Schwab, Sandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance, Regency, Literature & Fiction, Historical, Historical Romance
Amazon: B00E2UU7MA
Publisher: Sandra Schwab
Published: 2013-07-19T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

In the afternoon Ash decided he should see how his mother was doing. But he never made it into her rooms: Clara, her lady’s maid of forty years, refused him entry. With one hand holding the door closed and blocking the doorway, she left him standing in the hallway and told him in hushed tones how the dowager countess could not be disturbed. Apparently, she had been feeling better this morning, but then—Clara sniffed—she had spotted a certain person returning to the house and her spirits had absolutely plummeted. How anybody could be so unconscientious and unfeeling as to do this to the poor dowager countess was truly beyond her. And with that, the worthy Clara slipped back into the room and firmly closed the door behind her.

Ash rubbed his forehead and sighed.

Feminine vapors were something he abhorred. Now, Georgina had never shown any inclination towards them. Take that ride through the woods with Guy—poor chap had been thrown and had landed in the most unfortunate way, on a piece of rock that had cracked his arm in two. A bloody mess it had been, with part of the bone poking through the skin. Yet Ginny had neither fainted nor screamed. She had paled, yes, but surely this was only to be expected. Calmly she had got off her horse and had stayed with Guy while he himself had ridden back to get help. He remembered how proud he had been because she had been so brave. Yes, she had stayed with Guy, comforted him—

Guy.

The memory evaporated, was replaced by others. One by one they danced through his mind, like shadows from a bygone world.

Two young boys exploring the grounds of Ashburnham Hall together, turning the folly into a castle, a ship, a dragon’s cave even. At school they had fought shoulder to shoulder, had trashed schoolyard bullies. And later, at Oxford, they had drank together, gambled together, laughed together, had stretched their minds and bodies to explore new horizons.

For years Ash had not allowed himself to think of his cousin, of what a good friend Guy had been. The best, really. Of course, with her it now came all back. All the things he had worked so hard to forget in order to make the pain more bearable.

Damn her.

Had it started that day in the woods? She had always had a soft spot for all creatures weak and wounded. Would things have been different if he had stayed with Guy?

He would never know.

And now she was back. And all the memories he had locked away for so long, were, too.

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