Engaged in Sin by Sharon Page

Author:Sharon Page [Page, Sharon]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Tags: Romance, General, Suspense, Historical, Fiction
ISBN: 9780440338864
Google: 8H2rFYETNK0C
Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.
Published: 2011-11-01T13:42:22+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

ATE IN THE night, Anne dropped to her knees before the fireplace in the library and fed six of the newspapers into the flames, grinding each page into ash with the poker. A kind of desperate fury governed her motions. Her heart leapt at every pop and hiss in the grate, as if they were footsteps behind her. She was certain someone would burst in before she was done. Someone would catch her. Then her fear, her guilt, her panic would give her away.

But no one came in. As the last page was reduced to charred scraps and dust, she sank back on her heels. Now every issue containing an article about Madame’s murder or the hunt for the missing prostitute—her—was gone. She should feel relief. But she didn’t. Perhaps she was learning she would never feel completely safe again.

Grimly, she waited until the fire had died down, then she left the library, closing the door behind her. She went to the stairs. The house was thankfully quiet, but her nerves were drawn so tight that even the reassuring stillness made her shoulders tremble. Devon had given a lovely guest bedroom to Caro and her husband, and their son was slumbering up in the nursery. Devon slept on a cot in the small dressing room that adjoined the master’s bedchamber. This way, she could be in the comfortable bed but be close by to soothe him when he had a nightmare. He still refused to try sleeping in the same bed.

She crept into the room, took off her robe, and slid under the crisp covers. Hours seemed to tick by. Twice she heard Devon moaning through the open door. She went to him, stroked him. To her surprise, he didn’t wake up. Her touch lulled him right back into slumber. But she couldn’t sleep. Her instincts kept telling her she must run. If she stayed any longer, she was going to get caught. The fear was irrational. In her heart, she knew she was willing, like an utter fool, to wait and wait, so she could stay with the duke. She would likely end up arrested as a result.

In the morning, she woke before he did. She was groggy, but there was no point in lying in bed for any more sleepless hours. She went to check on the baby. The nursemaid informed her that Lord Cavendish had already scooped up his son. He had carried the baby downstairs for his breakfast, then he and his wife were taking their leave.

“They’re going?” Anne echoed to the maid.

“They decided last night, miss. Rather hastily.”

A shiver of apprehension rippled down Anne’s back. Lord Cavendish had come from London; could he have realized she was the woman hunted by Bow Street? No—Lord and Lady Cavendish couldn’t know. If they had learned the truth, they would have told Devon immediately. Anne squared her shoulders and went to Caro’s room, to say goodbye to the woman who had, in defiance of all of Society’s rules, become her friend.

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