Knight of the Broken Heart (The Eglinton Knight Series Book 2) by Margaux Thorne

Author:Margaux Thorne [Thorne, Margaux]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2023-05-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

The walk back to Barrington was quiet. Amelia had so many questions, but she didn’t know how to broach their silence, or if she even should.

Eli walked next to her, not shying away when the back of his hand brushed against hers. It stunned Amelia how much she wanted him to reach out and take her hand, and they could just hold on like a pair of innocent sweethearts. But they weren’t sweethearts, and after their time in the alley, they weren’t innocent either.

Then it struck her. When had Amelia ever lived within the realm of propriety? Eli wouldn’t hold her hand; that was fine. He still needed someone to hold his. And she would do that for him.

Quickly, before she talked herself out of it, she wrapped her hand around Eli’s, squeezing for extra measure. When he returned her squeeze, she let out a silent sigh of relief. And couldn’t find another breath. They were holding hands! And she liked it so very, very much. It made the entirety of her skin tingle and pop like fireworks.

“My wife is dead.”

There went the fireworks.

Amelia searched Eli’s face, but found nothing more than a serious, matter-of-fact expression. “I know that,” she replied softly.

“No,” he said. “You don’t know how she died … when … how …”

“Not in childbirth, then?”

Eli sucked in a deep breath. Amelia used her thumb to caress the side of his hand, encouraging him to open to her. In this charged moment, he reminded her of a dormant spring flower that had been tricked into blooming in the winter. With enough warmth and attention, she could make anything open.

“We married when we were twenty, young enough to believe that we were marrying because we loved one another and that it had nothing to do with our families. Marianne was so beautiful. I was just so damned grateful that someone like her would ever look in my direction.”

Amelia’s chest hurt. Guilt. She didn’t want to hate the beautiful Marianne, but she did. Desperately.

Eli went on. “But it didn’t last. Marianne was bored in the country. So I took her to town. It was then I realized that she was just bored of me. She liked the parties and the gossip, being in the middle of the ton’s vicious games …” His words stuck, lost in the web of memories. “I tried to give her what she wanted. I was so desperate to please her, but she didn’t want me. She never did. She wanted men like Lord Charles.”

Amelia stopped short. That name was familiar. She didn’t know much of the aristocracy, but one would have to live under a boulder not to know about Lord Charles. He was one of the most popular knights in the Eglinton tournament, and the newspapers barely went a day without mentioning him. “The earl of Somerset?”

Eli nodded, his lips in a thin line. “He was rumored to be one of her affairs, among others. Stupidly, I thought the children would bind her

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