Silken Savage by Catherine Hart

Author:Catherine Hart
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2013-02-05T00:56:41.355000+00:00

Chapter 15

TA NYA HA D been separated from Panther for nearly two months. She ate because she had to, to keep her milk flowing for Mark, but she was getting thinner. The bones of her face were more prominent now, and her clothing hung on her. Her golden eyes seemed too large for her face, with violet shadows beneath them, and her expression was continuously solemn. Her shorn hair was longer now, falling halfway to her shoulders in soft curls. It dismayed Tanya that she could not yet make decent braids out of it.

Of all the strange things to happen to her, Tanya developed a craving for oranges. It had been years since she’d eaten one and now she could not get enough of them. A unt Elizabeth had bought a crate for the holidays, and had since ordered more, seeing how much Tanya desired them. Pears, apples, and plums would serve in a pinch, but oranges were what she wanted. It was as if her body had done without them for too long, and now was making up for lost time.

What her system could notabide was Jeffrey’s constant attendance. Tanya avoided him as much as she could, even fleeing to her room to hide if she had advance warning. When he stayed for supper, she requested a tray in her room, or skipped the meal al- together. A fter this had occurred several times, however, even A unt Liz put her foot down.

“Tanya, dear, you are much too thin as it is,” she told her. “I have to agree with your parents on this. Either you come to the table to eat, Jeffrey or no Jeffrey, or you don’t eat. Keep it up long enough, and soon your milk will dry up, or you’ll become ill and won’t be able to tend to your sons. You have your choice, but you’ll get no more trays in your room. You can’t hide away up there forever.” From then on, Tanya ate with the family, but she continued to ignore Jeffrey’s presence.

This did not stop his attentions toward her, however. A t every opportunity he turned up on the Martin doorstep. He’d corner her in the parlor and bombard her with questions, trying to win her confidence and get her to talk to him. He’d join her on her walks, pelting her with declarations of undying love. A t times like this, Tanya felt like screaming. Beneath his facade of gentle persuasion and patient understanding, she sensed a falseness. He certainly was putting on a good performance, but her intuition told her not to trust him. Compared to Panther, Jeffrey was shallow and petty. He exuded none of Panther’s strength, dignity, or loving gentleness. Jeffrey was petulant, bossy, insanely jealous at times, trigger-tempered, and full of himself: but above all, he was persistent. He followed Tanya like a second shadow, ignoring her silence and the cold shoulder she turned to him.

She endured him with ill-humor. More and more, his attitude sickened her, especially those toward Hunter and Mark.

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