The Banished Bride by Andrea Pickens

Author:Andrea Pickens [Pickens, Andrea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Alex gave a curt nod. “I will follow shortly. You know where we are to meet up.”

“Aye.”

“Godspeed, Jack,” called Aurora softly. “I wish you . . . well.”

He shuffled his feet in some embarrassment. “The same to you, Aurora, though of course we shall be seeing each other shortly.”

“Of course,” she murmured. “Still, have a care.”

“I will.” Slanting a quick glance at Alex, he hurried to add, “Er, may I say now, it has been quite an experience working with a female such as yourself.”

She smiled. “And one I doubt you care to repeat.” The wry note of humor was unmistakable. “But you may breathe easy. I daresay you won’t have to encounter many others like me.”

“More’s the pity,” he said under his breath before slipping out the door.

Alex listened to the footsteps fading away into the gathering mist, feeling even more unsure of his own direction. His brooding gaze strayed from the dying flames to the swept hearth to the neatly arranged blankets—anywhere but to the young lady still seated in the shadows.

Suddenly he pivoted on his heel and made for the door.

“Alex—”

“Aurora—”

They both spoke at once.

She had risen, with a movement just as jerky as his, but before she could say another word he covered the space between them in three quick strides and was at her side. “Before you begin to ring a well-deserved peal over my head, let me apologize for my unforgivable conduct. Once again, you’ve seen a side of me that I am hardly proud of, but I”—his lips compressed in a tight line—“I can offer no excuse.”

Her eyes dropped to the ground. “None is necessary. There must be something about me that brings out the worst in men,” she said in a small voice. As if realizing that the tone seemed to verge on self-pity, she immediately forced her mouth to quirk up and added, “No doubt a temperament befitting a mule and tongue more suited to a shrew have something to do with it.”

Alex uttered a low oath, then tilted her chin up so that he could study every nuance of her mobile features. “Only a fool would fail to see the heart and courage of a lion.” A harried sigh accompanied his whisper. “If, for some reason, things go . . . badly tonight, there is an extra purse sewn in at the bottom of my bag.” He essayed a grim smile. “Do not hesitate to retrieve it and take yourself off to safety.”

“Oh, Alex, promise me you will be careful!”

His expression was searching, though his words appeared to make light of the matter. “I would have thought you wouldn’t mind in the least if someone put a bullet in my heart.”

“N-no! That is . . .” A ragged intake of breath ended with an odd little sniffle.

It was with some shock that Alex realized that the watery catch in her voice was caused by a tear. His own throat tightened. The devil take it! To his memory, no one had

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