The Bargain by Riley Vanessa

Author:Riley, Vanessa [Riley, Vanessa]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Gallium Optronics, LLC
Published: 2015-08-23T16:00:00+00:00

Gareth paced inside the parlor. He kept looking out the window hoping Precious would cut short her walk. They needed to talk about these feelings between them. She had to tell him one more time that Jonas was truly his son.

He pivoted toward Eliza’s painting. "You did this. Why did you make me think you and Jonas Hunt, Lord Jerrings, had been intimate? Did you like watching me die inside? Every time I looked at the boy, instead of seeing love, I saw you laughing at me or crying about being alone.

"Why would you take away this miracle? My fathering Jonas is a miracle." He started pacing. "I stayed away more because I couldn’t be enough for you. And every time you flirted with someone else, it cut deep. The next woman I marry will know my challenges. That way they have a true choice, unlike you."

He walked to the painting and touched the frame. "I'm sorry Eliza, but thank you for my son."

"Captain?"

He pivoted to see a wobbly Mrs. Narvel standing in the threshold. "Good afternoon."

She tugged at her shawl and entered the room.

He plodded over and helped the woman ease onto the sofa. "It is good to see you about. Pre… Miss Jewell had mentioned that you haven’t stirred. You need to be moving around a bit as your confinement comes near."

"I came down hoping to catch Miss Jewell before she left. She’s determined to get me tea, something she called a rue. It’s suppose to lift my spirits. I came to show her she didn’t need to go to the trouble."

Precious wasn't going to find rue in the Mercantile. He should go after her and bring her back now. "Miss Jewell has already left."

Mrs. Narvel smiled and adjusted the heavy onyx skirts of her full mourning garb about her rounding belly. "That’s a good caring woman."

Yes, she was that and so much more. Why couldn't Precious admit to wanting more?

"Is that the late Eliza Marsdale?" Mrs. Narvel's high pitched voice interrupted his woolgathering. "Is she your late baroness?"

He pivoted again and stared at the empty brown eyes of the painting. "Yes, that was she. An American from Charleston, like Miss Jewell."

"Did being so far from home… did it make things difficult for her?"

"I never really thought of it." Well, he never really thought of much except tending to his uncle’s business. "My wife seemed resilient, but I know now that some of that stubbornness just masked hurt." He tugged at his sleeve and turned toward the window. Maybe he could catch sight of Precious returning. "Are you pining for England? You are too close to your time to be sent back."

"No, not at all. I don’t want to go back. I don’t have any true family there. And I, if I leave, I leave Narvel too. I’m not ready for that."

He nodded and trudged to the window, flipping back the gauzy curtain. "I understand. It's difficult to move forward."

"Your late wife was lovely. Miss Jewell favors her."

He spun to see if he could detect where the woman was leading.

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