The December Heart Collection by Merry Farmer

Author:Merry Farmer [Farmer, Merry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-13T00:00:00+00:00

It was the last straw. For years, decades, Peter had carried a burden of responsibility in his heart where William was concerned. He’d spent too long thinking he could have changed the young man, steered him away from a path of self-destruction. But William hurting Mariah, ruining her sister, was where Peter’s guilt ended. He’d lived his life going out of his way to care for Anne at the cost of his own happiness. William had no qualms about destroying a young woman’s chance at happiness at best and killing her at worst. Peter could see now that his nephew’s moral compass was shattered, and as far from his own code of honor as could be. The time had come to stop trying to reform him and to instead bring him to justice.

“If he sees the two of you, he’ll run,” Peter said to Albert and Malcolm as they gathered in the stable, mounting Charger and the horses Harry had prepared for the other two.

“If he tries, he won’t get far,” Malcolm said, flashing the revolver that was hidden under his coat.

Peter sent his friend a flat look. “I’d like to avoid murdering the last family member I have.”

“Peter.” Malcolm nudged his horse to walk closer to Charger. “Do you honestly think that William will go into this encounter without some kind of weapon at the ready?”

“If he’s capable of burning my ship, he’s capable of much more,” Albert added.

It tore at the core of everything Peter believed in, but Malcolm was right. Worse still, when his friend reached into the saddlebag behind him and handed him a second revolver, Peter took it.

“I’m not going to use it unless I feel like my life or either of yours is in danger,” he said, stashing the pistol in his own saddlebag and half wishing they were in the Wild West of America, where everyone wore gun holsters and could draw and fire at a moment’s notice.

“Come on,” Albert said, turning his horse toward the road. “Let’s get this over with.”

Peter sighed and nodded, then tapped Charger into motion. His body ached as though he were too old for riding around Cornwall after dark, pretending to deliver a ransom but actually intent on rescuing a woman. But it was his soul that was weary as they rode across the estate and onto the road that would take them into Truro. As glorious as it was that a new part of his life had begun with Mariah and, God willing, their child, it was still painful to watch the entire first half of his life fold to a close.

Truro was a longer ride than Peter would have liked. The land attached to Starcross Castle was vast enough to give the castle itself the feeling of being isolated. They rode over and around hills, and Peter’s thoughts turned to his mines, to the people who depended on him for their living. He was doing this for them as much as for himself or Mariah. If it were left to him, William would squander the lives and resources of Starcross.

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