The Frenchman's Captive Wife by Chantelle Shaw

Author:Chantelle Shaw
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2006-12-04T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

HE WAS NOT a control freak!

Emily’s accusation resounded in Luc’s head as he stormed into his study and poured himself a liberal cognac. It was true he hadn’t wanted her to work in the restaurant, but what husband would be happy to see his wife rushed off her feet until late at night? It had all been the fault of that damned chef whose vicious tongue had been feared among the other staff at Oscar’s Diner. For reasons he could never understand, Emily had struck up a firm friendship with Laura Brent, although it was only now that he appreciated Ms Brent’s role in Emily’s disappearance.

Had she really been as unhappy in London as she had revealed tonight? His conscience nagged that it had been an incredibly busy and stressful time for him workwise and it was true they hadn’t spent much leisure time together apart from those interminable dinner parties Robyn had organised. Perhaps she had been lonely, a young girl in a big city, but he had tried, he assured himself. How many times had he rejected the comfort of a hotel in favour of driving through the night just so that he could spend a few precious hours with her? And she had always been pleased to see him. Despite his best efforts to slide into bed without waking her, she had stirred and snuggled close, her hand straying a familiar path to wreak havoc on his self-control.

How the hell had it all gone so wrong? he wondered bleakly as he downed his drink and refilled the glass. He freely admitted he had been irritated by her unreasonable jealousy of Robyn, but he’d hoped the holiday would give them a chance to unwind and rediscover the joy they’d shared in the early days of their marriage. Instead, it had been an unmitigated disaster.

Even now the sight of her paper-white face haunted him when he recalled the way she had slid to a crumpled heap at his feet. A virus, some unusual tropical disease she had picked up, would have been terrifying enough, but the realisation that it was history of the most tragic kind repeating itself had rendered him almost beside himself with fear. He hadn’t been angry at the news of her pregnancy, he’d been scared witless at the thought of losing her. Even after she had sailed through the first few months safely, he had been unable to relax and as time had moved inexorably closer to her due date he had distanced himself, emotionally and physically, following a defence strategy learned from his childhood.

The damage he carried from his past was not Emily’s fault, he conceded grimly, especially as he had never confided his fears to her, or the reasons for them. It was his fault he had failed her and now he was behaving no better than his father. He couldn’t realistically hold her prisoner at the château. She was young and vibrant and wanted to live her life to the full,

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.