Grace (The Shackleford Sisters Book 1) by Beverley Watts

Author:Beverley Watts [Watts, Beverley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BaR Publishing
Published: 2020-10-20T23:00:00+00:00

Fearing he might crush her, Nicholas rolled onto his side, taking Grace with him. When he finally managed to get his breath back, he glanced down at his wife, marvelling at the feel of her in his arms. His injuries were throbbing from exertion, but for the first time, the realisation actually made him smile. It was a good pain.

They lay in silence for a while, Grace revelling in the pleasure of finally being in her husband’s embrace. For the first time she felt like a proper wife. Idly she traced the scars on his chest, then cursed herself as he stiffened and drew in his breath.

“Forgive me,” she said softly, “I have no wish to cause you more pain. I simply wish to understand.” She did not remove her hand but held her breath, waiting to see what her husband would do.

Nicholas shuddered again under her touch but didn’t move away and Grace gradually loosened her breath, snuggling up closer as the cold began to seep in after their exertions.

Glancing down at her, Nicholas reached to pull the covers over them both. “Do you require a bed warmer?” Grace smiled against his shoulder. “My thanks for your concern husband, but I already have one.” She felt rather than heard him chuckle and the knowledge that her stubborn handsome husband had a lighter side to him filled her with joy and bode well for their future together. Perhaps even now she was with child.

If only he would let her into his torment and tell her about his nightmares. However, she didn’t want to spoil the moment by her questions, so contented herself by simply stroking her hand lightly over the healed wounds on his chest.

To her surprise, after a few minutes he spoke, though his words were barely above a whisper. “I wasn’t always like this.” Grace glanced up but he was staring off into the dark.

“I left Blackstone when I was fifteen years old.” His voice was impassive as though he was telling the story about someone else. “As you are no doubt aware, my brother died in a riding accident just before I left. What you may not be aware of, is that my father blamed me for his death.” Grace drew in her breath but did not speak.

“It was my idea to ride our horses along the road in the pouring rain. My brother may have been the elder by minutes, but he always followed my lead. What my father didn’t realise was that I too blamed myself for his death.” She felt him shake his head. “Or perhaps he didn’t care. He couldn’t bear the sight of me, so I left. I was still a green boy.

“The fact that I didn’t end up dead in a ditch was entirely due to one man. He was already a captain in the Royal Navy on his way to Plymouth to join his ship. He took me with him, and I joined up as a midshipman. Almost immediately we set sail for the Mediterranean.

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