Love and Loss at Whitmore Manor by Anita Stansfield

Author:Anita Stansfield
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: LDS, Love, Romance, Fiction, War, revolution, King, Britain, America, England
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Published: 2017-06-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

PARTNERS IN TREASON

Olivia lay in her bed in the darkness while a steady stream of tears ran from the corners of her eyes into her hair. She’d been worried about Tristan finding out; she’d been praying that he never would. But he knew, and the means by which he’d discovered her involvement in all of this couldn’t possibly have gone any worse. She feared now that whatever the outcome might be in regard to this smuggling scheme, she had likely lost Tristan forever. He’d broken her heart once before, but now that it had been broken again she feared it would never recover. She couldn’t blame him, really. Last time he’d believed Muriel’s lies and his cruelty toward her had been without just cause. But this time he had good reason to be angry with her. She knew well his loyalty to his country, and how her going against that so boldly could be nothing but a huge offense to him. She understood, and she couldn’t lay any blame at his feet for simply being who he was and believing in what he believed. The simple fact was that when it came to such loyalties, they were on opposite sides. She’d known it long before he’d returned from war, and she’d struggled with the great dilemma of knowing that she—and others in the household—were involved in something that might actually bring harm to Tristan, if only indirectly. She’d lost track of the hours and days she’d spent harrowed up by the ironies, the guilt, the quandary of it all. But she had truly believed it was best for everyone concerned to keep Tristan from knowing anything. And yet he’d found out. She couldn’t imagine how that had happened when they had all been so careful; not as careful as they’d believed, obviously. And if Tristan had discovered the truth, was it possible that others might as well? Were they in more danger than they’d allowed themselves to believe?

Olivia rolled onto her side and hit her pillow hard in a futile attempt to release some tiny degree of the turmoil consuming her. She tried to settle into a comfortable position and relax, but her entire body felt tense and constricted. “Please help me, God,” she muttered aloud. “Show me the way. Keep us all protected and safe as we press forward in our cause, and . . . please . . .” Tears overtook her voice but she pressed on. “Please . . . I would ask for a miracle . . . that Tristan might find it in his heart to forgive me . . . that he might know how very much I love him. Please, God! Please!”

Olivia squeezed her eyes closed against the memories of Tristan’s angry words, his disappointment, his very legitimate hurt over the trust that had been broken between them, and she couldn’t begin to imagine how they could ever get beyond this.

* * * * *

Once alone in his room, Tristan pulled off

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