Pleasing the Pirate by Sharon Cullen

Author:Sharon Cullen
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Highland
Published: 2014-02-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Seeing his two lives clash made Phin uneasy. It was his fault that he’d brought Mairi here and if he’d thought he could keep her and Susan apart then it had been a ridiculous though the had been a fool. He’d assumed they would meet, but he hadn’t expected his reaction to their meeting.

He owed Mairi an explanation, but he didn’t know how to explain Susan.

“Sister?” she whispered. “You’re siblings?”

He frowned, confused by her reaction. “Who did you think she was?”

Mairi looked away, her face turning a violent shade of red.

“Mairi?”

“But Annabelle … is your daughter.”

He reached for her, but she shied from him. “Mairi, Annabelle isn’t my daughter.”

“You told me she was. I don’t know what to believe.”

He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“To the outside world I am Annabelle’s father.” The words came unbidden and without thought. He’d never actually said this to anyone and yet it felt right that Mairi was the first to hear the truth from him. For so long he’d lived this lie. He needed someone to know the real story. Someone other than the Hortons and Susan.

“We didn’t always live on Bedford Square,” he said, letting the memories flow, warmed by some of them, chilled by others. “We used to live in a much larger home in Stratford. About four years ago, when we lived in Stratford, Susan was walking to our neighbor’s house. She was alone. Normally she didn’t go anywhere alone, but no one could go with her that day. Her maid was sick. Mr. Horton had gone into town. Susan thought it was safe enough to walk the short distance.”

He paused, finding it difficult to breathe as the memories overtook him. And the guilt. The guilt was unbearable, something he lived with daily. His anger returned as it always did when he thought of that time. He wanted to hit something but settled for curling his fingers into fists.

“When she didn’t arrive home that evening Mrs. Horton sent Mr. Horton over to our neighbors to fetch her. He found her alongside the road. She had been beaten, raped, then left for dead.”

Mairi jerked. Her eyes widened. He was fully aware of how much their stories resembled each other. Aileen and Susan. Both raped and beaten. Aileen’s assault had ended in death, Susan’s in banishment and an unwanted pregnancy. Mairi blinked back her tears and swallowed.

Phin took a labored breath. It felt as if a boulder was sitting upon his chest. “I was sailing through the Mediterranean at the time. It took many months for Mrs. Horton’s letter to reach me, and many more months for me to sail back. By the time I returned home Susan was heavy with child.” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat.

“With Annabelle?” she asked.

He glanced at her but his gaze slid away as he nodded. “The bastard that attacked her had hit her over the head so severely she was unconscious for several days and when she awoke she was deaf.

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