The Bluestocking's Secret Obsession: A Historical Friends-to-Lovers Romance (The Stanton Legacy Book 3) by M.M. Wakeford

Author:M.M. Wakeford [Wakeford, M.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-05-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Benjamin

“Man has no greater enemy than himself.”

―Petrarch

Of course, it was not quite so easy a thing to make such a decision become a reality. His family would not thank him for leaving so soon after having returned from an absence of four and a half years. Isabella and Daniel had only just themselves arrived from England. He could hardly turn tail and leave them now. And yet he did not know if he had the patience to wait the several months they proposed to spend in America before joining them on their return journey to England.

And there was something else that gnawed away at his spirits. He was painfully aware of how little he had to offer Sarah. A scarred man, forever damaged by what he had seen and done in the war, he could not even provide her with a home of her own—not unless something worthy of her could be built over the ruins of old Jim’s cabin. He could not leave now, not without having completed the work he had only just begun.

As he toiled side by side with Daniel the following morning, taking down every rotten joist from the old cabin, he tried to reason with himself. He had waited nearly five long years for Sarah. Surely he could have patience enough to wait a further few months. But then he recalled what she had written in her letter. Mr Templeton had called her an intrepid female and a most capable person, the first true compliments he had paid her. Of course she was that and much more besides. Benjamin had known it from the start. But now Mr Templeton had taken note of this. What else would he soon begin to notice? The excellence of her character? The craven sensuality she kept hidden beneath her prim exterior? The brilliance of her grey eyes that even an absence of five years and thousands of miles’ distance could not dim?

He found himself becoming progressively more maddened and frustrated. That familiar anger began to engulf him, fuelling his rage. He wielded the axe like a man on a rampage, hacking furiously at the remains of old Jim’s cabin. A red haze formed in his mind. He could not think straight. All he could feel was gut wrenching fear and rage.

“Benjamin!”

He barely heard his brother’s voice through the haze engulfing him.

“Benjamin! Will you stop?”

This was said more sharply, this time penetrating his mind, but still he lifted the axe and lodged it in the wooden planks before him. He went to raise it aloft again.

“Benjamin, put it down!”

With a concerted effort, he stopped, his hands gripping the axe tightly. His brother’s voice continued, more gently, “Let it go, Benjamin. Put the axe down and step away from it.” Breathing heavily, he let it fall to the ground, then took a step back from it. He felt his brother’s hand on his back, leading him firmly towards the front porch steps, as yet unmarked by his axe. The hand pressed gently, urging him to sit.

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.