“Love—”
“No.” She lifted a hand to silence him. “Something is wrong, and it’s starting to scare me.” She swallowed hard. Evan was her rock, her steady place. If he was on edge, then she had every reason to be, too.
“I told you already—there have been robberies.”
He shifted on his feet. Lying.
“Don’t lie to me. Please, Evan.” Guilt curled in her gut. She had secrets, too—things she hadn’t told him. But that didn’t mean he got to keep them from her. At least that was what she’d continue to tell herself.
Evan glanced around, then cupped her cheek with one strong hand. She should pull away. Instead, she leaned into his touch, the warmth of him steadying her even as unease twisted inside her. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.
“All right, love.” He sighed, closing his eyes for a long moment. When he opened them again, she saw the truth waiting there. And she knew—she wasn’t going to like a word of it.
“Let’s get your sweet roll,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Then I’ll tell you everything.”
Marina conceded, letting him lead her to the bakery, though she hardly believed she could eat the warm pastry he placed in her hands. Whatever he was about to say had already stolen her appetite.
After he paid, they departed the shop and settled on a bench beneath a large oak, watching the village go about its day. Evan tugged at his cravat, then ran a hand through his thick black hair.
“Love,” he started, draping his arm over the back of the bench. “I only wish to protect you. Surely you know that.”
“Protect me from what?” This was more than some phantom hand that might or might not have been there.
He hesitated. Then, “I received a note.”
Marina’s stomach twisted. “A note?”
If the man could just get to the point before her stomach became as unsettled as her thoughts.
“That’s what Browning came to see me about that day.”
She stiffened. She knew he had been off, but her victory could wait. “What did it say?”
Evan exhaled through his nose. “A threat. That we would pay for what we’ve done.”
Her blood turned to ice. “What could we have possibly done?”
Evan’s jaw tensed. “Can you think of no one who might have reason to hate us?”
Her breath caught. Of course she could.
She’d spent the last month convincing herself otherwise. That they had nothing more to fear. That the man awaiting the hangman’s noose couldn’t reach them.
But what if she had been wrong?
“How can we be certain?” she whispered.
“It’s the only thing that makes sense, love. Until we know more, keeping you safe is all that matters. I can’t lose you, Marina.”
Evan’s arm slipped from the back of the bench, pulling her close.
Her sweet roll tumbled from her hand, landing in the dirt. “I’ve been such a fool.” She should have told him. What had she been thinking? By ignoring her instincts, she might have put them both in danger. And Arthur.
His brow furrowed. “What in the devil are you talking about?”
She swallowed hard. “I… I saw someone. Or thought I did.” Marina wrung her hands in her skirts. “That day when we were—”
“Shooting,” he finished, his voice sharp. “That’s why you were acting so strangely. You saw someone. And you didn’t think to tell me? Why on earth would you keep that from me?”
