She was agitated, fiery. He wanted to understand her words, but how could he when her hands clenched, and her glare filled with such burning intent? And he wanted that intent—
He was a fool. He didn’t want this woman for his friend; he wanted her for himself.
He wanted Siân.
It had taken but one day for him to toss aside the finest of friendships? Charles had saved his life! What was he doing? He’d lied to himself to get her here, but he couldn’t continue to lie to her.
That was why she wasn’t making sense! She was angry because she knew his falsehood. She somehow saw through his actions. Clearly, something he had done had betrayed his stoic exterior, long before he himself came to the realization of his betrayal of Charles. Maybe it was the way he couldn’t stop looking at her.
Regardless of what it was, she knew that he had developed feelings. Did she know that Charles didn’t want her? They needed to talk.
“Siân, I believe I need to tell you something,” he said. “It’s pertinent, in fact—”
“Reginald, this place is haunted.”
She’d said words, but he suddenly couldn’t.
She turned around and faced every dark corner as if facing an enemy and then turned to him again. “You’re not seeing things that aren’t there. You’re not imagining my worry or fear.”
So she was afraid. Worried not for Charles, but… This made no sense. He was only imagining movement in the dark corner; there couldn’t actually be anything there.
“I’m sorry,” he began. “You need to know that I didn’t intend for this to happen. It’s merely I saw you, and—”
“Haunted, haunted, haunted, and it’s a horrible, terrible story,” she blurted out with such force that he almost took a step backward or forward.
Sighing, she rubbed her forehead. “But please take care of the horses, for if we have to suddenly leave, they best be in better shape than we are right now.”
Chapter Six
Siân had alreadyunhooked her cloak and hung it up to dry, and was getting the supplies out of her satchel by the time Mr. Payne returned. He was carrying the second saddle under one arm and the supply satchels slung over his other.
She’d been so horrible to shout like that. What if he hadn’t returned?
But he had. Even though she yelled and told him fantastical things, he’d returned, and it looked like he’d taken care of the horses…and maybe he’d take care of her, too, and—
“Ow!” She yanked her hand away from the flame.
He set down the saddle and tossed the satchel. “Here, let me.”
She only became privy to the first stings of pain once Mr. Payne took her hand in his. His warm, calloused hand was achingly familiar, and Siân wanted to gasp, to say something, but what?
The feeling was…different. Was sheattractedto this odd man? She, herself, had never felt it before, and certainly no one was attracted to her. She was no great beauty, and only with her marriage to Charles would he inherit any dowry of land from her family estate. So throughout her years, no boys or men had teased or flirted with her.
And in truth, she had been fine with that since her arranged marriage with Charles. She was to marry, have a family, be close to her sisters. It was ideal.
So Reginald’s—no, Mr. Payne’s—touch shouldn’t give her scatterings of heat that went to parts he wasn’t holding. And his sure way of inspecting her limb shouldn’t feel so comforting after the sting of heat from the flame.
And why wasn’t he letting her go?
Head bowed, she observed him as she hadn’t been able to before.
A curl of his hair fell forward and his lips were parted a bit, the only feature softening the hard angles of his face. He shouldn’t be handsome, shouldn’t be attractive. But he was to her. She liked him as well. He loved the farm life, was kind to Mary and others, and all of that was far more dangerous than his merely searching her hand for injuries.
Her attraction was grievous because she was journeying to her betrothed. And yet there was still part of her that wondered why Charles had asked for her after all these years.
In truth, she knew he didn’t love her, and she certainly didn’t love him. Maybe he asked for her so she could tend his broken leg, and then, when he was mended, he would send her back.
Why she felt relief for that, when she should only feel terror to return to Eryl’s lascivious ways, she didn’t know.
