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Thomas smiled, tamping down the worry that pushed into his gut. Eliza hadn’t mentioned it? Odd. Well, perhaps after their argument Eliza planned to announce the happy news when they were in better spirits.
The click of someone opening the front door reached Thomas. He spun toward the main room from his position in the kitchen doorway. He expected Nathaniel sometime today with his regular bi-weekly visit, but it was far too early for that.
Thomas rushed forward as frustration pierced him like a falling icicle. Eliza must be returning from wherever she’d been, and oh how she would get another earful from him. Now. He still hadn’t recovered from the thought of almost losing her. After her escape last night, he wanted to know where she was at all times, and she’d promised him she wouldn’t do anything impetuous.
Eliza came into the room as expected, head bowed. She kept her eyes at the floor and gripped her shawl with both hands. Thomas pinched his brow as worry skidded across his spine. Why did she look so solemn? He walked toward her and stopped in his tracks.
His lungs ceased to function, and the blood in his limbs refused to move. Entering the room behind Eliza was the devil.
Once inside, Samuel closed the door quickly behind him and reached a gentle hand to grab Eliza’s arm. She looked up at Thomas for only a moment before looking down again. Her eyes were circled with red, her cheeks wet from tears. What had Samuel done? How had he found them?
Thomas’s m
uscles refused to obey any command as he tried to make sense of what he saw. His peaceful, joy-filled world now broke into a devastating war, destroying everything around him.
“What are you doing here, Martin?” Thomas kept his tone cool despite the fury that blazed through his veins.
Samuel reached his arm around and tugged Eliza close. He nuzzled his nose into her ear, but she kept her eyes at the ground. Thomas’s stomach wanted to revolt at the sight. His biceps twitched with the desire to unleash the full measure of his strength, but he refrained. Doing so might put Eliza in more danger and he’d rather die than bring her any harm.
“Would you like to tell him, my darling?” Samuel said. “I think it will be much better coming from you, under the circumstances.” He looked at Thomas, a vile grin clawing up his face.
A paralyzing anxiety unleashed itself within Thomas’s gut as Samuel’s fingers whitened around Eliza’s arm.
Eliza inhaled deep before she spoke and raised her chin. Her voice was quiet, but a look of stoic resolve wound over her features. “Thomas, I wrote to Samuel. I told him everything that happened and he understands it was nothing more than a grievous miscommunication.”
Her words were relaxed and calm, a dichotomy to the language that showed in her body. “I told him how miserable I’ve been. I asked him to come take Kitty and me back to Boston. He’s promised to allow you to go free. Also, Daniel and his dear family. All is well. Is not that wonderful?”
Thomas’s gaze jumped between the two of them as he tried to piece together the alarming puzzle. This wasn’t right. She was lying. How could she have sent word to Samuel without him knowing of it?
Somehow he found his voice. “Eliza, don’t be afraid to tell me the truth,” he said, hoping she would sense the urgency in his stare.
Eliza pursed her lips and blinked as if straining to stay composed. She rolled her shoulders and lifted her chin, but not her gaze. “Samuel has renewed his sentiments to me, Thomas, and I’ve accepted him. The truth is, I love him. I always have.”
The words slammed into Thomas with such force he took a step back. Impossible. Then again . . . the detached look on her face unraveled every tightly woven emotion around his heart. His breathing became ragged and he reached for the chair at his side.
Samuel drew Eliza closer and tilted her face upward, kissing her on the mouth as only a man in love can do. She didn’t resist, didn’t try to pull away.
Thomas’s stomach lurched and his heart hammered his ribs until he thought his bones would break. She didn’t love Samuel.
She couldn’t. Could she?
His mind raced. Last night when he’d proposed to her, she’d said she would marry him but never that she loved him. And she’d never even told Kitty the news of their engagement. He’d believed her response to his admiration was real. Had he wished something into existence that was too good to be true?
Eliza clearly did not want to look at him. She kept her gaze at the floor. It was so unlike her. His skin began to crawl. Samuel appeared calm, but the deep shadow over his face told Thomas he was angry enough to kill.
At that moment Kitty emerged from the kitchen, towel in hand. “Samuel! What are you doing here?” She looked between Samuel, Thomas, and Eliza as she wiped her white hands on her apron.
Samuel released his hold on Eliza and reached out to Kitty as one would to a little child.
“I’ve come to take you and Eliza home. There’s no need to hide any longer. The danger’s past.” Kitty rushed forward, hugging him around the neck as he lifted her off the ground. “Thank you, thank you, Samuel! We’ve been waiting so long!”
Thomas stared at Eliza, praying she would look at him. She didn’t. An endless abyss forced its way down Thomas’s middle. He tried to swallow the lump of painful realization that swelled in his throat.
Eliza didn’t love him.
“When can we leave?” Kitty asked, as Samuel set her on her feet.
“Right now, if it pleases you.” Samuel shot a sinful smile at Thomas, but Kitty didn’t seem to notice.
