AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Always the Home Office. King and Country. Nothing changes.”
“Not anymore. I’ve already notified Bathurst. If you don’t believe me, ask yourself why I have not run off to discover all the secrets of Bonaparte’s death.” He reached for her hand, but she refused to move, either in rejection or acceptance. She must remain unmoved by him. “Shelene, I do have a question. What did your uncle tell you about me being dead?”
“Um, that you had died after arriving in Argentina. That he had associates who had passed this information to him. That he had his pardon from the king and if I said anything or accused him of anything, it could jeopardize his newfound status. That he was sorry for my loss, and he would do what he could to help me.”
“I don’t doubt that is what he told you and I’m not going to question your trust and belief in him. He’s obviously been very convincing his entire life.”
“And?”
“He couldn’t have known whether I was alive or dead. I left from Nantes. I suspect he heard… I’m not sure how to say this exactly.”
“You’ve rarely spared my feelings in the past. Do you think I am not prepared to hear that he is a wicked man?”
He pushed forward in his chair and took both of her hands. “If he knew we were married, he knew I was heading to Argentina and why. He’d assume I was coming back. He wouldn’t tell you I was dead unless he planned to make that a reality. Either there or here. The timing doesn’t work. He told you I was dead before I ever stepped off the boat in South America.”
Only Roman could draw such parallels. And only Roman would deduce such evil intent. When she thought such wicked things, she tried to put them from her mind, wanting to trust, wanting to believe the best. It washardto accept such truths, especially about her family.
“What do you want me to say? A king’s pardon means nothing, and I should have ignored it?” she asked.
“You should have at least been suspicious.”
“Don’t you dare!” she hissed. “Don’t you dare make me feel as if I did something wrong. I did suspect he was lying, but he had a reasonable answer for every question.” She pushed from the table and away from him, back toward Tono, the purest peace and comfort in her life.
“Shelene, that is not my intent.”
“Whatever your aim, you’ve missed the mark.”
“Are you saying I should not confront him? That I shouldn’t believe his past malevolence isn’t part of whatever is happening here. He can never be trusted.”
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if my husband, for a moment, could think of something besides intrigue and conspiracy?”
“When a man comes home and finds his wife about to marry another, he is not so inclined to whisper words of love, especially when it seems those words are unwelcome.”
“That would never have happened if you had taken me with you, as you promised, or if you had never left in the first place.”
“I can’t regret my actions. After we arrived in Argentina, we left within a few weeks and it would have been impossible to take you farther. Was I to leave you alone in an unfamiliar country? And now, to know you were already pregnant when I left France. I would have never found your father or Oliver. It was the right decision.”
“It must be very reassuring to know you are never wrong.”
“I wasn’t wrong in marrying you.”
A light tap on the door was enough to silence their disagreement. A rose glow had appeared on the horizon, giving the room a soft light that revealed more than Shelene wanted in front of Roman. As Durra entered and busied herself cleaning at the table they’d just left, Shelene said softly, “Breakfast should be set out on the buffet, if you are hungry.”
He walked toward the crib and glanced at his son again. “He’s a beautiful child, Shelene. Thank you for him. He’s already given me a year’s worth of happiness. I can’t imagine the joy he will bring in the future.”
Roman placed his hand over hers, gripped tight against the crib’s wooden railing, holding her upright. “And being home with you is… Well, there were days when I wasn’t sure we would discover anything, let alone find Oliver and your father. Or make it home, for that matter. Sometimes, I hung onto the thinnest thread of hope, and that thread was you. And only that strand, that bit of steely resolve was enough to keep me moving.”
“Was it so hard?” she whispered, turning her hand into his and holding on as if she didn’t mean a word of what she said.
“Like hell. If Joaquin hadn’t made me promise to bring him back and find him a wife, I might have given up.”
She smiled. “Well then, I shall have to thank, Joaquin. For returning my son’s father.”
“I’m staying in Spain. I will be here for you and Antonio.” So matter of fact. So sure.
Roman departed and Shelene ached anew. He had no idea the pain he had caused. He had no idea what a normal, idyllic life looked like. But did she?
Other than those halcyon days of their youth, there had been constant turmoil, heartache and loneliness. How had she believed Roman Forrester was the end-all be-all of her life when he’d been the source of her agony?
