Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 99593 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99593 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Torrance stood alone again, the firelight catching the small scarlet stain on the bandage around his arm. He took another swallow of ale.
Who to trust? That was the question that haunted him. He didn’t know yet who the true enemy was, but he had every intention of finding out.
His gaze turned to the fire that had burned low, casting long shadows around the room and one name came unbidden.
Esme.
The thought of her weaved through his mind like smoke he couldn’t grasp. He closed his eyes briefly, but that only made her image sharper… her hands pressing gently to his wound, the worry in her eyes, the warmth of her touch, and the way she’d looked at him as if she cared, had feelings for him.
He shifted restlessly, annoyed by the stirring in his loins.
He cursed under his breath and crossed the room, staring into the dying embers. He should be thinking of possible enemies hiding in plain sight, of the attack that could have ended him in a quiet snow-covered forest.
But his thoughts returned to her… always to her.
He had made his decision as soon as the plan had taken shape. He would have it no other way.
He ran his hand through his hair and let out a sharp breath. He hadn’t considered her part in this nearly enough, so he believed it would be easy enough to keep his distance. Whereas he should have considered what everyone expected of him… an heir. Which meant intimate time spent with her and appearances needed to be made to reflect that. He was sure it could be done, but he had not anticipated something shifting between them, slowly and subtly. Her gaze lingered longer on him. Her words held curiosity instead of contempt. And when she had touched him today, just a simple, careful tending, he had felt it like a blow. Just as it did when he kissed her.
He scowled at the hearth. He was letting his guard down and he couldn’t let that happen.
Esme was brave in quiet ways that others overlooked. She had watched him carefully at the grievance hearing, spoken up though surprised to be asked to do so. And today, she had not hesitated to go to him. Not as a wife playing a role, but as a woman moved by something she hadn’t expected.
He shouldn’t be thinking of this now. There was so much more to the plan that needed to be considered and followed through on. A muscle ticked in his jaw. He could not afford distraction, desire, affection, or attachment, the most dangerous distraction of all. Especially now with secrets waiting to be revealed.
He turned from the hearth, shadows closing in around him, and thoughts of Esme growing far too dangerous. Tonight, he would take supper in his bedchamber alone and sleep alone and try to clear his head.
Torrance left his solar, shaking his head. He was already thinking how he would miss his wife sleeping beside him in bed tonight.
Esme paced in her bedchamber. She had not seen her husband since Brenna had finished tending to his wounds that she was relieved were not life threatening. That she had taken relief in that news had completely surprised her. There was a time she prayed for her husband’s death, but no more. What had changed?
Torrance.
He had changed. But had he? Or was he playing one of his cruel games? Could she truly trust the shift in his ways, the show of fairness now and again? If only it could be so.
She stopped pacing and sat on the edge of her bed. She had been surprised when she received word that her husband would dine alone tonight in his bedchamber and that she was to remain in her own room for the night.
She had thought, foolish as it was, that they had shared a caring moment when she had tended to his wounds. She had felt a shift inside herself when he looked at her and his eyes seemed to intimate a caring heart. It had sent a soft tingle through her like when he had kissed her. And strangely enough, she wanted to pursue that feeling, understand it, and perhaps feel its pleasure again.
Insane.
She had to be insane to think that Torrance had changed. But she was stuck with him and if there was a chance, even a small one, that they could at least care for each other then perhaps the marriage would be tolerable or dare she hope a bit satisfying?
With hope in her heart, she stood. She had to go see him and see if there was even a small chance that her marriage could prove to be… a caring one.
Wearing nothing more than her nightdress, she slipped out of her bedchamber and made her way to his. She stood outside the door and listened. She didn’t hear a sound, and she wondered if he slept, exhausted from his wounds and the day’s incident.