Page 39 of Black Widow

Part of the floor was missing as well…if someone wanted to leap out into the sea, they would have to make a runningstart.

Amelia sidled closer to the edge, holding onto the wall so she wouldn’t tumble through the gap. She took off her gloves and slid down until she was seated in the corner—the part of the floor supported by the massive timber beams that were the bones of thehouse.

Wrapping her hands around her knees, Amelia hugged them tight against her body and rested a cheek on top ofthem.

The protective fog enveloping her began to melt away. A profound grief overwhelmed her. Part of her felt as if she had already been dashed on the rocks below. For a split second, she thought about making it a reality, but she didn’t move. Instead, she let the tears fall. She cried for her mother and father, and for Martin. And she cried for her dead illusions oflove.

Gideon must think her such a fool. And in retrospect, he was right. When she thought of the depths of her ignorance, she shuddered. Intimacy between a man and a woman was nothing like she imagined. Her aunt Carol had been right. It was both painful and humiliating, a duty women had to tolerate to please their husbands andlovers.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to blot out the look of shock on Gideon’s face when he realized she’d been a virgin. And then hisexplanation…

We were makinglove.

Mortification inundated her. How could she look him the eyeagain?

The answer to that was simple. She didn’t have to—and no, the answer wasn’t dashing herself on the rocks below. Women of means had obligations, responsibilities. Amelia was not about to depart this world and leave her staff to fend for themselves. Almost all had been born abroad, and though most of them were learning English, it would be difficult for them to find new employment even with properreferences.

There were also the poor she helped through her charitable endeavors. The school she was building in Paddington, at the edge of the slums, was almost finished. Taking up residence here in Devon wouldn’t be possible, but she’d find another homesomewhere.

There were so many things she still had to do…but Amelia didn’t have to do them yet. For today, and today alone, she could watch the surf below and imagine a new life, one where she wasn’talone.

Chapter 16

It had grown even colder,but Amelia took little notice. All she knew was that the light was growing dim. She could barely make out the waves as they crashed on the shore now, but she could still hear them—and something else. Men were talking, thenshouting.

Had the demon that murdered Martin finally come for her? That was something that should concern her…but at this moment, she was too cold tocare.

“Amelia! Amelia, look at me. I don’t want you to move. Just turn your head and look atme.”

She blinked sleepily and shifted, looking up to meet Gideon’s waxen face. Was he really there or was it the demon indisguise?

Gideon wouldn’t come all this way, not for her.It’sthe demon,then.

“Amelia, I know you’ve had an upset, but there’s no call for this, isthere?”

It was the guilt in his tone that pricked her.A demon probably wouldn’t bother with thisfarce.

“What?” Her voice was hoarse from disuse and thecold.

“I said there’s no call for this. I…I’ve spoken to Crispin. I brought him with me. Rather, he brought me. He’s looking for you downstairs. We came to take youhome.”

She raised a brow at the irony. “This is myhome.”

“I meant London, my love. Or we can visit my estate in Derbyshire. You’ve never seen it. I…I could use some advice on the new agricultural improvements I’ve beenmaking.”

He paused and looked at the floor as if he was contemplating crossing it. She studied the damaged boards lying between the two of them. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. The floor isn’t sound, and you are tooheavy.”

A little flare of heat crept up her chilled cheeks as she remembered the weight of his body onhers.

“Then can you please come here?” he asked, his voice high and thin. He sounded as if he were beingstrangled.

“I would prefer it if you left,” she replied, turning back to thesurf.

“Amelia,please—”

His next words were drowned out by a racket downstairs. Gideon spun and ran to the banister to look over theedge.

“Worthing, hold on!” He turned around. “Crispin’s crashed through the floor somehow. I need to go get him.Please, please comehere!”

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