Page 21 of This Haunted Heart

He scoffed. “I doubt you’re capable.”

“Please, Finley!” I clawed at the lapel of his morning coat, scrambling for something to dig my fingers into. “I promise you! If it is truly not your intention to harm me, then do not take me to that bridge!”

In my mind’s eye, that horrid baron was there, just like in my dreams, waiting to chase me through the mire.

Finley looked at me like I’d gone mad, and in a way, I had. I’d done many things in my life that I should regret, but there was only the one thing that inspired true remorse. None of my terrible deeds haunted me like the day I fled Light Lily, leaving behind the only person I would always hold dear.

I was a thief, a crook, a charlatan. I was an untrustworthy harlot. Guilt swamped me, and my stomach tied itself into knots. I was everything that evil baron had always said I’d become. But there was one boy who’d believed differently, and I’d abandoned him to take the fall for all of my crimes.

And I was so, so sorry for all of that. If only horrid guilt were enough to undo any of it.

Finley shouted for the driver to halt, and the Concord came to a rumbling stop.

“If I remove us from Light Lily now—”

“I’ll do whatever you want!” I vowed. “Please, Finley, you must!”

“You will do strictly as I command you to,” he said, his voicegone rugged, inviting no argument.

“I will.” I pulled at his coat, and he unwound my fingers from the fabric, trapping them against his leg.

“When we reach the inn, we are Mr. and Mrs. Finley. I will introduce you as my wife. You will act accordingly and make no attempts to contradict the fiction I will create for us to ensure we are tended to swiftly and properly. You will not behave in any fashion that would draw unwanted attention.”

“I will do as you say.”

“You willnotflee from me.”

My lashes lowered, and I worked my throat. One swallow wasn’t enough to clear it. I tried again. “I’ll go to your summer home with you. You have my word. I won’t try to flee.”

I needed out of Light Lily as quickly as possible. I would have agreed to stand on my head in a pit full of weaver snakes if it got us gone from this wicked place. There was an affliction here. It permeated the air like a black fog. Its sticky poison pebbled my skin. It seeped inside me, filling my mind with disquiet and unease.

And memories. So many dark memories.

Gripping my jaw carefully, Finley lifted my chin until my eyes returned to his. Then he produced a silk kerchief from the pocket of his waistcoat and wiped my wet cheeks with surprising gentleness.

“The mire stretches for miles in unexpected ways. I’ve lost animals to sinking spots in the marshes more than once,” he said, cleaning my chin. “The woods are full of black bears and weaver women. This is dangerous country. Attempting to separate from me will put you at risk of more than my disapproval. It isn’t safe to wander here.”

I blinked at him, thinking of my terrible dreams of late. “Youbelieve there are actually witches in the woods?”

“As should you,” he said sharply. “Do we have an accord?”

I nodded, remembering the conflicting old legends about the witches I’d left behind along with everything else here in Light Lily.

He shook me gently. “Use your voice, Rynn. I want to hear the words from your lips. Convince me you mean them.”

“We have an accord,” I said through my teeth.

And fortunately, he believed me.

Chapter 6

Lochlan Finley

I’d nearly given myself away when I said I’d keep her for twenty years. The retort had sped from my mouth before I could catch it back. I didn’t truly know how long I planned to keep her . . .

All I knew was that there were things she had to answer for and consequences I would no longer endure without her. My punishment was hers to share in. My grief was hers to carry.

The reinsman and the conductor seated beside him were not thrilled when I informed them we would need to backtrack at least two miles before taking the road east to a destination out of the way from what we’d discussed. It was a road I’d made myself familiar with because I was not fond of traveling through Light Lily either.

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