Page 29 of Catching Captain Nash
When Caro stopped talking to direct a searching regard at her, Morwenna realized her expression must have betrayed her.
“Morwenna, you do have him. Surely you know that. The only time he looks halfway close to his old self is when he’s with you.”
Nervous hands tore at the flimsy handkerchief. “Oh, I know he loved me.”
She realized she’d used the betraying past tense when Caro frowned. “For heaven’s sake, the man worships the ground you walk on.”
“I don’t...I don’t think he knows what he feels anymore,” she said in a hollow voice.
Caro made a disgusted sound. “Nonsense. He can’t keep his hands off you.”
She blushed, wondering if the family guessed what had happened in the breakfast room not so long ago. “But that doesn’t mean he still loves me. He’s been locked up for a long time. He has a lot to make up for.”
Caro surveyed her with disapproval. “Morwenna, do you remember his reaction to seeing you with Garson? We’re lucky blood wasn’t spilled.”
“But that was just...”
“Male possessiveness? It looked like more than that to me.”
“There’s no guarantee love will survive such a separation. Especially as he’s come back so changed. You remember what he used to be like. The man who made every party sparkle.”
Caro regarded her thoughtfully. “Does that mean you’re disappointed in the man he’s become?”
Morwenna surged to her feet in denial. “No, never. My love isn’t the easy type of love that ever changes, however changed the man I love.”
Caro looked pleased and leaned back against the deep brown leather. “Then why don’t you credit Robert with the same steadfastness? He’s changed, but so have you. It doesn’t meanyou love each other less. Time and experience change love for everyone. If you’re lucky, they make it stronger.”
“That’s how it worked for you and Silas.” Morwenna went back to torturing her damp handkerchief. “But who says it will work that way for Robert and me?”
“Who says it won’t?” Impatience sparked in Caro’s blue eyes. “Is he the man you want?”
“More than ever.” She voiced thoughts she’d hardly admitted to herself. “He seems deeper and more true to himself now.”
Caro’s expression softened, and she blinked away another tear. “And so do you. You’ve both paid such a heavy price over the last years. Don’t let all that suffering go to waste. If any two people deserve happiness, it’s you and Robert.”
* * *
Caro’s words rang in Morwenna’s ears as Silas’s luxurious traveling coach bowled north toward Leicestershire. For several hours, her husband had watched her with a heavy-lidded gaze that hinted at carnal intentions. They hadn’t spoken since he’d told her about his meetings at the Admiralty. Long conversations still tested his stamina.
“We could have waited until the morning and gone then.” She gripped the strap for balance against the lurching vehicle. Robert had told the coachman not to spare the horses.
“Leaving today gets us to Kerenza all the sooner.”
She smiled. “I’m glad you want to see her.”
His marked black brows contracted. “Of course I want to see her.”
“I don’t even know if you like children. There’s so much we never had a chance to discover about each other.”
He still watched her like a fox watched a rabbit hole. She shifted uncomfortably. That steady gaze disturbed her, made her blood thick with awareness.
“It will make life interesting.”
She felt a mixture of relief and chagrin when he looked away toward the window. It was wet outside, but the rain gradually eased.
“So do you?” she asked, breaking the silence that fell.
He turned back to her. “What?”
