Page 28 of His Betrothed
“Roselyn?” he said softly, close to her ear.Did he hurt you? Is there another man still out there?”
She shook her head emphatically but didn’t lift her face. Her sobs quieted, yet still her shoulders trembled, and she clutched him even harder.
“I have rope,” she said. “We should tie him up—”
“Thatwon’t be necessary. I felt no heartbeat. He’s dead.”
Spencer was stunned that his first thought had been outrage at the assault on Roselyn. As she shuddered, he was aware of how she felt in his arms, so small and slight, suddenly so vulnerable.
He didn’t understand his own reaction to her.
“Roselyn, tell me what happened. What did he do to you?”
She wiped her tears with her palms, then liftedher face to his. Her stormy eyes were uncertain and fearful.
Just the sight of him seemed to change something inside her—the naked emotion on her face was wiped away as if it had never existed. She pulled back, leaving him to rest a hand against the chimney.
For a moment, he almost resisted letting go of her.
“He slapped me, but I’ll be fine,” she said,with only a little hitch in her voiceas she looked down at the Spaniard’s body. “And he was alone. But what will we do with—with—”
“First calm yourself and tell me what happened.”
“No, no, not with…himhere.”
Spencer looked down at the Spaniard, one of Rodney Shaw’s henchman. Could Shaw have discovered he had taken the pouch?
But it was at the bottom of the channel, where it could not exonerate him.
“Do you know him?” Roselynasked in a soft voice.
He lifted his head to find her watching him, and he realized she was suspicious. What had the Spaniard said to her?
“I’ve never seen him before,” he said, the lie coming easily.
She nodded and caught her lip between her teeth as she looked down at the dead man. “What shall we do with him?”
“If I had two good legs, I’d heave him into the ocean where he came from.”
“Butyou don’t. I can’t…can’t…” She started shivering and her face looked bleak.
Again, Spencer felt a strong need to hold her. Why the hell would he want to protect her, after all she’d done?
But she’d been threatened and injured because of him. He couldn’t tell her the truth, and now he couldn’t do much about the dead man in her home.
Roselyn clasped her hands together and stared at the body witha helplessness that made Spencer uneasy.
“We cannot bury him,” he said. “I’d be useless with a shovel, and you can’t do it alone.”
“I’m strong,” she insisted.
He almost smiled at her stubbornness. “It would take all night, and someone would be bound to notice a fresh grave. No, I think the ocean would be best. Do you have a horse?”
She shook her head but looked at him with the first sparkof hope in her eyes. “Wakesfield does. The stables are behind the manor. In the middle of the night I could bring a horse here.”
“Excellent idea. We can last until then.” And now he knew there were horses nearby to use when he escaped.
Her faltering gaze dropped to the body. “Can we take him…outside?”
