Page 30 of Almost a Bride
If she hoped for any truths from him, she was disappointed.
“There is no excuse for abusing a woman. That is proof of what kind of villain he is.”
Didn’t he realize that although he had never physically harmed her, he had abused her just the same during their betrothal? Didn’t he know that his treatment of her now was in many ways worse?
As they neared the cliffs, they could hear the pounding of surf on the rocky shoreline below them. Though Roselyn was keeping her back straight, she still felt Thornton’s thighs pressed to the length of hers. His hands tensed at her waist, and she knew it must look as if they were riding over the edge, but even in the darkness Angel knew her way. As they began the descent to the beach, she heard Thornton release his breath.
There was almost no moon this night, and the water seemed an endless black.
“Do you see a ship?” she whispered, looking over her shoulder at him.
He shook his head, but he still looked intent, worried.
“Do you think the Spaniard arrived the same night you did?”
“Probably, and it took him this long to find me. Perhaps he has a boat hidden on the shoreline nearby, or he was going to steal one. I think we’re safe for the moment.”
Nothing seemed real to Roselyn, as they rode into the dark water until the waves soaked their legs. She clutched the pommel as Thornton untied the Spaniard’s body and pushed it off the horse. She flinched at the splash, and didn’t protest when he took the reins and guided Angel back onto the beach.
“Someone will find the body in the morning,” she said, shivering.
“Perhaps not. The tide could drag him farther out. But if he is found, well, he was just another casualty of the war.”
Angel herself guided them back up the cliff, and when Thornton would have headed for the cottage, Roselyn stopped him.
“Wait.” She took the reins back, and turned Angel toward the channel. They looked out over the dark water, and she couldn’t help but remember the night she’d found him, when the moon had been full, and enemy ships threatened the island.
She took a deep breath. “Do you remember anything more about how you arrived here?”
She was so close to him she could feel the slight stiffening of his muscles.
“Only what I’ve told you.”
“It must bother you to have a piece of your memory missing. How long were you with the fleet?”
“Almost three months.” The tension in his voice grew. “What is the point of these questions?”
“I’m curious. This island is not so remote as you imagine; Francis goes to the mainland often and brings back stories he hears in the taverns. It might surprise you to know that your…exploits are talked of even there.”
“My exploits?”
He sounded suitably bewildered; she was impressed.
“The only reason I asked how long you’d been with the fleet, is because Francis heard talk of you that sounded quite recent.”
Thornton said nothing.
“Perhaps Francis heard incorrectly,” she continued.
“That could be,” he said mildly. “I’ve had so many exploits that stories of them could easily take a while to spread.”
“Why do you feel the need to behave in such a way?” she asked, trying to mask her disappointment that she couldn’t trap him.
She thought he would laugh and make light of his behavior. Instead his hands tightened where they rested on her waist.
“How else will society forget how you humiliated me?” he said coldly.
She gritted her teeth together. “You’re claiming that your actions are my fault?”
