Page 65 of The Moonstone Major
“I didn’t think I knew any,” he said with a soft laugh. “But if I did, they would all be dedicated to you, Chloe. I won’t pretend I don’t have feelings for you. My deepest fear is that those feelings won’t last. Not on my part but on yours.”
“On your part, too. You’ll despise that I can dip into my inheritance every time I want something that is more than you can provide for me on your wages. You’ll despise that by marrying you, I shall be the poor sister, the deprived sister. You already despise that you don’t know who you are and the best you can give me is a made-up name. Let’s not talk about it here and now. But we must talk it out eventually.”
“I know. Perhaps after Lord Claymore’s visit.”
“Ever the gentleman, determined to keep silent and allow my choices to remain open for me.”
She was right, since this was exactly what he intended.
They said no more as Cormac and Phoebe joined them.
Fionn did not remain long afterward, for no one had anything helpful to add regarding Ella and Imogen’s mother or Mr. Barrow and Ducky’s quest, which was looking more and more like a wild goose chase.
He returned to the cottage and went to the kitchen to put away whatever repast Mrs. Hawke had left out for him. Having come close to starving as a child, he had never been able to let food go to waste.
There were many things he had not been able to let go.
Oddly, he sensed Chloe understood, even though she had never experienced the same hardships and deprivations. Perhaps this was why he was so drawn to her, for her perception and the gentle way she seemed to soothe his unsettled soul.
Once the food was put away, he went upstairs to his bedchamber and stepped out onto its balcony to observe the night. The stars shone overhead, a sight that never ceased to amaze him. The moon was also bright and cast its silver reflection upon the water.
He stared out for a long while, hoping Chloe might show up again, a beautiful vision in her nightclothes.
But she did not, which was sensible on her part. He would never want her to make her way alone on the beach in darkness.
He stripped out of his clothes, all but his breeches, and then washed up. The night was warm, so he decided to sleep on the balcony.
He loved the sense of freedom.
For some reason, it also made him feel closer to the sea captain. Mrs. Hawke had told him the man often slept out here on summer nights. And the captain had led him to those boxes of documents hidden in the compartment behind the bureau.
Why had he not led Chloe’s aunt, Henleigh, to them when she purchased the house? The two of them had supposedly fallen in love, and he would have kept nothing from her. Nor did he see fit to reveal those boxes to Chloe or her sisters.
Which led to Fionn’s next and most puzzling question…why him?
What connection could he possibly have to those boxes?
Chapter Thirteen
“Chloe, you’ve takenon the entire responsibility for Ella and Imogen,” Phoebe said, coming into Chloe’s chamber as she was still abed early the next morning. “Cormac and I are going to take them from you for the next few days.”
Since she was only now stirring awake, Chloe took a moment to yawn and sleepily sit up in bed. “But you have so much to do already.”
“And you have helped to ease our load tremendously. However, they are his nieces. His precious ducklings, as he calls them. He feels he has been remiss with all that has been going on and is now determined to spend time with them. We’ve foisted the responsibility onto you for the entire summer, and it isn’t fair.”
“You know I enjoy them. I’ve never regarded them as a duty.” Chloe adored the girls, but she could not deny it would be convenient to be on her own for the next few days. Those boxes Fionn had discovered were calling to her, and she was eager to dig into them.
She would have brought the girls along to assist her, but they were too young to hold the concentration required to spend entire days going through them. “Where do you plan to take them?”
“To the Falmouth fair.”
“Falmouth? But you will never make it there and back in a day.”
Phoebe nodded. “Which is why we shall be gone three or four days in all. The girls will have Cormac’s undivided attention, and I think they’ll be thrilled. They sorely need the distraction, don’t you think?”
“Yes, most definitely.”
“But will you be all right on your own?”
