Elizabeth Thornton - [Special Branch 02] Read Free Page B

know you would never do anything underhanded. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
    He said softly, “No offense taken. Now tell me what’s going on.”
    There was silence as she tried to think of a way of evading the question. When none occurred to her, she said reluctantly, “Maddie thinks I’m imagining things, and she may well be right.”
    “What things?”
    “It’s more of a feeling than anything else, you know, when you feel your neck burning and you turn around quickly to find someone staring at you. Only, no one is ever staring at me. Or I’ll be walking homeand hear footsteps, but when I turn around, there’s no one there.”
    “That’s all?” He looked baffled.
    Now that she had explained herself, she felt ridiculous. There had been other things: a man’s footprint in the flower beds at the back of the house, and a stranger talking to Mark, asking directions. And on one occasion, she thought someone had been through the house, looking for something, but nothing had been taken. Now, observing Jason’s skepticism, she realized how silly she would sound if she mentioned them.
    She said flippantly, “You have to understand, Jason, that living alone can make a woman highly suspicious.”
    “All the more reason for you to come home.” Her eyes cooled. “You were telling me about this legacy. How do I claim it?”
    His eyes heated.
    “Well?”
    He looked ready to argue, but eventually he nodded. “Armstrong is in Bristol right now,” he said. “When he returns, I’ll arrange an appointment with him.”
    “I can do that.”
    “It’s not that simple. You see, Gwyn, this legacy comes with certain conditions attached. I’m one of them.”
    “You? How do you come into it?”
    He drank the last of his sherry and stood up. “I’ve been named as your trustee, so you see, whether we like it or not, we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other from now on.”

Chapter 2
    C ousin Jason said that I should drive with him again, and when we go down to Haddo Hall, he’ll teach me to ride.” They were in Mark’s bedchamber, and Gwyn was at the window with a hand on each curtain. It was dark outside, with only porch lanterns and the box lamps on passing vehicles to illuminate the street. A few pedestrians were hurrying home, and one of the maids from the corner house was saying goodnight to her young man.
    Nothing was out of place. Nothing gave cause for alarm. And now Gwyn was mentally kicking herself for having mentioned her strange fancies to Jason. He’d think that living alone had touched her brain. And for all she knew, he could be right.
    She closed the curtains and looked toward the bed. Mark was propped against the pillows, slowly sipping from a mug of steaming chocolate. The chocolate was a luxury they saved for bedtime. Maddie had already left to go to Mrs. Jamieson’s.
    “Did Jason say that? How very like him.”
    “Yes, he is kind, isn’t he, Mama?”
    The innocent reply gave her an odd pang. Shecrossed to the bed. “Yes, Jason can be very kind,” she said simply.
    She meant it. What she didn’t add was that kindness, however well meant, could have a cruel edge. To have her son taken up by the Radleys of Haddo Hall would be a kindness to no one.
    She touched her fingers to his fair hair and brushed back the lock that fell across his forehead. “It’s time I cut your hair,” she said.
    “I don’t want it cut. Cousin Jason doesn’t have short hair.”
    “Then I’ll offer to cut his hair, too.”
    His dimples flashed and he gurgled with laughter. The sound of that laughter, the pure delight in it, filled her with pleasure. There had been little enough laughter in their lives. Her solemn little boy was beginning to come into his own, and she thanked God for it.
    She cleared her throat. “What would you say,” she said, “if I told you we might go to the seaside for a little holiday? Oh, not right now, but in the summer, when it’s warmer.”
    The holiday at the seaside was on the