Inhaling deeply, she cracked open the door. “May I come in?”
He sat in his wheeled chair near the window, staring out at the lashing rain. He did not turn to greet her. She stepped in anyway and shut the door behind her, closing the tension in the room and making it hard to breathe.
She slowly crossed the room and stood beside his chair. Shestared unseeing out the window, waiting for him to speak. Fearing what he would say.
Several moments passed, punctuated by the tick, tick, tick of the mantel clock and the spit, spit, spit of rain against the wavy glass.
Finally, he began, “I thought we had an understanding, you and I.”
Chagrin filled her and not a little surprise. She drew in a deep breath and asked weakly, “Have we?”
She felt his gaze shift toward her, but when she looked down, he was already looking out the window once more.
“I realize,” he said slowly, “that we have never spoken of it directly. It is—well, an awkward subject to say the least.”
“Yes,” she breathed.
He lowered his voice. “I thought you wished to be known as my wife.”
Her heart thumped painfully. Did she? How shocking to hear him say the words outright. She felt astonished anew at her presumption.
He asked, “Was I wrong?”
Again, she felt his gaze on her profile. She shook her head. It was what she wanted, was it not? For Daniel’s sake. For her own. Yet James was nearer her own age, attractive, and unencumbered. Might he offer her a real marriage instead of pretense? Real love? Neither man had spoken of love, she realized.
He said, “I did not think you would perform Marianna’s role so admirably—down to the infidelity.”
Her face burned. “That’s not fair.”
“Is it not?”
She turned and met his eyes. “No.”
He studied her closely. “I am glad to hear it.”
The eye contact grew too intense. Hannah looked out the window once more, as though the cool rain could soothe the heat from his scorching gaze.
A few moments later, he spoke again, his voice gentle. “May I ask why you have stayed here?”
She nodded. “At first, I only wanted to find a way to rescue Daniel. To provide for him. I dared not dream of a happy home for him.”
“And now?”
“I...” How could she express her jumbled thoughts?
When she hesitated, he sent her a flinty glance from beneath his lashes. “Waiting for a better offer to come along?”
She flinched. “No.”
He said patiently, “I understand what you want for Danny. What about for yourself?”
She considered, then shrugged. “How can I separate the two? If he is happy and healthy and safe, then I am content.”
“You are a mother, Hannah, yes. But you are also a woman, a person with your own thoughts and feelings and dreams.”
His words surprised her. “Am I?” she murmured. She felt as though she had given up her dreams long ago.
“Has Lowden offered to marry you?”
