Eli waited until they were in the foyer before he spoke. When he did, his voice was strained, but calmer than Silas had expected.
“I know my father isn’t an easy man to get along with,” he began. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
He had a gift for understatement, but never mind. At least he understood what had prompted Silas’s outburst.
Unlike Hannah.
“I’m sorry I ruined the evening.” The apology that had been impossible earlier found its way to Silas’s lips five minutes too late.
Eli released a frustrated sigh. “You didn’t ruin it. Or at least, not alone. But why couldn’t you have just held your tongue? For Hannah’s sake, if not for his.”
It was a question Silas must have asked himself a hundred times since the navy threw him out. Why couldn’t he just look the other way? Why did he have to speak up when it only brought him ruin, and probably made no lasting difference to anything? He’d saved one girl from O’Brien, but his former captain walked free, able to hurt whomever he wanted. He’d set down Mr. Williams, but the man would likely keep on bullying his family for the rest of his life.
It made no difference what Silas did.
“Let me ask you something. Has holding your tongue made things easier for all the people near your father, or only for him?”
Eli didn’t seem to like this question much, but to his credit, he didn’t try to argue the point.
“I held my tongue as long as I was able,” Silas added. “Every man has his limit. Mine is just lower than yours on account of my lack of breeding.”
“And Hannah?” Eli pressed. “Don’t you care how she feels?”
Silas shifted his weight, suddenly uncomfortable.
“I thought you didn’t like our engagement. You should be happy if your father runs me off.”
“I didn’t like the way it started, but I don’t want to see you break her heart.” Eli studied him with warm brown eyes, so like his sister’s. “I considered you a friend before all of this happened. If you ever felt the same, then answer me honestly: Do you want to marry Hannah or don’t you? If you truly love one another, maybe I can talk to my father. Find some way to repair the damage. But I need to know your intentions are genuine.”
“I—”
The words wouldn’t come, but the understanding hit Silas like a ton of bricks.
I do want to marry her.It was no doubt the most idiotic thing he’d ever wanted in his life. Hannah had told him from the start that this was a trick. That she’d only chosen Silas because he was too unsuitable to pose any real risk of trapping her in a marriage she didn’t want.
But as he’d struggled and forced his way through the events of the past weeks, he’d found an unexpected thrill in every triumph. In every instance where he’d proven he could do more than anyone had expected. Not because he cared about impressing any ofthem. But because he’d needed to impressher.
He’d wanted Hannah to see him as more than the man who’d been driven from the navy in disgrace. To realize he was worthy of her admiration, not just for a stolen thrill, but for more.
A fantasy. No one had ever thought he was worth more. And if he’d come close to impressing her for a moment, he’d just dashed that hope against the rocks.
“Eli.” Hannah’s voice cut through the silence, echoing down the marble-tiled floor. She stood in the hall, looking more untouchable than he’d ever seen her. Anger had turned her gentle features hard and unyielding. “Give us a moment, please.”
* * *
How could things have gone so wrong?
Hannah had been close, she justknewit. All she’d needed was to find the right words to make her parents remember the time when they’d still been happy together, and they would have begun to thaw. Until Corbyn had started yelling at her father and ruined the wholeevening. All her hard work to bring them back together, gone in an instant!
He was supposed to be my ally!Hannah had entrusted him with so many secrets, she’d grown used to the idea that he would always be there when she needed him. What had happened? She scarcely recognized the man she’d seen tonight. Even if he grumbled about it, Corbyn had always treated her with kindness.
The dining room had been in such chaos afterward that no one had even noticed when Hannah slipped out.
“Answer me honestly.” Eli’s voice carried out to her as she tiptoed down the hallway that led to the foyer. “Do you want to marry Hannah or don’t you? If you truly love one another, maybe I can talk to my father. Find some way to repair the damage. But I need to know your intentions are genuine.”
She stood stock-still, her heart lurching.
“I—” It was Corbyn’s voice, but no confession followed.
