How she'd loved these hands.
The burn scar that welded itself to the back of his hand. He'd burned them when he was still an apprentice, learning to be a blacksmith.
He'd buried his mother with those hands.
Her eyes fell on the ring he wore on his finger.
She dropped his hand as if it burned her.
With these hands he'd wanted to build their own house. Brick by brick. A little house for you … and the child.
Dear sweet heaven.
Mira drew in a shuddering breath. "Kit. There's something you need to know—"
"Youmustbelieve me. Whatever happened was one of those absurdities of life that you'd never believe possible, not even in your wildest dreams. What happened was that—"
"Where's that bloody blacksmith?"
A door slammed, hurried footsteps. A shout.
Kit cursed. "This is no time to talk. Later. Go. I'll find you."
She stumbled to the door.
Without looking back, she ran back to the manor.
ChapterTen
He still wore the ring.
The thought revolved in her mind and she could not move beyond it.
The weight of her discovery pressed heavily upon Mira's heart—the fact that he still wore the ring he'd made.
Her hand instinctively crept up to her neck, where a delicate chain adorned with her own ring rested. Leaving it on her finger had proven to be impractical, for she'd had to use her hands for hard labour. When they left for Highcourt Abbey, she hadn't wanted to leave it in the box where she usually stored it but placed it on a chain and wore it around her neck instead.
Had Kit worn the ring all those years? Or had he just slipped it onto his finger moments before their unexpected reunion?
Mira hesitated; her heart conflicted. Such a gesture seemed out of character for Kit, the man she had once known so well. Yet, how much did she truly know about the man he had become over the years of separation?
She'd firmly believed every word she'd told him earlier. There wasn't a person under the sun who was more loyal than Kit. She knew that with every fibre of her soul.
But now, in the unexpected revelation that he had been living and working on this glamorous estate all along, safe and sound, Mira's world teetered on the brink of upheaval. It defied all reason and shattered her previous assumptions. Her steps faltered as she gazed vacantly into the distance, grappling with a reality that she had never dared to entertain.
It was a bitter realisation, one that implied abandonment, an act that cut deeper than she could have imagined. She couldn't fathom how everything they had shared might have been built on deceit.
Yet he'd denied it vehemently, almost savagely. And these reassurances felt so genuine.
Mira's mind wrestled with conflicting emotions.
Would he abandon her again?
What about Miss Pearson?
What about Clare?
A fierce surge of protectiveness welled within her, causing her to clench her fist in resolve. She would not allow anyone to inflict harm upon them, not even Kit, the man who had re-entered her life with a past shrouded in shadows and mysteries yet to be unveiled.
