Held her like she mattered.
“Samantha?”
She jerked away from the warm stone and spun to face her maid.
“Are you alright? You’ve been standing there for hours.”
Samantha nodded and Anna tsked. “Come inside before you get a sunburn.”
“The sun is setting. I think we are well past the risk.”
The maid crossed her arms. “No matter. Mr. Warstein has asked you to join him for dinner.”
Samantha’s heart constricted. “I’d rather not.”
Anna looked at her for a long moment and Samantha nibbled on her lip. Had the servants heard what had happened already? Heat pricked along her cheeks.
“He said you might say that.” Anna crossed the room and opened the wardrobe. After pulling a pale blue dress out, she held it up. “He told me to tell you that if you won’t come down, he’ll take dinner in here.”
Of course he would. Captain Remington never failed to get his way. Samantha grabbed the compass and ducked into the shadowed room. She set it on the mantel and went to her vanity. In a few short minutes, Anna had her stripped of her day dress and began dressing her.
While the maid pinned her hair up, Samantha stared at her reflection in stoic silence. Her heart pounded an erratic beat in her chest. How was she supposed to face Uncle Henry? Beads of perspiration already dotted her forehead and she wiped the back of her hand across the damp skin there.
Anna took out one of Samantha’s mother’s old necklaces and clasped it around Samantha’s throat. She lifted her hand and gripped the cameo.You can do this.
“Thank you.” Biting her lip, she pushed her chair back and left the room.
At the top of the staircase, she took a shaky breath. What was the worst he could do? It wasn’t like he’d turn her out in the street. She started down.
What if he revealed her identity to the lieutenant? He could demand they marry. Her next step faltered and she had to catch herself on the railing. He wouldn’t. It would be too risky for his own cover.
When her feet settled onto the marble floor, Samantha hesitated once more. The double doors to the dining room stood between her and her judgment. She cast a longing look over her shoulder at the open doors leading to the veranda. If she ran, she could be hidden inthe garden before anyone knew she was missing.
She pulled her shoulders back. What a ridiculous thought. If she escaped the conversation tonight, he would find her tomorrow. And would be even more upset. She couldn’t avoid him forever.
So she strode forward and pushed the doors open.
Uncle Henry sat at the head of the table, studying a chart. He didn’t look up when she entered. A place had been set two seats away from him and she clenched her teeth together. Why so close?
With slow steps, she made her way to him. A footman materialized to pull out her chair and she sat. Still, her uncle did not look up.
She folded her hands on her lap and studied the gilded edge of her plate. The heavy silence hanging over them gnawed at the ragged edges of her anxiety. When her uncle flipped the parchment, the crisp sound echoed through the room. Swallowing, Samantha lifted her head. He stared right at her.
Still, he remained silent.
He was waiting for her.
Samantha’s fingers twisted together and every rehearsed excuse she had thought of left her mind.
“I’m sorry,” she finally whispered. “I made a terrible mistake.”
His eyes had gone an icy blue. “No. I made the mistake.”
He leaned back as her skin went clammy at the ominous tone in his voice. “I made a mistake in thinking I was doing a favor by letting you sail. I thought I was giving you choices. I was wrong.”
Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes and she shook her head.
“The sea is no place for a woman.” She pressed her eyes shut as he repeated the very thing Griff had told her. “No good can ever come of it. And I was a fool for not realizing it.”
