Because it was poison. A very special poison that stole a person’s soul.
She’d remained with Jean Luc until the day he’d nearly thrown Rhoda down a set of stairs. She’d been playing in one of the corridors with her dolls and had impeded his path.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
Eve swung her eyes back toward Mr. Waverly. “Thank you.” Oh, but she’d been going on and on about herself. Likely he contemplated far more important matters.
“You never married, Mr. Waverly?” Before he could answer, an odd sense of envy struck her. Any wife of his would always feel safe and secure. She’d wager he’d be the most faithful, caring, and dedicated of husbands.
He would never threaten to kill his own offspring. Yes, such a woman would be lucky, indeed.
As he brushed his hand through that thick black hair of his, she noticed how elegant his fingers were. An interesting combination, efficiency and elegance.
“No, ma’am.”
She ought not to probe. Normally, she would not even think of it. And of course, it would be a shame to lose such an efficient and trusted man due to her prying.
“With all the traveling I did as a younger man, I didn’t think it would be fair.”
Indeed, if she’d been his wife, she’d not have been happy for him to go sailing around the world leaving her at home.
“You could not have taken her with you?”
A tight smile on his part.
Of all the conversations she’d had with him, they’d never discussed personal matters, especially not his. And now for some reason his gaze stirred unnerving thoughts in her.
“I suppose.” His eyes darkened. Or was that her imagination? “If I’d found the right woman.”
And what type of woman would that have been? She dismissed the question before it could escape past her lips.
What on earth had come over her? He was her man of business. Even if her husband had not been a libertine, she was not the sort of lady who flirted.
Lightning flashed across Mr. Waverly’s face. His nose looked as though it had been broken a time or two. Despite his present occupation, this man had obviously not spent the majority of his life sitting at a desk.
“Do you regret it?” Eve’s daughters meant the world to her. Sometimes too much.
He shrugged. “Can one miss what one never had?” Another roar of thunder grumbled in the distance, and he leaned to peer out the window.
“I’m sorry.” Remorse swept through her. “For insisting we travel. If you wish, we may turn back. I just…”
She had his full attention once again. “You just…?” he prompted.
“I just…” She had to search for reasons that she didn’t fully understand herself. “I need to know it’s over. I feel as though I’ve been running from him forever. He’d threaten sometimes, to demand the girls remain with him.” She swallowed hard. “A part of me believes his death is too good to be true. And another part. There is another part that feels as though it’s died.” Oh, she wasn’t making sense.
Dash it all, she would not shed tears for Jean Luc! She brushed at her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I’m being ridiculous.” She sniffed. At the same time, a handkerchief appeared in her hands.
“No need to apologize. At one time you built your dreams around him.”
“Which is ridiculous. It was so long ago.”
She would not allow herself to remember what their marriage had been like before he’d changed. He’d presented her with an illusion.
But then a sob wracked her body. “I loved him once.” She bent forward and buried her face in her hands. This was so embarrassing and yet she could do nothing to stop the waves of feelings rolling through her.
She had loved him once! A thousand years ago! She gasped on another sob. Of all the times to break down. Likely Mr. Waverly wished he were astride his mount, riding in the rain.
