Her throat tight with shame, Maggie said, “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? But why should you be?” Patty’s brows knotted.
“Because it’s…unseemly.”You’re a trollop, a No Goode.“I’m a widow.”
“Precisely. You’re a widow, not dead,” came her sister-in-law’s blunt reply. “Paul has been gone for a year. It’s time you came out of mourning.”
Maggie’s fingers twisted in her dark skirts. “I don’t know that I’m ready.”
“Suit yourself.” With her legs curled beneath her and chestnut hair flowing over her shoulders, Patty looked more like a mischievous schoolgirl than a spinster. “But if I had a tall, dark handsome gentleman who looked like a pirate prince pining after me, I’d shed my widow’s weeds in an instant—and my unmentionables as well.”
“Hypatia.” Maggie gave a horrified giggle.
“Oh, don’t be such a prude. You cannot deny Mr. Jones has a certainje ne sais quoi.” Patty gave a lazy wave. “You know how fond I was of Paul, but my brother was a stickler, wasn’t he? Now it’s just the two of us here, and I find it entirely too tiresome to bind myself up in niceties. Being able to speak one’s mind is so freeing, don’t you agree?”
Maggie thought of how good it had felt to share her true thoughts with Rhys. She gave a slow nod. Reaching for the teapot, she filled the empty cup and said, “Would you care for more tea?”
“Yes, but that’s not tea. Not only tea, anyway.”
She brought the cup to her nose, her eyes watering at the heady fumes. “You’ve been drinkingbrandy?”
“I found it when I was looking for a book in Paul’s study.” Patty waggled her brows. “Cigars, as well.”
Laughing, Maggie set down the cup. “You are incorrigible.”
“And you, my dear, need to have some fun.” Patty continued sipping.
“Patty…” Maggie hesitated. “Do you ever wish you’d married?”
“No, because I never met the right man,” Patty said matter-of-factly. “Only one reason would compel me to wed.”
“And that is?”
Patty’s brows rose. “Why, love, of course.”
As always, Maggie respected the other’s clarity and forthrightness. And she felt a pang. The truth was, as much as she’d tried, she had not loved Paul. At least, not in the manner a wife ought to love her husband. She’d admired and respected him, done her best to be a helpmeet…but that was not the same as love.
To be fair, Paul had seemed perfectly content. He’d not asked for her love, nor had he offered his own. He’d wanted a relationship based on the meeting of the minds, and Maggie had been so grateful to him that she’d have gone along with any arrangement he proposed.
For the first time, she found herself wondering if her marriage had made her happy…and her guilt compounded.
What right do you have to such thoughts? Paul saved you and Glory. If it weren’t for him, you might be in a workhouse—or worse. Glory could have ended up a No Goode…
At the thought of her family curse, Maggie glanced anxiously at the clock. Nearly ten o’clock now. Her brothers must be at Crip’s Cove, readying to haul in their shipment. Knowing them, they’d be armed with a half-baked plan and too much bravado. They were bound to get into trouble.
Take care o’ your siblings, Maggie.Her mother’s voice acted as her conscience.
“You’re as fidgety as a child in a classroom. Whatisthe matter, Margaret?”
Maggie was tempted to confide her worries but, when it came to the Goodes, Hypatia had always sided with Paul. The spinster disapproved of Maggie’s family and wanted to keep Glory away from their influence. Maggie understood, yet she loved her siblings, numskulls and miscreants though they were. With Goodes, blood did run thicker than water.
She couldn’t let her brothers get tossed into gaol.
If I leave soon, I can go to Crip’s Cove and try to talk Jeremy and the others out of their idiotic scheme. Convince them that there is a better way.
“It’s been a long day,” she said.And about to get longer.
“I’m rather fatigued myself.” Yawning, Patty rose. “I think I will finish my book in bed. Will you be heading up?”
