Spartan? Yes, she supposed Anthony could at times be likened to that austere race known for its strict discipline and military prowess, but only in the lightest sense. His self-control might be absolutely maddening when he chose to use it, but when he didn’t, he was as hot-tempered as any Scot. And look at what he had done to Geordie, without getting even a scratch in the process. Poor Geordie looked like he had been trampled by a horse, not merely beaten by a man’s fists.
“I wasn’t going to tell Anthony, not if you really are leaving,” she conceded.
“Ye’re all heart, lass.”
It was impossible to mistake the bitter sarcasm, and her outrage shot to the fore again. “If you’re expecting me to feel sorry for you, Geordie, I mun disappoint you. I just canna do it, no’ after all you’ve done. You tried to hurt me!”
“I loved ye!”
The words were like a rope around her throat, choking off her breath. Was it possible? He had said that often enough over the years, but she had never believed him. Why did it have a ring of truth to it this time? Or had he deluded himself into thinking it was so?
Quietly, actually afraid of the answer, she demanded, “If that’s true, Geordie, then tell me about my mother. Did you put a hole in her boat?”
His head came off the bed, followed more slowly by the rest of his body. “Why did ye no’ ask me when it mattered, Ros, when it happened? Why did the auld mon never ask? Nae, I never tampered wi’ her boat. I was down by the loch finding worms tae put in cook’s stew. That was as close as I ever came tae those boats.”
“But your face when you were told? We all saw you were horrified.”
“Aye, because I’d wished her dead, fer boxing my ears that morning. I didna mean it, but I thought my wish had been granted. IfeltI was tae blame.”
Roslynn felt sick to her stomach. All these years, they’d blamed him for something he didn’t do. And he knew what they thought but never spoke up to defend himself, just harbored his resentment unto himself. It didn’t make him a nicer person in her eyes, but it made him innocent of any real crime.
“I’m sorry, Geordie, I really am.”
“But ye still wouldna have married me, would ye, knowing the truth?”
“No. And you shouldn’t have tried to force me.”
“A mon will do anything when he’s desperate.”
For love or money? She didn’t ask. But she wondered if her grandfather’s will might have been different if he had known the truth. Somehow, she didn’t think so. He had always despised Geordie’s weakness, an unforgivable trait for a man of Duncan’s strength of character. She wasn’t that uncharitable. And she had to salve her conscience for blaming Geordie for her mother’s death, which she now realized must have been no more than a freak accident.
She would leave him the money in her reticule that had been intended to pay her bills. Ten thousand pounds wasn’t much compared with what she had,but it would be a start for Geordie. And maybe he could do something with it to make his own way, instead of always looking for the easy road that cost him nothing and made him weaker.
Roslynn turned around to remove the money without his seeing. She would leave it where he wouldn’t find it until she had gone.
“I’ll help you pack, Geordie.”
“Dinna do me any favors.”
She ignored the bitterness and moved to the bureau, where several articles of clothing still remained in an open drawer. She gathered them up and slipped the money between the clothes before dropping the pile in his valise. It was a mistake to have gotten that close. His hand snaked out, wrapping around her wrist.
“Ros—”
The door opened and she was freed, never to know what Geordie had been about to say. She would like to think it might have been an apology for all he’d put her through. It didn’t matter at the moment, not with Anthony’s presence filling the room.
“With as quiet as it got, I was afraid you might have killed each other.”
She didn’t question why he was there, not just then. “Eavesdropping at doors seems to be a habit of yours, my lord.”
He didn’t deny it. “A useful one, and most times fascinating.”
That “most times” referred to his eavesdropping on her and Frances, she knew, and he didn’t like what he had overheard then. But there wasn’t much he could have overheard this time to annoy him. He might look stern, but by now she knew the difference.He was angry, but notthatangry. In fact, it could just be a carryover from last night.
“He’s leaving, as you can see,” she said, walking toward her husband.
“And you came to say good-bye?” Anthony replied dryly. “How thoughtful of you, my dear.”
She wasn’t going to be baited. “If you’ve come to take me home, I thank you. I find myself without a ride.”
