“That I was.”
Why Amanda had allowed such familiarity from this man was beyond her. “I find that difficult to believe, Mr. Mallory. Why you?”
He shrugged. “Why not me? Perhaps there was no one else.”
She ignored the insult aimed at Nathaniel. “Who would want her dead?”
He looked at her, his eyes distant. “Ask your ice-cold husband, my lady. He may well know the answer.”
Mallory strode away before Laura could reply. Not that she could have, for words had dried up in her throat. He disappeared behind the rocks, as she stood gasping with anger. Mallory’s heated response could well be an attempt to hide his own culpability. She was about to mount her horse and join Mr. Pitney when something in the water caught hereye.
“Oh!” A glossy seal’s head emerged from the water, so foreign and strange that she laughed. Its sleek gray body rode the waves. Transfixed by the amazing creature, she failed to see the ship that had rounded the point until it was almost in front of her. The three-masted vessel sailed close to shore. She had seen it before, when on the cliff with Nathaniel. Laura raised a hand to shield her eyes against the glare, but she couldn’t make out anyone on board. The ship sailed out of sight around the point. She’d never seen a vessel of that size moored in the harbor, only fishingboats.
She ran back and took up the reins, leading Velvet to where Mr. Pitney waited.
“That Theo Mallory is a bad man, my lady,” he said, as he helped her tomount.
“In what way?”
“Not my place to say. But I’d keep him at a distance.”
She drew up the reins and turned her horse toward home. “I have every intention of it.”
Mallory’s attack on Nathaniel must be pure spite. What did he have against him? Cilla had said he was in love with Amanda. That was certainly possible. But how did Amanda feel about him? Although Laura found him obsequious, she could see how some women might enjoy his flattery and flirtatiousmanner.
The painting of Cilla’s with the scarlet-dressed woman sprang into Laura’s mind. Laura was certain there wasn’t a crimson dress in Amanda’s closet. She seemed to favor colors which suited her blonde hair and blue eyes. And she would hardly wear a dress like that during the day. Might Cilla have painted Amanda in scarlet because it added color to the painting, or could it have been a condemnation? Laura sensed a mystery and was impatient to learn more. Might it be the key to unlock Nathaniel’s reserve? Or was she becomingfanciful?
On Friday, Laura accompanied Teg to Penzance. Nathaniel’s train pulled into the station with a loud hiss, filling the air with sooty smoke. Laura straightened the skirts of her new outfit as she waited for him to alight. She hoped her new pink, green and white pique gown with its gilt buttons and Eton jacket, and the straw hat with the matching green silk band, would please him. When he stepped onto the platform, he looked so tired and strained that she had to hold herself back from rushing into his arms. She smiled as he kissed hercheek.
Teg drove them through the green valley toward Wolfram. “Was your trip a success?” Lauraasked.
“Yes, thank you, my dear.”
Their shoulders touched as the carriage swung around a corner, but it seemed as if there was a wide gulf between them. Nathaniel would make love to her tonight. The thought made her treacherous body respond. She wished she could keep a cool head around him. Nathaniel would lose himself in the lovemaking, and for a while, he would be hers. But no matter how closely he held her, she seemed unable to reach his heart. Was it unreasonable of her to wantmore?
Nathaniel’s voice broke into her thoughts, discussing his week, pleased with the support for the changes to the Poor Law Act. He was behind a bill to set up orphanages in Southern England, the first to be for homeless girls in Bodmin. She watched him, proud of her handsome husband and she said so. She was rewarded with a warm smile. But then he passed a tired hand over hiseyes.
“It was kind of you to come to meet me, but unnecessary, Laura. Please don’t bother next time.”
“I thought you’d be pleased.” She wanted to add that she couldn’t wait another minute to see him, but felt too shy to utterit.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He squeezed her gloved hand. “It’s all in its infancy. I don’t wish to bore you.”
“But you weren’t,” she said. “It’s a very good cause.”
“It is good to see you.” His gaze roamed from her hair down to her waist. “That is a pretty dress. You look as lovely as a flowering peach tree.” He drew down her glove and kissed the inside of her wrist, “the fruit too tasty to resist.”
“Hush, Nathaniel,” Laura murmured, aware of Teg’s sturdy back near enough to hear every word, but she was pleased, and her pulse leapt at the touch of his warm lips on herskin.
He smiled and tucked her hand through his arm. “It’s wonderful to be home.”
While he was in a good mood, she decided to broach the subject of the phone call. “Nathaniel, that letter…?”
The warm spark disappeared, and the gray depths of his eyes became unfathomable. “I told you I will deal with the matter, Laura.”
Laura bit her lip. Her spirit, which might have deserted her in recent times, rose like a smoldering fire in her breast. She would have this out with him in the privacy of their bedroom. She accepted the irony of it, that this would be the catalyst forchange.
When they settled in front of the library fire after an excellent dinner, Laura described to Nathaniel the swatches of fabric for the dining room curtains she’d ordered from London. “A bright chintz would bring this room to life,” she added, noting Nathaniel’s unenthusiastic response.
