“Lord Hawthorne, forgive me for startling you. Lady Hollingsworth wanted me to make sure you and Lord Tristan were warm enough.”
Nic arched a quizzical eyebrow. “Your ladyship actually wantedyouto see to our welfare?”
“Actually no, she wanted Sally, but Sally was asleep. Lady Hollingsworth is aware that she instructed Lord Tristan to leave, but after she thought about it and realized the storm was too strong, she had wanted to let you know that you could stay the night as long as you left first thing in the morning.” She glanced at their beds in the hay. “Although, I see you have already settled here just fine.”
“Tell Lady Hollingsworth we appreciate her kindness, and we plan on leaving first thing.”
“Yes, my lady is very kind, much more generous than I would have been, I’m sure.”
Tabitha’s tone was very harsh, yet softly spoken as if she tried to keep the conversation between them and not awaken Tristan. Nic glanced at his friend to make sure he was still sleeping before looking back at Tabitha. Her heated glare could cut through glass, Nic was certain. It tugged at his heartstrings to think he contributed to her extremely unpleasant disposition.
“Tabitha, I realize what you must be thinking—”
In three long strides, she stood directly in front of him. Tears glistened in her angry eyes, but she appeared too upset to cry.
“You have no idea what I’m thinking!” She took a deep breath. “How dare you accuse me of something you know nothing about?”
His fingers itched to reach up to her face and smooth out the wrinkles around her luscious mouth, amazing eyes, and tight forehead, to bring back her natural beauty once again. He gulped down the guilt sneaking back into his heart.
“HowdareI?” he asked. “I think considering the conversation I had overheard between you and Sally, that I have every right todareaccuse you. Tell me, Tabitha. If you were the bystander listening in on that particular conversation, what would you have gathered from it?”
“You see, my lord, this is one of the differences between men and women. Men jump to conclusions whereas women will seek to find the truth.”
“Indeed? Are you certain about that? I know women are meddlesome, but I highly doubt they are seeking to find any truth. They’d rather gossip and spread false rumors.”
She rolled her eyes. “Spoken by atruegentleman, I see.” She folded her arms. “But I can assure you, if you and Lord Tristan continue your pursuit to have me arrested for those murders, you both will be convicting an innocent woman.”
“I think I shall let the magistrate come to that decision.” He lifted his chin to show her his stubbornness.
“Just know this,” she snipped, “because I am indeed innocent, if I should die, my wrongful death will be on yours and Lord Tristan’s head.”
She spun around and marched toward the back door of the stable, toward the shadows. He hurried after her, grasped her arm and turned her around to face him. A few tears had slid from her eyes making her cheeks gleam with wetness. Once again, his chest clenched with indecision for his actions.
“If you are innocent as you proclaim, prove it,” he said softly, hoping not to disturb Tristan’s slumber.
She gasped. “Prove it? Why should I prove my innocence? You should be the one trying to prove my guilt.”
“Then prove to me that what I overheard was wrong.” He pulled her body closer to his. “I truly want to believe you are not a killer, Tabitha. I may not know you well, but what little I do know about you, I cannot believe you would purposely stab two men to death while in a highly intoxicated and undressed state.”
She placed her palms on his chest and pushed to move him away, but he wouldn’t budge. Heaven help him, but he enjoyed this closeness entirely too much.
“Were you aware that Lord Hollingsworth beat his wife?” she asked. “Diana was as much a victim in her home as Sally and I were victims in Lord Elliot’s home. If I—or her ladyship or Sally—would have stabbed those men, it would have been to break free of our cage—our hellish prison. So tell me, Lord Hawthorne, ifyouwere inmyshoes, would you want to kill someone who repeatedly did that to you? And when the person responsible was finally dead, wouldn’t you be relieved to know they would never be allowed to bring harm on another person again?”
Nic’s chest clenched. She’d been beaten. He couldn’t imagine that, and out of nowhere, anger filled him for Lord Elliot. “I am very sorry to hear that you were treated poorly, and if I were in your situation, I would probably feel the same. But you are forgetting one thing. It’s not up to us to bring punishment to those disgusting people. It’s up to the courts, and God.”
“Then I suppose my only crime is that I’m satisfied knowing that someone helped God and the courts by hurrying the process.”
Shaking his head, he loosened his hold, but instead of removing his touch from her, he stroked her arms lightly. “Please, Tabitha. I wish to believe in your innocence. Help me.”
“I don’t know how I can except by telling you I did not do it.”
“That’s hard for me to believe since I overheard you saying that youwoulddo it.”
She shrugged. “Then that’s your problem, not mine. At least I’m being truthful, whereas you don’t know how to be.”
He scowled. “What do you mean by that?”
“Think really hard, Lord Hawthorne. Think what we were talking about, and doing in the sitting room while Lady Hollingsworth and Lord Tristan were away from us.”
