Page 55
At the edge of the cliffs, vibrant gorse bloomed brightly amidst the mounds of purple and pink-hued heather, and the autumnal wind blew the flowers, mimicking the waves of the sea below.
Even with his soured mood, Trevik couldn’t deny how stunning the view was. Miss Hollow must be simply beside herself.
He struggled for a moment, fighting the urge to see her expression, but when he heard a sigh escape her lips, he glanced sidelong at her.
Moisture glistened in her eyes as her gaze focused intently on the landscape before them, and Trevik’s chest seized.
He thought back to her words at the inn in Sennen, and a question popped in his mind. He didn’t need to know the answer. But then, Mother would surely scold him if he didn’t at least make some attempt to speak with Miss Hollow on the journey home.
With a deep breath, he asked, “Did ’e really not allow ye to see the sea?”
She looked away, swiping at her eyes before facing him. “Uncle?” she clarified. After he nodded, she continued. “Yes, he kept me away whene’er he could.”
“Why? What would possess ’im to do such a thing?”
He waited, her brows furrowed across her smooth forehead. Was she contemplating lying again? Or would she finally tell him the truth?
“It be a complicated story,” she finally responded.
“Well, we still ’ave half the journey left,” he pressed. Really, he was testing her, wanting to know if she was serious about being honest with him and his family.
He released a pent-up breath when she finally began.
“I didn’t meet me uncle ’til I was fourteen. ’Fore that, I’d only heard stories from me mother ’bout him losin’ all ’is virtues when he gained his wealth through various investments. Mother didn’t like him for stealin’ away her sister and marryin’ her, and he didn’t like me mother in return ’cause she was too common for his dignified tastes.”
She shook her head. “After me parents died—and ’is own wife, too—’e took me in, and I’d stupidly thought he’d done so out o’ the goodness of ’is heart. I was brought to balls and parties, and ’e purchased gowns and fine jewelry. But I quickly realized, the only reason ’e took me in was to use me as a bargainin’ chip—a way to increase ’is wealth.”
Trevik grimaced. He couldn’t understand the behavior of some people. How could any man treat a woman so despicably, especially his own niece?
“Once I realized I wasn’t goin’ to receive anythin’ from him, I didn’t bother doin’ what he said. Every social gatherin’ was like a death sentence. Every gown, a noose. When he saw me resistin’, he responded in a way he knew would hurt the most. He knew I be like me mother, that I loved the sea more than anythin’. So he’d forbid me from goin’ to the shore, then lock me in me room when I didn’t obey.” A small smile tugged at her lips. “He didn’t know, but I could still see a sliver of the sea from me room. I’d stand atop the window seat for hours—the only place I could glimpse it—and just watch that slight section o’ the water shimmer as the sun moved across the sky.”
She paused, her eyes taking on a faraway look as she no doubt remembered her past life.
Trevik rolled his neck, attempting to dispel the tension that had steadily crept in with her words. The image she’d evoked, a lonely young woman standing atop her chair just to catch a glimpse of the thing she loved most, the thing she’d been stripped of…he couldn’t bear it.
Regret filled him with a dark emptiness. No wonder she’d escaped her uncle. No wonder she couldn’t trust the truth to anyone—for the only person she should have been able to trust had betrayed her.
She cleared her throat after a moment and continued. “So there ye have it,” she ended, shifting against the wooden seat. “I know ye have no reason to believe I, but I swear it be the truth.”
He stared down at her, the words at the tip of his tongue. He couldn’t believe he was actually going to say this. “I do believe ye.”
Her eyes jerked to his. “Ye do?”
He glanced at her sidelong. “What other reason would ye ’ave for keepin’ the truth to yourself now?”
She gave a half-smile. “Ye be right about that.”
Their eyes met, but he looked away in an instant. He still didn’t know a great deal about this woman who’d lived with them for nearly a week now. Would she continue to answer any questions he asked? “So ye were raised to be a fine lady, then, to attend balls and parties and such?”
To his surprise, she once again replied. “By Uncle, yes. But he couldn’t remove what I’d already been taught by me own parents. I didn’t care for balls and finery. ’Tis not the way of life that suits I.”
He could understand that. Trevik had passed by the odd assembly in town, and though it looked like everyone involved heartily enjoyed themselves, he far preferred the simple parties they held on the beach. Singing and conversing over an open fire on a beach with friends was to be far preferred over a formal dinner in a stuffy dining room with mere acquaintances.
Give a man a lugger, a sunset at sea, and a meal of salted fish, and he would be content.
Was Miss Hollow the same? Or was she upset deep down about having to give up such a life and such a husband? “And it be true that he tried to force ye into a marriage ye didn’t agree to?”
She nodded grimly. “Yes.”
