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She didn’t realize she was crying until she felt the wetness of her tears pool under her temple. Ah, God, what he must have suffered. “It wasn’t your fault,” she whispered. “It was a horrible accident, and nothing more. It wasn’t your fault.”
He didn’t answer her, but eventually he began to relax under her hand, then to breathe deep and slow in sleep. She kissed his chest, snuggling closer into his embrace. But sleep didn’t come for her all that long night.
Chapter 16
If meeting Margery’s veteran friends the day before, the subsequent return of those horrifying nightmares, and his shame in then burdening Margery with the truth of that most devastating history had shaken Daniel, the visitor to Seacliff the following day completely undermined what little confidence he had managed to build these past weeks on Synne.
“Mr. Gregory Hayle is here to see you, Your Grace.”
Daniel gaped at the butler. Surely he’d misheard. “I beg your pardon?”
“Mr. Gregory Hayle. Shall I show him to the drawing room, Your Grace?”
Still, he couldn’t manage to comprehend what the butler was telling him. Gregory, here?
Wilkins, who had been putting the finishing touches to Daniel’s cravat, leaned in closer. “You can turn him away, you know.”
Daniel blinked down at him. The valet hadn’t attempted to cross the line between them into familiarity since that first night on Synne. Now, however, he gazed up at Daniel with a ferocious fire. “What was that?”
“Mr. Hayle. You needn’t see him.”
Daniel gaped at him. “But he’s my cousin, and came all this way.”
The valet mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, “To cause mischief, no doubt.” When Daniel would have questioned Wilkins on it, however, the butler spoke again.
“Your Grace?”
Daniel started. “Er, yes, please have him shown to the drawing room.”
“Very good, Your Grace.”
With the butler gone, Daniel turned back to Wilkins to question him on his reaction to Gregory’s arrival. It had been so out of character for the valet. But the man had already turned away and was hurrying into the adjacent room. Sighing, Daniel faced the mirror.
Everything was in order. And yet he suddenly felt every bit of his awkwardness. The scars that ravaged his cheek and temple made his already-rough features even more so. The elegant clothes, the best that money could buy, could not fail to hide the stocky, inelegant form beneath. He had managed to forget for a time who he really was, that he was a sham, that he didn’t belong. Margery had helped him begin to overcome that, he knew.
But no matter how she’d made him feel, he was still the same man he’d always been.
Nevertheless, he straightened his shoulders and, taking up his cane, made his way from the room.
Gregory turned from his position at the window when Daniel entered the drawing room. He grinned, striding forward, hand extended. “Ah, Cousin. You’re looking…decent.”
Daniel pressed his lips tight as he took the man’s hand. Trying and failing not to notice thatdecentwas the least accurate description he would use for his cousin. The man was devilishly handsome as always, his long, lean form draped in clothes of the finest fit, the most expensive material. His features looked as if they’d been swiped from an ancient statue, his hair thick and wavy and combed just so.
Heading for a seat, Daniel indicated a chair some distance away. “Won’t you have a seat?”
Instead of taking the suggested chair, however, Gregory settled himself beside Daniel, exhaling a satisfied breath as he did so. “I vow, it was quite the journey to get here from London. I must look a veritable mess; I shouldn’t be seen in public.” He laughed heartily.
Daniel gave him a sickly smile. “What brings you to Synne, Gregory?”
“Why, to see you, of course. And my dear aunt. Where is she, by the way?”
“Taking a walk with Lady Tesh, I assume.”
“This healthful sea air doing her some good, I hope?”
Daniel merely nodded. His nerves were strung tight as a nocked bow, his mind whirling. What the devil did the man want?
“Good,” Gregory said with a wide smile, looking to his cuff and adjusting it. “Glad to hear it. But what is this I hear about you heading to London after?” He rearranged his features into a semblance of great concern. “Surely you don’t intend on dragging my aunt to the capital when she’s so frail.”
