Bartered Bride Romance Collection (87 page)

She wouldn’t have left without telling him, so where could she be? He circled their bedchamber, more restless than he should have been at his wife’s sudden disappearance. Try as he might, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Think, Gregory. Where would she be?
He rejected the basement. The only things down there were the steam heater and electrical wires. Libby would have no reason to venture there.
The attic?
He couldn’t imagine why. Besides, she still should have heard him calling.
The widow’s walk!
That had to be it. Libby was on the flat, railed walkway set atop the house.

He’d had it built following the sailor’s tradition. During troubled times, a seaman’s wife could stand atop her home, looking out over the water, and wait for her husband’s safe return. Libby had never mentioned it to him, but the housekeeper had said Libby liked to venture up there on fine days.

This will be a good chance to try out the hidden stairwell. I’ve not seen it since its installation
. Smiling broadly at the thought of showing Libby his secret staircase when they returned to their room, he pushed on the back panel of the wardrobe, feeling along the revealed wall for the light switch.

As light flooded the stairway, Gregory saw his wife huddled on the bottom step. He sank to his knees immediately, grasping her cold hands and chafing them between his own.

“Libby? Libby, what’s wrong?”

“Don’t.” Her voice sounded dull as she jerked her hands from his grasp and scuttled away from him.

“Don’t what?” He tried to catch her eye, but she’d turned her face from him. A sudden image of her falling down the dark staircase made his stomach roil. “Libby, are you hurt? Let me see.”

“Can’t you already see?” She gave a hollow bark of laughter. “It’s obvious to me.”

“What is?” He crooked a finger beneath her chin and turned her face toward his. He breathed a silent prayer of thanks when he saw no purple bruises or angry bumps. “What happened since we spoke in the sewing room?”

“This.” She waved her arms to indicate the stairwell, knocking his hand away in the process. “I discovered your secret, Gregory. Stop acting as though it’s nothing.”

“You’re upset because I hadn’t shown you the staircase?” He tried to clarify things, but they seemed more muddied than ever.

“Oh, yes, I’m upset about the staircase.” She drew a shaky breath before glaring at him. “How could you design such a thing in the house you built for your bride? I know I’m not the bride you had in mind, but that makes it no better! The
maids
, Gregory?”

“What are you—?” In an instant, he understood. “You’re talking about how the stairway leads to the attic, near the maid’s room. You think …” He couldn’t even bring himself to the words, instead recoiling from the very thought.
Is that what she thinks? After all the time we’ve spent together in the past weeks, she can believe such a thing of me?

“Why else,” she demanded fiercely, “would you construct a hidden passageway from your room
—our
room—to the attic?”

“I built it so my wife would have easy access to the widow’s walk during bad weather.” He spoke through stiff lips. “I didn’t want you climbing the outside stairs when they were slippery with rain or ice. Forgive me for thinking my wife would be concerned and want to keep a lookout for my ship at such times.”

“Why lock it from the inside at the attic door?” she questioned, her eyes showing the first faint gleam of hope.

“So no one could enter our room,” he explained.
She was devastated at the thought I’d carry on with one of the maids—not because her pride was hurt, but because she cares for me
. The realization softened his outrage that she had believed the worst.

“Oh.” The tiny sound melted the rest of his wounded pride.

“I’d never do something like that—no matter who my wife was.” He scooted up to crowd beside her, nestling her in the crook of his arm.

“You’re a better man than that.” Libby wiped her eyes and gave a tremulous smile. “And I’ve always known it. I don’t know why I jumped to such an awful conclusion….”

“It made sense at the time.” He squeezed her shoulder. “The important thing is you believe the truth, so we’re ready to move on.”

“I do.” She nodded vehemently. “I overreacted, Gregory. I’m so sorry for that. You see”—she drew a deep breath before continuing—“I’ve always admired you, from the first night we met. And even now, when things are going so well, it’s easy for me to believe that I’m not the wife you wanted.”

“You weren’t.” At her gasp, he smiled. “You’re far more than I ever wanted in a wife, and I know I’m blessed to have you, Libby. We may have started out on shaky ground, but I like to think we’ve found a solid path together.”

“Me, too.” Her hair tickled his cheek as she nodded.

“But even more than that”—he knew the time had come to speak the thoughts he’d hidden for too long now—“I love you, Elizabeth Anne Royce.”

“I love you, too.” Her words came out garbled as she wept all over his surcoat.

“Now then, that’s enough.” Gregory rubbed soft circles on her back as she composed herself.

“I’ll never get enough of our life together,” she murmured, looking up at him with love shining in her eyes. “It makes tears of joy keep springing up.”

“I can think of a better way to celebrate.” He smiled as he lowered his lips to hers. Neither one of them spoke for a long moment. When he caught his breath again, Gregory added the finishing touch. “Let’s fill our nursery with beautiful babies.”

“Mmm.” She nestled closer. “I’d say that is a wonderful idea.”

Kelly Eileen Hake received her first writing contract at the tender age of seventeen and arranged to wait three months until she was able to legally sign it. Since that first contract a decade ago, she’s fulfilled twenty contracts ranging from short stories to novels. In her spare time, she’s attained her BA in English Literature and Composition, earned her credential to teach English in secondary schools, and went on to complete her MA in Writing Popular Fiction.

Writing for Barbour combines two of Kelly’s great loves—history and reading. A CBA bestselling author and member of American Christian Fiction Writers, she’s been privileged to earn numerous Heartsong Presents Reader’s Choice Awards and is known for her witty, heartwarming historical romances.

A newlywed, she and her gourmet-chef husband live in Southern California with their golden lab mix, Midas!

Coming May 2013 …

A Texas Brides Collection

Enjoy a wild ride through Texas history in this collection of nine romances penned by an exclusive selection of Christian fiction authors.
Can the lonely, the lawful, and the lawless find love in the Lone Star state?

Available wherever books are sold.