“I laid out your preserves in the usual spot,” she said.
“I’ll collect them before I leave.”
I had a feeling they’d had this exchange many, many times.
He came over to where we sat. “You’ve known me since I was a kid, Tilly.” I could tell he was angry, but his voice remained calm. “We’ve been friends for a long time. You know I would never do anything to hurt Amelia.”
She lifted her chin. “I’ve always thought the world of you. Still do. But I’ve made no bones of what I think of your granddaddy. Your uncle, too. And them leeches that hang all over him. Bad news, the lot of them.”
Thane’s eyes flashed. “What do they have to do with me?”
“Like it or not, you’re a part of that family.”
“Is that reason enough to condemn me?”
Her mouth thinned stubbornly. “I’ve said my piece.”
“And that’s it?” His whole demeanor hardened as he turned his gaze on me. “Can I have a word with you?”
“Will you excuse me, Tilly?”
She looked as if she wanted to say more, but she rose and went into the house.
Thane opened the screen door, and we went out into the yard.
“Good God,” he said, when he saw me in the sunlight. “What happened to your face?”
I was still trembling from everything that Tilly had told me.
It was an effort to turn those thoughts aside. “I got caught in a briar patch.”
“Again? Are you okay?”
“Tilly fixed me up. They hardly hurt at all now.”
“You need to be more careful.” He picked a sprig of rosemary from the bushes by the porch and tucked it into my hair. “To ward off witches,” he said with a smile.
I shivered at his touch. “Thank you.” I glanced back at the house. “Tilly sure has strong feelings about your grandfather.”
Thane shrugged. “A lot of people have strong feelings about Grandfather. I’m sure Tilly has her reasons.”
“She shouldn’t take it out on you, though.”
“She never has before. I guess you’re special.”
I said sharply, “What do you mean?”
“Tilly’s always kept to herself, but it seems she’s taken you under her wing and she feels protective. Maybe you remind her of Freya.”
“Maybe.” I glanced away. “Do you think Tilly knew about the baby?”
Thane had been looking up into the trees, but now he spun to face me. “What baby?”
Too late, I realized my mistake. I knew about Freya’s unborn child the same way I knew about her murder. But I had no way of knowing if her pregnancy had been common knowledge. I suspected she’d kept it secret for as long as she could.
“I was thinking of the marker on the hidden grave,” I said. “The rose and bud that signify a mother and child burial.”
“Freya’s buried in Thorngate. I already told you that.”
“It’s there,” he insisted. “I used to see Tilly bringing flowers at least once a week.”
“You spent that much time at Thorngate?”
“I loved it there as a kid. It could get pretty lonely at Asher House, so I roamed the countryside. That’s how I met Tilly. I came across her place one day and I’ve been helping her with the birds ever since.”
I was silent for a moment.
He gazed down at me. “Why the look?”
“It’s just…you’re not at all like you presented yourself on the ferry that first day.”
“How did I present myself?”
“You know exactly the impression you made. You deliberately let me think you were a shallow, aimless man with nothing better to do than bide your time until your grandfather died.”
The green of his eyes dazzled in the sunlight. “How do you know that’s not the real me?”
“Because I’ve seen you with Angus. And now I’ve seen you with Tilly. Whether you’ll admit it or not, you have a kind heart.”
“For some people.” He put a hand to my face, stroked a thumb down my cheek, and I thought to myself that, despite Tilly’s warning, this could be a turning point. I could do nothing and let the moment slip away, or I could take a step, even a tiny one, out of the past and into the present.
His other hand came up, and he cupped my face, searching my eyes. I could smell the rosemary on his fingers, and I closed my eyes to draw it in.
Gently, he tilted my head so that he could examine the scratches on my cheeks. “You really should be more careful,” he murmured.
“I’ll try to be.”
“Tilly might not be around next time.”
“She’s around right now, though.”
“Does that bother you?”
I glanced toward the porch. “I wouldn’t want to upset her.”
“I don’t want to upset her, either.”
But we both knew that he was going to kiss me whether Tilly approved or not. Whether he was dangerous to me or not. He threaded his fingers through my hair, and I exhaled slowly, trying to calm my racing pulse. My hands fluttered to his chest as he pressed his lips against mine. I could feel his heartbeat against my palms. The vibration stirred something inside me, and I pulled away quickly before I had time to respond.
“Not here.”
His gaze deepened. “Where?”
Tilly’s warning hammered in my head.
I put a hand to my temple, trying to block her voice. “I don’t know. I can’t think…”
“Tonight,” he said urgently.
“I can’t. I’m meeting Sidra at the library.”
“Afterward.”
“I have to pack. I’m going home to Charleston this weekend.”
“I’m coming by,” he said. “You can send me away when I get there if that’s really what you want.”
“Thane—”
“I just want to see you before you go,” he said. “I want to make sure you’re coming back.”
“I’ve barely begun the restoration. Of course, I’ll be back.”
A shadow darkened his features. “Will you see
Angus brushed up against the side of my leg, and I reached down to pet him, glad for the diversion.
Thane watched us together. “What will you do with Angus while you’re gone?”
“I’ll take him with me. Why?”
He pulled me back into his arms, and I didn’t resist. “I was hoping I might persuade you to leave him here. That way you’d have to come back to me,” he said against my lips.
