The Wicked Heir (Spare Heirs #3)(72)

“How would that work?”

“Messenger pigeons. I might attempt it still, though for a different reason than before,” she explained. She cringed at what she must now admit to him, but it must be done. “In truth I didn’t simply want to contact my family. I was going to seek assistance with my escape. I know I must stay, though. It isn’t safe for me. I could still be blamed for the theft. And…I want to stay, but I do miss the companionship of my friends. But being so long with no word from anyone has me at loose ends.

“Not that I’m unhappy with you,” she rushed to assure him. “I enjoy your company. Actually a great deal.” Her heart slammed against her ribs with the admission. She was especially enjoying his company just now, even after their argument, with his arms around her. “It’s only that I miss my female friends. Their company is quite different from yours.”

“I would think so.” He smirked.

“Then you understand. When I’m with them, I don’t feel…”

His hands stilled on her back. “When you’re with me, what do you feel? Wait, don’t answer that. I don’t want to hear the answer.”

“Is that because I attempted to tell you that I lo—”

He kissed her again, halting the rest of her question. “This is already complicated enough. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“I wouldn’t dare say that again,” she muttered. Her announcement of her love had pushed him away the first time. She didn’t want to do that when things were only just mended between them.

Did she, though? Did she truly love this man? What she felt for him was too complicated to explain to herself, much less to him. He was her friend, her captor, the man who had his hands on her in the most exciting fashion she’d ever experienced, and the man with whom she’d quarreled only last night. He was hardly the man she’d envisioned as her ideal husband. And soon their time together would come to an end. This wasn’t forever. She would do well to remember that.

She stepped away from him and cleared her throat. And for the first time since his arrival, he released her. She turned back to the window, focusing on the leaves of the tree just beyond reach, not the man at her back. “If I could attract that pigeon, I could send a note to Roselyn or Evangeline. They wouldn’t tell anyone of it. If the bird could go as far as France, I could reach Sue. The secret of my stay here would be safe with my cousin in France, wouldn’t it? I wonder if pigeons travel that far. Do you know how far pigeons fly in a day?”

“I’m not certain. However, you know that isn’t how messenger pigeons work, don’t you?”

“I have a ribbon for its leg,” she said, holding up the hair ribbon she still clasped in her fingers for him to see. “I wouldn’t write a long note, nothing that would weigh the poor creature to the ground. Can you imagine? I don’t have much to tell, trapped as I am. The scenery doesn’t change from day to day, but this is quite the adventure.”

“Did you read a book where messages were sent via bird?”

“I did!” She turned back to him, feeling it was safe to look at him once more. “That was how the castle siege was ended. How did you know?”

“I know you miss your life, but can’t you be content here with me a bit longer?” He slid his hands down her arms, the look in his eyes luring her a fraction of a step closer to him. “I’m working to fix this mess, and releasing birds into my home isn’t going to hurry that process along.”

“I wasn’t going to have it flapping about,” she murmured in defense. “I have the ribbon.”

“You would have to have a bird trained to a particular roost, which would return only to that place when it was released. You can’t instruct a pigeon to simply find Roselyn.”

“Perhaps you can’t,” she countered.

He didn’t say anything, only looked at her, a hint of a smile lingering on his lips.

“Very well. No pigeons.”

He laced his fingers with hers and pulled her away from the open window. “You’ll have to suffer through my poor excuse for company for now.”

Didn’t he understand? He was perfect company! If only he wouldn’t leave her here alone so long. She gazed up into his warm brown eyes.

He was trying to assist her out of friendly concern for her welfare. It wouldn’t do to get lost in those eyes when he’d made it clear he had no interest in love. His feelings where she was concerned were far simpler than her own, no matter how complicated he claimed things might be.

Looking away, she asked, “Any news on my grandfather’s art collection?”

He led her to the sofa and then moved to stir the fire in the grate. “I’m making inquiries and getting closer to finding the man behind the theft. Two more letters have been found and are now in my desk for safekeeping. That leaves one confession letter unaccounted for, but until we find them all… It’s only a matter of time before the culprit is apprehended and you can return to your life.”

“You have an idea who he is then?”

Fallon was taking a great deal of time stoking the fire, especially for such a warm afternoon. “I do.”

“I don’t understand why someone would do this,” she mused, voicing the confusion she’d been struggling with from the start. “I’ve never harmed anyone. Last year I nursed a squirrel back to health at great protest from both my family and the squirrel. Yet this man sought me out to cause me harm. Why?”