A Scoundrel's Surrender Read Online Free PDF Page B

especially in the weeks and months immediately after their last encounter. She had frequently dreamed that Caleb would ride up to her door and apologize for abandoning her. That he would offer her the future of her heart, as she had once dared to dream they could share.
    But the years since then had taught her one thing . . . she couldn’t depend upon men like Caleb Talbot . . . men like her father. If she wanted happiness, she required stability, so whatever was once between her and Caleb was dead now.
    For her sanity, it had to be.

Chapter 3
    A t a small supper table with only a few occupants, ignoring another person was almost impossible. But Marah was doing an admirable job of it and Caleb would have smiled at her dogged determination to pretend he didn’t exist, if only he didn’t recognize how fully he must have hurt her to cause this rift between them.
    Leaving without a word had seemed like his best . . . perhaps his only option the night he’d done it. But now he had to live with the consequences.
    Turning his attention instead to his brother and sister-in-law, Caleb sighed anew. The couple were seated close together, utterly engrossed in each other. They weren’t eating and they certainly didn’t seem to be interested in playing host and hostess. Apparently two weeks apart was enough to send them mad for each other.
    He drew in a long breath and returned his focus to Marah. There would be no avoiding conversation if Justin and Victoria wouldn’t be of assistance, so it was best to jump right in. Perhaps if he worked hard enough, he could overcome this tension between them tonight and put Marah as much in his past as he had decided he must do with the truth of his parentage.
    â€œI was sorry to hear about the passing of your grandmother,” he began.
    Marah lifted her gaze from her plate and speared him with dark blue heaven that had always sparked with whatever emotion she felt. Tonight there was pain in those captivating eyes, anger, but also a grief he was beginning to understand even if he didn’t want to.
    â€œWere you?” she asked in brusque tones. “I didn’t receive a note from you when she died. I hadn’t realized she even rated a thought, let alone any sorrow from you.”
    He frowned. When he had heard of the death, he’d briefly thought of penning a missive. In fact, he’d begun several only to destroy them after deeming them either too emotional or not emotional enough. Ultimately he had talked himself out of the notion entirely.
    â€œI did feel sorrow for you, Marah, but struggled to properly express it,” he said softly. “And you are correct in my lack of manners. I’m afraid that in the last two years I have lost those little niceties and civilities that dictate social behavior.”
    Marah took a sip of wine, looking at him with stark disapproval as she did so. “The niceties and civilities are often what make life bearable. And they are present in even the lowest society, so you must have been quite an outcast during your time away.”
    She meant the statement as a sling against him, and it struck home on a far deeper level than perhaps she had even intended. An outcast was exactly what he had been. What he remained and would probably always remain, if only because he no longer felt comfortable in his own skin.
    â€œI was indeed,” he said softly. “But an outcast of my own making, I fear. At any rate, I apologize again, both for the pain of her passing and for my lack of manners in addressing the subject.”
    She didn’t answer, either to accept or to decline his apology.
    Caleb sighed. “Perhaps we can strike upon a less painful topic now?”
    She arched a brow, though the hardness of her face softened slightly. Caleb couldn’t help but smile. It seemed he still possessed the ability to break through Marah’s tough shell if he chose to do so.
    â€œWhat topic