Captive Splendors Read Online Free PDF Page B

run off with him.”
    If she had shot him a blow to the heart, she couldn’t have wounded Regan more. Sirena wanted to reach out and slap the defiant pout on Wren’s mouth. How could she have spoken in that way?
    â€œRegan is the only father you’ve ever known. How dare you speak to him in such a manner! Apologize this instant!” Sirena demanded furiously.
    â€œAnd you’re not my mother!” Wren cried suddenly as the enormity of what she had said struck her. Never one to back off, she lashed out again. “I never asked you to pick me up off the street. I never asked you for anything. I worked for you and Frau Holtz. I did my share and wanted to do more, but you wouldn’t let me. I never wanted to come here and go to that fancy school. You forced me to! I pleaded with you, begged you, and all either of you could say was that it was for my own good. Now you tell me it isn’t. Don’t I deserve the right to be happy? How can you deny me the one thing I’m asking of you? The one thing I’m asking in all the years you’ve cared for me. Tell me, Sirena. Can you tell me, Regan?” she all but shouted. “No, I see you can’t!” Tears streaming down her cheeks, she ran from the room and made for the front door, almost upsetting a maid carrying a heavy tray.
    Sirena’s own eyes were as moist as Regan’s as they rose to look out the window at Wren’s retreating back. Sirena tugged at Regan’s arm. “She didn’t mean it, I’m sure she didn’t. Girls say things they don’t mean when they’re upset. Right now she thinks she’s in love. We have to be patient and let her know we understand, that we pray things will work out for the best. We can’t allow ourselves to become angry and say things we don’t mean. We’re the adults, and we must act like parents. Please don’t be hurt, Regan. I couldn’t bear it.”
    Regan gathered her in his arms. “As usual, you’re right. We’ll do our best to make the right decisions for Wren.” His voice faltered.
    Tyler, drawn by the commotion, bounded into the room. His heart felt as if it would break when he saw the expressions on Regan’s and Sirena’s faces. He was powerless to offer words of encouragement; instead, he offered another cup of coffee.
    Sirena’s eyes went to Regan’s granite face, then to Tyler’s helpless-looking countenance, and from there to the shimmering silver and crystal on the breakfast table. She knew she should say something to make Regan’s sorrow lift. Wren in love! Beautiful, childlike little Wren in love! Impossible! And, according to Tyler, with a bounder, no less!
    Her long, slender fingers toyed with an ornate silver spoon as her mind raced. Womanly instinct warned her to be silent, but how could she bear the stricken look on Regan’s face? He was wounded to the quick. She was not fooled; in her heart she knew he had harbored a secret hope, a desire actually, that Wren and Caleb would one day find each other. Gossamer dreams. Yet she, too, had hoped for the same thing.
    Tyler broke the silence, his voice measured and quiet. “Time. Perhaps time is the answer. When she goes back to Java with you, things will mend.”
    â€œTell me, Tyler, how does one mend a broken heart?” Sirena asked coolly. Regan’s eyes remained inscrutable.
    â€œAbsence makes the heart . . .”
    â€œGrow fonder,” Sirena finished the sentence.
    â€œIn her own way Wren is as spirited as Sirena,” Regan declared. “If she fancies herself in love, no amount of talking or cajoling is going to change anything. We have to come up with some sort of . . . plan to make her see this oaf for what he is. Between the three of us, we should be able to think of something. What does Camilla have to say about all this?” Regan demanded of Tyler.
    â€œIn all honesty, I don’t know, and I