Captive Surrender Read Online Free PDF Page A

longer. With one last, lingering look at the house, he
pushed away from the tree and made his way toward the back of the
outbuildings.
     
    Prudence had left her
sisters discussing the yarn colours for the newest batches of
shawls they needed to crochet to sell at the market next week.
Although she had her own pile of mending to do, she didn’t seem
able to settle her mind to anything. Her thoughts jumped randomly
from her sister’s suggestion that they sell the parcels of land
Levant wanted, to her own encounter with the hateful man himself
earlier that afternoon, to their mother’s worrying state of health,
to what would happen to the family if their Uncle Bernard ever got
wind of their precarious situation. All the while, one shadowy
thought lurked in the back of her mind. She tried really hard to
block him out, but just couldn’t stem the continual urge to think
about the handsome stranger who had stared at her so
intently.
    He was by far the most
handsome, yet strangely disturbing man she had ever seen. He had
not spoken one word to her, or Levant for that matter, yet had
oozed menace that worried her. She wondered what his voice was
like. Would it be deep and husky, or dark and sinister? Why had he
stared at her so much? What had he been looking for? For all of
Levant’s smarmy grins and double entendre, his silent employee had
had far more of an impact on her, and had shaken her far more in
one brief visit than any of Levant’s regular forays onto the
Cragdale Manor estate.
    She shivered at the sound
of the howling winds outside, thankful that Robbie had come home
while it was still light and was safely seated in front of the fire
with Eloisa. For once, their mother wasn’t screaming and shouting
and an almost amiable atmosphere had befallen over everyone. The
low murmur of voices reminded her that despite the huge problems
they currently faced, they were still a family.
    She was in the process of
folding her shawl when movement outside of the window captured her
attention and she froze. When she had returned to her bedroom, she
had not bothered to light a candle because she preferred the
darkness sometimes. It not only gave her a better view outside the
window when it was dark, but it made her feel somewhat safe and
protected when she wanted some time alone with her thoughts. Right
now, it gave her a perfect view of the gardens outside without
being seen.
    The small hairs on the
back of her neck stood on end and her breath lodged in her throat
at the sight of the tall, dark, shadowy figure. She watched him;
and she had no doubt that it was a man, leave the sheltered
protection of the huge fir tree and amble slowly toward the rear of
the outbuildings that housed the family’s pigs. She knew, even
without the light to be able to see properly, who the man was: the
handsome stranger who had visited with Levant. Her stomach lurched
and, for one brief moment, a wave of sickness swept over her that
was so strong that she wondered if she was going to be sick right
there on the floor.
    She watched the head and
shoulders of the man walk confidently along the hedgerow toward the
lane that led to Dinnington Hall. The smooth, unhurried way in
which he moved, regardless of the pelting rain, warned her that he
was either extremely arrogant or completely unperturbed that anyone
would notice him. What did he want? What was he looking for? Her
worried gaze swept over the trees that sat atop the cliffs. They
provided a barrier between the strong sea breezes and the house,
and were really a rather small copse that blocked all view of the
ocean and beach, which ordinarily wasn’t a problem, unless the
density of the trees was being used as protection by someone who
was watching them.
    She swallowed, and was
suddenly very glad that she hadn’t seen fit to light a candle in
her room. By the time she had left her window seat and hurried to
the window that faced the driveway of the house, all trace of the
shadowy figure had vanished.