Despite everything, she found a moment’s astonished admiration when Garson bowed and stepped back. It was an acknowledgment that in this particular competition, there could only be one winner.
And it wasn’t him.
All of this filled the time it took Silas and Robert to shift apart.
“How the devil has this happened?” Silas’s voice still cracked with emotion. “The Admiralty gave us no hope that you’d survived.”
Robert shook his head, as Pascal tore himself from Amy’s side. “Silas, I think the family should hear this story first, before it becomes generally known.”
Silas looked around, and Morwenna saw that he’d forgotten the room full of people. He’d only seen his brother, returned from the dead. “Yes. Of course.”
After nodding to the servants to return to their places, Pascal raised his voice. “My friends, you came here tonight to witness a joyous event. And so you have, if not the one you expected. We beg your indulgence in giving us a little privacy to welcome Captain Nash back to his home and family and find out the story behind his return.”
People began moving toward the entrance. Without looking, Silas reached out to find Caro’s hand. She, with that unspoken communication built over eight years of marriage, was already there at his side.
Another pang struck Morwenna. Before he left, she and Robert had been passionate lovers, but close to strangers in most other ways. If fate had been kinder, they should by now have formed the same bond as Silas and Caro.
She and her husband had missed out on so much. Was it too late to find each other again?
Or was the break irreparable?
Studying this stern man in his rough sailor’s clothes, she couldn’t feel confident of a happy ending. Misery tightened her belly, and she sagged where she stood.
Caro came to take Morwenna’s arm. “Are you all right?”
She nodded, although she was far from sure. A torrent of words pressed against her trembling lips, but her husband’s closed expression kept her silent.
“Rob, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” Amy stood on shaky legs and stumbled across to hug her brother. “I’m so happy that you’re alive.”
The paralysis that had gripped everyone gradually eased. The shock that had felt like horror, but was really astounded, incomprehensible elation, now softened to something a little more bearable.
Robert even seemed less awkward with human contact as he bent to hug his sister. In Silas’s embrace, he’d looked ready to fight or run. The man Morwenna had married had always worn a smile. This man hadn’t smiled once, although surely he must be glad to be back.
And he’d given no sign that he remembered his wife with any special fondness. No sign except that furious cry denying Garson’s claim on her.
Now those fathomless eyes met hers as he leaned over a sobbing Amy. Morwenna caught a flash of something that could be vulnerability. He looked away before she could be sure. But this was the first hint that the man she’d married might lurk somewhere inside this forbidding stranger.
“Robert, let me tell you…” she said in a croak that faded to nothing. Appeal? Apology? Welcome? She wasn’t sure herself. But he didn’t hear her over the hubbub in the room.
The crowd slowly dispersed. The men clapped Robert and Silas on the back in congratulations, while the women smiled. Or if they were sentimental, dabbed their eyes with lace handkerchiefs. A few curious souls lingered as the ranks thinned, hoping for some gossip to take away. But Silas and his staff were polite but relentless in clearing the house.
If those who appreciated a scandal wished to witness a brawl between the newly resurrected husband and the recently deposed fiancé, they would have been doomed to disappointment.
“Morwenna, can I do anything to help?” Garson turned to her with the consideration she’d learned to appreciate over the last months.
Automatically she presented her hand, and he bowed over it. Since she’d accepted his offer of marriage, he usually kissed her fingers. Not tonight.
“You’re very kind,” she said, and meant it. His face expressed only concern for her. Any darker feelings remained masked. “Especially when...”
His faint smile was more proof of his gallantry. “Clearly we weren’t meant to be.” He glanced across to where Amy smiled up at Robert with unadulterated happiness.
How Morwenna envied Robert’s family’s uncomplicated reaction to his return. She wanted to smile and laugh and cheer, too, but she couldn’t shake off her memory of that accusing glare when he saw her holding Garson’s hand. “Yes, but…”
Garson stopped her, which was a mercy, as she had no idea what she meant to say. “I’m glad for your sake he’s back.”
A muscle jerked in his cheek, a hint of the effort it took to say that.
“Thank you.” She felt Robert watching her again, then she realized Garson still held her hand. She withdrew, praying she didn’t look as guilty as she felt.