A Shameful Secret Read Online Free

changed. I don’t know the details, but I think there was some kind of scandal a few years back. It was all hushed up, and I was away at Cambridge at the time, but when we met again, after a period of some four years when she didn’t go into company at all. From what I’ve gathered, she was different.”
    “What do you mean different?”
    Josh wrinkled his brow. “It isn’t easy to put a finger on it. When I left home, she was not quite seventeen, not really pretty but a sweet face, innocent, if you know what I mean. And she used to laugh a lot, talk to anyone. But when I saw her again, she avoided me. She would say hello in company, but if I came upon her alone, she would just shake her head and run off, almost as if she were afraid to speak to me. We used to play together as children, and I considered her to be another sister.”
    “It sounds as if she grew up,” Paul said. “Could it not simply be that she had put her childhood behind her?”
    “Yes, certainly,” Josh agreed. “But . . . she was chastened, Paul. It seemed to me as if someone had attempted to crush her spirit. They had not succeeded, for she still has the same sense of humor, though she tries to hide it. But sometimes she can’t quite manage, and her eyes betray her. She has rather expressive eyes.”
    “Yes, her eyes are remarkable, a deep, warm brown, and her smile lights up her face.” Paul wrinkled his brow in thought. “I had believed when I saw her that she was older, but you speak of her as being a contemporary—and unmarried?”
    Josh frowned as a thought occurred to him. “But why do you ask, Paul? She isn’t the kind of woman you usually notice.”
    “It was merely curiosity,” Paul replied but looked thoughtful. “She sounds interesting, as if she might have had some secret sorrow in her past.”
    Josh gave him a speaking look. “All the more reason not to hurt her. I’ve always liked Hester. Told you, she’s like a sister to me. Take care, Crawford, I shouldn’t like to see her hurt.”
    “Indeed? Your sentiments do you credit, my friend.” Paul’s brows rose in amused query. “What makes you think I would hurt her?”
    “I don’t think you would do it deliberately,” Josh said, his frown deepening. “But I think she is vulnerable. She wouldn’t know how to behave with a man like you.”
    “Well, I daresay we shan’t meet again,” Paul said and felt slightly wistful though he did not see why he should. “Something about her lingers, but I have other, more important things on my mind for the moment.”
    “This business of the traitor? Do you think it could have been Mortimer’s grandson? He was a bad sort so they say. The earl banished him years ago, but I suppose he will be forced to bring him back now that Simon is dead. Richard is the heir now. Any word spoken against him would cause a fearful scandal.”
    “He may be the heir to an earldom,” Paul said with a grim look. “But that will not save him if I discover that he was in league with the enemy.”
    A little shiver ran down Josh’s spine as he looked into the cold blue eyes, and for a moment, he felt sorry for the traitor. Captain Paul Crawford was a man of his word. If he were convinced that Mortimer was the traitor, a little scandal would not prevent him from making sure that justice was done.
    You will have to have proof,” Josh said. “Faulty cannon is one thing—and could have been the fault of the manufacturer—but the rest of it is a more serious charge.”
    “Had I traced him while we were out there I would have had him shot, but now it is a matter for the courts,” Paul said. “If he is found guilty, it is a hanging offence.”

Chapter Two
     
    Hester dressed that evening in the new deep blue silk gown that her cousin had insisted on buying for her as soon as they arrived in Bath. Charlotte had sent her personal maid to dress Hester’s hair in a softer style, giving her a more fashionable look. In the glow of the candle, her