No Mortal Reason Read Online Free

stairs, they came to the top of the north tower.
    As promised, the parlor of the suite offered a panoramic view of the Catskill Mountains. Furnished in Eastlake style, with a lovely red rose Brussels carpet, it also boasted a fireplace, this one supplied with kindling and firewood ready to be lit.
    “The bedroom is in here,” Mercy said, opening a door to reveal a sinfully large, comfortable-looking bed. “Oh, good. Your trunks and boxes have already been brought up.” She indicated a second door. “And this is the private bath. Tub and water closet.”
    Diana said nothing. The suite was lovely. Perfect. And all wrong. If there had been a second bedroom, perhaps they might have brazened it out, but the only other place to sleep was a sofa much too short to accommodate someone of Ben’s height.
    “Is there anything else I can—?”
    This time it was Ben who cut Mercy off. “I believe a bit of rest is called for after our long journey.”
    His firm, almost brusque manner put an end to the young woman’s chatter. After pointing out the annunciator, which could be used to communicate with the check-in desk, Mercy took her leave.
    Dead quiet reigned in the parlor after she’d gone. Ben waited for Diana to speak first. Diana wanted him to explain himself without being asked.
    After a moment, he knelt by the hearth and struck match to kindling. It was cold in the room and she appreciated his thoughtfulness, but she was far from ready to forgive his high-handed behavior.
    Diana had been deceived too often in the past by those she should have been able to depend upon. The possibility that she had been wrong to put her faith in Ben Northcote not only shook her self-confidence, it sent a stab of fear deep into her heart. If she couldn’t rely on him, that meant she might never be able to trust her own judgment again.
    “When I booked this suite,” Ben said quietly, “I still hoped you’d agree to wed before we left Denver.”
    “You should have changed the reservation when we decided to wait.”
    “I was wrong not to. I admit it.” He flashed a charming smile over his shoulder before he went back to poking at the fledgling fire. “But it is too late to make other arrangements now.”
    She made a sound of exasperation. “Do you care nothing for my reputation?” Her late husband had not, but Diana had thought better of Ben.
    “The Grants need never know we aren’t married yet.” Satisfied with his efforts, Ben rose from the hearth to face her. “I am thinking of your reputation, Diana. If we’d arrived together and taken separate rooms, your family would have been convinced you were a woman of loose morals.”
    “Only if you’d been caught sneaking into my room,” she muttered.
    His indulgent chuckle grated on already raw nerves. “Perhaps it would have been you caught sneaking into mine.” He reached for her but she evaded his grasp and backed away, one arm extended to fend him off.
    “This is not a matter for levity.”
    “Nor is it cause for harsh words between us. I do not want to quarrel with you, Diana.” Hands on hips, he stood with feet wide apart and surveyed the room. “This is not the first time we’ve shared a suite in a hotel. It did not trouble you overmuch on the last occasion, and back then there was, as yet, no talk of marriage. The only difference I can see now is that this hotel is owned by someone you may—or may not—want to acknowledge as kin.”
    “Reminding me of my weakness where you are concerned is not the way to make amends. And this isn’t just about deceiving my family. You deceived me , Ben. All the way east, we talked about how the use of my married name would hide my connection to the Grants until I was ready to reveal that I was Elmira Grant’s daughter. I meant I’d be known as Mrs. Spaulding, a respectable widow. You intended from the beginning that I should be introduced to them as Mrs. Northcote.”
    He didn’t deny her charge. He didn’t even try to claim