Secret Heart Read Online Free

word
would adequately describe their golden-brown brightness. At one
moment her eyes looked as if all of the sun’s gold was caught in
them. In the next moment they glowed with the deep brown of a
stream in autumn, when crystal-clear water runs over fallen leaves.
Those ever-changing eyes suggested layers of meaning, of
intelligence – and of mystery, of unanswered questions.
    “ What do
you intend to do with me?” she asked him.
    “ Just
now, for a little while,” Roarke answered, forcing his thoughts
back to the secret mission that had brought him to southern
Sapaudia, “I will leave you here with Garit while I search along
the beach.”
    “ What?”
Garit exclaimed. “No, you can’t do that. I object most vigorously.
Jenia needs immediate shelter, a comfortable place to rest, and
decent clothing that befits her obvious rank.”
    “ A ship
apparently foundered in last night’s storm,” Roarke said, watching
for Jenia’s reaction to his words. “Other survivors may have washed
ashore. I am going to search the beach.” He broke off, having noted
the flash of fear in Jenia’s amber gaze. The emotion was quickly
gone. She lowered her remarkable eyes and assumed a bland
expression. Seeing the change in her, Roarke wondered what a
well-bred lady could have to fear if her shipboard companions were
found.
    “ Aye,
Roarke, you are right,” Garit agreed with a sigh. “We cannot leave
any poor souls untended on the sand if there is aught we can do to
help them. And if they are dead, we need to find an official and
arrange to have them buried. Only, don’t take too long, I beg you.
Chantal – I mean, Jenia – you are welcome to use my cloak for a
pillow if you would care to rest.”
    “ Thank
you, Garit, but I do not wish to sleep. However, I would like
another cup of water, if you will be kind enough to fetch it for
me.”
    She
settled herself with her back against the largest of the trees, her
knees drawn under her, and Roarke’s cloak wrapped around her like
protective armor. In that pose she did resemble a lost and lonely
survivor of a shipwreck.
    Seeing
her like that, Roarke almost cautioned Garit not to ply her with
questions. Immediately, his natural skepticism asserted itself and
he thought better of the idea. Let Garit say or do whatever he
wanted; he’d keep the lady safe from harm and if he was able to
learn anything more about her, that could only be to their
advantage. With a nod to Jenia, Roarke headed back to the
beach.
    The tide
was coming in, waves foaming and swirling over sand that just a
short time ago had stretched a good quarter of a league to the
water. The beach was strewn with seaweed and shells, a few dead
fish, and even one piece of driftwood, but Roarke’s careful search
detected no evidence of a ship’s wreckage or of bodies.
    He located the spot where Jenia had lain,
recognizing it by the gouges in the sand where she had pushed
herself to her feet and by the footprints leading westward. At
least that much of her story was true, though the incoming waves
had already eliminated any trace of her emergence from the sea. He
found no personal belongings that could have been hers, nor did he
see evidence of any other survivors.
    He retraced his steps to find Jenia still
propped against the tree, apparently sound asleep. Beckoning to
Garit, Roarke drew his friend aside to speak in a lowered voice
that he hoped would not disturb the lady.
    “ I
discovered nothing of interest,” he said before Garit could ask.
“Did you learn anything from her?”
    “ No.” His
face somber, Garit stared over Roarke’s shoulder toward Jenia. “I
keep asking myself if it’s possible that she is mistaken, that she
really is Chantal, but she just cannot remember.”
    “ You love
Chantal,” Roarke said. “You have told me that you and she were
making secret plans to marry, so you above all men ought to
recognize her.”
    “ As the
Heavenly Blue Sky is my witness, I cannot be certain. She is