Undaunted Love (PART TWO): Banished Saga, Book 3.5 Read Online Free

socially acceptable behavior, Matilda. Don’t tell me about doing what is expected. If I recall, you experimented with your freedom.”
    “Yes, and look what it brought me!” She rose from her chair, tossing her linen to the vacated chair.
    “What did it bring you, Matilda? Tell me, after all this time, tell me.” Martin watched her with hurt, passion-filled eyes.
    “To a husband who will always see me as nothing more than damaged. To the decrepit South End.” She took a shuddering breath. “The one thing I could bring you, Martin, was social respectability. I think I fulfilled my part of the bargain.”
    “No, Mattie, no,” Martin whispered. His anger left him as quickly as it had come. He reached out toward her, cupping her face with one of his large palms. “I’ve never seen you as damaged. I’ve always seen you as too good for me. Living above a linen store when you come from Beacon Hill. How could you possibly want a man like me?”
    “I’ve done my duty,” Matilda said, blinking rapidly to forestall shedding any tears.
    “Is that how you see me, as a duty?” Martin asked, dropping his hand and flinching from her words.
    She turned to watch him. “Savannah is our concern, Martin.”
    “Yes, she is. But I will not allow you to dissuade me from speaking with you of this. We’ve never resolved this between us, Matilda. I thought—” He paused as though selecting his words with care. “I thought it better to never discuss the reason behind our marriage. To instead work toward forging a successful union.”
    “We’ve had nearly thirty years together, Martin. There is no reason to speak of this now.”
    “I think there is. I think that because of your … choices, you feel compelled to show your parents that you raised an exemplary daughter. One they would be proud of. I see now that their influence has been harmful.”
    “My parents are wonderful people.”
    “Only if you do and act as they wish you to. I, for one, am tired of feeling as though a puppet to their bidding.” Martin reached out and encased her slim arms in his large hands, gripping them gently. “Mattie, do you care for me at all?”
    “This is unseemly, Martin.”
    “I don’t believe it is. If you’re willing to consign your daughter to a loveless marriage, to a man who brutalizes her for the sake of regaining esteem in your parents’ eyes, I think you need to be frank with me. Is it because you’ve lived so long without knowing how I feel that you believe our daughter could live a similar life devoid of love?”
    “You’ve never treated me poorly,” Matilda said. “I would never have countenanced it.”
    “No, and I never will. I love you, Mattie. I have since I held you in my arms as you sobbed over the loss of your child.”
    She hissed in a breath, taken aback by his words. “Martin—”
    “Shh … I have, Mattie. I tried to tell you. I sang to you, songs about love. And every time I did, you turned away. I guess I was a coward and lost my opportunity to tell you how I truly felt.” He sighed, squeezing her arms for a moment. “I’ve always loved you, Mattie.”
    “Martin,” Matilda said as she shook her head and broke away from his gentle grip. She wiped at her cheeks, as her tears fell unchecked. “You have been a good man to me and a good father to the children.”
    Martin jerked his head back as though slapped. “I see. Yes, a good man. And, until now, a good provider.” He turned from her and paced toward the fireplace. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.
    After a few moments, he spoke. “You are right, Matilda. Savannah is our concern. You believe she is fabricating stories to prevent her return to Jonas. I disagree. I believe her stories of mistreatment to be true. Do you believe any of what Betsy told me?” He turned to meet her gaze, anger lighting his eyes.
    “If you believe Betsy, you’ll start espousing her notions for women,” Matilda snapped.
    “Well, she may