around. In this respect they were aided by the light of the waxing moon. Elena listened intently but the only sounds were the cicadas and, once or twice, an owl. Nothing else stirred.
Finding a convenient boulder she sat down in its shadow so that she was out of sight. If anyone were to approach they would be on top of her before they became aware of her presence. She saw Harry take up a position a few yards off. However, she made no attempt at conversation, guessing it wouldn’t be welcome. In any case she had no wish to get her head bitten off again.
Instead she let her gaze range over the hills whose tops were now silvered by the moonlight. Overhead a million stars filled a velvet sky and the air was scented with wild thyme. It was a romantic scene. She sighed, wondering what on earth had put that thought in her head. There was nothing remotely romantic about the situation: she had been foisted off on a man who had unwittingly become embroiled in her family’s sordid affairs, and she had now added insult to injury. Glancing across the intervening space she looked at Harry but his attention was firmly fixed on the land in front of him. No doubt about it, he was still angry. It saddened her to know that she had offended him; his opinion mattered rather more than she had expected. However, the fear of another rebuff held her silent.
A shooting star flashed a trail of radiance across the heavens and she caught her breath, smiling in spite of herself. Then she heard Harry’s voice, quiet on the night air.
‘You saw it too.’
Her pulse quickened a little. ‘Yes. This is an ideal place.’
‘Far from ideal from your point of view, I imagine,’ he replied. ‘You must be wishing me at Jericho. I can only apologise for my foul temper.’
‘Well, I should not have asked so impertinent a question and I’m sorry for it.’
‘Forget it. It doesn’t matter.’
Elena strongly suspected that it did, but she wasn’t about to reject the offered olive branch. ‘All right. Let’s just pretend it didn’t happen.’
‘Yes, let’s.’
Hearing him fall in so readily with the suggestion, she wondered then what other pretences they would have to maintain in this relationship: the pretence that he was content to be married to her; the pretence that he wasn’t still in love with another woman? Yet she could hardly criticise him when she had not faced and conquered her own demons. What future could there be for them if they did not confront the past?
Chapter Nine
T here was no further sign of the bandits who had attacked them so it seemed most probable that it had been a chance encounter with a small band of marauders. The countryside was full of them, men whom war had dispossessed or made desperate. As he and his companions continued on their journey, Harry could only hope that they wouldn’t meet any more. They had been lucky last time. If the robber group had been larger it would have been a different story. Had it been only himself and Jack he would have been less concerned: having women along altered his view substantially, even if the women concerned were able to shoot remarkably well. Elena’s account of their adventure with El Lobo only served to underline this. While Harry applauded her courage and resilience, he was more aware than ever of her vulnerability.
Since the shared watch their relationship had, superficially at least, settled back into its former pattern of mutual civility. Yet, underneath that, he was aware of a fundamental shift. Even though he had apologised, he knew that he had ducked the issue. The habit of silence had become ingrained. The very mention of Belén was a trigger to close up like a clam. Let’s pretend it didn’t happen . How those words had haunted him in the hours since. By glossing over the matter in that way Elena had only been trying to keep the peace, but her openness with him suggested that she would have welcomed reciprocal honesty. Now that his temper had cooled he
Finding a convenient boulder she sat down in its shadow so that she was out of sight. If anyone were to approach they would be on top of her before they became aware of her presence. She saw Harry take up a position a few yards off. However, she made no attempt at conversation, guessing it wouldn’t be welcome. In any case she had no wish to get her head bitten off again.
Instead she let her gaze range over the hills whose tops were now silvered by the moonlight. Overhead a million stars filled a velvet sky and the air was scented with wild thyme. It was a romantic scene. She sighed, wondering what on earth had put that thought in her head. There was nothing remotely romantic about the situation: she had been foisted off on a man who had unwittingly become embroiled in her family’s sordid affairs, and she had now added insult to injury. Glancing across the intervening space she looked at Harry but his attention was firmly fixed on the land in front of him. No doubt about it, he was still angry. It saddened her to know that she had offended him; his opinion mattered rather more than she had expected. However, the fear of another rebuff held her silent.
A shooting star flashed a trail of radiance across the heavens and she caught her breath, smiling in spite of herself. Then she heard Harry’s voice, quiet on the night air.
‘You saw it too.’
Her pulse quickened a little. ‘Yes. This is an ideal place.’
‘Far from ideal from your point of view, I imagine,’ he replied. ‘You must be wishing me at Jericho. I can only apologise for my foul temper.’
‘Well, I should not have asked so impertinent a question and I’m sorry for it.’
‘Forget it. It doesn’t matter.’
Elena strongly suspected that it did, but she wasn’t about to reject the offered olive branch. ‘All right. Let’s just pretend it didn’t happen.’
‘Yes, let’s.’
Hearing him fall in so readily with the suggestion, she wondered then what other pretences they would have to maintain in this relationship: the pretence that he was content to be married to her; the pretence that he wasn’t still in love with another woman? Yet she could hardly criticise him when she had not faced and conquered her own demons. What future could there be for them if they did not confront the past?
Chapter Nine
T here was no further sign of the bandits who had attacked them so it seemed most probable that it had been a chance encounter with a small band of marauders. The countryside was full of them, men whom war had dispossessed or made desperate. As he and his companions continued on their journey, Harry could only hope that they wouldn’t meet any more. They had been lucky last time. If the robber group had been larger it would have been a different story. Had it been only himself and Jack he would have been less concerned: having women along altered his view substantially, even if the women concerned were able to shoot remarkably well. Elena’s account of their adventure with El Lobo only served to underline this. While Harry applauded her courage and resilience, he was more aware than ever of her vulnerability.
Since the shared watch their relationship had, superficially at least, settled back into its former pattern of mutual civility. Yet, underneath that, he was aware of a fundamental shift. Even though he had apologised, he knew that he had ducked the issue. The habit of silence had become ingrained. The very mention of Belén was a trigger to close up like a clam. Let’s pretend it didn’t happen . How those words had haunted him in the hours since. By glossing over the matter in that way Elena had only been trying to keep the peace, but her openness with him suggested that she would have welcomed reciprocal honesty. Now that his temper had cooled he
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