estate. I assume she saw me as a threat to her children though I didn’t realise it at the time. I thought it was because…I wasn’t good enough.”
Bethan could picture him, a quiet child whose gravemanner hid a kind heart, too easily bruised. “Was that why you came to the Indies—to prove yourself by making your fortune?”
“Perhaps,” Simon answered after a long pause. “Though, at the time, I only wanted to get as far away from my family as I could.”
Once again Bethan wondered if she was dreaming. Could this guarded man really be telling her so much about his past and his most private feelings?
Before she could reply, Simon continued, “Perhaps, without meaning to, I’ve made Rosalia feel that way. I want to make it up to her, but I’m not certain how to go about it.”
“You’ll manage,” Bethan reassured him. “I think you’re a man who can do most anything you set your mind to.”
“In business, perhaps.” He sounded weighed down with regret. “But with people, especially those that matter most to me, I’ve made a great many mistakes. You get on with Rosalia so naturally. Could you help me get closer to her?”
“Of course!” She groped for Simon’s hand and give it a heartening squeeze. “I think I get on so well with children because I still have a bit of child in me. You sound like someone who was grown up from a young age.”
She did not mean to cling to his hand, but her fingers refused to let go. “You need to spend more time with Rosalia. Talk to her. Listen to her the way you listened to me just now. Try to smile more…or at least scowl less.”
Rather than taking offence at her bluntness, Simon gave a husky chuckle. “I will try. I find it easier to smile when you’re around.”
“That’s the nicest thing any man’s ever said to me.”
The rain had stopped by now and the water falling from the eaves had slowed to a steady trickle. The quiet made Bethan more conscious than ever of Simon’s nearness and the sensations he provoked in her, even when he wasn’t trying.
Would he kiss her now? Her lips quivered with anticipation.
Instead he raised her hand and pressed his lips to it. “Thank you for your advice.”
Before she could recover her voice, he was gone, leaving her aching with longing. But unlike the other times Simon had roused her desire, this time he had also stirred a sweet, brooding tenderness that she could not decide whether to welcome…or resist.
Chapter Seven
L ast night would have been a perfect opportunity to further his slow seduction of Bethan. Simon pondered that thought at work the next day and tried to figure out what had made him hesitate.
He tried to persuade himself he’d fled because he did not want to take the chance of losing control and frightening her again. But that was only part of it. What he’d really been running from was the alarming urge to pour out his whole heart to her. Not only did Bethan threaten his self-control, she also posed a danger to his fiercely guarded privacy.
Last night, she’d somehow managed to open one of the heavily locked doors to his past and compel him to reveal things he’d never confided in anyone. The darkness and the sound of the rain had cast a curtain around him, making him feel as if he were alone with his memories. Yet Bethan’s presence had been so close and vital. By sharing a glimpse into her painful past, she had opened a secret window into his.
He must not let it happen again.
He would avoid her for a few days, throwing himself into his work. When he felt it was safe to resume contact with Bethan, he would act as if his midnight confession had never taken place.
“Begging your pardon, Mr Grimshaw.” The voice of his new clerk, Wilson Hall, intruded on Simon’s thoughts, making him start. “You said you wanted to keep an eye on the lads while they load that cargo of sugar.”
“I did?” Simon could not recall the last time he’d been so thoroughly distracted from business
Bethan could picture him, a quiet child whose gravemanner hid a kind heart, too easily bruised. “Was that why you came to the Indies—to prove yourself by making your fortune?”
“Perhaps,” Simon answered after a long pause. “Though, at the time, I only wanted to get as far away from my family as I could.”
Once again Bethan wondered if she was dreaming. Could this guarded man really be telling her so much about his past and his most private feelings?
Before she could reply, Simon continued, “Perhaps, without meaning to, I’ve made Rosalia feel that way. I want to make it up to her, but I’m not certain how to go about it.”
“You’ll manage,” Bethan reassured him. “I think you’re a man who can do most anything you set your mind to.”
“In business, perhaps.” He sounded weighed down with regret. “But with people, especially those that matter most to me, I’ve made a great many mistakes. You get on with Rosalia so naturally. Could you help me get closer to her?”
“Of course!” She groped for Simon’s hand and give it a heartening squeeze. “I think I get on so well with children because I still have a bit of child in me. You sound like someone who was grown up from a young age.”
She did not mean to cling to his hand, but her fingers refused to let go. “You need to spend more time with Rosalia. Talk to her. Listen to her the way you listened to me just now. Try to smile more…or at least scowl less.”
Rather than taking offence at her bluntness, Simon gave a husky chuckle. “I will try. I find it easier to smile when you’re around.”
“That’s the nicest thing any man’s ever said to me.”
The rain had stopped by now and the water falling from the eaves had slowed to a steady trickle. The quiet made Bethan more conscious than ever of Simon’s nearness and the sensations he provoked in her, even when he wasn’t trying.
Would he kiss her now? Her lips quivered with anticipation.
Instead he raised her hand and pressed his lips to it. “Thank you for your advice.”
Before she could recover her voice, he was gone, leaving her aching with longing. But unlike the other times Simon had roused her desire, this time he had also stirred a sweet, brooding tenderness that she could not decide whether to welcome…or resist.
Chapter Seven
L ast night would have been a perfect opportunity to further his slow seduction of Bethan. Simon pondered that thought at work the next day and tried to figure out what had made him hesitate.
He tried to persuade himself he’d fled because he did not want to take the chance of losing control and frightening her again. But that was only part of it. What he’d really been running from was the alarming urge to pour out his whole heart to her. Not only did Bethan threaten his self-control, she also posed a danger to his fiercely guarded privacy.
Last night, she’d somehow managed to open one of the heavily locked doors to his past and compel him to reveal things he’d never confided in anyone. The darkness and the sound of the rain had cast a curtain around him, making him feel as if he were alone with his memories. Yet Bethan’s presence had been so close and vital. By sharing a glimpse into her painful past, she had opened a secret window into his.
He must not let it happen again.
He would avoid her for a few days, throwing himself into his work. When he felt it was safe to resume contact with Bethan, he would act as if his midnight confession had never taken place.
“Begging your pardon, Mr Grimshaw.” The voice of his new clerk, Wilson Hall, intruded on Simon’s thoughts, making him start. “You said you wanted to keep an eye on the lads while they load that cargo of sugar.”
“I did?” Simon could not recall the last time he’d been so thoroughly distracted from business
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