Chapter Fourteen #4
She gave a sarcastic laugh. “Assuming Andrew bothers to show up.”
“Well, this will take a while whether or not he deigns to put in an appearance.”
As the minutes ticked by, James began to pace.
Gwendolyn remained beside the window watching him.
When she grew tired of peering out into the vast expanse of darkness, she crossed the room and sat on the bed. James then took over her position by the window, even though there was nothing to see but darkness and the occasional glisten of moonlight on the water whenever the clouds parted.
Gwendolyn sat stiffly on the bed for what felt like an eternity. However, she jumped to her feet every time she heard floorboards creak outside their door. Each time, James opened the door and stuck his head into the hall to check on the noise.
It always turned out to be nothing.
Hours passed.
Tears welled in Gwendolyn’s eyes with the approach of dawn, for she realized Andrew was not going to pay a call on her tonight. Or ever.
The utter cad. Did she mean that little to him?
She curled her hands into fists, her mind warring between wanting to cry and wanting to howl at the moon in anger.
James had resumed his stance beside the window, gazing absently into the darkness that was just starting to relinquish itself to the gray light of encroaching dawn.
She marched to his side. “Do you think to spot him walking on water toward us like some heroic savior?”
“No,” he said.
Gwendolyn joined him in staring out across the water, which could hardly be seen because of a haze hovering over the waves.
“Fog’s rolling in,” James muttered, stating the obvious. “Let’s hope the sun soon burns it away.”
She looked down and saw plumes of white sea spray shooting upward as those waves hit the rocks and broke apart with a hollow roar.
She stepped away from the window. “What time is it? Even the lovers have grown quiet.”
“Everyone’s asleep. We ought to do the same.” James peered at his watch again, and then placed an arm around her shoulders. “It’s four o’clock. Soon dawn. I’m sorry, Gwen. I really thought he would put in an appearance tonight.”
She nodded, once again struggling to hold back tears. “How dare he do this to me? I refuse to be manipulated in this heinous manner.”
“Has he given you the choice? Seems he has been playing with your affections for a very long time.”
“And I am the fool who allowed it to happen,” she said with trembling lips.
James gave her cheek a light caress. “Being faithful and trusting is not foolish, but I think it is time to let go of the past and think of where your future happiness lies.”
“I hate this,” she said, burying her face in her hands.
“I truly do. At the moment, I hate him, too. I don’t want to ever see him again.
And yet I do wish for just one confrontation, because I have an overwhelming urge to punch him in the face.
In fact, I think knocking out a few of his teeth would be a fitting end to this farce of a betrothal. ”
She took a deep breath and then dropped her hands to her sides.
“If he had given me even one small hint of his love, one letter of explanation… But he gave me nothing at all, not even anything to burn in effigy. Too bad, for it would have been a fitting tribute. Love going up in flames. Leaving behind nothing but the ashes of my scorched hopes and dreams.”
She groaned and leaned back against James’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her up against him. “Do it, Gwen. Rant and rage as much as you like tonight. Then move on…even if it isn’t with me. But you must let go of Andrew Clement. Finish this tonight.”
“Finished is right. He and I are finished. Done. Over. Even if Andrew turns up tomorrow and declares his undying love for me. You’ve said it yourself, how can a man in love treat the woman he loves this way?”
“It is a selfish thing to do.” After a moment, James released her and walked over to the wardrobe to open it up.
“What are you looking for?” she asked.
“An extra blanket. We still have an hour or two until dawn. There’s no point in our staying up any longer. I need to make myself a pallet.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh.”
How utterly stupid of her not to realize the awkward sleeping arrangements. She had been too incensed to think about sleeping at all. In truth, she had imagined that the two of them would stay up all night waiting and watching for Andrew to show his face.
But he was right; there was no reason to lose a minute more of sleep over Andrew.
“Blast, there’s no spare blanket in here,” James grumbled.
“Even if there were extras, you cannot sleep on the floor.”
He shut the wardrobe doors and turned to her. “Where else am I to sleep? You’re taking the bed.”
“I am? When was this decided?”
He gave a soft growl. “You are taking the bed, Gwen.”
She stared at him, ignoring his surprisingly fierce and feral expression. Why fight over who was to take the bed when neither of them were going to get more than two or three hours of sleep? There was only one possible solution to the problem.
“We’ll share it.”