Taken By Storm(66)

“Do you know what you’ve done?” she asked accusingly.

“Given the lad a shot at a decent future?”

“And put the same thoughts in others’ heads.”

Burke shook his head. “What’s wrong with people wanting a good future?”

“Dreams, you offer nothing but dreams.”

“My father started with a dream. He wanted a better life for his wife and young son so he sailed far away and worked night and day until finally he owned a plot of land and started to build a home. He wanted more for his family than just working hard only to have someone else reap the benefits. He wasn’t afraid; he took a chance. Henry’s not afraid; he’s willing to take a chance.”

“Are you accusing me of being afraid?”

“You have courage and you have taken endless risks for others. When do you finally take a risk for yourself? When do you finally stop punishing yourself for not rescuing your husband soon enough?”

Storm fisted her hands at her sides so as not to reach up and slap his face.

Burke stepped closer to her, and Storm couldn’t determine if he was brave or just plain foolish.

He kept his voice to a whisper. “You tell me you will never love again. You tell me you refuse to leave a land that deems you an outlaw. You tell me you will not take a chance on making love with me for fear it could lead to love. You tell me your fate has already been decided. What you truly tell me, Storm, is that you’re afraid to live.”

Burke turned and Storm watched him walk away—rather, stomp away, for his strides demonstrated irritation.

His accusation swirled in her head, and while it had sparked her anger, it had also sparked awareness. Could he be right? Had life been too difficult to bear after she had lost her husband? Had she been rescuing others all this time in the slim hope of rescuing herself?

There were days she wished for a normal life. She wanted to wake up beside a man she loved, tend a garden, cook a good meal, and see to her children.

Then she would think of all the ones she had rescued and their tears of joy over being free. So hadn’t fate decided things for her? Had she a choice?

Did she have a choice now?

Tanin waved to her from Angus’s open door. They were all there waiting for her, waiting for her to lead, to help, to provide, to follow what fate had dealt her.

She threw her shoulders back and her head up and marched forward because there certainly was no going back.

Angus offered his chair to her by the fire when she entered. She took it knowing he was paying her respect by offering her the best seat in his home, one he had made with his own hands. Tanin sat at the small table with Philip, while William, Malcolm, and Burke stood near the door. Angus sat on a sturdy bench opposite Storm.

“I’ve given this idea some thought,” she said, sitting forward in the chair. “We need to find a way to get Burke alone with Lady Alaina, and the only way to accomplish that is to find out her routine. Does she take a daily ride, a daily walk? Is she planning a trip? A carriage ride?”

“I will provide coins so that it will be worthwhile for anyone to divulge the information,” Burke offered.

“I also think it’s imperative that we do this with haste,” Storm said. “We are all well aware of how deadly Weighton is, and the longer Cullen spends there, the greater risk of death.”

“Perhaps that weasel of a man could help us again,” Burke suggested. “He did mention that his sister worked at the manor house.”

“We could find out who his sister is and go straight to her,” Philip said.

They talked for the next hour, formulating a plan that would be implemented with haste. If all went accordingly, Burke would find himself speaking with Lady Alaina very soon.

Angus offered supper to the lot of them, a hearty rabbit stew bubbling in the pot over the hearth’s flames. Tanin declined, eager to spend time with his wife. Malcolm had promised a pretty lass he’d sup with her, while Philip had plans he refused to share. William and Burke accepted the invitation while Storm declined, though made no excuse for it.

She hurried along the rain-soaked ground, her feet splashing through the puddles formed by the heavy, pelting rain. She was relieved when she closed the door of her small quarters behind her, shutting out everyone, or rather, shutting herself in.

She yearned for this time alone, this solitude where she could think and make sense of her suddenly senseless world.

Everything had been clear to her before Burke arrived. Now nothing seemed as it was or had ever been. He made her question her own motives for the rescues she made and for the life fate dealt her.

She slipped out of her wet clothes and into the lone linen nightgown she possessed. She gave a brief thought to the silk one she had worn while on Burke’s ship. It had been so soft and comfortable, as had been his bed and his arms.