‘She is stronger than she looks.’

Talek followed her gaze. They both saw her lift her hand to her face before it fell away in a carefree slumber.

‘If only that was true. However, she is within sight so we will know if she needs us.’

Grace frowned. ‘You talk as if she is unwell.’

‘She is well at the moment. Shall we walk?’ He took a step along the water’s edge, but Grace did not follow him. He turned back to face her.

‘What do you mean? If there is a problem with Amelia’s health, I should know of it. Perhaps I could help . . . be more vigilant.’

Talek retraced his steps and looked down at her, his eyes reflecting the struggle inside him. ‘Perhaps, as her companion, you should be aware. Her doctor believes she will not live beyond her thirtieth year. Her immobility makes her susceptible to pneumonia and complications from the stagnation of her blood. Both of which could kill her.’

Grace gasped. ‘Oh, Talek, I had no idea. She did not say.’

‘She doesn’t know and I would prefer it to stay that way. Despite you believing me an ogre—’

‘Not an ogre.’

‘I care for my sister very much and don’t wish her to be upset unnecessarily.’ A slight smile curved his lips. ‘Although I fear she will now learn the truth as I believe you are a woman who doesn’t hide her feelings well. Shall we walk?’

She fell into step beside him. They followed the water’s edge, as it gently lapped at their intended path.

‘I feel I’m continually hiding my feelings,’ said Grace.

‘Are you? What feelings are you hiding from me now?’

You confuse me. You unnerve me. You stir up feelings in me that I have never felt before . . . and I don’t know how to react to them.

‘None that I wish to share.’ To lighten the mood, she quickly added, teasingly, ‘A woman must be allowed to have some secrets.’

Talek threw her a glance. Her light-hearted sparring appeared to have surprised him. She saw a glint of interest in his eye and felt her heart begin to race. Where would the conversation lead now? Would he take the path offered him, one of flirtation, or would he recognise it for what it really was — an accidental, clumsy reply, blurted out by a woman who was not used to flirting. He cleared his throat nosily and stoically lifted his chin. It appeared a flirtatious conversation was not his speciality either. The revelation was both endearing and disappointing all at the same time, which confused her even more.

‘Yet you know all of mine.’

‘I do?’ she replied, surprised.

‘You know more about my financial affairs than anyone else.’

‘Except for Henry.’

He considered her reply and nodded in agreement. ‘Except for Henry. And now you know about Amelia. She would be distraught if she learnt the truth. It took her a long time to come to terms with her injury. Her future looked bright, but now no man is interested in her.’

‘Except for Henry.’

‘Henry is being kind. He knows the truth and that there is no long-term future in it.’

‘But she does not.’

‘Sometimes it is best to keep the truth from someone, in order to avoid the pain it will cause.’

Grace understood what he meant. Wasn’t that why her parents had kept their secret from her and why she was keeping Amelia and Henry’s now?

‘My father once said, “Telling the truth is hard but hearing the truth is harder”, but it isn’t always the right thing to do. Is it?’ She waited, aware she was gauging his opinion on the subject. If only he knew how important his answer would be to her.

‘No, of course not. It depends on the situation. I’ve struggled with my decision as to whether to keep up the façade or tell her, but I have decided that I would rather live with the guilt of my duplicity than distress her. I don’t want to spoil what little time she has left to live.’ He watched a lone seagull fly across the sky. ‘She has learnt to live with her disability and is attempting to enjoy life again. The fact that she’s here today is down to her determination. For a long time she found travelling by coach distressing. She’s grown braver, although the anxiety still resurfaces now and again. She still has nightmares about her accident and is afraid that it is a premonition rather than a retelling of the incident. I don’t want to make the little time she has left harder for her.’

Grace’s steps slowed. Talek was lying to Amelia, yet she found herself admiring him for doing so. Carrying such a secret must be a heavy burden to bear. He realised she hadn’t kept pace and turned to her. The sea breeze tousled his hair, giving the impression he’d just slipped from beneath his bedsheets. She had the urge to run her hand slowly through it. She looked out to sea to study the horizon. She must focus on the subject being discussed — Amelia’s injury.

‘I’m not sure anyone could completely accept such a change in circumstance.’

‘I think you could.’

She looked at him, surprised. ‘Me?’

Talek’s gaze raked her hair, ‘Despite the beautiful exterior,’ he replied, softly, ‘I suspect there is a rod of steely determination inside you.’

Grace self-consciously tucked her hair behind her ear and looked out towards the horizon. He had called her beautiful. Beautiful. It appeared that Talek had taken up the baton of flirtation and was offering it back to her. Much to her annoyance, she had no idea what to do with it.

She stared at the waves, acutely aware he was watching her. The seagull returned and glided low over the surface, stretched out its legs and dipped briefly into the sea, churning the water with its beating wings and stabbing beak, before rising swiftly again and flying away towards a solitary rock.

‘Why were you distressed at the station that day?’ asked Talek.

If you knew you would no longer think of me as beautiful.

Grace parried his question with one of her own. ‘Did you share the secret of Amelia’s health in the hope I would return the favour and share a secret of my own?’

‘No. I have come to realise that I cannot plan what I say where you are concerned.’

‘Does my company disturb you so much?’

‘It must.’ He softened his remark with a smile. ‘I’m not used to having two women in the house. At times I feel rather . . . outnumbered.’

Grace laughed.

Talek’s eyes softened. ‘It is good to see you laugh. You have been very quiet today.’

‘I was not aware my moods were so obvious.’

‘They are to me.’

His candid remark silenced them both. She had not met this side of his character before. Had the coastal breeze clutched his sombre, distant side and stolen it away?

A gentle, glistening wave rolled in, stretching up the beach far higher than the others. Talek saw it first and lifted Grace in his arms before it caught at the hem of her dress. It was a desperate act — unplanned, sudden, almost clumsy, yet gallant too. Another contradiction.

He carried her away from the water’s edge, but did not let her go. Grace’s mind slowed and stalled as she locked away in her memory the sensation of his arms about her. She should object, but she had no words to ask him to release her . . . or the will to do so. His body against hers was too intoxicating to fight. The strange sensations it ignited spread about her body, turning her breath ragged, her heart to race and her voice to leave her. Yet, strangely, she did not feel at a disadvantage, because she knew he felt it too.

Gradually his hold loosened and he gently lowered her to the ground. She was in no hurry and savoured the moment, inch by inch, button by button, the fabric on their clothing slid against the other’s. She could feel his rapid heartbeat against her own and his shaken, laboured breath in the soft curls of her hair. Yes, he was feeling it too.