Read Online Newport: A Novel by Jill Morrow - Free Book Online Page A

Color returned to each cheek as she struggled to sit. “What happened?”
    “You fainted,” Jim said.
    “Goodness! How embarrassing.” She winced as she swung her legs over the side of the sofa. “That’s never happened before.”
    “I find that hard to believe,” Nicholas said. “Really, it was a most effective addition to your act. I must applaud your sense of drama.”
    Catharine forced her words through clenched teeth. “My niece is not a liar, Mr. Chapman.”
    “You lack the credibility to make that assessment, Miss Walsh.”
    She advanced toward him, right hand raised to strike his smug face. Suddenly Adrian was between them, the familiar spice of his cologne making her head reel.
    “We recognize a legal presumption of innocence in this country, Mr. Chapman,” Adrian said, calmly lowering Catharine’s arm. “So, unless you’ve evidence to the contrary, I must believe that Amy Walsh is telling the truth.”
    Chloe pushed between her brother and her father, coming toa halt at Jim’s side. “Miss Walsh . . . may I call you Amy? Were there further messages? Did you hear anything else before you swooned?”
    “Yes, do tell us.” Bennett sank onto the sofa. “Is Elizabeth still with us?”
    “No.” Amy pressed her palm against her forehead. “No, there’s nobody here now. But there were other messages . . . I remember . . .”
    Catharine’s words tumbled out, halting Amy’s hesitant flow of words. “You needn’t worry about this now, Amy. You’ve done enough tonight.”
    “I agree,” Adrian said. “I think it best that you retire for the evening.”
    Amy frowned. “No, it’s all right. It’s coming back to me now. The first message is for you, Bennett. It’s from Mrs. Chapman. She urges you to marry Aunt Catharine as quickly as possible.”
    “What a surprise,” Nicholas said. “And does ‘Mrs. Chapman’ offer any reason why this marriage must take place?”
    Amy either did not catch his sarcasm or chose to ignore it. “She hasn’t told me why,” she said. “But she is most insistent. She says it’s extremely important.”
    “How very like Elizabeth.” Bennett smiled. “Still looking out for my welfare despite our distance from each other. We should set a date, Catharine.”
    If hatred alone could ignite fires, Nicholas’s stare would have sent Catharine through the ceiling in a ball of flame. A torrent of blistering words fought to leave her lips. It took all her will to bite them back. “Yes, Bennett,” she said evenly. “I’m willing. Why, wecould do it now, if you’d like. Call the clergyman of your choice; I’m ready.”
    Chloe’s insistent whine chopped through the tension. “Amy, had Margaret anything more to tell me?”
    Everyone turned toward her, startled by her myopia. Her desperation almost inspired pity.
    “No,” Amy said. “Not this time.”
    “But you said there were other messages.”
    “There’s one other. But it’s not for you. It’s . . . it’s for a man, I think. Someone a bit profligate who should have known better and . . . geez, I’ve an awful headache.”
    Adrian’s hand froze midway to his cigarette case. His expression remained serene, but a vein pulsed in his forehead.
    Catharine hooked a determined hand beneath Amy’s elbow and guided her to her feet in one smooth, even motion. “That’s enough for tonight,” she said, avoiding Adrian’s eyes. “Everyone, please excuse us.”
    “Wait a minute.” Nicholas’s fingers curled around her upper arm as she passed by. Catharine gasped and wrenched her arm away, leaving his hand poised in the air like a set of claws in search of a victim.
    “Don’t touch me,” she snapped. “Ever.”
    “Oh, Nicky, stop behaving like a Neanderthal,” Bennett chided from his spot on the sofa, but it was Adrian who once again appeared at Catharine’s side.
    “Mr. Chapman,” Adrian said, “suppose you tell us what’s on your mind from several steps back on the carpet?”
    Nicholas speared