Read Online Secrets In Savannah (Phantom Knights) by Amalie Vantana - Free Book Online
Authors: Amalie Vantana
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show Guinevere and Hannah to their cabin while one of his sailors
led Leo and me to ours.
“That one smells
of trouble,” Leo said as we left Andrew on the deck.
“If only the
stench had been stronger when I made his acquaintance in Washington. It would
have saved Bess a multitude of pain.”
When we had been
out to sea for an hour, I found Guinevere by the stern railing, staring out
over the water. Hannah was on the deck as well, but she was attempting to flirt
with a stone faced Leo.
“Guinevere, can
you tell me who is after you?” I asked as I leaned against the rail beside her.
Before Guinevere
replied, Hannah’s voice drew our attention. She was dragging Leo toward us.
“Jack, your friend refuses to speak. Tell me, is he or is he not Junto? I know
all the Phantoms’ names, I will have you know. After you had rescued my sister
from Levitas , I made it my business to discover all I
could.”
The woman was an
annoyance to be sure. Hannah stopped speaking long enough to look from me to
Guinevere. “Telling secrets?” She leaned against the railing on the other side
of Guinevere. “Go on. Tell us what we are facing.”
“My uncle.”
Guinevere more breathed it than spoke, and all I could do was stare at her.
She was not the
orphan she had led me to believe.
“Why are you
hiding from your uncle?” I asked, and Hannah’s eyes grew large as if she was
just beginning to understand.
Guinevere’s
throat bobbed as she swallowed. She looked as if she wanted to run rather than
admit the truth, but I knew she would not. It was time for confession.
“Because he
wants to kill me and my sister, as he did my parents.”
Hannah’s eyes
were large, and incredulity was written there. “Why would he do such a heinous,
unforgivable crime?”
“We hail from a
small country in Europe, where my father was the second largest landowner after
the monarch. If my uncle disposed of us, he would inherit land, wealth, and
title, all things important to a man whose own father had disinherited him.”
Not only did she
have family, but she had a home, a place that rightfully belonged to her, but
was torn from her by a devil.
My stomach
seized so tight that I thought I would burst. All of my beliefs were crumbling
around me, and I had a feeling the assault would keep coming.
“How did you
escape?” Leo asked when Hannah and I only stared at Guinevere.
“We had a
faithful servant whom I went to, and he helped us to escape through the forest
while my uncle was having his men search our house. We boarded a ship that
sailed us first to England and then to America, dressed as boys.”
“Are you certain
that your parents were murdered? Could he not have been lying about that?”
There was hope in Hannah’s voice, but Guinevere’s fierce expression assured us
all that there was no doubt.
“I witnessed it,
so no, he was not lying.”
If there was any
lingering doubt existing in me that she was not the bravest woman alive, it was
shattered by her words. With every new revelation, I was beginning to see the
treasure that I had in Guinevere, and with each word she spoke I was more
determined to never let her go.
Guinevere’s gaze
rested on me alone. “My sister and I had three companions who fled with us, and
it was one of them who had stolen something that my uncle wanted. She is Ma belle . She is who my uncle is coming for, but I am the one
he believes will lead him to her. He will come for me first.”
Hannah
straightened, laying a hand on Guinevere’s shoulder. “You have my sworn
allegiance to fight to the death if the need should arise.”
Guinevere
smiled, and I felt the relief that covered her. She knew that I would fight for
her, as would Leo, but it became evident to me that I did not know the woman I
loved. I still meant to marry her, but I now understood why she always ran from
me. A battle was on the horizon, and all near her would be caught in the fray.
The rest of the
day passed in a cloud of
led Leo and me to ours.
“That one smells
of trouble,” Leo said as we left Andrew on the deck.
“If only the
stench had been stronger when I made his acquaintance in Washington. It would
have saved Bess a multitude of pain.”
When we had been
out to sea for an hour, I found Guinevere by the stern railing, staring out
over the water. Hannah was on the deck as well, but she was attempting to flirt
with a stone faced Leo.
“Guinevere, can
you tell me who is after you?” I asked as I leaned against the rail beside her.
Before Guinevere
replied, Hannah’s voice drew our attention. She was dragging Leo toward us.
“Jack, your friend refuses to speak. Tell me, is he or is he not Junto? I know
all the Phantoms’ names, I will have you know. After you had rescued my sister
from Levitas , I made it my business to discover all I
could.”
The woman was an
annoyance to be sure. Hannah stopped speaking long enough to look from me to
Guinevere. “Telling secrets?” She leaned against the railing on the other side
of Guinevere. “Go on. Tell us what we are facing.”
“My uncle.”
Guinevere more breathed it than spoke, and all I could do was stare at her.
She was not the
orphan she had led me to believe.
“Why are you
hiding from your uncle?” I asked, and Hannah’s eyes grew large as if she was
just beginning to understand.
Guinevere’s
throat bobbed as she swallowed. She looked as if she wanted to run rather than
admit the truth, but I knew she would not. It was time for confession.
“Because he
wants to kill me and my sister, as he did my parents.”
Hannah’s eyes
were large, and incredulity was written there. “Why would he do such a heinous,
unforgivable crime?”
“We hail from a
small country in Europe, where my father was the second largest landowner after
the monarch. If my uncle disposed of us, he would inherit land, wealth, and
title, all things important to a man whose own father had disinherited him.”
Not only did she
have family, but she had a home, a place that rightfully belonged to her, but
was torn from her by a devil.
My stomach
seized so tight that I thought I would burst. All of my beliefs were crumbling
around me, and I had a feeling the assault would keep coming.
“How did you
escape?” Leo asked when Hannah and I only stared at Guinevere.
“We had a
faithful servant whom I went to, and he helped us to escape through the forest
while my uncle was having his men search our house. We boarded a ship that
sailed us first to England and then to America, dressed as boys.”
“Are you certain
that your parents were murdered? Could he not have been lying about that?”
There was hope in Hannah’s voice, but Guinevere’s fierce expression assured us
all that there was no doubt.
“I witnessed it,
so no, he was not lying.”
If there was any
lingering doubt existing in me that she was not the bravest woman alive, it was
shattered by her words. With every new revelation, I was beginning to see the
treasure that I had in Guinevere, and with each word she spoke I was more
determined to never let her go.
Guinevere’s gaze
rested on me alone. “My sister and I had three companions who fled with us, and
it was one of them who had stolen something that my uncle wanted. She is Ma belle . She is who my uncle is coming for, but I am the one
he believes will lead him to her. He will come for me first.”
Hannah
straightened, laying a hand on Guinevere’s shoulder. “You have my sworn
allegiance to fight to the death if the need should arise.”
Guinevere
smiled, and I felt the relief that covered her. She knew that I would fight for
her, as would Leo, but it became evident to me that I did not know the woman I
loved. I still meant to marry her, but I now understood why she always ran from
me. A battle was on the horizon, and all near her would be caught in the fray.
The rest of the
day passed in a cloud of
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