Read Online The Heavens Shall Fall by Jerri Hines - Free Book Online Page B

truly lived since that night.
    Guilt gnawed at her soul. His death was utterly and inexcusably her fault. Her grandfather had warned her. Walter had not been acceptable in her grandfather’s eyes. A mere apprentice to a printer. Susanna hadn’t cared. She eloped with Walter and willingly gave up the life she had known for the man she loved….only she hadn’t realized that there would be no life to be lived. Her grandfather had made her pay for her disobedience. He had sent Georgie Boy after them.
    She heard footsteps pause outside the room. The handle rattled and then the door opened. Rupert eased inside.
    He looked none too pleased. He took off his coat and hung it on a peg behind the door. This was his room. The room he rented for their encounters . Not lavish, but it served its purpose.
    The head of the bed faced the wall next to the fireplace. In the corner was a writing table with a chair ; to the far end, a wardrobe. Small and quaint, they needed nothing else, not for their intent. Rupert was not a man who indulged in unnecessary adulation.
    “ You said in your note it was urgent.”
    His voice sounded sharp, irritated. She had known he would not have been happy with her message, but his manner reflected anger. Was he angry with her?
    She said nothing for a moment, but stared at him. Most times, he dressed immaculately, but this evening he wore a simple white shirt tucked into his breeches. His dark hair seemed to have been hastily pulled back into a queue. She wondered whether she had pulled him from a diversion of the feminine nature.
    Her suspicion unsettled her. She had refused to consider the possibility , despite the rumors she had overheard from one of the three officers who quartered in her home. Lieutenant Bradford.
    As with most of the information she gathered, it came from observing and listening. She had ample opportunity with the officers who lived under her roof. It had been the first time she had heard Rupert mentioned in their gossip, but it seemed one of the officers thought Rupert’s housekeeper quite comely.
    After making an advance on the woman, the officer had been promptly put in his place. The gossip indicated it had come because of the relationship between Rupert and his housekeeper. Susanna reasoned Rupert protected the woman from unwanted attention. Now, she wasn’t so sure.
    She felt her lower lip quiver. Good Lord, she was going to cry! She had made a mistake in coming.
    “ Susanna, I am here. What was so important?” Rupert commanded.
    She forgot her intended purpose. Her voice trembled. “Are you having an affair?”
    She regretted the question the moment the words flowed from her lips. In truth, she didn ’t want to know. For her sanity, it was best if she lived in a fantasy world that he cared for her in some manner, not only as an informant.
    He hesitated before he answered. With that hesitation, Susanna read the answer. He glared dubiously at her.
    “What is the matter with you? What possessed you to call me here in this manner for such a question?”
    She shook her head in a slow manner. “It was not my intention. I can smell a woman on your person from here.”
    He sighed heavily , telling he had no desire to talk of such matters. He pressed his lips tightly together, and nodded in a knowing way. “I suspected this might become an issue. You have heard whispers. It had a purpose behind them that has nothing to do with the truth. You have to be aware you have caught the attention of a certain British officer.”
    “ You make no sense.”
    Rupert closed the distance between them. He took her in his arms and lifted her face to his. “Your situation is one of interest to him. A beautiful woman married to an elderly man. A safe liaison. I should have prepared you. I was asked about our situation.”
    “ They have knowledge of our affair?” The thought disturbed her greatly.
    “ It is of no consequence. You need only to turn down the officer. He is a gentleman. He will