Read Online The Vicar's Frozen Heart by Karyn Gerrard - Free Book Online Page B

a child no less.
    Tremain crouched down in front of Drew. “But know this. Her suffering is at an end. Your dear mother no longer has worries or responsibilities. She is truly at peace. Mourn her, miss her, and never forget her, lad. She loved you and thought only of you with her last breath. Remember her with love.”
    Drew sobbed and threw himself at Tremain, who looked shocked at the sudden embrace. He froze as if not knowing what to do and a furrow appeared between his thick, black brows. His arms remained stiff at his side. A few tears gathered on Eliza’s own lashes as she watched the anguish of not only Drew, but also Tremain, unsure of how to react to the boy’s desperate grasp.
    Suddenly he hugged the boy, holding on for dear life. “Yes, let it out, Drew. Let it all out.” His voice was soft with emotion.
    “What...what will become of me, Vicar?” Drew sniffled. “Nobody wants me.” He pulled back and gave Tremain such a distressing look of worry that Eliza felt her heart tighten.
    “Tonight, you come home with me.”
    Drew wiped the tears from his face with the tattered sleeve of his coat. “I can?” he asked hopefully.
    “Yes. Go inside and gather your things. Tomorrow we will discuss your future in more detail.”
    The boy gave him another hug before running through the back entrance. Tremain stood and turned his back to her. His shoulders slumped as he clasped his hands behind him. He lowered his head and Eliza could not be sure if he prayed, cried, or both. Perhaps neither. Slowly, she backed out of the alcove and made her way to the front of the flat.
    An older woman let her in, a neighbor, Eliza guessed. The woman pointed her toward the back alley. Clutching the basket close, she made her way down the narrow hall and then stepped through the back entrance, closing the door behind her.
    “Mr. Colson. Mrs. Tompkins sent along food for you and the boy,” she said quietly.
    He whirled around and faced her, all semblance of the warm emotion he’d shown Drew Payne gone. What remained? A face made of cold granite. He did not speak, only stared at her with those uncompromising icy-silver eyes of his.
    “I take it the poor woman passed,” Eliza said.
    “About fifteen minutes ago,” he answered, his voice as frosty as his glare.
    “How sad for the boy. What will become of him?”
    “There are plans in place. I have discussed it with the viscount during our correspondences.”
    Eliza was not sure quite what to do or say. She held out the basket to him. “There are bacon butties in there and slices of seed cake.”
    Tremain did not look at the basket or acknowledge it, but kept his eyes firmly on her. With an intense look on his face, he took a step toward her, and instinctively she backed up. He took another and then another, until her back came in contact with the crumbling brick wall.
    “Why you appeared here at this moment, I do wonder.” His deep voice was gravelly, but the words softly spoken. “With death all around me, you materialize to remind me there is life.” Tremain stood close, the basket she held in front of her the only thing that lay between them. He leaned in; their lips were barely an inch apart. Her breathing became ragged, her insides rolled and knotted. “Make me feel, Eliza. Prove to me that I do live. Kiss me.”
    * * * *
    Tremain did not care that he made such a forward request. After watching a good woman like Ruth suffer for months on end only to die in agony, he selfishly wished to feel--something. Standing this close, he noticed Eliza possessed a smattering of small freckles across her bandaged nose. Funny he did not notice it before, but then he’d never been this near. He inhaled; the faint scents of the pub filled his senses. Tobacco smoke, beer, and a scent all her own, a mix of light floral that reminded him of a spring garden of wild flowers. And jasmine. Yes .
    Eliza stared back at him, not flinching from his gaze or his nearness. Slowly, she moved toward