Read Online The Witch's Thief by Tricia Schneider - Free Book Online

didn’t understand. What had she said? What made him look at her with such sadness?
    “Julia? Your father? Is Roger…?”
    Julia’s heart skipped a beat. How had she revealed the truth about her father? From the grief-stricken look on Basil’s face, he knew what she had not spoken of to anyone. She thought back to her last statement. Yes, it had slipped from her tongue. She talked of her father in the past tense. At her prolonged silence, Basil closed his eyes and sighed.
    “Oh, Julia,” he said softly. “I’m so sorry.”
    She licked her suddenly dry lips and looked away. There was no denying the truth. Not when he saw it written clearly in her eyes without her ever speaking a word. No, Basil knew her too well. Even after all of this time, he could still read every emotion on her face. Well, all the emotion save the one directed solely at him.
    From the corner of her eyes, she spotted a decanter of brandy. Normally, she rarely partook of it, but perhaps she needed a drink, after all.
    “Julia?” he asked, his hand grasping hers. His thumb caressed the back of her hand. “What happened?”
    ****
    Roger was dead.
    Basil’s hand tightened over her fingers, squeezing gently. He lowered his head, fighting the dizziness that incessantly plagued him as he focused on the questions swirling in his brain.
    That explained her presence here. She had nowhere else to go.
    Roger Grey never possessed a head for business. His wife kept the estate running until she died shortly after Julia’s eighth year. The estate slowly degenerated into poverty. It became well known that Julia, and her younger sister, Marianne, had no dowries. One of the many reasons Basil made assurances that Julia marry well after he’d gone. George Walters’ wealth and head for business, even at the young age of twenty, attracted Basil’s interest for Julia’s benefit. Basil knew they’d make an excellent match.
    But, Julia never married George.
    And Roger was dead.
    “It…it was his heart,” she said, biting her bottom lip. He leaned back to face her. She didn’t look into his eyes. Instead, her gaze darted across the floor. She kept something from him. Perhaps she did not wish to discuss her father’s failing health.
    When she focused on his face, he knew she spoke the truth. “He never got over my mother’s death. He grieved for her. So many years he grieved. I think he was ready to go to her.”
    “But you and your sister…”
    Her bottom lip quivered at the mention of her sister, and she turned her head, blinking away the tears that were suddenly in her eyes. Basil’s chest tightened with dread. He squeezed her hand and leaned forward.
    Oh, no…
    “Julia, where’s Marianne?”
    She bit back a sob. Pain in his chest blossomed. Something happened to her sister. It was his fault. All his fault. He should have made certain George made good on his promises. Basil should have stayed for the wedding, even if it killed him to see the woman he loved married to another man.
    Yes, he loved her. Always loved her. He’d known since a child he was meant to be with her. That’s why he had to help her, protect her, do all he could for her. Even if it meant keeping away from her.
    “Where is she?” he repeated, his voice rising in panic. If something dreadful happened to young Marianne, Basil would never forgive himself. Julia adored her younger sister. After their mother died in childbirth, Julia had taken to caring for the baby just as a mother would care for her child. Julia and Marianne had a very close relationship that went beyond simply being sisters.
    “No, no,” she said, wiping at the sudden tears that fell onto her cheeks. “No, Marianne is…she is… Well, she’s here. With me.”
    Basil sighed, relieved to learn Julia’s little sister was safe.
    “How long has your father been gone?”
    “Two years.” She held herself straight, her shoulders tense.
    He regarded her for a moment, again noting the change in her. She seemed so