Free Ransome's Crossing by Kaye Dacus

support—physically and emotionally.
    “Thank you for informing us, Lady Fairfax.”
    The baroness gave a little squeak at William’s statement, as if heretofore unaware of his presence.
    “If you will excuse us, I believe I promised my wife the next dance.” Though dancing was the last thing on his mind, he had to get her away from the baroness to somewhere quiet and private. He took Julia by the hand and led her across the ballroom, through the front hall, and up the stairs to the small sitting room in which they’d had tea the first afternoon after their wedding.
    He used the candle he’d snatched from the sconce in the hall to light the tapers in the two candelabra on the mantel and brighten the room a little. Turning his back to the dark chasm of the fireplace, he clasped his hands behind his back and waited. Julia paced the other side of the room, one arm wrapped around her waist, one hand clamped over her mouth. The elaborate gold embroidery at the neck, high waist, and hem of her blue-gray gown sparkled in the flickering candlelight. The gold ribbon peeking through her hair made him want to remove it to release the mahogany curls so that they could tumble freely around her shoulders and back.
    Closing his eyes, he schooled his thoughts. He would never be able to return to the ship tonight if he allowed himself to continue in that vein.
    “All that time.” Julia’s voice came as if from a distance, drawing him back to the present.
    He opened his eyes and looked about the room for her, finally seeing her before the windows at the opposite end. “All that time?”
    She spun, her skirt flaring slightly, and threw her arms wide. “All that time he pursued me whilst knowing there was a woman in London who would be willing to pay his debts and marry him. He—and his mother and Aunt Hedwig—tried to ruin me. He tried to ruin my father in order to force me to marry him.” Her nose crinkled as if at a distasteful smell. “Why could he have not married this Lady Stokesbury and left me alone to live my life in peace? Why did he have to spoil everything?”
    William clamped his teeth on the inside of his bottom lip to keep from reacting. Spoiled everything? While marrying Julia had not been his idea—not since he made the decision to walk away from her twelve years ago—he could not see how their marrying spoiled anything, with the exception of his own peace of mind.
    “All I wanted was to go back to Jamaica, to manage Tierra Dulce. But they tried to take it away from me. For what? To pay his gambling debts?” Julia’s pitch rose, and she started pacing again. It took almost all of William’s strength to keep from mirroring her.
    Julia stopped directly across the room from William and turned to face him. “They locked me in a room and were going to force me to write you a letter breaking off our engagement.” Her expression underwent a radical change—from fury to something akin to astonishment. “But if they had only known…”
    He raised one brow in question. “Known what?”
    She walked slowly toward him. “That threatening to take you away from me was the best way to ensure I would never capitulate to their demands.” She stopped directly before him, the hem of her dress brushing the toes of his shoes. “Because I would never have given you up. I have loved you, William Ransome, since I was ten years old, and I was not going to part ways with you again.”
    The granite hardness that had settled in his chest melted away. He reached out and touched the ringlet that caressed her cheek, and then he bent to kiss her, cupping her jaw with his palm. Her arms encircled his waist, and he pulled her into an embrace, almost frightened at how much contentment he drew from her nearness.
    “So are you sorry your relations’ actions led you to propose marriage to me?” With his cheek pressed to Julia’s forehead, William did not hide his smile.
    She let out a long sigh, the tension palpably ebbing from her