Free The Silent Love by Diane Davis White Page B

that his father had not stopped his allowance, for he had gotten a missive from the solicitor as soon as he had returned to London. He had only used what he had to, less than the amount he was accustomed to and when a friend in the shipping business had mentioned that they were looking for seamen, he had hopped on the first schooner headed for the Orient, intending never to return.
    He had returned, though, for he found that no matter where he went the memories that haunted him were there. No matter how far he traveled, she went with him, tucked into the corners of his mind and heart with such tenacity that he could not shake her off.
    At his last port, he had received a letter from Mr. Maguire that had both shaken him to his core and exalted him. He patted the pocket of his coat, feeling the letter there. It seemed that he was to be a father, after all, and the old Marquis was very ill, so he needed to get to Darlington House as soon as possible.
    Torn between wanting to see her and wanting to run off again to sea, he was a man beleaguered by his frazzled nerves. He knew now that he could make a life for himself without anyone's help and had in fact, thought of investing in a shipbuilding business with the captain of the vessel he now sailed on.
    They were working on the details, and, if all came through, he would be a businessman soon, and eventually wealthy in his own right. He would be able to take his inheritance and plow it back into a trust fund for the child. His child.
    David turned his eyes to the faint line of land on the horizon and knew that he was almost there. The sound of "Land Ho!" rang out even as he strained to be certain that he was seeing England.
    His England—his home—where somewhere deep in a small valley in Cheshire, his future awaited him.
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    Hannah could not get comfortable. Her swollen stomach protruded from her thin frame in a most awkward manner, and her heartburn was worse today. Though she had heard that pregnant women were beautiful, she knew better. Her blotchy complexion and lank hair, dull eyes and swollen body were anything but beautiful.
    Right from the beginning, this had been a difficult pregnancy. Her morning sickness had lasted well into the fourth month, and, just when it had subsided, the heartburn and aching back had replaced it.
    Eight months into her term, she was a wobbling, graceless blob. She cried a lot, never quite well. Reaching for Darwin's hand, she allowed the old butler to assist her to her feet.
    "Thank you, Darwin. I shall just go along now to the garden. Perhaps some mint tea could be brought out to me there."
    She moved her ponderous body across the room, her billowing dress reminding her of the night rail she had worn the first time he had come to her. Shying away from the thought, she tried to hurry along, but of course, she could not.
    Darwin, who seldom spoke if he could help it, nodded to her departing back and went to give cook instructions. He watched over his charges like a mother hen. The Marquis was up and about for the first time in days, having contracted a cold that had kept him in bed. The solicitor had sent for David, but he had not arrived yet. And, the old gentleman appeared to be on the mend.
    The mistress, however, was in a terrible way. She not only suffered with the physical symptoms of her condition, but her mental condition was not good as well. She moped about, and cried a lot, and her temperament was no longer sweet. She had actually snapped at her maid the other day and it had startled the woman so that she nearly quit her position.
    It had taken all of his skills as a mediator to keep her from leaving. He for one would be very relieved when the child was born and things could return to normal. Of course, he did not take into account that a new babe in the house would preclude anything like what he considered to be normal for a very long time.
    Distracted from his errand by the sound of an arriving carriage, he went to