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Chapters (53)
  1. Cover
  2. About Alison Stuart
  3. Also by Alison Stuart
  4. Title Page
  5. Dedication
  6. Prologue
  7. One
  8. Two
  9. Three
  10. Four
  11. Five
  12. Six
  13. Seven
  14. Eight
  15. Nine
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Twelve
  19. Thirteen
  20. Fourteen
  21. Fifteen
  22. Sixteen
  23. Seventeen
  24. Eighteen
  25. Nineteen
  26. Twenty
  27. Twenty-One
  28. Twenty-Two
  29. Twenty-Three
  30. Twenty-Four
  31. Twenty-Five
  32. Twenty-Six
  33. Twenty-Seven
  34. Twenty-Eight
  35. Twenty-Nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-One
  38. Thirty-Two
  39. Thirty-Three
  40. Thirty-Four
  41. Thirty-Five
  42. Thirty-Six
  43. Thirty-Seven
  44. Thirty-Eight
  45. Thirty-Nine
  46. Forty
  47. Forty-One
  48. Forty-Two
  49. Forty-Three
  50. Forty-Four
  51. Author’s Note
  52. Acknowledgements
  53. Preview of The Goldminer's Sister

‘When you left us …’ She took a steadying breath and began again. ‘We could have died, but mercifully we found shelter down by the river. Daniel—your son, the boy you held a weapon to—was bitten by a tiger snake. He almost died but I am pleased to say he is recovering.’

Barnwell made a gurgling noise that could have been a sob. ‘He … he … is a fine boy, Addy. A credit to you. I’m sorry for what happened up there.’

‘It is easy to feel regret in retrospect, Richard. But this is not about what happened out there. I’m here for one reason,’ Adelaide said, her resolve strengthening. ‘I want to know why you seduced me. What was it you wanted?’

‘That’s … the easy question,’ Richard whispered. ‘When you are a youngest son with gambling debts to pay … an heiress is a beautiful thing … but I knew your father had designs on … more suitable matches for you. So it seemed the only … way to get to your fortune was through your virtue … I had hoped someone might find us … in that blasted conservatory. Your reputation would have been … at stake and I would have been forced … to marry you. I didn’t mean for you to get pregnant.’ He took a painful breath and closed his eyes.

Adelaide waited. She had all night and no wish to make this easy for him.

‘When I got back … and your father told me you were dead … all my plans … Had to flee the country to escape the debts. Went to India, like I said … made a complete hash of it there. Your father’s letter … I couldn’t believe what he told me. You … alive … with a son … my son. And then … I knew if I could only persuade you to marry me … like you should have done, I could pay the debts … we could start a new life. You … me … Daniel.’

A silence descended on the room, broken only when someone in a nearby room coughed.

Adelaide let out a deep breath. ‘I’ve changed, Richard.’

He opened his eyes again and turned his head on the pillow to look at her. ‘You have changed. You are a stronger person than I am, Addy.’ His eyes closed. ‘I’m sorry. Sorry … for everything …’

Adelaide gently laid her hand over his. ‘There is a part of me that will never forgive you for threatening my—our—son’s life but I have had time to think and I realise that I must thank you. Thank you for saving me from a pointless existence. Without you, I would have no Daniel. Without you, I would have married some stiff-necked English earl who would have consigned me to tea in a drawing room for the rest of my life. You gave me something I could never have achieved on my own. You gave me my freedom.’