Part 39 (1/2)
eyes at Storm.
”Don't even tell me you're considering it,” Tanin warned, his eyes fixed on Storm.
Burke looked over at her, and in the depths of her blue eyes he could see a plan brewing like a storm
that was about to rage and consume everything in its path.
”You know as well as I do, this meeting will go badly,” Storm said and turned to Burke. ”You can't meetwith the earl. We must find a way into Weighton to free Cullen. It is the only logical solution.””I can be persuasive,” Burke argued.”It's not about persuasion,” she argued. ”Besides, I still lead this group and my decision is final, and I say there'll be no meeting between you and the earl.””It's my choice,” Burke said firmly.Storm shook her head. ”No, it's not. Your foolish move could not only cost my group dearly but it could cost your brother as well.”
He'd hear her out since he respected her opinion, but he'd be d.a.m.ned if the final choice would be hers.”How so?”Storm looked to Tanin and he answered.”The earl is a vindictive man-”
”Lady Alaina said the same.”
”Then listen to her for she speaks the truth,” Tanin said. ”He has been the cause of suffering and countless deaths, and even of ones he claims to love. He had Lady Alaina's mother confined to an inst.i.tution, claiming she was insane. She killed herself after there only a month. He then married again and found a way to get rid of her when he insisted she was barren. He has gone through four wives and now looks for a fifth to give him the son he so desperately wants.”
”The earl intends to use his daughter to benefit his thirst for power. Otherwise she is useless to him,” Storm said. ”While you may be able to convince him that your brother holds a t.i.tle of land baron, that t.i.tle does him little good here in Scotland. You are wasting your time and I will not allow it.”
”It's not your decision,” Burke snapped.
”Think again, Mr. Longton,” she warned calmly.
Burke sent Tanin a look that begged for privacy and the man walked off, though not before making sure
Burke understood that he agreed with Storm.
He wasn't surprised when Storm stood and took a firm stance, her hands on her hips, her head held high.
He was glad she didn't wear the stocking cap that portrayed her as a young lad. He loved her wavyblack hair that shouted she was a woman and a beautiful one at that.She just wasn't any woman-she was his woman. And though the thought melted his heart, he knew he needed to s.h.i.+eld himself for he was about to go into battle with the infamous Storm.
He came to his feet, easing his back and shoulders until he stood tall and firm. ”I've made my decision,Storm. You can't change my mind.””It's not about changing your mind. It's about obeying me, which I recall you had a problem with from the beginning.”
Burke opened his mouth to speak, and Storm was quick to still him with a warning.
”Think wisely, Mr. Longton, your response will affect many lives.”
Burke remained silent, though it wasn't because he intended to change his mind. He merely wondered
how he would convince her that this was his choice, something he had to do. Suddenly he realized the perfect solution. He'd sidetrack her.
”I told Lady Alaina she could come to America with us.”
Storm glared at him, and d.a.m.n if he didn't see the tempest rising in the blue of her eyes. He wished he had a storm coat to protect him from the squall that was about to hit.
”There is no us. Worse, you gave Lady Alaina hope.”
”There certainly is an us, and what is wrong with hope?”
”Hope always disappoints. It does so right now since you are so hopeful about us.”
”Hope does not always disappoint,” Burke argued. ”Whether you want to admit it or not, there is an us and there will continue to be an us all the way to America.”
”See, you hope, and your hope will soon be dashed, and then what?”
”Let me reiterate. Hope does not disappoint. It offers encouragement and urges one to pursue his dream
and see it to fruition. I intend to free my brother and have him live with me in America. We will watch our children be born and grow together. We will be family.”
”Senseless dreams,” she scoffed.
He stomped over to her and grabbed hold of her arms. ”A dream perhaps, but a dream I will see to fruition.”
”Believe what nonsense you will, but unless you listen to me you will never free your brother and return with him and Lady Alaina to America where you will live this idyllic life.”
”I will have it,” Burke said adamantly. ”And there will be an us.”
”That's not possible,” she a.s.sured him.
He took hold of her shoulders and yanked her up against him. ”Yes, it is possible, Storm, for I am determined that you will be my wife.”