Echoes in Stone by Kat Sheridan

her mouth to respond, but he, in turn, held up his hand to stop her, mimicking her own gesture to him.
    “I beg your indulgence in this. Your sister and I met—and wed—on very short acquaintance. Fool that I was, I failed to ask questions I probably should have. Lily, and Marguerite, who was with her at the time, were in no hurry to be forthcoming with me. Later…” he sighed. “So I make the same request of you that you made of me. Tell me about Lily.”
    Jessa reached for a scone from the tray, added clotted cream and a dollop of apple butter, then took a few small bites while she formulated an answer.
    “Our lives were a bit complicated,” she said. “If there were things Lily and Marguerite withheld from you, whether or not it was intentional, perhaps it would be better if they remained unsaid now. Nothing about the past can be changed at this late date, and to speak of some of those things might give rise to…” she cast about for the right word, “ difficult feelings, but provide no outlet for them.”
    “I was married to Lily for almost five years,” Dash said, “and in all that time, I learned almost nothing about her. Our relationship was never…close.” His lips pursed, as if he’d tasted something bitter. “I’d like to be able to tell Holly something of her mother when she is old enough to ask. I don’t think she quite understands yet— I often pass by the nursery and hear her talking to mama . I expect she’s pretending with her dolls.” He took a saffron cake from the plate and bit into it.
    Perhaps this wouldn’t be so hard if she were not sitting so near Lily’s volatile husband. Didn’t have to see the reaction to the story she had to tell on that ravaged face. She swallowed hard, then rose, crossing to the fireplace.
    He made no move to stop her this time.
    Her stomach was queasy. She stared into the fire. This wouldn’t be easy. There was no telling how Dash would react. So few people knew the truth. It wasn’t the sort of thing bandied about in polite company. Then again, there was nothing about Dash that suggested he even remotely understood the concept of polite company .
    Lily had feared this man. Distrusted him. So far, he’d done nothing to persuade Jessa to think any differently. There was no telling how he’d react if he knew—
    Holly. She must do this for Holly. If she told Dash the truth—at least some of it—he’d see how much Holly needed the protection, the love Lily never knew. The kind of protection Dash couldn’t give her.
    “Lily and I didn’t grow up together” she said at last. “I didn’t meet her until I was ten years old, although she’d always been a presence in my life. I’ve known of her for as long as I can remember, but didn’t know her. My family rarely spoke of her, but there was a small portrait of her that sat on the chimneypiece above the fireplace.”
    She paced in front of the fire, wanting to get this over. Already, acid churned in her stomach. God, how can I  tell this man, who already has such contempt for my sister, exactly who it was he’d married ? She took another deep breath, holding her hand to her waist in a futile attempt to sooth the ache that churned her stomach.
    “Have you heard of a man named Marcus Wilkerson?” she asked.
    He jerked up straight, slamming his teacup down with enough force to threaten breakage to the expensive bit of china. “God Lord, Jessamine! What kind of upbringing did that misguided mother of yours provide you, that you’d have even heard that name?” Captain Tremayne stared at her. “I was just a lad when the rumors were making the rounds, but the man was notorious. His name was synonymous with depravity. A knight, or some other petty title, wasn’t he?” Dash waved his arms as he spoke, sprinkling crumbs of saffron cake. “My God, woman, what would bring that name to such innocent-seeming lips as yours?”
    He rose and strode to the desk. Though it wasn’t yet noon, he decanted a