Tears of Pearl by TASHA ALEXANDER

your son attacked. All, coincidentally, in the space of a handful of days?” I was scrunching my forehead with such intensity, a pain had started between my eyebrows. “I’m finding it increasingly hard to believe that you took an incorrect dose of your sleeping draught. What if someone tried to poison you?”
    “What is all this?” Benjamin asked.
    “It’s nothing for you to worry about,” his father said, then turned to me. “I measured my chloral hydrate incorrectly and embarrassed myself at dinner on the train from Paris. I’d taken the dose before dinner and imagine the wine with the meal—wine that, if I remember correctly, tasted terrible—heightened the effect. That’s all. What should be concerning us all right now is the fact that my son has been attacked.”
    “Did you notice anything unusual about the men who jumped you?” Colin asked.
    Benjamin shook his head. “No. Not in the least.”
    “Was this the first time such a thing has happened?” I asked.
    “No.” Benjamin’s voice was measured, even. “The site has suffered its share of raids.”
    “I thought those troubles had stopped.” The firm edge in Sir Richard’s voice cut through the room, and his son looked at the floor as if he’d never seen something more fascinating than the soft carpet that covered it. “Benjamin!”
    “Sir?”
    “You have assured me repeatedly that you are in no danger working there.” He pushed up hard on the arms of his chair and stood, towering over his son.
    “It’s as safe as anywhere—”
    “That is not acceptable. Not when you’ve been the target so many times.”
    Colin stepped between them. “Target?”
    “He’s exaggerating,” Benjamin said, standing. “The doctor will undoubtedly be here soon, and if it’s not too much to ask, I’d prefer to speak to him in private. Excuse me.” He hobbled as he walked, pushing away his father’s outstretched arm and slamming the door behind him.
    “What’s this all about?” I asked.
    “It was a few months ago,” Sir Richard said. “There were a string of attacks at the excavation. Bandits. Appeared initially to be nothing out of the ordinary. But they never stole anything—never did anything to vandalize the site. Just hid up in the hills with their guns, aiming at no one but my son.”
    “You’re quite certain?” I shot a pointed look at my husband. “It sounds like we should visit the camp.”
    Colin frowned. “It may be too dangerous for you. We shall have to see.”
    A surge of hot anger flashed through me, and I bit my tongue hard before responding. “We’ll discuss the details later. I find myself in great sympathy with Benjamin and his sudden desire for privacy.”
    _______
    “I won’t have you turning overprotective,” I said to Colin after a sullen and silent trip back to our yal? .
    “Suggesting that you stay away from a location riddled with bullets is hardly overprotective.” Colin poured himself a glass of whiskey and drained it quickly. “Forgive me if I’m less than my usually enlightened self. I must confess I’m beginning to tire of nefarious distractions from what was supposed to be a honeymoon trip.”
    “We’re not wholly distracted,” I said, pushing away my anger and crossing the room to kiss him. He kissed me back, but the effort felt halfhearted.
    “I’m trying very hard, Emily, to give you the freedom you need. But you know that when it comes to preserving your safety—”
    “I know. No unnecessary risks. I’ve not the slightest problem with that. In this case, however, if it’s safe for you to go—”
    “I don’t know that it is safe for me to go. There are circumstances in this line of work that are inherently dangerous. This time I ask that you let me act on my own.”
    “Will you ever let me do the same?” I asked.
    “The time may come when it’s required, and if it is, I shall of course support what you must do.”
    “It’s not so simple for me either, you know,” I said. “I