He blinked, instantly spellbound by this new and unbelievable reality.
It was her!
Lady Charlotte Winstead, his father's widow.
And .....she was Tempest's mother.
He stared down at her. His sharp gaze focused intently on her, his expression unreadable. He watched as she paled and stumbled back; her champagne glass fell from her fingertips to shatter on the floor at their feet into millions of pieces.
Concerned, Tempest reached for a glass of water and brought it to her mother. Footmen jerked into motion cleaning up the glass around them.
She couldn't take her gaze from his face as he remained silent for several seconds. His mind raced as he attempted to understand all of this.
The certainty gnawed and clawed deep inside his gut as his fears from before leaving the Floating Vengeance; of something going terribly wrong, now stood before him. He was suddenly faced with a terrifying notion and fact: Tempest, the woman he loved, was the daughter of the woman he hated who was the cause of his own mother's death and who he vowed to ruin.
The air seemed to crackle around them, charged by memories he held deeply within of the times she had made his life a living hell.
His purpose for the last Seventeen years had been about seeking revenge and overcoming the bitterness of the life he lived. The hopes of retribution never dwindled as the years passed. But something changed a few months ago when he met Tempest.
With the help of his solicitor, he gained the formidable title of his maternal grandfather, all of his wealth and lands.
Now, he had the ability and means to reshape his destiny. But sadly none of that mattered now as he felt a twinge of dismay when he finally stood before her. The cold heartless widow had transformed herself magnificently. She had disappeared soon after his father's death, leaving town to escape any suspicions of her evil deeds and sending him away or by trying to have him killed. She reinvented herself marrying above her station, living a life of ease while he suffered a nightmarish youth in the hands of her lover, Cuthbert.
His chest tightened at the thought of how Tempest would take this news.
Abruptly, Tempest spoke and he turned to face her. Warily, she asked.
"Are you alright Mother, you look faint."
" No I'm-- I'm fine," her mother's voice sounded weak. Hollow.
Interrupting the slight disorientation and eerie silence, Justin stepped closer.
"Perhaps a little fresh air would do your mother some good. I would be glad to accompany you to the terrace, my lady," he offered; extending his arm.
He stared down at her. His sharp gaze focused intently on her face, his expression etched like stone.
"Mayhap it would give us an opportunity to know each other better," he added.
She had no idea what to say and dared not decline. Tempest smiled with delight and stepped to the side. "That would be wonderful." she beamed happily.
"Shall we, m'lady?" he stepped closer.
Her mother swallowed. She raised her chin to capture his gaze immediately sensing her demise in the glittering depths of his eyes.
A strained moment skipped by before she slowly raised her fingers and placed them on his arm. They turned and exited the crowded ballroom towards the terrace. He felt her shiver stepping out into the cool night air but he remained quiet as he led her towards the edge of the terrace at a distance from the soft laughter and music coming from the ballroom.
YOU ARE READING
Tempest's Embrace
Historical Fiction"Free me and I will save you," he promised. ~*~*~*~*~ A Pirate in peril... Pirate Justin O'Shea is finally captured by his enemy, he had no choice but to sit and wait for his men to come to his aid. But, when his captor decides to bring aboard cap...
