Reclaimed Love: Banished Saga, Book Two by Ramona Flightner Page A

had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Montgomery’s cousin. Let me introduce you to the other guests.” He walked away, expecting Aidan to follow him. However, Aidan hesitated.
    “Will I be able to speak with you again?” he asked.
    “We’ll find a way,” I said with a warm smile. I watched him join Jonas to meet a group of businessmen.
    “Sav, how?” I asked.
    “Jonas shared the guest list with me. I had hoped, rather than knew, that he might be a connection with your Gabriel,” she said with a small smile. “It’s why I insisted on inviting you tonight.”
    “Sav, Jonas will wish to keep me separated from him. I must have an opportunity to talk with him.” I watched Aidan surrounded by men dressed in starched suits discussing trades on the New York Stock Exchange and other business transactions. I could not imagine interrupting such a group.
    “Don’t worry, you will,” Savannah said with a cryptic smile before leaving me to greet other guests.
    I spent the time in the parlor before dinner examining the portraits on the wall rather than openly studying Mr. McLeod. On the few occasions I glanced in his direction, I found him watching me. He stood as tall as Gabriel, although he was not as broad shouldered. His raven hair had begun to turn salt-and-pepper. I glanced again and caught him smiling. My breath caught. It was Gabriel’s smile.
    As we were called into dinner, I discovered Savannah had risked Jonas’s wrath by having Mr. McLeod accompany me into the dining room and seating him next to me. I saw Jonas’s censorious glare in her direction and smiled my thanks toward her. For the first part of the meal, I tried to feign interest in the business concerns of Mr. Marday. I soon realized I needed to give little input other than a well-timed “Oh, really?” or a “How interesting,” when he paused for breath. I wondered how Savannah managed to survive these mind-numbing events.
    Finally Mr. Marday turned to his other dinner companion as a new course was served, and I focused on Aidan.
    “Mr. McLeod, please pardon the impertinence, but I am very curious about you.”
    “And I, you, Miss Sullivan,” he said.
    “Why did you never visit your nephews after their parents’ death?” I asked.
    A flash of pain sparked in his eyes as he spoke. “I did come to Boston. I was informed the entire family had perished in the fire,” he murmured.
    “Who would say such a cruel thing?” I asked. “Mrs. Masterson?”
    “Yes, exactly,” Aidan replied in a grim tone. “Do you know where my nephews are now?”
    “Gabriel is in Montana, Jeremy is in the Philippines, and Richard lives here in Boston.”
    “Will you introduce me to Richard?” Aidan asked, unable to hide the eagerness from his voice.
    “Of course,” I said. “Will you call tomorrow evening? I will invite Richard.”
    “Of course. You have no idea what it means to realize, in an instant, that you have family again,” Aidan murmured. “I have thought for so long that I was completely alone in this world.”
    ***
    THE FOLLOWING EVENING I sat in the parlor next to Colin, waiting for Richard and Aidan McLeod to arrive. I squirmed on my once-favored chair, now lumpy and uncomfortable. It was also tea stained, the rose floral ecru no match for my clumsiness. I looked at the ornate gold-gilted clock on the mantel every few minutes, suddenly thankful for one of Mrs. Smythe’s extravagant purchases. Mrs. Smythe watched me although she kept her silence. We had reached a fragile truce that could persevere only if we refrained from speaking to each other.
    At the heavy knock on the door, Mrs. Smythe frowned. “Who would have the gall to call at this hour?” she asked, though it was only a little past seven. She fanned herself and her protruding belly as she neared the final month of her pregnancy.
    Bridget entered the room and addressed Da. “There be a Mr. McLeod here to see the family, sir,” Bridget said.
    “There can’t already be another