The Defiant Wife (The Three Mrs #2) - Jess Michaels Page 0,45
moment, he regained some of his decorum. His tone returned to that of a proper earl, his posture changed as he got up and went to the mirror above the sideboard to ensure she had not mussed him too much.
He pivoted back and speared her with that blue gaze again. The one still burning with love for her, despite all other departures back to the man he felt he should be. “And I would never wish to escape you, Phillipa.” He crossed back to her and leaned over the back of the settee to kiss her. She lifted into him, touching his cheek as the kiss deepened. When he pulled away, she was breathless all over again. He sighed. “I do have much to prepare for a departure to London, though. I hope we can continue this tonight?”
She nodded, smiling at him until he left the room. But when he was gone, the smile fell. The reality of what was about to happen was so loud and powerful that it felt like her world was quaking with it.
Going back to London with this man meant she would see him regularly. He would be a part of her life, she a part of his because of Kenley. But that would be all. There would reach a point, probably very swiftly, where they couldn’t have long looks. They couldn’t share stolen moments.
So she would love him from afar, and that would be all.
She bent her head, fiddling with a loose string on the settee cushion as she tried not to let that thought overwhelm her.
Tried not to be lost in how empty that future felt. For her. For him.
Chapter 13
Pippa had known that going to the shops wasn’t going to be the most pleasant experience, but she had a few things she needed in preparation for the household’s departure to London the next day. So here she stood, in the middle of her favorite bookshop on Milsom Street. This had been a haunt of hers all her life. She’d found a union with those who loved books as much as she did, and shared many a kind and lively conversation with those within these walls.
But today every other patron glowered at her from the corner of their eyes. They stepped away when she moved too near, as if she had a contagious disease. Scandal was certainly that, it seemed.
She sighed and gathered the books she had selected to take to the front of the shop. Mr. Wilson, the proprietor of the store, met with her there and his lips pursed. She was rather shocked to see it, as they had always had a cordial relationship before…well, just before.
“Mrs. Montgomery,” he said, his tone icy cold.
“Mr. Wilson,” she returned, trying to keep her voice bright, like she didn’t notice that she was being shunned. “Would you put this on my account?”
He shook his head slightly. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I’m afraid I can no longer extend you credit.”
Her mouth dropped open and she gaped at him, wishing her cheeks weren’t filling with heat as the entire shop turned toward her. “Mr. Wilson, I have always paid my debts on time, even early. You have never had to wait.”
“Indeed,” he said, and not softly. She knew the store at large was listening to this humiliation. “But your…situation has clearly changed. It would be better if you simply paid for what you would like.”
Her jaw tightened and she carefully set the book in her hands down on the counter. “I have been a faithful customer here all my life, sir. And while I certainly have the funds to pay for my books directly, it seems I do not find hospitality here any longer. Good day.”
She pivoted and left the shop in what she hoped was a dignified, yet indignant, cloud. But on the street, she blinked at tears. Here was her downfall, laid out in stark terms. The truth was, she could have paid for her books, but not if she also wanted to pick up a few items in the general store to entertain Kenley on the road. And since she had to assume she would find the same level of animus there, her credit retracted in the face of Erasmus’s lies, she had to save her money.
She tried to calm herself as she walked up the busy street and entered the other shop. Once again eyes slid to her as she did so, and she thrust her shoulders back and ignored them.