The Defiant Wife (The Three Mrs #2) - Jess Michaels Page 0,46

to the area where children’s toys were stacked and picked through them. Mr. and Mrs. Barton had agreed to move with them to London, so the party would be traveling in two different carriages, along with a cart to carry their trunks and the few items of furniture that belonged to Pippa. Kenley would probably be passed back and forth between the travelers along the way. Still, it was a long journey and she hoped to find some new items to entertain the boy.

She picked through tops and balls, blocks and stuffed toys, choosing a few that she thought Kenley would like. She was about to take her items to the front when she realized that her mother was standing across the shop from her, staring at her.

Her heart lodged in her throat. If she had a difficult relationship with Calvin Windridge, the one she shared with her mother was even more complicated. Mary Windridge had always deferred to her husband’s judgment on all things. She had never stood up for Pippa, nor offered much comfort when she had difficulty. It was something Pippa had come to accept, but as she stood there, staring at her mother, she knew she might never see her again.

And she couldn’t help but move to her, flinching when her mother subtly flicked her head as if to ask Pippa to follow her. Then she turned away and hustled to the back of the shop, behind some shelves. It seemed Mary didn’t want to be seen with her.

Pippa sighed and slipped into the more private area. Her mother stood in the shadows, wringing her hands together.

“Your hair looks very pretty,” Mary burst out.

Pippa lifted her hand to her curls and nodded. “Thank you, Mama.” They stood in awkward silence for a moment, and then Pippa let out a long sigh. “I am going to London. I think you must know that.”

“Word has spread,” her mother said softly. “You are the subject of a great many rumors, so yes, I have heard you are packing up your house here and departing.”

“Father must be pleased,” Pippa said. “He made his thoughts about me very clear when he visited last week.”

There was a flash of regret across her mother’s face before she shrugged. “He is a businessman, Pippa. And his business cannot abide rumor or innuendo. There are other assemblies, he is always competing. One wrong move from any of us—”

Pippa held up a hand. “Trust me, Mama, I recall every word of this lecture from my childhood, you needn’t repeat it. I do understand that this situation puts him in a terrible position. I only wish both of you would understand that it puts me in a worse one.”

Her mother stepped closer. “I…I do understand that, Pippa. Truly, I do. Your situation is untenable, and it is through no fault of your own. If I could help you…” She shook her head. “But I cannot, don’t you see?”

“I do see,” Pippa whispered. “No one can truly save me in the end. Going to London will be best for everyone. It will allow you two to distance yourself and, I hope, save whatever face is necessary to carry on here in Bath. And I will also start anew, in a place where I can eventually be much more anonymous.”

Her mother worried her lip. “You won’t be able to marry again.”

Pippa stifled a humorless laugh. Mary had operated in a world where marriage was the only option. This social death of Pippa’s had to weigh even more heavily in light of that.

“No, I think not,” she said. “Even if a man were to…” She caught her breath and tried not to think of Rhys. “…to want me, there are a great many barriers. The scandal for one, my utter lack of funds for another. I shall go into service now, taking care of the child.”

“Do not speak of such things so loudly,” her mother hissed, and caught her arm.

Pippa gently shook her away. “I was not being loud, Mama.”

Her mother sighed and bent her head. “How can that be tenable to you, to be responsible for a child who is the product of your late husband’s imprudence?”

“Imprudence is putting it mildly,” Pippa said. “But it is not that baby’s fault, is it? No more than it is mine. His mother has vanished, his father is dead. It would be wrong to abandon him.”

“As you have been abandoned by your parents, I suppose you mean?” her mother asked, her jaw