The Duke's Wife (The Three Mrs #3) - Jess Michaels Page 0,19
“That’s the worst part. I don’t know if I want to see her or not. I don’t know if that would make it better or not.”
“Very interesting.”
Nathan folded his arms. “Well, you’re of no help at all. Are you going to tell Pippa?”
Rhys laughed. “That is a complicated question. After all, this situation you find yourself in involves Pippa’s friend, one of her closest friends.”
Nathan held up a hand. “Leighton, please…”
Rhys nodded. “But I think, at least for now, that I can be quiet about it.”
Nathan pursed his lips and then let out a long sigh. “I will invite Abigail to my ball,” he said softly. “I make no promises that she’ll come. Now may we change the subject?”
“Certainly,” Rhys said, a twinkle in his eye as he got up. “How about a game of billiards?”
Nathan glared at him. He couldn’t believe Rhys didn’t recall that Nathan had been teaching Abigail some variation on the game. But he gritted his teeth. “Fine.”
As they left the room, he fought to regain some modicum of control over himself. He would not be bested by Abigail Montgomery. He had to find some way to defeat this feeling inside of him…and perhaps repeated exposure to the cause was the best way.
Abigail stepped out into her herb garden and drew a long, cleansing breath. There was no better place in the world than this one, with all its beautiful plants and flowers. How she loved to step into this little corner and personally tend to her garden, planning for tinctures and salves that she could make with her carefully cultivated plants. This was her peace, her escape. And she certainly needed it after the last few days when thoughts of her last encounter with Gilmore kept flooding her mind.
“No,” she muttered to herself, and harshly thrust memories of the man away. She tugged her apron on, dug in the pocket for her gardening gloves and knelt to go to work on the plants. For a short time, it was bliss and no unwanted thoughts intruded.
“I beg your pardon, madam.”
She lifted her head to find her butler standing close by. “Yes, Paisley?”
“You asked that I come to fetch you when it was ten to two.”
She blinked. “Is it already? Goodness, I lost track of the time. Celeste and Pippa will be here shortly for tea.”
“Yes, Mrs. Montgomery.”
She looked around. It was such a beautiful day, sunny and clear and unexpectedly warm. She smiled at Paisley. “Why don’t we have our tea out here? The gazebo will provide shade. Will that put the staff out too much?”
“Not at all, madam,” he said with a smile. “I will bring the ladies down to you as soon as they arrive. Oh, and the post is here. Would you like it while you wait?”
She nodded and extended a hand for the letters. It was a small, rather sad stack at that and she pursed her lips as Paisley excused himself to await her visitors. She wasn’t shocked at the lack of correspondence, just hurt. She had returned to Society after her proper mourning period, but like Pippa and Rhys, she was not finding the warmest welcome.
Still, there was one missive that stood out from the rest as she flipped through the pile, and she opened it with a thrill. It was from Lady Lena’s Salon. An invitation to join, at last, and to the next gathering in a just a few days.
She clutched the papers to her chest with a giggle. Both Celeste and Pippa and their husbands were already members of the exclusive salon, and though Lena and Harriet were always kind to her, she hadn’t been certain she would ever receive the coveted invitation. But it seemed they had been simply awaiting her official return to Society, rather than leaving her out entirely.
She’d heard so much about the intelligent conversations had there, the wonderful lectures and presentations. Rumor had it that William Blake had once attended and spoken rather shockingly about the Royal Academy.
She couldn’t wait.
She was still reveling in the pleasure of the idea when she glanced down and found that another letter had fallen while she all but danced around her herb garden. She bent to pick it up and her stomach turned as she dusted it off. It was from Gilmore.
She shoved the rest into her apron pocket and, with shaking hands, broke the seal. Would he address what had happened between them a few nights before? That kiss that still haunted her dreams?