by Lily Orevba
She gasped. Jealous?! It was only now occurring to her that her outburst earlier would be perceived as jealousy. She couldn’t possibly be jealous, could she?! Alice had nothing to warrant Gloria’s jealousy!
She has Howard’s attention…
And she could keep it! Gloria angrily brushed the thought aside. So, perhaps Howard found brunettes attractive. It explained his lack of interest in Gloria.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” she chided, raising her chin. “Alice has nothing to evoke my jealousy. If anything, what the girl manages to arouse in me is pure disgust…”
“Which has its roots in jealousy,” Howard interrupted. “Admit it, Gloria.” He released her wrists but quickly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against himself.
She stared at him, brown eyes searching hers. Gloria could feel herself weaken in his arms and knew her walls were being pulled down. Common sense told her to pull away but she chose to ignore common sense today. She loved the warmth being in Howard’s arms created on her insides. It was a feeling she had never experienced with any man yet, it was a feeling she never wanted to live without.
The feeling of being loved.
Howard was in love with her, she could see it as she stared into his eyes. She didn’t think she’d ever seen a man look at her that way before, yet, her instincts told her it was love. This was what love looked like. Staring at Howard made her realize that what Marcus had offered her wasn’t love but well-disguised lust parading itself to be love. Howard adored her. She didn’t know why she knew this, but she did.
A part of her wanted to turn from his love, to run and hide and hope it never finds her. Yet, there was the majority part that needed to drown in it, to stare into Howard’s eyes and never have to stare into the conniving, lying eyes of a deceitful man, ever again.
A lock of Howard’s curly brown hair rested carelessly on his forehead. With a frown, Gloria reached up and brushed it aside. A smile settled on his face as he released his hold around her waist, to her disappointment.
“I should get back to those cookies.” He winked, before turning and strolling back down the hall.
Upset, Gloria watched his retreating figure. Convinced she’d burn under this newfound emotion, she yelled, “Howard!”
He paused in his tracks before turning around slowly.
Without stopping to think for a second, she was marching angrily toward him. She came to a halt before him and reached up. Her hands came to rest on his face as she leaned forward. “Fine, I’m jealous,” she finally admitted, her face inches from his.
A smile settled on the corners of his lips. “Is that all, Gloria?” He watched her.
No, that wasn’t all! Gloria lifted her trembling hands and wrapped them around his neck. Leaning into him, she pressed her lips to his and the moment his lips parted to welcome hers, all her walls came crashing down completely as brand new emotions invaded her mind, leaving her helpless against the man who stood before her.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Wait for me!” Howard paused in his attempt to help Gloria into the carriage and turned around to find Alice racing down the grassy slope toward them, her hands waving in the air as she tried to gain their attention as well as keep the breeze from carrying the bonnet that barely sat atop her head.
“Oh, the horror! Think we can trade her in for something? I know she isn’t worth a lot but…” Gloria murmured, her eyes taking in Alice’s frenzied state.
Howard pressed his lips together to keep from laughing before waving to Alice in order to assure her that they heard her loud and clear, but Alice didn’t seem to notice as she continued howling until she was standing right in front of them.
“Forgive me, Howard, but I must go into town with you two,” Alice said in between swallows of air. “Of course this is only if you do not mind”
Gloria opened her mouth to speak but Howard was quick. “We don’t.”
He turned and helped a frowning Gloria into the carriage before taking a hold of Alice’s hand and helping her settle in the carriage before he climbed in himself.
“I have to get some supplies: a few blankets, curtains…Stuart insists on a change in a few things in his room,” Alice continued as the carriage began its journey into town.
“How convenient!” Gloria murmured.
Howard had to smile simply because only a few weeks ago, Gloria couldn’t care less about him. And then Alice showed up and she became super defensive of him, choosing to hate the sweet little nurse for next to no reason. He did try to smooth things out between the two women, but Gloria was the one who had a problem with Alice and no matter how Alice tried to be nice, Gloria wasn’t having it.
“It’s fine, Alice. I think you’ll be needing a dress for the ball yourself,” he said.
Gloria shot him an annoyed look.
Stuart had insisted on the ball to celebrate Howard’s marriage. Given Stuart’s increasing restlessness and complaints of the fact that he needed something to keep himself busy, Howard consented to the ball. He would let his father throw it and hopefully, it’ll help improve his relationship with Gloria who, thankfully, was beginning to warm up to him.
Gloria would never admit to it but he began to see her fall in love with him. Other than her constant defensiveness of him when Alice was in the room, there were times she’d look at him and he’d see a little glimmer in her eyes. Then there was the kiss. It was the beginning of many other kisses to come but thankfully, she wasn’t standing naked in his room, offering her body to him. She was instead opening her heart, however slowly.
“So generous of you, Mr. Sullivan!” Alice squealed, her blue eyes lighting up. “I think I’ll go for a light blue fabric, seeing as it’ll go perfectly with my eyes. Oh, Gloria, you should go with green.” Alice continued her little chatter with herself and an unresponsive Gloria until Howard dropped them off at the dress shop.
He watched as Alice stood waving enthusiastically at the carriage as it took off, while Gloria turned to walk into the shop, an annoyed look on her face.
***
Ignoring Alice did as much good as ignoring a pesky fly; the longer you ignored it, the longer it perched. And Alice sure did come to perch today, her annoying presence hovering around Gloria as she tried to decide on a dress.
“Green, red, blue! Oh Mrs Sullivan, it’s so hard to decide!” Alice squealed, her voice grating on what was left of Gloria’s nerve. “With your pretty skin tone and your amazing eyes, anything will look exquisite on you!”
With her head lifted up, Gloria strolled through the shop, ignoring Alice’s banter. Gloria wasn’t about to engage Alice in a discussion she knew once started, would never come to an end.
She turned the corner of the store, Alice sticking close to her side like a tumor on the kidney, when her eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar figure standing by the entrance, eyes scanning the room.
With a loud gasp, she pulled back and leaned heavily against the wall.
“Mrs Sullivan?”
“Alice! Get back here!” Gloria said tersely, pulling Alice to her side.
“Is something wrong?” Alice gawked.
Gloria could hear her heart pounding loudly in her chest as panic spread throughout her entire body.
“No, it’s just…” Her mind searched for a perfect answer as her eyes scanned her environment, coming to settle on a gold fabric. “That!” she exclaimed, pointing at the fabric. “That would look absolutely stunning on you. You should try it.”
“That? Oh, Mrs Sullivan, I can assure you, I can never successfully pull that off.”
“You’ll never know until you try it.” Gloria took hold of her wrist and shoved her toward the dress. “There is a changing room somewhere. Find it, try that on and decide if you like it,” she said, her heart beat racing.
“Well, what about you? We still have to…”
“Oh for the love of whatever you hold sacred, Alice! Go!”
Alice didn’t need more probing before gathering
the dress in her hands and scurrying away. Gloria waited for her to disappear through the curtains, before her gaze traveled back to the entrance, searching for who it was she thought she had seen.
“Looking for me?”
Gloria jumped slightly at the voice behind her. Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, she turned around.
“Marcus.” She gave a courteous bow and made to walk past him.
“Not so fast, darling.” He took hold of her elbow. “Not so fast.”
She wrestled against his hold on her. “Let go of me, you animal!” She punched his chest with her free hand.
“It’s been what? Two months? Think you can walk away just like that? You have to know better than that, Gloria.”
“What do you want from me, Marc?” She clenched her teeth.
“What I have always wanted, darling. Your body.”
Gloria fought the desire to slap him right there in the store and while his fingers were digging holes in her skin, she tried to look as brave as possible; she wouldn’t let him sense her fear.
“Let us talk about this somewhere else, this is not the right place and if you’d like to keep this hand attached to your body, you’d unhand me this minute!”
“Very well, Gloria, I’ll be expecting you tonight.”
She released a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding as he let go of her elbow. Making her way past him, he took hold of her wrist and brought his lips close to her ear, his breath cascading her neck. “It’ll do you well to keep to this particular appointment, Gloria. I do not take too kindly to being kept waiting.” He released her wrist, a smirk on his face. Turning to walk past him, and loud enough for anyone close by to hear, he continued to say, “Especially by the town’s whore.”
Thankfully, no one was close enough to hear his last statement. At least, that was what Gloria thought as she made her way out of the store on wobbly legs.
Once outside, she opened her mouth wide to fill it with oxygen as if the store had been lacking of it.
What was wrong with her?
She shook her head, tears stinging her eyes. This was who she was, a prostitute. Why did she feel offended by Marcus’ advances? Why did she despise Marcus for wanting her?! Why did it matter whether or not she was married when it didn’t seem to matter in the past?
An image of Howard flashed before her eyes, filling her with guilt. He was a kind man and so was his father. Howard had been nothing but kind to her and while he still hadn’t consummated their marriage, Gloria didn’t feel rejected anymore. If anything, she felt respected. He was a man who took her feelings into consideration; he was a man willing to wait for her to fall in love with him.
And slowly, Gloria was beginning to feel an unfamiliar pull toward him. She didn’t know what it was but she liked his presence and missed him in his absence. She liked stealing kisses and just the feeling of his arms around her left her longing to remain there forever. She was a child again with Howard. She was a child who felt the familiarity of love when her parents took her in their arms. Only, with Howard, it was a love that was stronger. Perhaps even strong enough to evoke love inside her.
Gloria didn’t know if she was in love with Howard yet, but she did know one thing—he loved her and she wasn’t about to betray his love by spending another evening in the bed of another man.
Hell forbid, Marcus!
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Howard knew something was wrong simply by looking at Gloria as the carriage came to a halt before the dress store that evening and he helped her climb in. His suspicion became stronger when she didn’t show up with a dress and Alice insisted she’d continue her own shopping for supplies for his father’s room another day.
The two women sat in the carriage, neither one uttering a single word as they made their way back to his father’s estate. Something was most definitely wrong.
Howard watched as Gloria headed straight for her bedroom and Alice headed for his father’s room. He might not know a lot about women—seeing as he didn’t exactly grow up around them—but he wanted to help pull Gloria out of the mood she was in. He missed the feisty female who was capable of spitting fire and while he thought the two women must have had an argument in the store, he knew an argument wasn’t strong enough to change Gloria’s mood so drastically.
It took all evening before he could come up with a possible solution to Gloria’s mood when he made his way up the stairs and to her bed room door. Gloria pulled the door wide open after a few seconds of knocking, her tired form coming face to face with him.
“Howard? I did pass across the information to a maid that I won’t be joining the family for dinner,” she said, leaning heavily against the door frame.
He observed her, noticing for the first time that the usual glimmer in her eyes was replaced with anxiety. Or was it sadness?
“Would you mind taking a walk with me?” He held out his hand.
She watched his outstretched hand for a second, her features hesitant.
“I don’t know…”
“A few minutes, Gloria, and I’ll have you back here safe and sound.” He offered her a bright smile.
She heaved a breath, before nodding. Taking a step out of the door, she closed it behind her and took a hold of his hand as he escorted her down the stairs and out of the front door.
The cool evening breeze caressed their faces as they walked. A few stars loomed above, scattered sparsely throughout the entire dark sky.
Howard could feel Gloria’s tension as they strolled down a pebbled walkway. He tightened his hold on her hand, giving her a reassuring squeeze. It was unusual for Gloria to be troubled and Howard knew that whatever it was that was bad enough to put her in a troubled state, had to be really bad.
Something did happen in the store. But what could it be? Perhaps she didn’t like that particular dress shop? Perhaps the owner was cruel to her? He didn’t know but her tension put him on the edge also.
He stole a glance at her, her face absolutely stunning under the night light.
How was it possible that every time he looked at her, her beauty managed to take his breath away, over and over again?
He watched as strands of her hair that managed to escape the bond that sat atop her head, was carried about by the night breeze and he couldn’t help but think he married the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on.
Gloria turned to him; her long, black, curly lashes, lifting slightly giving him a better view of her beautiful green eyes. Howard felt his heart leap at the sight of her.
“Something wrong?” She quirked a brow.
He shook his head and smiled.
“Good, because I caught you staring and if I’m not mistaken—which I’m not—you were held spellbound by my beauty.” She rolled her eyes, as if bored by his interest in her.
Howard laughed. “No modesty, Gloria? One would think women were forbidden from being so forward and were raised to always blush at a man’s interest in them.”
She smiled for the first time that evening. “I can assure you, Howard, my mother did try a lot. I’ve just always been somewhat of a disappointment to her.” She stopped in her tracks and gestured with her right hand placed on her forehead and closed her eyes. “My good grief Gloria!” she exclaimed, taking on the look of a horrified female as her voice took on a higher pitch. “What man shall ever put up with you and your masculinity? I’m positively positive you’ll never get married then I’ll be stuck caring for you and your old father!”
Howard threw his head back and laughed at the expression on her face.
She turned to him. “Howard Sullivan, meet my mother!”
“She sounds like something.” Howard laughed; he was happy he could pull out of her bad mood. “Will I get to meet her?”
She turned from him then, her eyes taking on a guarded look as she took to walking. Deciding she probably didn’t want to talk about it, he resumed walking beside her.
“You know, I was barely five years old when
we moved here,” He began, his eyes scanning the environment. “I used to get lost a lot and would get scared when I couldn’t find my way back to the house before it was time for supper. Father would never get upset though.” He smiled at the memory. “I only recently found out the reason for that. You see, father had a body guard go everywhere with me. I just didn’t know he was there, keeping me safe from a distance.”
“Your father is such a kind soul.”
He offered her an appreciative nod. “We’re here!” Walking ahead of her, he picked up the basket he had ordered the cook to leave by the tree.
“A picnic in the middle of the night, Howard?” She almost appeared disappointed.
“I’d be offended by your response to such a romantic gesture, if you didn’t just confess to your mother’s concern of your masculinity. I could only assume it’s the man in you speaking.” He held out his hand to her and waited until she took it and walked toward him.
“I don’t see a blanket.”
“That’s because we’re going on the tree.” He grinned, feeling proud of his idea.
Gloria flashed a smile that nearly knocked the breath out of him; a dimple had somehow managed to appear on her right cheek. “Now, that’s an idea.” She laughed, ignoring his help as she expertly climbed up the tree and settled on her usual spot.
Shaking his head with a smile on his face, he handed her the basket before climbing up himself. He emptied the basket of its content, careful not to drop it. Then, he took the basket and hung it by its handle on the branch that was above their heads.
“Sandwich for dinner?” She seemed pleased.
“I thought it would be a good idea.”
Gloria shrugged and dug into her dinner, her gaze fixed on the sandwich in her hands until she had consumed all of it. Howard could barely eat, his mind occupied by Gloria.
She was his wife, yet he still didn’t know what it would be like being with her. Why had he waited this long? Would it really matter whether or not she was in love with him? But Howard wanted Gloria to love him. He needed for her to be as in love with him as he was with her. Three months and still nothing. Her heart was melting but it was taking too long.