by Georgie Lee
The scent of bergamot swept over Laura and she sensed more than saw Philip beside her. ‘Miss Townsend, are you ready to depart? I must rise early tomorrow.’
‘Yes, let us go at once.’ She held out her hand, ready for him to offer her his arm.
Instead, he slid his hand beneath hers and raised it to his lips. Even through the silk of her gloves the heat of his feather-light kiss seared her skin. He might as well have enveloped her in an embrace and kissed her with the passion of a Gothic hero, his claim on her was so clear.
It nearly knocked the breath out of Laura, especially when his eyes held hers as he rose. With not one glance at Mrs Templeton, he straightened, tucked Laura’s hand into the crook of his elbow and led her away.
* * *
Philip settled against the squabs, the stiffness in his back he’d experienced on the drive over replaced by a more unsettling stiffness lower down. Laura sat across from him, the dim light from the carriage lantern dancing over her high cheeks and sparkling in the gold ear-rings Jane had lent her. Ever since Laura had come downstairs to join him in the carriage, the cream dress spilling over her curves, the tender curls of her coiffure lying suggestively over one round breast, he’d fought his desire to stare at her. Not even conversation with his friends had set him at ease. He’d spent half the night across the room from her just to avoid the pull of her body over his. There was no avoiding it now.
‘Did you enjoy the evening?’ he asked, curious about her thoughts on his associates and friends.
‘I did. The ladies were very gracious and friendly.’ She adjusted one sleeve of her dress. ‘Most of them.’
‘My apologies for Mrs Templeton. She has a greatly inflated sense of her desirability.’
‘Were you ever intimate with her?’
The question startled Philip. He wasn’t used to her being so direct. ‘No. Mrs Templeton is a handsome woman, but she offers little beyond physical gratification.’
Laura nodded, seeking no further explanation.
Mrs Templeton had tried to snare him early last year, when the darkness of losing Arabella had gripped him the hardest and he’d been at his weakest. It hadn’t taken long for him to see through her feigned concern to realise she was more enamoured of his money than him. That he was, even for a moment, tempted by her charms rattled him as much as the mistakes he’d made with Arabella. He’d thought he might be making the same mistakes with Laura until he’d overheard her praising him to Mrs Templeton.
She’d defended him when she hadn’t known he was listening. She might have said anything, but instead she’d defended his integrity, his commitment to his word, the one aspect of his character that Mrs Templeton continued to underestimate, judging by her behaviour tonight. It was something Laura might have dismissed after the incident today. She must have believed her words to defend him with such enthusiasm, instead of allowing Mrs Templeton’s threat to make her doubt his commitment to her.
Relief filled Philip, strong enough to drive away the doubt the rational part of him had stubbornly clung to. Laura was the right choice. It was time to stop dallying. ‘The common licence arrived today.’
The air in the coach thickened and Philip’s back straightened along with Laura’s. He fingered his watch fob, but the awkwardness he’d expected in the moment didn’t come. He’d avoided the subject for days and now it was done the world had not tilted to throw them both off. He was also relieved to find the aching guilt he’d experienced when he’d faced Dr Hale did not return.
‘When do you plan to hold the wedding?’ More trepidation than enthusiasm laced her question..
Her measured reaction was his fault. He should have told her about the licence sooner, not left her to dangle in a limbo where he held the power to fulfil his promise or to cast her aside. Such a situation would not occur again. ‘I thought we might plan it together. It’s your wedding as much as mine.’
‘Not the most romantic answer, but I suppose it will suffice.’ The teasing he’d come to enjoy over the last few days warmed him as much as Mr Charton’s port. ‘When shall we stand before the vicar?’
‘We must wait seven days.’
‘Then in seven days we’ll wed. It will give Mrs Fairley time to finish my wedding dress.’
He flexed his hand over his knee, as eager to see the dress as what would lie beneath it. ‘In seven days it is.’
‘You’re sure the vicar will be available?’
‘Reverend Clare is a former client of mine.’
‘Gambling debts?’
‘His son needed to purchase a living from a less-scrupulous man of the cloth who consistently ignored his flock.’ He rested his ankle on one knee. He caught her surprise at his relaxed attitude in the slight tilt of her head.
‘You never cease to surprise me, Philip.’
‘It’s not my intention.’
‘No, I don’t suppose it is, but you do it all the same, which I suppose will make for an interesting life with you.’
‘I should hate for you to be bored.’
‘I don’t think it’s possible.’ She laughed and the sound almost brought a smile to his lips. No, they would not be bored together. She was too intriguing to him, her happiness suddenly too important.
‘I’ll leave you and your mother to see to the details of the wedding breakfast with cook and Mrs Palmer.’
‘If my mother has time. She and Jane are as thick as thieves. I hardly see either of them any more.’ Her happiness faded along with these last words.
‘It troubles you to see them together so much?’
‘A little.’ She tugged at the fingertips of her gloves before resting her hands in her lap. ‘But you were right, having something to do has made such a difference to my mother.’
‘She’s affected quite a change in Jane. Not once this week have I been hounded for an inappropriate dress. Also, there is now the tempering influence of Mrs Townsend to counteract the questionable influence of the novels she reads.’
‘You know about her books?’ Laura rocked forward, looking surprised and, as a deepening blush spread across her chest, a touch guilty.
‘There’s very little in my house I don’t know about.’
‘No, I don’t suppose there is.’ She sat back, pulling one sagging glove tighter over her curving elbow. ‘I’m surprised you’ve allowed her to continue reading them.’
‘She’s prone to be rebellious. Better she rebel with a salacious book than a more salacious tradesman.’
‘A very wise position. Though she’ll forget her books once I tell her the wedding date is set. Jane had already told me I must have beef and tonight Mrs Moseley insisted on almond blancmange. I haven’t the faintest notion what almond blancmange is.’
‘Then be sure to have cook prepare it so you’ll know.’
‘I would like Mrs Moseley, Mrs Charton and their husbands to be invited, and of course Mrs Gammon. I wouldn’t want Mr Connor to feel lonely at such an event.’
‘It might inform him how best to proceeded with Mrs Gammon.’
‘I think he has ideas of his own.’ A tempting smile spread across her lips, bringing a few intriguing images to Philip’s mind before he forced them aside.
‘What other thoughts do you have for our wedding day?’
Philip listened, enjoying the sweet cadence of Laura’s voice. Her hands waved through the air when she was excited or folded quietly in her lap when she became thoughtful. He enjoyed the happiness this control over this aspect of her life gave her, though her confidence took time to cultivate. At first, she searched his face after each proposed wedding detail to see if he approved. When he raised no objections, her subtle apprehension faded. It took many suggestions before she no longer looked to him, but gave full vent to her ideas, her hands moving in time to the rapid cadence of her speech.
> As her confidence increased, he realised how unfair he’d been to make so many decisions without consulting her. He remembered the helplessness of not having a say in life. When he’d turned sixteen his father had decided it was time for him to learn the family business in depth. After years of watching his parents, he thought he’d known so much. In truth, he’d known next to nothing. For the first year, when his father had insisted he only listen and learn, it’d frustrated him. Remembering the pride he’d felt at being given his first client still made his chest swell.
Laura wasn’t a youth. She was a mature woman with as much experience with hardship, business and struggling as him. It’d been unfair of him to deny her the control she craved, needed and deserved.
Suddenly, without warning, she lowered her hands, facing him with as much seriousness as Jane whenever she was about to ask for something. ‘Mrs Charton said you almost lost your business once. What happened?’
Philip dropped his foot off his leg, allowing both feet to rest flat on the floor. He wasn’t prepared for this. He felt his reserve returning, a dismissive answer to the question forming before he bit it back. Laura wanted honesty, the kind he should have shown her by sharing the details of Halcyon House sooner. He shouldn’t have kept it hidden until revealing it was a necessity rather than a joy. Admitting his past mistakes would not be pleasurable, but she’d asked and he must answer. ‘As you know from experience, it’s difficult to continue a business when the person you relied on to guide you is gone.’
She twined her fingers together in her lap. ‘Yes, it is.’
Philip shifted against the squabs, resting his elbow on the narrow ledge below the window. ‘The year after my parents died, I loaned a large sum of money to a silversmith. He’d received a commission from a marquis for an expensive dinner service, but said his young daughter’s illness over the last year had left him without the necessary funds to purchase the silver he needed to craft the order...’
‘Or so he’d told you,’ Laura finished when he paused.
Philip nodded. ‘At the time he approached me, Jane was ill, so I sympathised with him. I was also distracted by numerous other difficult clients and didn’t properly vet the man’s claims. The loan was made and squandered at the faro tables. Had I not taken Mr Charton’s advice, and the loan from his solicitor, I may not have proceeded quickly enough to seize the silversmith’s shop or the merchandise he’d kept hidden there. The silversmith enjoyed gambling with other people’s money instead of his own. The amount I seized was almost enough to pay back what he’d borrowed. If he hadn’t hidden his merchandise from more prosperous days, the loss of his loan would have ruined me.’
‘I wish you’d told me sooner.’
‘Mistakes aren’t always easy to admit.’
‘No, they’re not. I made one this morning.’ She stared out of the window at the passing buildings. ‘When I saw Mrs Hammond, it was as if I were seeing myself again, losing everything because of something someone else had done. I thought I was over it, I thought it behind me, but it’s not.’
The raw pain in her words touched him and he slipped across the carriage to sit beside her. The heat of her body next to his penetrated the wool of his jacket and the linen of his shirt. Without thinking, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her into the hollow of his arm. She nestled against him, her rose water perfume wrapping around him like a twining vine. He closed his eyes, revelling in the comfort of her body next to his, the weight of her cheek on his chest, the sweet sound of her steady breathing.
‘You aren’t the only one to blame. I shouldn’t have expected you to follow me blindly into a situation I should have known would trouble you. I was as insensitive to you as—’
‘I was to you today.’ She curled her finger around the lapel of his jacket, the movement tender and trusting. ‘I’m ashamed it troubled me so deeply.’
‘It will for some time.’ Philip rested his chin on her head, curling his arm tighter around her. She didn’t fight it, but settled in closer, her breath sneaking in to caress his chest through a small opening at the top of his shirt. ‘I can’t deny this isn’t always a straightforward business. At times it won’t be easy for you. If you’re ever uncomfortable again, please tell me at once. I will always have your best interests at heart.’
‘I want to be able to extend vouchers,’ she whispered.
‘You will be. I trust your judgement.’
‘And I trust yours.’
He wrapped his fingers around hers and squeezed them tight. All would be well between them.
Chapter Nine
As the late morning sun stretched out over the carpet, the savoury scent of beef filled the bedroom. Laura inhaled with a sigh, making Mrs Fairley laugh as she fastened the buttons on the back of Laura’s wedding dress.
‘I knew I was right to make this dress and all the others a little larger through here.’ Mrs Fairley tapped the ribbon beneath Laura’s bust. ‘I suspected the good food would fill you out in no time.’
‘I hope it doesn’t fill me out too much. I’d hate to split a seam.’ Although a split seam was quickly becoming the least of her worries. It was nearly eleven o’clock and, across the street in St Bride’s Church, Philip, the Chartons, the Feltons, the Moseleys and Mrs Gammon eagerly waited for Laura to become Philip’s wife.
‘I think other things might fill you out faster.’ Mrs Fairley hummed as she fastened the last button. ‘Mr Rathbone is sure to have quite a surprise in store for you tonight.’
Laura gaped over her shoulder at the modiste, who shot her a knowing smile in return. Laura wasn’t used to discussing such matters so openly. Nor was she completely prepared for the very real future the modiste hinted at. She knew the details; her mother had explained them to her years ago. There’d also been too many conversations between the women of ill repute in the rookery to keep Laura ignorant of what passed between two people in the dark. It was the intimacy it would require with Philip which made her stomach flutter.
‘I hope he doesn’t surprise me too much.’ She shifted the slim gold necklace, an engagement present from Philip, over her chest. Even the delicate metal felt too heavy on her heated skin. As nervous as she was about what was to come tonight, she also craved him.
‘Oh, I think he might. You must surprise him as well.’ Mrs Fairley withdrew a thin, flat box from her case. ‘I have something which will help you do just that.’
Unless it was a book of suggestions on how to please a husband, she couldn’t imagine what the modiste might give her to accomplish such a goal.
Mrs Fairley removed the lid and held it out to Laura. ‘I brought you these.’
Laura lifted the fine clocked stockings from the tissue paper. As the silk unfolded, the beautifully embroidered roses twining up the back were revealed one after another. They clung to a fine silk so sheer it took on the tone of her hand beneath it. Rubbing her thumb over the wispy weave, she inhaled as much in surprise at the delicate gift as at the thrill of holding such finely wrought fabric.
‘It’s gorgeous.’ A bright red ribbon ran through the embroidery at the top, the satin as smooth as the silk. ‘I hate to think of something so beautiful being hidden.’
‘They won’t be hidden from everyone.’ Mrs Fairley winked.
Laura felt her cheeks turn the same colour as the ribbon. She wanted Philip to see these.
‘Now, let’s get them on you.’ Mrs Fairley led Laura to a chair and helped her raise the long hem of her skirt. Laura slid her feet into the stockings, slowly pulling them up over her calves before tying the ribbon just above her knee. The material rubbed her skin like the finest goose down, making it tighten with a shiver. As she stood, the silk of the dress whooshed out around her legs, fluttering the ends of the ribbons underneath against Laura’s calves.
‘You make sure he is the only one who sees the
se tonight,’ Mrs Fairley instructed, as she picked up the satin slippers and placed them on the floor in front of Laura. ‘Don’t allow your maid to undress you, let him.’
Laura struggled to breathe, nervous yet excited about what was to come. In the week since the dinner at the Chartons’ house, there’d been a new bond between her and Philip. They’d worked together on planning the wedding and other business matters as if they’d been together for years. Even their dinner with Dr Hale last night had been a relaxed affair, the sadness and awkwardness from their last meeting gone. Mr Connor had remarked on the change, thanking Laura for ending Philip’s frequent need to exercise.
She slipped her feet in her soft slippers, the silk stocking pressing down against her toes and up against the arch of her foot. A wicked little smile graced her lips as she wiggled her toes. At least she possessed one advantage over Philip tonight. She already knew what he looked like naked.
She adjusted the necklace again, twining it around one finger before allowing it drop down against her chest. The confidence she’d witnessed in every ripple of his muscles as he’d moved across the room naked in front of her gave her a sense of how it might be with him. It would take great restraint to retain a hold on her senses long enough to display her stockings, especially if he pounced on her with any of the pent-up energy she’d tasted in his kiss the other night. Then, he’d held back for propriety’s sake. Tonight, there would be no reason for him to do so.
The doorknob turned and Laura’s mother slipped into the room. At the sight of her daughter tears sprung to her eyes.
‘Oh, my dear.’ Her mother hurried to her, crushing Laura in a deep embrace. ‘I used to dream of this day when you were a little girl. When we were in Seven Dials, I thought it would never come, yet here it is.’
Laura hugged her mother close. ‘Though not as either of us could have imagined.’
Her mother gently pushed her back, holding her at arm’s length and admiring her before fluffing out the flattened lace lining the bodice. ‘It’s exactly as I imagined. You’re young, beautiful and marrying a man of integrity who cares for you.’