Page 75 of A Kiss to Stop a Wedding
‘I am glad.’ She buttoned her jacket and walked back to him. ‘I must go now. I hope I do not look too disreputable.’
‘You look adorable.’
She averted her eyes, unwilling to let him see how much she wanted to stay.
‘Betty will not be fooled,’ she said, with forced cheerfulness. ‘But she is well rewarded for her loyalty. With the extra I have been paying her since I met you, she will soon be a woman of means!’
He reached for her hand and pulled her closer.
‘Have I been a bad influence on you?’ he asked, kissing her.
Flora closed her eyes, savouring the taste of his lips, but broke off quickly, while she still could.
‘Shameful!’ she said brightly. ‘Now you must go back to bed and let me finish dressing.’
Matt remained sitting on the edge of the bed. The sun had already set and the room was full of shadows. He could not see her clearly until she walked over to the mirror and fixed her curly brimmed hat atop her burnished curls.
‘There, will I pass muster?’ she asked, turning towards him.
‘You look beautiful.’
Her smile was strained. He put out his hand and when she took it, he rose and pulled her closer. Sadness hung around her, palpable as a cloak.
‘Come with me,’ he said urgently. ‘Come back to Bellemonte with me and we will find a way through this!’
She lifted his hand and pressed the back of it to her cheek. ‘Oh, Matt, if only therewasa way, but I have thought and thought about it. Too many people will suffer if I do not go back. Not only my aunt and uncle. Quentin will make sure my parents’ treachery is known by everyone and not just in Whilton. Not only would I be a traitor’s daughter, but a jilt, too. Quite beyond redemption. That is why I cannot come toBellemonte with you. We both know your respectable investors and patrons would turn their backs on you.’
He wanted to deny it, but the truth of what she was saying held him silent for a heartbeat too long. She sighed.
‘It was madness for me to come here. But I had to see you. I could not help myself.’
‘You regret it, then?’
‘No, not for myself. Never!’ Even in the deepening gloom he could see her eyes shining, glistening with unshed tears. ‘I shall remember this for ever.’
‘But if Whilton finds out—’
‘He won’t. Those who know of my indiscretions are very loyal. They have been keeping my secrets since I was a girl.’
‘And you are still going to marry him, even though he is such a monster.’
‘Yes, I shall marry him.’
Matt clung to her hand, silently willing her to stay.
‘Let me go, Matt.’ She reached up to give him one final kiss, then gently freed her hand.
‘There is four weeks yet until the wedding,’ she said, pulling the veil down over her face, ‘Who knows what might happen? We—I—will pray for a miracle.’
With that she turned away, picked up her gloves and riding crop from the side table and left the room.
Matt listened to her footsteps growing fainter. He strained his ears until there were only the usualsounds, the muffled laughter from the taproom below, the creak of the walls as the building cooled down. His room overlooked the fields to one side of the inn with no view of the road so there was no point going to the window to see her ride away.
She was gone and they would not meet again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Matt tried to sleep once Flora had left, but the events of the past few days disturbed his rest. As did Flora. Her joyous laugh, the way her eyes sparkled when she was happy, the feel of her in his arms, her body against his. The look on her face when she had left him for the last time would haunt him for ever.
