Page 71 of Suddenly a (The St. Clairs 5)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Mia splashed wateron her face, knowing her eyes were still swollen and red from weeping so much. She was angry with herself for so many things and angry at Hudson, too. Why hadn’t he told her he needed to wed by a certain date in order to inherit his grandmother’s estate?

She realized he wasn’t required to do so. She hadn’t provided a dowry to him. No male relative had negotiated any marital settlement for her. No exchange of financial information was provided, other than him telling her he was wealthy and allowing her to keep her finances separate from his. Being upset because he had asked for a marriage of convenience shouldn’t bother her—but it did.

Did he have any feelings for her? She was the one who had asked for a different arrangement, wanting the marriage to become a physical one. Lord Almighty, was it physical and very active. Did Hudson only use her as a man did a woman he paid for the same services? Had she exchanged the rights to her devices for his right to use her body?

The fact that she’d gone and fallen in love with him only complicated matters.

What if she left him for good? She knew noting about how to obtain a divorce, only that it was difficult and expensive. It was certainly too late for an annulment. Oh, no—what if she were with child?

She decided a clean break was what was needed between them.

Fresh tears welled in her eyes and fell down her cheeks. Mia angrily brushed them away. She finished dressing, trying not to remember how Hudson had helped her do so each morning, telling her she didn’t need a lady’s maid when she had him. Her throat swelled with unshed tears at the thought. His hands touching her. His lips pressed against the curve of her shoulder.

She left the room, crowded with several trunks of her clothing, gowns she cared nothing about. She’d taken them because she hadn’t wanted a trace of her to be left behind. Fortunately, George had carried the trunks out to the carriage and brought her to this boardinghouse. He’d promised to come for her this morning and take her to the warehouse.

She hadn’t been thinking clearly, though. That’s the first place Hudson would look for her. What was important was to find space to lease today so that everything she was working on could be moved there. Mia couldn’t go to the warehouse every day and have him there. It would tear out her heart. She would also have to find her own solicitor, one who could act as an intermediary between them. Perhaps even Matthew Proctor could be the one her man dealt with since he also handled various business affairs of the St. Clairs.

Mia left the boardinghouse. George stood on the pavement next to the carriage.

“I don’t wish to go to the warehouse after all, George,” she told him. “I need to find somewhere I can use as a workshop. Do you have any ideas where I could begin looking?”

He frowned. “Not really, Mrs. St. Clair.”

Hearing him address her in that manner was a knife to her heart.

“Why don’t we do this? Let’s stop by the warehouse and claim the latest notebook you’ve been recording your ideas in,” he suggested. “I’ll feed Nelson. Then while I drive around, you can keep working. I’m sure by the end of the day we’ll have found space for you to rent. You might also have worked out a new invention by then.”

She hesitated. “Mr. St. Clair might come to the warehouse to find me, George. I don’t want to see him.”

He thought a moment. “Then why don’t you wait in the carriage? I’ll run in for your notebook. It won’t take me long to retrieve it.”

“And if he’s already there?”

“Then I’ll leave. He’ll never see me. I promise.”

“Very well.”

George helped her into the carriage. She tried calming herself. It was still early. Hudson would certainly be up, probably making the rounds of his various relatives in search of her. Mia never would have gone to any St. Clair for help. It wouldn’t have been right. He belonged to them. Not her. It wouldn’t have been fair for her to divide the family’s loyalties. She fought back the tears, realizing she’d not only lost her husband but the wonderful friendships she’d formed with the women in his family.

Perhaps she should return to the country. Her time in London had proven to be a disaster. She had no friends left. She couldn’t show up on her aunt and uncle’s doorstep. Their association with her had already tainted their own reputations. Mia closed her eyes, resting her head against the seatback. Her mind swirled with too many thoughts and she wished she could put them out like throwing water on a fire.

The carriage slowed and then came to a halt. She kept her eyes closed, not even wanting to see the building. She’d spent many happy hours inside the warehouse among her inventions. Not just working. Time also that had been spent with Hudson dropping by. They’d built a strong friendship in a handful of weeks. Added to the physical attraction, she had thought it a good basis for their marriage. She knew now how wrong she had been.

The door opened and she opened her eyes to reach for the notebook from George. Only instead of her driver, it was Hudson who bounded into the carriage. His eyes were bloodshot. His hair wild. He hadn’t shaved since yesterday morning and dark stubble shadowed his jaw and cheeks. He still wore the same clothes she’d last seen him in as they’d looked at the house where they would raise their family.

He closed the door and the carriage took off. Mia knew George had betrayed her, just another of the many who had let her down.

Her husband took the seat opposite her but he leaned forward and grasped her hands. She tried to pull them away but he tightened his grip.

“Mia,” he said hoarsely, pain filling his eyes, “I was wrong. So wrong not to tell you.”

“You know why I left?”

“I do. It’s because of what you learned at Davidson’s.”

“Yes,” she said stonily. “I could have accepted a marriage of convenience. Many wed for financial reasons. It’s the way of theton.” She fought the tears that filled her eyes. “But you aren’t of them. I thought you were different. And I never expected you to lie to me.”

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